477: Chapter 412: Lei Zhan Heals, the Flame of Civilization Aids Repair

The morning light of the New Universe filtered through the wooden cottage's window lattice, spilling onto Lin Zhou's face.

He woke from meditation, feeling his Divine Core integrity had recovered a bit more. After the Fusion with the Divine Kingdom Core, the Temple of Civilization's rule-bearing capacity had increased by 15%, the Divine Kingdom area expanded to 575 square kilometers, and the water level of the river of civilization was also rising slowly. However, Lei Zhan's injury remained a thorn in his heart. If Lei Zhan hadn't sacrificed himself to block the Chaos Breath this time, the purification mission would not have been completed.

He stood up and walked out of the wooden cottage. Su Yueyao was Cultivating lunar essence on the cliff edge; silver-white light enveloped half the hillside, causing vegetation to grow rapidly in this light, and wildflowers bloomed under the moonlight. The Dragon Vein Golden Scale crouched at the foot of the mountain, its golden pupils watching the busy people on the plains.

"Captain, you're awake." Su Yueyao withdrew the lunar essence and walked to his side.

"Is Lei Zhan still at the fortress?" Lin Zhou asked.

"Yes. Qin Qing said he needs to start repairing his Divine Kingdom today, but the Materials are not enough; he's short on military merits."

Lin Zhou frowned. Yesterday, he had transferred forty thousand military merits to Lei Zhan, exchanging them for a large batch of repair Materials—Star Alloys, Abyss Magic Iron, and Order Essence. But the Heavy Divine Kingdom was severely damaged and required far more Materials than expected. Lei Zhan had risked his life to buy them time to purify the core; he couldn't let his recovery be affected by a lack of Materials.

"I'll go find him."

Lin Zhou transformed into a cyan-gold stream of light, returning to the Seventh War Zone fortress via the teleportation array.

In the eastern barracks of the fortress, Lei Zhan was sitting in a wheelchair, with a mountain of Materials piled in front of him. Iron Rock Giants were moving stones, smelting metal, and rebuilding the city walls. But the speed was very slow—not because there weren't enough hands, but because after the Divine Kingdom was damaged, Lei Zhan himself could not provide enough Divine Power support. Every brick of the city wall needed him to personally carve defensive Talismans, and his current Divine Core integrity was only 45%, making it impossible for him to complete the full set of Talismans.

Lei Zhan · Divine Kingdom Repair Data: Divine Kingdom integrity: 60% (Needs to be repaired to 100%), City wall repair progress: 40%, Talisman carving progress: 10%, Divine Power deficit: 50,000 points per day, Estimated completion time: about sixty days (if without outside help).

"Lei Zhan." Lin Zhou walked into the barracks.

"Captain!" Lei Zhan grinned, pushing his wheelchair to greet him. "Why are you here?"

"Come to check on your Divine Kingdom." Lin Zhou looked around at the unfinished Talisman carvings. "Not enough Divine Power?"

Lei Zhan scratched his head: "A bit short. I can only carve ten bricks a day; my Divine Core integrity can't keep up."

Lin Zhou was silent for a moment, then raised his hand, condensing the Fire of Civilization in his palm.

"Use my fire."

"Captain, this consumes too much of your Divine Power..."

"Your Divine Kingdom repair relates to the defensive capabilities of the entire vanguard sequence. We cannot delay." Lin Zhou transferred the Fire of Civilization into Lei Zhan's Divine Kingdom.

The flames burned within Lei Zhan's Divine Core, igniting his divine fire. In the golden flames, a trace of cyan-gold Fire of Civilization was integrated. Lei Zhan felt his Divine Core integrity slowly recovering, and his Divine Power output was also increasing.

Fire of Civilization · Auxiliary Repair: Target: Lei Zhan's Divine Core, Divine Kingdom; Effect: Divine Core integrity +5%, Divine Power output +50%; Cost: Lin Zhou 10,000 Divine Power per day; Side effects: None (Fire of Civilization is friendly to the Order faction).

"Captain, this..." Lei Zhan looked at his hands in surprise.

"I will come every day. Until your Divine Kingdom is repaired." Lin Zhou withdrew his hand. "Your Iron Rock Giants are worth this."

Lei Zhan was silent for a moment, then nodded firmly.

"Captain, my life is yours from now on."

"It's not mine. It belongs to the Civilization Guardian Legion."

From that day on, Lin Zhou traveled between the New Universe and the Seventh War Zone fortress every day. During the day, he Cultivated on the back mountain, accompanied Su Yueyao, and supervised the operation of the civilization furnace; in the evening, he arrived at the fortress via the teleportation array to nourish Lei Zhan's Divine Core with the Fire of Civilization and help him carve defensive Talismans.

Lei Zhan · Repair Progress (One Week Later): Divine Core integrity: 45% → 60%, Divine Kingdom integrity: 60% → 75%, City wall repair progress: 40% → 70%, Talisman carving progress: 10% → 50%, Estimated completion time: about thirty days.

The thirtieth day.

The Talisman carving on the last city wall brick was completed. The Heavy Divine Kingdom's steel fortress looked brand new; the city walls were taller than before, and dark golden defensive Talismans flowed on the surface. The Talisman array was no longer purely "Steel Will," but had integrated the "Purification" effect of the Fire of Civilization—any Chaos unit attacking the city wall would be countered by the Fire of Civilization.

Heavy Divine Kingdom · Upgrade Data: City wall height: 100 zhang → 150 zhang, City wall thickness: 10 zhang → 15 zhang, Defensive Talismans: 72 layers → 108 layers, New characteristic: Civilization Counterattack (When attacked, deals fire damage to the attacker), Lei Zhan's Divine Core Rank: LV580 → LV600 (Recovered).

Lei Zhan stood on the city wall, looking at his Divine Kingdom, his eyes slightly red.

"Captain, thank you."

"No need to thank me." Lin Zhou stood beside him. "Your Divine Kingdom will be the steel fortress of the vanguard sequence from now on. No matter how many Chaos Beasts come from the Void Realm, they won't be able to smash your walls."

Lei Zhan grinned and punched Lin Zhou in the chest.

"Captain, you really know how to talk."

Lin Zhou smiled and walked off the city wall.

Qin Qing was waiting for him at the city gate.

"Captain, Lei Zhan's Divine Kingdom is repaired. What do we do next?"

Lin Zhou looked toward the Chaos Star Domain.

"The reconnaissance of the Seventh War Zone is basically complete, and there are no major threats nearby. But the Void Realm is still there, and the remnants of the Void Sect may also be hiding in the dark." He thought for a moment. "I plan to return to the New Universe for a while to study the furnace spirit of the civilization furnace. If that thing is cultivated well, it might become our new combat force."

"Furnace spirit?" Qin Qing asked curiously.

"Yes. The civilization furnace has been running for so long, accumulating a massive amount of Order Essence. These essences condensed in the flames and gave birth to intelligence. Although it is still very ignorant, its potential is huge. If cultivated properly, it could evolve into an existence similar to the Dragon Vein Golden Scale."

"How long will that take?"

"Don't know. Maybe years, maybe decades."

Qin Qing was silent for a moment, then nodded.

"Okay. You go. Wang Meng and I will keep an eye on the fortress."

"Thank you for your hard work."

Lin Zhou turned and walked toward the teleportation array.

Three months later.

The civilization furnace's furnace spirit had grown from its initial ignorance to its infancy.

It had no fixed form; sometimes it looked like a fireball, sometimes like a small beast, and sometimes like a human shadow. Its intelligence was not yet high, and it could only understand simple commands, but its control over the Fire of Civilization already surpassed any human deity. It could automatically adjust fuel ratios, optimize conversion efficiency, and even "breed" new Order Essence in the furnace.

civilization furnace · Furnace Spirit Evolution: Form: Undefined (Fireball/Small Beast/Humanoid), Rank: LV300 → LV500, Intelligence: Infancy (Can understand simple commands), Ability 1: [Automatic Optimization] — Conversion efficiency +30%, Ability 2: [Essence Breeding] — Produces 10 units of Order Essence daily, Ability 3: [Furnace Fire Resonance] — All attributes +50% when resonating with Lin Zhou's Fire of Civilization.

One day, Lin Zhou was studying the behavior patterns of the furnace spirit by the furnace, and Su Yueyao walked over.

"Captain, General General Rex sent a message."

"What message?"

"A previously unmarked ruin was discovered in the northwest direction of the Seventh War Zone. It is suspected to be the tomb of a God King from the Old Universe era. There may be danger, and there may be treasures. The General hopes you will go and scout it."

Lin Zhou stood up.

"God King tomb..."

In the memory fragments of The Transcendent, there was no record of God King tombs. That was a Legacy independent of The Transcendent system, the last traces left by the most powerful group of deities in the Old Universe era. There was danger, but there might also be opportunities.

"Prepare to depart."

He assembled his troops. Wang Meng, Qin Qing, Chen Xuan, and fifty elites. Su Yueyao accompanied him. Although Lei Zhan's Divine Kingdom was repaired, his body still needed to recuperate, so he was not brought along this time.

Reconnaissance Team · Data: Number of people: 54, Average Divine Core Rank: LV600, Equipment: Civilization Armor · Enhanced Version, Rule Plague Purification Talisman, Space Teleportation Array Components, Dragon Vein Golden Scale: Accompanying, Su Yueyao: Lunar essence blessing.

Before departing, Lin Zhou walked to Lei Zhan's barracks.

"Lei Zhan, I'm going to scout the God King tomb. I'll leave the fortress to you."

Lei Zhan stood up and patted his chest.

"Don't worry, Captain. As long as I am here, the fortress will not be lost."

Lin Zhou nodded.

"Let's go, depart."

The team advanced to the northwest. The golden light of the Dragon Vein Golden Scale illuminated the road ahead, and Su Yueyao's lunar essence dispersed the Chaos mist.

Two days later, they arrived at the target area.

Before them was a huge tomb, suspended in the Void Realm. The tomb was pyramid-shaped, with ancient Talismans carved on each stone brick. The surface of the tomb was covered with gray-white Chaos energy, but it was much thinner than the surrounding area—perhaps the tomb's own defenses were at work.

God King Tomb · Detection Data: Height: about 5 kilometers, Base width: about 10 kilometers, Material: Unknown (stronger than Star Alloy), Defensive Talismans: about 100,000, Chaos energy concentration: 20 times that of the outside (edge), Interior: Unknown.

Lin Zhou walked to the entrance of the tomb. The entrance was a huge stone door, with two Dao characters carved on it, older than oracle bone script and more primitive than bronze script—those were Divine Scripts, the original language of the Old Universe era.

Divine Script · Translation: Character: "Zhen" (Suppress), Meaning: Suppress, Guard, Eternal.

Lin Zhou reached out to touch the stone door. The Fire of Civilization surged from his palm, seeping into the cracks of the stone door. The stone door slowly opened, revealing a deep passage inside.

"Captain, there may be traps inside." Qin Qing reminded.

"I know." Lin Zhou deployed the Civilization Projection to envelop the team. "Stay close to me."

The team stepped into the tomb.

The passage extended downward, leading to unknown places. The walls on both sides were covered with murals—not the history of civilization, but records of battles. A God King in golden armor led an army to fight against the Void Realm. He killed countless Chaos Beasts, Sealed the passage to the Void Realm, and finally fell from exhaustion.

Mural · Interpretation: God King name: Wang Zhenyue, Rank: great divine power (LV6000+), Deeds: In the Old Universe era, he sealed the Void Realm passage alone, delaying the Void Realm erosion for ten thousand years, Cause of death: Exhaustion.

At the deepest part of the tomb was a huge burial chamber. In the center of the burial chamber, a golden coffin was suspended. The surface of the coffin was covered with Divine Scripts, and a human outline was vaguely visible in the coffin.

"That is the remains of God King Wang Zhenyue." Lin Zhou said in a low voice.

He walked to the coffin and bowed.

"Senior, this Junior has offended you."

The coffin did not react.

Lin Zhou reached out and touched the coffin. The Fire of Civilization seeped into the coffin, and the Divine Scripts on the surface of the coffin glowed simultaneously. Golden light intertwined with cyan-gold flames, illuminating the entire burial chamber.

God King Legacy · Discovery: Type: Legacy, Content: God King Wang Zhenyue's combat experience, insights into rules, and a Divine Kingdom Core fragment, Acceptance condition: Recognition by the Fire of Civilization.

Lin Zhou did not hesitate.

"I accept."

The coffin opened, and a golden crystal floated in the air. Sealed within the crystal was the remnant thought of God King Wang Zhenyue—an old man with a majestic face, wearing golden armor, holding a long sword.

God King Remnant Thought · Data: Source: God King Wang Zhenyue, Status: Weak (but complete), Rank: great divine power (remnant), Legacy content: Combat experience, rule insights, Divine Kingdom Core fragment.

"Latecomer, you have finally arrived." The God King's voice was like an ancient bell tolling.

"Senior." Lin Zhou bowed.

"My time is running out. Make a long story short." The God King's phantom raised his hand, and a golden crystal floated toward Lin Zhou. "This is my lifelong combat experience and a Divine Kingdom Core fragment. Accept it, and you can inherit my power. But, you must also inherit my mission—to guard the New Universe and fight against the Void Realm."

Lin Zhou took the crystal and integrated it into his Divine Kingdom.

God King Legacy · Received: Combat experience: Obtained, Rule insights: Obtained, Divine Kingdom Core fragment: Obtained, Effect: Divine Kingdom Core Rank +200, river of civilization water level +5%, Heavenly Pillar height +200,000 kilometers, Lin Zhou current Divine Kingdom Core Rank: LV6500 → LV6700.

The God King's phantom slowly dissipated.

"Latecomer, do not let me down."

Lin Zhou looked at the golden coffin and was silent for a long time.

"Senior, I will not let you down."

He turned and led the team out of the tomb.

Returning to the surface, Su Yueyao was waiting for him.

"Captain, what did the God King give you?"

"A Legacy. Combat experience, rule insights, and a Divine Kingdom Core fragment." Lin Zhou raised his hand, golden light in his palm. "My Divine Kingdom Core Rank has already broken through to LV6700."

"Good." Su Yueyao nodded.

Lin Zhou turned back and looked at the God King tomb.

"This tomb cannot be left here. Chaos energy will slowly erode it."

"Then what should we do?"

"Take it away." Lin Zhou walked to the tomb, and the river of civilization surged out from his Divine Kingdom, enveloping the entire tomb.

river of civilization · Storage: Target: God King tomb, Cost: 1 million Divine Power, Effect: Store the entire tomb in the Divine Kingdom, Time taken: about ten minutes.

Ten minutes later, the God King tomb disappeared from the Void Realm and appeared in Lin Zhou's Divine Kingdom. It floated above the river of civilization, adjacent to the Dragon Vein Golden Scale's nest.

"From now on, this will be the memorial hall for God King Wang Zhenyue. Every commander of the Civilization Guardian Legion must come here to pay their respects."

Su Yueyao nodded.

"Let's go, back to the fortress."

The team returned to the fortress. Lin Zhou stood on the city wall, looking toward the Chaos Star Domain. The Legacy of God King Wang Zhenyue gave him a deeper understanding of the Void Realm. But he also knew that his path was still very long.

"Captain, what are you thinking about?" Qin Qing walked over.

"I was thinking, God King Wang Zhenyue sealed the Void Realm passage back then, delaying the Void Realm erosion for ten thousand years. Can we do it too?"

"Yes." Qin Qing said. "You are stronger than him."

"Why?"

"Because you are not alone."

Lin Zhou was silent for a moment, then smiled.

"Perhaps."

He walked off the city wall and returned to the barracks.

The Fire of Civilization was burning, illuminating the road ahead.