560: Chapter 495: Farewell to the Front Lines, the Way of Civilization Spreads to the Rear

The transfer order arrived three days ago. There was no urgent marking, no red Seal, just a thin sheet of paper personally signed by Acting Marshal Qian Weiguo.

The content was also very simple—Lin Zhou has served as the Legion Commander of the Civilization Guardian Legion for five years and is hereby transferred to the rear to serve as the Dean of the Human Race Civilization Academy, responsible for promoting the Hundred Schools of Thought and the Civilization Cultivation system.

Wang Meng was the first to know the news.

He was just coming out of Bingge Cave that day, covered in sweat, with the fragments of war souls still clinging to his battle axe. When he saw Lin Zhou standing at the entrance of the Council Hall, his footsteps faltered for a moment, but he didn't ask anything.

He knew Lin Zhou didn't want to waste time on goodbyes, would only say "Time to go," and then truly leave.

So he only asked: "Captain, where is the Civilization Academy?"

"In the core area of the New Universe. Not far from the Command Headquarters."

"Doesn't matter if it's far or not, the teleportation array is fast anyway." Wang Meng paused, his voice dropping half a tone, "Should we tell Qin Qing in advance?"

"She is currently processing her leave request and will leave with me tomorrow."

The transfer order did not have a mandatory handover deadline, only stating to take office as soon as possible.

Lin Zhou spent three days handing over the legion's affairs one by one—the patrol arrangements for the frontline, maintenance files for the nodes, records of the seed of civilization reserves, and the daily maintenance of the Wall of Heroes.

He transferred everything to Wang Meng for temporary stewardship, then packed a small personal bag.

That case was even lighter than the luggage he brought when he first walked into the Iron Wall Fortress.

When Su Yueyao stood under the city wall waiting for him, she held nothing in her hands.

On the morning of the third day, when Lin Zhou walked out of the gates of the Iron Wall Fortress, the gazes of fifty thousand people fell upon them.

No one spoke; the wind blew through the Void Realm.

He stood under the city gate, turned back to look, offered no farewell, but simply raised his palm toward the city wall, then turned and walked toward the teleportation array.

The other end of the teleportation array was a valley in the core area of the New Universe.

The valley was much quieter than the Iron Wall Fortress. When Lin Zhou arrived, he could see people walking on the hillside in the distance, their steps slow, not like patrolling, but more like a post-meal stroll.

Several rows of grey-white stone buildings were scattered throughout the valley, the tallest no more than three stories.

These buildings still maintained the simple style of the Old Universe academy era, with flat walls, simple doors and windows, and no unnecessary decorations.

There were no formations in the square, only a few young people in grey robes sitting on the steps, flipping through books.

The main gate of the Civilization Academy was an ordinary stone arch. There was no school name on the lintel, only a palm-sized bronze plate embedded on the left side, with four lines of text shallowly engraved on it:

"To establish a heart for Heaven and Earth, to establish a destiny for the people, to carry on the unique learning of past sages, to create peace for all generations."

Lin Zhou stood under the gate for a while, then passed through the archway and walked into the square.

The few young people reading on the steps looked up and recognized his face. One of them instinctively stood up, pushed up his glasses, and asked with a hint of belated confirmation: "Dean?"

"It is me."

Lin Zhou crossed the square and walked toward the main academy building.

The gazes of those young people behind him seemed to weave into a web. He heard someone whisper, "Looks about the same as the portrait," and another replied, "Just doesn't look that tall."

When he pushed open the main building's doors, a spacious hall greeted him.

The hall's furnishings were simple. On the walls on both sides hung the guiding texts of the Hundred Schools of Thought: the Benevolence of the School of Confucianism, the Justice of the School of Legalism, the Universal Love of the School of Mohism, the Naturalness of the School of Daoism, the Courage of the School of Military, the Diligence of the School of Agriculture, the Benevolence of the School of Medicine...

Below each line of text was a blank area, as if left for successors to add their own understanding.

The air floated with a faint scent of ink and paper—the unique smell of the academy, completely different from the smell of steel and fire at the Iron Wall Fortress.

As Lin Zhou walked up the steps at the end of the hall, a beam of light shone in from the side, stretching his shadow onto the north wall of the hall.

He stood at the top of the steps and turned around, facing those empty seats.

The Civilization Academy of the New Universe was another form of the path he himself had once walked—no longer a battlefield, no longer a defensive line, but a place that allowed more people to walk that path themselves.