565: Chapter 500: The Cosmic Council, Invited to Attend and Discuss the Future

The ark of civilization had been anchored in the sea of stars for an entire night.

As the first rays of dawn in the New Universe crept along the silhouette of the Great Wall of Civilization, Lin Zhou was standing on the deck.

He hadn't intentionally woken up early; he simply woke naturally when the daylight filtered through the cabin door.

The light on the weld seams had completely faded, leaving only the matte color of the metal itself.

When Su Yueyao stepped out of the cabin, he handed her a letter that had arrived shortly before.

The stationery was deep blue with embossed dark patterns; after breaking the Seal, inside was a silver-white invitation.

There was no header or salutation on the invitation; only a single line of text was written in the center: "Lin Zhou is invited to attend the Supreme Cosmic Council, scheduled for seven days from now. This letter serves as a formal invitation."

It was signed with the Seal of the Cosmic Council.

Lin Zhou flipped the invitation over; there were no extra instructions on the back, only a line of small text indicating the coordinates of the council.

He hadn't heard the name "Supreme Cosmic Council" in a long time.

The seats of the Supreme Council were occupied by God King-level powerhouses and rotated every thousand years. Its scope of deliberation covered major decisions for the entire Universe—civilization survival, Star Abyss replacement, Guixu Rift defense systems, and cross-Star Domain resource allocation.

"Seven days from now." He put the invitation away. "In the Old Universe era, only God Kings could speak at the council. In what capacity are you attending?"

"The invitation doesn't state a capacity. It only has a name."

"Then you are attending in your own name." Su Yueyao returned the invitation to him. "What they acknowledge is not your military Rank, nor your divine Rank, but what you have done."

Seven days later, the venue for the Cosmic Council floated in a void in the core area of the New Universe.

The venue was much larger than the meeting hall of the Iron Wall Fortress; the dome was so high it was almost impossible to see the top, and the walls were built from dark stone, their surfaces shimmering with a faint silvery light.

The Speaker sat in the center of the main seat, flanked by seven members of the Speaker's group, with three rows of seats extending outward. The further back, the higher the seats, resembling an inverted bowl.

When Lin Zhou entered the venue, there were people whispering in the seats on both sides, but as he walked down the central aisle toward his seat, those voices gradually faded, finally turning into a uniform silence, like the ripples after a stone is thrown into a well, slowly subsiding.

The Speaker stood up. He did not use any amplification spells, yet his voice echoed clearly throughout the entire venue: "General Lin Zhou, you established the Civilization Guardian Legion within the Human Expeditionary Force of the Old Universe era and were the first to integrate the Hundred Schools of Thought into the divine domain defense system. In the New Universe era, you discovered the Guixu Rift, obtained critical intelligence in the Chaos Star Domain and the Abyss, consolidated the legacy of The Transcendent, presided over the purification of the Void Sect, and finally built a barrier with the principles of civilization, completing the Seal of the Guixu from the level of rules. We did not summon you to be questioned, but to ask you to tell us—how do you view the world after this war has ended?"

The venue was silent for a moment.

"This war is over, but the Guixu has not disappeared. It has only been sealed, its underlying rules altered, but its operational cycle continues. Five hundred years from now, the Guixu will experience another major eruption." Lin Zhou's voice was not loud, but every word was clear. "The continuation of civilization does not rely on a wall, nor on a single victory; it relies on remembering. Remember that we were once elves, dwarves, and mermen; remember that we once built the first beacon tower on the ruins; remember the paths left behind by those nameless people. When a person knows where they come from, they will not be afraid of where they are going."

He paused, then said his final sentence: "Civilization is not protected into existence; it is remembered into existence. As long as there are people who remember, the Guixu cannot harvest anything."

After a brief silence, the first scattered applause rang out in the venue.

It was not ceremonial applause, but more like the action of someone who, after experiencing a long silence, had finally found a way to respond.

The Speaker stood up, placed a copper-gray token on the table, and pushed it toward Lin Zhou: "The Council has decided to grant you the reserve qualification of [Star Abyss Pioneer]. Your term is one thousand years, during which you may choose an unmarked Star Abyss on the edge of the New Universe to conduct preliminary development and build an outpost from scratch."

Lin Zhou looked at the token. The token was engraved with the emblem of the Star Abyss Pioneer—a simplified star pattern, surrounded by a ring of hyphens.

"A thousand-year term is not a military order. You may apply for formal development at any time during your term, or you may keep it as a reserve qualification to be activated at an appropriate time."

Lin Zhou was silent for a moment, then reached out and picked up the token. "I accept."

He tucked the token into his robes and stood up. The Speaker looked at him, not detaining him, only saying: "Lin Zhou, your name will appear on the register on the side wall of the meeting hall. That register has not had a new name added in a long time."

Lin Zhou did not answer; he walked through the aisle toward the exit. His figure paused at the door, as if recalling something, before he crossed the threshold and disappeared into the corridor outside.

When he walked out of the council venue, it was almost dark.

He walked outward along the corridor, his pace neither fast nor slow, as if he were digesting what had just happened.

He stopped for a while in front of the teleportation array, then stepped into the silver-white light.

When he passed through the exit of the teleportation array, the night wind blew from the direction of the valley, carrying the scent of soil and fallen leaves.

He passed through the side gate of the academy and walked along the corridor for a distance; the lights under the corridor had already been lit, and the light spread out along the pillars.

He paused when he passed the entrance of the schoolhouse. That stone tree was still in its original place, its leaves gently swaying in the night wind, the golden veins clearly visible under the light.

When he walked under the corridor, he did not deliberately soften his footsteps, nor did he deliberately walk fast.

He pushed open the door of the main building, walked into the hall, and closed the door behind him; the door hinge made a low wooden sound.

The night had fallen deep, and the entire valley was breathing quietly, like a bird that had folded its wings.

In the sea of stars in the distance, that cyan-gold long line was still moving slowly, transforming from a defensive line into a slowly growing new network.

Those lights were still shining in the night wind; they were not in a hurry, nor did they need to rush to illuminate anything; they were just shining there, one after another, spreading along the valley into a warm band of light.

(The Way of Civilization, the torch is passed down. A new journey has already slowly unfolded in the depths of the Star Abyss.)