Way of Heaven

Chapter 9 – The Flames of Civilization (1)

Translator: BipBop

Everyone in the tribe had been mentally prepared for this kind of result. Since humanity had first appeared three to four decades ago, it had grown from 3,000 people to 5,000 people. Diseases and wild beasts have regularly ravaged their species. 

Otherwise, their population would have reached at least 10,000 after four generations. As for the first generation of humans, there were only a few hundred of them remaining. Disease, plague, or fierce beats mauled and killed them off.

The wild lands were full of dangers. Poisonous insects and wild beasts covered the land, creating several restricted areas that when entered guaranteed certain death.  The time of their death unknown, the people could only cherish the life they had. In regards to the dead people, they would have a period of mourning. They continued to grow their community, giving it their all for the prosperity of humanity.

This was the situation for the humans in this barbaric era.

The corpses of the dead were buried in a cemetery next to the tribe. They entered the soil, obtaining peace. Then, under the guidance of their patriarch Yuan and high priest Xi, they would pray for the dead. May their souls return to the embrace of the Supreme One.

Perfect living beings created meticulously by Mu Yuan, Yuan and Xi were still at their peak performance even though they were already in their 50s and 60s. Naturally, they took up major positions, becoming the patriarch and high priest of the tribe.

The tribe religiously believed in the Supreme One. Decades ago, the Supreme One created the heavens, earth, and all living beings. He was the creator of all, the creator of the world!

As such, returning to the embrace of the Supreme One after death was considered an ineffable glory.

In this world, almost all the intelligent races had their own beliefs in “Heaven” and “God.” The term “Heaven” varied across the races.

As for why humanity would call their god the Supreme One, it might have been because of the influence of Mu Yuan’s murky subconsciousness…

At the entrance of a waterfall that was deep within the tribe, a several dozen meters tall statue of god was sitting down on a rock altar, exuding a sacred aura. This was based on what the first generation of humans saw from the back of the Supreme One and what they imagined what the Supreme One was like.

Bonfires lit up the land, dispersing the darkness, bringing light into the tribe, deterring the predators. It represented the hope of the human tribe.

Xi directed all the people to prostrate in front of the bonfires. They were religiously worshipping the Supreme One. Around the feet of the statue were several unconscious ferocious beasts like cloud leopards, black bears, etc…

Xi gave an order. Located right next to the beasts, a man who held a knife chopped off a beast’s head in a single stroke. Hot blood gushed out and sprinkled the ground. He then reverently placed it on the feet of the statue. He was offering a sacrifice to the Supreme One.

Afterwards, the high priest Xi led several priestesses to do a sacrificial dance around the bonfire. She sang a hymn, praising the Supreme One. It was the Supreme One who gave humanity food and a place to live. I pray to the Supreme One that the tribe will obtain more food tomorrow and continue to prosper…

As the ceremony concluded, everyone started butchering beasts, grilling meat, laughing, singing, and dancing around the bonfire. This was one of the happiest events of humanity.

…

Mu Yuan’s consciousness wrapped around the Yuan World. He began to observe the intelligent races struggle for survival in the wild lands, working hard for their race’s prosperity.

He observed them building houses, making crude animal skin clothes, and creating rough tools; he observed them hunt vicious, wild beasts, collect wild fruits, and chop down trees.

They fought tooth and nail with the beasts. They bitterly succumbed to disease. They rejoiced for their newborns.

It was the first time they saw the majesty of lightning. It was the first time they experienced the joy of eating cooked food. It was the first time they saw the light in the dark.

It was the first time they made fires, chopped wood…

The intelligence races paved their way through the world with their blood and corpses. They were dedicated. The burning flame of civilization, of life, illuminated the land; the Yuan World was evolving.

The elves of the Starred Forest, the aquatic races of the Star of Seas, the feathered races of the Cloudy Peaks, the golems of the Stony Crags, the humans of the Origin Valley…

The races were scattered. Each race was at least 500 kilometers away! For hundreds of years, the races were only able to move around their ancestral land. They hunted beasts and thrived. 

In addition, Mu Yuan constantly put Origin Energy, which was supplied from the crystal sphere absorbing and converting the void essence, into the Yuan World, causing the world to constantly expand. The more the world expanded, the less likely it was for the races to meet.

As the human population increased, the prey in and around the Origin Valley was no longer sufficient to feed the population. As such, the humans began to split into different areas during these centuries. They divided into five tribes, each tribe moving in a different direction.

In humanity’s 100th year, the human population reached over 10,000. During this time, the first hero of the human race emerged. Mang led thousands of humans to the west and eventually discovered a large basin at the edge of the Sky Peaks, hundreds of miles away from the Origin Valley. 

There was an abundance of water and food. Enough to feed tens of thousands of people, it was certainly the best place to set up a new tribe.

In the following hundred years, humanity continued to lead their people to discover new territories and establish new tribes. 

The three tribes, Hong, Yan, and Xing were established respectively in the Heavens Forest east of the Origin Valley, the Fog Forest south of the Origin Valley, and the Galaxy Plain north of the Origin Valley. Together with the Mang tribe in the west, they made up the pillars of the human race.

In the end, at the Origin Valley, there were dozens of small and large tribes stretching over a distance of 100 kilometers. This was the territory of the human race.

Most of the races were like the humans, exploring their ancestral land and establishing new territories. Their power gradually increased. It was a steady expansion. 

Of course, giants and elemental races that were influenced by the region could only develop in their ancestral land. They weren’t able to expand.

Not only did these races develop and establish new territories, but they also invented their own language system. Once they learned to communicate, the races began to trade with each other.

Growing food, domesticating animals, creating pottery, and using the bronze ore that was on the surface to create bronze trinkets, many of the races slowly changed from a hunting society to an agricultural society. The flame of prosperity spread throughout the Yuan World!

In fact, due to a variety of factors, some races have already entered city-like societies and some had a slavocracy like the races in the northern continent.

Nearly half the territory in the north belonged to the various beastmen tribes. When Mu Yuan created the beastmen, he divided the beastmen into tribes that weren’t far apart, only a hundred kilometers away. Each beastmen tribe was different, as they were formed by Mu Yuan combining different animals with the human. 

After hundreds of years of reproduction, the beastmen, their reproductive ability no less than that of a human, evolved and became stronger. They discovered the existence of other beastmen tribes while exploring. At first, the beastmen, both shocked by the existence of other intelligent life besides them, cautiously avoided each other, looking for other places to establish their territory. 

But there was only so much food and land. Once they retreated, they put their tribe at the risk of dying out. Soon, they began to fight over food and territory. Tension and friction were building up between the beastmen tribes. A major war was brewing in the north!