Chapter 107: 2055

The historical trajectory of this world is almost identical to that of the Prime World.

Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing.

This was followed by a chaotic era of foreign invasions, two world wars, and, after the chaos ended, a thirty-year Cold War. Ironically, this particular province is the one where Class A racialist ideology is most severe. While the diversity within Artificial Divine Realms is vast, every time they witness such bizarre or breathtaking historical evolutions, the psionic cultivators from the Prime World are left with mixed feelings, at a loss for words.

To continue the introduction: strictly speaking, this was a war that erupted on the World Island. Due to long-standing tensions with their northern neighbors and driven by the lure of interests, the primary civilization of this world—the River Civilization—faced a full-spectrum, jamming-style encirclement.

However, the River civilization of Artificial Divine Realm 2055 did not possess the means to jam the full spectrum. Facing an absolute disadvantage, they relied on masterful military strategy. Through several victories in both domestic and foreign campaigns, they gradually leveled the massive initial disparity in strength, ultimately washing away their past humiliations and leaving their malicious neighbors and ambitious rivals too terrified to speak lightly of war again.

The subsequent historical trajectory became one of development as the main theme.

Just like in the vast majority of Artificial Divine Realms, once the River civilization ensured security and stability, they instinctively looked upward—toward the sky and into space.

Because of the war, the aerospace industry of Artificial Divine Realm 2055, particularly in manned spaceflight, had stagnated for decades. In this world, no human had ever set foot on the moon to declare, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." To these humans, the moon remained a mysterious, unexplored territory.

Perhaps it was a rebound from long-standing suppression. Having grown weary of the countless wars that had erupted on the surface, the humans of this world, after a period of stable development, felt a tidal wave of the era sweep across both the lands and the oceans. This wave was called "Moon Landing," and traveling to the moon became the most romantic endeavor of all.

Streets, alleys, city slogans, commercial advertisements, and daily conversations—everything revolved around the moon. Even the cycle of life and death could not escape it. Dying on the way to explore the moon was considered far better than dying upon the earth. Driven by this prevailing sentiment, the manned spaceflight project of Artificial Divine Realm 2055, even as a bottomless pit of money, surged forward with fierce momentum. Even when several relatively serious aerospace accidents occurred, the heroic sacrifices did not frighten away the enthusiasm; instead, they acted as fuel.

If that were all there was to it, this world would be truly admirable. One could believe that in the near future, they would surely leave their cradle, land on the moon, and proceed to fly into the unknown and vast dark deep space.

However, this is an Artificial Divine Realm.

Psionic energy is everywhere. In particular, the free psionic energy in this world has become so dense that it is practically off the charts! If this were Artificial Divine Realm 1909, one wouldn't even need to ignite the Thunder Pool Immortal Lotus—everyone could just start sprinting into the High Martial Era!

And yet… Lan Yi could not detect even the slightest sign of transcendence.

He hovered ten thousand meters above the city known as the Magic Metropolis, his colorless eyes acting like high-powered scanners, performing a wide-spectrum scan of the magnificent urban sprawl below. He used the most laborious yet effective method to search for the traces of primordial psionic energy manifested in human beings.

But there was no psionic energy, not even a shred of primordial vital energy!

This was wrong. It was wrong to a degree that defied explanation.

The veteran "Old Demon" Lan was well-traveled and knew that certain Artificial Divine Realms would specifically modulate the human species, naturally locking away primordial vital energy and psionic energy. But even so, martial arts and Daoist techniques would still manifest in some form. Especially in a state of such abundant psionic energy, this is an immutable iron law, the underlying logic of reality.

Why are martial arts and Daoist techniques the two orthodox systems? The reason is very simple. Because in any world, as long as energy exists, Daoist techniques and martial arts will emerge; they simply take different forms. Even in an Artificial Divine Realm with entirely different physical parameters, a psionic cultivator, once they reach a certain level, can quickly construct a power system and regain formidable strength.

Lan Yi can still use his martial arts and Daoist techniques now. That is normal. Therefore, what is abnormal is the humans of this Artificial Divine Realm.

BOOM!

A passenger jet suddenly surged past Lan Yi, kicking up a wake of turbulence. Although it lasted only for an instant, the flight crew in the cockpit were left dumbfounded. They had all seen it—a person in a coat flying in the sky. The captain and co-pilot stared at each other for a long moment, then proceeded to frantically check the cabin oxygen levels, suspecting that they were suffering from hypoxia-induced hallucinations.

Given Lan Yi’s perception and speed, he naturally could not cause an air disaster. He was not some vicious, deranged lunatic who would shoot down a plane just because it was an eyesore.

Without finding traces of transcendent psionic energy, the trial mission would be difficult to advance. The trial mission given to Lan Yi and his fellow cultivators by the Battlefield Space was: "Relieve the suffering of the human species." Mission duration: Unlimited.

Damn it!

What suffering did the human species even have? Was it war? Natural disasters? Alien invasion? Or were they simply tired of living?

Before the "Old Demon" Lan could vent his frustrations by greeting the parents of the Battlefield Space, the other psionic cultivators who had been randomly conscripted were already cursing. This riddle-like mission was clearly meant to be a puzzle; they had to first figure out what the mission actually entailed before they could resolve it. If they failed to grasp it, the situation might drag on and worsen until, when the problem finally erupted, it could threaten the lives of the cultivators themselves.

Lan Yi had been in Artificial Divine Realm 2055 for over thirty-six hours. During these thirty-six hours, aside from meeting with the other cultivators, he had spent the entire time flying in the sky, conducting psionic scans of the world below.

Lan Yi had originally thought that since the Battlefield Space had dropped them in the Magic Metropolis, the city was likely the source of the problem. But now, it seemed… even with Lan Yi’s investigative and analytical capabilities, he currently could not detect any anomalies. If the problem didn't exist on the ground, where could it be?

Lan Yi could not help but tilt his head to gaze into the distance. Although the moon was hidden below the horizon at this moment and invisible to the naked eye, from the surging magnetic fields, Lan Yi could still sense that just outside the land beneath his feet, at a relatively close distance, there existed a massive gravitational megastructure.

No.

If the problem lay with the moon, why was their drop point on Earth? This did not fit the habits of the Battlefield Space. Generally, unless it was an Artificial Divine Realm of interstellar war scale, the Battlefield Space would not perform drops across different celestial bodies.

Finding no conclusion, Lan Yi decided to descend and contact the others to see what they had discovered.