Chapter 80 – Balance

Within the Youying Academy, chaos reigned supreme, the air thick with the scent of roasted mushrooms.

Azure Dragon flew low as Yun Xiguang gazed at the ground below, where ruins of the academy lay scattered amidst charred mycelium, red, seared giant shrimp, and vast patches of mushrooms.

Seeing these mushrooms, Yun Xiguang couldn’t help but recall the local mushroom hotpot they had during their field trip to Southern Province.

“The mushroom hotpots of Southern Province were truly delicious. When I traveled to Southern Province back then, I had a taste of the local mushroom hotpot. Even though I ended up hospitalized due to food poisoning afterward, I still remember the flavor vividly,” a mature and steady voice sounded from behind Yun Xiguang.

Yun Xiguang turned to Qin Shu. If it hadn’t been for his immunity to food poisoning, he might have thought those words came from his own mouth.

Qin Shu met Yun Xiguang’s gaze and laughed dryly. “I was just trying to lighten the mood.”

Bai Ze said, “In such a serious situation, remain vigilant and don’t let your guard down.”

Qin Shu felt somewhat embarrassed, assuring them repeatedly that he wouldn’t be thinking about eating mushrooms anymore.

Yun Xiguang rubbed his nose sheepishly, thinking how fortunate he was not to have voiced those thoughts aloud, or else he too would have been lectured by Bai Ze.

Their current leader was Bai Ze, whose precognition ability helped them avoid danger by guiding everyone along the safest path toward the phoenix feather’s location.

As a result, the route they took was the one with the most casualties.

Azure Dragon looked at the eerie corpses on the ground and sighed. “The power of modern weapons is truly terrifying. If I were to take a direct hit from such an attack, even if I didn’t die, I’d lose half my life. Thankfully, spirit beasts have some special abilities; otherwise, ordinary spirit beasts would stand no chance against modern weapons.”

Bai Ze replied, “Modern weapons also possess many special powers. For instance, the Snow Wolf’s invisibility can’t escape detection by radar, and the Golden-Winged Great Peng’s flight speed has long been surpassed by rockets.”

Azure Dragon recalled events from the past. “Over a hundred years ago, when I fought alongside Yun Guanyue, the weapons weren’t as fearsome. Spirit beasts still held an advantage over modern weapons. But now, apart from us divine beasts, other ordinary spirit beasts struggle to stand up against modern weapons.”

“Even divine beasts find it difficult to withstand artillery fire,” Bai Ze added. “I once watched a movie called ‘Godzilla,’ where the monster’s strength wasn’t far from that of a divine beast, yet it still perished under gunfire.”

Azure Dragon said, “Actually, I’ve always felt that the Yun family’s mindset is too antiquated. Their thinking remains rooted in the Spiritbond World. They believe that as long as they possess the power of spirit beasts, they can rule this country, even the entire human race. However, even if their formation had succeeded, the country could have easily wiped them out.”

Bai Ze also mentioned, “Recently, I’ve been studying quantum mechanics and suddenly realized that my precognition ability might be a form of observation of the particle world. Perhaps there are countless futures, and once I observe one, it collapses into reality. So it’s not that I foresee the future, but my observation fixes the uncertain future in place. According to this theory, if humans one day can observe a more distant particle world, my precognition ability won’t be unique anymore.”

Azure Dragon continued, “After leaving the Yun family, I also learned about the theory of quantum entanglement. I think the Five Heart Connection of the Golden-Winged Great Peng is actually a manifestation of quantum entanglement. Our special abilities as spirit beasts have been mostly demystified by modern science.”

Bai Ze agreed, “Spirit bonding itself is an application of quantum entanglement within the Spiritbond World.”

Yun Xiguang remained silent.

His understanding of physics paled in comparison to the two divine beasts!

Azure Dragon and Bai Ze, upon witnessing the damage modern weapons inflicted upon the mushroom monsters, couldn’t help but relate it to themselves, feeling a sense of shared fate.

Chi Qiong, observing the destruction caused by missiles, tilted his head and emitted a questioning chirp. “Chirp?”

Chi Qiong, both powerful and all-knowing, had never before expressed such confusion.

Bai Ze translated, “The Supreme Deity is asking when human technology developed to such a degree. He wonders why, after billions of years, when humans were nothing more than beasts with awakened minds, they transformed so drastically in mere centuries.”

After translating, Bai Ze added his own thoughts. “This is my first encounter with the power of modern weapons. I’ve heard that there are even stronger weapons than these missiles. I feel that soon, aside from the two Supreme Deities and Zhulong, the rest of the spirit beasts will no longer be a match for human technology.”

Yun Xiguang answered Chi Qiong, “It began with the First Industrial Revolution. Human technology reached new heights, marking a distinct departure from the past. Science propelled every industry forward at an unprecedented pace, with new technologies emerging daily.”

Chi Qiong heard a familiar yet alien term — Industrial Revolution.

He remembered when Yun Xiguang had told him about the history of the Spiritbond World, mentioning that the awakening of the first spirit beast could be traced back to the time of the First Industrial Revolution.

Chi Qiong spread his wings and flew to face Yun Xiguang, chirping once again while gently touching Yun Xiguang’s forehead with his beak.

Both the spirit beast and Yun Xiguang heard Chi Qiong’s words: “The reason spirit beasts fell into slumber was that their existence excessively consumed the world’s spiritual energy. Over time, other living beings would lack the essential spiritual energy to survive. Thus, Heavenly Law ordered the spirit beasts to sleep, aiding the growth of all life.

“After thousands of years of slumber, shortly after the arrival of the First Industrial Revolution, the spirit beasts began to awaken one by one.

“After awakening, the spirit beasts didn’t receive Heavenly Law’s acknowledgment; instead, they faced Heavenly Fire. Why did they awaken?”

After a moment of contemplation, Bai Ze responded, “I can’t speak for other spirit beasts, but I awakened due to a command from deep within my soul.”

“Command?” Yun Xiguang found Bai Ze’s explanation odd.

Bai Ze nodded. “Indeed. Other spirit beasts may not have felt it, awakening in a state of ignorance. However, I can glimpse the workings of Heaven. Whether sleeping or awakening, I sensed a command, and these two are fundamentally linked.”

Now, Yun Xiguang was perplexed. He asked, “If Heavenly Law commanded the spirit beasts to awaken, only to attack them with Heavenly Fire afterward, doesn’t that mean Heavenly Law wants you dead?”

Bai Ze smiled, unsurprised. “Heavenly Law doesn’t merely want spirit beasts dead; it wants all living creatures dead.”

Yun Xiguang recalled that Chi Qiong had mentioned that after the spirit beasts awakened sequentially and most were devoured by Heavenly Fire, his strength far surpassed that of the ancient era.

Yun Xiguang pieced together all the clues and analyzed, “After the death of the spirit beasts, their spiritual energy returned to the phoenix feather, and the Law utilized the phoenix feather’s power to attempt annihilation. It made the spirit beasts awaken in batches, eliminating them one by one until the phoenix feather’s spiritual energy reached a level capable of destroying the world. So the Law’s intention to destroy the world didn’t begin when the spiritual energy was nine-tenths depleted; rather, it started from the moment the first spirit beast awakened. It was preparing for destruction from the very beginning, wasn’t it?”

Azure Dragon said, “In reality, the surviving spirit beasts were few. None of the truly powerful ancient great demons survived. I am merely a descendant of Azure Dragon. The true Four Ancient Divine Beasts — Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Black Tortoise, and Vermillion Bird — all perished.”

Bai Ze added, “None of the ancient great demons like Taotie, Pixiu, Kunpeng, and Golden Crow survived. We, the so-called ‘divine beasts’ who lived through, were the weakest among them in the ancient times. It seems the Law’s desire to destroy the world was far earlier than we imagined. When did it start planning for destruction?”

Yun Xiguang suggested, “Perhaps it was when the first spirit beast awakened.”

A historical term appeared simultaneously in everyone’s minds — the First Industrial Revolution.

They all harbored suspicions but hesitated to voice them.

Only Chi Qiong, unafraid of the Law, pecked Yun Xiguang’s forehead, spreading his thoughts. “Just as the reason for making spirit beasts fall asleep, the Law assessed that human strength would eventually far exceed the entire ecosystem, becoming an imbalanced factor. Therefore, it chose to reestablish a balanced world.”

Bai Ze said, “The Law sees much further than I do. From the onset of the First Industrial Revolution, it foresaw the advancement of human technology and began preparations early.”

Yun Xiguang remarked, “Humans aren’t actually that powerful. Currently, our exploitation of Earth is less than one percent, and there are still many regions inaccessible to humanity. The dream of reaching space is challenging to achieve in today’s society. Even a powerful nuclear bomb can only scratch the surface of the Earth. We aren’t as strong as we imagine, and humans strive to coexist harmoniously with nature.”

Using such reasons for destruction, Yun Xiguang found it hard to accept.

Chi Qiong, however, understood the Law best. He imparted knowledge to everyone. “The focus isn’t on the extent of destruction humans can cause. The Law never cares about the survival or extinction of certain or several life groups. Instead, it’s about balance, a balance of rules and systems.”

Bai Ze added, “Like how fish cannot live outside water, or terrestrial creatures cannot fly into the sky, these are systems, these are balances. But now, any human can board an airplane and soar through the skies, or dive into the ocean depths via a submarine. Moreover, humans can defy Earth’s gravity and venture into outer space.

“This isn’t a fleeting surge of strength possessed by a unique individual within a species, but rather, every single member of your human species challenges the limits of the system on a collective scale.”

Azure Dragon observed, “In ancient times, human lifespans barely exceeded thirty years, and those who reached seventy were few and far between. Nowadays, thirty is merely the beginning of life.”

“If it was only an individual’s change, it wouldn’t attract the Law’s attention. But humans, through technology, disseminated abilities that were once exclusive to extremely rare individuals across the entire population, disrupting the system on a massive scale,” Bai Ze explained.

Yun Xiguang murmured, “The first spirit beast sent by Youying aimed to destroy all human civilization. Had we failed to thwart the bookworm’s plan back then, allowing it to devour all human texts and obliterate all civilization and technology, would the Law still have destroyed the world?”

Chi Qiong replied, “Most likely not. Youying’s strategy was to cut off the fuel supply, aiming to extinguish the Law’s intent to destroy the world from its roots.”

Qin Shu asked, “Does that mean that Bai Ze risking his life to make a prediction, and Yun Xiguang and others desperately subduing the bookworm, inadvertently thwarted Youying’s plan to save the world, pushing humanity to the brink of destruction?”

His words left everyone silent, even Yun Xiguang pondering the question seriously.

Seeing Yun Xiguang’s dejected expression, Chi Qiong pecked his cheek unhappily.

Yun Xiguang was always resolute and steadfast. Chi Qiong didn’t wish to see him in a negative state.

Yun Xiguang lifted his head from his reverie, catching sight of the little spirit bird’s lively appearance. Memories of the events since meeting Chi Qiong flashed through his mind. In just three months, he experienced more happiness than in the previous ten years combined.

He smiled in relief, refuting Qin Shu’s words. “Once, I could have chosen a different path, one easier and smoother, without becoming a Spiritbond Master. But I couldn’t accept my parents being forgotten by others and couldn’t bear to watch cherished memories fade away.

“Humans have come this far, and civilization is the soul of humanity. Without civilization, the human race is nothing but a collection of walking corpses, no different from extinction.”

“Chirp!” Seeing Yun Xiguang regain his spirit, Chi Qiong chirped loudly.

With his “chirp,” he conveyed to all living beings, “Without joy and sorrow, without a soul, and without a name, I am no different from Youying. Even if I must die, I will perish under the name of Chi Qiong, not living aimlessly as a mere orb.”

Chi Qiong was telling everyone that Yun Xiguang’s decision to eliminate the bookworm and preserve human civilization was right!