Chapter 63: Chapter 57: Revival of Spiritual Qi
During lunch, the students looked at Su Yue with a clear sense of awe.
Especially Liao Ji, who kept calling him "class leader" with quite a secretary-like tone.
Su Yue reminded him that he could challenge him at the end of the month.
Liao Ji, with a forced smile, said he preferred to be second-in-command and had no interest in the highest class position.
Sigh.
Not a single one capable of fighting.
It’s so easy to establish my kingdom here, no challenge at all.
In the afternoon class, Dai Yuegui brought a slide presentation.
There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and the sun was scorching like poison, almost peeling skin.
No wonder the previous batch of graduates looked so tanned.
With the precedent of the push-ups, no one dared to speak out of turn.
Dai Yuegui truly was a cunning old fox; to ensure the slides were clear, he found a shady spot. There was even a melon to eat while the students could only bask in the sun and swallow saliva.
The most annoying thing was the oyster sauce squishing as they ate the melon.
"Instructor, do we get to eat melon?"
A student couldn’t help but ask.
"You can lick the melon rind."
Dai Yuegui sneered.
"Liao Ping, I advise you to be reserved and not actually lick the watermelon rind."
Liao Ji glanced venomously.
"Quiet, everyone stop talking, the more you say the more you’ll drool."
Su Yue’s head was steaming; he almost wanted to lick the melon rind.
"But, that melon was chilled; would licking it feel cool and sweet?"
Liao Ping swallowed.
"I told you to stop, now I can’t get the image out of my head."
Liao Ji glared angrily.
...
The first image in the slide appeared.
It wasn’t a wetland, nor a battlefield, but a gray wall.
On the wall were countless photos, some of very young people, others of those already old.
The black-and-white photos made it very oppressive.
Page turn.
As the camera pulled back, the originally huge wall turned out to be covered with photos from top to bottom, neatly arranged like an infantry phalanx.
The third page, the camera pulled back further.
This was a very large room, and there were hundreds of such walls, like library shelves.
All the walls were filled with black-and-white photos.
The atmosphere froze instantly.
Everyone knew those black-and-white photos were used to commemorate the dead.
"This is the Hall of Heroes at the Governor’s Mansion of Renqing Province.
"Martial Artists from Renqing Province who died in the wetlands have their photos hung in the Hall of Heroes.
"The images just now showed the number of Martial Artists from Renqing Province who died in the wetlands over 270 years... a total of 1,374,329 people.
"This does not include natural deaths, nor does it include Martial Artists who died on Earth.
"The total number of Martial Artist deaths in Renqing Province over 270 years is about over 2 million. Of these, two-thirds died in the wetlands. The remaining third includes many retired Martial Artists who, due to lifelong injuries and disabilities, could never return to the wetlands.
"This is just Renqing Province, a province with a population count considered lower tier in terms of death toll.
"In the Divine Land, over 140 million Martial Artists have died in the wetlands.
"Rough estimates indicate that in 270 years, over 500 million Martial Artists have died globally."
Once Dai Yuegui finished, the atmosphere became even more tense.
It’s said that Martial Artists can live healthily to over 100 years old, yet in 270 years, so many have died.
You must understand that Martial Artists comprise a very small percentage of the global population.
"Instructor, what about 270 years ago? Did even more die?"
After a moment of dead silence, Liao Ji asked.
"Before explaining that, let me tell you the concept of wetlands.
"Before the 22nd century, there were no Martial Artists on Earth, and the ancestors at that time were primarily guided by technology.
"Of course, according to historical records, the technology of the 22nd century was not much higher than that of the 21st century; it’s said that technology had hit a ceiling.
"The limited resources of Earth couldn’t allow technological advancement, so they began exploring the universe endlessly. But the universe simply wasn’t like the images through telescopes."
"The barrier between Earth and the universe is not just the atmosphere, there are many mysterious realms.
"In the more ancient 21st century, Earth’s space exploration could only undertake some physical level explorations, and at that time everything was peaceful.
"A fish, if it can only jump out of the water for a second, will perceive that second as the whole world. It would think that the world outside the water consists only of air and soil. But it has no idea that on the ground, there exists magma, grassland, swamps, trees, and even various carnivorous animals.
"People of the 21st century on Earth are like that fish.
"The moment they leaped, they saw stars and deep space and assumed the entire universe was just these lifeless planets.
"In the 22nd century, they mastered higher aerospace technology, could stay in space longer, and then, that fish would greedily explore further.
"However, this poor fish finally attracted the attention of predatory animals."
Dai Yuegui’s voice was cold.
"Besides stars and void, is there anything else in the universe?"
Gong Ling couldn’t help but ask.
In the realm of humanities, their knowledge actually remained in the 21st century.
"Your thinking is like that fish jumping up.
"You can only see stars and void, just like the fish can only see soil and air.
"Do beasts, trees, steel cities, cars, and planes not exist just because the fish can’t see them?"
Gong Ling said nothing.
She couldn’t refute.
"Anyway, in the 22nd century, Earthlings did draw in, let’s call it a ’monster’.
"It could create a portal on any land on Earth, and through this portal, mighty creatures would come to slaughter humans.
"These portals would even assess where activity was most frequent and would only appear in populous cities.
"From the end of the 22nd century, creatures from within the portals began slaughtering humans, they consumed human hearts raw, which seemingly made them stronger.
"By just the early 23rd century, Earth’s population had reduced by two-thirds, it is said that Earth’s population had already exceeded ten billion by that time.
"In the era of the ancestors, there were no Martial Artists, the strongest athletes and special forces soldiers at the time were only equivalent to students with 7 to 8-card strength, unable to stop the flood-like Martial Artist-level alien creatures.
"The human race completely became food."
Dai Yuegui recounted this ancient history with a heavy expression.
"Instructor, it’s said that ancient ancestors’ thermal weapons were very powerful, even the Grandmasters couldn’t stop them, right?"
Zhou Yuncan asked.
"You’re not wrong, in the 22nd century, thermal weapons could kill Grandmasters, and initially, indeed killed many powerful alien creatures.
"But humanity at the time wasn’t as relaxed as imagined, no matter how strong thermal weapons were, they were still weapons, and the stronger they were, the more complex the operation procedures.
"Moreover, you need to understand, thermal weapons have a fatal shortcoming, they are easily stolen, and can be interfered with by the environment, causing friendly fire more easily. Thermal weapons are a double-edged sword, and the wielder was as weak as a baby.
"Alien creatures with combat power comparable to high-level Martial Artists could easily seize the ancestors’ thermal weapons, can you imagine such a dire situation?
"Ancestors could only hide in bunkers, shooting from helicopters, while alien creatures could stride the skies, using all sorts of cannons without regard for recoil. Moreover, aliens could easily hide among ordinary people, taking officials, politicians, and ordinary people hostage; could the military fire recklessly then?
"Alien creatures are not beasts; they are another form of ’people’, just developed in a manner different from the ancestors, their intelligence is not inferior to humans, learning those simple firearms and thermal weapons isn’t difficult for them.
"And you overestimate the ancestors’ bravery; in the face of life threats, cowards will always appear.
"In the era of technology, the strongest weapon was none other than the nuclear bomb, but under the threat of alien creatures, some disgruntled rebel nations even became accomplices, helping the alien creatures build nuclear bombs.
"Alien creatures, with their ghostly body techniques and speed, could move freely to various places, humans were already as weak as babies, once weapons were all taken, what would the outcome be?
"The greatest mass extinction resulted from that catastrophe.
"But fortunately, at that time the portal to the wet realm opened, Earth also gained Spiritual Qi, and some Earth Martial Artists began to awaken, the mid-23rd century was also called the era of spiritual energy resurgence.
"At that time, Earth almost became a breeding ground for alien creatures, an era of unrelenting destruction. This first group of rising Martial Artists secretly united with scientists to create the largest scale of destructive weapons in history.
In that battle, Earth obliterated most alien creatures with a mindset of mutual destruction, but humanity also suffered massive deaths, near extinction, the last batch of scientists almost entirely perishing in the alien creatures’ counterattack.
"From then on, researchers proficient in firearms and data, as well as some blueprints and information on firearms, were destroyed in the war, which is the fundamental reason why thermal weapons nearly went extinct in the following centuries.
"After the 22nd century, history was shattered, conversely, the culture of the 21st century was archived and preserved by some forward-thinking individuals at the time.
"Everything you are in contact with now is actually the cultural heritage of the 21st century, including the Emo culture, and the ’mouth-pout-pout’ ringtone on your phones."
Dai Yuegui said.
"Won’t the alien creatures in the wet realm go back and develop thermal weapons, and then turn them on Earth Martial Artists?"
Zhou Yuncan asked again.
"Impossible.
"The reason the wet realm is called the wet realm is that the humidity inside is several times that of Earth, any electrical system cannot stabilize voltage, and computers brought to the wet realm simply cannot turn on.
"Moreover, firearms in the wet realm lose the effects of gunpowder and friction due to gravity, air humidity, and visibility, turning directly into useless sticks.
"The wet realm is another world, many mysterious things cannot be explained by science, thermal weapons have very limited effects, much weaker than you imagine. And there’s no need for you to yearn too much for the ancestors’ thermal weapons, after all, humans always like to tirelessly praise lost things."
"Don’t say precision firearms, even ordinary cold weapons, and even plastic must be wrapped in oil paper and wiped at all times, otherwise they easily mildew and corrode.
"Besides, you are also Martial Artists, you should know that Martial Artists don’t have time to research those. After all, aliens still believe their own power is the orthodox, firearms are too complicated.
"After the resurgence of Spiritual Qi, Earth fully entered the era of the Martial Artist."
...
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