The vast cathedral hall gradually fell silent as everyone focused their attention on the man floating above them.
City Lord Han Wuchen slowly scanned the crowd of young faces. Some were nervous, some excited, and others looked determined. For many of them, this day would determine the course of their entire lives.
He spoke calmly, his deep voice echoing across the hall.
"Before the awakening ceremony begins, there are a few things all of you must understand about the world you live in."
He paused briefly.
"Tell me… do any of you know why the current year is called 1040 A.S.?"
The young people looked at each other in confusion. Most of them shook their heads.
City Lord Han nodded slightly.
"A.S. stands for After Source."
He raised one hand slowly as if pointing toward the sky.
"Exactly one thousand and forty years ago, a massive meteoroid struck the Blue Star."
"The impact was unlike anything humanity had ever witnessed. But the true catastrophe did not come from the collision itself."
"It came from what was inside the meteoroid."
A faint murmur spread through the crowd.
City Lord Han continued.
"From that meteoroid, a strange and unknown energy began spreading throughout the entire planet."
"That energy is what we now call Source Energy."
"Within only a few years, Source Energy filled every corner of the Earth — the mountains, the oceans, the forests, and even the atmosphere itself."
His voice grew heavier.
"And that was when humanity's nightmare truly began."
"Animals absorbed the Source Energy and began mutating."
"Plants absorbed it as well."
"What were once ordinary creatures transformed into Demonic Beasts and Demonic Plants."
Some of the youths shivered unconsciously.
"Those creatures became incredibly powerful. Their bodies hardened, their instincts sharpened, and their strength increased beyond anything humans had ever seen."
"And they began attacking human civilization."
City Lord Han's expression became solemn.
"Cities were destroyed."
"Nations collapsed."
"Humanity was pushed to the brink of extinction."
The hall became completely silent.
"In the beginning, humans had no way to fight back."
"We used our most powerful weapons — missiles, tanks, and even nuclear weapons."
"But they were not enough."
"Many of the Demonic Beasts were strong enough to survive explosions that could destroy entire cities."
"And the more humanity attacked them…"
"…the faster they mutated."
City Lord Han shook his head slightly.
"For a time, it truly seemed as if the human race would disappear from the planet."
"But then something unexpected happened."
His voice became calmer again.
"Humans also began to awaken the power of Source Energy."
"Some people discovered they could absorb this mysterious energy and strengthen their bodies."
"Others awakened special abilities."
"With these abilities, humans finally gained the power to fight back against the Demonic Beasts."
"That was the beginning of the Great War between humanity and the Demonic Beasts."
The young people listened carefully, completely absorbed in his story.
"As the war continued, humans slowly adapted to this new world."
"Warriors learned how to cultivate Source Energy."
"Powerful techniques were created and passed down through generations."
"Cities were rebuilt, protected by powerful awakeners."
"And eventually… humanity managed to stop the total destruction of our civilization."
City Lord Han raised a finger slightly.
"But do not misunderstand."
"This war has never ended."
He gestured toward the distant horizon beyond the city walls.
"Even today, battles against Demonic Beasts occur every single day across the world."
"We have simply reached a temporary balance."
"Humans are not strong enough to completely wipe out the Demonic Beasts."
"And the Demonic Beasts are not strong enough to completely destroy humanity."
"That is why the war has reached a stalemate."
A few of the youths swallowed nervously.
City Lord Han continued.
"At the very top of the power hierarchy are the Great Emperor Level beings."
"Both humans and Demonic Beasts possess warriors at that level."
"Currently, there exists an unspoken agreement."
"No Great Emperor level beings from either side will fight directly against each other."
"If such a battle were to occur, the destruction could wipe out entire continents."
"Instead, most of the large-scale battles occur between Saint-level and Emperor-level warriors."
He sighed slightly.
"However… there is still a major problem."
"The number of Demonic Beasts is far greater than the number of humans."
"Even though human warriors are usually stronger than Demonic Beasts at the same level, the enemy still has an advantage in numbers."
"For example, a Tenth Tier human warrior can typically defeat two or even three Tenth Tier Demonic Beasts."
"In simple terms, the combat ratio between humans and Demonic Beasts is roughly one to three."
Many of the youths looked surprised.
City Lord Han continued speaking.
"Currently, humanity is divided into several nations that work together to resist the Demonic Beast threat."
"There are five Great Nations and approximately twenty smaller nations."
"The five Great Nations are the Dragon Nation, Bear Nation, Eagle Nation, Tiger Nation, and Sakura Nation."
"They are called Great Nations because each of them possesses at least one Great Emperor Level warrior."
He slowly raised seven fingers.
"Across all human nations combined, there are currently seven Great Emperor Level warriors."
"Two belong to the Eagle Nation."
"Two belong to the Bear Nation."
"The Dragon Nation, Tiger Nation, and Sakura Nation each have one Great Emperor warrior."
He paused briefly.
"The Eagle Nation and Bear Nation maintain a strong alliance."
"The Dragon Nation, Tiger Nation, and Sakura Nation also cooperate closely with each other."
"The smaller nations generally support one side or the other, but in the end, all human nations share the same goal."
"To survive."
"To protect humanity from extinction."
City Lord Han's expression darkened slightly.
"Unfortunately, the situation is not entirely favorable for humanity."
"There are currently twelve Great Emperor Level Demonic Beasts."
A wave of uneasy whispers spread across the crowd.
"That means the Demonic Beasts possess five more Great Emperor level beings than humanity."
"That difference is extremely dangerous."
"That is why the cultivation of new warriors is so important."
City Lord Han's gaze swept across the crowd again.
"Your generation… the younger generation… may eventually produce the next Great Emperor."
"If you are given enough time — perhaps thirty or forty years — some of you may reach the Emperor Level."
"And if humanity is fortunate…"
"…perhaps one among you could become a Great Emperor."
Many of the youths straightened their backs proudly when they heard those words.
However, Du Shentian remained calm.
He's only saying that to encourage us, Du Shentian thought.
Everyone knows that reaching the Great Emperor level requires extraordinary talent and time.
The youngest known Great Emperor in history had reached that level at nearly ninety years old.
Most Great Emperors were even older than 100 years old.
Human Great Emperors typically lived for around two hundred years.
In contrast, many Great Emperor Demonic Beasts could survive for over a thousand years.
Three hundred years ago, there had once been thirteen Great Emperor level Demonic Beasts.
At that time, humanity had gathered nine Great Emperor warriors and launched a massive joint operation.
They had successfully killed one Great Emperor Beast.
But the victory came at an unimaginable cost.
The other Great Emperor Beasts retaliated immediately.
During that battle, humanity lost four Great Emperor warriors.
Since that day, humans had never managed to kill another Great Emperor Beast again.
The price was simply too high.
City Lord Han raised his hand again.
"Now let us talk about abilities."
"Human abilities are divided into nine ranks."
"From lowest to highest, they are ranked F, E, D, C, B, A, S, SS, and SSS."
He paused slightly.
"However, the SSS Rank is generally considered a myth."
"There has never been a confirmed case of someone awakening an SSS Rank ability in the entire history of humanity."
"The highest confirmed rank ever awakened by humans is S Rank."
"The rank of your ability determines your cultivation potential."
"In simple terms, the higher your ability rank, the faster you will grow stronger."
"For example, if someone awakens an F Rank ability, it may take them around one month of cultivation to advance from an unawakened human to the Awakener Stage."
"But someone with an E Rank ability may only need two weeks to reach the same stage."
"The difference becomes even more significant at higher levels."
"That is why ability rank is considered extremely important."
Du Shentian silently clenched his fists.
I need a high-rank ability.
Only then will I be able to grow stronger fast enough.
Only then can I protect the Ashfall family…
And cure Brother Liang's legs.
City Lord Han looked at the crowd one last time.
"Well then."
"I believe you all understand the importance of today."
His voice became firm.
"The awakening ceremony will now begin."
A large circular array carved into the floor began to glow faintly.
Powerful lines of energy slowly lit up across the platform.
City Lord Han gestured toward the array.
"Form a line."
"Step into the awakening array one by one."
"And discover the power that will shape your future."
The young people quickly formed a line.
Excitement.
Fear.
Hope.
All kinds of emotions filled the air.
Du Shentian quietly stepped forward with the others.
Today…
His fate would finally begin to change.
End of Ch 4
Author's Note
This is my first novel, so there may be mistakes along the way. Please feel free to point them out so I can improve.
Also, English is not my first language, so there might be some inconsistencies.
Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy the story!