Chapter 402: Approaching (Two-in-One)

In the ancient lava world, oceans covered a vast portion of the planet, so immense that they could truly be called boundless seas.

As the world continued to expand limitlessly, Xu Zhi's initial "South-to-North Water Diversion" project, using water from his own tap to form this ocean, was no longer sufficient. He once traveled to an ocean and "stole" a vast amount of seawater to irrigate this land.

To this day, the largest ocean alone rivals the size of three ancient worlds, spanning over 300 mu, truly earning the name "sea world."

Meanwhile, the lava land, incredibly enclosed, maintains its own self-sustaining water cycle, with vapor evaporating and precipitating. Xu Zhi has rarely needed to replenish water over the years, yet it sustains a thriving ecological civilization.

On this vast expanse of land, civilization has fully blossomed. In the immense and mysterious ocean, the seemingly frail Naga race has unexpectedly risen to prominence, conquering various marine beast species. They have transitioned from an era of marine pastoralism into an era of ocean city-states.

Beautiful coral cities, one after another, shimmer faintly beneath the waves.

The central ocean city-state, Kowidias, signifies "the world's center" or "God's kingdom" in the Naga language.

On streets paved with shells, red coral lined both sides, while luminous pearls glowed like lamps. Merfolk, riding seahorses and walruses, carrying bone tridents, moved back and forth.

Inside a spherical air bubble, a handsome Ishudar walked along the street, touring this unique, exotic civilization.

"The world is vast, with thirteen immense and boundless domains. This time, I've come to the Water Blue Domain to trade for some unique marine treasures."

"The Sea Naga race suddenly rose to prominence within fifty or sixty years. A brilliant and ambitious monarch, Emperor Hailan Dong, emerged among them. He fought relentlessly, enduring countless deaths and tribal wars, ultimately unifying the Naga. He then led his once weak people from a pastoral era to an agricultural one, and now into an era of city-states, beginning to conquer various marine beasts. However, their society remains a feudal monarchy with prevalent slavery..."

Even the Ishudars greatly admired this monarch emperor, who was passionate and righteous. His life and his love remained unwavering until death.

"This monarch emperor is powerful and has an extraordinary demeanor, but in the end, he yielded and engaged in equal communication with us."

It must be said that the Ishudars' aesthetic nature led them to maintain a relatively harmonious attitude toward the Sea Naga civilization. They also respected all intelligent races, engaging with them from their elevated position, observing them from above.

This was their pride, and they possessed the confidence to back it up.

The Sea Naga civilization, for its part, was unwilling to become an enemy of this formidable race.

While their current forces were evenly matched—the Sea Naga possessed the immensely powerful Seventh-Tier Ocean Emperor Hailan Dong and had conquered several Heaven Emperor-level marine beasts as their guardian deities—it was only a matter of time before the Ishudars surpassed them.

"Sir, do you require a guide?"

"We can show you around!"

Countless Naga maidens approached him, eager to be his guide. Their eyes glowed with fervor; how could anyone in this world be born so beautiful?

The maidens of the Sea Naga greatly yearned to marry Ishudars, to gain access to their advanced civilization, and, upon marriage, to acquire citizenship and become part of the "God Race."

The God Race could arbitrarily modify the memories of other races, a terrifying ability. Only by holding "citizenship" could one establish a protective firewall within their own brain.

Surrounded by that chattering throng of maidens, a handsome man, shirtless, wearing a shell necklace and pearls dangling from his ears, with muscles like the golden ratio of a Norse god, stood in a corner, his eyes slightly closed.

"The Ishudars, Caroline, the perfect God Race..."

He was Hailan Dong. To have reached this point, he had suffered too many hidden injuries, and his life was nearing its end. He was deeply resentful, but what use was resentment?

"After I am gone, there will be no power left to resist. The trajectory of fate cannot be altered, even if I desire this world to be ruled by us, the Sea Naga!"

He returned to the Sea God's Temple.

This was an enormous, towering, and ethereal multicolored marine coral, with the ocean palace resting upon its various branches.

He sat upon his throne, stroking the dazzling marine gemstones on the armrest, surrounded by shell and delicate coral decorations. His expression was inevitably tinged with melancholy; he was dying, an unavoidable demise that even the most ambitious and brilliant ocean monarch emperor could not escape.

Suddenly, he saw a woman of pure beauty arrive: Princess Miko, the Great Princess of the Sea Naga, his wife, who had also shown him profound kindness and recognition.

When he was still a down-and-out youth, Princess Miko encountered him during a tribal hunting trip and fell in love at first sight. Against countless objections, the princess eloped with him. They endured countless pursuits and trials. To protect the woman he loved, he continuously grew stronger, finally reaching this day, ascending to the throne with honor and unparalleled martial prowess, and leading the marine tribes to develop their civilization.

"A life such as mine could truly be written into a magnificent biography."

Sea Naga Emperor Hailan Dong fell silent for a moment, then took the hand of his beloved woman and finally closed his eyes.

"Miko, my dearest girl, you who are pure and kind, I blazed a trail through countless challenges to reach this day, all to prove that your judgment was not mistaken... to make the world believe that your choice of me was the right one."

Hailan Dong whispered softly again, "Miko, after I die, surrender... surrender to the Ishudars. They are an invincible race, the God Race; no one can defeat them."

Hailan Dong gazed into the distance, as if remembering the day that changed their destiny: a beautiful princess in opulent attire eloping with a down-and-out youth from the slums, leaving the ocean and running swiftly along the beach.

The beach. The princess, the youth. That scene, the footprints on the sand, seemed etched into his memory for eternity.

"Having you, I am truly happy."

Hailan Dong finally closed his eyes, his memories slowly fading. A brilliant monarch emperor had passed away.

Woo!! The muffled groan of a silent conch horn vibrated through the seawater, echoing throughout the entire ocean city of Kowidias, as faint, ethereal singing drifted through the air.

"Oh vast water, when will you converge into the boundless spring, condensing into the ocean heart of all beings, allowing your ancient people to offer their devotion... Great Hailan Dong! You are our guiding light; all waters of the world exist because of you..."

In the ocean city, countless Ishudars looked up slightly.

They seemed to hear the lament of the entire Sea Naga race, that penetrating song spreading with the ocean's vibrations.

They clearly saw the weeping Naga Great Princess embracing the body of Ocean King Hailan Dong and ascending into the air, soaring like a meteor across the entire ocean. She seemed to wear a multicolored butterfly cloak as she walked further and further away on the ocean's golden sands.

"Their king has fallen."

Yet, an unbelievable event occurred three days later: a miracle took place.

Hailan Dong returned, having lived a second life. A supreme ocean treasure named "Heart of the Ocean" now rested on his neck, but the Naga Great Princess had vanished without a trace.

"That crystal is a magic core, is it Great Princess Miko's magic core?"

People rumored that their love had moved the Sea God.

The Naga Great Princess had prayed to the Sea God, sacrificing her own life to secure Hailan Dong's second rebirth. In turn, Hailan Dong wore the princess's magic core around his neck, commemorating their eternal love.

After a near-death experience, Naga Sea Tribe Emperor Hailan Dong lived a second life. Restored to his youth, he displayed great ambition and strategic brilliance, seemingly putting aside his grief over his wife's death. He once again embodied the courageous and passionate ocean monarch of his youth, leading the Naga race to continue developing their civilization!

Three years passed.

Hailan Dong attempted to develop technology, specifically trying to emulate the Ishudars by creating his own "divine language."

However, he discovered that their technology was vastly inferior to the Ishudars'. Though they managed to create their own language and alter their life codes, these could still be easily deciphered by the God Race. Their brains, in essence, held no secrets from them!

Another thirteen years passed.

"Caroline, leading the top Ishudar scientists, has gone to an unknown world?"

"This is an opportunity."

His expression was grave, his eyes gleaming with fierce ambition. He chose to challenge Fenba, the most terrifying beast god on this land, reputed to possess the strongest power.

Fenba resided in his palace, still immersed in brain programming and playing games. Yet, even without actively cultivating, his power slowly increased with every passing moment. Having never formally cultivated, he had already reached the most formidable peak in the world.

This was the strongest being on land!

This fierce struggle, a great battle, lasted seven days and seven nights. On that day, Hailan Dong returned bathed in blood, holding Fenba's head.

Just as the Ishudars believed Hailan Dong was preparing to declare war on them, after several months of studying Fenba's magic core, Hailan Dong's battle intent, which had been stoked to its limits, inexplicably vanished. He immediately chose to surrender, declaring, "We, the Sea Naga, swear to never be enemies with the Ishudars for the rest of our lives!"

"This is a wise choice," the Ishudars remarked before departing.

No one among the Sea Naga high command understood why their ocean monarch, Hailan Dong, had made such a choice.

Inside the Sea God's Temple.

Hailan Dong closed his eyes slightly, the Heart of the Ocean crystal on his neck radiating love. A clear female voice suddenly emanated from his body, saying, "Hailan Dong, I finally understand. I cannot defeat them in your place. The only ones who can defeat this race are themselves!"

She suddenly chuckled to herself, recalling the past and remembering what came before.

"Seemingly, the youth eloped with the pure princess, blazing a trail through hardships and constantly growing stronger for their love, reaching this point. In reality, it was the princess who eloped with the pure youth, overcoming obstacles and constantly creating an environment for him to grow stronger for their love. She silently stood behind him, secretly eliminating his enemies and securing fortunate encounters for him, allowing him to gain endless glory and acquire the means to marry her."

Miko smiled, her expression gradually turning cold.

"Not every kind, great, and passionate hero can rise to power and survive until the end..."

She had remained behind the scenes, possessing the world's most acute intelligence, yet she had fallen in love with a simple, passionate youth. She eloped with him and sacrificed so much for him that, even today, she was willing to become another version of him, to live as him.

"In a sense, Caroline... you strive for your idol, Levi, and I live for my beloved, Hailan Dong. We are kindred spirits." She had initially desired a struggle between their races.

Her talent was in no way inferior to Caroline's.

Like Levi, she was a chosen one, born with perfect wisdom. Otherwise, she wouldn't have reached this point, nor would Hailan Dong have believed that he had achieved everything through his own efforts, thinking his wife was merely a simple, innocent maiden.

But now, she chose to abandon what was originally destined to be a fated conflict: a racial war!

"I sense destruction. Even hidden in the deep sea, we might not be spared."

She lowered her gaze and opened her palm, staring at Fenba's magic core that the Ishudars had taken. "This core, containing the most perfect life code, revealed a terrible secret to me."

"Caroline, your pride leads you to respect intelligent life; you didn't slaughter Fenba. Consequently, you don't understand the implications of tampering with and desecrating life... The entire Ishudar race will be destroyed because of this!"

"I cannot defeat you, nor do I need to. You will bring about your own destruction."

From then on, the Sea Naga fully retreated, choosing to coexist peacefully with the Ishudars.

Concurrently, they developed new technologies, maintaining peaceful coexistence with the Ishudars.

They studied the "divine script" system, yet they refused to transform their own civilized society. They continued to communicate orally, even rejecting the establishment of networks, thereby preserving a primitive societal civilization.

Each of their brains remained isolated, without mutual communication.

Moreover, their lack of communication and memory transfer prevented them from "inheriting wisdom." Consequently, they had to establish marine universities and various educational institutions to teach each new generation.

Furthermore, their primary discipline involved establishing a "divine consciousness barrier" or firewall within the brain, modifying the brain's original "C language," and reshaping the foundational programming that constitutes their life code.

They mandated that every adult citizen become a programming expert, skilled in establishing their own unique firewall language, ensuring that the brain language of each tribe member was one-of-a-kind.

This return to primitive methods left the Ishudars speechless, even finding it comical.

"No memory inheritance? Explicitly forbidden—brain bridging and communication between members of the race? When it's clearly possible to learn the knowledge of an entire civilization in just a minute, and a father could simply transmit it to his son, they insist on establishing schools for long, drawn-out learning."

"Every Sea Naga must establish a firewall to prevent external invasion? How ridiculous! Their rudimentary firewalls would be no match if we Ishudars truly intended to invade."

"By doing this, by not communicating and learning, and by remaining isolated, it will be difficult for them to progress."

The terrifying aspect of the Ishudars lay in their ability to connect online, allowing their scientists to perform "multi-core" derivations. The personal firewalls of the Sea Naga were like mere paper under the terrifying multi-core computational power of the Ishudars' combined and networked efforts.

Despite this, the Sea Naga remained stubborn.

Four years passed, and a war that had seemed imminent never broke out.

On this day, exhilarating news came from the Ishudars: Caroline had returned to the lava world with her mechanical spaceship, bringing a vast amount of data, enough to enable another significant breakthrough for the Ishudars.

Caroline sat atop a building, reviewing reports on the Sea Naga and their recent developments. Her expression subtly changed. "Prepare for me; I wish to visit the Sea Naga scientific civilization."

The surrounding Ishudars didn't understand why she wished to visit that insular marine civilization.

Nevertheless, they complied with Caroline's request.

Half a day later, Caroline met Hailan Dong. She immediately noticed that Hailan Dong had undergone a brain transplant, but it was irrelevant to her; she didn't care who was truly inhabiting the body.

"What did you discover?" Caroline asked.

"A destined destruction," Hailan Dong replied softly. "Do you recall Arthur, the genetically perfect infant from your past human experiments, who went berserk and killed people?"