The Star-Sky Humans—the supreme life race of the present universe.
......
One of the three core halls at the heart of Human Territory—the Archaic Hall. Within the Passage of the Ninth Wastes, only boundless, pure white stretches as far as the eye can see. Its vast, ethereal aura reaches into the deepest recesses of the soul, carrying a higher, symbolic meaning.
"Archaic Hall."
"This is the core of Human Territory."
At this moment, Andrew Han walked forward with a look of reverence, his steps solemn and respectful.
The white passage stretched on endlessly, its length unfathomable.
All around was a vast, white world. Though hazy and indistinct, Andrew could vaguely sense that this passage had fixed boundaries.
"Approximately ten thousand and thirty-six meters high."
"The length is unknown and currently immeasurable. But the width matches the height." Andrew moved toward the left edge, reached the boundary of the passage, and tentatively touched the barrier twice.
The Passage of the Ninth Wastes, its length unknown, was perfectly square.
An unknown white substance coated the thin inner membrane lining the Passage of the Ninth Wastes.
"Hm?"
Andrew frowned slightly. As he touched the inner wall of the passage, the white membrane flickered with strange colors—multicolored patterns appeared one after another, dazzling phantoms faintly shining, but the changes were far too rapid.
It was as if, in a single instant—
—the entire saga of the Human Race’s rise through countless epochs was revealed!
With his current Starlight-tier life level, Andrew could not make out the details, let alone comprehend such profound information!
Inside the Passage of the Ninth Wastes, all was silent.
No sound, no life—only the vast, empty whiteness, with Andrew alone standing in a daze, touching the membrane of the inner wall.
"I can feel the will within it."
“Stronger than belief, purer than faith itself... The rise of the Star-Sky Human Race from insignificance to greatness must have been unimaginably difficult.” Andrew mused inwardly, reaching out to touch the inner wall again. Instantly, the phantom symbols flashed into view once more.
He still couldn't make out the details.
"Never mind," he thought.
"There will be another chance in the future."
Andrew gazed at the white inner wall for a while before continuing forward.
He wore a creamy-white short-sleeved shirt that complemented the pure white corridor, with seven neat blue stripes on the shoulders, each containing colorful threads... At a glance, they formed the names of Andrew Han and Zhang Meng.
It was a custom-made couple’s outfit.
Andrew strode forward in simple clothes brought from blue Earth, each step covering two or three thousand meters. Yet, even straining his eyes, he couldn't see the end.
"Wait, am I on the right path?"
Andrew rubbed his chin, looking ahead, then glanced back: "I don't think I've gone the wrong way."
He had to admit, the Passage of the Ninth Wastes was truly long.
Its length exceeded normal imagination; even walking slowly, he had covered over a million meters... He had no choice but to speed up.
Step by step, Andrew quickened his pace, then broke into a run, finally shrouded in cyan starlight, dashing forward like a volcanic eruption.
In the blink of an eye, he had crossed a million meters!
Maybe it was three minutes, maybe thirty. Having grown used to the endless pure white and heightened senses, he instantly noticed the subtle change in light. He pressed on, and after about half a minute, finally saw the exit of the Passage of the Ninth Wastes.
Whoosh!
The world before him grew vivid, bursting with color.
The white membrane of the inner wall turned fiery red. At first it was a faint red, then deepened, finally becoming an endlessly burning, blazing red hue.
"This is the end of the Passage of the Ninth Wastes."
Andrew looked ahead, finally letting out a sigh of relief. For a moment, he thought he had missed the exit, having brushed past it in an instant.
Fortunately.
Far ahead, almost unimaginably distant.
A colossal, radiant circular gate stood tall and imposing.
Without further delay, Andrew soared toward the giant gate. Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at the blazing red inner walls, pausing for a moment, awed and moved. 'It's not flame, not light—what burns here is pure color. Burning color itself, containing unimaginable power?'
He pressed onward!
Within the inner walls, countless swords stood upright!
They resembled the ancient martial swords of Earth, but their forms were more perfect, more attuned to the cosmic starry sky, radiating an impeccable, archaic aura. Andrew couldn't quite say what set them apart... but he felt that perhaps this was the ultimate evolution of the sword.
There were swords of grass and flower, swords of sand and stone, swords of gleaming metal.
Thunder forged into swords, oceans condensed into swords, even planetary crusts shaped into swords.
Light gathered into swords, vacuum formed into swords, whole planets transformed into swords.
Andrew had glimpsed the mysteries of the starry sky, but he could not comprehend the swords that lay beyond.
'Is my life-level not high enough?'
'Like a two-dimensional being witnessing a three-dimensional world?'
Andrew stopped pondering and continued onward, unperturbed.
This was the Archaic Hall of the Human Race; no matter how mysterious, nothing here was truly surprising. If he, Andrew Han, a mere Starlight-tier, could understand it all, that would be strange indeed.
According to rumor...
The true powerhouses of the Human Race could seize the sun and moon with ease.
'To grasp a star in one's hand.'
'Ordinary Stellar Palace-tiers could never enter the heart of a star; only Void Rift-tiers could withstand its cosmic furnace... Then, what sort of life-level would it take to lift a star bare-handed?' Andrew wondered, thinking if he might one day reach such heights himself.
The thought flickered and vanished without a trace.