Long River Eternity

The moment he saw those eyes, Lin Ding's soul seemed to be sucked into the endless universe, and then fell into darkness.

"Ah!" Lin Ding woke up from his dream with a scream.

"Where is this?" Lin Ding looked around, then saw Wei Wu sitting next to him and muttered to himself, "Wei Wu? I'm back?"

At this time, all the students in the carriage, including Director Tang, were startled by Lin Ding's shout and turned to look at him.

"You scared me. What's wrong? What do you mean you're back? Haven't you been sleeping?" Wei Wu was also awakened from his sleep. He rubbed his eyes and asked in a daze.

"I..." Lin Ding's thoughts had not yet completely emerged from the dream, and his expression seemed a little dazed.

Lin Ding shook his head, trying to wake himself up completely. Then he whispered to Wei Wu, "I had that strange dream again. This time, I lived in it for ten days. Everything was incredibly real. I dreamed of an ancient world with ancient people and flying immortals."

At this time, the classmates around found that there was nothing special and continued to do their own things. Only Director Tang kept paying attention to Lin Ding. When he heard Lin Ding talking about the ancient world and immortals, his expression was stunned and he seemed to be thinking about something.

"What immortals? From the ancient world? I think you've read too many novels and always have weird dreams." Wei Wu said indifferently.

"This doesn't feel like a dream at all, it's like a personal experience." Lin Ding whispered to himself.

Wei Wu didn't notice Lin Ding's words and continued to talk to himself: "Although you have been weak since childhood, which has led to slow progress in your cultivation, you can't indulge in novels because of this."

"Okay, although my cultivation is not high, I am the first in the grade in cultural subjects. How could I be addicted to novels?" Lin Ding said helplessly.

The convoy had stopped in a dense forest, and a two-story building loomed before them. Inscribed on the building were the words "Relic Research Institute No. 0." Director Tang stood up and said, "We're here. Everyone can get off now."

Soon, all the students in the four cars got out and lined up in front of the institute.

"This is the research institute dedicated to studying the artifacts unearthed from Ruins No. 0. Ruins No. 0 is located underground. Everyone, please enter the institute in an orderly manner. Do not make loud noises that will disturb the researchers inside," Director Tang instructed. He then said to Lin Ding, "Lin Ding, come to my side. Your realm is too low. The closer you get to the ruins, the denser the energy around you becomes. If you feel any discomfort, please let me know immediately."

After hearing this, Lin Ding stepped out of the group and walked to Director Tang, and entered the research institute with him.

The research institute is not big. The first thing that catches your eye is more than 20 scientific researchers operating various precision instruments and studying various materials at their workstations.

There are various items excavated from the ruins, including soil, stones, metal fragments, etc.

On the right is a staircase leading to the second floor. On the left is a passage leading to the next room. At the end of the laboratory, there is another staircase leading underground.

After Director Tang greeted the researchers who came out to receive them, he led everyone towards the stairs at the end.

During this period, although the students were curious about the things around them, they kept Director Tang's instructions in mind and just looked around at most, but remained quiet.

Director Tang led the students down the stairs to the underground, turning in the opposite direction every ten steps. They turned five times and were now about 5 meters underground.

Finally, under the dim light, a passageway emerged before everyone. Constructed of steel and concrete, it appeared far more sturdy than the typical structures. However, it now appeared exceptionally dilapidated. Time had not only left its mark, but the ceiling was riddled with cracks, some wide enough for a person to pass through. Vast quantities of soil had fallen through these cracks, nearly burying half the passageway. Thick pillars supported the roof, preventing it from collapsing.

"Don't touch anything inside. Follow me," Director Tang said to everyone, and then walked forward along the corridor.

As they walked, he explained to the students, "Plants and creatures that can survive the powerful energy within the ruins face various dangers. For years, these plants and animals have been forced to live within the ruins, so they haven't been cleared. Some plants are beneficial, while others are highly poisonous, including the insects here. They all hold immense research value."

Following Director Tang's explanation, everyone finally passed through the passage and arrived at a circular room that was several times larger than the research institute on the ground.

In the center of the room is a huge pool, which has long been dry. The ground at the bottom of the pool is made up of cubes, which now look a bit messy.

Surrounding the pool were massive instruments, the likes of which no one had ever seen before. However, most of them were now in a state of disrepair. Only a few had lights on, clearly operational. Several portals led to other rooms, likely the chambers of the master Director Tang had mentioned, who was in retreat once again.

Director Tang, noticing everyone had entered the room, began, "This is the location for our coming-of-age ceremony. After years of hard work by researchers, a small portion of the ruins' equipment has been restored, including equipment for measuring energy levels. Normally, these devices monitor the ruins' energy levels in real time, but after modifications, they can now also measure energy intensity within the human body."

Director Tang walked over to a running device and pressed a few buttons. Then, a gap opened on the right side of the operating platform, and a transparent, irregular stone rose from it. Wires connected the stone to the device from its base. A dashboard appeared on the device's screen.

"Asking about spirit stones?!" Lin Ding whispered in surprise.

"What stone?" asked Wei Wu on the side.

"I have seen this stone in my dream. It was used by ancient immortals to test whether children have the qualifications to cultivate immortality." Lin Ding told Wei Wu the content of his dream truthfully.

"This... then this is still an antique?" Wei Wu felt that Lin Ding was being stupid again, and said perfunctorily.

"No, this is not the same shape as the one in my dream. It's not the same." Lin Ding was attracted by the Spiritual Stone in front of him and did not hear Wei Wu's perfunctory tone.

"Okay." Wei Wu spread his hands helplessly. Now that the coming-of-age ceremony was approaching, he didn't know what to say, but he secretly decided to go back and take Lin Ding to the hospital.

At this time, Director Tang's voice came over: "Before the test, let me say a few words. You should all know from your elders and books that approximately ten thousand years ago, a civilization more advanced than the world today once ruled this land. However, for some reason, it collapsed, leaving only a few broken ruins in various places. Moreover, the legacy left behind is pitifully small."

At this time, a classmate raised his hand and asked, "Then are we related to the previous humans?"

"That's a very good question," Director Tang said. "Research shows that our ancestors were most likely survivors of that time. Although our current cultivation system is named after the information left by the previous civilization, based on this information, we speculate that the humans of the previous civilization were unable to cultivate by absorbing energy like we do, and they also did not have monsters as powerful as we do today. This means that after that devastating war, both humans and beasts have evolved. Therefore, in order to fight against the many monsters in the world today, everyone will go to the ruins near their respective regions to test their cultivation at the age of 18. If their cultivation reaches Level A, or if they reach Level A before the age of 18, they will be considered elite and stay in the ruins for a year of special training. Now is your last chance to prove yourselves. Lin Ding, you go first. If you feel unwell after the test, go up first."

"Okay, Director Tang." Lin Ding said, walked forward, and slowly stretched out his slightly trembling hand towards the Spirit Stone.

The scene of Yang An and his group testing their aptitude in the dream was still vivid in his mind. He wondered what vision he would have. However, considering that his physique had never been suitable for cultivation since he was a child, he probably would be a loser like the other children in the village.

As Lin Ding's thoughts wandered, his hand had already touched the Spiritual Questioning Stone. Instantly, a burst of black light burst out through the Spiritual Questioning Stone, and dense runes flowed on the surface of the Spiritual Questioning Stone.