Cataclysm: Undead Dragons and Zero Empire

The research vessel hiding on the far side of the asteroid had anti-detection technology on its hull that was practically useless to Lin Ziming.

He recognized the ship's design and markings. Why would a spaceship belonging to the Boros Space Foundation come to the star system where human civilization resides? The only reason Lin Ziming could think of was his own.

He had no intention of forcibly using psychic energy to search the souls of the crew members on the ship to find out their purpose, just as a person walking in the wilderness wouldn't care about an ant fleeing in panic at their feet.

The ship, realizing it had been exposed, silently headed towards the edge of the star system and activated its faster-than-light engine. Lin Ziming let them leave, watching the ship transform into a streak of light and disappear into the vast darkness of the starry sea.

Lin Zimo came to visit human civilization, so he flew towards the inner side of the Heng star system. Before he got close to the familiar Earth-Moon system, his huge dragon-bone body had already disappeared into subspace.

Just as he had done when he occupied the moon, he left only a psionic projection in the real universe to prevent his mass from affecting the Earth-Moon system and causing it to shatter like the Pirate Alliance's starport.

As far as the eye could see, there was a continuous array of temples, just like the scene he had seen during the underground ceremony that had called out to him after his first awakening. The massive flat-topped pyramids were the most common buildings in the temple complex.

To build this temple complex, humanity must have gone to great lengths to excavate every available vein of black stone on the surface. The statues of sages, large and small, stand solemnly, perhaps a testament to how the Death faction, which has survived to this day, still commemorates the pioneers who braved the hardships of an era when psychic energy was scarce.

Lin Ziming saw many stone tablets in the temple complex, probably artifacts that the Death Faction had transferred from Earth to the Moon. He had always liked these artifacts that carried ancient texts, especially those with such simple and ancient designs.

Murals, stone tablets, ancient books, and even divination marks on charred tortoise shells—seeing them is like seeing the weight of time, carrying a profound history that makes time no longer meaningless.

The firelight illuminates the crater, outlining its magnificent and solemn silhouette on the greyish-white lunar soil, representing a prayer for the Lord's descent to earth. Countless figures, sculpted with simple lines and depicting wailing, seem to open their eyes and gain sentience in the flickering firelight.

Lin Ziming's will descended upon these temples, and the flames flowing in the ditches suddenly surged, making the temple complex seem to be engulfed in a sea of ​​fire.

He saw a significant number of psionicists who had moved beyond their initial, crude forms of use. They wore distinctly black or gray robes and wielded their psionic powers as naturally as their ancestors had tilled the land with hoes.

Lin Zimo ignited the psychic potential of the human race, and now this power has truly been integrated into the bloodline of this civilization, becoming their advantage for survival and development in the starry sea.

Lin Ziming turned his gaze to the largest temple in the shrine, where he saw his own image, and then stared at the enormous statue for a long time.

Accustomed to war and hostility in the starry sea, perhaps only upon returning to human civilization would one see them so devoutly worshipping Lin Zimo as a deity who created and redeemed civilization, rather than regarding him as some kind of monster.

Beneath the statue, a figure knelt on both knees, his forehead pressed firmly against the black stone ground, motionless. This was Terence, the only person here who could withstand Lin Zimo's will.

Get up.

From beginning to end, Terence was unable to directly understand the words from the Lord. He continued to try to translate them as before, and was shocked to find that the Lord's will had become even more immense. So much so that the moment he heard those words, he felt as if he were about to burst into flames, like a haystack covered in sparks.

Terence, maintaining the utmost solemnity, addressed the will descending from the void: "Lord, your devout servant welcomes your arrival."

Lin Ziming looked down at Terence, who was shakily getting up, and tried his best to make his psionic fluctuations simple, as if he were gently placing a feather on the windowsill.

"I have witnessed your perseverance and the growth of human civilization. You have overcome calamities and forged your own path."

Following the will of the Lord, the black cloth covering Terence gradually faded, like an old painting turning gray and white, and he could hardly contain his burning momentum.

"Lord, everything comes from Your grace. May every journey of mankind take place in Your Kingdom."

Rather than Terence attributing all the credit to him, Lin Ziming preferred their independence and autonomy. After all, he wouldn't always stay within human civilization. Terence had heard:

"Even knowing that life will eventually come to an end, they will not blame everything on death. If they do not feel fear when they stand before the door of death, then they have already used their lives properly."

"I made a promise that if you can overcome the disaster, venture into the stars, and prosper, I will acknowledge you as my followers and entrust the mission of the Celestial Dragons to you."

"Today, I will fulfill my promise here."

For the first time, Terence looked at the statue in the will of the Lord and saw the black and red sun. His eyes seemed to be filled with the light and heat of the sun, burning with piety and helping him see the way forward.

"Lord! Most High, Most Supreme, Most Powerful Heavenly Father! Humanity will forever follow Your will! Generation after generation, never turning away!"

At this moment, as if a sacred oath had been made, gods and believers, dragons and humans, countless devout voices gathered together, ascending upwards along the river of psychic energy, finally arriving before the supreme will, witnessing the dragon's authority, witnessing the death of zero.

The psychic energy had never been so abundant. The pyramids in Terence's eyes disappeared, and his consciousness seemed to be pulled into the depths of the boundless universe, incredibly close to the black and red sun suspended in darkness. Just like the scene that countless ancestors had seen in their dreams, it was now truly presented before his eyes.

The sun's rays, cold yet powerful, shone down on Terence, and in an instant, black and red flames erupted from within his body.

The linen cloth covering him, coated with black stone powder, turned to charcoal the moment it touched the flames, peeling off his body and revealing his body, which had been wrapped up for too long and never shown to anyone.

The half of his face that was burned and destroyed at the death ceremony has long since spread to his entire body with cracks like those on glaze, making him look like a ceramic statue on the verge of collapse. It is a miracle that he can still move.

Faint black and red flames were emanating from the depths of those cracks, now rising along with the flames that ignited from within him, like a puppet filled with hemp rope being thrown into a sacrificial bonfire.

Dense black thorns sprouted out of thin air from the black stone ground, climbing upwards along the stone pillars with sharp thorns. Along with these twisted thorns, black buds with a grayish-white glow also emerged, stretching out in the flames. Instead of being burned, they became more and more lush, showing the prototype of the "Tree of Peace and Happiness".

The rich, incense-scented aroma, which can grant people a deep, peaceful sleep, is lit as if all pain, struggle, and despair can be returned to eternal tranquility in this fragrance.

Lin Zimo watched Terence standing in the flames, knowing the physical condition of this person walking his own path. His soul and consciousness had long since broken free from the shackles of the mortal world through asceticism and faith, reaching a higher realm.

However, Terence's body was ultimately just a human shell, like a small pottery jar that could no longer contain the ever-growing spiritual energy, and was cracked by the burgeoning spiritual energy.