The agricultural world was quiet.
Too quiet.
Ao Longtian stood in the middle of a field beneath a pale orange sky.
Rows of crops stretched toward the horizon.
Irrigation channels carried clear water between the fields.
Small villages sat beneath distant hills.
It looked peaceful.
Longtian hated it.
Not because there was anything wrong with the place.
Because he had just received a message from someone outside the trial.
Han Meiyu was in danger.
And the treasure had deliberately shown him her message.
That meant one of two things.
Either the treasure wanted to see whether he would abandon his test for someone else—
or it had planned this from the beginning.
Longtian preferred neither possibility.
He walked between the crops.
A farmer approached.
"Young master."
Longtian stopped.
"What?"
The farmer bowed.
"Our harvest is failing."
Longtian looked at the fields.
The plants appeared healthy.
"Why?"
"The soil."
The farmer knelt and picked up a handful.
"It's dying."
Longtian examined it.
The soil was dry beneath the surface.
He looked toward the irrigation channel.
The water was flowing.
Something was wrong.
He followed the channel upstream.
After nearly an hour, he discovered the problem.
A large stone had been placed across the channel.
It diverted most of the water toward a private estate.
Longtian stared at it.
"Who owns that land?"
The farmer lowered his head.
"Lord Qian."
"Does he know the village needs this water?"
"Yes."
"Then why?"
The farmer hesitated.
"Because his fields are more valuable."
Longtian smiled.
"Of course."
Lord Qian's estate was enormous.
Stone walls surrounded hundreds of acres.
Guards stood at the entrance.
Longtian walked directly toward them.
"Halt."
Longtian didn't stop.
The guards crossed their spears.
"You cannot enter."
Longtian looked at the weapons.
Then at them.
"Move."
One guard laughed.
"Do you know whose estate this is?"
Longtian sighed.
"Everyone in this world seems to ask that."
The guard attacked.
Longtian stepped aside.
He grabbed the man's wrist and gently redirected his momentum.
The guard crashed into the second.
The others drew their weapons.
Longtian shook his head.
"I really don't have time for this."
Five minutes later, all of them were unconscious.
Longtian entered the estate.
Lord Qian was sitting beneath a pavilion, eating fruit.
He looked at Longtian.
"Who are you?"
Longtian pointed toward the irrigation channel.
"You stole their water."
Lord Qian frowned.
"I purchased the land."
"The water isn't yours."
"It passes through my property."
"So?"
"So I control it."
Longtian stared at him.
"You've mistaken possession for authority."
Lord Qian laughed.
"Who are you to lecture me?"
Longtian stepped closer.
"Someone asking politely."
Lord Qian smiled.
"And if I refuse?"
Longtian smiled back.
"Then I'll stop asking."
The trial shifted.
The estate disappeared.
The village disappeared.
The fields disappeared.
Longtian stood alone in darkness.
"Agricultural stage complete."
Longtian looked around.
"That was surprisingly easy."
"You were not being tested on agriculture."
Longtian frowned.
"Then what was the lesson?"
"Resources create power."
Longtian nodded.
"Food creates stability."
"Correct."
"Water creates leverage."
"Correct."
"Control both, and you control people."
Silence.
Longtian smiled.
"That's why you put me there."
"Yes."
He looked toward the final gate.
"So the last gate is going to be about something more important."
"Yes."
Longtian approached it.
The black circle surrounded by twelve stars began glowing.
He placed his hand against it.
The gate opened.
There was no floor beyond it.
Longtian stepped forward and found himself floating above an enormous black ocean.
Twelve enormous islands surrounded a central continent.
Each island carried one of the symbols from the previous gates.
War.
Trade.
Knowledge.
Law.
Faith.
Medicine.
Industry.
Information.
Entertainment.
Agriculture.
Crime.
And the twelfth—
Mortal.
Longtian stared.
"This isn't another trial."
The treasure answered.
"No."
"Then what is it?"
"A blueprint."
The islands began moving.
Cities appeared.
Villages.
Factories.
Farms.
Temples.
Courthouses.
Hospitals.
Markets.
Military bases.
The entire civilization unfolded beneath him.
Longtian watched silently.
The treasure spoke.
"Build a nation."
Longtian laughed.
"That's all?"
"You must create a nation capable of surviving your death."
His expression changed.
"Without me?"
"Yes."
"Then what happens if I fail?"
"The civilization collapses."
Longtian stared at the islands.
Then something became clear.
The twelve gates weren't twelve separate subjects.
They were twelve organs of one body.
War protected the nation.
Trade fed it.
Knowledge educated it.
Law restrained it.
Faith gave people meaning.
Medicine kept them alive.
Industry produced.
Information connected.
Entertainment influenced.
Agriculture fed.
Crime was controlled.
And the mortal gate—
was everything else.
The people.
Longtian smiled.
"I understand."
He raised his hand.
The world began moving.
He didn't build a perfect kingdom.
He built something more practical.
A network.
Twelve branches.
Each with its own leadership.
Each responsible for a different part of society.
No branch controlled everything.
No single leader could overthrow the entire system.
Every branch depended upon the others.
Merchants needed farmers.
Farmers needed industry.
Industry needed knowledge.
Knowledge needed information.
Law needed information.
Military forces needed agriculture.
Medicine needed industry.
Even crime had a place.
Not because Longtian admired criminals.
Because pretending crime could be eliminated completely was foolish.
Instead, he created a hidden branch to understand it.
Track it.
Control it.
Use it when necessary.
Longtian stood above the growing civilization.
"This is better."
The treasure asked:
"Why?"
"Because everyone thinks power belongs to the strongest."
He looked down.
"But real power belongs to whoever can make everyone else depend on the system."
The civilization expanded.
Years passed in seconds.
Cities became enormous.
Villages became towns.
Roads connected provinces.
Ships crossed oceans.
Information traveled between continents.
The twelve branches grew.
Then Longtian disappeared.
The civilization continued.
He waited.
Ten years.
Twenty.
Fifty.
A hundred.
The system survived.
Leaders died.
New leaders replaced them.
Wars occurred.
Disasters struck.
Governments changed.
But the civilization continued.
Longtian smiled.
"I passed."
The treasure remained silent.
Then the civilization began collapsing.
One branch betrayed another.
The military seized control.
The merchants manipulated food prices.
The information branch censored the population.
The law branch became corrupt.
The religious branch gained political power.
The twelve branches turned against one another.
Within decades, the empire fell.
Longtian's smile vanished.
"What happened?"
"You built institutions."
The treasure's voice was calm.
"But you failed to build people."
Longtian looked down at the ruins.
He understood.
He had built a machine.
He hadn't built loyalty.
He had created dependence.
Not purpose.
He closed his eyes.
Then he began again.
The second civilization was different.
Longtian taught people.
Not simply skills.
Values.
He trained leaders to understand why the branches existed.
He created succession systems.
He encouraged criticism.
He created ways for citizens to challenge authority.
He made corruption dangerous.
He allowed failure.
He rewarded innovation.
He made the civilization capable of changing.
Years passed.
The civilization grew.
Longtian disappeared.
Again.
The empire continued.
Ten years.
Fifty.
One hundred.
Two hundred.
Five hundred.
The system survived.
Longtian looked down.
The twelve branches remained.
Not perfect.
But functioning.
He smiled.
The treasure spoke.
"Trial complete."
The entire world vanished.
Longtian opened his eyes.
He stood inside a white chamber.
The golden treasure floated before him.
Nine seals had disappeared.
Only one remained.
The tenth.
The final seal.
Longtian stared at it.
"So that's it."
"No."
He frowned.
"No?"
"The trials are complete."
"Then why is the tenth seal still closed?"
The treasure said nothing.
Longtian's expression hardened.
"What happens now?"
A door appeared behind the treasure.
It was different from every other door.
It wasn't golden.
It wasn't black.
It wasn't made from stone.
It looked like ordinary wood.
Longtian approached.
The door opened.
Beyond it stood the woman from the throne.
The same woman who had appeared earlier.
She wore a dark crown.
Her eyes were silver.
Longtian stopped.
"You."
She smiled.
"Finally."
"Who are you?"
"Someone who remembers you."
"You've never met me."
"Not in this life."
Longtian's eyes narrowed.
"What does that mean?"
She stepped forward.
"You've been looking at this treasure incorrectly."
Longtian waited.
"It's not testing you."
"Then what is it doing?"
"Preparing you."
"For what?"
She looked toward the tenth seal.
"For the moment when heaven comes looking for you."
Longtian's expression became cold.
"You know about the heavenly guards."
"I know who sent them."
"Who?"
The woman smiled.
"You aren't ready."
Longtian laughed.
"I've completed ten trials."
"Nine."
He looked at the seal.
The tenth remained.
"Nine," she repeated.
"Because the final trial isn't inside the treasure."
Longtian's expression changed.
"Where is it?"
The woman pointed at him.
"Inside you."
Outside the treasure, Ao Lian suddenly stepped backward.
Longtian's body had changed.
A faint golden line appeared across his forehead.
Then his eyes opened.
Crimson light flashed within them.
Ao Lian rushed forward.
"Longtian!"
His head turned.
He looked directly at her.
For several seconds, he didn't speak.
Then he smiled.
"Sister."
Ao Lian froze.
His voice was different.
Calmer.
Deeper.
More controlled.
"You're awake."
Longtian looked around.
The clan.
The guards.
The treasure.
Then he looked at his hands.
His bloodline remained sealed.
His cultivation remained absent.
But something had changed.
He could feel the treasure's presence.
Not as an external object.
As something connected to his fate.
He looked toward the sky.
"I understand now."
Ao Lian frowned.
"Understand what?"
Longtian smiled.
"Why they tried to kill me."
Above the planet, the heavenly guards suddenly detected his awakening.
Alarms sounded throughout their formation.
Lady Yue stood.
"He's awake."
A guard rushed toward her.
"The treasure has completed the trials."
Lady Yue smiled.
"Then the final stage begins."
Longtian looked at Ao Lian.
"How long was I gone?"
"Less than a day."
He nodded.
"Good."
Then he noticed Shen Yao standing nearby.
The young man was staring at him.
Longtian raised an eyebrow.
"What?"
Shen Yao hesitated.
"Nothing."
"You clearly have something to say."
Shen Yao pointed toward Longtian's forehead.
"There."
Longtian touched it.
A tiny golden symbol had appeared.
A circle.
Surrounded by twelve stars.
Shen Yao's expression became grim.
"That symbol wasn't there before."
Longtian smiled.
"Neither was I."
Shen Yao stared at him.
"You don't understand."
"Then explain."
Shen Yao swallowed.
"My teacher described that symbol."
"And?"
"He said it belongs to the person who will eventually unite the twelve broken inheritances."
Longtian's smile faded.
"Twelve?"
Shen Yao nodded.
"There's something else."
"What?"
Shen Yao looked toward the sky.
"The heavenly guards aren't preparing to attack."
Longtian followed his gaze.
"Then what are they doing?"
Shen Yao's voice became quiet.
"They're running."
Longtian smiled.
For the first time since waking—
he felt genuinely excited.
"Good."
Ao Lian looked at him.
"Why?"
Longtian turned toward the clan.
"Because if they're running…"
His crimson eyes narrowed.
"…something worse must be coming."
Far above the planet, the heavenly formation began retreating.
But one figure remained behind.
Lady Yue.
She stood alone among the stars.
Then she removed her white robe.
Beneath it was black armor.
She drew a long silver blade.
And smiled.
"Let's see what the treasure chose."
The tenth seal remained closed.
Waiting.
And beneath Longtian's skin—
something ancient opened its eyes.