"Lifeform detected. Meets human body requirements and lifeform's const.i.tution resembles the Earth dwellers... Access granted."

The voice was still as cold as before and sounded like it was generated by a machine. The moment this machine voice stopped, the white metal door silently opened. A new corridor appeared in front of Ye Qingyu and Li Qing.

Ye Qingyu vaguely understood what that machine-generated voice had said.

He immediately realized that his earlier speculation might turn out to be true after all.

The evaluation of his combat strength and the detection of his physical form showed that the s.h.i.+p was measuring him against some kind of standard. He wasn't sure of the specifics, but he was certain that the s.h.i.+p was testing him and not Li Qing. In other words, he had pa.s.sed the divine palace s.h.i.+p's a.s.sessment which meant that his attributes fell under the s.h.i.+p's definition of 'friend' or 'master'. This could also mean that the Human Race of the Vast Thousand Domains shared many similarities with the intellectual lifeforms from the civilization on Earth, possibly being of the same species.

This was in line with his theory.

He could tell that the black-haired Dark Ones were also part of the Human Race and looked exactly the same as ordinary humans. If Li Qing's grandfather had pa.s.sed the divine palace s.h.i.+p's a.s.sessment, then he was sure that he would be able to do the same.

This validated his theory.

He walked past the metal door and stepped into the next corridor.

Li Qing quickly tried to follow him, but a soft glow appeared and an invisible web seemed to form on the metal doorframe, stopping him from going any further. No matter how hard he struggled, he could not walk through the door.

"How could this be?" Li Qing shouted in frustration.

Ye Qingyu turned back to look at him and decided that he could destroy this barrier, but he might end up damaging the metal door. Moreover, since the divine palace s.h.i.+p did not wish for Li Qing to follow him, it must have its reasons for doing so.

"Wait here for me. Remember, don't go wandering around," Ye Qingyu said.

Reluctance was written all over his face, but he didn't want to defy Ye Qingyu's order. "I will," he said as he retreated to a corner. He was no fool and could guess that he would need to meet a certain set of conditions to be allowed past that door. He had failed to meet the requirements and that was why he had been denied entry. Thus, he could now only wait patiently for Ye Qingyu to emerge.

There was a flash of splendor originating from the corridor behind the door.

A milky white splendor beamed down from the ceiling and shrouded Ye Qingyu's figure. He did not resist and stood calmly in the white light pillar as though he was showering. Then, there was a faint glimmer and he disappeared from Li Qing's view.

...

...

The next instant.

He appeared in a huge chamber that was like a crystal palace.

"Hmm? What was that? A teleportation device?" He exclaimed in surprise.

He did not sense any s.p.a.ce energy waves earlier, yet he had indeed been transported to a different location.

This technique was completely different from the techniques used by the formation martial artists. It was clear that the civilization on Earth had employed highly advanced techniques.

He was extremely calm and his gaze swept over the huge crystal palace.

This chamber was extremely vast and it was around a hundred square meters; the ceiling was at least a hundred meters high. The walls were cast from that unknown white metal that was highly malleable but extremely hard. The ceiling was encrusted with glowing beads that looked like luminous pearls. These seemed to be electric lights, many times brighter and more advanced than the ones that were crafted by Li Qing and the others. There were boxes of varying sizes placed neatly all over the chamber; these boxes were all glazed with lacquer that glimmered with different colored lights, which lent these boxes a mysterious vibe.

"This looks like the control center of the divine palace s.h.i.+p," he said thoughtfully.

He had seen the control centers of many airs.h.i.+ps and wars.h.i.+ps from the formation martial way civilization.

Those control centers resembled the chamber that he was currently in, but this chamber was much larger, more aesthetically pleasing, and laid out in a more orderly manner.

He deduced from everything that he had seen so far, that this civilization on Earth had placed a lot of emphasis on aesthetics and practicality. This could be clearly seen on every artifact made by them.

He continued to observe his surroundings.

The items within the boxes were of varying shapes and sizes; most of the items were strangely shaped. Despite his best efforts, he was unable to figure out what they could be used for.

There was a circular area with a radius of a hundred meters right in the middle of the control center.

He drew closer to the edge of the metal circular area.

Suddenly, a silver light spot flickered in the middle of this area as though something had been activated.

Then, this silver light spot abruptly split apart and spread across the chamber.

One breath later, the silver light spots moved like the world's most beautiful paintbrush as it sketched and drew something in the air. Soon, a thin elderly man with white hair and beard appeared in the middle of this s.p.a.ce.

He wore a strange tight-fitting white long robe, and his robes were very different compared to the robes martial artists wore in the Vast Thousand Domains. It was a completely different style altogether, and there were metallic buckles on them. There were two rounded lenses in front of his eyes and Ye Qingyu couldn't figure out what they were for either. He did not exude any energy aura, neither was there any sign of life, but he looked extremely realistic and his legs were around one meter above ground.

This elderly man's eyes were s.h.i.+ning as he looked at Ye Qingyu.

Who could he be?

Ye Qingyu immediately was on his guard.

His yuan qi circulated around his body as he activated his defenses.

He sensed that there was something very mysterious about the elderly man. He could not detect any energy aura from him and his divine sense could not even detect his presence, but this elderly man was clearly standing in front of him. What kind of energy was this and how could it escape his divine sense? He could not even sense any energy waves, so this elderly man was like a G.o.d who could not be detected.

Could this elderly man be a supreme expert from the civilization on Earth?

He was extremely astonished.

"After so many years, someone qualified has finally appeared in ark number one..." this elderly man said. His voice sounded very gentle as though he was a well-read intellectual, sounding very friendly as he spoke. He looked at Ye Qingyu and a mysterious dark light shot toward Ye Qingyu, as though he was scanning him. A few moments later, this elderly man exclaimed with some surprise, "Why can't I detect how powerful your body is? Your heartbeat is very odd and your blood defies science... Young man, you are simply a freak... Who exactly are you?"

This elderly man sounded even more astonished than Ye Qingyu.

The words that he used were a little obscure and it was an extremely ancient language, more complicated than the Earth language that Li Qing and the others had mastered.

This was probably the true language that the civilization on Earth had used.

Ye Qingyu thought carefully and vaguely understood what the elderly man had said, but he continued to remain vigilant as he said, "I am from another domain. Sir, who are you? Are you an expert from an ancient civilization who has been living in hibernation here?"

"Domain? Ancient civilization? Expert..." The elderly man froze for a moment and his expressions kept changing comically. Finally, he said, "Young man, have you read too many novels? Experts? Ha ha, since our Operation Soar failed and was prohibited, there haven't been any experts left in the universe..." Then, he clutched his belly and chuckled loudly.

Operation Soar?

What was that?

He realized that this elderly man might have been asleep for such a long period that he was still not aware of what had happened in the outside world.

He then gave the elderly man a brief explanation of what he knew.

Before he finished, the elderly man suddenly shrieked and said, "Ah ah ah, what? Did you just say that the civilization on Earth has been destroyed? Impossible... we have conquered stars and oceans and established the vast Star Empire. We have once ruled over countless planets, we... Impossible, you must be lying..." he sounded very agitated and his figure that was formed from light vibrated intensely. Then, his figure kept changing as though he was a ball of smoke, as if he would disappear with the wind at any moment.

He looked extremely upset.

He was acting like a rabbit realizing that its entire winter stash of carrots had suddenly disappeared.

Ye Qingyu warily took a few steps backward.

It was obvious that this elderly man could not accept the fact that his civilization had been destroyed and had lost his composure.

However, he found it odd that even though this elderly man looked like he was on the verge of collapse, he still could not sense any energy waves from that elderly man's body, neither was there the appearance of mind waves. The elderly man's figure flashed as he appeared, then disappeared, like a ghost that was long dead—no, the elderly man seemed even more insubstantial than ghosts. If it weren't for the fact that he could see and hear this elderly man, it was as though this elderly man didn't even exist.

What kind of cultivation stage was that?

Could this elderly man be so powerful that his power was comparable to a Martial Emperor?

The only existence he could not detect in this world was that of a true Martial Emperor.

He was about to say something to calm the elderly man down.

Then, the elderly man suddenly calmed down on his own.

He was so calm that it seemed like the intense shriek he let out earlier was a figment of Ye Qingyu's imagination. He looked at Ye Qingyu and sounded slightly surprised as he said, "So you're saying that the civilization on Earth and the Star Empire now only exist in the past? Are we now in a new civilization that has formed after the tenth era of the sun? Ah, this is very interesting... I can't believe I've been asleep for so long. Are we all doomed? How did the Human Race doom itself?"

The Star Empire?

The tenth era of the sun?

What was the elderly man referring to?

Ye Qingyu had never heard of these terms before.

"I can see that you don't seem to understand what I'm saying..." the elderly man crossed his arms over his chest and rubbed his chin with his left hand. Then, he looked at Ye Qingyu with a look of exaggerated disdain and said, "No way, why are the living conditions of this civilization so primitive if it is already the eleventh era of the sun... Look at your outfit, this is what the Humans on Earth wore at the start of our civilization... Oh no, I woke up too early... Wait, wait, if this is the agrarian society at the start of our civilization, then how... could you be so strong? Your body contains a terrifying power that could only exist after a seed has exploded..." the elderly man muttered to himself and Ye Qingyu wondered if he had gone a little mad.