Chapter 97: The Free and Easy Young Marquis (End)
In the tenth year of the Yongping Era, the first steam engine was born, symbolizing the beginning of another stage for society.
In the same year, following primary and secondary schools, universities were also opened with great fanfare throughout Great Chang. Education is the starting point for a nation to cultivate talent, and correct educational concepts would make society more civilized and harmonious. The education in schools was not lacking in new ideas, which inevitably clashed with old, feudal thoughts. However, Huo Xianâs prestige in Great Chang was unprecedentedly high. Even if there were objections, they would likely be drowned out by the citizens’ scorn and forced to retreat into their shells before they even reached Huo Xianâs ears.
In the fifteenth year of the Yongping Era, Great Changâs first train was introduced.
In the twentieth year of the Yongping Era, electric lights were connected to the homes of citizens nationwide. From then on, ordinary people bid farewell to the darkness of the night.
In the twenty-eighth year of the Yongping Era, a comprehensive moderately prosperous society was achieved throughout Great Chang. Various vassal states pledged their allegiance to Great Chang and were incorporated into its territory.
In the thirty-third year of the Yongping Era, the first manned aircraft was introduced. In the same year, the foster son of Emperor Yongping, the current Crown Prince, led a fleet to sea to explore the new continent, opening official maritime routes with foreign lands.
In the fortieth year of the Yongping Era, Huo Xian abolished old marriage customs and promulgated the Marriage Law, implementing a monogamous system.
In the sixtieth year of the Yongping Era, the imperial system was abolished, and a new social system was established.
“Sigh, what a shame,” Huo Yuan sighed regretfully in the consciousness space.
Huo Xian gazed at Huo Yuanâs long-lost celestial face. The fatigue from years of hard work faded, and a faint smile played on his lips. “Whatâs a shame?”
“The new social system has just been established. We don’t know how it will develop later. I’m afraid some idiots might cause trouble,” Huo Yuan said seriously. Over the past many years, he had accompanied Huo Xian in research and development. It could be said that the entirety of Great Chang had been developed bit by bit by the two of them. To say there was no reluctance to leave would be a lie.
Huo Xian smiled. “Sixty years of ideological indoctrination… an era has passed. People today have long since easily accepted new ideas. It’s normal for one or two people to have bad intentions. No matter what kind of era it is, it’s impossible for it to be completely pure.”
Huo Yuan thought about it and nodded. “True. Even in my world, there’s no shortage of intrigue.” As he spoke, he seemed to remember something, and a smile appeared on his face. “Huo Xian, I can finally look at you at eye level!”
Hearing this, Huo Xian couldn’t help but laugh. In that previous world, Huo Yuan had grown a bit later on, but perhaps due to genetics, he hadn’t grown much taller despite years of good food and drink. Huo Yuanâs final height was only a bit over 1.7 meters.
“If you can look at me at eye level, can you hug me?” Huo Xian opened his arms toward him.
Huo Yuan instinctively tried to dive into his arms, but then… he passed right through him.
Huo Yuan: […]
Huo Xian: […]
Huo Yuan pouted. “I can’t.”
Fine.
“Shall we check the mission settlement first?” Huo Xian couldn’t bear to see him look dejected and changed the subject.
At his mention, Huo Yuan immediately remembered the eye-stabbing -12,000 in the points column. Sixty years had passed, yet the Management Bureau hadn’t given him an explanation. What was the use of just erasing the extra mission worlds? If they didn’t clear his negative points, how could he survive the next world?
As the saying goes, itâs easy to go from frugality to luxury, but difficult to go from luxury to frugality. Ever since having a cat’s body in the second world and becoming human in the third, Huo Yuan had grown used to activities in the human world. He liked human food and the comfortable, stimulating touch of being with Huo Xian. If he didn’t have points, how could he date Huo Xian?!
[Mission Evaluation: S (Perfect)]
[Mission One Reward: 5,000 (+5,000) points]
[Extra Reward (Employee Reward): 3,000 (+3,000) points]
[Extra Reward (Host Reward): Law Consciousness]
[Notes: 1. Task-taker binding host reward: Settlement points doubled; 2. Employee reward for discovering and capturing the Universe Wanderer.]
16,000!!!
Huo Xian was also somewhat surprised. The base points for this worldâs mission were actually 5,000. But considering the two bugs in this world, the appearance of the Universe Wanderer which significantly increased the mission difficulty, and his sixty years of diligent work in developmentâcompressing centuries of progress into sixty yearsâit wouldn’t make sense if the reward was too low.
“Why is there no reward for Mission Two?” Huo Yuan frowned after his initial joy.
Mission Two… Huo Xian thought for a moment. Mission Two was likely the original hostâs wish, which was to “grind Xiao Jinliâs bones to ashes.”
“Yuanyuan, Mission Two wasn’t completed,” Huo Xian said. “Xiao Jinli committed suicide in prison, and Emperor Haoyuan ordered him to be buried. I couldn’t very well dig him up just to grind his bones to ashes. There was no need.”
“True. The dead are the most important,” Huo Yuan nodded.
Huo Xian was slightly surprised. Originally, in Huo Yuanâs eyes, humans were like dust, not even comparable to ants. Yet after experiencing the previous world, he was now able to express respect for the deadâperhaps it could be called respect.
With this thought, his gaze became even more tender. “On to the next world?”
Huo Yuan was slightly taken aback. “So soon?” After the surprise, he frowned. “This world was the most exhausting one. Should we rest for a while before going to the next mission world?”
Huo Xian shook his head. “There’s nowhere to rest here anyway.”
Huo Yuan looked around at the empty, void-like surroundings and couldn’t help but feel frustrated and dejected. However, he quickly perked up. “I will give feedback to the Management Bureau. Task-takers can do infinite missions, but the host’s consciousness is fragile and needs a balance of work and rest.”
“That’s a good idea,” Huo Xian agreed with his point.
Huo Yuan beamed and was about to take Huo Xian to the next mission world when Huo Xian suddenly stopped him and asked, “Yuanyuan, four thousand points.”
“Hmm?” Huo Yuanâs beautiful purple eyes blinked, not understanding his meaning.
“Five thousand points to exchange for a human entity.” Huo Xian narrowed his eyes, feeling that the points rewarded for completing the mission were very subtle.
Huo Yuan: […………Shit!]
Huo Xian: […] Management Bureau, you’re quite something for driving my little cutie to swear.
After a period of struggling between saving up to exchange for a human entity in the world after next or exchanging for a non-human entity now, Huo Xian made the decision for himâexchange.
Since the points for completing missions were increasing, he would just work harder in the next world to earn more. He was used to having Huo Yuan by his side; was he supposed to let the little couple have a purely “Platonic” relationship in their heads? He’d rather hold a little kitten and kiss it.
In the end, under Huo Xianâs encouraging gaze, Huo Yuan heart-wrenchingly spent 3,500 points to exchange for a feline animal. 3,500 points… Huo Xian thought that such a high number of points should be enough to exchange for the King of the Prairie… right?
With scenes of leading a majestic lion in his mind, Huo Xian entered the next world in high spirits.
As soon as Huo Xianâs consciousness cleared, before he even had time to think, he felt the ground shaking violently. His heart tightened: An earthquake?
Was it going to be this stimulating right from the start?
He soon discovered that although the original body was resting, fatigue was still surging through him. The body felt as if it had been drained and was in desperate need of some kind of energy.
While wondering, he “saw” many white light spots flooding into his body. It was similar to the “luck” in the first world, yet it seemed different. As the white spots entered his body, he clearly felt the weakness of being drained begin to ease.
“Lord Saint, have you rested enough? Another wave of magic beasts is attacking; we need your help…” A voice spoke outside in a strange language that he could nevertheless understand.
Listening to the tone, which was respectful in words but lacked any real respect, Huo Xian gently moved his eyelids but didn’t respond.
Although the ground was shaking and the roars of beasts could be heard in the distance, the situation shouldn’t be too serious. This was confirmed by the fact that the person outside the tent walked away slowly when he didn’t receive an answer.
Taking advantage of the moment when no one was around, Huo Xian received the original hostâs identity information. Upon receiving it, he couldn’t help but be surprised.
This world was a magical world, and the original host was actually… the God of Light, the only deity in the Aosiluoni Continent for ten thousand years. However, the God of Light was not born as a god, but had grown from an ordinary human. He had experienced thousands of hardships and tempered his mind and will, becoming a god through faith.
The original host was born in a small country plagued by constant war. His father was a low-level mage, with a magic level only slightly higher than that of a magic apprentice. His mother was a maid brought by an adventurer from the distant Eastern Continent. His father bought her for ten gold coins and married her, having three children. The original host was the second child and the only one who inherited his motherâs black hair and black eyes. Therefore, his father named him Nigel, meaning “black hair.” He wasn’t liked by his elders at home, and his older sister and younger brother also rejected his Eastern appearance. Only his mother gave him warmth and gave him an Eastern name using her surnameâHuo Xian.
When the original host was six years old, the flames of war spread to the small town where he lived. His father fled overnight with his sister and brother, leaving him and his mother behind. Fortunately, they survived because his mother was a low-level mage with light-element magic. Light-element magic, no matter how weak the level, made one someone who could receive protection from the Temple of Light.
Mother and son survived under the protection of the Temple of Light. Mother Huo became a minor cook in the temple, occasionally healing those injured in the war as a small contribution. When the original host was eight years old, he was found to have light elements, and it was the extremely rare pure light type. His magic talent was extremely high. Such a person would be treated as a candidate for the position of Saint by the Temple. The status of mother and son in the temple rose accordingly.
Unfortunately, the good times didn’t last. In the third year after the original host became a candidate for Saint, the rise of royal power and the world-renowned Archmage Roderick broke through the bottleneck to become a God-level Mage. He announced to the entire continent that the gods had long since fallen, including the God of Light worshipped by the Temple of Light. Because of this, the Temple of Light lost all its glory on the continent. The status of the temple, including the Pope, plummeted. People no longer prayed to the gods, and the main role of temple personnel was likely just to heal the injured.
It was a tragedy that light-element magic, one of the most powerful elements for combat, was reduced to being a priest with only healing functions.
Compared to other parts of the continent, the war-torn country had a huge demand for priests, so the original hostâs life wasn’t too difficult. Unfortunately, as the war spread further and the country fell, every commoner and priest in the territory became either a slave or chose death; there were no exceptions.
No one wanted to become a slave and be branded with the shameful mark of slavery. So the original hostâs mother took him and fled. However, they were discovered and pursued, and finally, she died to protect him.
It was at that time that the original host met the person who would change his lifeâChrist.
Christ was the bug of this world, a transmigrator from an alternative world. Huo Xian preferred to describe him asâa “cheat.”
Christ possessed all ten elements of magic, making him a so-called “All-Element Mage.” He met the original host during the latter’s flight, and they traveled together to the headquarters of the Temple of Light located in the Kingdom of Standing.
Along the way, the original host received much care from Christ and felt grateful to him. When Christ brought him to Standing, Christ entered a magic school to study, while the original host was appointed as the Saint by the Pope because a high-level magic orb detected even higher magic talent.
However, despite becoming the Saint and having a significantly higher status within the temple, in the eyes of outsiders, he was merely a priest with an extra title. The fact that the gods had long fallen caused the Temple of Light to lose countless followers, and the templeâs attendants and maids all left to seek other paths.
The temple was empty, and the original host had no one to communicate with except for his daily magic practice.
Christ entered his life again. Christ would lie on the high walls of the temple and chat with him, telling him interesting stories and jokes from school, or bringing him roses. One could say that Christ was a bright spot in his monotonous life.
Later, the magic school invited temple priests to accompany the students on an outing for practice. Christ openly invited the original host to be his exclusive support. The strength of the two gradually increased, and their coordination became more and more tacit.
One “Son of Destiny,” one “walking cheat”âtheir speed of promotion was unmatched.
What brought the Light Saint back into the public eye was the pollution of demonic energy leaking from the abyss cracks. Demonic energy could corrode everything, including the soul, and only light magic could disperse it.
When demonic energy ravaged the continent, the only people people could turn to for help were light-element mages.
Precisely because of this, while the original hostâs strength significantly improved, he also gained the faith of those he rescued. The god had fallen ten million years ago, but faith made him the new God of Light. Beside the god was an incredibly powerful all-element mage. As time passed, the god no longer traveled the continent; he lived in the godâs palace with his “knight.” The god remained forever young, but the mage gradually aged and even reached the end of his life.
To let his lover accompany him forever, the god took out his Godhead, willing to share half of it with him.
However, when he struck half of the Godhead into his loverâs body, his lover took advantage of his weakness to severely wound him and snatched the other half of the Godhead. The Godhead fused, and the lover became the new god. The last sentence he heard was: “Thank you, my dear Nigel. Thank you for nurturing the Godhead and being willing to share it with me. But I’m sorry, I don’t love you. From beginning to end, all I love is eternal life. Thank you for letting me get my wish.”
TRANSLATOR’S NOTE: NEW ARC!!!
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