Chapter 1080 Compensation

The old man smiled happily, his smile full of comfort and hope, without a trace of gloom. However, Hao Ren and the others couldn't understand where this sense of security came from. Vivian stared into the old man's eyes to confirm if he was mentally sound: "Do you… really know what their situation is now? They do still speak the ancient language, and perhaps they still retain most of the original script, but other than that, they know nothing. No history, no culture, no traditions. The inheritance of civilization has long been cut off—forgive me for speaking frankly, but these people are just living ignorantly in this ruin."

Vivian didn't mince words. She had seen too many dynasties rise and fall, and races survive and perish. At this moment, she was merely stating the facts as an observer. However, the old man remained unmoved. He simply listened to Vivian finish speaking, his sparse and messy white hair slowly swaying in the breeze: "Do you know, I had imagined even worse scenarios."

He turned his head, looking at the restless crowd below.

"I once had to face a group of children, with only a few over the age of ten, and most of them between three and nine years old. They only had basic common sense. The older children could take care of themselves and read and write, while the younger ones had just learned to eat on their own. My mission was to lead such a group of children to rebuild an entire civilization, a nearly hopeless burden, but I accepted it gladly. And these… they are better than children."

"Their thinking is rigid, their order is chaotic, the social rules have been distorted for hundreds of years, and their erroneous worldview is deeply rooted," Vivian shook her head gently. "Such adults are not as good as those children back then…"

"But they survived here," the old man interrupted Vivian without ceremony. "Without anyone to lead them, those children survived, and even multiplied into four kingdoms! Four kingdoms! They have already done more than imaginable, what more can you ask for?"

At this time, someone on the open ground below finally noticed the commotion on the high platform. A brave soul who dared to look up discovered Hao Ren and his group standing near the outer ring of the Ancestral Furnace. Someone shouted first, and then more people looked up. Those who had witnessed the power of the "Ice Witch" and the "Fire Witch" before immediately began to clamor, and the slogan "Judges of Ice and Flame" quickly spread through the crowd like a wave. These people, who had just felt a great impact from the "miracle" of the Ancestral Furnace restarting, were like witnessing the arrival of true gods. They knelt down piously, chanting in unison about the end of winter. Perhaps some had questioned the event before, but now that the Ancestral Furnace was running again and the "Electric Spirits" were more active than ever, this miracle dispelled all doubts in their hearts—in this ark ruled by ignorance and darkness, whoever could control the operation of the generator held the throat of the world.

"Landlord…" Lily was startled by the commotion below. She had been showing off her flame claws a bit earlier, but the crowd below was a bit beyond her expectations. As a loyal hound, her first reaction was to hide behind Hao Ren.

However, Hao Ren frowned and gently pushed Lily and Vivian's backs: "Step forward, this situation needs you."

Vivian understood, she had plenty of experience with this. The ancient bloodline, who had been worshiped as a god by humans more than once, stepped forward. Freezing winds swirled around her, and the usual gentle smile on her face was replaced by majesty and coldness, making her as awe-inspiring as a real "Ice Witch." Lily tried to imitate her next to her. The husky girl was quite talented: in fact, every husky is quite talented at pretending to be serious. If you don't believe it, you can find a husky to observe. When they don't speak, aren't their eyes especially serious…

"Silence." Vivian simply said two words, and the crowd below became silent.

"What are your plans, after seeing the current situation here?" Hao Ren asked the old man beside him at this time.

The old man looked down at the manuscripts that Lily had placed on the ground, his voice finally tinged with disappointment: "I should have personally taught these things, but I won't live much longer. I don't know how long you plan to stay here, nor do I know if you are willing to lend a hand… but if possible, I hope this knowledge can be passed on to them, even if only a little bit is passed down, our legacy will not be interrupted. Please, give these things to them…"

Speaking of this, the old man took a few heavy breaths, his body seeming more hunched than when he had just crawled out of the hibernation pod. Even without any instrument detection, Hao Ren could clearly feel the life force draining from this old man's body. He had almost relied on willpower to persevere to this moment, and after explaining his affairs, his death was imminent.

"No." Hao Ren shook his head gently.

The old man's eyes widened suddenly, and even the Nangong siblings couldn't help but show a shocked expression.

"You hand it over to them yourself, this is your job," Hao Ren reached out and grabbed a golden fruit from the space rift next to him. After hesitating for a moment, he still cut a slice of the fruit off. "Eat this."

The moment she saw the golden fruit, Nangong Wuyue couldn't help but exclaim: "Oh—you have another one?"

"There happened to be one extra, Lily originally reserved it," Hao Ren secretly glanced at the husky spirit who was posing with Vivian in front. "Don't remind her, she probably forgot."

Lily, who was standing with her back to this side, suddenly felt a chill all over her body. Some kind of food-protecting instinct made her feel a sense of crisis for no reason. However, she mistook this chill for Vivian's coldness: "Bat, stay away from me, it's freezing!"

The old man looked inexplicably at these people revealing strange expressions in the face of a piece of fruit, and couldn't help but wonder: "What is this?"

Hao Ren handed the slice of golden apple over: "Just eat it when I tell you to. You're already so old you're about to die, would you mind if I said it was poison?"

The old man smiled upon hearing this, and frankly took the fruit and stuffed it into his mouth: "I don't know what you're thinking."

After he swallowed the thing in his mouth, Nangong Wuyue and Hao Ren immediately observed the other party's changes carefully, because this was the first time they had seen an ordinary person eat a golden apple. And the effect of the fruit was immediately revealed: the old man's appearance changed almost at a speed visible to the naked eye. His body slowly straightened, and the wear and tear of the years that had accumulated in his flesh and bones instantly dissipated. His face regained its rosy color, his breathing became steady and powerful, and the wrinkles slowly receded. This scene was as if time was flowing backward on this person!

However, this superficial "reversal" did not last long. After the effects of the golden apple ended, the old man was still an old man. He still had a full head of white hair, and some wrinkles remained on his face, but a powerful life force was slowly radiating from his body, making people clearly feel that he had undergone some kind of transformation. Hao Ren asked the data terminal in his mind: "Is this it?"

"That's it, the effect has been properly exerted."

"I thought he would keep regressing to his teenage years," Nangong Wuyue flicked her tail. "I was still worried that if the effect was too good, the person would disappear."

At this time, the old man also noticed the changes in his body. Honestly, everything he had experienced since he woke up was not as shocking and bewildered as the changes at this moment: "This, what is this…"

"You were mistakenly frozen for eight hundred years," Hao Ren reached out and pressed on the old man's shoulder. "This is to compensate you for the eight hundred years. Now you have plenty of time to complete your work."

The old man blinked, finally understanding the incredible changes that had happened to him: "What exactly are you people?!"

"There will be plenty of time to explain this to you later," Vivian suddenly turned her head and said, "The key now is what I should say—Hao Ren, help me think of something to say next. I've been standing here for five minutes, if I don't say anything, I'm afraid I won't be able to hold the scene."

The crowd in the open space below was already a little restless. They looked at the Ice and Fire Witch with awe, but because no divine revelation had come down for a long time, the crowd's patience was being worn away little by little. Hao Ren pulled the old man to the edge of the high ground and said in a low voice: "You need a starting point to intervene in their society and make them have awe and obedience to you. Now we have created an opportunity for you."

Saying that, he raised the old man's hand high.

"The people of the Four Kingdoms, the winter is over forever! Your ancestors have returned from the land of souls, and under the witness of the twin gods of ice and flame, he will bring you a new era!"

(Seeking monthly tickets~~ End of the month~~ Those with monthly tickets should cast them quickly~~)