"Although it’s not invincible, I certainly wouldn’t try to resist it—he’s probably just sleeping, once he wakes up, it’ll be fine."
—Then how did Ian get brought back by the Star-Town Dragon King?
Yisen Gard looked a bit puzzled at Ian on the dragon king’s back. If the protective power repels all foreign objects around, then theoretically the dragon king should be repelled too?
Unless...
Soon, Yisen realized the key. He took a deep breath and then once again slowly moved forward.
—Approach without any desire or hostility.
—The heart’s barrier will reject any foreign object, unless it is... a friend.
Indeed, this ti Yisen easily passed through Ian’s invisible ntal barrier and reached the dragon’s back.
"Ian?"
Upon confirming Ian’s heart was still beating, Yisen Gard breathed a sigh of relief. He tried calling Ian’s na, and watched as Ian slowly opened his eyes: "Yisen?"
Ian sat up and looked around: "What’s the situation? I think I just took a nap, right?"
Yisen Gard smirked: "You’re still alive, which is naturally the greatest news—but this ti, you’ve really scared everyone in the Whole Terra. Just within our Silver Peak Ether Territory’s virtual network, there are all kinds of news and discussions related to you. Everyone is talking about your sudden giant transformation, where that inexplicable crisis feeling ca from, and lastly, why you disappeared."
"Many people thought you were already dead. If not for Scott and Green Tide managing things well, our Silver Peak Ether Territory might have been thrown into chaos."
"Thank you for your hard work." Ian sincerely said, fully aware that when his star god’s body finally disintegrated, ninety percent of people would likely think he had died, at least severely injured and dormant.
"So what’s your real situation?"
Yisen Gard supported Ian as he slowly walked down from the dragon king’s spine. Whether in legends or reality, the proud True Dragon King actively lowered his body, folded his wings, transforming into a smooth staircase, allowing Ian to safely reach the ground: "Looks like you’re having trouble walking on your own."
"It’s okay. Just temporarily exhausted."
Ian replied softly, having beco accustod to such pure kindness and concern on this tiline, but across many space-tis... either it’s absent from start to finish, or he actively abandoned it.
He shook his head and smiled wryly: "This ti... it seems I’ve really over-exerted myself."
"Are you alright?" Adalbert, Sio, and Elan all gathered as Ian reached the ground—Scott and Green Tide were busy handling affairs, one managing governance, another leading patrols, while Anfa and Golan were dealing with matters related to Canaan Moore since the Eternal Wind had only recently left Falling Star City and needed so ti to return.
Hua’an and Frost Butterfly were already on the way, as for Ian’s disciples, Miles, Loran, and nearly six-year-old Cotes, two were doing tasks in the Lower Fla Domain back with the Silverpeak Domain, one was studying in the Pioneer Space, unaware of all external changes.
But soon, they will all return.
"Overall, it’s the backlash after the failed advancent while using Rites of the Star Gods."
To these true friends and loved ones gathered around him, Ian explained his state patiently: "I have already reached the Great Aether Circulation, and have seen... many indescribably strange landscapes."
"And it was at that mont that I truly understood the key to becoming Sixth Echelon or, as it is called, the ’Star God’."
"A body strong enough to hold nearly infinite energy."
"A soul intricate enough to compute nearly infinite information."
"Skill sophisticated enough to coordinate everything in balance, using vast computational power to accurately seek and connect with the Great Aether Circulation in the endlessly complex ether sea."
"Energy vast enough to unleash the full potential of the aforentioned three, allowing the ’self’s existence’ to enter the Great Aether Circulation."
"And lastly, a belief firm enough to forge the transcendental ’Sky Ladder’."
"Everything is interdependent, not one can be lacking. My Rites of the Star Gods only provide ’a sufficiently intricate soul’ and ’skill,’ helping with two and a half of the five key conditions.
"While the remaining two and a half, body, energy, and belief, must be sought by civilization itself. I think that is why the Star God believes that only a civilization capable of creating the perpetual motion machine can leave the ’Cradle’."
At this mont, Ian fully understood the Star God’s logic in constructing the Cradle.
All star systems qualified as Cradles, apart from being sufficiently remote, also share one crucial point: civilization within the star system has, at so past or future mont, produced a ’Pioneer.’
This planet contains a ’Rites of the Star Gods.’
Only a planet possessing the Rites of the Star Gods can serve as the foundation of a Cradle... because the Cradle is essentially the ’Star God’s Cradle,’ a civilization with the Rites of the Star Gods has already traveled half the path, and naturally, the rate at which a Star God is born will be faster than elsewhere.
"Sky Ladder?"
Though Adalbert wanted Ian to take a rest, he could see that Ian was eager to converse, so he simply followed along: "I always thought the Sky Ladder was a physical entity, so kind of cosmic wonder."
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