Chapter 98: Skypeian Shadows? Zunesha?
"Outside the Alliance, Gods exist."
"Gods?"
The teacher's words forcibly shattered everyone's worldview.
Chen Yu raised an eyebrow. There was no such information in the original owner's memories.
Recalling when Ling Wenshu spoke about the origins of the Devil Fruits, this had never been mentioned either.
Earlier, Su Qingyu had said the Flying General Squad was responsible for "other things." He had assumed it meant trickier Ferocious Beasts, not something metaphysical involving "Gods."
The teacher at the podium looked at the varied reactions below—shock, confusion, disbelief—without a hint of surprise.
He rapped his knuckles on the desk. The sound wasn't loud, but it quieted the room instantly. "No need to be shocked. This isn't a fabricated legend; this is a top-secret classified by the Alliance."
He paused, his gaze landing on a student in the front row who had raised their hand, signaling them to put it down before continuing. "Some of you were correct earlier. The Alliance was established three hundred years ago by ability users joining forces."
"But what you don't know is that the original intention behind establishing the Alliance, aside from fighting Ferocious Beasts, was primarily to defend against the threat posed by 'Gods'."
"The strongest individual in our Alliance is the Lord Marshal, a Tier 9 Nova Awakener." The teacher's voice carried a tone of reverence, but also a hidden trace of helplessness.
"You may not have witnessed the power of a Tier 9 Awakener, but you can likely imagine it."
"Moving mountains and draining seas—three hundred years ago, such power would have been enough to be called a 'God'."
"Yet, even with the Marshal, and even with countless Awakeners guarding the Great Wall, humanity remains trapped within these walls, daring not to easily step beyond the Alliance's borders."
At these words, the classroom finally erupted into hushed whispers.
"Even a peak Tier 9 isn't enough? Just how strong are these Gods?"
"What exactly does the world outside the Great Wall look like? Is it just teeming with Gods everywhere?"
The teacher didn't interrupt immediately. He waited until the discussions died down slightly before clicking the remote for the projection screen behind him.
On the previously blank screen, a PowerPoint slide labeled [Top Secret · Divine Phenomenon Archive 001] appeared.
The first page contained only a single line of bold text:
Any phenomenon that cannot be explained by science or Awakener abilities, and possesses abnormal influence, is collectively referred to as a—Divine Phenomenon.
"The reason we don't publicize this is, firstly, because there aren't many 'Gods,' and the main threat to human survival is still the Ferocious Beasts."
"Secondly, these matters are too inconceivable. If ordinary people knew there were 'Gods' outside the Alliance, it would only trigger mass panic and disrupt the existing social order."
"Thirdly... the more people who know, the more dangerous it becomes." The teacher pointed at the text on the screen, his tone solemn. "It has a cognitohazardous nature."
"Only people like you—who have passed through layers of selection to enter the training camp and may join the Special Squads to protect the Alliance in the future—are qualified to know this."
"Teacher!" The one raising his hand this time was Zhuge Jing. He pushed up his glasses, his tone calm but inquisitive. "What exactly do these 'Divine Phenomena' look like? Is there actual physical evidence?"
He was extremely curious about these things. After all, his own luck could sometimes be called a divine miracle.
"Of course there is." The teacher nodded, pressing the remote again. The slide flipped to the next page.
The first photo that appeared on the screen had terrible quality. The edges were yellowed like old film, and it was marred by scratches.
Chen Yu couldn't help but roast it internally: Why is it that the moment it's something critical, the resolution automatically drops to potato quality?
The background of the photo was a gray, overcast sky, seemingly forever shrouded in dark clouds. In the center of the image was a colossal black humanoid silhouette.
The silhouette had no distinct facial features, only a rough human outline, with something resembling wings on its back.
But just this outline was enough to make one's scalp tingle.
Beneath the silhouette's feet were several rolling hills, yet in front of this figure, those hills didn't even reach its ankles.
In the bottom right corner of the photo, there was a line of tiny text: [ID: 001 — The Sky-Piercer].
"This was taken fifty years ago by a Special Squad, 900 kilometers outside the Great Wall," the teacher said in a low voice.
"At the time, they thought it was a gigantic Ferocious Beast. But after analyzing the photo, they discovered this figure had no breath and no heartbeat."
"It resembles a projection. But the fact that something could create a projection of this magnitude... that is even more terrifying to think about."
The teacher switched photos. The second one was clearer than the first. It showed four pillars reaching all the way into the heavens.
"This is [Divine Phenomenon ID: 002 — The Pillars of Heaven]."
The teacher pointed to the edge of the image, slowing his speech. "Look closely. These dark brown 'pillar shafts' aren't smooth stone. Look at the texture."
The students leaned in and realized that the surface of the so-called "stone pillars" was actually covered in crisscrossing deep grooves.
It looked like the wrinkled skin of some gigantic organism.
Gu Yunxi frowned and poked Su Qingqing next to her. "That doesn't look like stone. It looks like the skin of the old yellow ox my grandma raises back home. All wrinkly."
Su Qingqing didn't speak. She just stared at the "stone pillars" in the photo, confusion in her eyes.
Zhuge Jing pushed up his glasses, his fingertips tapping lightly on the desk edge. "Teacher, the spacing of the 'stone pillars' in the photo looks very regular. It doesn't seem naturally formed; it looks like an intentional arrangement."
The teacher nodded, a hint of uncertainty in his tone. "You observe very carefully."
"A Special Squad once got close to it. When they were two hundred meters away from the 'stone pillars,' they felt a weak energy fluctuation."
"It wasn't an Awakener's ability, nor was it the aura of a Ferocious Beast. It felt more like the 'heartbeat' of some living creature. They could feel the ground gently vibrating from miles away."
Chen Yu stared at the screen, his fingers unconsciously rubbing the table.
He felt a sense of déjà vu regarding these four "Pillars of Heaven."
"So, what are these four 'stone pillars' actually for?" a student in the back row couldn't help but ask. "They can't just be standing there as decorations, right?"
The teacher shook his head, his tone helpless. "No one knows."
"Special Squads have tried attacking the 'stone pillars' with high-tier abilities. But the attacks landed without leaving even a scratch. Instead, the weak energy fluctuation rebounded the force, injuring the attackers."
The teacher explained, "Some researchers speculate that these four stone pillars are alive."
The classroom fell silent. The pillars are alive?!
The teacher's words suddenly clicked for Chen Yu. He felt as if he had just woken from a dream.
Wait a damn minute, he thought internally. Aren't these just the four legs of Zunesha?!
And that "Sky-Piercer"... isn't that just the shadows of the Skypeians projected onto the mist?!
The teacher on the podium released the third photo. It showed a village.
The village wasn't large, surrounded by a low wooden fence. The houses inside were mostly made of adobe and looked very primitive.
But strangely, there wasn't a single person in the village. The grass at the village entrance had grown half a person high and was withered and yellow, as if no one had tended to it for a long time.
"A village?"
"There are people living outside the Alliance?"
(To be Continued)