Chapter 572: Chapter 572
572: Chapter 541: The Ecology of the Aurora Sea (3/3) 572: Chapter 541: The Ecology of the Aurora Sea (3/3) Ian could fly, and in his past life, he had grown accustomed to flying in sky vessels and rockets.
He even took the orbital space elevator several times a week.
But to ride in a disc-shaped flying object was truly like getting a tap on the shoulder in the dark—his very first time.
The core cockpit of the flying vehicle was located at a central height, while the cylindrical space in the middle served as the passenger area, with two levels of fixed seats, capable of transporting fifty people at a time.
At that moment it was evening in the Imperial Capital, but the entire city and all the Lower City Districts were brightly lit, neon lights flashing and peoples’ voices loud, the never-resting factories, and workshops swallowing huge amounts of materials.
Ian looked down upon this scene from the air, fixing his gaze on the huge and bright pillar of light at the center of the Imperial Capital.
Swarms of light particles constantly created a layer of mist above the center of the Imperial Capital, but it wasn’t real mist; it was a light phenomenon formed by an overly condensed natural spiritual energy field and the mixture of the Origin Quality.
The mist was like snow, yet it resembled some sort of tangible light.
Even though the disc-shaped flying vehicle quickly reached an altitude of ten thousand meters, this height was still inferior to the Imperial Capital’s huge jet port and submerged into this luminous fog.
“It’s truly beautiful,” Ian whispered.
He had always been fond of such things, whether they were man-made or natural.
Such grand and magnificent sights had always been captivating.
But it is this overly powerful technology, this transcendent force, that caused the beings of Terra to sink into their current predicament.
However, Ian never believed that the Terra of now was the ‘answer’.
It was just an equation, a problem.
A complex, difficult, but ultimately solvable problem.
He was going to try to find the answer—an answer that would satisfy the majority of people.
Now, the young man had reached the height of a mountain peak.
At this elevation, whether it was cities or Humans, all seemed incredibly small…
The rulers of this world stood in places , looking down over all living beings.
It wasn’t necessarily true that they didn’t love others.
Inega II might have been the strongest and most radical, possibly also the most loving one, but not all the Fifth Energy Level beings were evil, all were not villains—the high-power level strong ones of this world had to possess unwavering hearts and wishes, their own dreams, and codes.
They were all loving others, all trying in another way, to make their own countries, their own people, live better.
At the least, to become stronger.
But whether it’s the strong or the ordinary people, standing at this kind of place, at a height where they could look down over everything…
at that time, what they were thinking about might be things of a thousand years later.
The survival of Terra, the continuation of civilization.
They couldn’t see the happiness of one person, didn’t know the meaning behind a family’s smile, nor did they care about the survival or extinction of a city.
They pondered the survival of the entire human race, how to cope with natural disasters, how to maintain the fragile balance of this world.
And Ian knew that one day he too would stand in that place, overlooking the world.
The youth withdrew his gaze.
—But it was definitely not just the mountaintop.
He wanted to stand higher, see farther, grasp the nuances of even more people, and make everyone understand some, lofty ideals…
Because only by doing so…
“Only by doing so, will I be able to fulfill my dream,” Ian murmured to himself, drawing a curious tilt of the head from the Frost Butterfly and he reached out to pat the Little Fairy’s head: “Don’t worry, Frost Butterfly.
You just stay back during this operation, there’s no need for you to come.”
Having said that, Ian sighed, “I was wondering whether to have you stay in the Imperial Capital…
but then it would be of no benefit.”
The future silver mist emanating from Frost Butterfly would only appear when accompanying Ian to the Avak region.
If it stayed in the Imperial Capital, it would just be pale blue, with no change whatsoever.
No matter what, he couldn’t pass up the chance to strengthen Frost Butterfly—but Ian was also a bit conflicted, wondering if it was too dangerous for Frost Butterfly.
But after all, it was a Fae.
It would be taken care of by Hua’an and Mo Feng.
Unless in the Domain of Void, it would be difficult to even die otherwise.
To avoid being discovered, the Floating Stone Aircraft had to remain suspended around 15,000 meters high for extended periods; once reaching the Western Territory, it would rapidly descend, flying close to the ground, and then head straight for the Avak area.
During this process, the entire aircraft had to maintain silence.
The weapons Ian brought this time were still the originals.
A Charged Water Gun, Iron Pattern Sword, Heavy Abyss Iron Sword, and Entangling Void Armor.
A box of potions, various observation instruments.
After all, he was officially just an Alchemist, and though his swordsmanship was good (everyone thought it was taught by Viscount Grant), it wasn’t necessary to carry excessively sophisticated weapons.
The disc-shaped aircraft flashed across the high sky, almost non-existent from the ground view.
At most, a Sublimator might see a point of light flickering in the clouds, which was easily overlooked.
But still, this was not considered high.
Above the disc-shaped aircraft, there was a remarkably splendid ‘ocean of light’, which was probably Terra’s ionosphere.
It contained vast amounts of Spirit Energy Fields and Natural Origin Quality, though all too fierce with no structure, and not as convenient to absorb as the surface’s biologically transformed variety.
If there was a way to utilize it, this could also be considered a quite extensive energy reserve.
And within this immense energy reserve, there existed some extremely large creatures, several kilometers long.
At first, Ian was quite shocked.
But he soon realized that it wasn’t a single creature, but rather a collective made up of numerous ‘atmospheric planktonic organisms’.
These organisms, feeding on the ionosphere of Terra, on the Origin Quality derived from the sun, were the first layer of Terra Ecology’s processing of Natural Origin Quality.
They constructed most of the Essence Fragments into structured Origin Quality, which then entered the ecosystem with the rain or wind, and could thus be utilized by all beings.
When their colonies gathered together, they resembled some kind of whale, a gigantic bird, or a serpentine coiling Great Serpent…
They emitted dazzling streams of light, akin to the auroras, which occasionally crossed the sky, magnificent beyond compare.
“It is said that once Thunderhunter Jellyfish reach the Second Energy Level, they will float there through magnetic levitation, hunting those ‘Aurora Mayflies.’ It is because of such power, pursuing thunder and auroras, that they are called Thunderhunter Jellyfish” explained Hua’an, who was showing his Fae Scholar’s demeanor, noticing the direction of Ian’s gaze and seriously explaining to Ian.
“And at that time, the King of the Thunder Jellyfish Swarm, or its ‘Brain’, will truly be born…
That is the Third Energy Level behemoth known as the ‘Aurora Devourer’, the ‘Thunder God Carrier’.”
“Also, your friend Eason Jayde with the Light Erosion Dragon Bloodline, holding the legacy known as the Celestial Huntsman, lives within this ecological cycle too, being one of the top predator as well.”
Ian suddenly understood, nodding seriously as a sign of gratitude.
It seemed that Terra, besides the surface, also had a rich ecosystem within the atmosphere.
Ian had been focused on studying Alchemy recently and hadn’t much increased his knowledge base since these encyclopedic details were low priority.
If he wanted to know, he could simply ask others or have the Silver Chip identify them.
That led to the question—Who was the highest level ruler of this ecosystem?
That’s what Ian inquired.
“Of course, it’s the True Dragons.”
Mo Feng, blunt and straightforward, solved Ian’s doubt: “The majority of True Dragon nests are located above the atmosphere in orbit, revolving around Tara—though there are also those who prefer to construct their nests on the surface, such as the Qing Steel Dragon or the Icefog Dragon, and there are some Sea Dragons.”
“But those of the wind and fire, as well as some of the magnetoelectric dragons, reside in the void.”
“True Dragons are also at the top of the line in intelligence species, just like us Fae, and won’t rashly involve themselves in the disputes of the Tara Confederation.
And many ecological life forms derived from the true dragons live in the sea of the atmosphere.
The Dragon Island located in the balance orbit is a bustling place.”
I see, so it’s a Space Ecopolis or simply a cluster of space islands?”
Thinking thus, Ian raised his head, looking up to the sky above…
He suddenly felt that this world was indeed unexpectedly dangerous, and couldn’t help but express his awe: “Truly terrifying.”
“But also unexpectedly fascinating.”
He really wanted to see these unique sights, this dangerous yet interesting world.
With that mood of uncertainty or anticipation, the Floating Stone Aircraft continued its silent journey, quickly arriving at the Western Territory by nightfall.
The disc-shaped aircraft decreased its altitude in a serene woodland area, gently lowering the transport vehicle with a soft thud.
And so, Ian and the others arrived at the edge of the Avak region.