"Where can I get a big broad shelter, a thousand, ten thousand spans wide, a huge roof that all of the world's poor people can share with smiling faces?"
Xia Ping'an stood on the hill slope and looked down at the forest not far from the cave. He could see the multitude of nests in the trees. He was emotional and could not help but utter this line from a poem.
Further away on the hill, there was another piece of land that they used to bury the dead in the tribe. It was the first time that those who died had a grave and a place to belong and rest in peace. The dead no longer needed to end up like beasts. They could finally leave this world with dignity.
As for the living, they had a place where they could remember the deceased.
What was civilization? This was.
There was still no written word in this era, so they could not carve tombstones. Xia Ping'an taught the tribesmen to place a large stone on top of the grave after they buried the dead as a tombstone. He also told them to place the spear and staff that the deceased had previously used when they were still alive before their tomb. He told the family of the deceased that they could place items that the deceased had used before or things that they could remember him by in front of the tomb or on the staff. Some things could also be burned for the deceased.
The families of the deceased came out one by one to hang the bone necklaces and other items that the deceased wore when they were alive on the staff. Some even hung the clothes and beast skins that Xia Ping'an had taught them to make on the staff next to the tombstone as commemorative items.
Right now, Xia Ping'an was wearing the best tiger skin the tribe had. The bones of the tribe's hunts hung on a necklace around his neck. He wore a feathered crown adorned with the feathers of golden pheasants and that was woven from juniper straw. In his hand, he held a wooden staff that symbolized his position in the tribe. These were all given to him by the tribesmen.
The tiger skin was from when Xia Ping'an led the warriors of the tribe to hunt a few saber-toothed tigers together. They skinned the tigers, and everyone felt that only Xia Ping'an was qualified to wear them.
The bone ornaments were carved from the teeth of their hunts. It represented the number of ferocious beasts the person had hunted. The more beasts they had hunted, the more bone ornaments they would have around their necks. More bones also meant that they were wealthier and braver.
The women of the tribe gifted him with this feathered crown adorned with golden pheasant feathers and that was woven from juniper straw. The women of the tribe were grateful to Xia Ping'an for teaching them many crafts, allowing them to care for their children better once they were born. Fewer infants died young.
As for the wooden staff in his hands, it was given to him by all the elders in the tribe.
Before, when Xia Ping'an studied history, he had questions as to why the staff became the symbol of status and prestige. Only now did he understand that the wooden staff in his hand was used to beat people in the tribe.
He could use the wooden staff to beat up anyone. Anyone who did not obey his orders would be beaten by him with it. Those that were beaten could not resist and could only await punishment.
The wooden staff in his hands represented the authority to deliver punishment in the tribe. This was the earliest origin of scepters.
Due to the fact that he had extraordinary wisdom, what he said was true. He caused the entire tribe to lead happy lives. He was also not selfish and had taught all he knew to the tribesmen. Hence, the tribe had given him the wooden staff that could be used to beat people. Whoever disobeyed his commands would be beaten with it.
This was an item bestowed upon him by the entire tribe due to his contributions and position. Everyone in the tribe agreed to this.
This was the original form of scepters.
A few of the strongest youths in the tribe wielded long spears and stood behind Xia Ping'an. They looked at him as though they were worshipping a deity.
Xia Ping'an looked at the nests built on top of the trees. His mind was filled with thoughts.
Youchao might not have imagined that tens of thousands of years later, when countless structures of steel and concrete replaced the forests and when human technology and civilization had already advanced significantly, many people would still have a hard time finding a 'nest'.
A misty fog appeared in the world in front of him. The entire world around him became countless balls of light and dissipated in the mist.
...
It was lunchtime. The summoners of the National Order Council Xianghe City branch appeared in the cafeteria of their headquarters almost exactly on time.
These past few days, the summoners had been igniting the light every night, guarding the peace in Xianghe City. Their bodies had been worn out. Unbeknown since when, the food in the cafeteria had become more luxurious. The cafeteria didn't seem to care about the cost of the food.
At lunch hour today, the entire cafeteria was filled with the aroma of squab stew and turtle stew. The squab stew was cooked with ginseng, astragalus, and red dates while the turtle stew was cooked with ginseng and wolfberry.
Tu Polu was the first to reach the cafeteria. Next was Li Yunzhou, followed by Cao Xinghua, An Qing, Fang Lingshan, and Mo Yanshao.
The six of them subconsciously sat across one another at a long table. Each of them grabbed their own lunches and talked as they ate.
Although they were chatting, almost all of their gazes were silently directed at the entrance of the cafeteria. They seemed to be waiting for something.
"Head, is that kid going to be okay?" Li Yunzhou inquired as he chewed on a delicious squab.
"Watch what you are saying. No one will call you dumb if you don't speak," Fang Lingshan said as she glared at Li Yunzhou.
"I am just being concerned about a colleague," Li Yunzhou defended himself. When he saw Tu Polu also glaring at him with his eyes as big as bronze bells, he scratched his nose and retracted his neck as he smirked.
"Before I came down, I just checked. The readings from the thermal sensor in Room 963 are normal. A few hours have already passed, so Xia Ping'an should be fine."
Mo Yanshao calmly said, "The chances of failing to merge with the divine altar boundary bead are higher than 80% and usually occur within two hours of merging with the boundary bead. However, it has been more than four hours since Xia Ping'an began. His chances of success are very high. He might be coming down soon."
"I wonder what benefits he will reap from merging with the divine altar boundary bead this time. It is a very critical boundary bead," An Qing added.
"You can ask him when he comes down," Li Yunzhou hurriedly chimed in after An Qing said this.
An Qing smiled slightly and did not say anything. She merely shook her head.
For a summoner, it was not a good thing for others to know too many details of them merging with the boundary beads. The reason why the Mind Altar coalesced by summoners was known as the Secret Mind Altar was because the less people knew about everything within it, the better. Unless, of course, when they needed to reveal their abilities for mission purposes.
Everyone already knew about Xia Ping'an's first perfect merge with the divine fire boundary bead. His name had reached the provincial branch. This might garner some fame for Xia Ping'an, but right now, Xia Ping'an was merging with the divine altar boundary bead. It was not convenient for others to know about the details.
Among the three boundary beads used to coalesce a summoner's Secret Mind Altar, the second divine altar boundary bead was extremely critical. This boundary bead would set a strong foundation for the summoner's Secret Mind Altar. Its effects were far-reaching.
Before they officially coalesced their Secret Mind Altars, many powerful summoners widened their gap with other ordinary summoners after they merged with the divine altar boundary bead.
Ordinary summoners would obtain 10 to 12 points of divine power after merging with the divine altar boundary bead. Once they successfully merged with the divine being boundary bead and coalesced their Secret Mind Altar, they would be granted a spell summoning slot for the technique Green Guard. Most summoners experienced this.
However, the reason why the divine altar boundary bead was crucial was that it had many possibilities and variations. Ten to 12 points of divine power as well as a spell summoning slot for the technique Green Guard was definitely not everything the divine altar boundary bead had to offer.
The better summoners could obtain more than 16 points of divine power after merging with the divine altar boundary bead. On top of the Green Guard summoning slot, they might also earn an Armor Enhancement summoning slot.
Green Guard enabled summoners to summon a protective barrier when they were executing missions in the wilderness. With the protective barrier, the summoners were safe from all attacks from poisonous bugs and ferocious beasts. Green Guard was very useful. It was said that summoners who possessed it could pretty much treat the wilderness as their home.
Armor Enhancement could enhance any clothing or armor that a summoner was wearing. The effect was equivalent to having another layer of defense on top of the existing clothes or armor that the summoners had on.
In the past, after Mo Yanshao had successfully merged with the divine altar boundary bead, he obtained the Armor Enhancement summoning slot. His achievement allowed him to stand head and shoulders above many others.
Aside from the Armor Enhancement summoning slot, very few summoners might also obtain another even stronger and more useful summoning slot after successfully merging with the divine altar boundary bead. It was the item summoning slot for the Requiem Banner.
Among all the summoning slots, it was the hardest for summoners to earn an item summoning slot. Those who had the Requiem Banner item summoning slot could summon the Requiem Banner and use it to comfort the dead.
The Requiem Banner could ensure that the corpse of the deceased would not be desecrated by corpse explosion technique, corpse alchemy technique, corpse sacrificing technique, undead summoning, and zombie viruses. Even if the corpse was left out in the open, it would not be desecrated by wild beasts and insects. It would even no longer decay until it was buried peacefully for many years. It would be as though the corpse had been mummified. It would become a dry corpse and would not be pestered with bugs.
Summoners who possessed the Requiem Banner could also master corpse manipulation techniques, compelling the corpse to return to its homeland on its own to be buried peacefully.
In various films and television dramas, summoners who possessed the Requiem Banner appeared on the silver screen the most.
For summoners who possessed the Requiem Banner item summoning slot, even if they did not merge with many boundary beads, had low ranks, or were new summoners, their status among summoners would be extraordinary. They would be respected by all and would be sought out no matter where they went.
Since ancient times, in the armies of various countries, summoners who possessed the Requiem Banner were the most revered among soldiers. The love and respect the soldiers had for summoners who possessed the Requiem Banner far exceeded their respect towards summoners with powerful spells.
Even in modern times, in the armies of the various countries, summoners who possessed the Requiem Banner item summoning slot were standard among the armies. They usually served as the army's priest and guaranteed the army's morale.