Dian was back at the Planet Master space, where he sat on a throne he had designed. Multiple panels showed him the latest situation on the planet, allowing him to oversee it.

The awakening of the planet’s spirituality was underway since all it needed was some time to form and properly awaken fully. With that done, Dian had to shift his focus to the preparation for a new Star Battle.

It was because the only way to increase his rank as a Planet Master lay ultimately in engaging Star Battle that Dian had to ensure he could overcome whatever the opponent threw at him.

[Announcement for Planet Master!]

[To be promoted to Third Rank Planet Master, you have to fulfil these conditions:

1. Reaching T3 Technology Tree
2. Reaching T2 Transcendent Tree
3. Participate in five Star Battle and won consecutively (0/5)]

Seeing the system panel showing him the condition made Dian aware of what he should do. He had already planned for the first two conditions but it was still a bit hard to prepare for the third condition since every Star Battle had brought dramatic change to his planet and civilization.

Other than this panel, which showed the requirements to advance, Dian also received several notifications regarding the activity of the Star Child.

[Your Star Child has comprehended the nature of the transcendent energy and raised his foundation, reaching the first heavenstage of the Nothingness Realm]

[Your Star Child has discovered a method to utilize the transcendent energy with tools]

There were also some notifications about the civilization and the planet’s situation.

[Your human civilizations have united under one banner. The production rate of items and scientific value increased dramatically!]

[Your Planet has awakened its spirituality. Progress of Awakening: 9,34% and increasing]

Dian nodded his head, pleased with the current situation. With human civilizations increasing their production, it would mean more armament would be produced and technology would be improved further.

As for spirituality, it could not be helped that the awakening process had to go through stages since he barely had the resources.

“With this, we can safely go into the next Star Battle. It is just that I am concerned with what kind of opponent I will get. Well, hope for the best and prepare for the worst.” Dian then ordered the Legion of Cloud in the Library of Consciousness to spread the news that the Star Battle was imminent.

Dian let out a sigh, something that he learned from a human. Dian could not help but absorb some of what his race did because to him they were also teaching something he did not know before.

As before Dian became a Planet Master, Dian did not even remember. It was as if his memories were covered by a mist, preventing him from recalling them to his consciousness. No matter how many times he tried to recall, he went blank and could not recall at all.

Strange, I have improved my status as a Planet Master but still unable to recall anything from before becoming a Planet Master. Is the condition of remembering my past related to the human civilization I nurture?

Dian could not help but have this thought. He felt that the human race and he were connected by the hands of fate, and he was here amid the Planet Master System, which was not a coincidence.

If so, then who brought me here and why?

Dian sighed once again as he did not find the answer. Perhaps, climbing higher in rank would enable him to uncover the secret of the Planet Master System as well as his own origin.

On the other hand, Leif was watching with happiness as his race was helping the humans invent new tools and the humans did not discredit them. The human even put the name of the inventor into the paper, making it obvious that it was a collaborative effort.

This sight is what I always wanted for them. I often wonder why Dian did not kill me. Is it because of pity or is it because I am more useful existing?

Leif often had that question in his mind. From his observation, Dian was often clueless about the common sense a Planet Master should have, yet he did know the basic principles and work of a Planet Master.

But the more he knew about Dian, the more he felt that Dian was someone with qualities to go beyond his current rank.

Perhaps, just perhaps, he could achieve something like the Ten Venerables.

Leif thought about that possibility but soon shook his head. He did not want to dismiss Dian’s potential but to reach that rank was something countless Planet Masters dreamed of.

Besides that, he also had to take care of the development of the Technology Tree. He had to do it more directly since this was what Dian wanted. The dwarves also wanted to do this, so Leif had little to no choice in this matter.

There was a tool that was designed for restraining transcendent, crippling their power and turned them into no different than an ordinary human. There was also a tool to help some plants absorb the undead element and even let it out if one so desired.

These tools were prepared in case the next Star Battle was against transcendent forces and the plan underwent several revisions and optimizations.

Leif kept looking for the people with potential to invent something new that could change civilization and he discovered that there were a thousand potential candidates to discover something. He watched over them and half of them discovered something that boosted the progress of the Technology Tree.

This was Leif’s duty and responsibility since he was under Dian’s rule.

On the other hand, the situation was different for Ghylea. He was responsible for the development of the Transcendent Tree, meaning he was in charge of overseeing the development of any derivatives of the transcendent energy sources and its utility.

Why am I still here?

He thought as he watched the transcendent from the system panel that Dian permitted him to have. He thought that as a loser and as an Undead Planet Master, he would be treated harshly or even just straight up being devoured by Dian.

He could not understand why Dian set it so that he was under him. Furthermore, Dian let his race learn and utilize the undead element to be part of their Transcendent Tree. It was something that only the Undead Planet Master would do and Dian definitely did not fall in this category.

So what is it that allows Dian to let me preserve my existence and even help him manage all of our race together? I think he knew about the reputation of the undead in the [Forum] but he doesn’t mind at all.

At this thought, Ghylea felt that Dian was just exploring the possible path for the undead because that was the first transcendent energy source Dian had discovered. If it were not for him, Dian would surely have utilized other transcendent energy sources.

But he was wondering more about Dian’s current objective and vision. He slowly felt like he had to know this existence called Dian better. He wanted to know more about this existence because Dian seemed to accept everyone who encountered him in the Star Battle.

Would the future Star Battle also be the same, with Dian claiming victory and accepting a new existence?

The prerequisite for that was if Dian’s side was winning. If they lost, they would be devoured and they ceased to exist and Ghylea did not want that.

He was actually thankful for Dian’s mercy as it allowed him to keep existing. Therefore, he would repay Dian by helping in the area where Dian needed help the most, and the Transcendent Tree was definitely a new path for Dian to take care of.

That is why I need a way to promote the transcendent path to the rest of the civilization. But with the spirituality of the planet awakening, I think this can be done faster. Just look at the concentration of the Ether on the atmosphere!

Ghylea opened the new panel which showed him the increasing graph. This was the statistic of the increasing Ether in the Cerulean Planet’s atmosphere.

Since the process of awakening was ongoing, the Ether in the air was steadily increasing. Ghylea knew that sooner or later, the humans and the dwarves would be able to utilize this transcendent energy source on a large scale.

He could not wait to see that day, in fact, Ghylea was looking forward to it.

Then Dian swept his arm and both Leif and Ghylea were moved to the specific place in the Planet Master’s space, the Throne Room.

Having seen Dian sitting on that throne, Leif and Ghylea had to report to him the latest situation as well as the development of both Technology and Transcendent Tree.

“Ahem. I will begin my report. Regarding the development of the civilization's technology, they have developed countermeasures against the potential enemy with transcendent powers. But this also caused some other developments to be halted, please understand them.” Leif was the one who reported first.

Dian nodded as he checked with the system panel the current development of the Technology Tree. Some were not progressing, while some had developed to completion.

“Good. What about those who developed the technologies? Are there any obstacles or difficulties in their progress?” Dian asked the crucial question, which could affect his strategy.

“Well, so far there are no significant difficulties. It is just that the people involved are a bit disappointed since they have to temporarily shift their focus to develop anti-personnel weapons and tools. Other than that, there is that group that has been living in the shadows of civilization. Shouldn’t you get rid of them?” Leif explained before he asked the question that he wanted.

Dian smiled slightly. He knew that a group of people had banded together to form this remnant and they were truly a threat to the people but he could not just get rid of them. The issue was that they were people who had a similar mindset and had to be defeated by another, something that Dian had no right to control.

Dian controlled the development of human civilization so much that the result was the rise and fall of the Snatcher. Even so, the remnant of that organization still lurked and waited for an opportunity to rise.

The Star Battle is both a crisis and an opportunity. That also applied to this group of people. I let them go because it is something that humanity has to go through.

“Why should I? Remember how they are formed? I think it is the natural progress of things. If so, then the right move is to guide the civilization to treat them as an enemy to humankind due to their often obstructive act and mindset.” Dian replied.

Leif also knew that what Dian said was correct. The matter of the race had to be solved by themselves, possibly without external intervention.

If there were an intervention, there would be a hidden danger ready to surface the moment they did not take notice.

“But you have something in mind for them, right?” Leif probed.

Dian raised his index finger with a slight smile on his face.

“Well, they may try something that other humans do not attempt. Let’s see what kind of leader they have in the Star Battle.”

Leif was stunned for a moment. He thought about the development of humans as well as the interaction of the races in Star Battle. Soon, he had a hunch of what Dian was hinting at.

No way they will do that, right? But Dian acted as if it were a done deal.

“Alright, your report is accepted. Now it is Ghylea’s turn to give a report.” Dian then proceeded to the next agenda so that it would not affect the timing of the Star Battle.

Ghylea, who had the form of a cloaked figure with a scythe, then voiced his report.

“There is some bottleneck in the progress of the transcendent power. Basically, they are stuck at the third heavenstage of the Core Formation Realm and cannot advance any further. I am looking into it but so far, the main issue is that the undead element we currently have is not concentrated and pure enough.” Ghylea softly explained. His voice was like that and Dian was used to that.

“I can take care of that later. More importantly, what about the transcendent forces available for deployment?” Dian asked.

“There are four hundred transcendent combat-ready, including those at the peak of the Nothingness Realm and Core Formation Realm. Both in the Heavensend Continent and Comberth Continent, there will be transcendent beings ready to act when the Star Battle commences.” Ghylea explained.

Since they did not know where the rift would appear, they sent information to the Library of Consciousness to the Legion of Cloud so that they could spread it to the living humans. And the humans did as informed, since it also matched their battle plan.

The spearhead of the Star Battle would be the newly created Cerulean Defense Force. Since this was the first mission, Dian was looking forward to the performance of this particular organization.

Dian did not say anything anymore since even Ghylea knew about it. He operated most of the system panels and gave specific instructions to the chosen people. This instruction was in case the enemy could break through the front line.

Then Dian placed the panel to the side and resumed the discussion.

“The rate at which the spirit of the planet awakens is fast. Not only that but the process also spread transcendent energy sources to the entire planet. There will be a beneficial effect on the civilization on the surface but wouldn’t this attract the opponent in Star Battle?” Ghylea asked.

Dian replied, “It doesn’t matter. Even if the opponent realizes something, it will be all over if we win or lose anyway. The most important thing is to win this Star Battle and analyze our strengths and weaknesses. Prepare all things so that they can be deployed at the earliest convenience.”

“Yes!” both Leif and Ghylea nodded and checked the progress on their part.

Since Dian spared their existence, he used them as a helper to manage the races and civilizations on the planet. It was proven to be useful and Dian even knew some things he did not know before, increasing his knowledge about Planet Master.

Dian focused his gaze to a certain location in the Cerulean Planet, looking at the Second Star Child the civilization had produced.

 

-

 

After the awakening process had been completed and the perimeter had formed, Tatsumi and his group left the Undead Secret Realm. Even though Tatsumi wanted to stay longer, he knew that he could visit it another time but a sudden notification relayed by Kudungga made him firm on leaving.

Almost everyone was suddenly receiving something that directed them toward full preparation. Tatsumi could even see the serious face on Mikazuki Yamaguchi’s face and knew that it could be related to the next Star Battle.

‘Uncle, are you saying I should be in the rear, safeguarding the logistics? I want to join the Cerulean Defense Force but if I cannot help much, then what is the point?’ Tatsumi protested.

‘Boy, you realized that is the direct order from the Father God, right? There must be a reason why the rear has to be protected by people like you. Leave the overall operation to the others, they are professionals in their respective field. You do what you can.’ Kudungga commented.

‘Hahaha, that’s right. You should know your position. Currently, you are weak and not influential so the best position for you is the rear.’ Another voice slipped through.

Tatsumi knew whose voice that was but he did not comment.

‘Perhaps this is a good decision. What can a seventeen-year-old do on the frontline other than be cannon fodder? But since Father God decided for me to be in the rear, there is a chance that the enemy will strike at our rear using a method never seen before.’

He thought about this while placing back the protective suit to its rack. He had returned to the palace and in the changing room. He felt refreshed after putting out the protective suit as he realized that he was sweating.

After that, he got out and regrouped with the rest of his group.

“The suit is comfortable, but it can easily accumulate sweat.” Ame felt horrible after realizing that. She felt somewhat dirty and wanted to take a bath as soon as possible.

“At least the suit did not hinder the movement. I think that is its good aspect.” Ame’s uncle, one of the shadow guards, commented.

“Oh, you have gathered here.” Tatsumi came to them at this moment and they all asked his opinion about the suit.

“Yeah, it’s all sweaty if you're in there, but it is something I am willing to take for my safety in an environment with a dense concentration of undead elements.” He replied.

All of them nodded in agreement. Compared to their safety, a little sweat felt like nothing.

“Alright, all of you have participated in this operation to awaken something important so what do you think?” Hecates as the one who lead the group asked.

“If the three gods and I are necessary for the awakening of the planet’s spirituality, it means that this was extremely important.” Tatsumi answered.

“This is an opportunity for the three gods and it is extraordinary in nature. Perhaps there will be a great change in the future.” Yamaguchi said.

Ame agreed with her father. Then the shadow guards answered and Long Wu also replied with something that added to the probability that the awakening of the spirit of the planet was a transformation unlike before.