Soul of Burning Steel

Starfall 837, on June 15th, the sound of brush strokes on the paper rustled, and the light of the fluorite lamp projected onto the desk, emitting a warm light golden light.

In the study on the second floor of the Moldavian Lord's Mansion, there was a rare sound of writing, accompanied by the sound of steady and regular breathing, which proved that the author's thinking was clear and smooth.

It can be seen that it is a piece of well-made, neat and white letter paper, and a big hand is holding a pen. It is not fast to use it, but a series of characters are written at a very stable speed.

【Holy Eagle: On the Essence of the Ultimate Soul】

This is the beginning of the letter, and what follows is a large piece of text, because the first page has just been turned, so I can only look at the beginning of the second page.

"According to the above conclusions, you should also understand my opinion and the vocabulary used to describe it."

The handwriting of the person holding the pen is not fancy. He writes as if a machine is running. Every stroke is exactly the same as the standard font. Even with a magnifying glass, you can’t find the slightest difference. With this regular rhythm, he continues to write. It reads: "I can say this: the brain of a normal human being is hardware, and the soul is an additional virtual processor that can optimize the operation of the hardware. Self-awareness loads memory and genetic instincts by operating the hardware of the brain. This database, thereby mobilizing the whole body."

"However, there is a limit to the hardware. Humans' fragile brains cannot be overloaded... and whether it is the breathing cycle of fighting spirit or the operation of magic runes, they all need to occupy a lot of resources. At subsonic and supersonic speeds In combat, the human brain can no longer handle this calculation speed, and at this moment, the soul will take over part of the work and process part of the information."

"During the training of the White Dragon Knights, I used the power of steel to detect every change in each of them during the training and battle, no matter the soul or vitality... During high-intensity training, the brain will be stimulated by life energy. Or the magic power is protected to maintain its overload operation, but when it comes to battle, the brain will no longer be overloaded, because then the soul will take over the body instead of the brain."

"This is a qualitative change... Baiyin Yaoling, at this stage, the soul will be nourished by energy and develop at a high speed. When the fighters can release their fighting spirit and the mage can control the energy outside the body, their souls will all mature,' Abilities such as 'sixth sense', 'danger prediction', 'the way of sincerity' and 'mind's eye' are basically developed at this stage."

When writing this, the person holding the pen paused for a moment. He seemed to be thinking about the words, and then took up the pen again after a while: "The soul grows with the growth of extraordinary power. At the gold level, it is no longer optimized. The algorithm of the brain, but all the complex calculations are taken over, and when the ultimate and even legendary advanced, even the brain is not necessary, and can be discarded at any time."

"I have every reason to draw such a conclusion: the soul is an organ evolved by human beings to master the extraordinary. It is not present at the birth of our species, but evolved in a high-concentration energy environment. The soul is an ordinary organ. A part of human consciousness, but it is all of most of the supernatural beings - its existence itself is the embodiment of 'supernatural power' and 'prime fire' in the human beings created by 'steel power' and 'life force', A fusion of fire and steel power."

"The so-called ultimate meaning of the soul is when the soul is completely freed from all shackles and becomes an independent individual."

At this time, the author's writing became heavy: "At that time, the original concept of 'human beings' had disappeared, and new, sublimated 'spiritual humans' appeared. They may still have bodies, but that It is no longer the subject of life."

"This is my opinion on 'soul' and 'ultimate meaning of soul'."

"—Joshua Van Radcliffe."

The letter was completed, and the person holding the pen - Joshua put it in the envelope. On the envelope, brilliant magic radiance flickered. Moments later, the envelope was reduced to ashes in the ever-changing magic radiance, and in a certain distance, a letter with exactly the same content was slowly emerging in a fine crystal circle .

During the recent period, Eagle has been very busy, and the old pope has far more work than others: whether it is the holy mountain fortress or the descending of the seven gods, all of these are the tasks he is responsible for. Joshua, who was discussing and debating various supernatural power issues with the other party, now chooses to use letters to communicate with the other party to exchange mutual views.

Although the current communication circle has developed to the point where it can even cross continents, Joshua feels that it is not a bad thing to be nostalgic once in a while. Anyway, there is a lot of time, and writing is not bad. He put down the pen in his hand, and then from the seat Standing up, the soldier sat down on the sofa in the corner of the study, and then closed his eyes.

Now, Joshua has obtained his own answer to the ultimate meaning of the soul, but he is not prepared to take this path.

For the vast majority of people in this world, the reason why the soul will grow with the strength of the strength is because the brain as a hardware cannot process all kinds of information faster and faster, and as the key point, the brain is often destroyed by the enemy. Attacks are targeted, so it is right to discard the brain and choose the soul...but not always.

For example, Joshua——his hardware is stronger than all the others combined, and even the "divine nature" of a virus that can assimilate consciousness algorithms is difficult to corrode.

The head is harder than a warrior's head, perhaps only the steel python. The body of this great will is actually the whole world. The world is the purest creation of steel, and its soul is naturally the purest fire. Condensation is also the fusion of fire and steel. It's just a pity that the 'world' cannot be used as a thinking organ, so the steel python still uses its soul to think.

Joshua and the steel python are different from other ordinary people. At this time, his body is completely composed of degenerate matter. No matter what kind of overload operation, it is impossible to cause any damage to this matter. There is no need to use this He only needs to assemble a supercomputer for himself with a special inferior superalloy to carry his mind and soul, then his pure calculation speed will surpass most legends, and if the soul is assisted, he can even Reached the level of 'unpredictable prophet'.

But through the soul, Joshua, who has no vital points for the time being, does not intend to re-create a vital point and weakness for himself. His plan is to allow every part of his body to have independent computing power, have independent Survivability: Even a drop of blood, a bit of debris, and a speck of dust can be calculated, reorganized, and self-replicated... Does it sound familiar? A drop of blood can reproduce a race, a little debris can transform most of the world, even if it has been dead for a thousand years, the thought particles left behind can still form a divine mist, and can preserve most of the thoughts and memories——

This is the 'perfect body' of the ancient dragon and the 'immortal soul' of the gods. Both of these two existences that are almost at the top of life have almost immortal power, and are praised and worshiped by everyone in the world.

Using the representative abilities of the two as a reference, supplemented by the "mass-spirit conversion equation" of the sage Faina, Joshua is also preparing to create his own unique immortal power--when this power comes true, Then even if the warrior is blown to ashes, he can be reborn from the debris of his body anytime and anywhere. His soul is his body, and his body can also be transformed into his soul.

At that time, unless Joshua's whole body and soul are completely annihilated in one breath, and there is no material left, then there is no way to kill him, at most seal him up, and wait for the day when he makes a comeback.

After clarifying his thoughts once again, Joshua nodded, and then opened his eyes. He has already set the next development goal and path for himself. When he achieves 100% assimilation of the power of steel and advances to the legendary intermediate stage , he will begin to perfect his 'immortal power'.

At that time, what was waiting for him was a legendary high-level that was endless and marching towards infinity.

"The time has come."

Standing up from the sofa, the soldier walked out of the study room. Joshua came to the top floor of the Lord's Mansion. The magnetic field surged around him. He rose slowly, and then accelerated in the safe area. The strong wind blew around him, and he surpassed the clouds in an instant.

Today is the day that has already been agreed. After the Boundless Heaven Realm was completely merged into the Mycroft world and became a stable subspace above the Western Mountains, one of the seven gods of the human race, the God of Might and Justice, had a big fight against the three gods of the Northern Empire. The legend sent out an invitation letter, and the god invited everyone to meet him in the middle of the world's northernmost Blind Sea in an equal tone, and discuss various issues related to the future of this world.

Joshua doesn't care about the future of this world. In his opinion, the current world of Mycroft is good enough. Deliberate interference will cause bad results. Gods and Legends only need to maintain order and stability, and then It can guarantee the normal progress of the world...but he is very interested in the seven gods, to be precise, Joshua is very interested in 'gods'.

He wants to know what kind of life form these gods are, and what are they? Why is it so powerful? The cycle of order shaped by divinity allows them to maintain self-awareness under the erosion of the source of the multiverse. What kind of mystery does this cycle have?

If God is the opponent, how far can he reach now?

Because of this curiosity, Joshua simply agreed, and set off at this time, flying towards the northernmost part of the world.

The dim silver light streaked across the sky, crossed the Nissier snow mountain, crossed the extreme arctic ice field, and crossed the Great Ajax Mountain Range. The silver light was not conspicuous, but the light around it was slightly distorted. It has come to the permafrost covered by eternal ice and snow, and the shore of the frozen white ocean [Blank Sea].

The chill from the end of the world spans the entire icy ocean belt and blows on the frozen soil along the coast. The long-lasting cold wind makes the glaciers hard as iron. It is summer at this time, but there is still no trend of heating up around the vast sea. Mountain-like icebergs stand majestically on the sea, and the ice cliffs are full of marks of time-these are mountains formed by the accumulation of heavy snow day after day. Their existence itself means the collection of all the snowfall in the sea for thousands of years. .

The main reason for choosing this place to meet is to avoid other people watching. In addition, the power of gods and legends resonates slightly with each other, which may lead to terrible natural disasters, so it is best to choose a place where there are no people. Possible hidden dangers are minimized.

It didn't take much time to find the opponent's location. Joshua looked around the front, and a restrained but still terrifying energy fluctuation appeared in front of his eyes. It presented a complex form in the energy vision, like a circle It was a dark gray kaleidoscope that was constantly rotating and never repeating its shape. As Joshua approached, this complex energy kaleidoscope began to condense, and finally formed a continuously rotating black ring.

This is the center of the Blind Sea, but unlike the storm raging along the coast, it is unexpectedly calm. Joshua landed here slowly. On a pure white frosty plain, there are no towering obstacles around, and the slightly dim sunlight shines through. The sky and the earth shone through the clouds. After the warrior landed, he walked straight ahead: an inconspicuous gray-haired knight was standing there, waiting for Joshua's arrival.

"Are they still here?"

Joshua slowly approached the knight with long gray hair. His face was hard, but the lines of his face were slightly softer. This god was wearing a solid and thick full-body armor, engraved with exquisite and detailed reliefs, black His cloak flapped quietly behind him without making any sound.

"No, Joshua, they've all been here."

The gray-haired knight, the god of power and justice, the incarnation of the tortured man answered, his voice was majestic, but not as serious as before, and the warrior could even hear a trace of relief from it: "I divided three At this point in time, I made an appointment with the three of you, Israel and Nostradamus have already met and talked with me, and left, you are the last one.”

"That's it."

Joshua was not surprised by this result. In other words, he didn't care. The warrior was staring at the incarnation of the god in the human world. Under the shell of the gray-haired knight is the essence of the existence of the gods, the agglomeration of their divine lines, divinity, and divine power. At this moment, Joshua can even hear the faint prayers coming from the other party. This silent land is shrouded in a sacred atmosphere.

At this moment, the two stood face to face at a distance of more than ten meters. Both of them were carefully sizing up Fang, observing each other's every detail. This silence lasted for nearly five minutes. After five minutes, Joshua finally opened his mouth and said: : "Legends are the most powerful existences in the world. It is normal for gods to want to know them after they have descended to the realm... But I think it is not for such superficial reasons that you want to see us. Your Majesty Xingzheng, what is your purpose?" ?”

"Ask some questions, get some answers, confirm some things, and, Joshua, you have indeed become a lot stronger."

Nodding, Xing Zheng answered patiently, and nodded in admiration: "The last time I met you, the divinity in your body was still ready to move, but now, your will is integrated with your body, and you are about to cross the legendary largest Threshold... To say I am gratified is to think too highly of myself, but I am indeed very happy because there is a strong man like you among human beings."

"Haha." Hearing a god praise him so bluntly, even Joshua couldn't help being taken aback for a moment, and then laughed out loud. He shook his head and said, "Your Majesty Xingzheng, there are many legends. To protect this world and pay, I am just one of them."

"You deserve this praise, you who rekindled the flame." Xing Zheng waved his hands indifferently, and he ended the topic. The god stood still, and then looked up at the sky. A scene I have never seen before: "You asked about my purpose. My purpose is very simple. When the seven gods were in the boundless heaven, we stayed away from the world and just performed our duties to protect civilization and the world. But these days, I hide My identity has traveled half the continent, I understand many things, and many problems arise."

Putting his eyes down from the sky, Xing Zheng stared at Joshua's eyes. His eyes shone with a cold metallic luster, which was the light of dark gray divine power. This divine power could control the atmosphere and dust just by dispersing it. The reason why there is no strong wind in the middle of the Blind Sea may be because of the effect of this trace of divine power. The God of Power said in an extremely serious tone: "Our gods are born to protect our own group and maintain order and civilization... The Seven Gods Join hands to maintain the order of the human world, and the gods of other races will protect their people. Before the threat of evil gods, we can coexist peacefully and work together, but this situation cannot last forever, because even There were also conflicts among the Seven Gods, but they did not erupt due to various reasons."

"What contradiction?"

Joshua couldn't help asking, his brows were furrowed, and the soldier was quite puzzled: "You have been cooperating for thousands of years, jointly resisting all kinds of foreign enemies, the god of orcs, the five-color dragon god, and even the will of the world are all suppressed by you. , the abyss lord didn't dare to make a mistake because of you... there will be conflicts between you?"

"It's not a conflict between mortals like grievances... Joshua, it's the most fundamental problem: we have different views on order."

Xing Zheng's voice was calm. He had understood this a long time ago, so he didn't have any emotions: "So, we can't join hands forever. Each of us wants to implement our own order. This is the biggest contradiction."

Hearing this, Joshua couldn't help frowning slightly. He understood what kind of difference in concepts would be brought about by the so-called 'different order'. It is the overall difference in world outlook, outlook on life and values, but the three views of people cannot be completely different. However, it is absolutely impossible for the order of the Seven Gods to run counter to each other—if so, they would have already fought because of the civil war.

"Order can coexist. It is not the relationship between order and chaos. Life and death must be separated." Thinking this way, Joshua said: "Your beliefs are not in the same area, and the contradiction is not big."

"...Maybe so, but different orders will cause the division of civilization. If we don't unify everyone under the same order and trend of thought, we will never be able to reach the same glorious level as the Glorious Era."

Regarding Joshua's understanding, Xing Zheng nodded and shook his head again. He knew that what the other party said was correct, but due to various reasons, it was impossible to act according to this statement.

"Order is a well-organized and well-organized society. It is stable, and even if it changes, it has continuity and consistency... and a strong force is the root of order."

While saying this, the God of Justice and Power began to walk in the direction of Joshua. He walked slowly, and at the same time said to the soldiers in a calm tone: "Justice is my definition of order. Without it, Society would be chaotic, depraved and corrupt, and power is the root of my justice, without it, justice would be fragile, and children would be able to cast aside and laugh at it as a laughing stock."

"With the power to dominate everything, you can have the qualifications to regulate the world. Without power, who can judge the good and evil in the world, and who can calm the chaos in society? Justice is powerless, and only power can defend it."

"Order is power, and power is justice."

When he said this, Xing Zheng had already walked in front of Joshua. The god and the warrior were face to face. The distance between them was less than half a meter. The cloak behind the gray-haired knight began to flutter slowly. It was the warrior himself. As a symbol of the gravitational pull of God began to fluctuate, He fell silent and stopped speaking.

The pupils of the mighty god can no longer be seen, and what burns in his eyes is only the dark gray light of divine power. At this time, he did not speak, but everything is silent, no matter who it is, it is clear that the silence at this time is for What, what is the waiting of the gods for?

Joshua, what is your idea of ​​order?

Facing this silent question, Joshua did not answer immediately. He first raised his head, looked at the sky, then lowered his eyes again, and returned to Xingzheng. Staring at the warrior, the two stared at each other for a long time before Joshua said slowly, "His Majesty Xingzheng."

"Are you planning to choose an heir?"

Seeing the god of power suddenly froze for a moment, Joshua confirmed this, he sighed, and then said softly: "I saw just now that the aura on your body is stronger than what I saw in the void before. You have become much stronger...and in just a few minutes, you have become stronger for a moment at a speed that I can observe, you..."

Joshua was not talking, because Xingzheng was shaking his head at this time, he shook his head with a smile, interrupting the soldier's next words.

"No need to guess, this is the inevitable result."

The god said in an indifferent tone: "We have been looking for the God Awakened for a long time, and we have been consciously screening people since hundreds of years ago, just to prevent the current result... Hmph, to merge the two worlds and suppress world consciousness at the same time, And then purify the souls of the world, this kind of workload is indeed a bit too big."

Joshua was silent.

Because of the priest of nature, because of the secret biography of the descendant of the goddess of the earth, because of all kinds of knowledge, the warriors clearly know all kinds of wonderful characteristics of gods... For example, the more powerful they are, the closer they are to extinction.

The reason why gods are life is because they can rely on divinity to extract inexhaustible power from the great source of the multiverse. They have been extremely powerful from the beginning, immortal, immortal, and indestructible, but precisely because of this The power is so powerful that the divinity will slowly assimilate the soul and will of the gods. The stronger the god, the more violent the assimilation will be.

The gods form a cycle of order with other corresponding divinities and logic, suppressing this assimilation, and the thoughts of all people brought about by faith can also help them relieve the assimilation brought about by divinity. If they want to become stronger, they must maintain this This kind of cycle becomes stronger, which is equivalent to dancing with shackles. This speed is extremely slow. On the contrary, it doesn’t matter if you are injured. On the contrary, it can better allow the gods to maintain their own existence. There will be no such gods who weaken themselves in order to protect themselves—— The reason why they want to become gods is not because of this power that is so powerful that it surpasses almost all legends?

The most important thing for the gods is not to use the power of "beyond the limit": for ordinary gods, the power of the gods is almost infinite, but this does not mean that they can use it. The size of the faucet is one thing, and the limit is another. If the god uses the divine power beyond his control, then he will be assimilated by the suddenly stronger divinity-at that time, one will ebb and flow, The divinity is getting stronger and stronger, and the cycle of order is getting weaker and weaker, until finally, the gods will be completely assimilated and disappear into the source of the multiverse, which is the so-called extinction of gods.

Now, Xing Zheng is becoming stronger at a speed that Joshua can observe, which undoubtedly exceeds the normal speed of God's progress. There is only one explanation for this situation, that is, the God of Might's previous actions, Using power beyond his own boundaries... He is being assimilated by divinity.

"It's not surprising, Joshua. Divine power is extremely powerful. If it is used to the extreme, it can even reverse the logic of reality and make two plus two equal five. How can this kind of power be easily controlled?"

Xing Zheng himself does not have any worries, his expression is calm, and his tone even has a hint of lightheartedness and joy: "Looking for the God Awakened... If you don't want to be assimilated by the gods and become an unconscious order machine, let this power disappear in vain in the multiverse. , then this is the only option, and I must find a successor."

"So, can you answer my question? Joshua, what is order to you?"

Speaking of this, Xingzheng ushered in a silence. He waited in this silence, full of hope. Even if the answer was not satisfactory, then he didn't care. The God of Might just wanted to know the answer of Radcliffe. He just wants to know this and nothing else.

But He didn't wait for an answer.

Joshua was still silent. He looked at Xingzheng, his eyes were undisguised, but he still didn't speak. The soldier didn't bother to give answers that he couldn't understand. He didn't want to give answers that he couldn't be sure of. So at this moment, he could only remain silent.

In the end, the gray-haired knight sighed, Xing Zheng turned around slowly, and he said in a flat tone without ups and downs: "Joshua, we, the Seven Gods, all have high expectations for you."

"You are the fastest, strongest and most perfect Transcendent in the history of Mycroft's world."

"In the entire history of the Glorious Era and the Starfall Era, your strength is second only to the sages, second only to the sage who can only look up to the gods and cannot understand his realm. You are the only one who is close to him, to this general The same order is enforced to the existence of the entire Mycroft world."

"We can't estimate your future, and we don't need to estimate... Your existence makes us very satisfied, happy, and happy. You can help us and protect the world instead of us."

"But you haven't found your order yet."

Standing in the windless snow, Xingzheng turned around completely, looked at the endless snow scene, shook his head slowly, and said softly: "Israel and Nostradamus have done a better job on this point. Hello, they all have firm beliefs—not that you don’t, but they have a world they want to achieve, an order they want to achieve.”

After finishing speaking, Xingzheng's body disintegrated, and the gray-haired knight turned into countless dark gray fragments. They rotated and condensed in midair like a nebula, and finally turned into a pure black floating ring. After a round of rotation, a majestic voice came from it.

"You are the closest person to a sage... I want to know your answer, the purpose is that simple."

Accompanied by an almost imperceptible stream of light, the black ring disappeared into the ice in the middle of the Blind Sea. As the diffuse divine power dissipated, the noisy north wind began to blow again, and the piercing gust of wind could be heard tearing the atmosphere, making a sharp sound. Joshua stood in the middle of the snow field where there was sound again, still bowing his head and frowning, silent.

"My order..."

After a long time, the soldier whispered to himself, countless fragments flashed through his mind - about battle, about development, about the distant star sea, about the infinite world in the void... Joshua could not help but smile lightly , but then sighed slightly.

He understood Xingzheng's purpose...but he still couldn't give an answer.

Joshua has seen too much and done too much. The warrior's gaze has spanned countless worlds. He has seen the peculiar time concept and fertility concept of the people in the courtyard. He has seen the unique magic technology of the migration elves. Joe Xiuya's gaze didn't stop at Moldavia, or even at the Mycroft Continent. His gaze penetrated the multiverse.

With such a broad perspective, how could he come up with an answer that could cover all the 'order'?

Having said that, Joshua is not clueless. Several shadows flashed in his mind: the Empire's External Development Department, the Ten Thousand Worlds Sacrifice Field, and Xiaoguang... He thought of many things, becoming stronger, fighting, Continuous exploration, these are the beliefs that have supported Joshua all along. If he is to come up with his own order, then these keys must be absolutely indispensable.

"My order."

Repeating this word again, Joshua couldn't help but shook his head again.

"What a good question."

Because this chapter is too big, I didn't update it yesterday, and it was sent out after finishing writing this chapter...