Gu Qing Shan looked down at his hands.

After he was done shaping the two sharp rocks, they ripped his skin a little bit, causing him to bleed just a little.

At the same time, the long black hair all over his arms was shed by a small amount.

—–what’s happening here?

Would tiny progress with civilization also be reflected by tiny changes on my body?

Gu Qing Shan fell into thought.

…

On the hillside below.

The ape people were still shouting out loud one after another.

They swung the torches in their hands, trying to ward away the large sabretooth tiger.

But the sabretooth tiger was only deterred for a short while before it looped back around, seemingly so hungry that it was willing to take risks.

Normally, if the prey noticed its approach prematurely, the sabretooth tiger would usually give up on that hunt.

But today, it was seemingly determined to eat a few ape people.

Noticing the sabretooth tiger’s attitude so clearly, the ape people were clearly anxious.

They continued to shout and howl while also waving to those behind them.

All the old and injured ape people were led back into the cave.

Only the youngest and most muscular ape people remained outside on the hillside as they prepared to fight for their lives against the sabretooth tiger.

Even the ape people’s ‘prophet’ had been invited to come out.

Sensing the situation, he also appeared dejected.

Gu Qing Shan jumped down from the tree top and snuck next to him, asking in a whisper: “How do you usually deal with situations like these?”

The ape prophet: “If this animal doesn’t want to leave, it must be especially craving ape people, so there’s no choice but to fight”

Gu Qing Shan asked: “The number [2] Chosen Saint was killed by a lightning strike, do you know where the number [1] Chosen Saint is?”

“What do you want to do?” the ape prophet asked.

“To cooperate with him, this way, our progress would be much faster” Gu Qing Shan replied.

“The number [1] Chosen Saint didn’t enter from my side” the ape prophet answered.

Gu Qing Shan was briefly surprised.

Oh right.

This is the entrance for the Human realm’s Chosen Saints.

So other than this one, there must exist other entrances for members of other realms.

“You’re the boss here, so how about you order me to fight that sabretooth tiger?” Gu Qing Shan suggested.

If the other Chosen Saint isn’t here, then I need to seize my time.

The old pixie gave me 3 hours of ‘pixie luck’.

——-I need to gain the recognition of all the ape people as soon as possible.

That would make my next steps more convenient.

Glancing at him, the ape prophet understood right away.

So the ape prophet raised his wooden staff and pointed at the sabretooth tiger in the distance before pointing it at Gu Qing Shan and loudly ordering: “You, go and deal with that beast!”

Gu Qing Shan stepped out from behind him, walked past all the ape people, and swiftly rushed towards the sabretooth tiger.

At first, he walked, then sped up into a slow run as he moved his arms.

He wasn’t carrying a stone axe or torch, but instead a rock in each hand.

The sabretooth tiger first looked cautiously at him, but that caution was quickly replaced by killing intent.

—–only one ape?

A single ape is rushing at me?

The sabretooth tiger felt like it had just been severely humiliated.

So it took a deep breath——

Roarrrrr!!!

The sabretooth tiger uttered a ferocious roar.

Right as it opened its mouth, Gu Qing Shan suddenly threw the rock forward.

The rock flew like it was shot out of a cannon and made its way straight into the sabretooth tiger’s mouth.

Its roar was interrupted.

The sabretooth’s 10-meter long body collapsed to the ground, which made a loud thud.

——-before the sabretooth tiger could react, it was already dead.

Complete silence.

Suddenly, the ape people cheered.

A particularly muscular ape man ran ahead and exclaimed: “That was unbelievable! A rock can’t kill that kind of ferocious beast!”

Gu Qing Shan replied: “You’re right”

He continued forward and pried open the sabretooth tiger’s mouth.

Revealing that there was a large hole on the inside of its mouth, from which blood and various liquids were flowing out of its body.

Gu Qing Shan also held up the other sharp rock he had made in order to show it to the other ape people.

“If we sharpen rocks until they’re pointy, they will be able to pierce through the beasts’ skin and hurt them!” Gu Qing Shan loudly declared.

The ape people all stared straight at the rock in his hand, then at the corpse of the large sabretooth tiger.

Quite a few ape people had pondering expressions on their faces.

…

2 days later.

Gu Qing Shan was sitting on top of a tree as he looked down just a bit further away.

A leopard had entered the territory of the ape people.

This time, aside from stone axes, the ape people had another kind of weapon.

——stone pikes.

By tying a sharpened rock to a stick, they had become pikes.

Gu Qing Shan silently observed them for a while.

These ape people were obviously so used to using stone axes that they were still a bit awkward while using stone pikes to fight.

—–they were unable to kill the leopard in a single strike.

Being pierced by one of the stone pikes, the leopard sensed fatal danger, unlike anything it had felt before, and hurriedly fled using its advantage of speed.

The ape people cheered again.

Although they couldn’t take down the leopard, it was already unimaginable for them to be able to defeat it so easily, unlike before.

They all formed a circle, dancing and singing to celebrate their victory.

After observing for a while, Gu Qing Shan got down from the tree and headed back into the mountain cave.

The ape prophet was still seated at the deepest end of the cave in front of the fire pit, exhaling in a bored manner as he smoked from a type of rolled-up leaf.

“You’ve already done very well, so why do you still look so unsatisfied?” the ape prophet asked.

“Can this really be considered ‘done well’?”Gu Qing Shan asked.

“One can only reach this place by passing through numerous Apocalypses and dangerous monsters, not to mention countless tombs, as well as knowing exactly what to look for—–”

The ape prophet exhaled another puff of smoke and continued: “Furthermore, the ape people have already realized how to make tools. Compared to before, this was unthinkable, and the ape people civilization as a whole is already progressing at a rapid pace”

Gu Qing Shan raised his arm.

The long black hair on his arm was growing shorter again, but at a much slower pace compared to when he first made a sharp rock.

Gu Qing Shan sighed: “It took two days to successfully craft five stone pikes and learn to use them, during the process three ape people were injured——– there’s still an incredibly long way to go until they learn how to skillfully wield pikes so that they can fight larger beasts”

“You can teach them some of the basics of how to use long-handled weapons to attack——- that way, things would probably move a bit faster” the ape prophet suggested.

“But how much faster? There are too many things that these ape people must learn, they still haven’t been enlightened, they don’t know written language or the basic rules of how the universe functions, sometimes they would even shout to express something”

Gu Qing Shan couldn’t help but sigh and continue: “Even if I continue to teach them more and more—— it would be several generations until they can reach a moderately advanced stage of civilization, which is a process that can easily last for hundreds of years. My evolution would also be lengthened to be as long as their progress”

The ape prophet suddenly laughed.

“I’ve never thought that Chosen Saints would also have to take on a ‘prophet’ role like me”

“——-I’ve been here for hundreds of years with nothing but these ignorant fools around me, even if I wanted to teach them something, they would still find it difficult to understand, only able to record everything I said in stone and worship it as gospel”

“But with their meager knowledge and comprehension, they would never truly understand the ‘truth’ behind what I teach”

“I’m alone even with so many around me!”

He was laughing so hard that he was tearing up.

Gu Qing Shan looked at him and waited for his emotions to stabilize before asking: “That’s why I’ve been thinking, perhaps you’ve misunderstood something”

“Huh? What do you mean?” the ape prophet doubtfully asked.

Gu Qing Shan stood up and explained: “I recalling something you told me before—-”

“You said that it was because of a mistake you committed in the past that you were punished to stay in this ignorant era, forced to remain in the body of an ape”

The ape prophet nodded: “I did say that”

“And you’ve remained in this era for all this time without venturing into any other age, not knowing how you can escape from this ancient prison” Gu Qing Shan continued.

“That’s right, what are you trying to say?” the ape prophet couldn’t help but ask.

Gu Qing Shan waved his hand to signal him to be patient and went on:

“Your duty was to inform all Chosen Saints who would arrive here that they need to drive the progress of civilization forward, making it so that they would arrive at the ultimate civilization from this originating era and awaken the Human realm”

“Yes” the ape prophet confirmed.

“If that’s the case, all Chosen Saints must surely experience a continuously progressing civilization” Gu Qing Shan said.

“That’s one way to put it” the ape prophet replied.

“Then, how does the Samsara judge the progress of civilization? What are the signs?” Gu Qing Shan asked.

The ape prophet was startled.

“You are being held prisoner in this era, trapped in the body of an ape—— but if civilization progresses and you are still a prisoner—— will you turn back into human, or remain as an ape man?” Gu Qing Shan pursued the question.

The ape prophet opened his mouth, then hesitantly said: “I only know that providing an explanation is my duty… Are you suggesting that me being a prisoner in this ignorant era was also an implication of the Samsara?”

Gu Qing Shan silently observed him and nodded.

The ape prophet abruptly stood up and raised his voice: “What exactly have you thought of! How can I leave this era? Hurry and tell me!”

Gu Qing Shan replied: “I’ve already said it very clearly”

The ape prophet exclaimed: “But I still don’t understand!”

Gu Qing Shan explained: “The Samsara is having us start from the primitive ape men era and drive civilization forward, but it doesn’t state what kind of standard it’s using to judge, which creates a huge issue——”

“You should know as well, being a proper civilization means it has a distinct ‘type'”

“At certain crucial points in history, science and technology would be more suitable for humanity’s needs, so low-level cultivation becomes obsolete; at a different point in history, magic might instead overpower science and technology; and at another point, martial arts might crush magic; not to mention civilizations centered around Mysticism and Occultism——”

“In short, there exist many undetermined factors, sometimes tiny details that might decide the general direction of a civilization as well as its final ‘type'”

“With that in mind, what are the standards?”

The ape prophet was stunned at this question, mumbling to himself unconsciously: “That’s right, what exactly would the standards be?”

Gu Qing Shan sighed and continued: “This single step will be able to eliminate many people, as they won’t realize that you were actually the Samsara’s gauge”

“Me?” the ape prophet parroted.

“That’s right, you were imprisoned in an ape man’s body, which led to you being trapped in this primitive era of ape people, then… wouldn’t the gauge be this body?” Gu Qing Shan replied.

“This body? My body is indeed my prison, but if we use my body to gauge the standard for this civilization, how should I escape from being an ape man?” the ape prophet doubtfully asked.

Gu Qing Shan whispered: “To escape from your prison of a body, it will be necessary to first consider which ‘type’ you wish to evolve towards, only then would you be able to move on from your initial prison to one of the many possible civilizations”

“This is very interesting”

He picked up a tree branch and began drawing a rune on the ground.

“This rune represents the [Magic], it’s the most basic water condensation technique, capable of drawing moisture from the air to condense around the rune”

“Are you trying to show off miracles?” the ape prophet asked.

“No, I’m not calling myself some sort of god, or trying to deceive the ape people—– this rune here is a part of natural Law, a foundational block of a magical civilization; similar to how the stone pike I made was a gauge of primitive human civilization” Gu Qing Shan explained.

The ape prophet looked at the rune.

Only to see tiny water droplets slowly condensing around the rune.

He gradually realized what was going on and said in a low voice: “Then you’re trying——”

“Whether or not things are as I assumed, we’ll find out very soon” Gu Qing Shan replied.

The two of them looked down at the rune and silently waited.

Immediately, lines of bloody red text slowly appeared in the void of space:

[Congratulations, you’ve seen through this Samsara secret]

[Each era is a past grave, which the Samsara had used to seal away the true Human realm, granting it the strictest form of protection]

[Of course, driving the progression of civilization forward naturally would still be a correct decision, albeit a long one]

[But some will notice a different test of the Samsara, they will see through the secret of the Human realm’s graves and leap-frog through each civilization grave, allowing them to move towards the ultimate grave at a faster pace]

[Treating one’s body as a prison and the civilization as a method to escape this prison, that is one method of searching for the ultimate civilization]

[You are about to leave the Initial Grave and move forward]

Gu Qing Shan’s vision blurred.

He felt himself leaving the ape man body as his soul began to float through space, swiftly heading towards a specific direction.

After an unknown amount of time had gone by, perhaps it was only the blink of an eye, perhaps it had been countless years.

Gu Qing Shan found himself landing on solid ground again.

This was a very wide and large location that was filled with miraculous power.

—–mana.

A booming voice resounded from ahead of him:

「 From today onwards, you will begin your magic training 」

「 Magic is our foundation and weapon to fight against evil… 」

The voice explained without a pause.

There were many others around him who were of similar age, all of them were dressed in uniform as they stood neatly in line.

Gu Qing Shan raised his arm to check, then looked down at his body.

——-I turned into a boy of about 11 or 12 years old.

I’m not an ape man anymore.

I’m now a human child.