Novels2Search
The Cultivation of Civility
6 The three treasures of civilization

6 The three treasures of civilization

"Run!" "We can't escape! We're just as small as one of his hairs!" Countless fleeing insect apes collapsed on the ground. During the wails of the crowd, a young insect ape stubbornly looked up at the sky. "Are you, giant monster, here to eat us too? You killed Dad, killed Mom, killed Big Brother. Why are we so weak..." Xu Zhi lowered his head, somewhat surprised by the courage of this young insect ape to question him. "Then, I'll choose you." Xu Zhi simply extended his hand and placed the insect ape in his palm. In an instant, the young insect ape's mind went blank. On the palm of this huge creature, it was like an endless continent, and it was only as small as the delicate palm print on the palm. It lifted its head again. The eyes of this towering giant were like a brilliant sun in the sky. The giant face bathed in the holy white light, and its appearance was unclear, with a majestic and vast divinity. Shielded by the insect nest, Xu Zhi's face could not be seen. They could only see a blurry face emanating a faint light. Xu Zhi dragged this tiny insect ape with one hand and said calmly, "Gilgamesh, do you want to change everything?" The insect ape suddenly trembled, screaming loudly on the palm, "You can communicate! What kind of monster are you? In this world, how can there be a ten-thousand-foot giant with intelligence? How can such a perfect existence exist?!" He couldn't help but tremble as he said, "And you called me Gilgamesh?" "Name is also one of the manifestations of intelligence." Xu Zhi dragged him with his palm and answered calmly. Gilgamesh stood on the palm and looked at the giant crystal clear pupils that were comparable to the sun and the moon. Suddenly, he said again, "We can all communicate! So we belong to the same species, we are intelligent beings. Why, why won't you save us! You are so powerful and majestic!" They didn't know what they were, only thinking they were an intelligent species similar to these giants, and Xu Zhi didn't plan to explain anything. Xu Zhi dragged him with his palm and strode across mountains and rivers. Large swaths of trees were flattened. He let this weak insect ape see the whole world from his palm and his loud voice echoed through the sky. "Look at this world, every species is equal, you and every plant, every animal are the same. Why should I save only you just because you have intelligence?" Gilgamesh was suddenly speechless. Suddenly, he began to despair and shouted out, "Then why did you come to find us?" Xu Zhi said, "No one can save you, and don't expect anyone to come and save you. Only you can save yourselves, but I can give you the means of civilization, and you can save yourselves."

"Civilization, what is that?" Gilgamesh looked down in awe. The strong winds blew as he gazed upon the vast green earth below from the perspective of the clouds for the first time. Mountains, rivers, and countless beasts fled beneath the feet of the wise giants, creating a magnificent and breathtaking scene. What a fantastic and surreal view from high above! What a terrifying and awe-inspiring power! "You ask what civilization is?" Xu Zhi never thought he would have to explain to this new race. He thought for a moment and gave his answer, "Civilization is the spark of fire, it is knowledge, it is order, and it is also the most powerful force of wisdom used to protect oneself." "Civilization is the power we, the wise giants, use to protect ourselves?" Gilgamesh murmured. Xu Zhi walked back to the gorge, gently placed Gilgamesh on his shoulder, and took out the miniature potted plant from his backpack: a "welcoming pine" bonsai. He dug up the soil and buried it in the ground. This sixty-centimeter "welcoming pine" twisted and turned, aged and weathered, but to this miniature land, it was already an endless divine tree that towered into the clouds. Looking up, the tree trunk was shrouded in clouds, and the huge winding body could not be seen. "Do you see the tree I planted? To obtain the power of civilization, show your courage and climb the divine tree. This is my trial for you, a trial of wisdom and courage..." Xu Zhi placed the Taobao custom-made metal silver giant sword, a match soaked in kerosene, and a transparent capsule containing previously unsuccessful white ant juice on the top of the tree. "These are the three treasures of civilization." "Damacles' sword is a weapon used to protect civilization. Unlike the barbaric species that roam the earth, only the wise species can use the power of tools." "The torch, burning with hot flames, is the bridge that maintains civilization. Mastering the spark of fire is the origin of civilization." "And the last bottle of liquid is the blood of power, only the bravest warriors can consume it. If you can survive, you will have unparalleled strength!" "If you want to change the fate of your race, climb the divine tree and obtain the three treasures of civilization before the torch extinguishes." Xu Zhi gently placed the small ape on the ground, then in its shock, strode across mountains and rivers and left directly. "Accelerate cell division by one hundred times!" As soon as Xu Zhi left, he immediately commanded the nest. The entire earth, which had returned to normal speed, began to accelerate cell division once again.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

In an instant, the entire land began to move rapidly and crazily, constantly forming various afterimages. Trees rapidly grew and withered, animals turned into afterimages, aging and dying at an alarming rate.

The matchstick he lit had been soaked in kerosene and would burn for about thirty seconds before extinguishing. But for the land that had accelerated a hundred years, these thirty seconds were equivalent to several days before extinguishing.

In other words, his test of the divine tree would take many days.

"Time is relative and a manifestation of material movement... their brain neurons and body cells are accelerated a hundred times. For them, it's a hundred times faster, and a matchstick that can burn in an instant would burn for several days in their worldview. The matchstick is not just a momentary firework but a torch that can burn for several days," he thought.

Xu Zhi remembered the words: "Small knowledge is inadequate compared to great knowledge, and youth is no match for age. How can one understand the world without knowing the cycles of sun and moon! The cicada and the little dove do not know the spring and fall.”

What they thought were long years, were just a fleeting moment in his eyes.

After Xu Zhi left, he used a telescope to clearly see the scene under the divine tree. The small apes called a few companions and climbed the divine tree with determination. In his eyes, their movements were so fast that only afterimages were left behind. In just a few seconds, they fell countless times, then climbed up again. In a little over ten seconds, they had successfully climbed to the top of the divine tree.

But for them, it had been countless days of arduous failure.

Their movements were too fast.

At the peak of the divine tree, standing on the lush green canopy, Gilgamesh raised his sword high, seemed to say something and did something, then turned into an afterimage and disappeared.

Curious, Xu Zhi asked the insect colony, "What were they saying?"

The insect colony's secondary brain brought up the scene.

"The giant beasts are terrifyingly intelligent! Who would have thought that such a giant and intelligent species would exist in the world?! They are super-sized giants of tens of thousands of feet!" Gilgamesh conquered the divine tree, raised the sword of Damocles high, and swung it over his head. He looked down upon the living beings below the divine tree, his black hair blowing in the wind, his shoulder armor shining black. Suddenly, his resolute face was full of confidence.

"Equally intelligent, our future is like that giant intelligent species! Each member of our clan has immense divine power! They have the power to make countless giant beasts flee! I will lead our clan to the top and spread the fire of civilization across the land."

This moment was recorded as eternal.

Millions of years later, during the most prosperous and fleeting ancient Sumerian kingdom in this land, people discovered the Sumerian historical epic "Genesis" that they had written for the great kings from archaeological excavations.

This is an excerpt from the oldest known manuscript, the Sumerian Chronicles:

"A colossal creature of immense wisdom, standing ten thousand cubits tall, emanating a radiant white light and possessing a divine countenance, strode across the earth, crushing mountains and rivers beneath its feet. It descended upon the land and planted the Tree of the Gods, setting forth a test of intelligence. To the young hero-king, Gilgamesh, the creature entrusted three precious artifacts of civilization - the Torch of Enlightenment, the Sacred Sword, and the Blood of Strength."