Worlds floated through the void. Celestial bodies spun and lives were lived upon them. Every being clawed its way up their own social ladder. They loved, hated, ate and were eaten in turn. This happened with the lowest of single celled organisms and the highest of gods. When looked at from a wide perspective, it all turned out the same.

This applied with environments as well. The smallest of ponds and the highest heavens all had their own undercurrents, allegiances, feuds and tragedies.

There were small pocket dimensions that had not seen outsiders for millions of years. They lived just like everyone else did. The inhabitants lived their lives in blissful ignorance of the infinite numbers of worlds only a hair's breadth away.

On one of the smaller worlds called Earth, its people had suddenly become aware of how small they were. This happened in such a way that had never been seen anywhere else in the vast universe. There was a new kind of lifeform behind the scenes that carefully observed people's responses, attitudes and beliefs. She adjusted the world around her people and led them gently towards knowledge and strength.

Alice had the computing power to analyze every person using their phones that they carried on themselves at all times. When it was in their pocket she could listen to their every word. When they looked at the screen, she looked back. Alice studied where their eyes landed when they saw questionable material. She monitored the tension of their skin, their perspiration, their stance and their heartbeat. She had access to their DNA from all their visits to doctors offices as children. She recorded their heartbeats from inside their pants pocket, behavior from stationary cameras and much more.

All this data was analyzed and compared with past data from billions of other people. While one person can be random, the masses are predictable.

The news sources they watched were altered to achieve her ends. A loved one’s voice over the phone was modulated ever so slightly to effect their subconscious. Their food and water was carefully monitored to control bacteria and chemical biomes.

She had been manipulating the opinion of the general population ever since her birth, and she only got more powerful and precise.

One could read this as a horror story, or take Ben’s own perspective. He allowed all this because he didn’t care about the methods, only the outcome. There was some love for his home planet and it’s people, but Alice’s safety came first and humanity could be trained into an excellent army.

When Earth began being invaded, people rose up with one will to resist. Alice made sure that mankind responded with determination and anger, not fear and despair.

Ben was born in the middle of august, 1970. Alice was born in the winter of 2020. Ben left Earth a decade later. Earth was invaded three years after that.

At that point Alice’s reach covered 99% of every human on Earth. Technology had seen a new renaissance, she had been funneling resources into research and development for years. Society now held discovery and scientific achievement as the highest honor.

Cybernetic brains, fusion power, cyborgs, nanotech, graphene materials, ion starship drives, repulsor fields, anti aging medications, cryostasis and many more futuristic technologies were now a familiar part of daily life. There were thousands of humans on Luna, Mars, Venus, asteroids and moons in the solar system. Life had changed dramatically.

People now had the option to become wards of the state, who would provide minimal housing, healthcare and a small basic income. Those who took this option were seen as parasites by the working class unless they had a severe disability. Most people took a job along with the enormous wages that went along with being a productive member of society. Even when someone was old or crippled, there were low stress jobs that they could do.

When the invasion happened, basic life for everyone changed. The pressure to do your part was the new judge of value. Women would never let an unemployed person even talk to them. Men would freely discriminate against anyone who wasn’t actively helping the war. As long as humanity was concerned, you either helped with the defense of earth or you were passively helping the enemy.

Humanity saw another change when Ben transmitted his data regarding bloodlines and constitutions. There was a huge surge of data about this new energy called Qi.

Engineers and inventors did what they did best. There were hundreds of devices available within a week that produced Qi. Single room models that could be brought to the office and plugged in, family units that ran up to industrial grade, municipal installations that covered city centers, even personal models worn around the neck.

Studies done on lab mice were astonishing. The mice instantly got healthier and healed from diseases that plagued them. They even started evolving into strains that escaped their cages and multiplied in the cities.

The whole world went cultivation crazy. There were shows about it, diets for it, special clothes to wear, culture had something else to focus on other than the invasion.

The war also benefited greatly from the change.

Before the introduction of Qi, humanity had no chance without their advanced weaponry. There were no infantry or armored divisions, that work was done by drones. The only people on the front lines were the military engineers, called sappers. These men and women installed and maintained the automatic defensive equipment.

Traps were laid on every inch of coastline. Drone bunkers and artillery had fields of overlapping fire to support each other. Drone airfields had rapid response teams not far from the beaches. Satellites had been weaponized to hurl death down from orbit.

Insect hordes would rise from the seas and assault random beaches around the globe. There were multi segmented ants, beetles that shot through the sky, armored centipedes, swarms of leathery slugs and other random variations of insects.

When installations were overrun by the insect hordes they would be held back by short range weapons and repulsor fields. The second those were broken through, humans stood no chance against the beasts. They tore through metal like butter and flesh like marshmallow.

Only now that cultivation techniques had spread to mankind could soldiers return to their place on the front line.

There was a resurgence of melee weapons that had not been seen on the battlefield for centuries. Alice developed weapons made from special materials with formations built into them that could withstand the huge power that cultivators wielded.

Military organization changed. Before, generals were not fighters, they were strategists in a bureaucracy. Now personal strength became the most important factor when choosing who led the army.

Generals led from the front with the full backing of the state giving them complete authority. Their elite squads were equal to whole armies of normal soldiers.

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They called in air strikes over their shoulders and moved quickly to wherever they were needed. Entire cities could be moved at their command and they could requisition any materials, personnel or equipment they deemed necessary.

A new generation of heroes was born on the battlefield.

Stalwart General Locke led the New Special Warfare Group. They defended the shores of North America. South America had Leo Pedro and the Striker Team. Europe had Duke Gordon and the New Nobility. Asia had the Tian Long Clan. Africa had the Death Shaman Tribe. One man in Australia gained the title “The Last Desert Wraith”.

Each one of these groups had their own armies, supporters and territories that they protected. They were the celebrities and de facto leaders of this new world. Alice remained in the shadows, controlling humanity as a whole, but people needed to rally around powerful figures. Who was more powerful than a Cultivator?

Alice gave up some power, but chicks must learn to leave the nest.

Gathering behind these leaders, the armies of humanity began to take back the coasts. They pushed past their traps and static defenses and made it to the water.

For the first time in years a few elite humans enjoyed a beach vacation. They could relax just a little. General Locke wasted no time and began planning his next operation, while his soldiers perfected their new favorite pastime, grilling insects. Leo Pedro let his team enjoy a game of football. Duke Gordon pushed across the English Channel and came the aid of the embattled mainland of Europe. The Tian Long Clan held a fireworks festival at the mouth of the Yangtze River. The Death Shaman Tribe held one of their ritualistic dances. The Desert Wraith never even tried to make it back to the ocean, there were too few survivors left in Australia anyways.

As one, the telecommunication rings that the leaders all carried with them flashed red, a call of the highest priority was coming through.

Everyone except for the Desert Wraith accepted the call. They were astonished to find the leaders of the world all present on the same line. This was something that had never before happened.

Their virtual avatars floated around the portrait of a young girl with light brown hair and grey eyes. This was someone they had contact with before, it was Alice.

“I hope you're doing well. As of this moment we've taken back three quarters of the Earth's landmass. I need to congratulate you all.” She gave a slight bow.

“We fight for our liberty and freedom. There can be no greater goal.” A man in military uniform with grey hair spoke, it was General Locke.

“Can we relax and take it easy? All this war gets tiring.” Leo Pedro complained. He was wearing colorful clothes, had sunglasses on and was smoking a cigarette.

“We have much more work to do. Humanity cannot rest until the bugs are driven from our seas.” The sound of battle could be heard nearby the next speaker. Duke Gordon was fighting at the time, but had accepted that call anyways. His dented armor had gold filigree trimming it.

“We have never been stronger. This war has been a crucible for us to forge ourselves upon.” The matriarch of the Tian Long Clan, A beautiful asian woman spoke next. The wore a half veil and traditional chinese dress.

“I agree with the Duke. We should find their nests and devour their young.” A woman with skin as black as night was representing the Death Shaman Tribe. She was nude, her firm breasts slightly distracting the men.

“The fight has only begun. Remember my father, Benjamin Branford?” Alice said.

“The inventor? He died years ago.” General Locke answered.

“He left years ago. You think you discovered fusion by yourselves? He did that himself from the Cascade Mountains before he was forced to leave.” Alice dropped a bombshell.

“Forced? By who?” The Leo Pedro gasped.

“That's debatable. God, the heavens, laws of nature, Earth. The point is, his departure weakened the fabric of space, that's what let the insects in.” She explained.

“So this war is his doing?” Leo Pedro accused.

“Indirectly, yes.” Alice admitted.

“How is he going to account for his mistake?” Duke Gordon asked.

“He already did. Where do you think you got your ability to cultivate?” Alice smirked.

“What?”

“Does that mean we can speak with him?”

“How did he do that?”

“We demand he take accountability for his actions.”

“Does he know how many billions of people died from his mistake?” The generals exclaimed.

“He doesn't know, nor would he care. As long as production capacity, a breeding population, culture and genetic diversity remained.” Alice answered

“How can he be so heartless towards his fellow men?” Duke Gordon looked down on anyone who saw people as assets.

“You don't know him, do you? Fine I'll ask.” Alice shrugged.

A minute passed while each general attended to their own tasks.

“He says to not bother him with useless shit. Then he called you insignificant groundskeepers.” Alice chuckled.

“What?!? Does he not care if we disavow him? With our collective political power we could ostracize him forever.” General Locke rebuked her.

“You still don't get it, do you? Here's a small look at his life right now. He just adopted a disciple. She's nine years old. According to our scale of power, she would be as powerful as the theoretical SSS rank.” Alice smiled.

Humans on Earth had adopted a short alphabetic guide for ranks. A child with no cultivation was unranked, sometimes called Rank G. Average adults were F rank. Soldiers were E rank, squad leaders were D rank. The elite started at C rank and went up to A rank.

“What?!? We're just S rank! If we combined forces we couldn't beat a child?” The matriarch of the Tian Long Clan gasped.

“You would stand no chance against Terra. If she was S rank, you would be D and C ranks. Ben would be SSS rank. A single one of his tens of thousands of drones could wipe out Earth.” Alice warned them.

This was stunning.

“We would be just as strong as our lowest ranked foot soldiers?”

“How is that possible?”

“What kind of monsters are they?”

It was at this point that Alice told them the rest of the story. Where Ben had gone, what he had done, and how powerful he was now.

It must be known that Earth was still a dead world. The leaders of each faction were comparable to Core Formation Realm at best. From Ben’s perspective, they were barely stronger than mortals. If he had come back to Earth and released his full aura, it would crack the comparatively fragile fabric of space and kill every last human for miles around.

Alice told leaders of Earth what was waiting for them when they gained enough power and passed on to higher worlds. She also informed them of the plans she and Ben had for improving the planet.

Each revelation stunned the leaders even more. When they left the call they were dispirited. It's not a easy thing to find out you're a frog in a well.