121 Chapter 2456 The Greatest Hope

Giant Sun asked Chen Long: "What Path do you use?"

"U-uhm, I use Water Path Lord Ying Xiong," Chen Long still held his hands together in a pleading expression: "Will you save our village?"

Giant Sun quickly reorganized his thoughts, "This Dream Realm is certainly intriguing, I doubt it's a pure Fire Path Dream Realm, in fact, my intuition tells me that there is some Human Path attainment here!"

Indeed, Luck Path Supreme Grand Master allowed Giant Sun to gauge if there were any beneficial encounters, even if he didn't know what the benefit was.

In this case, since Giant Sun needs Human Path attainment, his Luck had begun attracting Human Path Dream Realms.

"Though, I doubt it's a very big or high Human Path Dream Realm," Giant Sun sighed slightly:" Still I'll take what I can get."

At that moment, the ground began to shake.

"Incoming!" a villager in guard attire ran around the village shouting.

"Rockmen incoming from the north"

"Rockmen incoming from the east"

"Rockmen incoming from the west!"

Giant Sun rushed to 1 of the Gates to see for himself.

From all directions, a grey mass was headed in their direction, with every inch, the mass drew near, the ground shook harder.

Giant Sun rubbed his temples, "This is going to be a pain in the ass…"

He knew that the Dream Realm's mission was most likely related to getting the Humans in this settlement to safety.

At that moment, Chen Long increased his begging: "Please Lord Ying Xiong, at least help the women and children escape, and if that's too much then…" Chen Long took a hesitant, but deep breath: "At least take the children away, they're our hope."

Giant Sun was momentarily shaken by the pure determination and resoluteness of Chen Long, but Chen Long was not soft, and all the adults had gathered near him when the alerts rang out.

The looks on these people's faces, the sheer defiance even in the face of absolute despair, the ability to cling onto any form of Hope, to keep looking out for Hope when others would have given up long ago.

"This. This is what separates Humanity from the Variants, this capacity to seek and hold onto Hope, even in absolute Despair," Giant Sun nodded his head.

"Take me to the underground lake."

"H-how did you know there was one?" Chen Long was taken aback.

"You're a Rank 1 Gu Master and a newly advanced one at that," Giant Sun looked him dead in the eye: "Where there's Gu Masters, there's Hope Gu, and where there's Hope Gu there's an underwater lake."

The lake was really just a primeval essence stone fountain, but Mortal Humans wouldn't be able to go far in the Lake without exploding.

"Bring all the women and children down there,"

Before Chen Long went off with the news, Giant Sun stopped him: "We're going down there with all the women and children but we're coming back up with half do you catch my drift?"

Chen Long was stunned, "B-but…"

"No buts!" Giant Sun stopped him, "If you want your hope to have any chance of maturity then we can only all the brightest and most talented to live on, the Rockmen aren't idiots, if they see a group of only men fleeing, wouldn't it be obvious?"

"We must lay our lives down for…" Giant Sun had an intense wave of emotions wash over him as he said: "…humanity."

The villagers all had a tough time accepting the plan,

"What about the South? There's no Rockmen there!" One of the women cried out.

The others were also moved by the chance of survival without risk, their hope was cut short by Giant Sun: "The Rockmen aren't stupid, just lazy and slow. In all likelihood, the North, East and West groups had been there for a period of time and were waiting for the South to be in position. All that awaits us there is probably a group of Rockmen who want to see the Hope drain from our eyes."

Some of the women collapsed on their knees: "W-why, we just want to live."

The children were affected by seeing their mothers cry and began to wail as well.

Seeing the depressing scene, even the men felt like giving up.

But at that moment a huge fireball shot up into the sky!

"Are you all giving up now? Do you want to die? Are you okay with being a slave your entire life?" Giant Sun amplified his voice: "I can't save you all, I can't stop the Rockmen, and I can't even guarantee my own life!"

All the villages looked up at Giant Sun,

"But what I can do is safeguard our future! I'm calling for you to offer up the only thing you have; your life! So that one day, Humanity will be the ones on top, one day no one's child will have to say goodbye to their dad, mom and spouse. That one day, Humanity will live on."

"I could make it to Rank 4 if I am lucky in this lifetime, but I only have a B – Grade aptitude and it would take me years to reach there, whereas the Rockmen are already born with Dao Marks making them stronger without any Gu."

"Is that fair? No! But are we going to sit here and cry to our deaths? Or are we going to entrust our hopes in the next generation! And if not them then the next, and the next and the one after that until one day! There will come a time where Humanity reigns Supreme!"

Giant Sun's speech elicited both tears and fiery blood, the ambers of hope were once again lifted up, the sacrifice no longer seemed too heavy to pay.

The old people in the village stepped forth: "We will only slow you down, we will stay back and hold off the Rockmen, our worthless lives may only buy you a could of minutes but we are willing to sacrifice!"

A lot of children began crying,

"No grandma, you have to come with us."

"Grandpa, I'll stay! I won't leave you."

It was a truly heart-wrenching scene, even Giant Sun was not immune:

"The early days of Humanity, our forefathers, had to make these types of sacrifice."

Giant Sun was the most sentimental of the Venerables who cared about family, seeing families separating themselves made him count his blessings.

"At least, I don't have to force my children away while they watch me die…yet."

Giant Sun then brought the families down into the underwater spring containing hope Gu and a Primeval Essence Spring.

"Walk as far as you can go, until the pain explodes, forming an aperture," Giant Sun instructed.

Many of the adult men could not make it more than 4 steps, meaning they would never have the potential to be Gu Masters.

However, many of the children could, and could go quite far!

"Is this part of Fate?" Giant Sun wondered to himself.

The young men of the village stepped forth, "We'll lead the diversion, and no matter what."

The man looked Giant Sun straight in the eye, "We'll take at least 1 of the bastards down with us."

All the men let out a roar of support.

The children were even more dismayed:

"Daddy no don't leave us" a little cried.

"Father, let me go with you!"

The young boy's, blood was boiling from the fervour in the air, "Let me protect the future as well."

His father looked at his son with a pained expression, "Son, even if you're aptituide isn't good I still wouldn't want you to come with me, but I want you to promise me one thing."

The father knelt down to his son's level: "If you have even the tiniest capability to become a Gu Master, then you must stay behind and let the grown-ups and less talented do what we can do; save your lives."

The boy tried his best to hold back his tears, "I-I—I Will!"

"That's my boy," the father buried his son in his embrace.

The boy couldn't see his father cry, but the warm tears landing on his head told him all he needed to know; he cried in his father's arms.

Similar scenes were happening across the entire Human camp.

Giant Sun stood there soaking it all in, almost overwhelmed, almost hoping that these people get their happy ending, almost hoping for a miracle.

Almost.

"It is very likely that even this underground group, the seeds of hope, will be discovered unless…" Giant Sun thought about it: "There must be something that ties this Dream to Human Path otherwise…"

At that moment,

Murmuring was heard as everyone's eyes were turned towards the lake.

One of the kids had walked so far out that his body was half-submerged.

It was the boy who was crying in his father's arms.

"That kid…it couldn't be…" Giant Sun began to form a thought in his mind.

The kid had his eyes closed the whole time as he felt almost no pain despite travelling so far out.

By the time he could no longer bear the pain, he opened his eyes.

He had crossed the entire lake!

"This…" the kid was dumbfounded, and the moment he stepped on the opposite shore.

*Boom* a loud cracking sound was heard as his aura was transformed.

100% Aperture A Grade Primeval Talent!

"No…not just an A grade, that boy has one of the 10 Physiques'," Giant Sun's interest was piqued: "And if I guess correctly, then it should be…

The boy now had a fiery and dominating aura surrounding him, since everyone was pure mortals they couldn't help but feel intimidated when they saw the boy.

Though his cute and bewildered expression betrayed the aura's ferocious and intimidations.

"The Blazing Glory Lightning Brilliance Physique!" Giant Sun's voice just came out.

"Strange. I had no intention so saying that out loud," but 'Giant Sun' kept talking: "To think I would actually bear witness to one of the 10 Extreme Physiques, and it was actually the Blazing Glory Lightning Brilliance Physique!"

'Giant Sun' laughed out loud like a mad man.

"Ah," Giant Sun's view shifted to an overarching view of everything: "The Dream Realm is taking over the rest of the story, and I can no longer interfere and only watch, which means the rest of the events here are true."

Indeed, it was no longer Giant Sun in control but Ying Xiong!

"I was hesitant about handing over my Gu and Inheritance to someone, but now I see that I should be begging you to take them," Ying Xiong knelt before the boy.

The young boy who was flustered shook his head: "P-please you're mistaken I'm no great hero I'm just,"

"Someone with incredible talent," Ying Xiong cut him short:

"You are our greatest Hope!"