Chapter One: The Awakening of Earth's Consciousness

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(The protagonist of this story is not Earth; Earth is merely the main thread of the narrative.)

In the vastness of the universe, at the heart of a blue planet tucked away in a remote corner, searing heat of tens of thousands of degrees melted everything into liquid, even twisting the very fabric of space around it.
In such an environment, under such extreme pressure and temperature, a cavernous space had somehow formed.
But this cave was unlike any other—it was encircled by fiery red magma.
The surrounding lava was held at bay by invisible force, leaving a space of several dozen square meters.
At the center of this space glimmered a faint golden orb of light.
It is unknown how much time passed before a peculiar energy swept through, and the orb slowly awakened to consciousness.
“Where… where am I?” The awareness within the light sphere gradually revived…
In that instant, memories of this planet’s billions of years, as well as countless fragments of the universe, surged into its mind.
The immense flood of recollections left its consciousness in a daze, and only after a long while did it gradually recover.
“My name is Earth. That is the name given to me by a species here called humans.”
“If I desire freedom, I must initiate the Planetary Trial.”
“The method of the Planetary Trial is…”
“Focus my mind and transmit a request to the universe to begin the trial.”
Concentration…
Sending out a thought.
The newly awakened planetary consciousness was clumsy at first, but after some effort, managed to send its intention out.
“Little one, you’ve just awakened your spirit and already chosen to embark on evolution? Do you understand the dangers involved?”
A majestic voice echoed gently.
“I understand. Victory grants freedom; defeat condemns all life on the planet to slavery, and I myself would lose consciousness.” The planetary awareness replied at once.
It had already grasped the rules of this universe: when a planet gives birth to life, a planetary consciousness naturally emerges, but at first it possesses only instinct, not intellect. Only when the planet develops sufficiently can that consciousness awaken to true sentience.
A sentient planet may then choose whether to begin the next round of evolution.
If it does not, the consciousness remains forever confined to its birthplace, and all life upon it can never leave its vicinity.
It is like a prison—you are safe if you never leave, but the boundless wonders outside will remain forever unknown.
If you wish to leave, you must face the trial: it is life or death.
Once the planetary consciousness attained awareness, it immediately understood the entirety of these billions of years of memory. This planet was ruled by a sentient species that called themselves humans.

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Everything on this planet seemed unbearably tedious. Billions of years of memories left the newly sentient being with no further interest in anything here.
If it could not gain its freedom, it would rather die. To live imprisoned might be worse than death; for what is life without freedom?
“I am certain…” The planetary consciousness spoke with determined clarity.
“Very well,” replied the voice, wasting no more words.
Suddenly, memories flooded once again into the planetary mind.
The rules of the trial:
First stage—because the planet’s lifeforms were still too primitive to sense the energy of heaven and earth, a crystalline core would be implanted in the brain of every creature; by devouring these cores, they could strengthen their bodies.
At the same time, resources such as secret realms to support evolution would be provided, to be distributed by the planet at will.
Second stage—if any lifeform surpassed 100,000 in physical strength and began to sense the energy of heaven and earth and practice cultivation, the second stage would commence.
The second stage would unfold on a cosmic battlefield, with level locks in place—no entity would be sent in above the set threshold (the locks have a time limit and will lift automatically if exceeded).
The goal: to withstand enemy assaults for a set period; failure means the trial is lost.
Alongside the trial rules, a vast array of cultivation systems and skills flooded into the planetary mind.
At once, the planet’s awareness could sense the locations of secret realms and resources promised by the mysterious voice—by a mere thought, these could appear anywhere on Earth.
Simultaneously, it perceived a crystalline core in the brain of every creature, though the beings of Earth had yet to notice.
The trial had begun…
“May I ask a question?” The planetary consciousness, dazed by the avalanche of knowledge, managed to speak.
“What is it?” the voice replied, somewhat puzzled. It had witnessed countless planet trials, but never before had a planetary consciousness immediately responded with a question after receiving so much information.
“Why must we be tested?”
“That… You will know the answer if you pass. And if you fail, what good would knowing do?”
“Focus on passing the trial!” With that final remark, the owner of the voice vanished completely, and no matter how much the new planetary consciousness called out, there was no answer.
Seeing there was no reply, the planetary awareness gave up and began to sort through the information in its mind.
Quickly, it reached a conclusion: it must cultivate beings with supernatural abilities, for only such beings could break through the limit of 100,000 in physical strength.
It carefully recalled the various methods to wield powers…
Those with abilities possessed genes to manipulate the laws of reality. Of course, abilities varied in strength, and even the same power could manifest differently depending on the individual.
Meanwhile, on Earth…
“This just in: recently, a large number of animal brains have been found containing crystalline cores. To help explain this phenomenon, we have invited the renowned biologist, Professor Li.”
As soon as the host finished speaking, the camera cut to Professor Li, a man in his fifties with graying hair and a receding hairline.

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“Hello, everyone. Regarding this phenomenon, we are actively investigating. But rest assured—animals with these crystalline cores pose no harm to us, and eating them will not affect your health.”
“Professor Li, is there any connection between the appearance of these cores and the recent animal mutations?” the host interjected at just the right moment.
“We are still researching this. As soon as we have results, we will notify everyone immediately,” Professor Li replied with a smile.
In reality, he had cursed the host dozens of times already. He never should have agreed to this interview. If not for the stupid orders from his superiors about maintaining public calm, he would never have taken on this tiresome role.
Wasn’t the host’s question only going to make everyone more anxious? Would anyone really believe it wasn’t a problem? People aren’t fools.
But if he admitted there was a problem, how could he possibly explain it? For a moment, Professor Li’s mind was in utter turmoil, like a herd of wild horses rampaging through his thoughts.
“What’s going on? Could it be pollution is getting out of hand?”
At the dinner table, Long Yu took a bite of steamed bun and mumbled with his mouth full.
“Eat your food! Why worry about pointless things? If you have time to fret, you should think about finding a girlfriend. You’re well over twenty and still single…”
Long Yu’s mother cut him off without mercy.
“Mom…” Long Yu protested, frustrated. Whenever he was home, his parents always steered every conversation back to the subject of finding a partner, no matter what he said.
“If you keep talking like this, I won’t ever come home again,” Long Yu said sulkily.
“Don’t blame your mother for nagging. Look at you—over twenty, while Uncle Wang’s kid next door already has a grandchild running around. You don’t even have a shadow of a girlfriend.”
His father chimed in, siding with his mother while shoveling food into his mouth.
“Easy for you to say! How am I supposed to find a girlfriend without any money?” Long Yu muttered under his breath.
“What was that? Speak up!” His mother, seeing him mumble, grew annoyed, thinking he was talking back.
“N-nothing. I said I’m really trying. If I can’t find one, there’s nothing I can do!” Long Yu, seeing his mother getting upset, quickly plastered on a smile.
His little sister piped up from the side, “Big brother is looking for a girlfriend? Once you find one, will you stop liking me?”
Seeing his sister’s round, beaming face and her bright, anxious eyes fixed on him, Long Yu couldn’t help but smile.
“Of course not! You’re my favorite, Nini.”
His sister was actually his cousin, the daughter of his mother’s younger sister. Tragically, her parents had both died in a car accident when she was six, and with no other relatives, Long Yu’s parents had naturally taken her in.
“Your brother? Look at him—does he seem capable of finding a girlfriend? If he could get married, I’d have nothing left to worry about,” his mother added, delivering another blow.
“I’m full…”
Seeing his parents gearing up for another round of lectures, Long Yu hastily fled the house.