“In our culture…” Samuel Young had just started to speak when the other person dashed out the door. Seeing this, he hurriedly chased after him, shouting, “Hey, what are you doing?”

Meyer ran to an open field, raised the black pendant in his hand, and howled at the sky, “Thunder! Lightning! Come at us even harder!”

Thunder rumbled.

“Boom! Boom-boom!”

An unbelievable scene unfolded: after the thunder, lightning appeared. A huge swath of lightning in the sky above their heads seemed to be drawn by something, and after appearing, it rushed down toward them in a frenzy!

Several bolts of lightning shot toward them, twisting and writhing like silver and golden snakes—so fast it was truly like a thunderbolt out of the blue!

The first bolt of lightning struck Meyer, and he was cooked.

Well done.

Seeing this, Samuel Young was scared out of his wits. Instinctively, he finished the sentence he hadn’t completed earlier: “In our culture, blaspheming the gods is likely to get you struck by lightning.”

And then more lightning followed, one after another…

The second bolt: charcoal!

The third bolt: ashes!

In the end, who knows how many bolts of lightning struck down—Samuel Young lost count. After seeing Meyer charred, he blacked out:

How am I supposed to explain this to the reserve? How do I explain to Meyer’s parents? When they come looking for me, what do I say? Am I supposed to tell them their child passed away peacefully?

Then he thought, Meyer didn’t pass away peacefully at all. He must have been confused, probably didn’t even realize what was happening before he was thoroughly cooked. He looked so lifelike a moment ago, and now there’s nothing left but a pile of remains…

There’s really no way to explain this!

With his mind in turmoil, he stumbled over to the pile of ashes.

The lightning strikes had been so fierce, and with the heavy rain mixing in, the ashes had already turned into a muddy mess.

Now, even if you brought in the top morticians from Chinese funeral homes or the best surgeons from Korean plastic surgery clinics, it would be useless!

Strangely, the small black pendant Meyer had been holding was still perfectly intact—the lightning hadn’t destroyed it.

Samuel Young reached out to pick it up, and the moment his hand touched the pendant, his mind was suddenly shaken, as if countless streams of knowledge were pouring in. At the same time, the scene before his eyes became hazy.

He seemed to be moving at high speed, the scenery changing rapidly before him. But soon, his body stabilized, and he found himself standing on a grassland, under a blazing sun and a warm breeze, surrounded by sparse, low wild grass.

Amidst the wild grass, a sprout appeared. Like a newborn grasping for life, it grew rapidly in the wind—shooting up, sprouting branches and leaves, growing a trunk, and then bearing bright green fruit. It finally stopped growing when it reached his own height…

This bizarre scene made him think he was dreaming, but as soon as the thought crossed his mind, a translucent panel appeared before him: [This is not a dream. This is all real. Hello, young master of the Elven Tree, future lord of the Elven City. I am your assistant, Ethan.]

After Ethan appeared, more information popped up on the panel. After old Young read through most of it, his mind was even more muddled:

He, Samuel Young, twenty-five years old, single, a prospective master’s student, a staunch materialist, an outstanding Party member supporting scientific research in South Africa, a tried-and-true successor to socialism, a former Young Pioneer and Communist Youth League member—was now the master of a Tree of Life, and would one day become the lord of an Elven City?!

Chapter 2: Encounter

On the open grassland, various weeds grew sparsely, with small groves scattered here and there—this was the standard landscape of the African savanna.

Many people think of deserts when Africa is mentioned, but in fact, Africa has vast deserts and vast grasslands. So if someone says your head looks like Africa, they’re not just saying you’re bald—they’re also saying you’re “green” on top…

Three thousand years ago, Sakyamuni attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree and became a Buddha. Three hundred years ago, Newton discovered universal gravitation under an apple tree and achieved greatness in physics. Now, here was Samuel Young, utterly bewildered under the Tree of Life.

Though it was hard to believe, everything before him was real—that was the conclusion Samuel Young came to with a slap to his own face.

His cheek still hurt even now.

Meyer hadn’t been lying—the culture of their so-called Tarim tribe was real. More real than the purple smoke rising from the Incense Burner Peak. There really was a World Tree—or more precisely, a Tree of Life.

He still didn’t know the exact origin of the Tree of Life, and communicating with Ethan wasn’t that easy. For now, he’d only learned two main things:

First, the pendant Meyer wore around his neck was the seed of the Tree of Life. When the master of the tree dies, the Tree of Life collapses and becomes a seed, lying dormant until it is revived.

And reviving the seed of the Tree of Life requires a huge amount of energy—like electricity.

Meyer had been right to take out the seed on a day with lightning, according to his tribe’s legends. But maybe those legends didn’t mention one thing: the seed actively absorbs energy. Though it looks wooden, it’s not actually insulated—in fact, it conducts electricity and heat!

This is the key point. It won’t be on the test, but it could cost you your life!

Second, after the seed absorbs enough energy, it will recognize its master, then seek out a suitable patch of land to take root and begin to grow.