James Carter's brain was rapidly accumulating potential damage, and just as it was about to begin exerting negative effects on James Carter's brain activity beyond the limits of endurance, emerald green flames coiled upward.

　　On a microscopic level, these flames felt warm and peaceful, yet brimming with endless vitality. Like a mother, they gently patted the dying brain neurons, reviving them from dormancy, making them strong, and imbuing them with unprecedented vigor.

　　This was a process of evolution, a fundamental transformation akin to leaping from a car engine to a spaceship's propulsion system.

Chapter 11: What a Mighty Orc (Part One)

　　In the middle of the night, at the cemetery on the outskirts of Wildfire City, a massive black figure slowly walked in.

　　This figure stood a full two and a half meters tall. With the reflection from the snow, it was clear to see that his body, exposed outside his simple clothing, was covered in thick fur.

　　With every breath he took, a deep resonance echoed from his chest cavity. Each step on the snowy ground was answered by a muffled thud from the earth, wild power flowing through his every movement.

　　There was only one kind of humanoid creature on the continent with such a terrifying physique: orcs. And not the civilized orcs who lived on the Red Cloud Plateau and built the Orc Empire, but the savage orcs who had always lived in the Thunder Mountains, battling fierce beasts and occupying the very top of the food chain!

　　He was incomparably powerful!

　　This orc entered the cemetery, gently twitching his huge, ugly nose, catching the scent of blood in the air.

　　The smell was still fresh, and to him, it was incredibly delicious.

　　The orc followed the scent all the way to the side of a tomb chamber, where the smell of blood was the strongest—even the soil exuded this fragrant aroma.

　　The savage orc had no qualms about the grave. He set aside the wooden club in his hand, as thick as an ordinary person's thigh, reached out with his fan-sized hand, and plunged it directly into the soft earth to search around.

　　Sure enough, there was a lump of fresh meat. With a single lift of his strong orc hand, he forcibly pulled the meat out of the soil. Bringing his huge nose close, he inhaled deeply in ecstasy, and finally couldn't help but let out a foolish laugh.

　　His heavy breathing echoed in his massive chest cavity, stirring up waves of deep, muffled airflow. One could barely tell that the orc was in a very good mood at this moment.

　　With a "crack," the sound of breaking bones rang out as the orc twisted off the strong man's arm as easily as snapping a matchstick. He stuffed the arm straight into his mouth and began crunching and chewing.

　　In the silent night, this sound carried far and wide, sounding especially chilling.

　　Meanwhile, in the pitch-black night watchman's cabin, two beams of icy white light suddenly lit up, shining half a meter out as if they were tangible. It was the awakened James Carter!

　　Streams and streams, rows and rows of complex data surged through James Carter's mind like a tide. After incredibly complex arrangements, combinations, analyses, and deductions, they finally converged into a single phrase that pierced straight to the essence.

　　"Elements are the foundation of this world; spirit is the pillar of this world!"

　　The Justice Rune Stone and the Holy Light Rune Stone surged with the holy light element belonging to the Lord of Holy Light, existing because of the spirit of faith. The green life element flowing in the robe was similar to the holy light element, but belonged to another unknown deity. The black aura in the cemetery was the product of the obsession of the dead combined with elements. From this series of phenomena, James Carter traced back to deduce four basic elements: water, fire, wind, and earth. They formed the basic structure of this world and also pointed to four great spiritual beings in the void.

　　James Carter tentatively called them the Four Elemental Gods of Creation! The elements they represented made up the basic structure of this colorful world.

　　In the face of these four great beings, whether it was the Lord of Holy Light or the unknown god of life, they were but children. The faith elements extended from their spirits could only influence the world, still far, far from dominating it.

　　Perhaps, when humanity developed to a certain height, enough to break through this world, the Lord of Holy Light, as the object of human faith, might barely reach the level of the Elemental Gods.

　　But by then, would humanity still need the solace of faith from the void? No one knew, not even James Carter from the Milky Way. In the Milky Way, religion still flourished. When faced with the vastness of the universe, humans felt their own insignificance even more, and many turned to illusory lords for spiritual sustenance. In the past, James Carter had looked down on these religious followers, but now, he had to adopt a neutral stance.

　　There truly were great existences in the world—so great that the more you mocked and scorned them, the more you revealed your own ignorance.

　　From now on, there would still be many mysteries in this world for him to discover, many powers and methods for him to master, but as long as he grasped this essence, it would be like a skyscraper with an absolutely solid foundation.

　　In the cabin, the light that illuminated the darkness slowly faded, and a pair of silver eyes gradually appeared.

　　These eyes were originally black, but the cold white light swirling in their pupils had dyed them silver, making him look cold and emotionless, like a god.