(. Shocking news

One hour after the return of the first subjects, the government held an emergency meeting to inform the various members of the GU about the latest news regarding the Salvatori project. The scientists, after discussing with the subjects who had returned from their soul worlds, had made several discoveries that would forever impact the course of human history.

"Ladies and gentlemen, as you probably know, today marked the awakening of the first subjects of the Salvatori project. They represent humanity's hope by granting access to new arable lands, which would solve the famine that is ravaging us. Furthermore, we hope to gain access to new resources, which would allow us to continue our expansion and break the speed of light barrier."

As soon as the speaker, elected to lead the session for the day, finished speaking, loud cheers and applause erupted in the room. The Salvatori project represented humanity's hope, which explained the enthusiasm of the people present in this hall, chosen by the populace.

"So, are the results what we expected?" one of the EU representatives asked.

"Tell us quickly!" added a representative from China, eager to hear the speaker's confirmation.

The latter then gestured to the assembly to calm down and waited a few seconds for the silence to return before continuing.

"Well, to begin with, I must inform you that the results are far from what we had imagined. As expected, all of them awakened a soul land whose size corresponds to their soul power. However, an entity presenting itself as 'the system' communicated with the subjects, presenting them as meeting the basic requirements and making them inherit a clan, a city, a kingdom, a species... This granted the subjects access to buildings specific to that inheritance, as well as the ability to artificially create living beings of that said race."

"Incredible!" someone exclaimed.

"What are the implications of such a thing for our species?"

"Do we have more information about this system?"

"Do we have more information about these inheritances and the elements that stem from them?"

Questions flew around the room for several minutes before the speaker managed to restore silence. After such a shocking and unexpected revelation, it was not surprising that the current leaders of humanity were concerned about the implications of such a development.

"Ahem, I will ask the members of this assembly to please listen to the information until the end before bombarding me with questions. It is in all of our best interests that everyone is fully informed before we discuss how to address these unexpected developments."

"As I was saying earlier, the system linked them with an inheritance. The power of this inheritance is, according to the data collected so far, divided into several categories. From the supposedly least powerful to the most powerful, we have: Clans, Cities, States, Kingdoms, Civilizations and finaly Species. Please note that despite this ranking, and according to our analyses, these designations mainly relate to the size of the territory conquered by these entities. The actual power of each race and each inheritance is therefore difficult to determine in detail. And you heard me correctly, I said 'race,' because yes, after today we can finally confirm that extraterrestrials exist. And not only them, several species that we previously thought were just legends, like vampires or werewolves, also exist..."

"Impossible, do you realize the implications of this?" exclaimed one of the assembly members loudly.

"We must quickly establish regulations for the awakened, or our world is doomed!"

"Imagine if some of these species actually exist in the universe and we encounter them. If it's like the legends, then we must greatly strengthen our army in case war becomes inevitable."

More and more people raised their voices to share their opinions with the rest of the GU. Never had such a spectacle taken place here. The people present represented the elite of humanity and were supposed to remain calm and composed under all circumstances. After a long time trying to restore order, the speaker was finally able to continue explaining the latest details of the recent discoveries.

"Now that everyone is aware, we will move on to establishing new regulations..."

....

While the situation in the real world was escalating, Alex was finishing reading part of the books about the history of the immortal world. It was about an ancient civilization that relied on Qi to enhance its strength and longevity. At its peak, it controlled myriads of galaxies and ruled the entire universe alone. However, its downfall was brutal, caused by the betrayal of certain leaders who helped a far more advanced people from another universe break through the defenses and invade the immortal world. After a fierce struggle, they were all exterminated. Fortunately, they had time to create and entrust the system with an inheritance that carried the hope of a return to the universe.

"Noctua, who were the enemies that exterminated the immortals? I see no explanation about them anywhere."

It was truly unbelievable that no further information on such an important subject was available in the library of the person who, possibly, was supposed to fight them to continue the inheritance.

"The information is currently censored by the system. Please increase your power before accessing more information."

Hearing Noctua's mechanical response, Alex's mind raced, considering several possibilities that could explain such censorship by the system. He sat there for several dozen minutes, formulating theories that might explain this censorship.

"Well, enough thinking about theories. Now I need to get down to business. According to the information in the library, there are dozens of methods to increase power as well as dozens of specific professions. I'll start by returning to my lab to research these professions and cultivation methods," Alex said, speaking quietly to himself.

"Plus, I need to return to see if the system has contacted the other students."

Determined to check on the situation in the real world and test his recent discoveries, Alex headed back to the teleportation portal to return to the palace.

As soon as he returned, he first met with the 20 immortals.

"Jayden, you and the others will each choose a different profession from those mentioned in this book. You have my full permission to access the library using the teleportation portal. I'm going back to my world, but don't worry, I'll be back very soon."

After giving some additional instructions to the immortals on what to do, he walked towards the teleportation portal that had appeared on the South Mountain. Along the way, he fell into deep thought about his next actions after his return. He arrived at the portal fairly quickly, without having enough time to fully prepare.

Once beside the portal, he took a moment to admire the massive structure made of a material unknown to him. The empty space of the portal was a deep black that seemed to ripple, and it was so large that it could easily accommodate several giants from ancient times.

As he approached the portal, the system's voice, which hadn't manifested since his arrival in the soul world, was heard again.

"Welcome to the portal, host. On the pedestal next to the portal is a miniature version of it. If you decide to take it into your world, you will be able to set up a portal of your choice on the other side, allowing travel between the two for anyone with your authorization. Once the portal is installed, it cannot be moved."

"However, please note that your world does not yet have a sufficient energy source to allow the immortals or those who have practiced the cultivation technique to live on Earth for an extended period."

Alex, taken by surprise, said aloud, "Other people can access my soul world! And the immortals will be able to travel to the real world!"

As expected, no response from the system came to answer these rhetorical questions. After a minute of reflection, Alex took the miniature version of the portal and stepped through the portal decisively.

As soon as he reached the portal, he was overwhelmed by the sensation of his body being pulled in all directions. He felt his body disintegrating, he lost the sense of gravity, and none of his five senses were functioning; he felt nothing except the horrible sensation of being pulled apart and disintegrating. After what seemed like an indefinite amount of time, Alex found himself back on the bed in the laboratory, drenched in sweat, with a shocked expression on his face.

He took a moment to calm down and noticed the presence of two people in the room with him. Upon closer inspection, he recognized one of the scientists responsible for the tests during his awakening. His name was Alphonso, and he was one of the most renowned in the field of the soul and one of its pioneers.

Beside him stood the head of his family's bodyguards, a former veteran of the special section of the law enforcement forces, who had also served as a trainer for the new GU army.

"Welcome back, Alex. I imagine your awakening held a few surprises," Alphonso spoke first, holding a notepad and pen, clearly eager to ask him questions about his experiences.

"Many of your peers have already returned from their soul worlds. After interviewing the first ones, we've already established a database regarding the inheritance you all received. I'll only ask you a few questions before letting you go home with Alfred," the professor said in a reassuring tone. However, from his body language and glances towards Alfred, Alex guessed that he had probably been pressured to shorten this "questioning session."

The scientist only asked him questions about the size of his soul world and the type of inheritance he had received. While responding almost honestly to these questions, Alex scrutinized Alphonso, trying to extract as much information as possible about his peers' inheritances.

After about 30 minutes of answers, Alphonso allowed Alfred to take Alex away. As he was leading him towards the spaceport of the complex, Alfred informed him of the latest news and the reason for his presence.

"All the people who ingested a Solaris seed at the same time as you received an inheritance. After learning the news, the government hastily enacted several new laws to control this unexpected development. I was sent by your parents to spare you the ordeal that these restrictions would impose."

"First, you've been granted permission to choose the location of your portal, provided it's on private family property. Additionally, no government supervisor will be allowed to set foot in your soul world without your authorization."

Once they arrived at their private ship, Alex had been informed of most of the world's news.

"So, you're telling me that a classification for the inheritances has already been established?" Alex asked, narrowing his eyes after Alfred had finished speaking.

"Indeed, sir. According to the initial data, they are classified in the following order: Clan, City, State, Kingdom, Civilization, and Species."

"The type of inheritance is also closely linked to soul power. It's estimated that, based on the observed curve, there are several levels above the species level. Tests and theories are currently being developed by several scientists to delve deeper into the subject."

"Hmm, I see. Thank you, Alfred," Alex replied thoughtfully, already lost in his own theories and future experiments.

"Alfred, inform my parents that I plan to purchase Olympus Mons (the mountain on Mars that is the largest in the solar system) and the surrounding 100 kilometers. I would like to establish several private research laboratories and an elite school there for members of the Salvatori project. The name of the school would be Electi, and the minimum entry requirement would be a soul power of 30. Also, prepare several defense installations and self-sustaining survival capabilities," Alex requested 10 minutes later, after comfortably settling into one of the ship's chairs.

Alfred momentarily showed a surprised expression before nodding. "I will relay your request as soon as possible. Do you have any other recommendations?"

"Not for now, thank you," Alex replied before settling more comfortably into the chair and beginning to sleep.

The succession of events throughout the day had left him mentally exhausted, and he felt the need for rest to approach the future at his best.

A few minutes after takeoff, Alfred received a notification informing him that Alex's parents would allocate a substantial sum of money to realize his projects and that they would support him. Deciding not to wake Alex, they headed towards the Ashborne family's private station, unaware that Alex's actions were about to change the face of the world forever.

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Thank you for reading, I'm getting back to writing after a long camp. Please forgive my absence!!! As usual, feel free to give me advice. I know my dialogues and flow aren't perfect yet, but I'm doing my best. I'll revisit them after gaining more experience. I'm now going to start studying for my second session exams. I'll continue writing on the side but won't be able to fully commit. Thank you for your understanding!