Chapter 6435 The Arrival of the Witch A lot of people underestimated the Red Collective. The Red Association had mech pilots, Carmine mech pilots and mech designers on its side, each of whom had a chance to become exceptionally powerful or versatile True Gods. The Red Fleet did not currently feature prominent cultivators, but if they did manage to develop and embrace a few cultivation methods, they would probably focus all of their resources on raising better officers, spacers and naval engineers. While all of that sounded great, the greatest disadvantage of the RA and the RF was that they were almost completely oriented towards military development and military industrial development. Neither the RA or the RF put too much emphasis on civilian industries. While its members started up a lot of businesses that encompassed many different sectors, they always existed to support their main activities, which was to support the development of mechs or warships. Even if they chose to branch out, there was no confidence that they could do a good job. What did mechs have to do with cooking? What did warships have to do with music? Only the collies could cover all of the areas that the mechers and fleeters missed out. The Red Collective not only promoted cultivation for the purpose of raising soldiers, but also to promote the development of humanity's civil society. E energy radiation was ubiquitous and completely free. There was no reason to squander this valuable resource while it was so widely available. Giving every professional a safe and effective way to increase their intelligence, reaction speed, physical strength and so on could make them a lot better at their jobs! Of course, the cultivation methods released to the public had to be extremely basic and easy to practice. The simpler the scriptures, the lower the chance that anything could go wrong. Ves knew that the Red Collective was also reluctant to hand over strong methods to the masses. It was better to keep them busy with the basic stuff while leaving the responsibility of teaching more advanced methods to sects or the collies themselves. As the parade came to an end, the Shrine of Light had become a lot busier. The arrival of a large number of combatants and non-combatants of the Red Collective showcased the strength and versatility of human cultivators. A decade from now, a collection of humans with the power to summon fire hammers, accelerate the growth of plants and hypnotize people to sleep with their voices would become a lot more common across human-occupied space! The various cultivators may have developed vastly different strengths and powers, but one trait they shared in common was that they had far surpassed their human limitations! The large group of cultivators essentially served as a harbinger of the future. A decade from now, a collection of humans with the power to summon fire hammers, accelerate the growth of plants and hypnotize people to sleep with their voices would become a lot more common across human-occupied space! The proportion of people without any attainments in cultivation would become a rare sight. Perhaps only children, disabled people and so on would retain their human limitations. Many people looked forward to entering this future. Birth, capital and connections should no longer determine the height that most people could reach. Third-raters and second-raters had a much easier chance to catch up to first-raters as long as they made enough attainments in their cultivation methods! Space peasants might not be able to afford the expensive implants and genetic modification treatments that the first-raters took for granted, but even the poorest third-rater could outperform any first-rater as long as he possessed enough talent! Of course, Ves did not expect the gap to narrow too much. Since third-raters could benefit from cultivation, then first-raters definitely had access to the same benefits as well! First-class citizens may even be able to enjoy greater advantages if they could afford to spend their money on expensive elixirs and other products that could promote an individual's cultivation progress. In the end, the same factors that set the wealthy and powerful apart from the rest still applied. At least third-raters had access to more accessible means to catch up to the first-raters. The Red Collective appreciated talent the most. Background and augmentations were almost worthless in comparison. Third-rate states generally possessed the largest populations, so there should be a lot of hidden gems among them. Each of them could become an amazing cultivator so long as their talent became known and practiced fitting cultivation methods. This meant that there should still be many opportunities for third-raters and second-raters to rise up and become just as powerful as first-raters one day! The expressions of some, but not all, people sitting around Ves shifted to varying degrees. If an amateur politician like Ves could figure this out, then a lot of other clever councilors could do so as well! In fact, there was a notable number of upper and lower councilors that had already foreseen these trends. They just weren't sure about the scale due to lacking enough information about how successfully the RC managed to train enough cultivators that excelled in many different fields. From what everyone had seen so far, the Red Collective was bound to become the most dominant civilian institution! That did not mean that the RC's military power was weak and pathetic, but it had a long way to go before it could catch up to the RA and the RF. As Ves and many other people continued to think about the implications of the parade, an entirely new presence had arrived. Everyone held their breaths for a moment as an incredibly powerful and oppressive presence had descended onto everyone! The entire Shrine of Light and the Astral Octagon all seemed to have left the current universe and entered into an alternate domain where a different set of rules took precedence! Fortunately, the shift was very light, so much so that the alternate rules had little chance of taking effect. Ves was familiar with this sensation. He had already experienced it in the past. The Evolution Witch had arrived. What people were being subjected to was just a very light application of her God Kingdom. Even so, she already made Ves feel as if he held no secrets! In particular, he felt that the Evolution Witch paid quite close attention to the progression of his True Body, the development of his design philosophy and the growth of Blinky! After a dozen seconds of exposure to her God Kingdom, the Evolution Witch finally dialed her presence down where it became easier to ignore. A large shape approached the entrance. Many people grew a lot more excited as they anticipated the entry of one of the most powerful humans in the Red Ocean! These people were not disappointed when a god mech finally graced the Shrine of Light! It was as if the Geneforger distorted the natural pathways of light and forced them all to shine on its organic surface. The sight of raw, uncovered flesh evoked both disgust and power among the viewers. They knew that the Geneforger was the most powerful biomech in the Red Ocean. Its form was endlessly mutable, so its base appearance was just a cosmetic choice. The god mech floated forward without generating any sound, heat or other disturbance. Mechs at this level no longer required the use of flight systems to get around. They could rely purely on distorting the fabric of reality to displace their physical forms! Ves had always considered mechs to be the ultimate fusion between technology and extraordinary power, and the sight of the Geneforger only reinforced this notion. He could tell that the Evolution Witch had grown stronger and more mysterious. As one of the few people privileged to meet and interact with the Evolution Witch in the past, it was easy enough for him to recall how her God Kingdom felt like. This made it clear that her overpowering aura had changed in a direction that felt a little unsettling. Her God Kingdom had grown stronger and more domineering due to all of the native aliens forces that she managed to destroy or hijack. Her ultra-powerful domain field had also grown more mysterious because she had clearly been plotting behind people's backs! Many people claimed that high-ranking mech pilots were the worst possible spies. Not only did they have a compulsion against lying and failing to meet their promises, they also wore their emotions and convictions on their sleeves! God pilots could never hide their true feelings and intentions. They had to rely on clever words and misdirection in order to retain a sense of privacy. Right now, Ves could feel that the Evolution Witch felt pleased at all of the progress that the Red Collective had made in the past year. Ves could not tell whether she was glad that he had performed well in particular. That was rather frustrating. In any case, the Geneforger floated forward at a steady pace. It was only when the legendary machine reached the very center of the Shrine of Light that it ceased to move any further. The light shining from above still distorted their directions, causing them to curve onto the god mech! This caused the light levels in the rest of the crystalline chamber to dim, while also bathing the Geneforger in divine light! The god mech literally looked as if it had descended from heaven at the moment! The more weak-willed guests who became exposed to active God Kingdom even felt the urge to prostrate and worship the Evolution Witch as a literal deity! After floating around for a few more seconds, the Geneforger finally faded away, revealing a much smaller form. The Evolution Witch had decided to unveil her human form. Every guest reacted at this time. They all rose from their seats, only to lower themselves to their knees. "HAIL TO THE EVOLUTION WITCH!" Next, the cultivators standing on the crystal floor did likewise! Whether they were Ur-Titans, Apocalypse Wardens or civilian cultivators, they all lowered to a single knee and greeted the latest arrival! "HAIL TO THE EVOLUTION WITCH!" The most powerful human individual in the Astral Octagon peered at all of the people who felt incredibly honored to be in her presence. The woman in purple robes gently raised her hand. "Rise." The god pilot only just spoke those words, and already people found themselves on both of their feet! It was as if her will alone had already caused people to stand without consciously performing this action! How frightening! "Sit." The Evolution Witch flexed her power over everyone once again by repeating this feat. The cultivators on foot all remained standing, but those who had been designated seats had already lowered themselves to their original seating postures. Most of the attendees expressed both awe and fear towards the god pilot. They were completely at her mercy. She could make them do almost anything, and there was nothing they could do to resist! Most people felt relieved that she was on red humanity's side. The thought of becoming her enemy was terrifying! After the Evolution Witch gave everyone enough time to regain their equilibrium, she finally started her address. "The Age of Dawn has arrived. Since the start of this new epoch, human evolution has become unlocked. Everyone has gained the power to adapt, evolve and overcome their prior limitations. No barrier can halt our changes anymore. With the power of E energy, our entire race shall transform in directions unknown to all. Progress will always be made. Those who seek to stand in its way will be crushed by those that embrace its inevitability. Make no mistake. Evolution has its dangers, and to let it run free is to invite disaster. The only viable means to survive in this new and dangerous age is to seize our destiny! Take control over your own evolution and steer it to your desired ambition! This is what it means to cultivate!" Her provocative words made an enormous impression upon red humanity! Pretty much everyone was listening to her right now. No matter what people thought about the Red Collective, right now they uniformly concluded that it was a necessary institution! Without the guiding hand of the Red Collective, human evolution would almost certainly go astray!