Forty Millenniums of Cultivation, page 849
Therefore, Little Black's 'birth date' was not the primeval era but the age of the Star Ocean Imperium.
Based on Li Yao's own experience and Little Black's obscure memory, Li Yao assumed that Little Black should be a piece of ancillary magical equipment that the Cultivators of the Star Ocean Imperium produced to manipulate the Colossi.
It was an object that could almost be called a 'liquid crystal processor' and could translate the primeval operation menu of the Colossi into new interfaces that modern people could understand.
Then, the question remained.
Which unparalleled expert of the Star Ocean Imperium had Little Black's previous owner been?
And where exactly did his foster's father find it?
His foster father asked Li Yao to give half of the key to Li Linghai. So, was the whole thing related to the Crown Princess of the Imperium of True Human Beings from beginning to the end?
Chapter 1300: Shine Brilliantly! |
There was one other problem.
If Li Linghai was a regular noble of the Imperium of True Human Beings, perhaps Li Yao could still have tried to look for her when he went to the homeland of the Imperium one day in the future.
But she was the Crown Princess of the Imperium of True Human Beings!
Li Yao did not know how long it would take before he went to the homeland of the Imperium, but when he did, she would probably be the queen of the Imperium!
So, how exactly was Li Yao going to barge into the royal palace in the capital of the Imperium and have a nice chat with His Majesty's wife?
The picture was so beautiful that Li Yao shuddered in coldness.
While he was upset, the old tortoise Gui Suishou appeared out of nowhere again and said with a smile, "My young friend Li Yao, you seem worried. What's troubling you?"
Li Yao frowned and snapped, "A lot of things are troubling me, but nothing that you can take care of, Master Gui."
Gui Suishou blinked his bean-sized eyes and said, "Why? I may be not intelligent enough, but I am a few years older than my young friend after all. I can certainly share some of my life experience with my young friend. It can perhaps solve the puzzles in my young friend's heart!"
"Isn't it obvious?" Li Yao said. "Master Gui, you are an 'absolute pessimist' who believes in the unavoidable doom of our civilization! If so, in your eyes, all our struggles and endeavors right now should be futile. What can I gain by telling you things that are upsetting me?"
"It seems that you have somewhat misunderstood 'absolute pessimism'!" Gui Suishou was good-tempered enough to not react when Li Yao was lambasting him so straightforwardly. "Let me ask you something, my young friend Li Yao. Do you believe that everybody is destined to die?"
What kind of question is that? Li Yao was dazed. He blurted out, "Of course. It is the law of nature to age and die. I am not that kind of guy who blindly pursues an eternal life!"
Gui Suishou sighed. "No matter how brilliant and glorious one's life is, they will end up as a pile of dry bones eventually. In hundreds of years, even those bones will be entirely gone. Right?"
Li Yao nodded and did not think that it was a big deal. "It is enough as long as their life shined brilliantly once. What's the big deal even if there's nothing left in the end?"
"Therefore, I can call you a person who believes in the unavoidable doom of life," Gui Suishou said unhurriedly. "You believe that you cannot escape from your death no matter how hard you try, right?"
Li Yao was rendered speechless for a moment.
"If you believe that a living creature is destined to die one day and that you are not an exception, why are you striving and struggling so hard right now?" Gui Suishou said carefully. "For you, does the short life before death mean anything?"
"Of course!" Li Yao felt that a pot of boiling oil was poured into his messy head. "Isn't it nonsense? We are not living our lives just because we are going to die sooner or later?"
Gui Suishou smiled casually. "Right now, my young friend Li Yao, you should understand the essence of the 'absolute pessimism' better now, right?
"You believe that everybody is destined to die, but you won't deny the value of their hard work when they are alive, will you?
"On the contrary, it is exactly because death awaits everybody that 'life' is full of precious significance.
"If an eternal life does exist, everything that the undying person does will be truly meaningless!
"This is just like a race. Only if there is a finish line will a race be meaningful. If everybody has to run incessantly without a finish line, who will be ever persistent enough to run on?
"By the same logic, I believe in the inevitable doom of the human civilization, but I do not deny the value of human civilization just because of that, nor am I disapproving of the efforts that everybody, including you, is making while trying to save the civilization!
"It is exactly because I believe that our civilization will eventually perish that I have been given the privilege to observe our civilization from a more transcendental perspective and record every shining point of our civilization on the great monument of civilization!
"This is the essence of the Monument Scholars. Have you got it, my young friend Li Yao?"
Li Yao's eyes were blinking faster than the flapping wings of a butterfly. "… More or less."
"Then, would you like to tell me what is bothering you?" Gui Suishou asked very kindly.
Li Yao scratched his hair for a long time. He suddenly felt that all the cr*ppy old men were sophisticated enough to muddle his head with only a few words.
Thinking for a moment, Li Yao said, "Master Gui, there is indeed a question that has confused me for quite a few days. In fact, it is not exactly one question but a whole bunch of questions!"
Gui Suishou pointed at the uneven ground and said, "I'd like to know the details."
Not caring about whether the ground was clean or not, Li Yao sat down and started discussing his questions with Gui Suishou.
"Before the Imperium of True Human Beings and the Alliance of the Holy Covenant revealed their true faces, I was an avid believer of the ideology I used to believe in," Li Yao said honestly. "However, after I engaged with the Immortal Cultivators and someone from the Covenant Alliance on Kunlun and learned part of their ideologies from different perspectives, and especially after I got a clear understanding about the origins of the Immortal Cultivators, I grew confused again.
"My belief is very firm. Of course, it is not the core principle that ordinary people must be protected that is wavering.
"However, the history of the decline of the Cultivators' civilizations that the Immortal Cultivators showed me seemed rather plausible. There are indeed certain internal contradictions within the Cultivators' civilizations that are barely resolvable!
"The Curly Dragon civilization, the Medicine Fork civilization, the Martial Meritocrats civilization… and dozens more civilizations of Cultivators have declined for various reasons. The 'diseases' that caused them to decline are not entirely unseen in the Star Glory Federation!
"The so-called 'true path of immortality' is certainly not a treatment to cure the diseases; it is just a dose of violent drugs that can stimulate the potential of the body for a short time, making them appear energetic, but will in fact hide the real causes of the diseases. When the effect of the drugs is over, the diseases will get worse and kill the patient!
"However, it appears to me that the path of the Cultivators cannot address the problems completely, either. It can't create a perfect world!"
"Perfect world?" Gui Suishou was amused. "My young friend Li Yao, you've been too obstinate. Is there really such a thing as 'perfect world'?
"Civilization is too large and complicated a concept. We can't make everything clear for the time being. So, let's take human beings as an example.
"For every person in the world, even if they are born in a rich family, always pay attention to their health, and work hard to maintain it, it is always possible that they may be ill every once in a while, right?
"Which mortal in the mundane world can guarantee that they will be free of illnesses and worries forever? Only those in the tombs, I'm afraid!"
Deep in thought, Li Yao asked, "What should they do if they have worries?"
"Anything that suits them!" Gui Suishou said casually. "When you are ill, you go to a physician. When you are anxious, you go to a therapist. If the problems can't be solved, you drink or cry your troubles away… Don't all nobles and smallfolk spend their entire lives battling through such troubles and obstacles in such ways?"
Li Yao frowned. "But some illness and worries are untreatable!"
"Then, they may die." Looking at the bright purple clouds not far away, Gui Suishou said slowly, "Now that you also know that doctors are not deities and that some diseases are beyond treatment, the doctors may not be to blame even if the patients pass away in the end.
"By the same logic, Cultivators are not deities. What makes you think that the destruction of the Curly Dragon Sector, the Medicine Fork Sector, the Martial Meritocrats Sector, and all the other civilizations is the fault of the path of the Cultivators?
"As you said yourself, it is the law of nature to age and die. Every material declines. Even the burning sun will fade away one day. Why do you think that a civilization will never be sick or die?
"When a civilization is sick, we must find a way to treat it. If this prescription doesn't work, we will switch to the next one. After all the prescriptions have been tried and none of them prove useful, we will try to leave our message and die with dignity. This is the worldview of us Monument Scholars."
Li Yao's face seemed to be mired in a deep valley.
One moment, he was confused, enlightened the next, and then, hollow. There was no telling where his mind had floated to.
After pondering for a moment, Li Yao finally mumbled, "Master Gui, your words do make a lot of sense. I seem to be asking for trouble before trouble troubles me!"
"Precisely." Gui Suishou nodded with a smile, "If you believe that the most important thing for a living person is not how healthy and how long their life is, but what dazzling brilliance they unleash while they are alive, is it otherwise for a civilization?
"As long as the civilization of mankind leaves a heavy, ineffaceable stroke on the canvas that is the sea of stars, will we be regretful even if our civilization walks to its doom one day in the future?
"At the very least, the Monument Scholars will try our best to record the brilliant stroke as perfectly as possible and spray it to infinite lightyears away and eons later as our 'offspring' and 'legacy'!"
Narrowing his eyes, Li Yao looked at the clouds in the sky that were rolling like surging tides.
Yet, his eyes seemed to be piercing through the clouds and darting into the depths of the universe.
His heart was pounding, his breath was hasty, and his eyes were glittering. The worries that had plagued him for days were gone.
He could not wait to leave his own ineffaceable trace on the enormous 'canvas'!
Chapter 1301: Great Leap! |
"Sister Long, here, here!"
Long Yunxin, the youngest mentor of the Refining Department of Flying Star University, had only just arrived at the entrance of the park with the hundred most distinguished students of her apartment when she saw Xie Anan, her confidante who had been a friend to her since childhood, jumping up and down, waving her hands at them.
After being away for more than five years, the little girl who always followed her had grown much more mature. She was almost like a charming and lovely woman now.
However, her round, red face that looked like a ripe apple was exactly like before. If she made her hair into a cute ponytail, chances were that she would still be mistaken for a college student!
But one should never judge anyone based on their appearance. Long Yunxin knew for a fact that the little girl, who appeared to be a bit silly before and was merely spoiled by everyone as a precious darling, had made astonishing progress after learning under the legendary master of refining 'Fiend Star Li Yao'.
Xie Anan's arts of refining had already been acknowledged as expert-level. In good time, it was possible that she would indeed grow into a grandmaster to everybody's surprise!
Who could've seen this coming? Long Yunxin secret observed with mixed feelings. She had not figured out even to this moment what about Xie Anan caught Li Yao's attention and made him decide to recruit her as a disciple.
Speaking of which, when Li Yao entered the circle of refiners in the Flying Star Sector, it was Long Yunxin who had made his acquittance first.
Long Yunxin had even taken Li Yao to a Sword Tasting Get-together. They had competed in the Skyhill Sword Seminar!
Later, when Long Yunxin was teaching in the Refining Department of Flying Star Universe, Li Yao had spent around half a year in Flying Star Universe as a 'visiting scholar', too. The two of them had been in a close relationship.
Long Yunxin had been rather fond of Li Yao, who had still been concealing his identity back then. She had even subtly expressed her feelings for him.
But as a result, Li Yao had refused her in a rather… perverted way.
Ever since then, whenever the name of Li Yao was mentioned, Long Yunxin's teeth would clatter in fury, and she was often so embarrassed that she almost wanted to dig a hole in the ground and bury herself in it.
Because of the incident, she was even too ashamed to contact her good friend Xia Anan who happened to be an eye-witness of the awkward dinner.
However, time was the best healer for everything, and that event had been a long time ago.
It had been almost ten years since the riot of the Immortal Cultivators in the Flying Star Sector and six years since the great plague in the Heaven's Origin Sector and the rebellion of the Patriots Partnership in the Heaven's Origin Sector.
Five years had already passed since Kunlun was first visited by human beings and the relics of the Pangu civilization had been found!
For everyone in the Heaven's Origin Sector, the Flying Star Sector, and the Blood Demon Sector, history seemed to be a boat that had suddenly marched into a narrow, ragged valley with surging waves after passing through a broad, peaceful river slowly. The reforms over the past five years were perhaps more epic than the changes in the five hundred years before that!
Civilizations originated from communication. With the integration of the technology, techniques, wisdom, and history, and with the primeval magical equipment, spiritual stripes, and spells that were transported to the three Sectors from Kunlun, countless new concepts, new findings, and new organizations were popping up like mushrooms after a rain, making everybody feel dazzled.
Even the most remote towns in the three Sectors were witnessing changes on a daily basis and would be utterly reshaped every three to five months, not to mention the glorious city that was a center of the three Sectors now.
Everybody had been ushered into an exciting era of great leaps!
For a refiner such as Long Yunxin, it was certainly extremely fortunate to live in such a revolutionary age.
Take their trip for example. Five years ago, the Heaven's Artillery and the Cosmic Slingshot were the only vehicles between the Heaven's Origin Sector and the Flying Star Sector. Better communication could only be conducted through large starships that boasted super long-distance space jump abilities such as Burning Prairie. The cost to ship personnel and resources was extremely high. A journey between Sectors was beyond the dreams of most people.
However, in the past five years, the star beacons between the two worlds had become larger and larger, with ever-greater precision. Some point-to-point space gates had been established, too, significantly reducing the cost of the journey.
As a result, a common refiner such as Long Yunxin, together with almost a hundred college students in her department, was already able to jump from the Flying Star Sector to the Heaven's Origin Sector to study or travel on medium-sized starships!
Long Yunxin and her students were just part of the enormous delegation that the Flying Star Sector sent out.
They were there for the first Three-World Magical Equipment Exposition!
The Magical Equipment Exposition was a traditional event of the Star Glory Federation, where the cutting-edge magical equipment of the entire federation would be exhibited.
After the preliminary integration of the three Sectors, many products were developed by the teams made of specialists from multiple worlds.
The great development on Kunlun, the relic of the Pangu civilization, could not have been accomplished without the collective effort of the three Sectors.
In the great development that was as long as five years, the development teams made of historians, archeologists, refiners, and specialists of various other trades ran into all kinds of difficulties, impediments, and uncanny phenomena in the depths of Kunlun. Many had even sacrificed themselves inside!
Right now, the first five-year plan of the development on Kunlun had finally been concluded.
In the Three-World Magical Equipment Exposition, their most advanced products developed over the past five years would be displayed together, laying a solid materialistic foundation for the formal establishment of the New Federation later.
Long Yunxin and Xie Anan hugged each other tightly.
The two of them shouted and laughed like two teenage girls, as if they were back to their carefree childhood again.
Long Yunxin was a refiner after all. Knowing that the ultimate treasures excavated from the relics of the Pangu civilization were right inside the park, she felt that dozens of kitties were scratching her heart and simply could not hold it any longer.
After talking and laughing for a while, she immediately held Xie Anan's hand and went into the park to visit.
As one of the two best colleges in the Flying Star Sector, the Flying Star Sector naturally had its own booth in the Magical Equipment Exposition.
