I Studied Abroad in the Modern Times-Chapter 497Book 2: : Report from Yuxu, Yuanshi Changes Face
Vol 2 Chapter 497: Report from Yuxu, Yuanshi Changes Face
Before Zheng Fa stood a magnificent palace.
The entire palace seemed to be carved from a single flawless piece of jade, with walls flowing with warm, lustrous light. No lamps were needed, as the interior was already extremely bright.
Dozens of wooden desks were arranged in the hall, divided into left and right sides. Those seated on the left wore Daoist attire, while those on the right wore Buddhist robes, creating a clear distinction.
At the far end of the hall, six seats were placed side by side, with Nüwa and the other five great powers sitting upon them.
It was evident that aside from the six Saints and himself, everyone in this hall were elite disciples from the Buddhist and Daoist traditions. They had been conversing animatedly just moments ago, seemingly exchanging pleasantries and making connections.
Even Nüwa and the others were speaking softly about something.
After all, given their status and power, there were very few people in this world who could engage with them as equals—almost all of them were gathered in this great hall.
The hall had been lively.
But that was just moments ago. The instant Zheng Fa stepped through the door, the entire great hall seemed to have been muted.
In complete silence, everyone watched Zheng Fa step by step enter the hall.
If this had happened before, Zheng Fa might have merely felt somewhat uncomfortable. But remembering Nüwa's single finger from earlier, he felt somewhat numb, as if this silence and scrutiny weighed on him like a mountain.
"I pay my respects to Your Majesty."
Nüwa looked at him, gave a light laugh, and said with a smile, "That ill-mannered Roc bird forced its way into the Jade Void Palace, so I merely punished it. What are you afraid of?"
Zheng Fa grinned and spoke his honest thoughts: "No matter how kind Your Majesty Nüwa may be, any cultivator facing six of you would find it difficult not to feel apprehension."
Tongtian laughed: "So it's because we came to watch the show."
Zheng Fa didn't reply, directly accepting this as the reason.
It really wasn't him shifting blame. Among this group, he had dealt with Nüwa before—while not familiar, he wasn't exactly fearful of her.
But these other five—he had rarely seen them in the past, only exchanging a few words during meetings at the Purple Heaven Palace.
Tongtian Daoist suddenly said, "Since that's the case, why not add some stakes?"
"Stakes?"
"Today, Junior Sister Nüwa is testing this person. Although we are merely observers, we can also serve as judges. If he fails the test, then naturally, nothing more needs to be said."
"But if he passes, we can also join in the fun and give him some benefits."
The other Saints glanced at each other, also finding this somewhat interesting. Yuanshi Daoist nodded slightly: "Junior Brother's idea is quite good."
Hearing this, Zheng Fa was also delighted—this Tongtian was truly a wonderful person!
The gazes of the disciples below also shifted from scrutiny to envy.
But Tongtian Daoist hadn't finished speaking: "Just one thing—if all five of us give benefits, this person can only choose one."
Wait, I was just praising you!
The hall fell silent for a moment before Zhunti laughed: "So that's what you meant, Dao Brother!"
Zheng Fa hadn't quite understood yet when Taishang spoke up: "Is this giving him benefits, or finding ourselves a successor?"
Tongtian looked at Zheng Fa: "Whether he becomes a successor or not is, of course, up to him. And we can give artifacts or techniques—anything is possible. He just has to choose one."
Zheng Fa understood now. This meant that if his defense passed, he could voluntarily choose one of them as a mentor?
But he didn't think these six Saints lacked successors:
The relationship between Taishang Dao and Taishang Daoist should be extremely deep.
Leiyin Temple's connection to Jieyin and Zhunti went without saying.
Even Yuanshi and Tongtian probably existed within some scattered inheritances, like Tianhe Venerable's Slaying Immortal Sword Formation.
But it had to be admitted that each of these people's Dao traditions was extraordinary. If he could inherit one, it would truly be a heaven-sent opportunity.
The other four also looked at Zheng Fa. Yuanshi shook his head and said, "Junior Brother, you've misunderstood. This person performed exceptionally well in the Purple Heaven Palace. If he can also pass Junior Sister Nüwa's test, then he's truly a talent. Wouldn't we be stealing Junior Sister's..."
Nüwa smiled and shook her head: "My Dao path does not lie in tradition inheritance. This matter is fine;I won't compete with you, Senior Brothers."
Tongtian Daoist nodded: "Then he'll choose from among the five of us."
Yuanshi Daoist slightly raised his eyebrows: "He chooses us?"
"I just want to see who he picks!" Tongtian seemed to find this very amusing, grinning widely.
Yuanshi glanced at him, his expression clearly exasperated: "We are the dignified Three Pure Ones. Being picked and chosen like this—what kind of propriety is that?"
Taishang Daoist thought for a moment and actually spoke up: "I think it's fine."
Yuanshi said helplessly, "Since Elder Brother says so, then count me in."
Zhunti glanced at Jieyin, then looked at Zheng Fa and said, "I've thought this child was talented since long ago, that he has a connection with our Western lands."
For a moment, aside from Nüwa, the other five Saints all agreed.
Zheng Fa could tell that aside from Zhunti who seemed somewhat sincere, the other four were probably just doing this for fun.
As for Tongtian who proposed this idea—he was just here for the entertainment!
Did he really want to give Zheng Fa benefits? He just wanted to see who Zheng Fa would choose!
...
After discussing the stakes, Nüwa looked at Zheng Fa again, her gaze carrying a hint of anticipation: "Have you thought of how to answer my question?"
Zheng Fa cupped his hands and said, "I have my own answer, but I dare not say it will satisfy Your Majesty."
"Speak your mind."
Zheng Fa waved his hand, and a light screen appeared behind him. On the screen was precisely the thesis he had brought.
Tongtian read the thesis title aloud: "'A Species Design Based on Dao Technique Propagation Derivation'? That's a novel name."
The other five also became interested, carefully watching the light screen.
Zheng Fa focused his mind, and the thesis turned to the next page, revealing the introduction. He explained aloud:
"In the beginning of the Primordial Chaos, heaven and earth naturally gave birth to creatures like dragons, phoenixes, and qilins. These beings use bloodlines as their foundation, commanding the four seas, suppressing the nine heavens, ruling the earth, with endless divine abilities."
"But the 'bloodline specialization' characteristic of innate creatures creates inherent limitations in Dao technique propagation."
Zheng Fa continued: "These limitations lie in: Dao tradition inheritance being restricted by racial talents, making techniques difficult to spread across races;techniques being scarce and costly to maintain;inheritance patterns solidifying into 'bloodline replication,' making Dao techniques difficult to break through and evolve."
The six Saints listened intently, nodding slightly.
Zheng Fa looked at Nüwa: "This is also why Nüwa needed to create a new race."
Nüwa laughed and said, "You're quite right."
Zheng Fa breathed an internal sigh of relief. Nüwa had asked him three questions, which actually broke down to:
First, why did she need to create a new race.
Second, why did this new race take the form of humans.
Third, was creating humans ultimately right or wrong?
Just now, he had been answering the first question. It seemed Nüwa was somewhat satisfied.
"Since we need to create a new race, and this new race needs to solve these problems, then I believe we need to consider three dimensions: compatibility, cost, and Dao technique iteration."
Tongtian murmured: "Compatibility, cost, iteration..."
His expression was full of contemplation, completely devoid of his earlier playful indifference.
The other five Saints were the same.
After finishing the introduction, the images and text on the light screen changed again, moving to the main body.
"First, compatibility." Zheng Fa pointed at the light screen as he explained. "Compatibility means this race can cultivate most of the universal techniques passed down by Hongjun Daoist. This way, they can inherit Dao techniques."
Everyone nodded.
So-called universal techniques referred to the content from Hongjun Daoist's first lecture, as well as some cultivation methods commonly used by various races in the Primordial Chaos.
"Universal techniques correspond to most of the spiritual energy between heaven and earth. Therefore, this new species should possess a structure capable of absorbing most of the spiritual energy between heaven and earth—spiritual roots."
A complex diagram of the human body appeared on the light screen, covered in dense, incredibly intricate neural networks.
But Nüwa watched very seriously.
"Compatibility has another advantage."
"What?"
"It ensures that individuals of this species can exchange their techniques with each other, enabling fusion and innovation."
In simple terms, the human body was a unified hardware platform.
Nüwa and the others slowly finished reading this part of the thesis. Although the wording was somewhat strange, with Zheng Fa's explanation, they all understood.
Tongtian said excitedly, "What else?"
"Second, this race's reproduction, growth, and development should all be easier than current races."
"Innate deities are strong, yes, but the cost is extremely high. Just speaking of reproduction: the dragon clan requires specific spirit veins and conditions to be born. The phoenix clan even needs divine paulownia wood to conceive offspring."
As Zheng Fa spoke, his expression also became somewhat complicated—the Jiushan Sect truly was raising dragons.
He had deep personal experience with how high the reproductive costs were for these races.
"And after innate deities are born, the cultivation resources they occupy are enormous."
"Therefore, the new race should control costs. Ideally, birth and growth shouldn't require spirit materials or even spiritual energy."
Though reluctant to admit it, for the other races of the Primordial Chaos, humanity's main advantage was being cheap.
Yuanshi frowned: "If we're only talking about cost, then why create humans? There are many more beasts, insects, and birds that are better at reproduction than humans."
"This brings us to the third point." Seizing this question, Zheng Fa continued, "Dao technique iteration."
"So-called iteration means creating new Dao techniques while discarding old, useless ones." Zheng Fa said. "And creation requires human innate divine abilities."
"Innate divine abilities? Humans have innate divine abilities?"
Zheng Fa gently exhaled and voiced the thought he had always held: "Humanity's innate divine ability is innate wisdom—an innate divine ability that doesn't require spiritual energy."
"......"
Zheng Fa pointed at the light screen again, where the human body diagram reappeared.
Pointing at those complex neural pathways, he said: "I originally thought spiritual roots only referred to the five elements spiritual roots. Later, I realized that the nerves of these five elements spiritual roots are only part of the nervous system. The neural structures that produce wisdom are humanity's most important feature."
"If one only sees the five elements spiritual roots, it's truly being unable to see the forest for the trees."
This was Gu Chang's recent theory: the nervous system was actually a unified spiritual root-wisdom system. In other words, this was the fundamental hardware for cultivation. Having only spiritual roots wasn't enough;having only wisdom wasn't enough either. Only when combined could they ensure humans could cultivate.
As Nüwa listened, the corners of her mouth faintly carried a trace of a smile.
The other five Saints also nodded slightly.
"Humans are one of the rare races that can master high-level wisdom within one or two years from conception to birth." Zheng Fa continued. "Birds, beasts, fish, and insects require opportunity, long time, and spiritual energy to develop spiritual intelligence."
"Therefore, while human reproduction costs seem higher than these races, if based on wisdom generation, humanity's costs are actually the lowest."
Truth be told, even modern artificial intelligence development to this day couldn't be said to have completely reached human wisdom levels, not to mention its enormous costs.
Zheng Fa paused, wanting to give the six Saints time to absorb and understand.
This was his teaching habit, but he didn't expect Tongtian to shout: "Continue!"
The other five Saints also looked reproachful, clearly wanting more.
"To quickly iterate Dao techniques, not only is wisdom needed—meaning comprehension and reasoning abilities—but more importantly, we need to transform the bloodline inheritance of innate races into techniques."
"Ancestors summarize through practice to form 'Basic Technique Version 1.0'. Descendants discover flaws during cultivation and adjust heart methods and moves, forming 'Basic Technique Version 2.0'..."
"This cycle of creation and correction is the essence of Dao technique iteration."
The more Zheng Fa spoke, the more at ease he became. He added: "This iteration mechanism relies on personal wisdom on one hand, and on the previously mentioned compatibility and low cost on the other."
"Compatibility ensures that ancestors' techniques can be learned by descendants."
"Cost ensures that humanity has sufficient individual resources to iterate Dao techniques."
Reaching this point, Zheng Fa thought for a moment and summarized: "These three points are the true value of humanity itself."
He looked at Nüwa, observing her expression.
After saying so much, he was actually answering the most important question of this defense—
Why create humans?
Nüwa suddenly laughed and asked, "Did you think of all this yourself?"
"No." Zheng Fa didn't hide it. "At least a day and a half's worth is others' credit."
Not to mention anything else, the spiritual root-spiritual intelligence dual system was his eldest disciple Gu Chang's original insight.
Nüwa looked at him: "Why not claim credit?"
Zheng Fa thought for a moment and spoke his true feelings: "No matter how powerful or talented I am alone, what can I accomplish? Can I compare to those innate beings? Even if I were arrogant, could I possibly compare to Your Majesty?"
He looked at the thesis on the light screen, his eyes also somewhat emotional: "This thesis made me understand humanity's divine ability. In turn, isn't this thesis itself a manifestation of humanity's divine ability?"
Nüwa laughed: "How so?"
"Compared to innate races, humanity's advantage lies in wisdom, in communication, exchange, and collision." Zheng Fa said softly. "In the many surpassing the few, the future surpassing the present."
"What innate races are strongest in is their ancestors. When cultivating, they are actually returning to their ancestry."
"But humanity rises from insignificance. We have no powerful ancestors. The strongest should be..."
"The next generation."
The hall fell silent for a moment, everyone staring blankly at Zheng Fa.
After a long time, Taishang Daoist suddenly turned and asked Nüwa: "Junior Sister, is this what you thought as well?"
Nüwa's expression was very complex. After a long while, she smiled and shook her head: "No."
Zheng Fa's heart sank slightly. Was the answer he provided not to Nüwa's satisfaction?
"I didn't think this much." Nüwa shook her head, seemingly self-mocking yet also proud. "I thought I was testing him, but I didn't expect... truly, the future surpasses the present."
Hearing this, the other five Saints looked at Zheng Fa again.
Yuanshi suddenly said: "Your thinking actually aligns quite well with my school's philosophy."
Tongtian whipped his head around, eyes wide as he stared at Yuanshi. Weren't you being hesitant and reluctant earlier, not wanting to be picked and chosen?
Shameless!
