Book 2: Chapter 498: Accounting Between Past and Present, Nüwa Creates Humanity |
Vol 2 Chapter 498 Accounting Between Past and Present, Nüwa Creates Humanity
"Second Brother, aren't you someone who values pedigree?" Tongtian Daoist asked, "How could he catch your eye?"
Yuanshi Daoist glanced at him and said calmly, "I do not judge by pedigree alone, but by the mandate of Heaven. If one carries the Heaven-and-Earth fate, naturally the pedigree will be good. That follows the order of things."
"Then this youth..."
Yuanshi's gaze landed on Zheng Fa. "A person of the Dao, if he has fate, will naturally show it."
Zheng Fa was stunned under Yuanshi's scrutiny, not understanding why Yuanshi Daoist regarded him so highly.
Yuanshi then pointed to the light screen behind Zheng Fa and smiled, "Besides, the sect that Junior Sister founded is itself favored by Heaven-and-Earth fate."
Zheng Fa thought quietly to himself: although Yuanshi Daoist is legendary for his keen insight in modern stories, there are indeed many disciples in the Righteous Teaching, especially among later generations, who are human.
Put simply, calling Yuanshi merely a racist would be an understatement; he is clearly an elitist.
Yuanshi looked at him coldly. "Destroy the old to establish the new? If there is no distinction between right and wrong, wouldn't that be abandoning good and promoting evil? Which of your disciples can shoulder such responsibility?"
"Second Brother, if disciples are all cast out of the same mold as us, what use would that be?"
"...."
Zheng Fa was bewildered.
These two had seemed to be arguing about him at first, so how had it escalated into a quarrel between the two of them?
But the more he listened, the clearer it became.
The core disagreement between Yuanshi and Tongtian was their educational philosophy.
Yuanshi believed the Way should be governed by the very best, otherwise order would be lost and chaos would ensue.
Tongtian was different. His perspective was broader and more energetic; he was willing to give less outstanding races opportunities, believing that only then could new Dao methods emerge.
From this angle, Zheng Fa leaned more toward Tongtian — in Jiushan Sect, the effort he invested mostly boiled down to four words: educational equity.
On the other hand, Tongtian's thinking tended toward... pluralism.
He believed letting disciples develop their strengths might produce successors who surpass their teachers, and there was truth in that. What Zheng Fa disagreed with was Tongtian's near-permissiveness in training disciples.
Yuanshi and Tongtian were at opposite ends of the ideological spectrum and nearly came to blows, only restraining themselves because of the guests present.
Yuanshi's face was dark as iron, Tongtian fuming. They faced away from each other like sulking children, their backs to one another. Tongtian's eyes flicked toward Zheng Fa and he suddenly asked, "Who do you think is right?"
"......"
Zheng Fa felt helpless like a child.
When he was young, curious Celestials at the village would ask trivial questions like whether he liked his father or his mother more — it was exactly like this moment.
They are bickering, what does that have to do with you?
He glanced at Goddess Nüwa. "Goddess, save me!"
Unexpectedly, Nüwa looked rather interested, smiling as she watched from the side.
The other low-ranking Celestials also looked at him, seemingly waiting for an answer.
Any reply would offend someone; so he decided to speak his honest mind.
"I think broadly accepting disciples is fine." Zheng Fa said slowly. "Otherwise, how could the human race speak of advantage?"
On the point of universal education, Zheng Fa might be even more resolute, perhaps a touch more radical, than Tongtian.
Tongtian grinned. "But on the other hand, I believe you need to establish certain educational principles, especially in the early stages of training disciples; you cannot be too permissive."
Tongtian's smile faded as he looked at Zheng Fa and snorted, "Your answer is slippery."
"This is my sincere belief." Zheng Fa replied, "And indeed, it is my actual practice."
Hearing him speak so earnestly, Tongtian and the others grew curious. "Your actual practice?"
"This is also the answer I will give to Her Majesty's third question." Zheng Fa looked toward Nüwa.
"Third question?" Tongtian looked at Nüwa and asked, "What question?"
Nüwa smiled. "I asked him whether creating humanity was right or wrong."
"This question..." Tongtian exclaimed, "is rather troubling."
Nüwa did not argue; she watched Zheng Fa with some expectation. "But you already have an answer."
Zheng Fa shook his head slightly. "Not a definitive answer. I cannot give Her Majesty a single verdict."
To be blunt:
Among Nüwa's three questions, the second one — why humans were created — required deep research.
But the hardest to answer was actually the third question.
The rightness or wrongness of creating humans is highly subjective; fundamentally, it depends on values.
For Zheng Fa, of course he believed creating humans was good.
But for Nüwa, it was not so simple — the main problem was that Zheng Fa did not know why the First Era vanished into history:
Nüwa created humanity to strengthen Dao methods, but in the end, even the Primordial Chaos world ceased to exist.
He looked at Nüwa and said, "Whether creating humans was right or wrong is not for me to judge, but for Your Majesty herself."
"You ask me and want me to answer?" Nüwa's brow furrowed slightly, as if surprised.
"No. What I can offer is not a definitive answer."
Nüwa nodded slightly, and Zheng Fa did not elaborate. He merely tapped the light screen.
The screen rotated, and suddenly blue skies and white clouds appeared. The view split into two.
One side showed a steel forest, skyscrapers silhouetted against the horizon, a city of brilliant neon lights.
The other displayed the Three Enclosures and Four Symbols; deities moving between immortal and mortal realms, cultivators weaving through clouds.
"This is..."
The Five Saints were curious, and Tongtian, quicker to speak, asked directly.
"This is the two worlds I inhabit." Zheng Fa smiled. "Your Majesty, my answer is contained within them."
All eyes fixed on the light screen.
It was essentially a documentary.
Zheng Fa knew he was not a silver-tongued orator; he could not dazzle with rhetoric.
Moreover, he understood these six were not the sort who could be swayed by mere words.
So he had to try harder.
If he could take part in a project of creating humanity, the benefits would be immense.
Hence, he prepared a documentary so these six could see for themselves.
The first to appear on camera was Tang Lingwu. She faced the lens with a little nervousness. "Since the founding of the Immortal Dao Federation, the Federation Research Institute has recruited thirty thousand researchers. This is the Federation Research Institute headquarters."
Nüwa and the others didn't fully understand her words at first, but Zheng Fa helpfully added subtitles on the screen, which made comprehension easier.
"Immortal Dao Federation?" Tongtian looked at Zheng Fa with interest. "Is this your organization?"
Zheng Fa nodded lightly and added, "The Immortal Dao Federation was founded less than a hundred years ago."
Nüwa and the others grew even more curious. A hundred years?
For them, a century was barely a blink.
The footage showed Tang Lingwu leading the camera into a classroom in Rainbow Mountain.
The classroom was packed. Old Man Bai stood on the podium, spitting and scattering spiritual talismans as he lectured with raw passion, seemingly unconcerned about Tang Lingwu's filming.
"Students, you don't need to bring the book, just listen to me." Old Man Bai cocked his mouth. "These books are newly compiled and may contain errors. If they differ from my lecture, follow mine."
Tongtian laughed heartily. "...This man sure is confident."
Tang Lingwu's timid voice tried to salvage the impression, "Not every teacher at our institute is like that."
The Six Saints paid it no mind; they listened seriously to Old Man Bai's lecture. Given their cultivation, they could understand everything.
Yuanshi nodded slightly. "Even within a hundred years, such insight — this person is talented."
Tongtian nodded too. "The ideas are fresh; a person with potential."
Although Old Man Bai's cultivation aptitude was poor, his understanding of talisman techniques had always been top-tier. More importantly, many of his insights were extensions of modern topology theory. For Yuanshi and the others, it might not be enlightening per se, but it was interesting.
And when Tongtian called it "fresh," that was high praise from beings like them; content that felt fresh to them was extraordinary.
Tang Lingwu walked through the institute, recording many teaching and research scenes.
Modern research institutes focus primarily on research — they had not been admitting undergraduates, instead recruiting excellent students from universities.
Thus, most students entering the institute already had a solid scientific foundation.
To Yuanshi and the others, that was even more fascinating.
Even the usually taciturn Taishang asked, "Are these recruits all your new disciples?"
"Precisely."
Taishang nodded appreciatively. "All good."
Yuanshi agreed, "Quick minds, unique insights, high aptitude..."
He paused and added, "Better than Tongtian's motley disciples."
"Second Brother!" Tongtian glared and seemed ready to retort.
"What? You disagree?"
Tongtian looked again at the lively discussions on the screen, and fell silent.
Zheng Fa chuckled and said, "It's not that these disciples are inherently superior to Tongtian's — they are the product of a corresponding education."
Hearing this, Yuanshi shot Tongtian a reproachful look, as if scolding iron that would not be shaped.
Zheng Fa found the Saints' frankness novel; he hadn't expected them to be so candid. But on reflection, he understood — creatures at the top of the food chain do not do things just because others cannot see it.
Onscreen, Tang Lingwu continued: "With the Research Institute's help, per capita food and electricity production has long exceeded survival needs."
"Today, the Federation's education system is completely free and covers over ninety-seven percent of the global population."
Although the Immortal Dao Federation was young, its development had been rapid. Under Zheng Fa's absolute coercive power, there was virtually no resistance.
Combined with the Jiushan grain series and Spirit Wheat staples, and the promotion of external pill energy, progress was astronomical.
The biggest change had been the modern world's education system: university became part of basic education, while the Immortal Dao Research Institute became higher education.
"For the sake of education for all." Zheng Fa explained, "This world implements compulsory education. All children of school age can attend without conditions, and there are state subsidies."
This was not Zheng Fa's deliberate imposition, but the result of the Federation's member states acting in their own interests. Under the Federation, war had disappeared, but member states still competed — competing for Research Institute admission, for talented Dao practitioners, for educational efficiency.
Initially, Zheng Fa chose a federative model because he was impatient with mundane governance and wanted member states to retain most rights.
Now, that retention surprised him — by keeping national competition, countries fiercely invested in education and talent.
Because Federation migration was easy, states competed intensely over welfare and benefits, simply put, constantly poaching talent.
This led to the Research Institute's student quality improving dramatically in fifty years, to the point that even Yuanshi was satisfied.
Tang Lingwu's segment ended, and the screen shifted to Mu Qingyan's face.
She carried the camera toward an island and explained, "We are going to the Wenqu Island of Taiwei Yuan."
"Wenqu Island?" Yuanshi sounded interested. "What is that?"
Zheng Fa smiled but remained silent. Yuanshi glanced at him and did not press, looking somewhat surprised.
"On Wenqu Island are the editorial office of The Heavenly Way, Jiushan University's textbook publisher, the compilation bureau for cultivation techniques, and the journals of the major guilds."
Fortunately Mu Qingyan answered his question on camera.
"Editors for cultivation books?"
Tongtian suddenly understood.
"This is where Dao method results are organized."
Zheng Fa explained.
To prove the value of creating humans, Zheng Fa needed to demonstrate humanity's contribution to Dao iteration.
The modern footage showed Zheng Fa's educational philosophy and the talents it produced — importantly, these talents were humans, often young and with relatively low cultivation.
But in the Jiushan Realm, what Zheng Fa wanted to display were the concrete results they had produced.
"Since Wenqu Island was established," Mu Qingyan continued, "Jiushan Sect has created over two thousand new techniques, three of which directly target Great Ascension, and seventeen that can be cultivated to Nascent Soul."
"They designed and manufactured over four hundred new types of artifacts."
"They developed or improved over eighty pill formulas."
"They designed thirteen formations."
Hearing this, Tongtian suddenly laughed and asked Yuanshi, "Second Brother, you prize good eyes and are skilled in forging — I suppose your sect's disciples are no slouches either."
Yuanshi's face darkened; he seemed to suspect where Tongtian was going.
"But in all these years, I haven't heard you claim your men designed many new artifacts..."
"Your disciples did?"
Tongtian was speechless.
The hall fell deathly quiet.
The Taoist cultivators seated below glanced between the light screen and Zheng Fa, question marks hovering over their heads — weren't they supposed to be interrogating him?
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