Chapter 319: Heart Demon
"We'll head back to the branch now. This copy of Red Radiance is for you." Chen Kedi was very pleased, for he had found another truly like-minded and capable young man.
"Wait, isn't there an oath or an initiation ceremony for joining the organization?" Feng Buhui asked.
"We don't need such hypocritical and tedious things. An oath is merely a formality that deceives no one. Those without shared beliefs, even if they recite the vow a hundred times, will eventually go their separate ways."
"Those who share beliefs have no need for oaths. Inner conviction is enough. An initiation ceremony is just an unnecessary extra step." Chen Kedi clearly disdained those tedious individuals who relied on constant murmuring to feign piety, or who engaged in grand displays of formalism, demanding praises from others.
"It's that simple to join you? And why is my hand glowing?" Feng Buhui felt this was perhaps a bit too hasty, as the purity of the organization's ideals might be compromised, given how easy it would be for hostile forces to infiltrate.
"For those who agree with the views expressed in Red Radiance, placing their hand on the book's surface will naturally cause a faint red glow to emanate. The higher the degree of agreement, the brighter the red light. As long as they recognize our ideals, they are our comrades." Chen Kedi explained in detail, watching the red glow on Feng Buhui's hand, subtly hinting at his selection method.
If Feng Buhui didn't truly agree with Red Radiance, but was merely seeking refuge in despair, the situation with his hand would immediately expose him. For the sake of secrecy, Chen Kedi would show no mercy.
For several years, their organization had operated in a highly secretive, underground state, slowly expanding its influence while collectively refining the cultivation method of Red Radiance.
As the founder, Chen Kedi knew well that the system he had hastily created was still far from perfect. It required a significant amount of time for refinement and maturation to truly adapt to this era.
"Our Red Radiance is a power of will. Its cultivation requires no resources and exists to represent the interests of the broadest masses of ordinary people."
Chen Kedi and his comrades knew perfectly well the immense impact Red Radiance would have on this world. The ruling classes of all nations would undoubtedly spare no effort to eradicate them in order to maintain their own dominance.
They were acutely aware of the upheaval a group of super-powered individuals, embracing such an ideology, would bring to the existing society.
In a stable society, Chen Kedi would have no chance of success. Apart from himself, with his instantaneous movement ability, the others were still too vulnerable when facing Five-Tier powerhouses. Therefore, they had remained dormant, awaiting an opportunity for contradictions and chaos to erupt, when the upper echelons would be too preoccupied to notice them.
And Feng Buhui's insane actions had given their group hope.
"In the past, we needed guns and cannons. Now, we only need recognition!"
"To allow all ordinary people the chance to gain the power to control their own destinies?"
Chen Kedi nodded, then led Feng Buhui away from the spot.
"What a pity, too late again." Twenty minutes later, large search parties, guided by ability users, arrived at the previous location of the two, only to find they had once again drawn a blank.
Chen Kedi's spatial movement ability was truly unreasonable when it came to counter-reconnaissance.
"Heavenly Mandated Protagonist..." During his time in the laboratory, Bai Mo had been repeatedly chewing on these four words.
These simple four words felt like a negation of his value and existence over all these years.
Since he had already been designated as the protagonist, everything he gained was merely a plot device. No matter what attitude he adopted, the outcome of events would remain unchanged.
Even if he behaved like a puppet, devoid of personal agency, with Gaia acting as the director, everyone's thoughts around him would still be biased in his favor, because everything was already written in the script. They were merely performers in these scenes of joy and sorrow.
He did nothing but lie on the laboratory sofa, contemplating these terrifyingly profound philosophical questions, seemingly led into a world of fatalism.
"But, is what it said, all true?" He suddenly recalled the words his parallel-world self had spoken eight years ago.
The other Bai Mo had once encountered a true "Heavenly Mandated Protagonist," a plane-traveler. Using some hard-to-verify conjectures, he had made the other party begin to doubt the reality of their own life. This was strikingly similar to what Gaia was doing now.
No one else could verify any of its words. Whether it had manipulated those around Bai Mo to revolve around him was entirely up to its own claim. Whether everything was intentional or coincidental, even if one could return to the past, it would be difficult to ascertain.
Every day in this world, there were lucky individuals, great and small, born amidst countless coincidences. Only Gaia knew if it had played a part in any of them.
Once the doubt arose, Bai Mo felt as if something within him had melted away. He felt a little lighter, no longer fixated on the question of his own existential value.
"Could this 'Gaia' be a heart demon simultaneously present within all living beings?"
No one answered his question, but he thought this answer might be more fitting.
The more fortuitous encounters and greater "golden fingers" a person possessed, the more easily they would fall into such fatalistic conjectures under inducement, beginning to constantly negate their own value, believing their luck and indeed everything was merely arranged by some great existence. Their attempts to find all the answers almost invariably ended in the chaos of nihilism and skepticism towards everything.
"What a pity." In a profound and unknowable place, a sigh suddenly appeared, then vanished without a trace.
"Its realm is indeed far, far higher than mine. Through just a brief conversation, it could bypass all physical defenses and project its mental power into my body, thereby influencing my thoughts."
Although he believed he had thwarted one of the opponent's hidden moves, he did not let his guard down in the slightest. Contingencies left behind by differences in realms were often hard to detect, just like the mental influence Hua Taishan had left behind.
If not for Bai Mo, advancing to the same level later, it would have been utterly impossible to discover such a subtle, imperceptible change.
"Perhaps the next goal of the Martial Path—allowing the spiritual will to exist independently of the physical body—could draw inspiration from its form of existence?"
The debate regarding the future path of the Martial Path had never ceased. Even though most had agreed that future development should lean towards immortality, the exact approach—whether an indestructible physical body, regeneration from a drop of blood, or allowing the spiritual will to exist independently—and which step to take first, remained the focal point of contention among these Dharma Body martial artists.
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