above the sky

Chapter 718 Followers of the Future Sage (7600)

Culture and civilization are indeed a complex thing.

As a senior mercenary who has been on missions in Jingsong Cliff, the City of Learning and the Empire, and finally chose to settle in the Empire for a long time as a 'foreigner', Qing Chao is actually quite familiar with these concepts.

Among other things, eating habits alone can clearly distinguish people from all over the world.

There is no shortage of salt or seasoning at Whale Song Cliff. On the contrary, there has been a lack of high-quality sugar since ancient times. In addition, Shanghai people often go to sea to fight. At critical moments, they need to supplement a large amount of food that can quickly provide physical strength, and fructose is always The most common physical fuel, so I developed a habit of eating sweets.

The internal climate of Feiyandi is obviously different, divided into desert and coastal rainforest, but because it is rich in all kinds of spices, no matter what kind of food, it will put a lot of spices, the taste is mixed and heavy, fragrant and thick, and because of the developed flour products, there are also many special breads And biscuits are a must for Terra.

As an island country in the inland sea, the capital of learning has a lot of seafood, similar to Jinggeya, but it prefers to cook porridge boiled, and at most add some local specialty sauces—and the sauces of the capital of learning are extremely developed, basically every small Each gathering place has its own unique sauce recipe, with different and different tastes, which is a major feature of the region.

There was a joke that the reason why there are more alchemists in the capital of learning than in other places is that they need to learn the ratio and matching of various sauces since they were young, which laid a good foundation for children to learn alchemy.

If you use the wrong sauce ratio, you will be expelled from your hometown!
Although it sounds interesting, Qingchao is also very clear that this can at best identify the place of birth, but not the real culture and civilization.

For example, empire.

It is so vast that the eating customs of each region are different.

The northeastern plains of the empire are also addicted to sugar, and there are even very similar dishes, which make the people of Whale Song Cliff call "another me in the world", but other than that, all their other living customs are different from Whale Song Cliff ...they are very different.

So... what is the real point of civilization?
Is it clothing?Is it pitch?Is it a ballad?
Or some social customs, some conventional moral codes?

The more he reads, the more confused Qing Chao is about this.

Therefore, he used this question to ask the lord who 'almost knows everything' in his heart.

Ask him 'what is civilization'.

And that Bai Zhimin, who was much younger than him, but had a lot of knowledge and shame, glanced at him, thought for a moment, and announced that a meeting would be held.

Ian is going to give lessons to this group of young people who are first-time leaders and local presiding officials.

This is actually normal. Ian often spares some time, in the name of a meeting, to teach his core team some ideas and knowledge.

"Qing Chao's question is very interesting."

At the meeting, Ian, who was the youngest in the audience, pointed to the words on the blackboard in a stern way: "What is civilization? This is a very complicated concept, but the essence is very simple."

"Civilization is not wearing strange clothes, speaking languages ​​with different accents, and certainly not singing songs of different styles, drinking wine made from different types of grains."

"The blood-born people of Feiyan Land value martial arts and righteousness. They will avenge their revenge and repay their kindness. They would rather die than let the enemy benefit. The sea-born people of Jingsong Cliff are impassioned, despise life and death, and value promises. They are willing to do it for a while." Swinging the sword with spirit, even if you die, you must complete the goal—the customs of the two are similar or even consistent, are their civilizations similar?"

"It's not the same. The warriors of Flameland are silent and decisive, and the warriors of sea origin are bright and optimistic, and they can be distinguished at a glance."

"The Far Shore Island and the Capital of Knowledge are both island countries, both of which are dominated by university factions, who rule the country with knowledge and sublimation skills. They both have a college council and a high school of spires. Their alchemists even like to wear pointed hats—but they will Has anyone mistakenly confused the two?"

"Of course not. The gloomy, class-distinct temperament of Far Shore Island and the enlightened to chaotic, the capital of knowledge that admits 27 kinds of self-cognition are fundamentally two extremes."

"The Seven Cities Alliance believes in Huaiguang teachings all over the country, but who is the real visitor from the holy mountain, even Qingchao, can you tell?"

——Even I can tell what it means, you can tell it at a glance!
Hearing this, the swordsman couldn't help complaining.

Qing Chao didn't mind the lord using himself as an example, after all, he was the one who came here to ask questions, and he would indeed be confused by these apparently similar but distinguishable things.

However, the other party's description of Whale Song Cliff made him very appreciative.

I really didn't expect that the lord of his own family had never been to Jingge Cliff, but he had a very good opinion of their sea descendants.

"I can, boss."

At this moment, Qing Chao replied, and continued to ask: "Why? The two countries are so similar, but the core is completely different... This feels very strange."

"Because these are not the most important characteristics of civilization."

The white-haired lord shook his head and said: "Civilization is the sum of social morality and habitual behaviors held by a group, from family values ​​to what tableware they are used to, from accents and specific local vocabulary, from urban and rural architectural styles. Bias to local beliefs...these, including all of the above, are only part of it."

"But at its core, it's very simple."

"How 'all intelligent life' in this area exists and continues in 'this land'."

"Is it farming or nomadic? Is it hunting or fishing? To put it bluntly, the essence of a civilization is how a group of people obtain resources and how to allocate resources so that the group can survive and continue to develop."

"Different regions have different methods of obtaining and distributing resources, which catalyze different customs, evolve different action styles, and then have different cultures, and finally form different civilizations..."

Having said that, Qingchao saw Ian staring at him closely, he subconsciously became nervous, and then the young lord asked: "Qingchao, how many civilizations do you think there are on the continent of Terra?"

"Uh……"

Qingchao thought about it, but couldn't figure it out, so he hesitated and said, "A dozen? It feels like every country is completely different... But! There are several similar small countries around every big country!"

Thinking of this, the swordsman felt that he had grasped the key. He patted his leg and said excitedly: "I understand! There are as many great countries as there are civilizations!"

"Just like a great swordsmanship will give rise to dozens of small swordsmanship, civilization will spread!"

"There are so many small countries around Yanjiang, they are all members of the Yanjiang civilization circle in essence! And the Khanates around the Heavenly Royal Court are also like this, they are all carved out of the same mold!"

"There are also many knight principalities around the empire, and even Junling Fort is counted... That's it!"

"Oh? Not bad, Qing Chao, you can think of this level!"

Qingchao saw obvious surprise on Ian's face, and the other party laughed, looking very harmonious and nice, but the final conclusion was cruel: "But the answer is wrong."

"Scott, let me tell you. How many civilizations are there on Terra?"

"One."

Scott, who had been listening quietly, was sitting at the table. He put down his note-taking hand very seriously, and replied seriously: "There is only one. Terra's sublimation civilization, which is dominated by sublimators."

"There is only this main civilization on the continent of Terra, and it is branched out from sublimators of different fifth energy levels, and has derived more than a dozen secondary sublimator civilizations with slightly different structures."

Adjutant Tie Zhimin has been using the high speed of thinking brought by the 'Thunder Caller' to read books, thinking and summarizing the knowledge since he became a sublimator.

It can be said that Thunder is meaningless in Scott's hands. The speed of thinking comparable to lightning is the real priceless treasure of this inheritance.

And his learning results began to appear: Scott can always keep up with Ian's thinking and understand the meaning of the lord.

Sometimes, Qing Chao is very envious of this kind of person who can quickly understand Ian's meaning.

He's not really stupid, Ian can understand where he went wrong with a little bit, but people who can know without saying anything are obviously better.

"Very well. Scott answered very well."

Ian was very satisfied, he motioned Qing Chao to take notes, and the swordsman started writing quickly.

His handwriting is actually very beautiful. Although Qing Chao has not learned calligraphy for long, as long as he regards calligraphy as swordsmanship, he can easily write his own style, which is correct and sharp.

Looking at this scene, Ian continued: "As I said before, the most important definition of civilization is 'what methods are collectively used to produce and distribute resources, so that the group can exist and continue'... The empire mainly farms, and the emperor's noble knights Whale Song Cliff mainly relies on fish catches, the major castle masters and grand alliance masters form a loose alliance to allocate resources, and the Royal Court of Heaven mainly relies on grazing... These are all secondary."

"The most important thing is that all civilizations need high-level powerhouses in order to ensure the stability and long-term continuation of their social collectives."

"Without high-level sublimators, natural disasters and mutations would have destroyed everything long ago."

"So, no matter what the specific differences are, there is only one sublimator civilization on the entire Terra continent, and we are also in it."

"And what are the most critical operating principles and points within civilization?" Ian continued to ask.

The one who raised his hand this time was the old shadow, and the researcher was also listening to the class carefully, and immediately replied: "Obtaining resources and allocating resources, and their efficiency. Essentially, it is to obtain funds and allocate funds, but it is a bit bigger, and the purpose is also from The results of research and development have become to allow everyone to survive, and even live better, to maintain overall stability."

"Hmm. Although the example is a bit problematic, it is true."

Ian nodded, and he looked at the people present: "How to allocate limited resources to the most suitable areas, and then create the greatest results, is the managers, that is, what we need to do."

"As for the nations of Terra today, if they want to maximize the utilization of resources, they need to invest resources in sublimators. And the more talented this sublimator, the better."

"This is the core logic of the sublime civilization."

Qingchao can understand Ian's words—or rather, this is the underlying logic of Terra Continent.

Basically everyone took it for granted, so they couldn't understand why Ian said such a thing in a serious manner.

And Ian obviously doesn't care about the doubts of Qing Chao and others, he is just talking about his thinking and purpose: "[-] thalers are used for municipal construction, how many streets can be rebuilt? How many houses can be rebuilt? If ordinary people go to For work, although ten thousand thalers are a lot, there is not much to do."

"Just buying the tools that allow ordinary people to rebuild the city will cost more than half."

"But [-] talers, in my hands, can produce two first-level earth system sublimators. And I can drive them to rebuild the entire Xiahui City within three months. "

"Three months, [-] talers, without the use of sublimators, it is impossible to rebuild the city anyway."

"That's the most efficient use of resources."

After saying this, Qing Chao heard, Ian emphasized his tone: "At the same time, this is the problem."

"Because the technical content behind sublimators is too high, and the utilization rate of resources is too high, so that many basic constructions and the popularization of basic knowledge are ignored, and even deliberately suppressed-this is not wrong, because if resources are wasted in places that are not as good as sublimation Where there are enemies, it will instead cause a reduction in national power, giving the enemy an opportunity to put their own national civilization in danger."

"It's like our Xiahui leader—if it wasn't because I was a sublimator of the second energy level, it wasn't because we had Xiou of the third energy level behind us, and the king of the mountain of the fourth energy level, and I was comparable to the second energy level." With the three-level ultra-giant magnetic storm coil, does it make sense for us to invest so much money in urban construction and new agricultural development?"

"It doesn't make sense. Others can snatch it if they want, and destroy it if they want to. Xiahui Ling can succeed only because I am a genius, and all of you are also very good. This cannot be repeated."

"But next, the road we are going to take is not a hurdle that can be crossed by a few geniuses. We need to use all the technologies from beginning to end, and we cannot ignore any seemingly useless basic knowledge."

"What I want to do is to try to create a new civilization superior to the 'sublimated civilization', so not only we have to learn it, but also other people in the territory, so we need to popularize education and knowledge."

"This is my core plan. Only you know it, and it requires your full cooperation."

"Its name is 'Abstract Way', or 'Practitioner Civilization'."

"A truly great cause."

"And the first step in this undertaking is to equip everyone with the 'qualification for cultivation'... Artificial souls and Spiritualism are the most important things, and they are also the most cautious points in our next plan."

Next, it's not the lectures, but the real caucuses.

At the meeting, Ian talked about the many preconditions and technical requirements of the arcane path, and then Qing Chao and others were surprised to know that whether it is artificial souls or the "souls" they have practiced recently Meditation methods' are all part of this path.

What a grand plan...

But to be honest, Qingchao didn't fully understand the "great cause" that Ian said next.

He just felt a little unbelievable, and a little dazed.

——I just said, the question I raised at the beginning does not need to be discussed at a meeting... The relationship boss used my question as an introduction to talk about his plan!

That makes more sense!

Qingchao actually knew from the very beginning that Ian was a person who wanted to do great things.

how to say?In those knight novels and legends, there will always be a sage who can change an era...

Most of them are the background of the story, and they have caused tremendous changes to the world. It can even be said that the world in which the protagonist lives in an adventure was created by those great sages.

The weapons they created can defeat the devil after a thousand years; the skills they created can still inspire wisdom after a long time; nostalgia.

Whether it is the logic of life, the background of the story, the order of the entire world or the stage itself, all are created by sages.

When Qingchao was a child, when he heard these stories and legends from his father, he had been thinking about this all the time.

"Compared with these sages, can the protagonist really be the protagonist?"

He would ask his father like this at that time.

【Silly boy】

And the father who has not passed away due to old injuries will mess up his hair, and reply with a smile: [How do you know that those sages are not the protagonists of the past? 】

[They will also have their own adventures and their own legends, but this book does not tell his story]

【How do you know that the protagonist of this novel will not become a sage in the future? 】

These memories were once dim and gray, Qing Chao thought that he would never remember them in his life.

It wasn't until meeting Ian and witnessing what he did all the way that these dusty memories in Qing Chao's mind reappeared in color.

——He is such a sage.

There is no reason, or there are too many reasons, and there is no need to look for them.

Qingchao believes that Ian will become the one in all storybooks, the "sage" who will create the foundation of all future stories, contract the cornerstone of all legendary adventures, and change the entire world order.

And, it's different from what those stories say.

Ian is not a backdrop.

Ian is what is happening, the 'now' of the ongoing tense!
He is the sage who exists in the present and in the future!
And myself, Qingchao, is the follower of the future sage, a member of his future legend!
Just this made him feel overwhelmed.

Even if it's just for this, Qingchao will study hard, keep up with Ian's pace, not let himself fall behind, and try his best to witness the scenery that Ian will create in the future.

It is not difficult.

Through the practice of the experimental version of the "primary meditation method" taught to them by Ian, recently, the second energy level has been stabilized, and the green tide of the soul has begun to gradually condense, and the memory has been greatly strengthened.

This also makes his learning efficiency higher and higher.

Don't look at him being often ridiculed for his slow learning speed and lack of quick thinking, but we also have to look at who his opponent is!
Not to mention the old shadows, the mysterious top alchemist, genius researcher, and Ian's boss are of the same level, and he is born to be the top of the IQ despise chain of Xiahui leader. He can only laugh at the other party's sophistication.

Old Farr is also a character who is old and mature, Qingchao respects the old, if you don't compare with him, you are not afraid, you understand and don't understand!
For the rest, Roland is a professional high-achieving student, and his diploma is crushed. How can he compare with a country swordsman?This is a matter of birth, it doesn't count!
As for Scott?
A lunatic who can teach himself advanced mathematics for Ian is naturally incomparable!

All in all, it's not that I can't do it, it's that the classmates and opponents around me are too evil!

The only thing that Qingchao is more puzzled about is one thing.

"Why are you teaching us this?"

After the meeting, Qing Chao, who will follow Ian back to Port Harrison tomorrow as a bodyguard, stands by Ian's side and follows him back to the laboratory to sort out the equipment.

On the street leading to the laboratory, the swordsman asked a little puzzled: "Boss, I don't want to teach us bad—after you said this, I feel that my views on all the forces in the entire Terra Continent have changed. It’s clearer, and the field of vision has expanded a lot.”

"Even, I have a deep understanding of the causes of the conflicts between the Heavenly Royal Court and the Empire, and various local conflicts are essentially geopolitical derivatives... But these things, other lords will hide them and only teach them to themselves Child, instead of telling us everything in detail like you, as if we are afraid that we will not learn..."

Having said this, Qing Chao couldn't help but clenched his hand tightly.

In the continent of Terra, knowledge, especially knowledge that can develop ideas and influence thinking systems, is far more precious than pure money.

And Ian developed and taught them the knowledge, inheritance, various meditation methods and sublimation skills in the recent period, and the value alone exceeds hundreds of thousands, or even millions of talers.

It is so precious.

What they have learned, even if it is only a corner, if it is given to other sublimators, it will all be untold secrets.

"I'm just afraid you won't learn it."

Then, Qingchao heard Ian's calm speech: "I can't wait to teach you everything I know, so that you can have the same way of thinking as I do."

"But it's a pity that you can't, you can't do it... The good thing is, you can at least inherit some of my ideas."

"Guying can inherit my research ideas, Scott can understand my governance philosophy, and they can even do better than me in this regard, I believe this."

"And you, Qingchao."

Ian emphasized his tone: "Your practice of meditation is faster than everyone else. I guess you will be faster than them in practice in the future. You can inherit the 'new practice system' I want to develop .”

"Besides, the old Farr is really old, but he has a high probability of cultivating latecomers who are also eager for the starry sky, and at worst Roland can understand my engineering design ideas, he will understand a complete set of industrial design ideas. The importance of the system."

"As for Isengarde who is farther away... I have been sharing my alchemy manuscripts and ideas with him. He has my full set of ideas and plans. If the Xiahui leader fails, then in the future, he may be able to do it in other places." The local government has restarted this reform."

"Although I don't know if there will be enough time...but before total failure, I will always believe in hope."

"fail?!"

Qing Chao couldn't help but said in amazement, he quickly realized his gaffe, and couldn't help asking a little too much: "But Boss, why do you think we will fail?!"

The white-haired lord glanced at his personal guard, and he couldn't help sighing: "Before thinking of victory, think of defeat first. What's more, our future is more dangerous than imagined."

"I may die before you in the future, or I may leave you. Although the probability of this is very small, I need to be vigilant."

"And no matter what my final result is, there are always some things that need to be passed on—the views on civilization, culture, views on the world, and expectations for future development. These things all need to be passed on."

"This is the tinder."

The swordsman saw that his lord took a step forward. He stood in the middle of the intersection of roads. The clear moonlight shone across the city and covered him with a silver cloak.

Ian didn't look back, but his tone was even calmer: "Qingchao. If it is said that people's intelligence can be graded, you are not low, at least you have the potential of the third and fourth grades."

"The stupidest people can only live the life others want them to live, the second-class people can live the life they want to live."

"The third class of people can imagine the existence of a better world, but they don't know how to create it; while the fourth class of people have ways to create a better world, but they can't implement it, and they can only pretend to be in the hands of others."

"Finally, fifth-class people—they make the world better."

"With their own hands."

"I consider myself a fifth class, but I wish there were more."

"The reason why I work so hard to teach you, teach you, and improve you is that I hope you can truly understand me and become my true followers, not just subordinates."

"If one day I leave, I also hope that you can continue my will, continue to advance this path, and teach more people like you and me."

"At the very least, we must pass on this knowledge and ideas."

real understanding...

The swordsman fell silent.

It is indeed difficult to truly understand a sage.

The next day, Qingchao followed Ian and Xiahui's convoy and embarked on the road to Port Harrison.

Until this time, he still couldn't guarantee that he could truly comprehend Ian's spirit and figure out what he wanted to do.

Create a new civilization so that everyone can practice?

To do such a big thing, there must be a big purpose...

Could it be that Ian wants to rule the world? !

No, not this ordinary thing...

If it was the youth tide in the past, it would definitely feel that ruling the world is a big thing.

But after such a long time, as he gradually understood the operation logic of a regime, a country, and even a civilization, he began to feel that even ruling the world is not a big deal.

In the final analysis, isn't it still part of the civilization of the ascendant?
This does not bring about fundamental changes and create a new era.

It's just a boring and uninteresting repetition.

What Ian wants to do must be to create a more lively, energetic, curious and enthusiastic world.

Qingchao can't imagine such a world—he is not the material after all, let him imagine what kind of method the future practice system should use to fight, he might be able to give some advice, but what will the future world be like... ...he's not that good at it.

But he will try.

Become a follower of this future sage.

In 774 Terra, on March 3th, the last trace of winter cold had subsided, and under the clear sky, the bright golden sun shone on the land of Nanling.

A convoy carrying a large amount of alchemy potions and professional equipment is heading south along the wide road.

The two places along the way are green grass, and the lush forests are also blooming new buds, showing great vitality.

"Boss can change the world."

Qing Chao rode a horse and followed the convoy. He looked at the brand-new territory, and couldn't help recalling the chaotic and desolate appearance he saw when he first came to Xiahui Territory half a year ago. , only the boss can!"

But Ian didn't know that he had an increasingly stalwart image in the hearts of his subordinates.

If he knew, Ian would definitely not be emotional, but would try to turn this stalwart image into a sample of the internal propaganda of the 'Chongling Sect'—the future sage?Although it sounds a bit weird, it should be a good name, stronger than the prophet who descended from thunder.

It's just that today's Ian, although on the surface, is still sitting on horseback with a serious face, sitting in the center of the convoy.

But in fact, his mind had already drifted into the great labyrinth of the South China Sea.

"Shasha said that the dragon egg hatched, but there was an accident with the dragon egg, but the dragon egg was fine."

With the help of the 'Great Labyrinth Permission' to perceive information from afar, Ian frowned and fell into deep thought: "This silly shark, talking nonsense, wandered around for a long time and didn't let me see what's going on with the dragon egg—I did see it. The top part of the eggshell is broken, but the whole is still intact, and it is quite alive, which proves that the little crystal dragon is not dead, and is even alive very well."

"But why does it come out of eggshells? House dragon?"

"What happened to the dragon egg of the ether crystal dragon?"

(End of this chapter)