High Above

  Chapter 718 Followers of the future sages (7600)

  Culture and civilization are indeed a complicated thing.

  As a senior mercenary, he has gone on missions in Jinggeya, the City of Knowledge, 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, there will be 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 knowledge has a lot of seafood, similar to Whale Song Cliff, but it prefers to cook porridge boiled, and at most add some local specialty sauces—and the sauces of the capital of knowledge are extremely developed, basically every small gathering Each region 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 City of Knowledge 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.

  Use the wrong sauce ratio, but 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.

  Empire, for example.

  It is so vast, and 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.

  So, he used this question to ask the "almost omniscient" lord in his heart.

  Ask him 'what is civilization'.

   And the Bai Zhimin, who was much younger than him, but had a lot of knowledge and shameless, 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 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.

   "Qingchao's question is very interesting."

  At the meeting, Ian, who was the youngest in the room, pointed at the words on the blackboard in an old-fashioned way: "What is civilization? This is a very complicated concept, but the essence is very simple."

  “Civilization is not wearing fancy 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, you must complete the goal even if you die—the customs of the two are similar or even consistent, are their civilizations similar?"

   "It's absolutely not the same. The fighters of Flaming Land 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 nations, both dominated by university lords, governing the country with knowledge and sublimation skills, both have a college council and a high school of spires, and their alchemists even like to wear pointed hats—but there will be people Mistakenly confusing the two?"

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

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

  —Even I can tell what it is, 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 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 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: "But 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 do 'all intelligent life' in this area exist and continue in 'this land'."

   "Is it farming or nomadic? Is it hunting or fishing? The essence of a civilization is to put it bluntly, how a group of people obtains 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, so different customs have been catalyzed, different action styles have evolved, and then different cultures have emerged, and finally different civilizations have formed..."

   Saying so, Qing Chao saw Ian staring at him closely, he subconsciously became nervous, and then the young lord asked: "Qing Chao, how many civilizations do you think there are on Terra?"

"Uh…"

  Qing Chao 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 point. He patted his leg and said excitedly: "I understand! There are as many great countries as there are civilizations!"

   "Just like a great sword art will give rise to more than a dozen small sword arts, 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, even Junling Fortress... That's it!"

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

  Qing Chao saw that Ian had obvious surprise on his face, and the other party laughed, looking very harmonious and nice, but the final conclusion was cruel: "But the answer is wrong."

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

"One."

  Scott, who has been listening quietly, is sitting at the table. He put down his note-taking hand very seriously, and replied seriously: "There is only one. The sublimation civilization of Terra, 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 civilizations of sublimators with slightly different structures."

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

   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 to write quickly.

  His handwriting is actually very beautiful. Although Qing Chao has not learned calligraphy for a long time, 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 used collectively to produce and distribute resources, so that the group can exist and continue'...The empire mainly farms, with the emperor's noble knights' The structure allocates resources, Whale Song Cliff mainly relies on fishing, and the major castle masters and grand lords 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 everyone present: "How to allocate limited resources to the most suitable areas, and then create the greatest results, is what managers, that is, what we need to do."

   "For today's Terra countries, 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 sublimator civilization."

  Qing Chao can understand Ian’s words—it’s better to say that this is the underlying logic of Terra Continent.

  Basically everyone took it for granted, so they couldn't understand why Ian would say 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: "10,000 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 to buy the tools for ordinary people to rebuild the city, it will cost more than half."

"But 10,000 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, 10,000 talers, without the use of sublimators, it is impossible to rebuild the city anyway."

   “This is the most efficient use of resources.”

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

"Because the technical content behind the sublimator 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 on people who are not as good as the sublimator In other places, it will 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 second-level sublimator, and it wasn't because we had Xiou at the third level behind us, and the king of the mountain at the fourth level, I would be comparable to the third level." Energy-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 steal 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 reproduced."

   "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 'Civilization of Practitioners'."

   "A truly great cause."

   "And the first step in this undertaking is to equip everyone with the 'qualification for practice'...Artificial souls and Spiritualism are the top priorities, and it is also the point that we need to be most cautious about in our next plan."

  Next, it's not a lecture, but a real caucus.

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 stunned.

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

   This is much more reasonable!

   Qing Chao 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 brought about tremendous changes to the world. It can even be said that the world where the protagonist lives in adventure is 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, they are all created by sages.

  When Qing Chao was a child, when he heard these stories and legends from his father, he always thought about this matter in his heart.

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

  He would ask his father like this at that time.

【Silly boy】

  The father who had not passed away due to old injuries would mess up his hair, and replied 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 he would never remember them in his life.

  Until meeting Ian and witnessing what he did along the way, 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, who will create the foundation of all future stories, contract the cornerstone of all legendary adventures, and change the entire world order.

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

  Ian is not the backdrop.

  Ian is what is happening, the 'now' of the ongoing!

  He is a sage who exists in the present and in the future!

   And himself, Qing Chao, is the follower of the future sage, a member of his future legend!

   Just this point made him feel excited.

  Even if it is just for this point, 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's not that hard.

  By practicing 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!

  Leaving aside the shadows, the mysterious top alchemist, genius researcher, and Ian's boss are at the same level, and he is born to be at the top of the IQ despise chain of Xiahui.

  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!

  The rest, Roland is a high-achieving professional student, 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 Qingchao is more confused about is one thing.

   "Why are you teaching us this?"

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

On the street leading to the laboratory, the swordsman asked a little puzzled: "Boss, I don't want to preach that we are not good—after you said this, I feel that my view of all the forces in the entire Terra continent has become clearer." Yes, the field of vision has also expanded a lot.”

"Even, I have a deep understanding of the causes of conflicts between the royal court of heaven and the empire, and various local conflicts are essentially geopolitical derivatives... But these things, other lords will hide them and only pass them on to their own children , instead of telling us everything in detail like you, as if we were afraid that we would not be able to learn..."

   Speaking of this, Qing Chao couldn't help clenching his hand.

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

  And the knowledge, inheritance, various meditation methods and sublimation techniques that Ian developed and taught to them in the recent period are worth more than hundreds of thousands, or even millions of talers.

   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 wish I could teach you everything I know, so that you can have the same way of thinking as I do."

   "But unfortunately no, 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, and he will understand a complete industrial system. The importance of the system."

"As for Isengarde who is farther away... I have been sharing my alchemy manuscripts and ideas with him, and he has my full set of ideas and plans. If the Xiahui leader fails, then in the future, he may be able to work elsewhere Restart this reform."

   “Although I don’t know if there will be enough time...but before total failure, I 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 leave you. Although the probability of this is very small, I need to be vigilant."

  “And no matter what my final result is, some things always need to be passed on—views on civilization, culture, views on the world, expectations for future development, these things all need to be passed on.”

   "This is 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, and 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 rely on 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."

  Really understand...

  The swordsman fell silent.

  It is indeed difficult to truly understand a sage.

   On the second day, Qing Chao followed Ian and Xiahui's convoy and embarked on the road to Port Harrison.

  Until this time, he 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 Qing 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 a part of the sublimator civilization?

  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 in the final analysis, 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 There is no such thing.

   But he will try.

   Become a follower of this future sage.

  Terra 774, March 25th, the last trace of cold in winter has subsided, under the clear sky, the bright golden sun shines 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 full of 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 look 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 "Chong Ling 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 the current Ian, although on the surface he 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 saw the egg instead. The top part of the shell is broken, but the whole is still intact, and it is quite alive, which proves that the little crystal dragon is not dead, and even alive very well."

   "But why does it come out of the eggshell? House Dragon?"

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

  (end of this chapter)