High Above

Culture and civilization are indeed complex things.

As a senior mercenary who had gone on missions in many places such as Whale Song Cliff, the Capital of Knowledge and the Empire, and finally chose to settle in the Empire for a long time as a 'foreigner', Qing Chao was actually quite familiar with these concepts.

If nothing else, eating habits alone can clearly distinguish people from different places.

There is no shortage of salt or seasonings at Whale Song Cliff. On the contrary, there has been a shortage of high-quality sugar since ancient times. In addition, the sea 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 important thing. The most common physical fuel, so we have developed the habit of eating sweets.

The internal climate of Feiyan Land is obviously different, divided into desert and coastal rainforest. However, because it is rich in various spices, a lot of spices are used in any food. The taste is complex and heavy, fragrant and thick, and because of the development of flour products, there are also many specialty breads. Together with sesame cakes, it’s one of Terra’s specialties.

As an island country in the inland sea, the City of Knowledge has a lot of seafood, similar to Whale Song Cliff, but it prefers boiling porridge, with at most adding some local specialty sauces - and the City of Knowledge's sauces are extremely developed, basically every small town has Each gathering place has its own unique sauce recipe, and the taste is different and never the same, 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 because they need to learn the proportions of various sauces from an early age, which lays 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 also knows very well that this can only identify the place of birth, but cannot identify the true culture and civilization.

For example, the empire.

It is so vast and the food customs are different in each region.

The Northeast Plains of the Empire are also fond of eating sweets, and there are even very similar dishes that make the Jinggeya people call them 'another me in the world', but other than that, all their other living customs are different from Jinggeya. …They are completely different.

So... what is the real point of civilization?

Is it clothing? Is it the tone? Is it a ballad?

Or are we talking about some social customs and some agreed-upon moral codes?

The more he read, the more Qingchao became confused about this.

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

Ask him ‘what is civilization’.

Bai Zhimin, who was much younger than him but extremely knowledgeable, glanced at him, thought for a moment, and then announced that he would convene a meeting.

Ian wanted to teach these young people, who were taking up leadership positions for the first time, to serve as local officials.

This is actually normal. Ian often takes some time out to refresh his core team on some ideas and knowledge in the name of meetings.

"This question from Qingchao is very interesting."

At the meeting, Ian, the youngest person in the room, pointed to the words on the blackboard in an arrogant manner and said: "What is civilization? This is a very complex concept, but the essence is very simple."

“Civilization is not about dressing up in fancy clothes, speaking languages ​​with different accents, nor is it singing different styles of songs and drinking wine made from different types of grains.”

"The blood descendants of the Flying Flame Land are martial and righteous. They will avenge any revenge and repay kindness. They would rather die than let the enemy benefit. The sea descendants of Whale Song Cliff are impassioned, care less about life and death, and value commitments. They are willing to work for a while. Swinging the sword with the will, you must complete the goal even if you die - the customs of the two are similar or even consistent, are their civilizations similar?"

"There is absolutely no similarity. The warriors from the Flying Fire Land are silent and decisive, while the sea-born warriors are hearty and optimistic. You can tell them apart at a glance."

"The Far Shore Island and the Capital of Knowledge are both island countries. Both are dominated by university lords. They govern the country based on knowledge and sublimation skills. They have academic councils and spire high courts. Their alchemists even like to wear pointed hats - but they will Is anyone mistakenly confusing the two?”

"Of course not. The gloomy, class-clear temperament of Far Coast Island and the city of knowledge, which is open to chaos and recognizes twenty-seven kinds of self-knowledge, are two extremes."

"The entire Seven Cities Alliance believes in the Huaiguang doctrine, but who is the real visitor to the Holy Mountain? Even Qing Chao, can you tell the difference?"

——What does it mean that even I can tell it apart? You can tell it at a glance!

Hearing this, the swordsman couldn't help but complain.

Qingchao didn't mind the lord taking himself as an example. After all, he was the one who came to ask questions, and he would indeed be confused by these things that were obviously similar but could be distinguished.

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

I really didn’t expect that my lord had never been to Whale Song Cliff, but yet he was very knowledgeable about their sea descendants.

"I can, boss."

At this moment, Qingchao answered and continued to ask: "But why? The two countries are obviously so similar, but their cores are 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 morals and habitual behaviors held by a group, from family values ​​to what tableware they are used to, from the accent and specific local vocabulary, from the architectural styles of cities and villages. To the bias of local beliefs...these, including all 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 on ‘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, continue and develop."

"Different regions have different methods of obtaining and allocating resources, which has catalyzed different customs, evolved different action styles, and then developed different cultures, and finally formed different civilizations..."

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

"Well……"

Qingchao thought about it, but he really couldn't figure it out, so he hesitated and said: "More than a dozen? It feels like every country is completely different... But! Every big country has several similar small countries around it!"

Thinking of this, the swordsman felt that he had grasped the key. He clapped his legs and said excitedly: "I understand! There are several big countries and several civilizations!"

"Just like one big swordsmanship spawns more than a dozen small swordsmanships, civilization will spread!"

"So many small countries around Yanjiang are essentially members of the Yanjiang Civilization Circle! And the same is true for the khanates around Cangtian Palace. They are all carved out of the same mold!"

"There are many knight principalities around the empire, even Junling Castle...that's it!"

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

Qingchao saw an obvious look of surprise on Ian's face, and the other person laughed, looking very harmonious and good-looking, but his final conclusion was cruel: "But the answer is wrong."

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

"one."

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

"There is only one main civilization on the continent of Terra, and it has branched out from different fifth-level sublime civilizations, and has spawned more than a dozen secondary sublimation civilizations with slightly different structures."

Since becoming an Ascended One, the Iron People Adjutant has been using the high thinking speed brought by the 'Thunder Caller' to read and think about and summarize the knowledge.

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

And the results of his learning began to show: Scott could always keep up with Ian's thinking and understand what the lord meant.

Sometimes, Qingchao envies this kind of person who can quickly understand what Ian means.

He is not really stupid, he can understand where he went wrong before with just a little bit of Ian, but someone who can figure it out without saying anything is obviously better.

"Good. Good answer Scott."

Ian was very satisfied. He signaled Qingchao to take notes, and the swordsman quickly started writing.

His calligraphy is actually very beautiful. Although Qingchao has not learned calligraphy for a long time, as long as he regards calligraphy as swordsmanship, it is easy to write his own style, which is upright and sharp.

Looking at this scene, Ian continued: "As I said before, the most important definition of civilization is 'the method used by the collective to produce and distribute resources, so that the group can exist and continue'... The empire mainly focuses on farming, with the emperor, nobles and knights We allocate resources according to our own structure, Jingge Cliff mainly relies on fishing, the major castle owners and major alliance leaders form a loose alliance to allocate resources, Cangtian Royal Court mainly relies on grazing... these are all secondary."

"The most important thing is that all civilizations need high-energy people to ensure that their social collectives can be stable and continue for a long time."

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

"So, no matter what the specific differences are, there is only one Ascendant civilization in the entire continent of Terra, and we are among them."

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

The person who raised his hand this time was Gu Ying. This researcher was also listening carefully to the lecture and immediately answered: "Acquiring resources and allocating resources, as well as their efficiency. In essence, 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 will allow everyone to survive, even live better, and maintain overall stability."

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

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

"For today's Terran countries, if they want to maximize resource utilization, they need to invest resources in sublimators. And the more talented this sublimator is, the better."

"This is the core logic of the Ascended Civilization."

Qingchao could understand what Ian said - rather, this was the underlying logic of the Terra continent.

Basically everyone took this as a matter of course, so they couldn't understand why Ian would say such a thing seriously.

Ian obviously didn't care about the doubts of Qingchao and others. He was just telling his own ideas and purposes: "Ten thousand talers, used for municipal construction, how many streets can be rebuilt? How many more houses can be built? If ordinary people are allowed to do it, When it comes to work, even though ten thousand talers is a lot, it can’t do much.”

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

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

"Three months, ten thousand talers, without using the Ascendants, it is impossible to rebuild the city no matter what."

"This is the most efficient use of resources."

When Qingchao heard this, Ian increased his tone: "At the same time, this is also the problem."

“Because the technology content behind sublimators is too high and the resource utilization rate is too high, many infrastructure construction and the popularization of basic knowledge have been ignored or even deliberately suppressed. This is not wrong, because if resources are wasted on sublimation, it is not as good as sublimation. Otherwise, it will lead to a reduction in national strength, giving the enemy an opportunity to take advantage of it, and putting one's own national civilization in danger."

"It's like our Xia Hui leader - if it weren't for the fact that I am a second-level ascender, and it wasn't because we have a third-level Xio and a fourth-level Mountain King behind us, I would be comparable to the third-level Three-energy super giant magnetic storm coil, does it make sense for us to invest so much money in urban construction and new agricultural development?"

"It's meaningless. Others can rob it if they want, and destroy it if they want. Xiahui Leader can succeed only because I am a genius, and all of you are also very good. This cannot be replicated."

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

"What I want to do is to try to create a new civilization that is better than the 'Ascended Civilization', so not only we must learn it, but other people in the territory must also learn it, so education and knowledge need to be popularized."

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

"It's called the 'Arcane Path', or the 'Civilization of Practitioners'."

"A truly great cause."

"And the first step in this undertaking is to equip everyone with the 'qualifications to practice'... Artificial souls and the Chongling Sect are the top priority, and it is also the most cautious point in our next plan."

Next, it is not a lecture, but a real core meeting.

At the meeting, Ian talked about many prerequisites and technical requirements for the arcane path. Now Qingchao and other people were surprised to know that whether it was an artificial soul or what they had practiced recently, Meditation', are all part of this path.

What a grand plan...

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

He just felt a little weird and a little enlightened.

——Let me just say, the questions I raised at the beginning didn’t need to be discussed at a meeting... The relationship boss used my questions as an introduction to talk about his plan!

This is much more reasonable!

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

how to say? In those knightly novels and legends, there are always those kind of sages who can change an era...

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

The weapons they created can defeat the devil thousands of years later; the skills they created can still inspire wisdom after a long time; the civilization they created, even if it disappears in endless years, can still make all those who come after you admire and even... Miss you.

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.

As a child, Qingchao had been thinking about this when he listened to these stories and legends from his father's mouth.

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

He would ask his father this at that time.

【Silly boy】

And his father, who had not yet passed away due to old injuries, would ruffle 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 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, and Qingchao thought he would never remember them in his lifetime.

It wasn't until he met Ian and witnessed what he did along the way that the dusty memories in Qingchao's mind regained color.

——He is such a sage.

There is no reason, or there are so many reasons that there is no need to look for it.

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

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

Ian is not a backdrop.

Ian is what is happening, the ongoing tense ‘now’!

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

And he, Qingchao, is the follower of the future sage and a member of his future legend!

Just this made him feel excited.

Even 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's not difficult.

By practicing the experimental version of the 'primary meditation method' taught to them by Ian, Qing Chao, who has stabilized the second energy level recently and began to gradually condense his soul, has greatly strengthened his memory.

This also makes his learning efficiency more and more efficient.

Even though he is often ridiculed for his slow learning speed and lack of quick thinking, you also have to look at who his opponents are!

Not to mention old friends, the mysterious top alchemist, genius researcher, on the same level as Boss Ian, was born to be at the top of the IQ contempt chain of Xia Hui. The most he could do was laugh at the other person's sophistication.

Old Farr is also a character who has matured into a spirit with his old age. Young people respect their elders. If you don’t compare with him, you will be afraid. You understand but you don’t understand!

Among the rest, Roland is a top professional student, and his diploma is crushing him. How can he, a country swordsman, compare? This is a matter of parentage and does not count!

As for Scott?

A lunatic who can teach himself advanced mathematics for Ian is born to be incomparable!

All in all, it’s not that I’m not good, it’s that the classmates around me are too evil!

The only thing Qingchao was more confused about was one thing.

"Why are you teaching us this?"

After the meeting, Qing Chao, who would follow Ian back to Harrison Port as a bodyguard tomorrow, stood beside Ian and followed him back to the laboratory to sort out the equipment.

On the street heading to the laboratory, the swordsman asked with some confusion: "Boss, I'm not saying it's not good to teach us - after you said this, I feel that my views on all the forces in the entire Terra continent have become more... It’s clear and my horizons have broadened a lot.”

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

Having said this, Qingchao couldn't help but clenched his hand.

In the continent of Terra, knowledge, especially knowledge that can open up ideas and influence the thinking system, is far more precious than simple money.

The value of the knowledge, inheritance, various meditation methods and sublimation techniques that Ian has developed and taught them in recent times exceeds hundreds of thousands, or even millions of talers.

It's just so precious.

The things they learned, even if they were just scraps and pieces, would remain secrets if they were given to other sublime people.

"I'm just afraid you won't be able to learn."

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 me."

"But it's a pity that it doesn't work. You can't do it... The good thing is that 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 meditation practice is faster than everyone else's. 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, Old Farr is really old, but there is a high probability that he can cultivate successors who also yearn for the stars. Roland, at best, can understand my engineering design ideas, and he will understand a complete set of industrial processes. The importance of the system.”

"As for Isengard, which is farther away... I have always shared my alchemy manuscripts and ideas with him. He has my complete set of ideas and plans. If Xiahui Ling fails, then in the future, he may be able to work in other places. The local government has restarted this reform."

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

"fail?!"

Qingchao couldn't help but said in shock. He quickly noticed his gaffe and couldn't help but asked a little overstepping: "But boss, why do you think we will fail?!"

The white-haired lord glanced at his personal guard, and he couldn't help but sigh: "Before you think about victory, think about 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 is very small, I need to be vigilant."

"No matter what my final result is, some things always need to be passed on - views on civilization, culture, views on the world, and expectations for future development. These things all need to be passed on."

"This is the fire."

The swordsman saw his lord taking a step forward. He was standing in the middle of the road intersection. The clear moonlight spread over the entire city and covered him with a silver cloak.

Ian did not look back, but his tone became calmer: "Qingchao. If people's intelligence can be divided into levels, you are actually not low. You have at least the potential of the third and fourth levels."

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

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

“Finally, the fifth class of people – they make a better world.”

"With their own hands."

"I consider myself the fifth class, but I also hope there will be more companions."

"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, these knowledge and ideas must be passed on."

True understanding…

The swordsman was silent.

It is indeed difficult to truly understand a sage.

The next day, Qingchao followed the convoy led by Ian and Xia Hui and embarked on the road to Harrison Port.

Until this moment, he couldn't guarantee that he could truly understand 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 something ordinary like this...

If you were a youth in the past, you would definitely think that ruling the world is a big deal.

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

After all, isn't it still part of the Ascendant's civilization?

This cannot bring about fundamental changes and create a new era.

It's just a boring and uninteresting repetition.

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

Qingchao can't imagine such a world - after all, he is not the material. 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... …How can he have that ability?

But he will try.

Become a follower of this future sage.

On March 25, Terra 774, the last bit of winter coldness had subsided, and under the clear sky, the golden sunshine 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.

Along the way, there are green grass and green trees in both places, showing their vitality.

"Boss can change the world."

Qingchao rode a horse and followed the convoy. He looked at the brand-new territory and couldn't help but recall the chaotic and desolate look he saw when he first came to Xiahui Territory half a year ago. He couldn't help but be more certain about this: "It's better to say , only the boss can!"

But Ian didn't know that his image in the minds of his subordinates was becoming more and more majestic.

If he had known about it, Ian would definitely not be disappointed. Instead, he would try to turn this majestic image into a sample for the internal propaganda of the 'Chongling Sect' - a future sage? Although it sounds a bit strange, it should be a good name, more powerful than the thunder prophet.

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

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

"Shasha said that the dragon egg hatched, but something happened to the dragon egg, but there was no problem with the dragon egg."

Using the 'Great Labyrinth Permission' to sense information from afar, Ian frowned and fell into deep thought: "This silly shark talked a lot of nonsense and wandered around for a long time without letting me see what the dragon egg was like - I did see it. The top part of the eggshell is broken, but the whole thing is still intact, and it is still alive, which proves that the little crystal dragon is not dead, and is even alive and well."

"But why doesn't it come out of the eggshell? Is it a dragon?"

"What happened to the ether crystal dragon's egg?"