Chapter Five Hundred and Fifteen: Humanity’s Weapon
Clink.
Three cups touched.
"Bottoms up."
"Alright."
SLURP.
It was cheap liquor bought from the village, filling their two-ounce cups, and downed in one go. The alcohol content wasn’t high, but it tasted decent enough.
The location: Brother Lei’s small dormitory. On the table was a dish of minced at with stir-fried eggplant, a bowl of braised pork, a plate of greens, and a plate of braised fish. The fish had been caught from the village pond, while the at and vegetables were bought from local farrs. They hadn’t bothered with rice, instead buying a few stead buns from the school cafeteria, skewered on chopsticks—two buns to a stick. Each of the three people at the table held one such skewer.
The three at the table:
First, naturally, was Chen "Yama" Gou "Nuo."
Second was Seed, "The Walking God-Child."
The third... well, his identity was sothing else entirely!
Wu "Baldy," "Mr. Reliable," Lei.
Ah, no, that na needed an update.
Wu "Baldy," "Mr. Reliable," "The Doting Father of the World’s Strongest Man," Lei.
Chen Nuo downed his drink, then picked up a piece of braised pork and tossed it into his mouth. Grease dripped from his lips as he chewed, all while staring intently at Brother Lei.
Brother Lei felt a bit uneasy under the scrutiny. "Boss Nuo, why are you staring at like that? It’s as if we’ve never t before."
"How could it be the sa?" Chen Nuo waved his hand dismissively.
Of course, it wasn’t the sa!
The Brother Lei of the past was just Brother Lei.
But the Brother Lei of now... calling him the Scion of the Plane wouldn’t be an exaggeration, would it?
The father of the world’s strongest man!
You tell , isn’t that impressive?
This was different from when Brother Lei had pretended to be Chen Nuo’s dad, doing it behind Chen Nuo’s back, not daring to let him know.
Now, this "father of the world’s strongest man" was a title Seed himself had acknowledged!
Just minutes ago, when school let out for lunch, Chen Nuo had seen with his own eyes Seed leaving with a group of classmates wearing red scarves. Then, in full view of everyone, Seed had walked up to Brother Lei. In front of teachers and classmates, he had openly called out, "Dad!"
What a scene!
Chen Nuo only regretted that smartphones weren’t common yet; otherwise, he absolutely would have recorded it!
Brother Lei had reached the pinnacle of his life in a single step!
Being stared at and teased by Chen Nuo like this, Brother Lei’s face had turned almost as white as a sheet of paper.
"No, no, no, Boss Nuo!" Brother Lei stamred. "It’s all an act, just an act! I’m only pretending. This is all just to get Young Master Seed qualified for school..."
Chen Nuo laughed and glanced at Seed. "What na did you use to enroll?"
"Wu Seed."
Chen Nuo fell silent, then slowly gave a thumbs-up. He took another sip of his drink, barely suppressing a smile, and deliberately drawled, "So... Wu Seed, huh..."
"Yes?" Seed replied, looking at Chen Nuo calmly.
Brother Lei nearly slid off his chair!
This guy isn’t giving any way out!
But Brother Lei was a clever man, after all. He suddenly steeled himself, tore open the stead bun in his hand, stuffed two pieces of braised pork inside, and pressed it together firmly. He then stood up and downed the drink in front of him in one gulp.
"Boss Nuo... you two, enjoy your al. I need to go check on the construction site."
With that, he practically fled.
Once Brother Lei had left, Chen Nuo finally let his smile fade. He looked at Seed curiously. "You putting on this whole show... it can’t be purely out of boredom, just for a laugh, right?"
Seed casually put down his chopsticks and spat out the bite of greens he was chewing, frowning. "It’s not good. None of it is sweet."
"Alright, I’ll have them add more rock sugar to the braised pork tonight," Chen Nuo agreed absently, then pressed, "So, what was the real reason?"
Seed sighed. "To win, of course."
Win? Chen Nuo was utterly confused.
"We still haven’t found the thod of evolution," Seed explained, "but the direction is clear: four-dinsional. We were created by the Mother, so our ultimate goal is to beco a Spiritual Life Form like the Mother—that is, a Spiritual Life Form that has shed its physical body. This is the Mother’s own ultimate state. Theoretically, if we can just find a way to resolve the Mother’s own inherent flaws, that should be enough."
Chen Nuo listened and nodded. "That makes sense."
"The Mother’s original flaw," Seed continued, "was its inability to resist Negative Emotions. For the Mother, Negative Emotions beca an irresistible, fatal virus."
Chen Nuo was, of course, aware of this.
Seed went on, "I’ve pondered a question: why are negative feelings and Negative Emotions so lethal for the Mother?"
He paused briefly, then said slowly, "You humans also experience Negative Emotions and feelings. Generally, they don’t cause death, but if these emotions and feelings beco too severe, they can also lead to an individual’s death. For example..."
"Depression?" Chen Nuo frowned. "And many others, like anxiety, mania, or when facing imnse psychological blows. Under extre Negative Emotional stress, people might self-harm or even commit suicide..."
"Correct," Seed nodded. "That’s precisely what I an."
"So, you’re saying that negative feelings and Negative Emotions are harmful not just to the Mother, but also to advanced creatures like humans. The difference is that they’re fatal to the Mother, while for humans, the harm isn’t as severe—more like a common cold. Colds can be fatal, but it’s rare. Is that what you an?" Chen Nuo asked.
"Precisely," Seed smiled. "Then, I began to ponder another question: Why can you humans combat negative feelings and Negative Emotions, while the Mother cannot? When humans face negative feelings, what do you use to fight back and lessen their harm? The Mother, however, seems to lack such a weapon. Thus, once Negative Emotions appear, they lead to extre consequences for it."
Chen Nuo thought for a mont. "Do you have an answer?"
"Perhaps I do."
「Back Mountain, the ruins of the Qingyun Sect’s old residence.」
Wu Daodao had already received his second thrashing of the day. Since Chen Nuo was out, Yun Yin herself had administered the punishnt, which made Wu Daodao start to miss Chen Nuo.
That guy, Chen Nuo, might have a sharp tongue, but he always secretly went easy on him during punishnts.
Yun Yin, though? She hit for real! She didn’t hold back at all!
Erya, on the other hand, had practiced all morning without making a single mistake and hadn’t received a single blow!
It was an obvious fact: Erya’s talent was leagues beyond Wu Daodao’s.
Even Yun Yin couldn’t help but acknowledge it, nodding at Erya. "If you had been born two hundred years ago, you would have been a preeminent figure of your generation."
Erya had learned the thod for circulating Inner Breath after only two repetitions and could already perform it more or less correctly. As for the Secret Sword Technique, after watching Wu Daodao demonstrate it twice and listening to Yun Yin’s explanation once, Erya could slowly execute it. Her movents were still a bit slow, and she occasionally had to pause to think and recall during practice. Her actions were also sowhat stiff, lacking fluidity and smoothness. But by the end of the set, every single movent of the sword technique was at least correct!
Even Wu Daodao, watching from the side, couldn’t help but feel a pang of envy. When I learned this sword technique, I got beaten at least seven tis!
This kid... she actually learned it just like that?
In this world, what master wouldn’t adore a child with such great talent, intelligence, and a strong aptitude for learning?
After a simple lunch, Wu Daodao was ordered to sit under the sun and practice circulating his Inner Breath. Erya, however, boldly snuck into the half-collapsed ruin of a hut where Yun Yin was staying.
Seeing Yun Yin struggling to type, Erya suddenly said, "Actually, you’re not the Teacher Sun I used to know, are you?"
"I am not her, yet I am also her," Yun Yin replied, still typing.
"So, it’s Body Seizing again," Erya sighed, deeply moved. Then, noticing Yun Yin’s clumsy two-finger typing, she offered, "How about I help you type? I’m really fast."
"Hmm?"
"I often sneak off to the internet cafe in town with my classmates. I even have my own Penguin account and chat with people all the ti. In chat rooms, I argue with them too. They can’t type faster than , so they can’t out-argue ."
Yun Yin hesitated for a mont. Then, for so indiscernible emotional reason, she actually stood up and offered her seat. "Alright. You try."
Erya happily sat down and flexed her wrists. "You dictate, and I’ll type. Just don’t speak too quickly. If there’s a word I don’t recognize, I’ll stop and ask you."
"...Alright." Yun Yin nodded, her gaze toward Erya softening a little more.
"You humans possess emotions, which largely stem from social relationships—that is, interactions and connections between people. These allow humans to experience a full range of feelings and emotions. The more you interact with soone, the more varied your feelings and emotions beco. If that person is bad, you feel hatred, disgust, repulsion, anger... If they are good, you feel affection, happiness, closeness, attachnt..."
Seed continued slowly, "These are the emotions and feelings that you humans possess, but the Mother lacks them. I’ve thought about this carefully: the greatest difference between the Mother and humans lies in emotions and feelings. The Mother doesn’t just lack Negative Emotions and negative feelings; it lacks positive emotions and feelings as well."
Chen Nuo’s heart stirred; he suddenly understood what Seed ant!
Seed continued slowly, "During my long stay in South Arica, I was actually very fortunate. I t Sofia. She’s a genuinely good person; in your human system of evaluation, her character aligns with terms like ’righteous,’ ’kind,’ and ’warm-hearted.’ Her daughter, Fox, is also a very lovely girl. The longer I spent with them, the more I felt myself developing certain special emotions... hmm..."
Seed touched his forehead, thinking. "These emotions and feelings were mostly positive, I suppose. Feelings of closeness, happiness, concern, affection, fondness... And then, I noticed a very interesting change."
Seed pointed to his own nose. "The ’ceiling’ of my life form—it feels like it has loosened."
"Loosened?" Chen Nuo asked.
"Yes. Not an increase in power, but a change in my life form itself. It seems like... a tiny bit of progress. It’s not obvious, but that invisible wall, that untouchable ceiling... it feels like it’s wavering, in a way that’s hard to describe. The Mother didn’t directly create us in its own image. After creating us, it required us to be incarnated into the physical bodies of this planet’s creatures to continue... Perhaps the Mother had its reasons. We possess many traits of a Spiritual Life Form, yet the Mother insisted we be reincarnated into creatures with physical bodies. This was likely so we could re-experience this process and find the path within it. My experiences have made increasingly aware of the subtle changes involved. Living with Sofia and her daughter, I stayed in their ho, like a friend to them, like a son to Sofia, and an older brother to Fox. Over ti, the gradually ford relationships and bonds between people generated emotions. For , these emotions seem to be a kind of beneficial evolution—though ’evolution’ might be too strong a word, it wasn’t that drastic. Let’s call it progress."
Chen Nuo listened very intently to Seed’s account, not interrupting him.
Seed paused here and suddenly smiled. "Then one day, Sofia unintentionally ntioned sothing to , and it was as if I’d found a direction—possibly the correct one. It relates to what I was saying... what you humans use to combat Negative Emotions and negative feelings."
"Which is?" Chen Nuo prompted.
"Sofia’s background includes military service, and after retiring, she also worked as a police officer. As you know, police officers occasionally handle ergency calls involving people who are suicidal. Sofia ntioned such situations to during our casual chats. It’s quite interesting. When a person is overwheld by extre Negative Emotions, loses the will to live, and wants to end their life, the police arrive to intervene.
"Usually, soone will first try to negotiate with the suicidal individual, attempting to de-escalate the situation and soothe their emotions. Sofia told there’s a set of conversational tactics, refined through long practice, that are very effective. Typically, the police negotiator tries to calm the person down, talking to them about their family, friends, loved ones, hopes for the future, and so on. Through these conversations, they try to help the suicidal person rember that even if they’ve lost a relationship, they still have family and affection. Even if their career has failed, there’s still hope for the future. And so on."
Seed smiled at this point. "So, I finally understood. I found the answer. The weapon you humans use to combat Negative Emotions is your positive emotions! The weapon you use to combat negative feelings is your positive feelings!"
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