"The Jiang family, are they among the hundred clans?"
Xu Mu nodded, "Yes."
The noble youth smiled and said, "Then you must be an outsider, definitely not from the main line of the Jiang family."
Xu Mu nodded and said seriously, "Does that even need guessing? I already told you, my surname is Mu."
The noble youth said, "Your identity will be known when the Ten Thousand Races Alliance convenes."
Xu Mu nodded, "Mm."
The noble youth clicked his tongue and spoke again, "Then let us discuss something interesting."
"I've said before, although these books don't describe the calamity of the Ten Thousand Races in detail, they have incredibly detailed records of the very beginning of the previous epoch. Would you like to know? I can tell you."
Xu Mu looked at the youth and after a moment of silence, nodded, "Go on."
"There's no need to talk about the Divine-Demon Epoch. I only want to know what happened after that."
The noble youth's eyes flashed with a hint of surprise, and he said, "Looking at you, you must have learned about the Divine-Demon Epoch somewhere else."
"Since that's the case, I'll get straight to the point."
"The Divine-Demon Epoch ended, humanity shattered the Heavenly Court, the demon gods perished, and humans became the new rulers of this world."
"They cultivated fields, built states, enacted laws, and created a completely new era of peace and prosperity. However, this prosperity didn't last long, because in that era, too many people could cultivate."
The noble youth spoke, his eyes suddenly sharp and his tone cold, "More people means war."
"This has always been the case, and furthermore, in that era, due to the collapse of the Great Dao of the world and the laws being disrupted by the divine and demonic, people's cultivation was not perfect. It was incredibly easy to reach the supreme realm that could shake heaven and earth."
"Beings of that level naturally would not be willing to be subservient to others, even if that other person was the Human Emperor Fuxi who led them to end the Divine-Demon Epoch."
"Thus, a new war erupted. In that war, there was no distinction between friend and foe. Everyone wanted to kill the Human Emperor and become the Human Emperor. But they all ultimately failed, because Fuxi was Fuxi, the Fuxi who ended the Divine-Demon Epoch. No one could defeat him, not even the patriarchs of the Three Teachings."
"Unless they were willing to join forces, but the patriarchs of the Three Teachings did not attack Fuxi. That is why, in the world today, we still see sects like Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism."
"Returning to that war, humans could not kill Fuxi, but demons could."
"After the Divine-Demon Epoch ended, in places humans couldn't see, countless demons with divine beast bloodlines had inherited the mantle of the divine and demonic, gaining immense power."
"They remained dormant, hidden from human sight, until internal strife erupted among humanity. The demon race then invaded as a whole, catching humanity completely off guard. Countless demon gods attacked Fuxi. They were incredibly powerful, even as powerful as the divine and demonic of that era. Countless human powerhouses perished, the intensity of the slaughter was no less than the battle that shattered the Heavenly Court."
"In the end, humanity won that war, or rather, it was a mutual destruction. The Human Emperor Fuxi used his peerless divine abilities to transport all the demon gods of the demon race, and even the Demon Emperor, to the void outside the universe, never to return."
"As the patriarchs of the Three Teachings lay dying, to prevent another world-ending war from occurring, they joined forces to mend the Heavenly Dao laws of this world. From then on, whether for humans or demons, cultivation became much more difficult. It required following the rules, constantly exploring and progressing, to have a chance to reach the other shore and become supreme."
"In that era, the concept of cultivation systems was first proposed and then widely applied in practice. The division of realms, different types of Dao arts, titles for different cultivators, cultivating swordsmanship, sabersmanship, or water and fire, all had their own systems."
"That era was known as the Cultivation Era, and also the era of greatest adherence to rules."
"In that era, all those who had experienced the Divine-Demon Epoch were dead, those who had rebelled against Fuxi were dead, and all the demons who had killed were dead. In short, many humans and demons died then. It wasn't until countless years later, when humanity developed its own cultivation system and the demon race had a corresponding system, that this world flourished once more."
"And then, humans were still humans, and demons were still demons, but the humans were no longer the same humans of that era, and the demons were no longer the same demons.
It was a new world.
A new epoch.
History calls it the Immortal Martial Epoch."
...
The noble youth slowly closed his mouth and then looked at Xu Mu, smiling, "The story is finished, how did you feel?"
Xu Mu, hearing this, snapped back from the vast storyline, and then, seemingly with reluctance, asked, "Is that all?"
The noble youth smiled and nodded, "Yes, that's it. That's all I know."
"As for what happened afterward, what transpired between humans and demons, the scheming, the deception, the earth-shattering battles, it's all something you can imagine. And after that, the epochal calamity arrived, and they all died."
Xu Mu then asked in confusion, "But this doesn't make sense. If they all died, why are we still here? How was our current continent formed? What about elves? What about goblins and dwarves? What about the western continent? What about the continent of Tiss?"
The noble youth shrugged helplessly, "How would I know about these things?"
"It can only be inferred that after the calamity of that year, there must have been survivors among humans and demons. They might have, through their own efforts, used the world after the calamity to reproduce again, and then created a new world."
"And we might be people from that world. Perhaps due to the laws of the Heavenly Dao, we in this world had no ability to cultivate, and it wasn't until the 'Divine Revelation' of the Western Church that we gained powers akin to spiritual energy."
"But whether it's spiritual energy or supernatural abilities, their essence is not much different. We are all just borrowing the power of the Great Dao laws to continuously become stronger."
After the noble youth finished speaking, Xu Mu fell into a brief contemplation.
He began to ponder the meaning of human existence.
But he quickly realized that such philosophical questions were difficult to arrive at any conclusion.
"In fact, whether cultivators, espers, or ordinary people, as long as they are human, they are always on the path to becoming stronger. We study combat techniques, firearms, the cutting, thrusting, and parrying of swords and spears, and even street performers breaking stones on their chests. In essence, we are all utilizing the rules of the Great Dao."
"In reality, we were all the same. Regardless of talent, status, or social standing, there was no difference. We could all find our own Dao through our own methods to become supreme."
"Every one of us is the same."
The noble youth looked at Xu Mu and said earnestly.
Xu Mu was stunned for a moment, then said teasingly, "What you're saying sounds like the passionate words of some brash youngsters just venturing into the martial world."
"But he is right," the noble youth said, his eyes becoming somewhat determined, or perhaps inexplicably persistent, staring intently at Xu Mu, "This is something I believed since I was a child."
"Even after reading these ancient books, I still believe these principles, because no matter how the rules change, humans can always adapt and utilize them."
"Even the strongest humans will die, and even the most humble humans will rise. Therefore, I believe that humans are equal."
Xu Mu fell silent again.
He thought of the Blue Star described by Charles, which the latter had said was a world that seemed equal.
"Equality between people is impossible to achieve."
"Because humans are free. Absolute equality would require completely suppressing human free will. And if you can suppress someone's freedom, it already proves that you are not equal."
Xu Mu spoke a profoundly convoluted yet philosophical statement. Logically, this statement should have given the noble youth before him much to ponder, but he only contemplated for a moment before directly and seriously refuting:
"Perhaps you are right, and I can find no reason or logic to refute you, but I don't believe it."
"I believe that a world where all people are free and equal will eventually be created. In that world, people will no longer be oppressed, and everyone will have the opportunity to change their destiny, to protect what they need to protect through their own efforts."
"Instead of in this world, where some people are destined to be mere ants from birth."
Xu Mu looked at the youth and saw the seriousness in his eyes, then suddenly smiled, "Perhaps, perhaps you are right."
"But it is meaningless for us to discuss this now, nor do we have the right to, because we are too weak, the 'ants' you speak of."
The noble youth's expression was serious as he said, "But one day, we will have the right to."
Xu Mu looked at him and could only exclaim, "Then I wish you, may your wish come true?"
The noble youth was silent, and then walked past Xu Mu expressionlessly.
"Thank you."
...