From the end of the world

Chapter 80 Transcendentalism 1
Looking at this black electronic telescope, I couldn't help but be speechless.

I just heard that Zhu Shi had worked so hard for me in secret, but was still bypassed by Lu Youxun. I actually have some opinions about Lu Youxun. Of course, I know very well that Lu Youxun is just doing his job, and there is nothing wrong with him. This is a matter of my personal emotions.

But now, as soon as I saw this thing, all those emotions were immediately washed away, and I turned into speechless towards Lu Youxun and Zhu Shi.

Lu Youxun was a demon hunter who was good at all kinds of divination and investigation spells, but he actually used an electronic telescope to spy on my secrets. The contrast was really shocking. Zhu Shi took so many precautions, including preventing the reading of land memory and preventing divination spells, but in the end he actually overlooked such an object.

I can't blame them either, because I myself never expected a telescope to appear here.

"So... while we were fighting, you were watching us from a distance with this thing?" I asked.

"Yes. It's my duty. I hope you don't mind." Lu Youxun smiled humorously, then said, "Don't blame Zhu Shi for not doing her job well. It's not that she doesn't understand modern technology, but she has a stereotype about the extraordinary people and thinks we despise modern technology. There are indeed many people among us who despise technology, but that's just their stupidity. We can't generalize."

"Transcendentalism?"

"Zhu Shi should have described the mountain I'm on to you," he said. "Transcendentalism is a general term for our thoughts. The mountain I'm on is also called the Transcendentalism Mountain."

"You once called witchers monks. Is that what you call them in your transcendentalism?" I asked.

"That's right." He said after a moment's silence, "Zhuang Cheng, when you first came into contact with demon hunters, did you feel confused as to why Luo Shan called all people with special powers 'demon hunters'?"

I did think about this question at first.

If someone only possesses special powers, it would be more appropriate to call him a "person with special abilities". However, the term "demon hunter" is active. If a person's power is not related to fighting, and he has no desire to fight monsters, and no experience in fighting monsters, then it is obviously inappropriate to call him a demon hunter.

Luo Shan would even directly call people who use special powers to do evil "corrupted demon hunters" instead of other names that better fit their actual actions. If I had awakened my superpowers at the age of fourteen and started doing evil, I would also be defined as a corrupt demon hunter - even though I have never been a demon hunter.

I can only come up with one answer to this.

"It's for the purpose of 'qualitativeness'," I said.

"That's right." Lu Youxun agreed.

When they were young, some children would give nicknames to their disliked peers and call on others to do the same. This is certainly a childish behavior, but in the adult world, "nicknames" also have a power that cannot be underestimated. Because naming a specific thing is actually an act of power and a qualitative act.

Giving a serious object a funny name will weaken the seriousness of the object, and vice versa. This phenomenon is common in real life. If a person with the power to hunt monsters is named a monster hunter, then people around him will gradually think that it is natural for this person to hunt monsters.

Even if he has no intention of hunting monsters, or no experience of hunting monsters, society will think that since he is called a monster hunter, he is born with the obligation to hunt monsters. Even the person himself will unconsciously have similar thoughts, feel ashamed for not fulfilling his responsibilities, or simply admit that he is a selfish person.

In fact, whether one has the strength to fight and whether one should engage in battle are two completely different things. There is no need for this person to feel ashamed or selfish from the beginning. That is an acquired ideology.

Those whose strength is not suitable for fighting may be considered to be able to provide support in the rear and be involved in this definition activity.

This phenomenon reminded me of the mystical knowledge I had encountered in the past. In the world of mysticism, names are powerful, and the right name is even enough to determine the fate of the other person.

Even if we only look at it from a psychological perspective, the name "demon hunter" does exert "the power of destiny" on this group. But it is not in a mysterious form, but in an ideological form. It is not that mysticism is playing tricks with psychology. Just like in ancient times, Feng Shui was not all mysterious, and some serious architectural knowledge was also classified as the field of Feng Shui. And a long time ago, some knowledge involving ideology was originally the territory of mysticism.

However, considering the existence of strange things, the act of "naming" may really involve the so-called power of destiny.

"Form is very important. Many people who claim to be pragmatic look down on form, but they don't know how powerful form has played in human history. Name is used to show trust, and trust is used to protect the tool. But the tool and name cannot be borrowed by others." Lu Youxun sighed first, and then continued, "One of the demands of transcendence is to turn 'demon hunters' into 'monks'. From now on, we will no longer be a group that is born to deal with weirdness, but free and strong people."

“What about handling weird jobs?” I asked.

"We will continue to do it," he said, "but this work can no longer be taken for granted. Since ancient times, the country has taken Luoshan as a matter of course and should take huge risks to deal with weird organizations. This idea is distorted and we must correct it."

Up to this point, I actually didn't feel offended by what he said. Often people say that with great power comes great responsibility, and the power here refers to a person's social power. When an individual gains power with the support of a group, he should consciously protect the group. If this principle is applied to a "super individual" like a demon hunter, all kinds of contradictions will arise. The problem lies afterwards.

"So, in return for dealing with weirdness, you Transcendentals think you should become gods of this country?" I asked.

"Since we are required to take responsibility, we should hand over the corresponding power. Isn't this reasonable?" Lu Youxun asked in return.

"I don't know whether the responsibility of fighting monsters is equal to the power to enslave ordinary people. I lack the knowledge in that area. But if this is really so reasonable, why didn't Luo Shan do that in history?" I said deliberately, "There should be some crucial reason in this."

"It doesn't make sense." He said without hesitation, "The reason why Luo Shan didn't choose to rule the world in the past was simply because they 'didn't think about it'. I'm not saying they were stupid or crazy, but there was some external force that prevented them from thinking that way.

"It may be a kind of collective hypnosis, or it may be some other incredible phenomenon. In short, the power is so strong that even the Great Impermanence of all generations has been affected by it, so that we, who should have been 'monks', are defined as 'demon hunters', and are forbidden to disclose our existence to the secular world, and are also forbidden to step onto the stage of history. We don't know why we have no doubts about this order, and it has continued to this era.

"But now, that power has dissipated. We should take back our true names and return to our rightful place."

"If that's the case, why haven't you taken action yet?" I asked. "According to Zhu Shi, that force had dissipated three years ago, but you haven't exerted your influence on society yet. Why is that?"

I also asked Zhu Shi a similar question. Zhu Shi attributed it to "differences of opinion within Luoshan", but I think this reason is not sufficient. Besides, Zhu Shi doesn't seem to be the type who cares about the political situation in Luoshan. She may have a lot of information that she has not paid attention to.

Lu Youxun, on the other hand, is the exact opposite. He is obviously the type who pays attention to "isms" and "factions". He is in a completely different position from Zhu Shi, has a different perspective, and can see different things.

I am not interested in "isms" and "factions", but I am very interested in "mysteries".

Lu Youxun said in a deep voice: "Because we are on guard against the 'Divine Seal'."

Divine seal?

When I heard this name, I was suddenly shocked.

"What is the divine seal?" I asked immediately.

"This is the name given by a few people in Luoshan to the source of that power." Lu Youxun explained, "There are many different opinions within Luoshan about what the power is that affects Luoshan and prevents it from entering the historical stage. One of the minority assumptions is that somewhere in this world, there is a divine artifact called the 'Divine Seal' that can fulfill any wish.

"This hypothesis holds that a long time ago, a human being obtained the 'Divine Seal'. For unknown reasons, he made an unknown wish to the 'Divine Seal'.

"This wish has spread to the entire world, making ordinary people the protagonists of the world, while we monks can only take a back seat and operate secretly in the world behind the scenes."

I touched the fragment of the divine seal in my pocket and asked tentatively, "Do you believe this hypothesis?"

"In fact, I find it hard to believe that such a magical artifact exists. Although I dare not claim to be well-read, I have studied hard. If such a magical artifact really exists, why have I never heard of it before?" He shook his head, "It's just that my superiors chatted with me about this ridiculous hypothesis that only a few people take seriously, so I followed suit and called it that."

In other words, although he just said "We are on the alert for the 'Divine Seal'", in fact most of the "we" do not believe it, and do not even know the existence of the Divine Seal. He just picked up a convenient nickname to refer to the source of that power.

But I know that the divine seal is real.

Just a fragment of the divine seal was enough to drag me, the rebellious Great Impermanence, the survivor of the doomsday world, and the unknown No. 1 into that mysterious and unpredictable foggy dream. This kind of thing that transcends space and even time may really have the power to fulfill any wish.

I say "maybe" because the topic is so large. It's a super phenomenon that can influence human history. Can the small fragment in my arms really have such power in its perfect state? I still can't believe it.

"So, you Transcendents believe that... the Lord of the Divine Seal is still alive, and if Luo Shan acts rashly, the Lord of the Divine Seal will take action?" I asked.

(End of this chapter)