Bearing the blue sky

Chapter 344 The History of the Human Race!

The official's gaze lingered on Zhu Ge for longer than ever before.

He stood there, the hem of his dark gray robe fluttering slightly in the wind.

But the rest of the body hardly moved, like a tree that had been growing there for many years.

"Who am I? Where did I come from? Where am I going?" He repeated the three sentences Zhu Ge had said, his voice even lower than before.

Where did you hear these three sentences from?

"I didn't hear it from somewhere," Zhu Ge shook her head. "I learned it from experience."

"The more roads you travel, the more you start to think about these questions. The more you think about them, the more answers you form. Everyone has their own answers, but the structure of the questions is the same."

"Then what is your answer?" the official asked again. "Who am I? Where did I come from? Where am I going?"

I come from Earth!

However, this is clearly not a question that can be answered casually, nor is it a question that can be dealt with with platitudes.

It is a question that needs to be taken seriously because it points to a person's most fundamental understanding of their own way of being.

"I am Zhu Ge." Zhu Ge smiled. "I come from Yunjiang, and I am going to Shengjing."

"That's all?" Qingming frowned.

"That's all." Zhu Ge nodded.

But in fact, every part of this answer is more complex than it appears on the surface.

I am Zhu Ge.

This name encapsulates the entire path Zhuge has walked from birth to the present.

I come from Yunnan.

That place contains all the experiences that made him who he is today.

I'm going to Shengjing.

This city contains all the roads he hasn't yet traveled.

Past, present, future.

Starting point, journey, destination.

This line is actually the best answer.

"So it is—" After hearing the answer, Qingming Guan neither nodded nor shook his head, but fell into deep thought.

A moment later, he looked up and turned around: "Come with me."

Seeing this, Zhu Ge gave Liu Jianjian a meaningful look, and then followed Qingming Guan.

Liu Jianjian stood there with a worried expression, watching Zhu Ge follow Qingming Guan away.

For some reason, Zhu Ge felt that Qingming Guan should have actually chosen to stand on the side of Minmie Zhenjun a long time ago.

However, at the very least, the performance suggests that they are in a neutral position.

"I am the Holy Emperor's teacher."

As they were walking, Qingming Guan, who was about half a body length in front of Zhu Ge, spoke up.

The Holy Emperor's Teacher?

Zhu Ge was taken aback.

This is something that the True Lord of Annihilation never mentioned.

"In ancient times, our human race began to worship our ancestors."

"Human beings have too many and too varied beliefs. Some people believe in the sea goddess, some believe in the mountain god, and some believe in all sorts of gods."

The "gods" mentioned by the Qingming official were the early sacrificial deities: "Gods? Ghosts?"

"Fairy? Spirit? Monster?"

"Humans are too special among them—"

The official began his narration.

In ancient times, humans commemorated their ancestors, believing that the ancestors still existed between heaven and earth, and gave them new images and meanings.

Meanwhile, the races of demons and gods took advantage of the situation and a fierce conflict broke out between them.

At the same time, the same applies to races such as fairies and monsters.

However, besides demons, ghosts, monsters, and gods, there are many other beings in this world.

"—For example, a winged person has two wings on their back and two feet like claws."

"Its favorite food is strong human men. With its hook-like feet, it swoops down from the sky, passing through a person's shoulders and collarbone, then flies into the air to freeze to death, and then devours them whole. It can even digest their intestines and bones."

The official's voice was calm, but a murderous aura gradually filled the air.

Zhu Ge was slightly surprised upon hearing this.

Yuren?

Although I had seen it in some ancient books, I never thought it actually existed.

"And then there are the mermaids, with eyes like pearls, cheeks on their necks, webbed hands and feet, and mouths full of sharp teeth, who like to eat infants."

"Mermaids often come ashore from rivers, lakes, and seas to massacre villages, killing both men and women, and even swallowing infants alive. As a result, some ignorant people, in order to avoid disaster, can only offer sacrifices to infants every year and venerate mermaids as river gods."

"And then there are clam maidens, deer people, and so on—how many strange races are there in the world?"

The official's voice was completely flat, while Zhu Ge listened as he inexplicably found himself in front of a grand hall.

The plaque reads: Imperial Ancestral Temple.

Upon seeing this, Zhu Ge's expression became even more serious.

"—But now, there isn't a single alien race left."

The official turned to Zhu Ge and said, "Do you know the great achievements of the Holy Emperor? Do you know the earth-shattering deeds of the ancient philosophers?"

"I know a little," Zhu Ge replied, not giving a definitive answer.

The next moment, Qingming Guan nodded slightly: "Come with me into the palace."

He waved his hand, and the door in front of him opened suddenly.

The table was arranged in neat rows from top to bottom.

"Come in."

Officials entered the Qingming Festival hall, followed by songs of blessing.

"Snapped!"

After the two entered, the door slammed shut.

The next moment, Zhu Ge felt herself enter a complex space.

The surrounding area was filled with colorful things, like a giant dye vat.

The senses of sight, hearing, and smell are all shut down, causing extreme discomfort.

"Here, the ancients called it the universe, or beyond the boundaries, beyond the realm."

A voice resounded in Zhu Ge's heart.

Zhu Ge turned her head and met Qingming Guan's gaze.

The official, Qingming, had a gentle expression, and then pointed to the right: "This is our Great Sheng Dynasty."

Zhu Ge looked around but couldn't see anything. She felt like an ant that had fallen into a vat of dye, struggling to be trapped by the glue.

Suddenly, beams of light appeared all around, containing dots of light of various sizes.

Some are the size of a grain of rice, some are the size of a fist, and some are the size of a millstone or a water vat.

"These are the memorial tablets we just saw." The official smiled gently. "Throughout history, all those who have 'carved the Way' between heaven and earth have been moving our world forward."

"The philosophers established the great principles, and each principle expanded our world by a little."

"In the age of gods and demons, humans also ate raw meat and drank blood. There were many races, and the world was dark and bloody."

"During the Age of Myriad Races, races such as the Human Race and the Winged Race rose rapidly, each establishing their own lineage and dominating their respective regions."

"Then came the ancient period."

"In ancient times, all races discovered that Heaven and Earth favored those who created new paths, but not every race had anyone who dared to step into the new path and explore the unknown."

"Most ethnic groups only dare to follow their instincts and the paths their ancestors have taken."

"But humans are different."

"The Holy Emperor, with his great talent and strategic vision, unified all of humanity in the first instance, established the capital of the Great Sheng Dynasty, Shengjing, at the confluence of the great rivers, and at the same time established the Ten Heavenly Officials."

"With the Ten Heavenly Officials, Shengjing became better and stronger, and thus gave birth to the various schools of thought."

"The Age of Gods and Demons, the Age of Myriad Races, and the Ancient Age are all merely transitions, the last darkness before the rise of the human race and the dawn of its ascension."

"In ancient times, various schools of thought emerged, including Confucianism, Taoism, Taoism of Immortality, Taoism of Martial Arts, Taoism of Witchcraft, and so on. All sorts of paths arose from this," Qingmingguan slowly recounted.

In Zhu Ge's eyes, the surrounding scenery also changed as Qingming Guan narrated.

The primitive era of gods and demons, the bloodshed of the era of myriad races, the darkness of ancient times—

The Holy Emperor raised the torch, leading humanity toward hope; he was the leader and spiritual totem of humanity.

The period of gods and demons, the period of myriad races, the ancient period, and then the prehistoric, medieval, early modern and present periods.

The day that divided the era of gods and demons into the era of all races was the chaotic war among all races at the end of the era of gods and demons. This war determined the settlement of each race.

Then came the first major upheaval in the entire world.

This time, it is Confucianism and Taoism.

This creation of the Dao is what divides the era of myriad races from the ancient era.

A man named Kong Xu founded Confucianism and Taoism, and was known as Confucius.

If Confucius had not been born, the world would have remained in perpetual darkness.

The voice of the Qingming official resonated in Zhu Ge's heart, as if it came from a very far place, yet also as if it rose from a very near place.

The narratives about the era of gods and demons, the era of myriad races, and the ancient times are gradually forming clearer images in Zhu Ge's perception as he speaks.

"Kong Xu".

"Before he founded Confucianism and Taoism, there was no fundamental difference between the human race and all other races. They all lived by instinct, relied on the inheritance of experience, and were driven by fear and desire."

"But Kong Xu is different. He observed the way humans live, the predicaments of humans, and the differences between humans and other races, and then proposed a concept that no one had ever proposed before —"

"What do you mean?" Zhu Ge asked.

"Ren (benevolence)." The official replied, "He said that what makes a person human is not that they have stronger claws or sharper teeth, but that they can feel the pain of others and are willing to act to alleviate it."

"This concept was not widely accepted when it was first proposed because it seemed too idealistic and impractical at the time."

"But Kong Xu did not give up. He spent decades traveling the world, explaining to everyone who was willing to listen to him what 'benevolence' is and why 'benevolence' is so important to the human race."

"Then, more and more people began to understand his ideas."

More and more people are beginning to try to handle interpersonal relationships in a "benevolent" way.

"Those attempts brought about real results—conflict decreased, cooperation increased, and the probability of survival improved. When enough people began to practice the concept of benevolence, the world trembled."

Qingming paused, as if allowing those words to settle into a suitable place in Zhuge's perception: "The scope of that Great Dao tremor covered the entire world."

"After Kong Xu, a long time passed before the second major tremor occurred," Qingming Guan continued. "That was the Martial Dao!"

"The founder of martial arts was a man named Wu You, who was one of Kong Xu's disciples, but the path he took was completely different from Kong Xu's."

Kong Xu focuses on the connections between people, while Wu You focuses on the power of people themselves. He believes that only by making the individual human beings stronger can the human race as a whole stand more firmly in this world.

"Wu You established his martial arts in a different way than Kong Xu."

"Kong Xu spread his ideas through walking and speaking, while Wu You demonstrated his path through practice and demonstration."

"He spent decades honing his physical skills, pushing himself to unprecedented limits, and then used his body as the most direct teaching material to show others what 'strength' truly is. Martial arts spread throughout the entire human realm in just a few hundred years."

"The path of immortality came later than the path of martial arts, but it is just as important."

"The founder of the Immortal Path was a man named Yu Xu. He came from a humble background than Kong Xu and Wu You. He was a shepherd boy in a remote mountain village, and grew up with the birds and beasts of the mountains and forests."

"Through his long-term observation of nature, he discovered that there exists a force in the world that can be guided and utilized."

"That power is different from the physical strength of martial arts, and also different from the connecting power of Confucianism and Taoism. It is a more fundamental power that exists between heaven and earth."

"Yu Xu spent decades exploring the patterns and uses of that power, and then named it 'Spiritual Qi.'"

"He discovered the way spiritual energy flows, and the interaction between spiritual energy and the physical body, consciousness, and the universe."

"He discovered that spiritual energy could be guided into the body through specific methods and transformed into a continuously usable power. The Immortal Path he founded opened up a path for humanity that was completely different from Confucianism and martial arts."

Zhu Ge stood in the space made up of memorial tablets, listening to the Qingming official's narration.

The concepts that were simply referred to as "Confucianism and Taoism," "Martial Arts," and "Immortalism" are now appearing in his perception in a more concrete form.

They are no longer abstract categories, but rather paths that have been walked by people.

"Kong Xu, Wu You, Yu Xu — they all left their names in the history books."

"But history records only provide evidence of their existence, not the entirety of their existence."

"Kong Xu spent decades traveling, killing countless alien races in the process. Wu You suffered countless injuries from alien races while exploring the limits of his body. Yu Xu conducted numerous experiments with demons, ghosts, and monsters in the deep mountains and forests?"

"History books don't write these details because they need to be concise and solemn, but those details are the real paths they walked."

Zhu Ge was looking at the memorial tablets; each tablet bore the name of someone who had once walked this earth.

Some of them established the Great Way, some continued the Great Way, and some opened up new tributaries in the directions where the Great Way branched off.

Each of them has left its mark on the world.

This is the ancient period.

"The dividing line between the ancient and prehistoric periods was marked by the Holy Emperor's unification of all things and his subsequent war against the alien races."

Qingmingguan continued, "He incorporated Confucianism, Taoism, martial arts, immortality, and other paths that were already circulating among the human race into a unified system."

"He established Shengjing, appointed ten officials in charge of Heaven and Earth, and formulated a set of rules that would allow different paths to coexist without conflict."

"What he did was not to create new paths, but to connect existing paths so that they could support and complement each other."

"At this point, all humans believed that they could no longer be oppressed and exploited by other races."

"And so, the war began."

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