He changed Tiwat

"Why should a great sage seek another place? How could Sumeru's 'honorative advice' be a word that hides its true meaning?"

His words surprised both Hazard and Setare.

“I have heard that the wise lord of the past, the Great Compassionate Tree King, left behind the saying of ‘three virtues’: ‘honest advice’, ‘clever thinking’, and ‘diligent practice’.”

The Tree King said: "Confessional advice is the branch of the Kingdom of Wisdom, enabling the seeds of wisdom to break through the obstruction of arrogance and take root and flourish; 'Confessional advice' accompanied by ingenious thinking can convince the wise and awaken the foolish, allowing wisdom to flow freely like a river; 'Confessional advice' ultimately leads to the best conduct, with actions giving words true meaning. The coordination and consistency of words, thoughts, and actions are the rich nourishment that allows the Tree of Wisdom to bear good fruit."

The Tree King further said: "'Ingenuity' is the vein of the kingdom of wisdom, born from good intentions. 'A poisonous tree does not bear good fruit.' Only good and firm intentions can nurture ingenious and thoughtful plans, so as not to tarnish the name of wisdom. 'Ingenuity' guides upright speech, so that the words spoken do not deviate from the right path of well-being. 'Ingenuity' is formed by harmonious conduct. Actions give thought a perfect form. The mutual confirmation of thought, speech, and action is the faithful foundation for the tree of wisdom to bloom."

The Tree King also said: "'Diligent practice' is the root of the land of wisdom, originating from clear truth and tireless practice. It is the only way for all wisdom to be revealed in the end. 'Diligent practice' confirms straightforward speech. All thoughts and actions are for good. Wisdom is born in action. 'Diligent practice' gives birth to the fruit of wisdom. Action proves the meaning of action itself. The connection between action, speech and thought is the only way for wise people to see perfection."

“Without good deeds, clear thinking and elegant speech have no fertile ground; negligence and malice make words and deeds despicable… If a great sage cannot face ‘criticism’ directly and is unwilling to publicly reveal ‘ingenious ideas,’ how can he talk about ‘practicing’ the path of wisdom?”

His words were all based on the teachings of the Tree King from the "Xia Ye Lun Jing," and every sentence was a "true scripture of the Great Compassionate Tree King." Azhar was speechless for a moment.

When Han Fu came to talk to Saidaf, he specifically borrowed the "scriptures" of the Great Compassion Tree King to read.

With his level of "debate," he could not only transform into an old imam of the religious monastery to preach, but he could also readily interpret the Six Scriptures as his own. Let alone the most basic questions like "Did the Tree King Bodhisattva say this?" and "How did the Tree King Bodhisattva say it?", he could even perform a "Great Compassionate Tree King opposing the Great Compassionate Tree King" on the spot.

He invoked the name of the Great Tree King, saying that Azhar's avoidance of war was a betrayal of the Great Tree King's teachings, and Azhar naturally had nothing to say.

Hazard knew this "public debate" was unavoidable, and finally nodded: "In that case, allow me to experience Deputy Minister Han's 'wisdom' here. May I ask what topic Deputy Minister Han wishes to debate?"

Han Fulai smiled slightly and pointed at Nilu: "I would like to continue Miss Nilu's unfinished debate—Can a land of wisdom not tolerate art?"

"The great sage just said that art and dance are frivolous and empty things, and that pursuing art in this land of wisdom and reason is shameful and a defilement of wisdom... But I would like to ask, how is art frivolous and empty, and how does it defile wisdom?"

Hazard had just used "You are not worthy to debate with me" to evade Nel's demand for an explanation, but he couldn't use the same tactic to evade Han Fulai's question.

He frowned slightly and replied, “Wisdom is built upon reason. Throughout history, all the progress and achievements people have made are the result of reason. The wisdom pursued by the Sumeru Academy is the pursuit of truth, reality, and truth—while the ‘art’ that focuses on ‘sensibility’ runs completely against ‘wisdom’ and ‘reason’.”

"For example...this dancer."

Hazard looked at Nel with undisguised disgust.

"She claimed that she was dancing the 'Dance of the Flower Goddess,' but the dance that the Flower Goddess offered to the Tree King in history has long been lost. The so-called 'Dance of the Flower Goddess' is nothing but a gimmick to attract attention. How dare she presume to call it the dance of the gods? If one truly respects the gods, how can one defile it with the vulgar imagination of mortals?"

"Take, for example, the play 'The Legend of the Flower Knight' being performed at the Zuber Theater..." He pointed to Pigal, who was playing Faris in the audience, "There has never been a person named 'Faris the Flower Knight' in history. To claim to be a member of the gods with such a ridiculous appearance is blasphemy."

"As followers of the Lord of Wisdom, the Council of the Church cannot tolerate these 'arts' that tarnish the name of wisdom being performed here. I do not deny that some people may genuinely enjoy them, but watching these performances only brings fleeting, empty pleasure, while gradually distancing one from true wisdom."

"Moreover, such activities also pose serious security risks—Deputy Minister Han personally experienced the robbery of the gilded tour group that happened in this Grand Bazaar today, so he should understand what I'm talking about."

"The fact that civilian organizations hold large-scale gatherings without authorization, but lack the corresponding ability to organize and manage them, disrupts the originally strict order of Sumeru City and gives thieves an opportunity to take advantage of it."

"In conclusion, we adhere to the consistent principles of the Holy See Council, guiding the people toward 'wisdom.' All orders issued by the Holy See Council are based on this principle. Even if some people cannot understand the Holy See Council's good intentions now, time will prove to you that the Holy See Council's guidance is correct."

His words left Nil, Zuber, and the others speechless, heads bowed.

Indeed, both "The Dance of Flora" and "The Legend of the Knights of Flora" were plays they wrote and directed themselves, containing many elements of "artistic embellishment." The Church accused their plays of deviating from historical facts, and they could not refute it.

On the other hand, they were also heartbroken and remorseful about what happened to Dinazede today. Dinazede's kidnapping was indeed due to the "Flower Goddess Festival"—without this festival, Dinazede would never have left her home, and therefore would not have encountered danger…

Azar's accusations were indeed true, and his words were presented in a grand and righteous manner, representing the mainstream ideology of Sumeru. Even if Nilu and the others wanted to refute him, they couldn't come up with any strong arguments for the time being.

Han Fulai laughed heartily upon hearing this: "Ha, how strange! This morning, the 'Thirty-Man Group' sealed off all the gates of Sumeru City, strictly prohibiting entry and exit. How did that band of robbers manage to sneak into the city? Those vicious bandits almost cost me my life. I was wondering how to hold the 'Thirty-Man Group' accountable for their dereliction of duty!"

"Moreover, maintaining public order is clearly the responsibility of the Religious Council, so how can it be blamed on a civil society organization? This is the first time I have ever heard of a government leader accusing a civil society organization of being incapable of maintaining order. The incompetence of the Religious Council is truly eye-opening."

"If the Zubair Theatre Troupe is to be responsible for maintaining order in the Grand Bazaar, shouldn't Mr. Zubair be the instructor? If the Zubair Theatre Troupe is to be responsible for guiding people to embrace wisdom, I think..."

He raised his arms and shouted to the audience, "This throne of the Great Sage of the Faculty of Laws should be given to Miss Nel!"

Chapter Sixty-Five: People are the End, Not the Means [4k]

Nilu never dreamed that she would one day be nominated as a Great Sage, and she never expected that everyone would support her in becoming a Great Sage.

When Han Fulai raised his arm on the stage, the audience erupted in cheers. The shouts of support for Nilu to become the Great Sage of the Teaching Academy grew louder and louder. If Nilu had just nodded, the people below would probably have carried her into the Palace of Wisdom immediately.

Nel is already a big star at the Zubair Theater, and her kind nature has earned her the trust and affection of the residents of the Grand Bazaar. If it were a one-person-one-vote election for the Great Sage, the Grand Bazaar would undoubtedly be Nel's stronghold. If the port area and other areas of the Lower City were added, Nel might actually be elected Great Sage based on her votes.

Of course, the Great Sage of the Order of the Church is never the result of an election. Even if Sumeru really did hold an election, the "lower-end population" living in the Grand Bazaar probably wouldn't have the right to vote... But this isn't a question of whether or not to elect.

For Hazard, being compared to a dancer in a large bazaar was already the ultimate insult he had never suffered in his life. What was even more humiliating was that he was actually told he was inferior to a dancer...

As a fellow test-taker, Han Fulai knows best how to provoke a test-taker—don't be fooled by those students from prestigious universities who casually refer to themselves online as "third-tier college graduates" or "vocational school graduates." That's just for show. If you actually say they're not as good as those from junior colleges, they'll absolutely explode.

And then Hazard exploded.

Setare watched nervously as her boss's face turned from red to green, then to purple; he was clearly on the verge of exploding.

As the Great Sage's assistant, Setalé knew Hazard's temper very well. This Great Sage was far from being "great" in terms of magnanimity. After having a disagreement with his colleagues, he would not only often take his anger out on others, but would even smash things in the office—Setalé had suffered this kind of treatment many times.

Regardless of the final outcome of this debate, she's destined to be a scapegoat...

Azar took three deep breaths, finally managing to maintain a semblance of scholarly composure: "...Deputy Minister Han, respecting your opponent in a debate is the most basic quality, but you seem to lack this quality... Please remember, this is Sumeru, not Liyue. If you think you can use the pretext of a debate to speak rudely and presumptuously to the Order of the Church, then the Order of the Church will respond in kind."

Han Fulai laughed heartily: "Oh dear, I'm sorry. I've always been a straightforward person, and I accidentally offended the Great Sage... I won't do it again, I won't do it again."

That's what he said, but the expression on his face clearly said, "I'll do it again next time."

This is the first step in Han Fulai's plan: to undermine authority.

Debate is not the goal, but merely a means—a means to dispel the mystique surrounding the subject.

He would jump onto the stage to debate with Hazard in order to incite the people of the Grand Bazaar to resist the Vatican.

The simplest way to protect this "Flower Goddess's Birthday Festival" is naturally to drive away the people from the Church. He and Yingmei, as "foreign guests," cannot do such a thing, but the people of the Grand Bazaar can.

With so many people in the Grand Bazaar, a single spit from each person would be enough to drown these people from the Vatican.

However, the Church has been the de facto ruler of Sumeru for five hundred years, and its power is deeply entrenched. It is not easy to get the people of the Grand Bazaar to rise up against the Church.

The oppression and discrimination suffered by the residents of the Grand Bazaar over the years would have led to a rebellion in other countries, but the people of the Grand Bazaar have always been submissive. According to Han Fulai's experience in the Grand Bazaar over the past few days, the people here have a rather deep sense of inferiority towards the Church... or rather, those who are more "intelligent" and "learned".

Because Sumeru is the "Land of Wisdom" ruled by the "God of Wisdom," everyone takes pride in following "wisdom." And "wisdom," something that is difficult to manifest outwardly, is quantified by the people of Sumeru as "academic achievements."

Those who excel at reading and scholarship are considered "blessed by the god of wisdom" in Mount Sumeru, naturally superior to others, and their social status is equivalent to that of nobles in other countries, similar to the "scholar-officials" of ancient China.

The scholars of the Academy of Teachings are racking their brains to pursue degrees such as "Tasata" and "Hapanta," which is essentially the same as people in other countries pursuing high-ranking official positions and generous salaries, only superficially more "academic."

The idea that "the government should govern the country with the scholar-officials, not with the common people" is particularly evident under the Sumeru system.

In Sumeru, ordinary people with poor academic performance are essentially "unfavored by the god of wisdom," completely losing their path to advancement and relegated to menial jobs in the eyes of scholars. Ordinary people themselves have become accustomed to this social atmosphere, taking it for granted and only blaming their parents for not giving them a good brain…

The Great Sage who rules the Council of the Church is seen by the Sumerians as the person most favored by the God of Wisdom, and can be regarded as a "demigod" in some respects... Although the Great Sage himself does not possess any power beyond that of mortals, the halo of "wisdom" on him creates a sense of "divinity" for him.

Even when the Church of Christ implements various reactionary policies, many people in the Grand Bazaar will subconsciously reflect: the scholars of the Church of Christ are so wise, there must be a reason for implementing these policies, it's just that I'm too stupid to understand.

The reason why Instructor Sharif dared to go to the Grand Bazaar alone to shut down the Zubair Theatre, unafraid of being torn apart by the angry crowd, was ultimately because the scholars of the Instruction Council were surrounded by the halo of being "blessed by the god of wisdom," making everything they did seem naturally correct. On the contrary, the Zubair Theatre, which was defending its own rights, seemed to be acting illegitimately.

This time, Hazard brought mercenaries to the Grand Bazaar to stop the "Flora Festival," and his attitude was, "An art ban benefits the country and you all; it's such a great thing, why can't it be implemented?" When Nel debated with him, Hazard almost said, "How can the ignorant masses understand the heart of the saint?"

The people in the Grand Bazaar, affected by this sense of inferiority, never dared to put up any real resistance, except for making a few verbal complaints. This is the crux of the problem.

That's why Han Fulai said, "Let Nilu be the Great Sage."

Even under the guise of a debate, publicly humiliating a national leader in this way would still cause significant diplomatic problems, yet Han Fulai still did it.

As a modern person with higher education, Han Fulai is well aware of the true colors of those "experts and professors": the better ones know more about their own profession than the average person, but if they step outside their area of ​​expertise, many experts may not even be as good as the average person; the worse ones are just dabbling in their own profession, and their advantage over the average person is only due to better luck or having a good father.

He wanted to tell the people of the Grand Bazaar that the so-called "great sages" and "scholars favored by the god of wisdom" were just ordinary people like them, who would get angry if someone criticized them, and whose ideas were not necessarily better than theirs.

The throne of the Great Sage is right for Azar, right for Nel, and right for all of you!

The people in the Grand Bazaar also became aware of this.

The Papacy expects the Zubair Theatre to be responsible for maintaining order during the festivals, and also expects the theatre's performances to guide people toward wisdom. If the theatre does everything, then what is the point of having the Papacy?

In fact, the Abbey has done nothing but exploit and suppress the Grand Bazaar over the years, and has never done anything good. It would be better if the Abbey were gone!

Then look at that great sage, he was so angry after being talked about, his face turned red and white in turns, where was there any sign of "wisdom"? He was just a decrepit old man!

If an old man can become a great sage, why can't Miss Nel?

The ignited rebellious sentiments and the satisfaction of revenge made the people of the Grand Bazaar truly begin to ponder a question—could the Great Sage really be replaced by someone else?

—The first step has been achieved. The next step is to instill in the people the belief in resistance.

Emotions can only control a person's behavior for a short period of time, but beliefs can last a lifetime.

Han Fulai pressed his advantage: "The Great Sage just said that the wisdom pursued by the Council of the Church is the pursuit of truth, reality and truth, while the 'art' that focuses on 'sensibility' is completely contrary to 'wisdom' and 'reason'—but I think it is exactly the opposite."

"The actions of the Council of the Fathers have completely deviated from the path of 'wisdom'!"

Hazard grunted, "Nonsense!"

"Whether it's nonsense or not, let's look at the facts." Han Fulai raised his hand and tapped the "Void Terminal" by his ear. "Take this 'Void Terminal' for example. The Order of the Church issued 'Void Terminals' to everyone in Sumeru City, claiming that it could help people acquire knowledge and approach 'wisdom,' but what is the truth?"

"The truth is that the Church only uses this thing as a collar around everyone's neck to monitor and restrain the people, and even uses this method to artificially erect a wall between the people and 'wisdom', preventing people from approaching 'wisdom'."

“I think everyone here has had a similar experience—you want to look up some professional knowledge on the ‘Void Terminal’, but all you get is the response ‘You do not have the relevant permissions’. ‘Void’ keeps telling the inquirer with a cold prompt, ‘You are not qualified to learn knowledge’.”

Ying and Paimon, who deeply understood this, nodded vigorously.

Han Fulai continued, "I heard something a few days ago in a tavern in the port area: scholars from the 'Mysticism School' of the Order of the Church invented a new ship maintenance technology and uploaded it to the 'Void,' causing many dockworkers to lose their jobs. The workers also wanted to learn this new technology, but the 'Void' thought they were not qualified."

"Not only are they unqualified to learn new knowledge, but even the 'Mysticism School' scholar who created the new technology is not qualified to teach it to the workers. This is because the Council of Churches does not allow it, because the technology was uploaded into the database of the 'Void' and became the property of the Council of Churches. To obtain that new technology, one must pay a sufficient 'price'—that is, spend a large sum of money to buy the patent from the Council of Churches."

"That kind-hearted scholar could only borrow money to help the workers who lost their jobs because of his inventions... Discovering new knowledge and creating new technologies is certainly a good thing, and new knowledge and technologies helping people live better lives is also a good thing. But the fact is, this good thing turned into a bad thing that caused a large number of workers to lose their jobs and harmed many families!"

"Why did a good thing turn into a bad thing? It's because of the actions of the Council of Religion—you locked knowledge and technology in the 'void,' turning them into 'luxuries' that only a few people can possess!"

"The Great Compassionate Tree King established the Council of Teachings to spread knowledge and wisdom to the people so that his people could live a happy life. But you have locked 'wisdom' in the 'void,' making it the private property of the Council of Teachings, and you even forbid the people of the God of Wisdom from approaching 'wisdom.' Isn't that blasphemy?"

A cheer immediately erupted from the audience.

The Instructions Council confines practical knowledge and skills to the "void," making it impossible for ordinary people to learn them. How can it then help people approach "wisdom"? On the contrary, merchants with ties to the Instructions Council make a fortune by using these skills.

Now it seems that this was clearly the Church's selfish motive!

It is clearly the Kyoryūin that has truly deviated from "wisdom"!

Faced with the surging crowd, Hazard once again activated the "Void Terminal" broadcast function: "Silence!"

He looked coldly at Han Fulai: "Deputy Minister Han is new here and does not have a deep understanding of Sumeru, which is why he has this misunderstanding... The 'Void' management system established by the Order of the Instruction is to ensure that knowledge and technology are not abused."

"Among the countless cases handled by the Disciplinary Officers, there are many cases of damage caused by the abuse of new technologies. The Educational Council is managing all knowledge and technology in a unified manner precisely to avoid such damage."

"Technology patents are designed to protect the rights of scholars and to encourage them to discover more knowledge and technology. They are by no means driven by selfish motives as some ignorant people imagine. Moreover, technology patents have a protection period. After the patent protection period expires, those technologies will be made available to everyone free of charge."

"Furthermore, anyone with educational experience should know that 'gradual progress' is the right path to learning. The Order Academy has set access restrictions for certain knowledge and technologies because people without a certain academic foundation cannot understand this new knowledge—even if someone who cannot pass the Order Academy's entrance exam sneaks into the Order Academy's classroom, they will not be able to understand the lectures given by the Order Academy's instructors."

Hazard's words were quite reasonable, because realistically, even if those advanced technical concepts were shown to the "lower-end population" of the Grand Bazaar, very few would understand them. And laws like those protecting patents were indeed established to safeguard the rights of inventors; their intentions were good.

Whether it later became a channel for the Church to profit is another matter.

Han Fulai smiled upon hearing this.

"It seems the great sage has not yet understood what I meant by 'deviating from the path of wisdom'—"

"Wisdom exists for the sake of humanity. People pursue wisdom for the sake of humanity itself, not for wealth, status, or anything else."

He stared into Hazard's cloudy old eyes and slowly uttered eight words:

"People are the end, not the means."

Chapter Sixty-Six: People Can Also Be a Means

Azar's position as a Great Sage wasn't solely due to his factional background. There are only six Sages' chairs, and only one Great Sage's position; anyone without real ability would have been kicked off long ago.

Regardless of his character, Hazard certainly has real talent and ability.

Han Fulai's earlier statement, "People are the end, not the means," might not have been fully grasped by others, but Hazard's eyes sharpened—

He had already realized Han Fulai's "purpose".

The "Ming Lun School" takes the starry sky as its research center. This school believes that the sky reflects truth and inscribes destiny. Astronomy and astrology are the foundation of the "Ming Lun School".

They believed that the past, present, and future of Teyvat, and the fate of every living being on the continent, could be summarized by simple and elegant mathematical formulas. Humans could use their wisdom to decipher the trajectories of the stars and take control of their own destiny.

Records left by our predecessors prove that everyone has their own "Destiny Seat," which is like a database written in code, storing each person's "destiny code." As long as the "Destiny Seat" can be decoded, one's destiny can be deciphered.

However, the starry sky of Teyvat is composed of hundreds of millions of "Constellations".

Fate is not an isolated event; everyone's fate is interconnected and influences the fates of others. To predict someone's fate based on astrology actually requires calculating the fates of thousands of related individuals to arrive at a relatively accurate result.

The current computational limit for scholars is the interrelated fate trajectories of three individuals—the famous "three-track offset calculation rule," or simply the "three-body problem."

For over a thousand years, scholars of the "Minglun School" have been trying to solve the problem of the "three-track deviation calculation law"... Unfortunately, the results obtained by the Academy of Religion at present can only solve the "three-body problem" in a few specific cases.

No scholar, including Hazard himself, has yet been able to calculate a universal solution to the "three-body problem".

What's even more regrettable is that those "witches" and "immortals" outside the Church of England system seem to be able to outdo the "Minglun School"... Although the Church of England has always dismissed so-called "water divination" and "Qimen Dunjia" as quack tales, scholars of a certain standing actually know that the astrological accuracy of those "quack tales" is many times higher than theirs.

To put it simply, their astrology is like brute-force cracking the code of the "Seal of Fate" using mathematical calculations; while the divination of the "Witch" and the "Immortal" is like directly deciphering the ciphertext with a key, and the amount of calculation and difficulty are on completely different levels.

Is human wisdom truly incapable of grasping the mysteries of the stars or keeping up with those non-human beings?