Chapter 929: Humanity court

While Li Qi was guarding the Alliance Altar, humanity was not idle.

At this very moment, only a handful of people were present in the court of Chang'an.

The court, or rather… meetings, are an indispensable process for humanity, primarily aimed at enhancing communication.

Don't underestimate this.

The independence of humanity is actually very strong; each person's主張 is different, and even completely opposing主張 can arise. Their only commonalities are adhering to rules and the paramount status of 'human'.

Humanity reveres the nobility of 'human', so it is natural that humans are independent. Even if only one person remains, humanity would still be that humanity, not losing the standard of being human due to the loss of the collective.

Therefore, under these circumstances, humanity is not a monolithic entity; the rebels of yesteryear also emerged this way.

To remedy this situation and prevent impasses in discussions, meetings, or the 'court', became indispensable.

However, due to the war, the court was empty, with only a few people on duty in Chang'an remaining.

But the Three Dukes and the Human Emperor, these four unyielding First Grade individuals, were still in the court. Thus, the meeting's stature did not diminish at all. The lowest-ranking participants were Third Grade, all distinguished nobles in crimson and purple robes. Many, though not physically present, had their Divided Souls listening in.

Discussions held here could still be implemented and enforced.

"Heh, the methods concerning the Zhu Rong lineage have been implemented, and the information from The Axis of All Realms has been sent out. Chancellor of the Imperial Academy suffered significant losses, so let's proceed with the original compensation plan," an impeccably dressed old man said at this time.

He was indeed impeccably dressed, wearing a long gown, a golden crown, and a jade hairpin. Although an elder, he possessed the spirit and demeanor of a young man, appearing very vibrant.

Everyone else looked at him.

At this moment, a Confucian scholar present spoke, "Your methods are too cruel, and… it seems we didn't agree to you doing this last time. You acted without authorization, do you still have any rules?"

"During wartime, there is autonomy. In the war zone managed by the Eclectic School, we are free to take action. It seems the Confucian School cannot interfere, can it?" the old man chuckled easily.

The Confucian scholar sighed and said nothing.

This clean, refreshing, approachable, and amiable old man before them was the Old Ancestor of the Eclectic School.

As the Old Ancestor of the Eclectic School, though he appeared refreshing, he was in fact unscrupulous, readily employing both schemes and righteous arguments.

Some commented that this Old Ancestor's methods were 'both filthy and base, yet cunning and wise.'

His methods were dirty, his actions treacherous, completely devoid of arrogance, and extremely pragmatic. Although some of his approaches appeared very proper, there were always some unsavory things mixed in.

But upon closer inspection, one would find that these methods, whether dirty or not, were always effective.

These methods always propelled the Eclectic School forward, and their ultimate goal was actually the same as that of humanity as a whole: the great undertaking of 'replacing Heaven with humanity'.

What does it mean to replace Heaven with humanity?

In the eyes of humanity and Shaman Dao, this world has a 'nature'.

That is the ultimate nature of all reality, the essence and cause that exists independently of spirit and matter.

This noumenon is what the Shaman believe to be 'natural'. natural is the object that Shaman uphold, the essence of everything and the cause of everything.

And the goal of humanity is to replace this noumenon of 'natural'.

Humanity exists as the noumenon of the world, rather than the world having its own inherent noumenon.

Is this world natural or human? There is a very clear distinction between the two.

The "human world" can serve as the noumenon of humanity and the noumenon of epistemology, but it is not the noumenon of the world.

The world exists for countless objective realities and connotations, and all of this does not depend on human perspective.

What humanity wants to transform is this: humanity exists as the ultimate noumenon of the world.

Once this ultimate goal of replacing Heaven with humanity is achieved, this world will only have 'human' itself. All unknowns will be eliminated, and humanity, as the absolute noumenon of all things, will exist prior to all things.

At that time, human would be Dao, Dao would be human, and natural would be the manifestation of human, rather than human being the manifestation of natural.

What a magnificent goal, what a world to aspire to.

In the face of such a grand plan, using some underhanded methods is perfectly normal in the eyes of the Eclectic School.

The Eclectic School utterly disdained the self-righteous purity of the Confucian School.

If you don't even want to do these dirty and tiring tasks, how dare you claim you want to achieve a great undertaking? Nonsense.

But the Confucian School did not think so. In their eyes, even to achieve such a great undertaking, it should be done according to the rules. Otherwise... even if replacing Heaven with humanity succeeded, the result would be wrong.

A wrong process cannot yield a correct result.

If the procedure is unjust, then the result is unjust.

Even if the final results achieved by the Eclectic School and the Confucian School are similar in some sense, they are ultimately different; flowers grown from dirty hands are also dirty.

"Alright," at this moment, the Human Dao Grand Commandant suddenly spoke, "Let the argument end. The Eclectic School is also acting within its own war zone, and there is no violation of rules to speak of."

The others then ceased their arguments and no longer debated the matter.

Since the Grand Commandant had spoken, there was no need to argue. One should know that the Grand Commandant was the military chief of the entire human Dao, second only to the Heavenly Strategist Supreme General position held by the Human Emperor.

"In any case, I have succeeded on my end, and the Humanoid Project is progressing steadily. If nothing unexpected happens, the Zhu Rong lineage will be taken down soon. Everyone, please think about what to do next."

At this moment, a Logician suddenly spoke, "What about the Heavenly Demons? Li Qi is also from the Zhu Rong lineage; be careful that the Heavenly Demons might act for him."

"As for the Heavenly Demons, I don't think we need to worry," a Daoist suddenly opened his eyes and said.

This Daoist wore a yellow robe, appeared quite young, and carried a whisk.

As a Daoist, to be able to appear directly in the court, one can imagine his position.

"Why don't we need to worry?" the Old Ancestor of the Eclectic School asked.

"The Heavenly Demons suffered great losses reviving the Demon of Death, the Desire Realm collapsed, Dipamkara Buddha went to intercept the Demon of Death, and Amitabha suppressed the Heavens of the Formless Realm with his true body to prevent him from appearing further. So, the Demonic Dao will definitely be quiet for a while recently."

"The conflict between Yellow Dragon and Taiyi has also erupted, and Haotian is pausing, but the True Dragon's offensive has already stalled somewhat. As long as the Grand Commandant personally guards the human-dragon battlefield, there will be no risk."

"Therefore, now is the best time to deal with the Zhu Rong lineage. The Eclectic School also thinks so, right? It just needs this humble Daoist to make it clear, why bother?" After the Daoist finished his summary, he lightly mocked.

"Haha, there are some things this old man can't say easily. Otherwise, if someone asks me how I know, how would I answer? Should I say this old man is colluding with the Demonic Dao?" The Old Ancestor of the Eclectic School laughed heartily, completely unconcerned.

These words made the faces of the Confucian School and Legalist School members nearby slightly displeased.

However, by now, everyone was more or less used to it, so they didn't say anything.

Other schools, such as the Logicians and Yin and Yang School, were indifferent. They mainly handled technical issues and did not place as much importance on governance policies.

They existed as a reserve for humanity's study of the world, while the exploration of the Dao was left to a few major schools. This was also one of humanity's divisions of labor.

But after this conversation, the Human Emperor on the dais suddenly spoke.

He looked at the Second Grade Confucian scholar and said, "What does the Sage say?"

"The Sage? Supreme, please wait, I shall ask," the Confucian scholar replied.

As a Second Grade Confucian scholar, only the First Grade Human Emperor and the Confucian Sage could command such deference from him.

He inquired in a certain direction, then replied, "The Sage said… three out, two in, how many days remain?"

Very simple words.

This is a classic problem everyone encounters in elementary school: water enters a container at a certain rate and leaves at another rate; when will the container be empty?

This simple calculation method is crucial for humanity now.

Even though humanity is strong, terrifyingly strong, this is still the case.

Indeed, humanity possesses a unique official position mechanism, The Axis of All Realms, plus the numerous members of the Hundred Schools of Humanity themselves, and the adherence of the Manifested Daoist Faction of the Dao Sect and a part of the Dao of Reason and Martial Dao, allowing them to simultaneously contend against three foes: Shaman Dao, True Dragon, and a portion of the high-ranking Demonic Dao. But this is ultimately not sustainable.

Losses are increasing daily.

So much so that humanity has already initiated the Eclectic School's Humanoid Project, precisely to preserve the lives of non-human beings, because these non-human beings at least have ambition and know how to improve themselves. From among them, perhaps 'humans' can still be hatched.

The Eclectic School's Humanoid Project was criticized by several schools, but it was ultimately implemented, indicating that the current situation is not particularly favorable for humanity.

After the Human Emperor heard these words, behind him, a complex mechanism resembling a 'sundial' clanged and turned.

The many Second Grade officials immediately became serious, and even some who were not originally present instantly projected their Dharmakayas.

All of humanity was present.

Unprecedentedly, the five First Grade individuals gathered.

One Emperor, Three Dukes, One Sage.

Thirteen Second Grade officials, including the Director of the Secretariat, the Grand General Assisting the State, the Pillar of the State, the Grand Master of Ceremonies, and the various philosophers who had reached Second Grade.

All because the 'sundial' behind him moved slightly.

The reason was simple.

The Human Emperor actually has a lifespan.

And this lifespan is actually one of the constituent elements of the sundial behind him.

Every time the sundial next to the ornamental pillar moves one notch, the Human Emperor moves one step closer to death.

"Alright, now, the actions of each school should have more leeway," the Human Emperor said calmly, his expression unchanged.

Just before he spoke, this world seemed to have changed in some subtle ways, but it was indescribable. Time was not rewritten, events were not altered, and nothing seemed to have happened.

But it was definitely not nothing.

"Supreme, this is not a long-term solution," the Confucian Sage, who had just appeared, said at this moment.

He was burly and robust, appearing crude and ugly compared to the elegant Confucian scholars beside him. Even wearing a loose robe, it couldn't conceal his bulky physique, instead highlighting his strength.

But he spoke quite gently, calmly suggesting this to the Human Emperor.

And the Human Emperor smiled and said, "You all have your own Dao, and each of you ministers has your own concerns, which cannot be yielded even in death. Since none of you can yield, isn't it only for me to yield this step? Is that not what one in this esteemed position is meant to do?"

"This step, I have already taken. Next, whether it's directly, or dealing with the Zhu Rong lineage, or the Yellow Dragon direct lineage, or the Mount Luofu lineage, I ask all of you to pay close attention," the Human Emperor finished, then said no more.

"Then, I will proceed according to the previous plan," the Old Ancestor of the Eclectic School laughed, as refreshing as ever.

The Confucian School said nothing, but they clearly acquiesced.

Other factions began to systematically handle their affairs. What to do in which war zone, what support was needed—once the general direction was decided, these specific matters were not so difficult. The computing power of the Third Grade officials could arrange things very well.

The court's matters were basically settled.

The rest was already a matter of course.

Everyone completed their respective tasks.

The Old Ancestor of the Eclectic School, having achieved his goal, remained as cheerful as ever, laughing as he pulled the Dao Sect Heavenly Immortal out of the court and onto Chang'an Street.

He was all smiles, while the Second Grade Heavenly Immortal beside him was not in such a good mood, seemingly still troubled by many things.

"You say, now that Mount Luofu has become like this, will the True Immortals make a move?" the Old Ancestor of the Eclectic School said.

"Whether the True Immortals will make a move, I don't know. However, the matter of Mount Luofu probably can't be delayed much longer. If the Human Emperor masters the Sun-Moon Orbit, then the lifespan problem that has troubled many generations of Human Emperors should be resolved. Humanity won't give way, will it? Even if all other battlefields are lost, you still want to take Celestial Pole?" the Heavenly Immortal asked.

Neither of them answered the other's question; they were only asking.

However, the Old Ancestor of the Eclectic School seemed to want to break the stalemate, so he said, "Celestial Pole is definitely a must-have, but other battlefields cannot be abandoned either. I guess the Human Emperor is preparing to leave Celestial Pole for the next successor."

"...You humans are truly something," the Heavenly Immortal shook his head, seemingly with some emotion.

From the perspective of the Dao Sect, they would never kill themselves for others.

The freedom that the Dao Sect seeks is the ultimate freedom of the individual, emphasizing 'chickens and dogs hear each other, but people grow old and die without interacting'.

That is, if possible, they hope everyone minds their own business and doesn't get involved in so many Karma entanglements, making everyone terribly troublesome.

However, the Hermit Faction sought to achieve this through individual cultivation and severing external ties, i.e., "transcending the Mortal World."

As for the Manifested Daoist Faction, they were prepared to settle it once and for all.