Chapter 410 Eve 2
Fortunately, I haven't done many embarrassing things in front of outsiders that would invite ridicule, or at least none so serious that I still hold a grudge. Although people have often mocked me for having unrealistic fantasies about the supernatural, I've never really held a grudge.
Those who investigated my followers did so in a measured way, at least not affecting the daily lives of those connected to me. After all, going too far would truly invite "divine punishment"—that is, my curse.
When I spoke with Lu Chan privately, he asked me about my attitude towards this kind of thing. I did have some reflexive resistance, but in the end, I chose to let things take their course. Forbidding others from investigating my past always felt somewhat cowardly and insecure. I'm just not used to exposing myself to so many people right now.
"This is probably the price of becoming a public figure," Lu Chan said.
He is currently assisting Mr. Zhu in his work. In terms of work ability, he actually surpasses Mr. Zhu by a large margin. The "possibility clone" not only makes him an all-rounder, but also allows him to do the work of multiple people.
The problem is that he has a terrible reputation in both the pacifist and the supernaturalist ideologies, and few people are willing to trust him as a "traitor," nor has he made any attempt to clear his name. In fact, if he went all out, he might have been able to accelerate the cultivation of his followers' power many times over, even with his disreputable title. However, he seems to want to avoid the possibility of overshadowing the leader and is obediently playing the role of a supporter.
"I feel like I've become an idol star rather than a god, and some of my followers are just overzealous fans," I said.
“It’s not surprising that you would make this association. The original meaning of ‘idol’ originally contained some religious connotations,” Lu Chan said. “‘Ou’ refers to a human figure made of wood or clay, while ‘xiang’ refers to an object made in imitation of a person or thing. Therefore, the original meaning of the word ‘idol’ is a sculpture made of wood or clay, modeled after a certain image.”
"In ancient times, idols were always associated with religious beliefs. People would use idols to simulate the appearance of imagined gods, and then kneel and worship them. This is what is known as 'idol worship'."
“The analogy of your followers to fans last time wasn’t just a random one. Some young people today are fanatically chasing after idol stars, treating them like gods, and even forming dedicated support groups. This behavior has many similarities to the idol worship of ancient times, and in a sense, it can be called a ‘modern religion’.”
He paused for a moment, then continued, "If you really don't want others to investigate you, you can actually stop them. It doesn't even require you or us to do anything; you just need to strongly believe it in your heart. The idea of impermanence can influence not only nature but also those around you."
"According to recent surveys, once the gap between the supernatural world and the common-sense world is bridged, the idea of the Great Impermanence can even directly influence society as a whole, causing trends of thought that conform to the Great Impermanence's ideas to emerge out of thin air. For example, if a Great Impermanence who is inherently evil is added, the crime rate of the whole society will rise sharply, and the so-called aesthetics of crime will become popular."
"The reason there is so little information about the Wheel King is probably because he used this ability. If you want, anyone who tries to investigate your life story will give up, whether they are from Luoshan or from the common world. If you try to investigate, you will suffer all sorts of misfortunes, just like in the Final Destination."
“There’s no need,” I said. “I never cared about other people asking about my past, it’s just that there were too many people this time, which made me a little uncomfortable. Anyway, if I have enemies in the future, they will probably try to find out about me in various ways. I can’t stop everyone from knowing about me, but make an exception for my enemies, can I?”
"The Wheel King may have his reasons for choosing that path, but I will not hide like him. Anyone can know who I, Zhuang Cheng, am, and I will simply face their gaze openly and honestly."
“This is the right path.” Lu Chan nodded with a smile.
That concludes the discussion about the believers; there's another matter that might need to be addressed.
This happened on the third day. Luo Shan was going to hold a collective funeral ceremony at the cemetery for the dozens of Witcher who died in the battle at the Humanitarian Division's main stronghold.
The destruction of the Humanitarian Division meant that Luoshan had been rid of a threat, a remarkable event in the eyes of the demon hunter community. The demon hunters who sacrificed themselves in this battle received a high-level, lavish funeral. Although they were all subordinates of Mingzhuo, that is, demon hunters of the transcendentalist school, both transcendentalists and worldlyists were ultimately members of Luoshan. And since worldlyism emphasizes unity and engagement with the world, Fazheng and Jian Feixian both attended the funeral ceremony.
As the nominally ruling faction's leader, I naturally attended the event unless I had other urgent business. I still have basic respect for those who died in battle, especially those who fought on the same battlefield.
The person who should have presided over the funeral ceremony was Mingzhuo, but Mingzhuo seemed too lazy to attend, so the divination master kindly took his place. Old Fist God and Willow Shadow also did not participate, and of course, King Wheel was not there either.
Surprisingly, despite being just as indifferent to the dead as Mingzhuo, Shenzhao actually showed up this time.
Perhaps because Luoshan was once located in the afterlife and has a culture that places great importance on death and funerals, the cemetery at Luoshan headquarters is quite large. If the Luoshan headquarters is a circle, then this cemetery is another circle of similar size. The two circles overlap, with the cemetery located right next to the central area of the Luoshan headquarters.
The cemetery is dotted with towering black stone pillars, each the size of a person, serving as tombstones beneath which lie the ashes of witchers. Some witchers perished in battle, and their belongings were placed there, creating cenotaphs.
Unlike the independent reality space at Dr. Silver Mask's location last time, the independent reality space where the Humanitarian Division's main base was located this time did not send any matter back to the real world after its destruction. Perhaps the original intention was, "If this place is also captured, then let's perish together." Although they failed to achieve this, they did engulf the remains of the fallen. Therefore, most of the victims this time did not have their remains brought back, and only cenotaphs could be built.
During the funeral ceremony, the positions of those advocating for governance and those advocating for transcendence were clearly distinct. Yu Chi also participated in the ceremony. Before it began, he came to my side, glanced at Shenzhao in the distance, and then whispered, "I didn't expect Shenzhao to have changed his ways and actually attend the funeral ceremony."
I was a little surprised when I saw Yuchi walking over, and then I remembered that although he had been hanging out with Shenzhao a lot lately, he was still a proponent of social order.
"So he really doesn't participate normally?" I asked.
"The Divine Illumination despises the weak and mortals. Even demon hunters are no different from weak mortals in his eyes. His mind is filled only with becoming stronger," Yu Chi said. "Last time, didn't he ask the Lord of the Divine Seal how to open the third and fourth gates? That's because even after becoming the Great Impermanence, he never gave up his obsession with becoming stronger. For him, becoming stronger is everything, because only the strong deserve dignity. It's no exaggeration to say that these two words have permeated his entire life so far."
That's why he couldn't accept that the Lord of the Divine Seal, who might be a mortal, was superior to him.
I also want to become stronger, but that's not my core obsession, and it can't necessarily be said that I understand the divine light.
According to the old boxing god, if Shenzhao wants to continue to get stronger, wouldn't the only way to do so be to give up the desire to "get stronger"?
"Moreover, although Shenzhao is a superhuman, he actually has no interest in superhumanism or its camp. This is what he said himself," Yuchi said. "His personality is more inclined to be a loner. He only supports superhumanism because the world depicted by superhumanism is more convenient for him than the world depicted by Fazheng."
So, when you first met the Divination Master, although he said that Mingzhuo and the Wheel King were both superhumanists who wanted to treat mortals as resources and consumables, he never mentioned the name Shenzhao.
“I heard that the Luoshan headquarters used to be located in another dimension… Was this cemetery here from the beginning?” I asked.
“No, although that alternate dimension was shattered due to the battle between Xuanming, Fu Hongchen, and Mingzhuo, the cemetery portion was not destroyed. I was responsible for transferring it here intact.” Yuchi shook his head.
"By you?" I thought for a moment and then asked, "Then you should also know what's there, right?"
Yu Chi followed my gaze. Several kilometers away, in the center of the cemetery, stood dozens of black towers rising from the ground.
“Those are the tombstones of the Great Impermanence,” Yuchi said. “Calling them tombstones is a bit of a misnomer. The Great Impermanence generally doesn’t die of old age, and even those who die violently are few. Most of them go missing, becoming the Lost Great Impermanence.”
"Of course, loss does not mean death. Those ancient lost souls may still be alive somewhere, but we can no longer observe their physical forms. Just as the common world defines those who have been missing for a long time as dead, Luoshan has a similar rule. Those with whom you can never form a bond again are no different from the dead."
I nodded: "That makes sense... But speaking of loss and impermanence, I have a question I'd like to ask you, and I wonder if you can answer it."
"What's the problem?" Yuchi asked.
“Generally speaking, Great Impermanence have various methods to form connections in the strange world. Even establishing a following is just one of the ways they anchor themselves. And the longer they live, the more connections they should have formed... If that's the case, why are there still so many lost Great Impermanence?” I asked.
(End of this chapter)
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