Chương 6: Chapter 6: A Clash of Mortal Minds and Infinite Souls
Mortal minds contend with fate's vast hand, And knowledge steeped in Heaven's grasp is torn, The ancient truths, though written in the stars, Find challenge in the soul that dares to soar. What one doth claim as wisdom, long preserved, Another sees as blindness, bound by chains, For lifetimes past, now hidden in the dark, Shall rise to rend the veil of Heaven's reign. Thus, in the clash of earthly thought and soul, The realms of time and truth are brought to war.
Seeing Shen Xiu's look, filled with contempt for commoners and her confidence rooted in nobility, Nie Li felt a surge of anger rise within him. To him, her arrogance born of her noble status was, infuriating.
"Teacher Shen Xiu, I have a question," Nie Li suddenly spoke up, his tone cutting through the quiet classroom.
Shen Xiu frowned. All the students had been listening in silence, and this audacious interruption grated on her. She instantly recognized the boy—the one who had dared to cast lewd glances at Ye Ziyun. The very same student she had subtly warned earlier, advising him to keep his mouth shut. And now, he had the gall to speak up?
"What is it?" Shen Xiu asked coldly, her voice dripping with disdain as she gazed at him, expecting nothing of worth.
Nie Li's eyes gleamed with a confidence that almost bordered on arrogance. "Teacher Shen Xiu, you mentioned that Glory City is the only human settlement that survived the Age of Darkness. That we are the sole survivors. But what proof do you have to support that claim?" Nie Li said, his question was laced with smugness.
Shen Xiu's frown deepened, irritation clearly spreading across her face.
"May I ask," Nie Li continued, unbothered by the growing tension, "has the teacher ever ventured beyond the St. Ancestral Mountains? Have you traveled to the Endless Desert, the Toxic Forest, the Blood Moon Marsh, the Spirit Gulf, the Heavenly Luster Mountains, or the Northern Snow?"
His words were precise and pointed. Nie Li, with the memories of his past life still fresh, held far more knowledge than Shen Xiu could comprehend, and he relished the opportunity to look down on her with the superiority of experience.
"Heavenly Luster Mountains? Northern Snow?" Shen Xiu's expression faltered slightly. She had heard of the Endless Desert, the Toxic Forest, and the Blood Moon Marsh before—places mentioned as legends in some old books, but all of them were so distant, beyond the borders of Glory City, almost mythical.
With a dismissive snort, Shen Xiu coldly replied, "I've never been to those places. I was born and raised in Glory City. None of those distant lands are of any relevance to us."
Naraku, observing the escalating debate, chuckled inwardly. 'Isn't it amusing how she manages to stay composed and even polite despite her usual disdain for commoners? Quite the performance,' he mused, watching the spectacle unfold.
Nie Li, however, wasn't finished. His lips curved into a faint smile as he calmly retorted, "Since Teacher Shen Xiu has never been to those places, how can you be so certain that we are the last surviving humans?"
Shen Xiu couldn't help but fall silent for a moment, at a loss for words. Glory City had stood strong for hundreds of years, a self-governed and isolated community with no contact with any other human settlements. Despite the unexplored lands beyond, they held no relevance to the city, as they were believed to be unreachable.
Situated in a valley encircled by the St. Ancestral Mountain Range, Glory City was protected by both the impenetrable mountains and the lurking demon beasts beyond. The isolation that had kept them ignorant of the wider world had, paradoxically, shielded them during the Age of Darkness. The ancient city walls, weathered but resilient, had withstood countless assaults by demon beasts, safeguarding the city's inhabitants.
From everything known, Glory City was the last human settlement to survive the Age of Darkness. No evidence had ever emerged to prove the existence of other human survivors.
And as logic dictated, without proof to support such claims, it was only natural to assume they were imaginary.
However, as Shen Xiu tried to compose her thoughts, she realized that proving something imaginary did not exist was equally impossible.
Around her, the classroom stirred with whispered conversations. The students, unaccustomed to such complex arguments, were confused and intrigued. Nie Li had mentioned places they had never heard of—places that, to them, existed only in the realm of fantasy. Could those places be real?
Far in the back, Ye Ziyun's interest was piqued. She glanced at Nie Li, curiosity flickering in her eyes. How did he know of such distant lands?
Seeing the growing unrest among the students, Shen Xiu's displeasure intensified. Nie Li's challenge to her authority was only a half-baked argument, yet it had managed to sway the students' opinions. She could feel their gazes, filled with doubt and even disdain, now directed at her.
"You've spent your entire life behind the walls of this city, Teacher Shen Xiu. The world beyond Glory City is vast—far more vast than you could ever imagine. It is filled with countless mysteries and places you've never even heard of. To claim that no other human settlements exist outside these walls... isn't that the height of ignorance?"
The rest of the class watched in awe as Nie Li dared to challenge the authority of one of the academy's most respected teachers.
Nie Li pressed on, his words gaining momentum. "Just because you haven't seen these places doesn't mean they don't exist. Glory City has survived the Age of Darkness, but do you truly believe we are the only ones? The only humans left in this world?" He shook his head, his tone almost pitying. "Just as Glory City endured, there are surely other cities, other settlements, thriving beyond the mountains and forests we cannot reach."
The class was stunned into silence. Shen Xiu's previous argument had been practical, rooted in what was known. But Nie Li's words stirred something in the students—a sense of curiosity, of possibility.
Scoffing, Shen Xiu regained her composure. "So what? You speak as if these places are real, but where is your proof? How can you prove that we are not the last surviving human beings?" Shen Xiu finally snapped, her tone sharp. "Without evidence, your words are nothing but empty conjecture!"
Shen Xiu's face twisted in disdain, but her initial rebuttal had lost its strength. Nie Li had successfully planted the seed of doubt, not just in her, but in the minds of the entire class. Though his claims were hypothetical, they carried an undeniable weight.
Nie Li, sensing the shift, leaned back slightly, his lips curled into a faint smile, his tone softening as he said. "Proof? In time, proof will come. Teacher Shen Xiu, let me share a story with you."
Without waiting for a response, Nie Li began his tale, not intending to provide any concrete proof, but rather to convey a deeper message.
"There was once a frog, living at the bottom of a deep well. Since its birth, it had only ever known the view from within the well, seeing only a small patch of the sky above. Naturally, it claimed that the sky was only as big as the hole at the top of the well. But… is the sky truly only that small? No, it's the frog that is ignorant!"
As soon as Nie Li completed his story the class erupted into laughter, the students unable to contain themselves. The idiom, "a frog viewing the sky from the bottom of the well," was a direct insult, comparing Shen Xiu to the foolish frog.
"How fitting!" a few girls giggled, their voices carrying across the room.
Many students had always harbored resentment toward Shen Xiu, jealous of her power and irritated by her condescending attitude toward commoners. Now, they couldn't help but slightly admire Nie Li. He was the only one bold enough to openly challenge and insult a teacher in class.
"You…!" Shen Xiu glared at Nie Li, her face flushed with fury. She could feel her blood boiling—Nie Li had compared her to an ignorant frog! As a noble, no one had ever dared insult her so brazenly.
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