- The Nature of Heavenly Dao: From Divine Intellect to Divine Emotion
One day, as Noe ?? and Duan Zheng (?oàn Chính) ?? sat on the floor, studying together in the bamboo house, many topics were discussed animatedly. Duan Zheng (?oàn Chính) was so engrossed in learning that he forgot the time, his eyes shining with eagerness. Noe didn't just explain verbally; he also drew diagrams and wrote characters to illustrate his points, sometimes even going outside to find real-life examples. Feng Chen (Phong Tr?n) ??? sat right outside the door like a silent guard, listening to every word they spoke with unprecedented interest.
Wang Chen (Vong Tr?n) ? slowly approached, lightly greeted Feng Chen (Phong Tr?n), and stepped inside. He sat respectfully next to Duan Zheng (?oàn Chính) but a little further away, not daring to sit level with a City Lord. Wang Chen (Vong Tr?n) bowed his head, his calm voice echoing: "Master, please explain to me about Divine Intellect (Th?n Trí), Divine Emotion (Th?n C?m), and whether the Heavenly Dao (Thiên ??o) possesses feelings or not."
Noe gently shook his head, his eyes deep in thought: "I cannot. If I explain clearly, I fear it might lead to you being hunted down by the Black Heaven Sect?"
Wang Chen (Vong Tr?n) looked up, his eyes showing fierce determination: "I would rather die understanding the truth than live in constant doubt. Besides, there are many ways for me to escape the Black Heaven Sect. As long as I am not captured, there is still a chance to survive."
Noe nodded, contemplating for a moment, then stood up to fetch a large sheet of paper and began to draw. As he drew, he spoke, his tone measured but full of convincing power:
"The world, since its creation, can be divided into two main eras. The current era is called the era of Divine Emotion ??, but it is still in its infancy. The previous era was the era of Divine Intellect ??; it was completed and perfect."
"When the world was formed, there was originally no complex division like the one we have now—orthodox or wicked, demon or ghost. The beings of that time can be temporarily called Divine Demons (Th?n Ma). They were the embodiment of light; they were the light itself, an undefined body, supremely wise, supremely knowledgeable. These Divine Demons can be divided into three types of intellect, called:"
- Dragon Divine Demons (Long Th?n Ma): Possessed superior individual intellect.
- Beast Divine Demons (Yêu Th?n Ma): Possessed powerful collective intellect. Individually low, but incredibly strong when working together.
- Bird Divine Demons (?i?u Th?n Ma): Possessed the intellect of creation, of novelty, of new ideas. Not the best in every case, but the best in specific, adaptive circumstances (Tùy c? ?ng Bi?n).
"They possessed internal contradictions within themselves and contradictions with each other, giving rise to an immensely complex and uncompromising relationship of mutual creation and mutual destruction—one must live, the other must die. This war dragged on, leading to the continuous degeneration of all three, and the higher intellects gradually withered."
Noe paused for a moment and then asked Wang Chen (Vong Tr?n), his gaze scrutinizing: "Do you find that your sect is similar?"
Wang Chen (Vong Tr?n) nodded, his voice slightly trembling due to the astonishing coincidence: "It is very similar. We do not distinguish between the righteous path or the wicked path; as long as the technique is useful and does not violate principles, it is acceptable, regardless of the feelings of those around us. We must train ourselves to be emotionless. We prioritize the mission above all else. We also have three main halls, similar to your division:
- The hall of solo combat,
- The hall of group or coordinated combat,
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- The hall of creation, combining various spells to invent new ones."
"Although our techniques are numerous and varied, we have few or no Masters to teach them; everyone must learn by themselves. This is because many Masters who violated regulations were executed."
"So, what happened next?" Wang Chen (Vong Tr?n) asked, his curiosity unconcealable.
Feng Chen (Phong Tr?n), upon hearing this, suddenly realized the truth. His own Master in the Jade Nation Royal Family’s Shadow Guard (ám B? Quan) was also a member of this Black Heaven Sect. He committed a crime, so he had to flee, change his identity, and alter his appearance. Very few people could recognize him, but he, a high-level spy, had inadvertently discovered the truth. Feng Chen (Phong Tr?n) stopped thinking and continued to listen to the conversation, but inner turmoil had already begun to rise within him.
- Pangu, Heavenly Dao, and the Waiting Mechanism
Noe continued, his voice becoming more solemn: "The Creator ??, the one who created this world, is outside of it. He did not want the world to fall into ruin like others. So, He gathered all three streams of intellect to create a new Divine Demon called Pangu, who had an added unique quality: Divine Emotion ??."
"This Divine Demon quickly grew, stood between heaven and earth, and challenged the 3,000 commanding Divine Demons, along with tens of thousands of others. He annihilated, absorbed, formed alliances, adopted as sons, and accepted as subordinates. Finally, Pangu won the victory and continued the work of world-building. The 3,000 Divine Demons transformed into the 3,000 Great Daos (??i ??o) centering around Pangu, along with countless Minor Daos (Ti?u ??o)."
"Pangu established the Heavenly Dao ?? as the culmination of the wisdom of all the Great and Minor Daos, to guide and warn all beings. The Heavenly Dao was designed entirely with Divine Intellect ?? to maintain fairness for all, without favoring anyone, and without harming those he disliked out of personal feelings."
"Later, Pangu died. His bones turned into the pillars supporting the sky, which is why later generations called Pangu the Divine Sky Pillar. His body decomposed and integrated with the four original primary elements: earth, fire, water, and air. All four carried the Essence, Intellect, and Divine Emotion of Pangu, distributing them to all living beings in this world."
Wang Chen (Vong Tr?n) spoke, his eyes revealing confusion: "So the Black Heaven Sect was right—the Heavenly Dao is emotionless and unfeeling?"
Noe nodded: "Exactly, the Black Heaven Sect is right, but as I said:
'Half a loaf of bread is still bread, but half a truth is not the truth.'
They forgot that the Heavenly Dao was created from a Divine Demon with Divine Emotion, who was Pangu. He created a mechanism for Divine Emotion to have a chance to intervene, live, and develop. That is the waiting mechanism, the notification mechanism, and the Prophet mechanism."
Wang Chen (Vong Tr?n) said, his voice full of yearning: "Please clarify further."
Noe continued: "There is a folk saying: 'Heaven's net is wide, but fine, it lets nothing through.' This means the Heavenly Dao has laws, but few of them, like a very sturdy fishing net with large holes; it only catches large fish and lets the small ones pass. This is unlike the Black Heaven Sect, which has too many rules, and every punishment is severe—more death penalties than living sentences—which is not how the Heavenly Dao operates."
- "Before the Heavenly Dao punishes, the Heavenly Dao always has a waiting period, not acting immediately."
- "During the waiting period is the notification mechanism: the children's rhymes spoken by small children, which contain deep hidden meanings about the era; characters carved on mountains, on animals; strange celestial phenomena on the heaven and earth, and countless other ways."
- "During the waiting period, the Heavenly Dao also sends Prophets, those who can interpret the meaning and purpose of the Heavenly Dao in the language that the current era can understand."
Wang Chen (Vong Tr?n), upon hearing this, was overwhelmed, as if he had discovered something wonderful and new; the heavy burden in his heart was almost lifted. He cried uncontrollably, but luckily, his mask concealed his emotions. Wang Chen (Vong Tr?n) sat still for a moment to calm down, then took out a cloth flag neatly folded in his jacket pocket.
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