WebNovels

Chapter 71 - The Scarlet Letter

 

Translator: CinderTL

 

In class, Feng Qi meticulously explained the theoretical foundations of Human Body Deity Seeding.

For this year's Tiger Soul Concept Competition, participating classes only needed to propose a concept and provide a theoretical outline demonstrating its potential for further development.

If a proposed concept was selected by the Tiger Soul Research Institute, the institute's research team would handle its subsequent refinement.

After all, transforming a concept into practical application required immense effort, and the Tiger Soul Research Institute's research teams were far more specialized in this area than any participating class.

However, Feng Qi had no intention of taking the easy way out.

Having introduced the concept of Human Body Deity Seeding, he refused to let the Tiger Soul Research Institute waste time perfecting it.

Instead, he planned to submit a detailed theoretical framework as his competition entry.

This approach would not only secure his prize money but also ensure the concept's profound impact on future generations.

After all, under normal circumstances, this concept wouldn't be formally incorporated into the Cultivation Studies System for another 400 years.

By promoting the concept of Human Body Deity Seeding, Feng Qi was essentially skipping four centuries of research in organ-based cultivation studies and building upon that foundation to advance further.

The implications for the future would be profound.

He lectured for a full four hours before finally stopping, his throat parched. Looking down at the students, he said:

"I apologize for going over time today. The lecture ends here. If you have any questions, please discuss them with your classmates after class or contact me via email on the academy's intranet. I'll respond when I have time."

"That's all for today. Class dismissed!"

As Feng Qi announced the end of class, thunderous applause erupted both inside and outside the classroom.

This single lecture had overturned many students' understanding of human anatomy and the functions of bodily organs.

Even after the bell rang, they remained somewhat unsatisfied, eager to learn more.

Stepping out of the classroom, Feng Qi glanced at the middle-aged man standing by the door, clutching his lecture notes. With a hint of apology, he said:

"I'm sorry for taking up your class time."

"No, your lecture was truly remarkable," the middle-aged man said earnestly, clutching his lesson plan. "I was deeply moved by it. If you ever need to borrow a class in the future, feel free to contact me. I'll gladly let you take over mine anytime."

After a brief chat, they exchanged contact information.

Next, Feng Qi planned to head to the cafeteria for lunch.

Just then, his gaze fell upon a figure huddled in a corner of the hallway outside the classroom. The person was staring intently at a notebook in their hands, occasionally scribbling notes.

Feng Qi strode over, a vein throbbing on his forehead. "Lin Ran!"

Hearing his name, Lin Ran looked up in surprise, then scratched his head awkwardly. "Brother Qi, what a coincidence!"

"Coincidence my foot! I told you to leave. Why are you back?"

"I wanted to leave, but for some reason, a powerful suction force from inside the classroom pulled me in. I couldn't move my legs at all. Maybe it's just the irresistible allure of cultivation technique research."

Feng Qi: ...

Listening to Lin Ran's deadpan nonsense, Feng Qi felt a wave of helplessness wash over him.

Lin Ran's impact on the future was immense, far exceeding the mere severing of meridians in millions of people.

His mistake led to a widespread reluctance to attempt cultivating any new techniques released by the major cultivation technique research institutes, severely hindering the progress of human cultivation studies.

This deep-seated fear caused nearly a century of stagnation in cultivation arts development.

After a cultivation technique is created, its subsequent refinement and improvement require detailed social data to support further development.

If no one practices a new technique, it quickly reaches a bottleneck in its progress.

This phenomenon bears some resemblance to a real-world example.

It has been argued that without the gaming market's demand for increasingly powerful chips, even multiple "Intels" could never have driven chip technology to its current level.

The ripple effects are far-reaching, even influencing the advancement of aerospace technology.

Therefore, technological progress cannot be achieved solely through the efforts of a small group of elite researchers in laboratories. Many practical improvements must ultimately return to society for validation and refinement.

The same holds true for cultivation techniques.

After a new cultivation technique is developed, it undergoes rigorous testing to ensure its safety before being released to the public. However, many shortcomings remain, and further refinement requires vast amounts of data to support updates and improvements.

If people lose faith in new cultivation techniques, the development of cultivation arts will be severely hampered.

That's why Future People judged Lin Ran as a "historical scourge" rather than just a "scourge." The impact of his actions persisted long after his death.

He was genuinely puzzled. If the cultivation technique Lin Ran created passed the Tiger Soul Research Institute's review and posed no problems during his own practice, why did issues arise after its public release?

Regardless of whether there were hidden circumstances or the problem stemmed from Lin Ran himself, preventing him from accessing cultivation arts materials and focusing solely on art magic research was undoubtedly the right course of action.

This would nip the problem in the bud, preventing a repeat of the infamous "million deaths" incident that had once gripped the world.

Looking at Lin Ran's innocent expression, he felt a mix of frustration and disappointment.

Lin Ran possessed the kind of art magic research talent that most people could only dream of, yet he stubbornly insisted on studying cultivation techniques. He couldn't fathom what was going through Lin Ran's head.

Is the study of cultivation arts truly so captivating?

His future self had left a message in his private email about Lin Ran.

It said that Lin Ran had made him realize something profound: no amount of persuasion could bring true enlightenment. What truly awakens people from their illusions are experience, setbacks, regret, and pain.

This revealed the depth of Lin Ran's obsession with cultivation technique research, so profound that it had led his future self to a philosophical epiphany.

"Brother Qi, let's go eat first. I'll get back to studying those advanced art magic theory books you bought me right away."

Seeing Lin Ran's eager expression, Feng Qi nodded helplessly.

After finishing dinner, Feng Qi returned to his dormitory.

He opened his laptop and logged into the academy website, only to discover that someone had secretly filmed his lecture and uploaded it to the Star City Academy forum.

The forum was currently buzzing with heated discussions about the "Human Body Deity Seeding" concept he had proposed. Students were engaged in intense debates, and even some academy professors had joined the conversation, sharing their perspectives on the idea.

As Feng Qi scrolled through the comments, a notification popped up in the lower right corner of his screen: a new email, indicated by a flashing red envelope.

This piqued his curiosity.

Red envelopes typically signified official communications from government agencies, while blue envelopes were used for internal academy messages.

But when he opened the email and saw the sender's name, he froze in surprise.

This private red email had come from none other than the Scarlet Research Institute.

(End of the Chapter)

More Chapters