Chapter 13 City
Following the conquest of the Green Forest world, the Holy Terra Empire set out to restore this scarred land, meticulously rebuilding the once barren ecosystem and shattered social order.
The priests of the Life Church, as the backbone of this reconstruction work, not only shoulder the sacred mission of spreading their faith, but also undertake the arduous task of restoring nature, comforting the people, and rebuilding their homes.
Among this group of priests was Velen, a young man full of ideals.
With a devout faith in the God of Existence, he not only demonstrated outstanding talent in the battles of the Green Forest world, turning several Wood Elf tribes against him, but also personally killed a powerful Wood Elf general, earning himself a reputation.
After the war, Velen was appointed Reconstruction Officer, taking on the responsibility of leading the rebirth of this war-torn world.
One of Velen's primary missions is to restore the ecosystems ruthlessly destroyed by the Wood Elves, especially the animal populations that have been slaughtered.
He and his colleagues used the divine magic bestowed by the God of Extinction to begin this arduous and sacred task—to resurrect those creatures that had long been extinct or were on the verge of extinction, and to rebuild the food chain and ecological balance of the Green Forest world.
At the same time, Velen also had another important task: to appease the Wood Elf tribes that had been consumed by war.
Although the war was over, many Wood Elves remained hostile towards the Holy Terra Empire. They were skeptical of the teachings of the Cult of Life and unwilling to abandon their traditional way of life. Therefore, Velen decided to lead by example and change their mindset through his actions.
He led the other priests deep into the wood elf community, using divine magic to build treehouses for them. These treehouses were quite different from traditional wood elf dwellings—they were not built by felling forests, but rather by using the power of the god of survival to allow trees to grow naturally according to a design, ultimately forming a habitat that blended harmoniously with the environment.
These treehouses are spacious and comfortable, blending seamlessly into the surrounding forest as if they had grown naturally from the earth.
"Behold, this is the power of the God of Existence," Velen said to the curious wood elves. "He gives us life, and he also gives us the ability to transform the world. But this ability is not for destruction, but for creation."
During the construction of the treehouse, Velen met many wood elves, including Zagu, a former warrior of the Red River tribe. Zagu, who had experienced the baptism of blood and fire, gradually understood the true meaning of the Church of Life under Velen's influence, and eventually joined the reconstruction work to help the wood elves who had lost their homes rebuild their homes.
One day, Zagu asked Viren a question that had been troubling him for a long time: "Viren, you said that the Church of Life advocates equality for all beings and opposes killing. So, are we humans, and those wood elves who have converted to the doctrine, allowed to eat animals and gather fruit? Does that count as killing?"
Viren smiled slightly, his gaze gentle yet profound; he had already anticipated such a question. He spoke slowly: "Zagu, you must remember, humans, wood elves, all life is part of nature. Everything has its own way of existing and its own meaning; the survival of the fittest is one of the laws of nature. We eat plants and animals not because we are superior to them, but because this is the cycle of survival, a responsibility and right bestowed upon us by nature."
Viren paused, then pointed to the lush forest in the distance, his tone gentle yet firm: "Look at that forest, the trees, the animals, the microorganisms, they together form a complete ecosystem. Every species plays an important role in it, interdependent and mutually restrictive, maintaining the ecological balance. Humans, the wood elves, are also part of this system."
He gazed at Zagu with profound eyes: "Only by forgetting nature can we merge with nature. This is the lesson the God of Existence teaches us."
Zagu seemed to be deep in thought. After a moment of silence, he asked again, "So, what exactly does the Church of Life oppose? Is it the chieftain system of the Wood Elves, or the rule of the nobility?"
Viren gazed at the distant forest bathed in the morning light, his eyes gradually becoming deep and serious: "Zagu, that's a good question. The Church of Life opposes not just any individual or group, but a system, a distorted concept, a 'wrong path' in the development of civilization."
He pointed to the cluster of treehouses under construction, his eyes gleaming with a profound light: "Look at these treehouses, they blend seamlessly with the surrounding forest, living in harmony. This is the lifestyle advocated by the Life School, and it is also the social form we pursue—a society that lives in harmony with nature."
Viren's voice was deep and steady: "However, what we often see is another world, the world of the city."
His tone grew increasingly serious: "What the Church of Life opposes is the city. Because cities are often the breeding ground for oppression and exploitation, the root of all inequality and violence. The original cities were created for trade and exchange, but as they expanded, a ruling class gradually formed, who seized resources and power for themselves and exploited others. This is a deviation of human civilization, a symbol of greed and injustice."
His gaze was sharp: "To maintain their rule, they needed more manpower and resources. So they began to exploit peasants and oppress artisans, gathering them together to produce food, weapons, and luxury goods for themselves... while the ruling class enjoyed the fruits of their labor and lived a life of extravagance. They used cities as tools of rule, while the vast countryside outside the cities became their source of resources."
"Until everything was incorporated into the city's system, serving the city's operation, or rather, serving the city's upper class. Ultimately, this resulted in countless service industries serving each other, leading to an endless waste of resources. As the saying goes, 'Behind the red gates, meat and wine go to waste, while on the road, frozen corpses lie.' This is exactly the case."
"Therefore, the Church of Life opposes cities, not civilization, but this alienated civilization, a civilization built on oppression and exploitation."
Velen looked at Zaku, his eyes gleaming with determination:
"Our goal is to build a society without cities, oppression, or exploitation. In this decentralized forest city civilization system, people live in harmony with nature, everyone can develop freely, and everyone can realize their own value."
"This is the goal of the Life Cult."
But is that really the case? Velen asked himself, and thinking of those strange black goats, he wasn't quite sure himself.
Is Bai Zhe really thinking this way? Or is all of this just a nice-sounding excuse he uses to make conquering the world easier? More outrageous ideas are emerging.
What he didn't know was that while he was questioning Bai Zhe, more thoughts and computing power were being used by Bai Zhe more efficiently.
...
With the disappearance of the ruling class, the entire Green Forest plane seemed to enter a state of superficial peace. For the wood elves, there was no more frenzied exploitation and oppression, no more precarious living, only fertile land and abundant food.
The rule of Bai Zhe brought about a new order that seemed perfect, and the people lived in peace and prosperity.
However, an unspeakable distress and an invisible sense of oppression still lurked here, weighing on everyone's heart.
In the world of the White Ones, life becomes incredibly long. People who once suffered the constant threat of death can now live in peace, free from disease, hunger, and suffering.
However, behind longevity lies endless pursuit of knowledge and labor.
Bai Zhe, in his capacity as the "God of Preservation," established a new system—"Knowledge Exchange." To gain a longer lifespan, people must accumulate contribution points by "solving problems." These contribution points can be exchanged for various methods to extend lifespan, such as the classic "Meat Fungus Longevity Scroll," which has an infinite number of levels.
Each exchange will bring some life extension effect, but to achieve a higher level of life extension effect, one must continuously add contribution points to exchange for higher-level cultivation techniques. In order to obtain contribution points, people must continuously complete exercises.
Each question presents a formidable challenge. The topics range from advanced mathematics, physics, biology and life sciences, to more complex topics like the topology of the soul, planar multidimensional calculations, and the interactive structure of information dimensions and material reality. There is no end to these questions; people are forever submerged in a sea of problems, unable to find respite.
People no longer learn for the sake of knowledge itself, but to acquire techniques and tools for prolonging life.
Knowledge has become a tool for transactions and a key to prolonging life, but its essence is no longer the pursuit of truth, but simply survival.
Countless children are introduced to category theory, algebra, and calculus before the age of ten; middle-aged people are drowning in a sea of problems polluted by information and memes; and the elderly are still struggling in the world of biology, just to live one more day or one more year.
This is the world under Bai Zhe's rule, a world with almost no death, but also a world of endless cycles—
Under Bai Zhe's rule, resources were extremely abundant, species multiplied rapidly, and the population was extremely dense.
But in essence, this place seems to never change. Every day is a prison of knowledge, and the boundaries between life, death, and time become increasingly blurred, ultimately turning into an endless cycle.
Meanwhile, those people remain immersed in the world of problem-solving, forever pursuing a longer life and forever seeking unattainable solutions.