.
In the competition with his disciple, Li Yao had been at ease.
It was not until Jin Xinyue raised the question that the smile on his face froze.
Li Yao took a deep breath and said, "My spiritual root was awakened when I was motivated by seven Cultivators who stood up to protect the ordinary people at the risk of their lives on the crystal train north to the Grand Desolate Plateau!
"Therefore, I will always be on the side of the ordinary people.
"I will do whatever is in the best interests of the ordinary people. If I feel that certain decisions of the Federation government will harm the interests of the ordinary people, I will certainly try my best to change and stop them."
Jin Xinyue's eyes were clearer and clearer, and her voice was firmer and firmer. "You haven't answered my question yet, Master.
"On the side of the ordinary people? Then, who are the ordinary people? Or rather, who are the 'ordinary people'? "
"Yes. The citizens of the Xing Yao Federation are, of course, the ordinary people that you want to protect, Master.
"I also believe that, with my current appearance, I can be counted as an ordinary person in your eyes, Master.
"Even for the chaotic-blood demons whose features are not obvious, perhaps you can treat them as' ordinary people 'and protect them sincerely, Master."
"But what about the hideous, even bizarre-looking bronze-blood demons and black-blood demons?
"Are they really 'ordinary people' in your eyes, Master? In the most extreme case, are you really willing to break away from the Xing Yao Federation for such 'ordinary people'? "
Li Yao was dazed. He was truly dazed.
The third disciple that he accepted was too different from his previous two disciples.
Her performance had far exceeded his expectations!
Looking at Jin Xinyue's eyes that were glittering like marrow crystals and the saintess of the Pantheon of Demons and the daughter of Jin Tuyi, the commander-in-chief of the Coalition Army of Demons, who was shining with all her brilliance, Li Yao could no longer regard the conversation as a simple one between a master and a disciple.
Instead, it was a conversation between two Cultivators. A conversation of equals!
"You've asked the key question. Ever since I discovered the truth that humans and demons share the same origin, I've been thinking about who exactly is the 'ordinary person'. What exactly is a 'human'? What exactly is the difference between a human and a demon? And what am I fighting for? "
Li Yao gestured for Jin Xinyue to sit cross-legged like him.
He sat down on his knees. This was the way a disciple would sit while listening to his master's teachings. Both sides would sit cross-legged, and that would be "sitting and discussing the Dao".
Jin Xinyue bowed deeply and sat down cross-legged without any trace of politeness.
She knew that the following conversation would be an exploration of the Great Dao. Under the Great Dao, all cultivators were equal, even if they were master and disciple.
Li Yao said, "This problem is too complicated. In order to untie the knot in my heart, I almost thought of mental derangement. I argued fiercely with the other me in my head and came up with a lot of absurd ideas. "
Of course, Jin Xinyue didn't know that Li Yao's so-called 'other me in his head' was not a figure of speech. There really was a 'other Li Yao'.
She held her breath and listened to her master's understanding of the Great Dao.
Li Yao said, "Let's play a thought game. For example, you are a real Cultivator who abides by the 'Basic Law of the Federation' very much. When a young girl who is weak and sickly encounters danger, of course you have to step forward bravely and protect her, right? "
Jin Xinyue nodded her head. "Yes."
Li Yao said, "But. What if it's not a young girl but a ferocious-looking, rough, and uncouth man who encounters danger? Do you have to protect him? "
Jin Xinyue hesitated for a moment. "You have to protect him. It's not a crime to look ferocious and uncouth. The rough and uncouth man can also be a husband, a father, or a son. He is an ordinary person, too. If he encounters danger that he can't resolve, a real Cultivator will certainly step forward to protect him when he sees him. "
Li Yao said, "What if the man suffered from a serious disease and 99% of his organs failed and he had to replace them with 'artificial bodies' made of metals, gears, and magical equipment? What if his brain is still the same as before?"
Jin Xinyue pondered for a moment. "An ordinary person who has an artificial body is still an ordinary person."
Li Yao's eyes were shining. "What if he doesn't even have a brain? He's already dead. Only his remaining soul is left. He's a spectral Cultivator. "
Jin Xinyue frowned and said, "The laws of the Xing Yao Federation recognize the human rights of spectral Cultivators, which means that ghosts are treated as ordinary people. Theoretically speaking, they should be protected."
Li Yao said, "Alright. What if the man is tortured by a serious disease and is about to die, and the only thing that can save him is not an artificial body but a bottle of 'Divine Water of Kunlun'?
"After he drinks the 'Divine Water of Kunlun', his cells mutate, and he turns into a hideous demon with sharp tusks. Is he still an ordinary person? Is he still under the protection of the Cultivators? "
Jin Xinyue was lost for words.
The question was too complicated for her to know the answer. She could only think and shake her head, not to deny it but to indicate that she did not know the answer.
Li Yao said, "Alright. Let's change the question. Let's assume that the bottle of 'Divine Water of Kunlun' has been specially modified with minimal side effects. After the man drinks it, his cells will mutate deeply, but his appearance will be no different from that of an ordinary person. The only difference is that his tusks will be one millimeter longer than that of an ordinary person.
"Then, is the man who has just come back from the dead a human being or a demon?"
"One millimeter?"
Jin Xinyue gestured. If his tusks were one millimeter longer than that of an ordinary person, it would be impossible to tell. Of course, he was an ordinary person!
She nodded her head without any hesitation.
Li Yao asked, "What about two millimeters?"
Jin Xinyue nodded her head.
"Three millimeters?"
She nodded her head.
"Four millimeters? Five millimeters? "
She nodded her head.
"What about ten millimeters, or one centimeter?"
One centimeter longer than that of an ordinary person? Wasn't it too obvious? Jin Xinyue hesitated for a moment, but she managed to nod her head.
Li Yao crossed his fingers and held his chin. "What about thirty centimeters? If he has long and sharp tusks like a saber-toothed tiger, will he be a 'human being' or a 'demon'? "
Jin Xinyue thought for a moment and said hesitantly, "The only feature of many chaotic-blood demons is their tusks. If he has tusks like a saber-toothed tiger, I don't think he will be a 'human being' in the general sense, will he?"
Li Yao said, "Therefore, between one centimeter and thirty centimeters in length, there must be a tipping point that will determine whether the man is a human being or a demon. Am I right?
"Let's say that the tipping point is fifteen centimeters.
"If the man is lucky enough, his tusks will grow to 14.99 centimeters after he drinks the Divine Water of Kunlun. Then, he will be a human being. Theoretically speaking, the Cultivators should protect him.
"However, if he drinks a mouthful of the Divine Water of Kunlun, his tusks will grow to 15.01 centimeters. Then, he will be a demon. Theoretically speaking, the Cultivators should slay him by 'slaying the devil'.
"If he makes up his mind and finds a dentist to pluck out his tusks, he will turn from a demon into a human being. The Cultivators will protect him again, right?"
Jin Xinyue felt that her tusks were aching.
According to the theory just now, that seemed to be the case.
But now that everything was laid out in the open … She felt that something was wrong!
How should the concept of 'human' be defined?
Jin Xinyue was completely confused.
Li Yao sighed and said, "It's a bit absurd, isn't it? But that's how a lot of people view the problem, myself included.
"You're right. I've been telling myself that demons originated from human beings and that all demons are human beings in a different form.
"However, if they are chaotic-blood demons and silver-blood demons, they will only have a tail and a pair of cat ears on top of a human being's body. Or a pair of wings. It doesn't seem to be a problem for me to accept such demons as my own kind.
"However, those demons are hideous and have completely lost their human form. They are like insects that have been magnified tens of thousands of times. It is indeed … difficult for me to accept them!
"I know that it is wrong to judge a book by its cover. But no matter how hard I try to overcome it, I can't change it in such a short time.
"Therefore, you are asking me what a 'human' is exactly. I'm really not qualified to define it.
"I only want to tell you a story about the fight for human rights for the ghosts in the Xing Yao Federation more than a hundred years ago."
Jin Xinyue listened attentively and held herself back from interrupting.
"More than a hundred years ago," Li Yao said, "with the development of 'soul locking' and 'artificial bodies', more and more ghosts in the Xing Yao Federation were involved. As to what rights the ghosts should enjoy and whether or not they should be regarded as' human beings', there was a heated debate in the society, too.
"Some people supported the human rights of the ghosts. After all, they kept the memories and will of their previous life. They were no different from when they were alive except that they did not have a real body.
"But some people believed that ghosts were ghosts and that human beings and ghosts were different. It was already good enough that they were allowed to move around in broad daylight. Why would they talk about human rights? Treating ghosts as human beings would only lead to the collapse of traditional ethics and social order. It was absolutely unworkable.
"Under the instigation of the latter ideology, all kinds of 'living beings matter' organizations emerged. They discriminated against the ghosts very seriously and even persecuted them.
"In some places, some evil people even controlled the ghosts and manipulated them to commit crimes. After all, the ghosts did not have a real body. Many clandestine activities were carried out by the ghosts, which were much more convenient than the living people. Such 'controlling ghosts to harm people' had existed since ancient times. It was not surprising at all.
"Under such circumstances, a typical case appeared. A twelve-year-old girl kept a wisp of her soul after she died, but it was obtained by a criminal organization. The evil Cultivators of the criminal organization refined her into a spectral Cultivator and asked her to use the ghost's ability to commit crimes."
"The girl refused to obey and tried to run away many times. But she infuriated the evil Cultivators and was beaten to death.
"After the incident was exposed, the evil Cultivators were naturally arrested.
"However, in the court, their defense lawyer argued confidently in front of the irrefutable evidence that his client admitted that he had beaten the girl to death, but a person could not die twice. The girl had died a long time ago. Also, she died of a natural disease and was not killed by his client. Therefore, technically speaking, his client did not 'kill' the girl. Therefore, there was no crime of murder!
"Of course, killing people is against the law. But what about killing ghosts? The Xing Yao Federation is a law-abiding organization. Is it against the law to kill ghosts?
"It was supposed to be a simple criminal case. But as it happened, the case was escalated to the Supreme Court of the Federation and turned into a great debate on the definition of 'ghosts' and 'human beings'!
"Can a soul hiding inside an artificial body be counted as a human being? Is killing a ghost with independent will and free thought a crime of 'murder'? "
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