"Professor Su."
Long Yunxin vaguely felt that the name 'Su Changfa' sounded familiar.
Also, wasn't the Grand Desolate War Institution the most famous combat institute in the Federation? She had never heard that they had made any contributions in the humanities such as sociology. Why was the dean of the Sociology Department of the Grand Desolate War Institution so awesome that Li Yao called him the Father of Civilization?
Looking at the guy's white hair and the appearance of an unworldly expert, Long Yunxin was deep in thought.
A moment later, her pupils constricted violently, and she was sweating hard. She could not help but exclaim,
"Su — Su Changfa. Isn't he the captured Immortal Cultivator?"
In the Battle of Kunlun, other than slaying a Pangu, the Cultivators had captured an Immortal Cultivator alive, which had been widely known years ago.
However, the authorities of the Federation had been keeping a low profile about the Immortal Cultivator's ending. There was neither a public trial nor an execution. The Immortal Cultivator seemed to have completely vanished into thin air.
Long Yunxin had thought that the highly-dangerous Immortal Cultivator must be locked in the deepest part of a certain secret agency of the Federation.
She did not expect that he could move freely in broad daylight, that he was so familiar with Li Yao, and that he would be the dean of the Sociology Department of the Grand Desolate War Institution!
What — what — what was going on exactly?
Were they not scared that an Immortal Cultivator would spread the propaganda among the students by making him the dean of the Grand Desolate War Institution, one of the Nine Elite Universities of the Federation?
Also, was he partly responsible for the birth of the super game 'Civilization'?
For a moment, Long Yunxin was completely confused!
She involuntarily took half a step back and assumed a defensive posture.
The Flying Star Sector did not have a large-scale war with the demon race in the past ten thousand years. Many people had never even seen what the demon race looked like. There was no deep hatred between them.
Therefore, the Flying Star Sector could accept the demon race without any grudge and become the 'glue' between the demon race and the Heaven's Origin Sector.
But the Immortal Cultivators were different.
Only a few years ago, the Flying Star Sector had just been turned upside down by the riot of the Immortal Cultivators and was almost doomed.
The Immortal Cultivators, led by Xiao Xuance, and the star child, who was even more sordid and hideous than Xiao Xuance, had left an indelible, horrible impression on the space residents.
The moment she realized that she was standing right next to an Immortal Cultivator, Long Yunxin felt that she was in a cold cave of snakes that were staring at her coldly.
"Senior Su is a graduate of the Imperial Colonization University in the Imperium of True Human Beings. He has a degree in sociology, history, psychology, and more than ten other subjects. That's why he was asked to examine the critical information such as the social structure, civilization level, and so on in the strange worlds at the edge of the cosmos."
Li Yao smiled and said, "Senior Su demonstrated his profound knowledge and expertise when designing the game 'Civilization'. It is a complete waste of talent to ask him to preside over the Sociology Department of the Grand Desolate War Institution."
"I-I didn't mean that."
Long Yunxin said in a flurry.
Su Changfa's benevolent appearance overlapped with Xiao Xuance's hideous appearance in her memories. Her heart was beating faster and faster, and she did not know what she was talking about at all. "I-I meant to ask, what — what?"
"Miss Long, you want to ask why an Immortal Cultivator is not watched over but is allowed to run around and even work as a professor in a university, right?"
Su Changfa smiled and said unhurriedly in his deep bass voice, "Are you not scared that he will preach the theories of the Immortal Cultivators to his classmates and brainwash the young fellows who do not know much about the world?"
That was indeed what Long Yunxin was thinking.
However, she was too embarrassed to admit it. She huffed and puffed for a long time, and her face turned bright red.
"If only all the Cultivators could be as innocent and kind as you, Miss Long."
Su Changfa sighed regretfully and mumbled, "It's a pity that there is such a shameless, sordid, and shameless Cultivator like Li Yao among the Cultivators!"
"Huh?"
Long Yunxin bulged her eyes and glanced between Li Yao and Su Changfa suspiciously.
Were the two of them not friends?
"Miss Long, there is one thing that you must understand. The Immortal Cultivators can be killed, but the Immortal Cultivators' thoughts cannot be destroyed!"
Su Changfa said casually. "Since you consider the Imperium of True Human Beings to be your greatest threat, it is inevitable that you will study the theories of the Immortal Cultivators deeply. How can you completely block or even seal such thoughts?
"Imprisoning me or killing me directly will not help, because in a hundred years to come, more Immortal Cultivators will march from the depths of the sea of stars with more powerful magical equipment, more intimidating troops, and more rigorous theories!
"Killing me right now and pretending that the true path of immortality does not exist will be as hilarious as an ostrich burying its head in the desert and pretending that its natural enemy does not exist when it cannot see it!
"Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated. If you want to completely defeat the Immortal Cultivators, you must at least know what the Immortal Cultivators and the true path of immortality are, right?
"This is the biggest reason why the Grand Desolate War Institution established a new Department of Sociology. Our department has never intended to consider the Federation as a research target since the very beginning. Our main topics are the social forms of the Imperium and the Holy League, as well as the thoughts including the true path of immortality and the Path of Ultimate Benevolence."
Long Yunxin's mouth, which was slightly opened, was still not closed. She did not expect Su Changfa to be so frank and sincere. Was it a scheme that he was pretending, or did she really have a misunderstanding about the Immortal Cultivators?
"On the other hand …"
Su Changfa stared at Li Yao thoughtfully and tried to keep calm. "The best way to completely weaken the power of an idea is not to block everybody's ears, seal their mouths, and sew their eyes!
"The so-called idea is invisible and pervasive. It cannot be sealed, blocked, or sewed. The more it is blocked and suppressed, the more vigorous it will be under the promotion of reverse psychology and eventually spread to the entire world!
"On the contrary, the best way is to expose the idea to the sunlight openly and then figure out a way to deconstruct, twist, and corrupt it slowly!"
Long Yunxin was confused. She subconsciously replied, "I don't understand."
"It is often difficult for people to tell which of the ideas of the Cultivators and the ideas of the Immortal Cultivators are better after a quick glance. The boring theories are not something that the general public is willing to study patiently, either! People who think they're smart will often shift the standard of measurement from these two ideas to the people who hold these two ideas! "
Su Changfa scratched his long beard habitually and said, "Let me give you the simplest example. Let's say that you are walking on the street one day, and a stinky beggar with pus on his head and ulcers on his feet jumps out of a flower bed, claiming that he has a secret manual to make a fortune for you and that you will be a billionaire after you grasp it. Will you believe it, Miss Long?"
Long Yunxin was amused. Having no time to care about Su Changfa's identity as an 'Immortal Cultivator', she shook her head quickly. "Of course not!
"Then, if the same secret manual to make a fortune is spread out by the magnates of the business world of the Flying Star Sector who rise miraculously from nothing and become the richest man in the Flying Star Sector, will you be tempted, Miss Long?"
Long Yunxin blinked her beautiful eyes and replied dutifully, "Although I'm not very interested in money, I'd be interested in seeing such a secret manual to make a fortune, wouldn't I?"
"You're absolutely right, Miss Long. The same secret manual may have completely different results when it is delivered by different people. It is only natural!"
Su Changfa smiled. "Now, please imagine a scenario, Miss Long. For some reason, the richest man of the Flying Star Sector decides to teach his secret manual to make a fortune to you free of charge. But at this moment, a sordid, shameless, and cunning scoundrel does not want you to get the secret manual. Even if you do get it, it will be best if you don't believe the theories in it!
"What should we do with the sordid scoundrel?
"Block the news? That's impossible. However we block the news, the richest man of the Flying Star Sector will find a way to deliver the secret manual to you, Miss Long. We can keep it a secret for now, but we can't keep it a secret forever!
"I'll give you a heads-up in advance and persuade you not to believe the secret manual to make a fortune. I'll tell you how dangerous and evil it is and how many sequelae there will be after you practice it.
"I'm afraid that the more I say that, the more rebellious and curious you will be, Miss Long, won't you?
"Hehe. Perhaps the best way is to pay a beggar to jump out from the depths of the flower bed with the same secret manual as I said just now and deliver the secret manual to Teacher Long first, right?"
"Or even find a way to print a hundred thousand copies of the secret manual and distribute them to everyone on the street for free so that everybody has a copy!
"Please think about it carefully, Miss Long. In such a way, will you still believe that the content of the secret manual is real and take it seriously?"
Long Yunxin pondered for a moment and shook her head, deep in thought.
It was true. In such a way, even if the secret manual to make a fortune was real, it would still be regarded as a crude counterfeit!
"This will be a successful deconstruction," Su Changfa said coldly.
"Right now, if the secret manual to make a fortune is replaced by the true path of immortality, the richest man of the Flying Star Sector is replaced by the enormous expedition fleet of the Imperium of True Human Beings, and the stinky beggar is replaced by me, it will be Li Yao's shameless trick to deconstruct the true path of immortality!
"The true path of immortality is indeed the truth of a strong species. But even the most indisputable truth depends on who is talking about it!
"If the secret manual is brought here by the expedition fleet of the Imperium, it will be very easy for people to believe it when it is presented by the invincible fleet of the Imperium and the unparalleled experts!
"However, if it is presented by me, a prisoner who only regains my freedom with the pity of the Cultivators, it will be like asking a beggar to promote the secret manual to make a fortune. How convincing is it?"
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