"Now that you mention it …"
Li Yao thought for a moment and said, "I remember now. A lot of archaeologists have indeed excavated the skulls of ancient human beings that are different from ours deep inside certain planets within the Imperium. 'Nun', the competitors of the early Homo Sapiens, were taller, stronger, and even stronger than our direct ancestors. They really looked like gray towers made of mud."
"That's right. The advantages of the nuns are not only their height and strength, but also their brains and genes."
Zhuge Jinglun said, "The Nuwa Clan implanted tremendous technology and knowledge into the genes of the nuns. As long as the brains of the nuns mature and secrete special hormones, they'll naturally awaken their talents and learn how to farm, smelt, and fight. They can even build warships and modify planets.
"It is safe to say that the nuns are born to be qualified farmers, miners, and warriors, just like tigers are born to be the best hunters. They are born to build warships, just like zebras are born to run, and cats are born to climb trees.
"That is exactly the purpose of 'human beings' at the beginning. They are puppets of flesh and blood that can reproduce on their own and expand their population. They can serve their master, the Pangu alliance, automatically for a long time, can't they?"
"It sounds … very powerful and not bad."
Li Yao tilted his head and thought for a moment. "But you just said that the nuns are 'flawed first-generation human beings'. What's their flaw?"
"They're neither creative nor curious."
Zhuge Jinglun smiled and said, "Look, the Nuwa Clan has engraved all the knowledge and technology into their genes, which can help them deal with most animals and plants except for the thirteen Pangu clans. They're almost perfect and have no natural enemies.
"So, they don't need curiosity or creativity. They only need to act according to their instincts like other ignorant beasts, but they never know the meaning of life.
"They may be able to build a warship with their bare hands, or they may be able to transform a resource planet with a harsh environment into a pleasant scenery, but they never think about the significance of it, just like a cheetah does not think about the significance of it when it lunges at a zebra. He or it is merely … alive.
"What exactly is creativity? Creativity was the ability to constantly make mistakes. Even if you made a hundred mistakes, a thousand mistakes, or even ten thousand of the most ridiculous mistakes, there would always be one mistake that would shine brightly and create unexpected and wonderful consequences. That was evolution. That was creativity!
"The nuns don't have such an ability. All their knowledge and skills are bestowed by the heavens, destined by fate. Their form is already perfect. They never consider changing, and there is no need to change. They are not curious, and there is nothing worth being curious about. If they were allowed to reproduce for tens of thousands of years, or a thousand generations, there would be no change from the first generation to the last generation. Evolution, creation, mutation … none of that exists."
Li Yao gradually understood.
You can't have your cake and eat it too. Talent inherited through genes, as well as exuberant curiosity and creativity, were probably two different evolutionary directions that couldn't be compatible.
"The Pangu were quite satisfied with the nuns, but the Nuwa Clan frowned at their own work."
Zhuge Jinglun continued, "Perhaps a lot of extraterrestrial devils had already crawled into the heads of the Nuwa Clan at that time. Considering the extraterrestrial devils and the Nuwa Clan's passion, chaos, vitality, and creativity, how could they like the nuns?
"Therefore, the Nuwa Clan told the other twelve primeval clans that the nuns had fatal shortcomings and couldn't be the most loyal servants of the Pangu alliance. They needed a new generation of human beings who had more perfect functions and were more independent and creative.
"The Pangu Clan didn't agree, but it was the Nuwa Clan's job to create human beings after all. Even the Pangu Clan, as the leader of the alliance, had to respect the Nuwa Clan's opinion and reluctantly agreed to let them create a second batch of human beings to test and compare them with the nuns.
"Then, we had our direct ancestors, the Homo Sapiens.
"Compared to the Nuwa people, the shortcomings of the homo sapiens are obvious. Our direct ancestors were thin and prone to anger and fear. In terms of strength, they were not even as strong as some gorillas. Without tools, they could even be killed by tigers and lions. Most importantly of all, the Nuwa Clan removed all the naturally-endowed techniques in their genes. Every homo sapiens was born as a blank piece of paper and had to be taught orally for years before the skills could be passed on to them. But after they died, the skills that they had accumulated through hard work would be gone, and the new homo sapiens would still be a blank piece of paper.
"Now that you put it that way, our direct ancestors seem to be worthless!"
Li Yao frowned.
"On the surface, yes."
Zhuge Jinglun smiled and said, "So, when the Nuwa Clan presented such a brand-new 'upgraded version' to the whole alliance, the other twelve primeval clans were all dumbfounded.
"Perhaps, at that time, the thirteen primeval carbon-based species all boasted some naturally-endowed techniques and ancestral memories. Their genetic genes were particularly active. Their talents were so strong that they suppressed their curiosity and creativity, just like cancer cells corrupting the living space of normal cells. Therefore, including the Pangu Clan, none of the primeval carbon-based species could've foreseen what kind of terrifying strength a brand-new life form without any naturally-endowed abilities but with the highest creativity and curiosity could unleash.
"It is exactly because we are born as blank pieces of paper that we are filled with inexhaustible curiosity and desire to explore the marvelous new world around us. It is exactly because our skills are learned instead of inherited that we keep making mistakes, thinking, concluding, and even questioning what our predecessors have taught us, questioning all authorities, and even all the unquestionable laws. It is exactly because we were so weak in the beginning that our desire for 'strength' far exceeds that of all the other intelligent lives. Our ancestors even understood the nature of 'human beings' on a deeper level than their creators did when they were born!
"At that time, the entire Pangu alliance knew nothing about our strength. It was only because of the insistence of the Nuwa Clan that a few planets were chosen as laboratories and arenas for the nuns and the homo sapiens."
Fascinated, Li Yao finally took a long breath in relief and mumbled, "Eventually, the Homo Sapiens defeated the Nuwa Clan."
"Yes, but it was much more than that."
Zhuge Jinglun put on a weird smile again. "At the beginning of the special survival experiment, the Nuwa Clan crushed almost all the Homo Sapiens with their naturally-endowed techniques. At the worst moment, the Homo Sapiens were reduced to 5% of their peak, and they had to shudder in fear in the crevices and forests.
"However, the exuberant desire for exploration, knowledge, and survival modified the surviving Homo Sapiens at an astonishing speed, making them rush on the path of evolution. Not only did they steal the Nuwa Clan's magical equipment and learn the Nuwa Clan's technologies, but they also modified the technologies and magical equipment based on the environment of different planets. In the end, the Homo Sapiens on all the planets defeated the Nuwa Clan without exception and … devoured them.
"Black Wind King, you must know what happened next. The Homo Sapiens proved that they were the most excellent 'tools' with their unquestionable performance. Although the Pangu Clan was wary of the Homo Sapiens' creativity and curiosity in the survival competition, the Pangu Clan's concerns were allayed by the Nuwa Clan's Path of Ultimate Benevolence and the Three Fundamental Laws. They melted the Nuwa Clan and the Homo Sapiens, producing human beings with the Homo Sapiens as the main template and spreading them to the entire sea of stars.
"Little did they know that part of the Nuwa Clan had already been corrupted by the extraterrestrial devils, and the Three Fundamental Laws might not be so indestructible. Later, in the primeval civil war, the awakening and rise of human beings became unstoppable."
"Is it your fabrication, or do you have solid evidence?"
Li Yao asked, "Why does it sound like a story to me?"
"Half and half. The archaeologists and the historians do have a lot of evidence. Although it's not enough, it's like the shining stars in the night sky."
Zhuge Jinglun said with a smile, "I'm merely connecting the stars into constellations."
"But your story has a fatal flaw."
Li Yao pointed at the Holy League down below and said, "Since the Nuwa Clan was annihilated by the Homo Sapiens in the 'survival experiment' hundreds of thousands of years ago, how can those people be the Nuwa Clan's descendants?
"As far as I know, the earliest people of the Holy League were created by Blackstar the Great. Besides, many people of the Holy League today were transformed from normal people in the Imperium. Any normal person could've been brainwashed and transformed into a member of the Holy League. Are they all the Nuwa Clan's descendants?"
"No, no, no. You didn't hear what I said just now."
Zhuge Jinglun said calmly, "I didn't say 'annihilate' just now. I said that the Homo Sapiens ate the Nuwa Clan and melted them. They're all our ancestors, except that the Homo Sapiens genes take a larger proportion.
"You can simply understand it as ninety percent of the genes in our bodies come from the homo sapiens, and ten percent from the nuns. The genes from the nuns are usually suppressed and dormant, just like the 'demons', another subspecies of human beings. We actually carry a lot of demon genes in our bodies too. Therefore, the normal people who take the Chaos Holy Water can also mutate into demons, can't they?
"As a matter of fact, there are too many mysteries in our genes. Even the best geneticists can only translate 30% of the content on our genes, and they even think that more than 50% are useless garbage genes.
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