Xu Zhi could not help asking, "What is it?"
Zhi Ji glanced at Xu Zhi. "Do you know a certain truth? When a place becomes highly unified, rigid class structures inevitably emerge. In that vast, desolate universe before this, most civilizations were on life-bearing planets, hidden away in some corner of the boundless cosmos as they quietly grew. That simply cannot happen here."
Xu Zhi immediately realized something. "Because they are so highly developed that the universe has become a Cosmic Village? No matter where a new civilization emerges, it will be discovered?"
Zhi Ji smiled.
"To measure a universe—because the speed of light is constant, and all kinds of speeds are fixed—the universe is simply too vast. Ninth-Order Dao Attainer civilizations find it difficult to discover what truly lies beyond in the endless starry sky."
"But here, the universe is effectively smaller. Communication faces no barriers. New civilizations are quickly observed and controlled, and gradually monopolized by a group of mediocrities. Class rigidity is severe. Any newborn planetary civilization must be registered, monitored, and controlled. If you seek the Dao in a universe like this, you must be careful."
Xu Zhi was stunned.
Such a universe was simply too cruel. There was not the slightest hope.
The classes were rigid and stagnant.
Xu Zhi had once thought that their universe already suffered from severe class rigidity. Yet compared to this place, they were practically free beyond measure. The boundless Sea of Stars contained countless life-bearing planets, most of them unconnected. You developed yours, and I developed mine. Even inheritances were incomplete and fragmented, leaving one to search ancient ruins for them—but precisely because of that, there was hope and endless possibility. "I understand. I'll be more careful," Xu Zhi said seriously.
"More than just careful."
Zhi Ji shook her