First Lesson

Inside Zhu Fengdan's grotto, Li Qi was having a long-awaited chat with his teacher.

After Zhu Fengdan asked the question, Li Qi immediately replied, "I have encountered some problems and would like to ask the teacher for advice."

It is only natural for students to ask teachers for help.

"Oh? You're so smart. I thought you wouldn't run into any problems at the seventh rank. Tell me, what is it?" Zhu Fengdan asked.

"Why me?" Li Qi asked.

This was the question that puzzled Li Qi the most.

I am who I am.

It's impossible to explain.

"This question... well, let me think about how to say it. It's a bit early to talk to you about this now. If I tell you, you'll have a hard time understanding, and it might even mislead you and cause other problems later." Zhu Fengdan looked troubled.

Moreover, his hand was scratching something ten meters away; judging from the object, he was probably scratching his head.

Unfortunately, he can't do it now.

However, Li Qi could tell that his distress was genuine, Teacher Zhu really wanted to scratch his head.

Because these things are really hard to say, if we tell Li Qi directly, the problem might be even bigger.

If things go wrong, Li Qi might misunderstand or learn something in advance, leading to premature development and potentially causing him to stray from the right Dao Path, which could very well lead to a dead end.

In matters of the Dao Path, one wrong step can lead to a series of wrong steps.

The cost of trying to correct a mistake is too high; otherwise, why would so many powerful beings choose to reincarnate and start anew?

The situation was so dire that it was beyond repair; I decided to end it all and start over.

Zhu Fengdan hesitated for a moment, then her head flew up and shook. "But you are a sensible person. You are asking me this now, so you must know what's going on, right? When you went to see the Witch God, he will definitely give you advice on this matter as well."

"Teacher, your wisdom is truly remarkable," Li Qi said, bowing respectfully.

"Since that's the case, I won't give you a definitive answer. Let me share a few guesses. Remember, these are all guesses, none of them can be believed. They contradict and conflict with each other, and can only serve as inspiration for you."

Upon hearing Zhu Fengdan's words, Li Qi sat down cross-legged, then took out paper and pen, and listened attentively, preparing to take notes.

Li Qi understood, of course.

In the process of enlightenment, this kind of thing will happen naturally. You will find that your views on the same thing will completely change at different times.

Moreover, both viewpoints seem to make sense, and if applied to spiritual practice, they can produce different effects.

That's why the Dao Path to be fraught with danger.

When you reach the ninth rank, a useful idea might be adopted. But when you reach the eighth rank, that idea might become a constraint, and you won't even know it. You'll only find that your cultivation has stagnated, but you can't find the reason no matter what.

At this time, a word of guidance from a good teacher is better than ten years of hard work on your own.

Zhu Fengdan then began to act as a teacher for the first time, lecturing to Li Qi.

He did not use the sermon-like sound used for preaching; that kind of Divine Ability is used to explain extremely complex and systematic knowledge, and can condense a large amount of information into a single syllable.

What he was going to teach Li Qi today was not those things.

What he wants to say today is merely 'speculation,' some casual conversation.

We only aim to inspire, never to provide any substantial instruction.

Because of this, Zhu Fengdan's idea might be correct for herself, but if she tells Li Qi and Li Qi uses it, her life might be ruined.

Zhu Fengdan pondered for a moment, "Suppose, I mean suppose, a powerful being uses their Divine Ability to create an exact replica of you, would that person be you?"

"No," Li Qi said immediately.

Whether from an intuitive or cognitive perspective, although the two are exactly alike, they are clearly not the same person.

"That's right, of course it can't be you. Even if it looks alike, we are two separate physical entities. Killing one of us won't affect the other. Your thoughts are not connected either. So we can draw a conclusion: having an identical body is not a necessary condition for me to be who I am." Zhu Fengdan spoke eloquently.

Li Qi wrote furiously below.

Zhu Fengdan continued, "Although these two bodies are the same, you are independent and free entities, with essential qualities. Your independent existence does not depend on anything else."

"Now, let's take this assumption to an extreme. What if we create an exact replica of you, with every aspect of you—including your thoughts, memories, and feelings—exactly the same as the original, and then completely destroy the original you? In that case, would this new you still be you?"

Faced with this question, Li Qi thought for a moment and then replied, "To other people, he is me, but to 'me,' he is definitely not."

Zhu Fengdan nodded. "That's right, now there are two more problems."

"The first problem is that the way others in this world see you may not be the real you, and the real you may not be recognized by others."

"So...?" Li Qi, somewhat puzzled.

Zhu Fengdan emphasized again. "Don't ask why. 'Why' is something you come up with yourself. I'm only talking about the doubts that these things raise. Think about the rest yourself."

Then he continued, "Now let's talk about the second question: Since the physical bodies are completely identical, but because they are two different entities, they do not have continuity in time and causality, we can conclude that two completely identical people are actually not the same. Thus, we can conclude that he is not you, which is a counter-evidence."

"So, if we take it to an extreme, let's abandon the physical body. Now, another personality appears in your mind. This personality, just like before, has all your thoughts and memories. It is no different from you. It loves what you love, hates what you hate, and understands what you understand."

"So, this second personality, which has no physical body, is just another consciousness that suddenly appeared. Now, this personality has killed your original personality and taken control of your body silently and without any pain. So, is it still you?"

This question was a bit tricky, and Li Qi fell into deep thought again.

If it is true that the physical body exists as a physical entity, and therefore the difference between two entities can be clearly distinguished no matter what, since they exist independently and freely without any continuity of time and causality...

What about spirit?

If the spirit also undergoes such a change, does that mean that a spiritual entity exists, just like the physical body? Only then could there be 'two' spirits.

Because of the existence of this spiritual entity, spirit and will can be judged, since the spiritual entity and the physical entity have the same properties and can both be unified by the continuity of time and causality.

This spiritual entity cannot be a spirit, because a spirit is a real, existing substance, not an ethereal consciousness. A spirit bears a part of the responsibility of thinking and is part of the physical body in this world.

Because it is not the soul, the spirit is even more mysterious, yet it is still a discernible entity.

While Li Qi was pondering, Zhu Fengdan did not stop either.

He continued, "If you understand the previous two steps, then we'll go a step further this time. Now you have amnesia, you've lost all your memories, and then, a personality that is exactly the same as you were before you lost your memory appears. Is that you? And are you still you?"

Li Qi's thoughts were interrupted; his mind was in turmoil.

If the spirit has a physical form, then in what form does this physical form exist?

The answer is obvious: thoughts, memories, feelings, and preferences are the characteristics of the spirit, because apart from these, humans cannot prove the existence of the spirit.

Only thoughts, memories, feelings, and preferences can prove the existence of a spiritual entity.

So, if a person suddenly suffers permanent amnesia and completely forgets their past experiences, then everyone knows that it's hard to say whether that person is still the same person.

A person with amnesia is no longer the same person they were before. Although they have continuity in time and cause and effect, it is difficult for anyone to accept that they are the same person they were before.

Because in terms of thoughts, memories, feelings, and preferences, he has become another person, another spiritual entity, since the manifestations of his spiritual entity have completely disappeared, and he has become another person.

Then, another spiritual entity with the same characteristics as before suddenly appears. Who is it then?

Judging from thoughts and memories, the second will that emerges is real, while the one with permanent amnesia is fake.

Li Qi was puzzled.

But Zhu Fengdan seemed to have no end to her questions, continuing to ask without stopping, "If neither a spiritual entity nor a physical entity is enough to prove that you are yourself, then what is it that proves that you are yourself?"

Li Qi frowned, then suddenly looked up and said, "According to this logic, teacher, doesn't self-identity seem a bit prominent in this issue?"

Matter is an independent and self-contained entity.

The spirit is also an entity that exists independently of matter.

Because of the existence of these two entities, the entities possess causal and temporal continuity, which is why they can be judged as 'I'?

So, 'I' am an entity with temporal and causal continuity?

Therefore, the answer is that the important thing is identity.

Is this the answer?

Li Qi didn't know.

"Don't ask me. Today I'm only responsible for giving my guesses and asking questions, not for providing answers." Zhu Fengdan rolled her eyes. "This is the third time I've said this today. Next time I'll take action."

Li Qi obediently shut up and listened attentively.

After that, Zhu Fengdan continued to raise all sorts of conjectures.

For example, does the spirit truly have a physical form? Are the choices you make based on free will, or on numerous external factors that have already been determined beforehand, such as the state of your brain nerves or your soul?

If the puppets Reason Way are precise enough, they can be made to look almost exactly like True Person.

How can we determine if someone is not a puppet and truly possesses a spiritual entity?

Human thoughts are very likely just fluctuations produced by various substances forming a specific neural network under the control of physical Principle.

For example, are spiritual attributes independent of material attributes? Is the mind simply the spiritual attribute of a material entity?

Zhu Fengdan talked for a whole day, without saying anything practical, only talking about these unanswerable questions. These questions led in contradictory directions, but each of them was also plausible.

For an entire day, he bombarded Li Qi with these endless questions.

There are far too many such speculations, far too many 'possibilities'.

Li Qi felt like his head was about to explode.

Every question Zhu Fengdan asked was giving him a new option.

He now has hundreds of choices before him, and each one seems to be correct, usable, and can serve as a guide on his Dao Path. Some can even be further developed, allowing him to create new Technique Method and Divine Ability, which could greatly increase his combat power or elevate his cultivation level.

But the more choices Li Qi had, the more confused and afraid he became.

Having too much can also be a kind of obsession.

As inner demons began to rise, fear and doubt started to fester in Li Qi's heart.

Zhu Fengdan glanced at Li Qi at that moment.

He was covered in cold sweat, his hands and feet were trembling, the paper and pen he used to take notes were lying on the ground, his eyes were bloodshot, and countless thoughts were churning in his mind. The answer to each question seemed to concern his entire future.

Well.

Even before this sermon, Zhu Fengdan had said that it was not good to force growth, and that telling Li Qi some things would only add to his burden and make his future Dao Path more difficult.

See, here it is.

However, he still believed in Li Qi.

It is difficult, but if everything goes smoothly, it is actually very dangerous, and the ability to withstand risks will be greatly reduced.

Sigh, the Dao Path is just such an awkward thing.

A smooth journey can actually be dangerous.

Is it right to deliberately abandon stability to seek danger, hoping to turn danger into opportunity?

That's utter nonsense. Danger is danger; if you can't survive it, you die. Pursuing that stuff is just plain stupid.

Those who deliberately seek danger usually die young; only a lucky few are able to be screened out.

No matter how talented you are, you can only rely on luck in those situations.

But Dao Lineage want is not good luck; what good is good luck anyway?

But there's nothing we can do about it; there must be many reasons why a genius can grow up.

Wait until one day later—

Zhu Fengdan's head floated in the air as she said, "One last question: How can a powerful being be sure it's themselves when reincarnated? After committing suicide and being reincarnated, why aren't they worried about becoming someone else?"

Li Qi was taken aback.

Yes.

If one is reincarnated, then the continuity of the physical body is broken.

In other words... do spiritual entities really exist?

Reincarnation is about abandoning the physical body, choosing the spiritual body, and then obtaining a second physical body.

However... reincarnation also has its mysteries in the womb, and one may lose their memories...

Li Qi fell into deep thought once again.

Zhu Fengdan looked at Li Qi, whose eyes were bloodshot and who exuded a dejected aura, and shouted, "Alright, stop looking like that. I won't be responsible if you die here. Why are you thinking so much? If you can find your own answer in a day, I'll give you my head to kick around like a football. Get out of here and go back to think about it slowly!"

Startled by Zhu Fengdan's shout, Li Qi looked up and his mind cleared up a bit.

He struggled to his feet, bowed, and said, "Thank you... thank you, teacher. I'll think about it some more when I get back..."

Zhu Fengdan irritably circled around Li Qi's head. "What are you thinking about? What's the use of thinking so much? These are just the beginning, do you understand? You're only in your thirties, do you really want to rise to the top in one step? If you don't care, these things are just a bunch of nonsense. But if you think about them carefully, these things are your death warrant."

"Clear your mind, go get something to eat, change your clothes, and then get out of here!"