Ancient One did not doubt him and simply turned to the next page.
The thoughtform did not disturb her either. It merely poured itself a cup of tea and savored it leisurely.
As time passed second by second, Ancient One flipped through the pages faster and faster, while the expression on her face grew increasingly animated.
"Gaius, this code..." Ancient One held back for a long while before awkwardly opening her mouth. "You drew inspiration from quite a few things, didn't you?"
She had decided to save Gaius some face and did not outright call it plagiarism.
"More or less." The thoughtform did not deny it. "I drew from Eastern and Western mythology, philosophy, and teachings for guiding people, along with anecdotes passed down by certain lost civilizations in the universe and the scriptures left behind by the gods they worshipped...
I took the essence, discarded the dross, then added some of my own understanding. That was how this work came to be."
"Impressive." Ancient One blankly gave him a thumbs-up, offering genuine praise.
Only a small part of such a thick book was truly his own understanding. The remaining ninety-nine percent had been borrowed.
Still, she had to admit that blending together all sorts of scriptures, legends, and doctrines without making them feel out of place was not something an ordinary person could do.
She had lived for centuries and occasionally left Earth on "business," so she was thoroughly familiar with the classics of many countries on Earth as well as a considerable number of cosmic civilizations. Otherwise, she would not have been confident in calling this book plagiarized.
But if an ordinary person opened this book, they probably would not find anything wrong with it. At most, they would feel that certain parts overlapped somewhat with Earth's civilizations.