An Liya (Part 2)

The round table conference continued.

Knock, knock, knock, knock.

The sound of fingertips tapping the table unintentionally revealed the turmoil within the oldest scholar.

After so many years, facing the female scholar's persistent efforts and numerous research achievements, even his own heart had begun to waver.

"Antonio once said that the development of faith lies in unwavering self-belief, while the development of knowledge comes from constant self-doubt. Even great pioneers acknowledged that they were merely milestones on humanity's path to truth. The truths of the past may one day be like Barbarians discovering fire in summer."

"Barbarians discovering fire in summer" was a story from Xilan Duchy.

Legend had it that in a barren wilderness, a Barbarian accidentally discovered that during summer thunderstorms, the bushes would ignite before the rain. This happened for several consecutive years, and the Barbarian believed he had discovered a great truth.

That is: bushes ignite in the summer. Thus, this Barbarian was revered as the tribal prophet by other Barbarians.

Until one year.

That summer, the thunderstorms did not ignite the bushes. Faced with the truth being overturned by an unknown supernatural force, the Barbarians were filled with fear of the unknown and uncertainty. The prophet attributed everything to divine punishment, stating that sacrifices were necessary to gain God's forgiveness.

The Barbarians offered sheep and cattle as sacrifices to the bushes, but received no divine response.

The prophet then demanded more precious offerings. To gain divine favor, the Barbarians began sacrificing live humans...

This story was said to originate from Gauss Adolf of Xilan Duchy, though its exact origin could no longer be verified.

In the story, the Barbarian who discovered the summer fire was a metaphor for Gauss Adolf himself, a solitary explorer on the path of truth, who also experienced fear, confusion, and helplessness.

The old man looked up, his gaze sweeping between the female scholar and Gubo.

Finally, the old man's eyes settled on Gubo.

"The reason the academy chose you to be the director of the Enlightenment Class this term, the Dean's intention, I presume, is for you to prove your viewpoint with results. We have all seen An Liya's efforts and achievements over the years. It's time for us to seriously consider this great new academic proposition. What do you say?"

An Liya was the female tutor who proposed the academic theory of mutated spiritualism!

Gubo remained silent, an unprecedented pressure weighing on his shoulders.

The old man observed Gubo for a long time, then continued in a low voice, "This matter concerns not only the academy, but also has significant implications for natural laws and the academic field of Evolution's Profound Meaning. We cannot afford to be careless. How about this: in three years, the graduation assessment results of Gubo's new cohort will serve as the discussion direction for the mutated spiritualism academic debate. More than ten years have passed; we can wait three more."

"Very well."

Another scholar, who had not yet spoken, seconded the motion. Not wanting this meeting to end in meaningless debate again, he added, "For this meeting, let's first discuss how to deal with the pressure from the Church!"

He paused, then continued, "While the Church claims to be sending a Red Cardinal to search the Royal Scientific Laboratory, their true objective is likely to force the committee to compromise and isolate Balda Duchy."

Gubo and An Liya, due to their earlier dispute, were unwilling to speak further in the meeting.

Although there were internal conflicts within the academy's power structure regarding academic issues, they maintained basic unity against external forces, with no significant ideological differences.

Liuyan extinguished his pipe and murmured, "I don't know if this is the old Pope's will or the intention of the new Pope about to ascend the throne. Regardless, a few of us old guys did our best and completed the task of dealing with those arbitrators. The rest is up to the committee and the Dean."

Each kingdom's royal family had its own Royal Academician committee. Although not part of the academy's power structure, they possessed considerable influence due to their intricate connections, similar to honorary deans of the academy.

If the academy dean controlled the distribution of internal resources, then the Royal Academician committee would secure more resource investment for the academy by influencing the Duchy's politics.

Crackle.

Liuyan relit his pipe and continued, "I only hope the committee can strike a good balance. On one hand, we absolutely cannot abandon Balda Duchy entirely, otherwise, what happens to them today could be our tomorrow. On the other hand, the treasured literature and books of the Royal Academy of Sciences were painstakingly researched and passed down by scholars of past generations..."

The Church's history of searching the Royal Academy of Sciences of various countries was long-standing.

Ever since the pioneer White Niven was tried by the religious court and died at the stake for upholding truth, whenever an incident occurred in various academies that the Church could interfere with, the Royal Scientific Research Institute would become the ultimate target.

Once the Church successfully infiltrated the Royal Scientific Research Institute, they would inevitably burn a large number of progressive books and even disrupt the progress of major experiments, turning years of academic research into ashes.

Undoubtedly!

The Church's negotiation objective this time was to isolate Balda Duchy from the Grand Duchy. If their expectations were not met, they would inevitably suffer significant losses.

Who could have imagined that the Warlocks, who had disappeared for over a decade, would reappear in Grand Duchy, collect sacrifices right under the academy's watchful eyes, and escape safely, leaving no survivors!

Speaking of which, it was Gubo's mission failure that led to the academy's current predicament.

Perhaps it was precisely for this reason that Gubo did not display his usual aggressive demeanor at this round table conference, barely saying anything and being overshadowed by An Liya.

"The scholars of Balda Duchy have indeed been too radical in their statements in recent years. Although the Church's prestige has significantly declined in the past century due to two failed expeditions, atheism is already the Church's limit of tolerance. Those individuals actually propagate that humans can break through their inherent potential and become gods. While this has led to rapid development for the academy in the short term, they are courting disaster!"

The old man's words were filled with indignation.

Ever since the heliocentric trial incident in Utoran Duchy, the royal families of various countries had compromised and retreated before the Church, burning a large number of progressive books that contradicted the Church's will. For many years, the two sides had maintained a fragile peace.

The Church could focus its attention on expeditions to Night's Veil Land, and the academies of various countries developed rapidly during this period.

Although no new pioneers emerged, the number of foundational scholars far surpassed that of the past. Basic education in various academies flourished, and 'mages' became symbols of erudition, elegance, wealth, mystery, and power in people's eyes.

And now!

For the sake of temporary development, Balda Duchy had crossed the unwritten rules between the royal academies of various countries and the Church, not only plunging itself into danger but also implicating the academies of other countries. How could the old man not be indignant?

If it were more than ten years ago, and a similar Warlock incident occurred in the Grand Natural Academy, the Church would not have made such a large move.

"I suggest that before the Red Cardinal arrives at the academy, we should, on one hand, use the Mercenary Association to do our utmost to capture some Church fugitives. This will serve as a bargaining chip for negotiations and reduce losses. On the other hand, we should expedite contact with Balda Natural Academy, exert pressure, and obtain some concessions from the Church!"

Someone interjected.

"And that fugitive Warlock, who could destroy evidence and escape under the noses of Gubo and Liuyan, even if not the legendary Great Warlock King, must be a renowned grand sorcerer from the dark world. We should try to contact the dark world and investigate which entity this is!"