Inner Scene

With an idea in mind, Zhuge Qing no longer hesitated.

He sat cross-legged back on the cushion, adjusted his breathing, and began to gather his focus and guard his spirit according to the techniques taught by his father, Zhuge Gong.

This was a technique on a spiritual level; entering the Inner Scene was like sinking one's own consciousness into a deeper, more expansive plane.

In a trance, Zhuge Qing felt his consciousness detach from the shackles of his body, drifting and sinking into a state of chaos.

The surrounding scene gradually became clear.

It was a gray, boundless expanse with no distinction between up, down, left, or right.

Beneath his feet, it felt as if he were stepping on solid ground, yet it also felt like there was nothing there at all.

Is this the Inner Scene?

Zhuge Qing frowned, surveying his surroundings.

It was too empty here, and far too ordinary.

"Dad said their ancestor discovered that the Inner Scene entered by all practitioners is the same place..."

Zhuge Qing muttered to himself.

But this place had absolutely no distinguishing features.

Then, on what basis did his ancestor reach that conclusion?

Could it be that the scene seen by different people varies based on their own cultivation or perception?

"Perhaps..."

Zhuge Qing thought of his family's legendary ancestor, Zhuge Liang.

According to his father's account, which was filled with both boasting and awe, that man's realm was already quite close to the legendary ascension to immortality.

Perhaps only at that level could one glimpse the true mysteries of this Inner Scene and confirm the uniqueness of this space.

He shook his head, no longer dwelling on a question that could not be verified for the time being.

Zhuge Qing began to recall Zhuge Gong's precautions regarding the Inner Scene.

First, the Inner Scene communicates with what is known as the Heavenly Dao.

Theoretically, one could find the answer to anything here.

Simply put, it was like a super search engine.

But obtaining an answer was not without a price.

The difficulty of obtaining it depended on two key factors:

One, the importance of the question to the questioner themselves.

Two, the impact the answer would have on reality if brought into the outside world.

For example, if Zhuge Qing wanted to know, "Tomorrow, under the third willow tree on the west side of the village entrance, how many ants will be scalded to death by boiling water poured by a passing brat?"

For such trivial matters that had almost no impact on anyone or anything, the answer would be easily obtained, requiring almost no price.

But if the question involved personal destiny, major interests, or even the trajectory of society as a whole, the difficulty of obtaining the answer would skyrocket exponentially.

And what was even more important for a practitioner was—Deceiving Heaven.

If information obtained directly from the Inner Scene were told to others in the outside world without alteration, it would be equivalent to "deceiving the Heavenly Dao."

This would invite an extremely severe backlash.

The intensity of the backlash also depended on the magnitude of the impact the revealed information had on the real world.

The greater the impact, the heavier the punishment.

At best, one would be plagued by bad luck, even choking on water while drinking.

At worst...

Zhuge Gong had been vague when he spoke of it, but his grave expression said it all; it was likely an outcome like "dying on the street."

It was precisely because of this that practitioners always spoke in vague, cryptic terms, like riddle-mongers.

Because by using coded language, metaphors, and hints to convey information, one could avoid or mitigate this backlash.

Simply put, it was equivalent to pulling the wool over the eyes of the Heavenly Dao.

Having understood these basic rules, Zhuge Qing felt a sense of dissonance.

"This criteria for judgment... is a bit strange."

He rubbed his chin, his eyes filled with contemplation.

According to common logic, the so-called "Heavenly Dao" should be more like physical laws—cold, objective, and fundamental principles that do not shift based on any will, such as "the speed of light is constant" or "the conservation of energy."

It should be absolutely neutral and absolutely objective.

Yet, this set of standards in the Inner Scene for judging the difficulty of answers and the punishment for "Deceiving Heaven" was clearly based on "humans" and "human society."

Take the simplest example.

What are the winning numbers for the next lottery?

Does this matter, in the grand scheme of the vast universe or to the so-called "Heavenly Dao" itself?

Whether some lucky person wins a few million or tens of millions, the Earth will keep spinning, and the universe will keep expanding just the same.

The only things affected are the lives of the winner and those around them, along with a minor redistribution of social wealth.

Compared to "which ant will be scalded to death tomorrow," is there really a world of difference in importance when viewed from a macroscopic cosmic perspective?

Probably not.

But within the evaluation system of the [Inner Scene], the difficulty of obtaining lottery numbers and the penalty for "deceiving the heavens" by revealing them are absolutely astronomical.

"A Heavenly Dao centered on humanity?"

Zhuge Qing felt that was a bit of a stretch.

It feels more like... a set of rules established by someone?

Or perhaps, the focus of this so-called "Heavenly Dao" is inherently centered on human society?

He couldn't figure it out.

There was too little information; guessing blindly was useless.

Practice is the sole criterion for testing truth.

Zhuge Qing took a deep breath and decided to test the weight of this [Inner Scene] for himself.

He focused his intent and silently posed his first question in his mind:

"Tomorrow, within the boundaries of Zhuge Village, how many ants will die due to accidents (such as being scalded by boiling water, stepped on, or drowned)?"

As soon as the thought settled.

In the gray void ahead, a fist-sized orb of light, emitting a soft white glow, quietly emerged.

The orb was not solid; it was somewhat ethereal.

Zhuge Qing could feel that as long as he moved his intent, he could easily "open" it and obtain the information inside.

It was just as his father had said.

For such trivial information, the difficulty of acquisition was almost zero.

He didn't open it immediately, but instead posed a second question:

"What are the standard answers for all my subjects in next month's final school exams?"

For him personally, the importance of this question was clearly much higher than the life or death of ants.

But for society as a whole, the impact was negligible.

Another orb of light appeared.

This orb was more solid than the previous one, its light brighter, and he could faintly sense a hint of resistance.

Zhuge Qing tried to "touch" it with his intent and felt that it would require a bit of "effort" to open.

"Interesting."

The corners of his mouth curled up as he upped the ante.

The third question:

"What are the launch codes inside the 'nuclear football' carried by the current president of the United States?"

This question, whether regarding the potential personal impact (knowing what shouldn't be known) or the potential impact on the entire world order, could be considered nuclear-level.

Hum...

The space seemed to vibrate slightly.

An extremely solid orb, appearing almost tangible, manifested before him.

It emitted a blinding white light, causing the surrounding space to distort.

Zhuge Qing could even feel a strong sense of "warning," as if he would invite a catastrophe upon himself if he dared to force it open.

Forget about opening it; just being near it made his heart race with fear.

"Right, this one really can't be touched."

Zhuge Qing wisely withdrew his intent.

It seemed the rules of the [Inner Scene] were indeed much like what his father had described.

Importance and influence determine the difficulty and risk of acquisition.

Having tested enough, Zhuge Qing rolled his eyes and revealed a playful smile.

He cleared his throat and asked the next question:

"What is the ending of Naruto?"

For him personally, this question had no practical significance.

As for its impact on this world, that remained to be seen...

After all, the manga Naruto had only just begun serialization in Weekly Shonen Jump in this world.

If Naruto had already become famous, its impact on the world would certainly be massive, given that it had taken the entire world by storm in his own.

But right now, that wasn't necessarily the case...

As the thought crossed his mind.

A sphere of light manifested in response to his intent.

This sphere was about the same size as the first one for the "ant question," equally illusory and equally soft.

With almost no effort, he brushed it gently with his consciousness.

Whoosh—

A complex and familiar stream of information instantly flooded his mind.

The battle between Naruto and Sasuke at the Valley of the End, the severed arms, the reconciliation.

Kakashi becoming the Sixth Hokage.

The wedding of Naruto and Hinata...

In other words, is the standard for judging this impact the degree of influence on current society?

Or is it possible that Naruto in this world won't become as popular as it was in his past life?

What concerned him even more was another matter: in this world, aside from him, a transmigrator, it was impossible for anyone else to know such a detailed ending!

Yet the Inner Scene had provided the answer, and even the panel layouts were exactly the same as those in his memory.

This was quite thought-provoking.

Because he hadn't specified the format for the answer, yet the Inner Scene had directly provided the detailed manga content.

Behind this, there were at least two possibilities hidden.

The first possibility: The "Heavenly Dao" that the Inner Scene communicated with was truly an omniscient and omnipotent existence.

It not only knew the past and present but could even discern things that had yet to happen and "information" from different worlds.

The second possibility: The reason the Inner Scene gave such an answer wasn't because it "knew" it itself, but because... the questioner, Zhuge Qing himself, already "knew" this answer!

The Inner Scene was merely reading and feeding back his own memories, which was why it was identical to the manga in his mind.

"Tsk..."

Thinking of this, Zhuge Qing licked his slightly dry lips, feeling that things were becoming more and more interesting.