Creating Characters

Not having written language was truly too inconvenient. With nothing to reference, no matter what was taught, it could only be repeated orally over and over—a waste of energy, and inefficient to boot.

Moreover, if a race lacked its own script, it could never develop civilization. Without even civilization, how could it speak of rising? Sooner or later, it would be eliminated by the times.

Writing was the beginning of civilization. With it, the accumulated experience and knowledge of a clan could be better passed down. Social order would gradually become standardized as a result.

Thus, if the Human Race wanted to grow stronger, they had to possess their own script.

"We must create writing. Every great race has its own script to pass down culture and develop civilization."

The more Jiang Yuan thought about it, the more he felt that the matter of creating writing could not be delayed. Had he not seen that the great races of the Primordial World—the Dragon Race, the Demon Race, the Wu Clan, and others—all had their own scripts?

The Human Race might not match them yet, but they still needed their own script. They could not afford to lose at the starting line.

With this in mind, Jiang Yuan told his students to cultivate on their own while he went to find Ancestor Sui to explain the importance of creating writing.

Under the blazing sun, Ancestor Sui listened to Jiang Yuan's account, then fell silent for a long time before speaking:

"Do you think I don't know all this? But creating writing is no easy task. It requires a profound understanding of the laws of the Great Dao—something beyond the cultivation of you or me."

Ancestor Sui was also helpless. The importance of writing was well known to all the Ten Thousand Races of the Primordial World. Yet in the end, only those few great races had managed to create their own scripts.

Why was that?

Was it because the smaller races did not want to?

No, they dreamed of it. But constrained by their cultivation and insufficient understanding of the Great Dao's laws, they simply could not produce writing.

"Creating writing is difficult, but it relies more on wisdom. How does it tie into the laws of the Great Dao, requiring such high cultivation?" Jiang Yuan was confused and asked in puzzlement. He felt that what he and Ancestor Sui were talking about might not be the same thing.

"Writing has power!"

"All the scripts of the Primordial World, at their core, are explanations of the Great Dao's laws. The more precise the explanation, the higher the grade of the script, and the stronger the power it contains."

"Take the Demon Script, for example. Among all known scripts, aside from the Innate Runes, it is the most precise in explaining the Great Dao's laws. It can be called the foremost Acquired Divine Script."

Seeing that Jiang Yuan did not understand, Ancestor Sui patiently explained.

In truth, the Innate Runes were the original script of the Primordial World, but they were too obscure. Only the Innate Gods and Devils could fully master them.

Yet vast as the Primordial World was, how many Innate Gods and Devils were there? Among all living beings, their proportion was less than one in a trillion. The vast majority were ordinary Innate Living Beings.

To accommodate them, Acquired scripts were born. Compared to the Innate Runes, Acquired scripts were weaker in power, but correspondingly, they were easier for Innate Living Beings to understand and master.

"I see. Ancestor Sui, you've fallen into a misunderstanding. The script you speak of is called writing, but it is actually divine script, meant for cultivators."

"But the writing I want to create has no power at all. It is truly a script for ordinary mortals."

"It does not explain the Great Dao's laws. What it must do is help people better recognize and understand this world."

At this point, Jiang Yuan paused, feeling that mere words were too thin. He pointed at the sky and the surroundings, then continued:

"This is the sky, this is the earth, this is a mountain, this is water, this is the sun, moon, and stars..."

"When we create the script, we only need to describe them as they are—to let people recognize their differences: what is sky and earth, what is mountain and water, what is sun, moon, and stars..."

"Writing carries the Way. The most important function of writing is not how strong it is, but that it bears knowledge, passes it down, and thereby lets future generations better understand the world they live in and distinguish all things."

"So, writing only needs to be accurate and easy to learn. There is no need to explain the Great Dao's laws to gain power."

"Or rather, formless power is greater than tangible power. What writing should carry is formless power."

After hearing this, Ancestor Sui was stunned speechless. Jiang Yuan's words had opened up a new world for him.

Yes, why should writing pursue power? As Jiang Yuan said, the essence of writing was to pass down wisdom, to record events, and to facilitate daily communication.

Thus, it only needed to be simple and easy to learn. There was no need to complicate it by tying it to explaining the Great Dao's laws.

If one truly wanted to understand the Great Dao's laws, were the Innate Runes not still there? No matter how precise an Acquired Divine Script's explanation was, it could never surpass the Innate Runes.

"You're right. I fell into a misunderstanding, complicating a simple problem."

"Creating writing really doesn't need to be this troublesome. There's no need to explain the Great Dao's laws—just describing heaven and earth is enough."

Ancestor Sui was truly a man of great wisdom. He had simply been stuck in a misconception before.

Now, with Jiang Yuan's reminder, countless flashes of inspiration burst forth in his mind. He had even already thought of how to create the script.

Pictographs!

Using lines to outline the external features of an object to express its meaning.

"Creating writing is a massive project, not something that can be done in a day, nor by one person alone. It requires pooling wisdom and mobilizing the intelligence of the entire clan."

Seeing that Ancestor Sui had an idea, Jiang Yuan offered his suggestion.

In matters of creating writing, the most important thing was the standard. Once the standard for creating the script was set, the rest could be left to others, with oneself only needing to do the final review.

"That's right. Yuan, I was not wrong about you. Your wisdom may even surpass my own."

Ancestor Sui first nodded, then sighed from the depths of his heart.

Before this, he had only thought that Jiang Yuan was the most outstanding among all his descendants.

But now, it seemed he had been too conservative. Not just among his descendants—perhaps in the entire Human Race, there was no one more exceptional than him.

"Ancestor Sui flatters me."

Jiang Yuan was even blushing from the praise. If only this were truly his own ability, that would be wonderful.

Unfortunately, it was not. These were all the wisdom of later generations; he was merely standing on the shoulders of giants to have such insights.

"Regardless, counting this time, you have rendered great service to the Human Race several times. Very well, until you attain the Heavenly Immortal realm, all the resources you need will be provided by the clan."

Jiang Yuan had made great contributions to the Human Race, and they could not go unrewarded. But the Human Race was still in its infancy, with meager foundations, and had no treasures worthy of offering.

Ancestor Sui had no choice but to prepare sufficient resources for him within his power.

"I know this reward is somewhat meager, unworthy of your contributions. But you understand the clan's situation—this is all we can offer for now."

"However, rest assured, once the Holy Mother emerges from seclusion, I will petition for your merits on your behalf. I believe Her Holiness will not be stingy with her rewards."

Having said this, Ancestor Sui himself felt a bit embarrassed and quickly added. The Human Race was still too weak, unable even to produce treasures to reward their meritorious subjects.