Tears streamed from Seraphine's eyes.
In truth, she still did not fully understand.
But the loudly resounding melodies of those souls had shaken and moved her.
The Zaunite students' passion burned fiercely.
Even Viktor, the most rational and composed among them, trembled slightly with excitement.
After thinking it over last night, he had actually come up with an answer roughly similar to the ultimate goal Li Wei had described.
But what troubled him was that the ideal was simply too beautiful. Even he did not know how it could be realized.
Human strength was simply too weak.
Compared to building a utopia through human effort, Viktor even felt that "Mechanical Ascension" seemed more feasible—
At least it fell within his field of expertise. When it came to Mechanical Ascension, he actually had some vague confidence.
But when it came to building that ultimate ideal, Viktor had no confidence at all. He could not do it by himself.
Yet now, Li Wei told him:
"What if we can't?"
"Does that mean we won't do it?"
"No!" Viktor's thoughts instantly became clear. "We don't need to achieve it. We only need to keep moving forward! If we can take even one step closer to the ideal, that is already victory!"
They would take one step forward, then those who came after them would take another. Step by step, even if they never realized the final ideal, they would still be moving closer to the ultimate goal!
This world would ultimately become better and better because of their efforts!
At that thought, the students' minds gradually became united at last, and they were no longer completely lost when it came to their ideal.
Though at this moment, they had already vaguely realized from Li Wei's words that even merely approaching that ideal would require sacrifice. It would require sacrificing one generation, perhaps even several.
Yet they still pursued that ideal with fervor:
"Then, Mr. Li Wei, what exactly should we do now?"
Having established the ultimate goal and unified the students' thinking, it was finally time to discuss concrete policies of action.
How should they take that first step forward?
What was their short-term goal?
Li Wei had to present a practical plan, rather than merely giving another impassioned speech like before.
And Li Wei did not disappoint them.
Without realizing it, he had become the mentor of these genius students, guiding them forward:
"Our short-term goal is—"
"To achieve Zaun's independence and self-determination, build history's first Jannaism city-state in Zaun, and win the struggle in the single city of Zaun!"
The answer rang out with undeniable force. But it provoked different reactions.
Most of the students deeply agreed, believing that what they most needed to do now was save their suffering Zaunite compatriots.
Yet a few passionate students felt that Li Wei's theory of victory in one city was overly conservative:
"Teacher Li Wei." They unconsciously began calling Li Wei teacher, even though he was only a worker. "Shouldn't the Great Harmony you spoke of be realized across the entire world?"
"Why do you emphasize victory in Zaun alone instead of considering a worldwide struggle?"
Because taking too big a step makes it easy to split your pants.
As a newborn, it would already be good enough just to survive.
Dying young is normal. It might take several dead infants before one child is born who can grow up alive.
Li Wei appreciated the students' enthusiasm, but he told them with great rationality:
"We are not writing a novel here. We must seek truth from facts and analyze specific problems specifically."
"Think about it, everyone. Given Runeterra's current objective conditions, is there really fertile ground for immediately launching a global struggle?"
Compared to Earth, Runeterra's current political situation could only be described as utterly bizarre.
Piltover and Zaun had begun their Industrial Revolution three hundred years ago, unlocking the technology trees of steam and electricity. They had now even entered the Third Industrial Revolution, ignited by Hextech and Chemtech.
But what about everywhere else besides the Twin Cities?
Forget accepting the ideas of the Industrial Revolution, achieving large-scale machine production, or developing a mature laboring class.
Most regions and countries had not even unlocked the ideas of the "Renaissance" yet!
Demacia was still playing at knights and nobles, while Shurima was filled with warlords and chieftains.
Ionia was practically an oversized martial arts world, with every sect claiming its own mountain and farming at home for self-sufficiency.
Freljord was even more absurd. Its frozen wilderness was fundamentally unsuitable for the development of human civilization, and it was still stuck in the primitive age of slave-owning tribes.
Noxus was somewhat better, with a lopsided foundation in military industry. But at its core, it was still a classical slave-owning military empire. Vast numbers of serfs remained bound to the estates and fields of military aristocrats, never having been liberated.
And yet three hundred years had already passed since the Twin Cities' Industrial Revolution.
The Twin Cities were practically Cyberpunk 2077 already, so why was every other country still playing Crusader Kings?
"Why had this happened?"
Of course, it was because this world had been made up by people from Earth. It was already good enough that they had not written in a Wakanda using alien technology to brawl. Ahem.
In any case, if they analyzed it seriously:
"It is because the merchant class of Runeterra is actually far less powerful than it appears."
"They have only developed in a distorted fashion in Zaun and Piltover. They have not successfully extended their tentacles into every corner of the world."
On Earth, the arrival of the Industrial Revolution sounded the death knell of the age of monarchs. Roaring machines crushed every outdated thing standing in their way.
Even if you did not want to change, foreigners' sturdy warships and powerful cannons would come help you change.
But Runeterra was completely different:
Sturdy warships and powerful cannons? Tanks and machine guns?
Were they really that impressive?
Take a look at Demacian Justice, the Noxian Guillotine, and Ionian Spirit Unyielding.
Imagine Piltover merchants sailing armed trading ships to foreign shores, preparing to bring "freedom and democracy" to those "natives"—
Then the "natives" came charging at them in rune armor, wielding enchanted greatswords, riding Dragon Lizards, drakes, and Juvask Boars, hurling multicolored fireballs, water blasts, stone chunks, and tornadoes in an overwhelming tide.
Pah! What Industrial Revolution?
Could it possibly be stronger than the archery, horsemanship, spells, and magic passed down by our ancestors?
I just want to close my borders and farm at home. If you have the ability, then bombard me with cannons!
"So, in every country and region outside the Twin Cities, the old relations of production have not been broken. The strength we currently possess is also far from enough to compare with the warriors and mages who rule the old world."
"And as a highly developed commercial economy, Piltover has long used its technological and financial hegemony to successfully shift its internal contradictions onto overseas economic colonies such as Zaun and Shurima."
"So the only place in the entire world with fertile ground for developing the struggle is Zaun alone!"
"And thanks to the distorted development of the Twin Cities' economy, Zaun is now Runeterra's largest heavy industrial city and the world's factory with the most concentrated workforce. Its population has continued growing over the past three hundred years and has now reached as many as two million!"
Yes, even though Zaun was hell, its population had continued to grow.
Because Piltover across the river was paradise.
Every year, foreigners from all over the world exhausted everything they had to come to Piltover in pursuit of their dreams. Most of them, however, were eliminated by the city—either driven over by the Enforcers or reduced to living in Zaun on their own.
As Piltover's great factory and great slum, Zaun received many bankrupt foreign immigrants from Piltover every year.
The bigger Piltover's business grew, the more factories Zaun opened alongside it.
Naturally, more and more people came here.
And nearly all of them were workers—workers who were natural allies.
"As long as we can unite these two million Zaunites, that will be enough to guarantee our victory!"
Janna's golden age had been thousands of years ago, before the Shuriman Empire began suppressing the inheritance of her faith.
How many people had there even been in the entire world then?
And how many of them could have been Janna's followers?
In other words, even at the height of her power, Janna had only had a few million followers.
Yet the population of one modern industrial metropolis was comparable to that of an ancient great power.
So with Zaun's two million people alone, there was hope of restoring Janna's strength to its peak.
"Then Zaun will have the protection of a demigod. Even against a powerful nation like Noxus, we will not be at a disadvantage!"
"We will have a way to survive, and then—"
"Explore the road that lies further ahead!"
Before you continue