Chapter 900

Sītǎndé Kǎdé'ěr stepped onto the podium, chief scholar of the Stellar Ecology School. His keen compound eyes framed the debate; he gave a light cough and then drowned out the noise.

The Perfect Scholar is the ultimate ideal of seekers of knowledge. In an age before 【Wisdom】 was even born, it was already a valuable term. Boundless life, boundless vision, boundless thought, and then knowledge itself bowed before him.

"Gather all computing power into one person, to give him the chance to ask the gods, pave the way for genius, and create the Perfect Scholar of the academy." Sītǎndé's eyes were full of madness: "One million problems of mediocres, versus one flash of genius— which is more valuable? The answer goes without saying."

In the boiling crowd, a wisp of shadow left a sweet yet dangerous scent.

This scent was all too familiar to Xing; in the first Imperial War of the first simulated universe not long ago, this very scent had appeared in the Galactic Library, and it had even sent a scalpel plunging precisely into her neck.

"Keep up." Hei Ta whispered in her ear.

Xing saw the candy-colored gauze skirt beneath the female scholar's robe not far away; she was conversing with those nearby. Xing could not make out her face, only catching fragments of words through the din and shouting.

"Future? Hah, future, why rush forward? The Stellar Energy War needs more time to settle." The woman's voice was sarcastic, bright with excitement: "You ask me? Well then… consider me an old friend come to sweep the tomb of the Psychohistory School."

——

Jujutsu Kaisen.

"Perfect Scholar… heh, truly interesting."

Juěnsǔo squeezed a smile from the corner of his mouth, he couldn't help admitting that sometimes these scholars' brains were still useful, actually managing to conjure such a crazy idea. Concentrating all computing power into one person…… they were planning to rely on the legacy of Emperor II to create a "genius" belonging to the mediocre.

But the question is, who qualifies to become such a genius?

Is it Stande himself?

Juěnsǔo couldn't help but snicker— the chief scholar's ambition was so blatant he didn't even bother hiding it; if he were made the "Perfect Scholar," the first thing he'd likely do is draw a line between himself and those mediocres behind him.

Sùnuò leaned against the tatami, his crimson eyes half-lidded, holding a slab of fresh meat that was still dripping blood in his hand; before him, a plate held more of the cursed food of jujutsu sorcerers, all gathered by Lǐméi.

"Heh, idiot." Sùnuò's lips curled into a vicious grin: "No one would willingly hand over the chance to become a Perfect Scholar unless that 'Perfect Scholar' itself is imperfect and possesses flaws no one can accept."

"But aren't you curious, Sùnuò?" Juěnsǔo propped his chin on one hand: "If we concentrate all the scepter's computing power into a mediocre, what would happen? Would his brain blow up? Or would he, like Rupert II, turn his self-awareness into inorganic life, or else inherit the memories of Rupert I and II and launch a third Imperial War?"

——

The opposition sounded like thunder from flat ground, exploding suddenly.

"Get out!"

"You're nothing but a tyrant hiding behind academic robes!"

Stande still wanted to explain something before the crowd, but as soon as he tried to speak he was drowned out by an even louder uproar; the imposing presence that had once silenced the whole hall now resembled a street rat, everyone shouting to beat him, and in the end he had no choice but to slink away, driven off the stage by the crowd.

The second to take the stage was the Stellar Energy School; facing the torrent of anger below, his suggestion was like a bucket of cold water, instantly dampening the fury somewhat.

"I suggest—grant 95% of the computing power to four sufficiently grand universal problems."

A hush fell over the assembly for a moment.

Compared with Stande's proposal, the Stellar Energy School's suggestion was clearly more moderate, though only slightly so. His implication was obvious: if your school's research does not lie within those four problems, then you'll be fighting the other schools for the remaining 5% of computing power for a lifetime.

Xing quickly saw through this clumsy double act. The chief scholar of the Stellar Energy School had the crowd choose: let one school monopolize everything, or let four schools split the inheritance, so everyone could get a hand on the scraps.

They claimed to offer a choice, but in fact there was none.

Almost everyone chose the second option, and four vultures thus perched upon the iron throne.

——

Marvel Universe.

Inside New York's Sanctum, Peter Parker was munching on a box of pizza while chattering on about the scholars in the firmament.

"Wow… so even in this seemingly ultra‑lavish space‑academic party, you can't escape the existence of cliques, huh?" He took a big bite of pizza, not bothering to wipe the cheese strings, "I bet they're about to use the allocation of scepter computing power to blackmail others… honestly, this scene is all too common in universities."

"Cliques?" Steve fell silent for a moment, then asked, "What is that?"

Tony set down his cup, turned his body, and drawled lazily: "Simply put, they're the mafia bosses of academia." He gestured, "Of course, they call themselves civilized, so they don't rely on guns but on papers, funding, journals, titles… in short, it's the stuff in academia that makes countless scholars drool and regard as lifeblood. Once they grasp these things, they can use them to suppress young researchers, thereby extorting them, or monopolize research projects and academic pricing—basically, they end up living like movie villains."

"That sounds serious." Steve's expression turned grave.

"It's very serious." Strange spoke slowly, emphasizing: "Taking these people in the firmament as an example, now that the scepter has been divided among four schools, it means other schools wishing to make a breakthrough must apply to these four. If they don't engage in bribery or concede benefits… the scepter's computing power will never fall into the hands of other schools."

"Once power intrudes into the distribution of knowledge, even a learned society advocating academic freedom will grind to a halt. And frankly, it's laughable—Stande wants to create a god, the Stellar Energy School can propose selecting four priests—they don't directly rule thought, but they control the narrow gate leading to it."

Steve roughly understood: "So, in the end, who achieves something in academia isn't necessarily the one with the best topic, but the one best at picking sides and flattery."

"Exactly." Strange nodded, "No wonder there are school wars… the real point of contention is right here."