Chapter 1176: Breaking the Halo, Living Authentically

"The New Natural Philosophy is a perspective, a concept for viewing the world.

"In the New Natural Philosophy, Nature encompasses all things in the world: there are forests, the sky, the earth, the oceans, as well as the sun, moon, and stars, and even the Plane we live in.

"To speak on a smaller scale, a tree is Nature, a person is Nature, a gust of wind is Nature, and even a drop of water or a grain of sand is also Nature.

"Under this concept, Elves are no longer Children of the Forest, no longer Children of Nature, and they are no longer naturally superior to humans; like us, they are all just a part of Nature.

"Only the Wisdom, knowledge, and character cultivated after birth are the greatest differences between us and them!"

Xia Duo's words were aimed at breaking the sacred halo of natural superiority surrounding the Elves; if one excludes innate factors and considers only acquired ones, the gap between humans and Elves is not that great.

At least in terms of learning ability, humans do not lose to Elves.

Moreover, humans can also extend their lifespans through Spells; although they may not necessarily have the natural lifespan of Elves, with the development of related Spells, it is not impossible to surpass the Elves in the future.

As for appearance, that is related to aesthetics, and aesthetics are closely tied to a person's view of the world and the trends of social thought.

As long as the sacred halo of the Elves' natural superiority is broken, it will inevitably trigger a change in aesthetics.

In Xia Duo's view, this is not a problem.

After the brief introduction, in the darkness, Xia Duo heard Niya's slightly rapid breathing and thought to himself, could this concept be so difficult to accept?

The fact was not so; Niya soon whispered in his ear: "Does this New Natural Philosophy come from the ancient Elves, or from your hometown?"

"Part of it comes from the ancient Elves, and part of it comes from my hometown," Xia Duo answered truthfully.

The part from the ancient Elves, strictly speaking, should be the original meaning of the word "Nature," but as a philosophy, the "New Natural Philosophy" naturally could not only have a redefinition of "Nature," but also had to have content related to the philosophy itself.

And this part was related to Xia Duo's hometown; it was, in fact, an otherworldly version of "Taoism."

It is just that it is very difficult to find a corresponding word for "Dao" in the Netherese language, and coining one is also unlikely to evoke associations, so it is better to borrow "Nature" from Elvish.

By reinterpreting the meaning of "Nature" in Elvish, one can also, to a certain extent, deconstruct Elven thought and make it one's own.

Even in the future, when introducing this ideology into the Elf World, wearing the skin of "Nature" will be much easier than coining a new term.

Regarding external things like "names," Xia Duo does not place much importance on them, as long as the essence within remains unchanged; this is likely also influenced by "the name that can be named is not the eternal name."

Calling it "Dao" or calling it "Nature" does not change its original meaning.

Take Daxia Territory for example; it is actually an Elvish term, but because its pronunciation is similar to "Daxia" in his native language, he used it as the name of his Territory. Its original meaning in Elvish is "Yong Zhe Kai Tuo Zhi Di."

In the future, with the continuous development of Daxia Territory, this term might perhaps become a proper noun specifically used for "Daxia Territory."

Such phenomena often occur in Xia Duo's hometown as well, such as "Buddha" and "Bodhisattva" in Buddhism, which are both foreign words and foreign ideas.

But the way people in his hometown Sinicized these classics (which was essentially reinterpreting them and endowing them with brand-new meanings) and the new ideas produced by constant integration with local thought became a part of his hometown's culture.

Xia Duo did not intend to accommodate the Elves right now, but at least he already had this idea, and shaping a suitable cultural foundation was the top priority.

Otherwise, that would not be called accommodation, but being assimilated.

Arcanists can, to a certain extent, be considered "seekers of the Dao," and Niya's acceptance of "Taoism" far exceeded Xia Duo's imagination.

Until late at night, Niya kept asking questions, how to understand this, how to do that, just like a child full of curiosity who had just come into contact with something new.

Xia Duo found it quite exhausting to deal with, but at the same time, he also felt very happy.

He was happy both for Niya's acceptance of the New Natural Philosophy and for his hometown culture taking root, sprouting, and growing in another world.

The next day, Xia Duo woke up from his deep sleep, but he did not expect Niya to have woken up earlier than him, staring at him with bright eyes, as if she had many things to say.

Xia Duo reached out and touched Niya's ear, helping her tidy up her messy hair, and then asked softly: "It's still early for the Snow Melting Competition, why not sleep a little longer?"

"I've slept enough. I didn't do much Spellcasting yesterday, so sleeping for a while is enough." Niya's cheeks flushed slightly, and she turned her head away, but immediately turned back, continuing to stare at Xia Duo.

"Ahem—"

Xia Duo quickly coughed dryly and reminded her: "This is the Arcane Union, not the Tower of Time!"

The two had been married for almost two years and could be considered an old married couple; how could Niya not understand what Xia Duo wanted to say? Hearing such words, she was suddenly overcome with shyness and angrily pinched her little fist and hammered it against Xia Duo's chest:

"What are you thinking! I'm asking you, why tell me about the New Natural Philosophy last night? Do you want to deal with the Elves?"

Niya's perception of the Elves was very complex; on one hand, she admired Elven culture, but on the other hand, her father was injured by an Elf and was cursed, his life and death uncertain.

And in the past year or two, she had seen the powerful side of the Elves, but also their weak side; these were things she could see, and Xia Duo could see them just as well.

She was not sure what Xia Duo's purpose was in suddenly mentioning the "New Natural Philosophy" to her, but one thing was certain—it must be related to the Elves!

"Why didn't you ask last night?" Xia Duo teased as he got up.

Niya asked many questions last night, and in the end, she even fell asleep while asking questions. The vast majority of the questions she asked were concentrated on the New Natural Philosophy itself, not outside of it.

"Last night, last night I didn't think of it!" Niya suddenly smiled slyly, thinking of a reason.

Seeing this, Xia Duo shook his head in a show of pretense, but in his heart, he was happy for Niya's lively temperament. Since the two married and have been together, their relationship has become closer and closer, and Niya has increasingly shown her girlish nature in front of him.

If a husband and wife still have to live wearing some kind of mask, that would be too tiring.

Regarding Niya's question, Xia Duo did not answer directly, but instead asked: "Do you think Nanjing Sawier Ling and Daxia Territory combined can deal with the Elves?"

"No!"

"Then there you have it. The New Natural Philosophy is not prepared for others, but for ourselves. With the establishment of the Northland Alliance and the increasing exchanges between the Northland nations, the more we must have our own wall of thought!"

Niya seemed to understand and yet not understand Xia Duo's words, but she still nodded seriously.

Afterwards, the two washed up and left the Arcane Union together.