Chapter 86: Universe, Planes, and Reality (Thanks to the Alliance Leader

The twelfth lunar month has arrived; the mountains and rivers are already in winter.

Ning Qing sat in the first row of the classroom, with a petite girl she did not know beside her; this was the final class of "Cosmic Radiation and Spiritual Power."

This subject appeared to be about cosmic radiation and Spirit Power, but the elderly Ouyuan Gong was very skilled at guiding students to think and see the big picture from small details, using the various types of radiation and Spirit Power that filled the universe to lead everyone through a rough overview of the entire cosmos, while also leaving a lead-in for next year's "Plane Studies."

Scholars in this world usually isolate Spirit Power from the universe, distinguishing it from ordinary matter and energy.

This is because Spirit Power possesses a deviation characteristic; it seems to exist in another dimension, existing apart from the main world, and only creatures or objects possessing "Spirit Power Talent" can observe and come into contact with it, while it does not intersect with other objects.

A scholar once proposed a hypothesis: if there were a civilized planet in this universe where the creatures possessed no "Spirit Power Talent," then they might perhaps never be able to perceive the Spirit Power in the universe.

Fortunately, most life on this planet has an intersection with the "Spiritual Power Universe," so people have been able to form a bond with this wondrous and ancient energy.

This is truly a fortunate thing.

Because it is truly extremely charming and indescribably wonderful.

Some Spirit Power comes from extremely distant celestial bodies, crossing many light-years to visit here; with every step they take, every second that passes, and every place they pass through, subtle changes occur. These changes contain rich information, just like a letter written by a distant celestial body to a Cultivator on Earth, or a travel diary recorded by this Spirit Power during its journey to Earth.

A cosmic scholar should carefully observe these subtle changes and then patiently find a way to decipher this letter in order to understand this universe.

At the same time, the Spirit Power radiated by Earth has also been heading out into deep space, having started a long, long time ago.

Based on the transmission of this Spirit Power and the information it carries, the elderly Ouyuan Gong discovered a great secret of the universe and subsequently proposed the Plane Theory.

Once this theory was proposed, it caused a global sensation in various ways and changed people's perception of the universe.

It turns out the universe is not a single whole.

It turns out it is more like a beehive.

The universe is separated into small regions, with only light and Spirit Power able to pass through, like the small cells of a beehive. The star system we are in is located in one such small cell containing about tens of thousands of stars.

This cell is called a Plane.

When the Plane theory was first proposed, many people found it incredible, and many also raised doubts, feeling that this theory was too crazy, but as more and more authoritative cosmic scholars verified this theory through different methods, most people who have received a higher education have now basically accepted this explanation.

Ning Qing felt it was very interesting and indescribably wonderful.

It is a pity that what is being taught now is only theory; she cannot wait to know the specific principles and the methods of observation and verification, and wants to verify it personally.

"This semester is almost over."

The elderly Ouyuan Gong on the podium scanned everyone: "You all must be very concerned about the final exam, right?"

The classroom immediately erupted in a chorus of frog-like croaks:

"Teacher, give us the key points!"

"Give us a hint about the questions, Teacher!"

"Teacher, we're going to fail!"

"..."

The old gentleman just smiled, understanding the thoughts of this group of students very well, and said: "I won't leak the questions. Everyone can rest assured, they are all very simple. Even if you haven't attended this course, you will likely pass; I don't intend to make things difficult for you on this hurdle. I only hope that after taking my course, you all can gain something, and not just things as useless as credits."

"We have!" a girl shouted.

"Very much so," someone echoed.

"Thank you, everyone." The old gentleman bowed his head.

"Teacher, are the questions really simple? I've already scheduled one subject to fail this semester," another student shouted, "and two others depend on luck. If I fail this one too, I'll be too busy next semester."

"They really are simple." The old gentleman's face was full of kindness as he looked at him carefully, "I remember your name; you can rest assured."

"Sob sob sob, Teacher, I'm so moved!"

"Holy crap!!"

"There's such a move!"

"Teacher, I want it too, I want it too!"

"Damn, damn!"

The old gentleman listened with a smile to these young people shouting and yelling, among which there was no lack of vulgar language, but he did not feel any disgust at all, only sighing at the beauty of youth; he did not know how many years such wantonness and vitality could be maintained.

"You won't fail..."

The old gentleman's voice remained steady and kind.

"Teacher."

Someone who was auditing the class raised their hand and shouted loudly: "Will we be able to see you next semester?"

"Yes."

The old gentleman continued to answer.

Although his physical condition was already very poor and many early symptoms of Spirit Decay had already begun to appear, whenever he taught a new class, there would always be some people among the new group of students who could give him a surprise; he was always reluctant to leave them and always wanted to accompany these young people for another stretch of the journey.

The classroom was noisy for a while, then slowly quieted down.

The old gentleman looked at his watch and said to everyone: "Class is almost over. We probably won't see each other again before the new year, so I wish you all a Happy New Year in advance."

"Happy New Year, Teacher..."

"Happy New Year..."

"Happy New Year to you too..."

"Take care of your health, Teacher..."

"Hehehe..." The old gentleman laughed happily, then added, "Given that we will still be working together next semester, I will recommend a few books to you all. If you are bored during the winter break, you can use them to kill some time. If you are busy celebrating the New Year with your family, busy going on outings, or busy making plans to go on outings with friends, then forget it. Anyway, I won't check them when we meet next year, so don't have any psychological burden."

The students accepted gladly.

Yujing Academy itself has this tradition of recommending some good reading material to students before the holidays, and most students will go buy and read them.

The old gentleman turned around and wrote several book titles on the blackboard:

"Universe, Life and Life"

"Heaven, Human, Buddha and Dao"

"Plane Theory"

"Universe Hypothesis: Great Universe, Beehive Universe, Great Plane and Small Plane, etc."

"Conjectures Regarding Twin Planes and Transmigration"

"Plane Origin and Spiritual Quality"

The old gentleman's handwriting on the blackboard was very beautiful, but it was not the kind of beauty that is vigorous and powerful or ancient and heavy; rather, it was quite delicate.

Putting away his pen and thinking for a moment, the old gentleman wrote a number in front of several of the book titles to order them, specifically 142365, and then he turned around and said to everyone with a chuckle: "These books are quite hard to chew; if you gentlemen only want a rough understanding, I won't say anything, but if you want to read them in detail, perhaps you could only finish one or two in a whole vacation, so I have ordered them to give you all a reading suggestion.

"Of course, this is just a suggestion.

"It is only provided for when you do not know which one to read first; at other times, you are completely free to read according to your own interests and ideas.

"These are all related to the universe and planes, and I feel they are some of the better-written books that will be helpful for your further studies in the future. I will not recommend other types of masterpieces here; the school has a recommended reading list every semester, and you are welcome to take a look at that as well.

"You will also gain something from them."

After the old gentleman finished speaking, he looked at the time again, closed the lid of his thermos, and said to everyone who had finished taking notes:

"See you next year."

Then he turned off the equipment and walked out slowly.

The snowfall in Yujing this year was exceptionally heavy, but since he was a High-level Practitioner, the old gentleman was naturally not afraid of the cold, yet he could still feel it—if one could not feel the cold, how could one appreciate the emotion of the winter sun shining upon one's body?

It was just that he would not feel uncomfortable because of the cold.

Unless it reached the late stage of Spirit Decay, the cold winter might bring him torment, but at that point, compared to the other accompanying symptoms of Spirit Decay, this bit of chill was nothing.

The bell for the end of class rang just then.

……

The sixth day of the twelfth lunar month.

Ning Qing sat in the examination hall, head lowered, answering questions quietly; the subject being tested today happened to be "Cosmic Radiation and Spiritual Power."

The questions the old gentleman set were indeed very simple—

Some basic definitions of terms;

Some common knowledge about the universe that any astronomy enthusiast who frequently reads related popular science could answer;

Some questions that had nothing to do with the major;

……

This set of questions was so simple that it almost didn't serve the purpose of testing learning outcomes; truly, even someone who hadn't attended the class could pass.

The old gentleman was very willful—

Prestigious schools like Yujing and Ling'an Academy just had many old professors who were willful to the extreme, and there was nothing you could do about them.

Ning Qing quickly wrote to the last big question.

This was a short-answer question.

Question one:

Why is Spirit Power from Monoceros often used for encrypted communication?

Even if you didn't know the answer to this kind of question, you could guess it correctly by relying on common sense.

Question two:

Do you think Earth is lonely or mediocre in the universe? Is this plane the only plane in the Beehive Universe where life exists?

It had the flavor of a civilian interview.

Question three:

What research is Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation helpful for?

Answered in half a minute.

Question four:

Do you think there will be other universes, and are there other types of universes?

This seemed to be a question testing imagination, because currently, no one can observe other universes, and even this universe can only be observed in a small part. The vast majority of the universe's regions are unobservable by conventional means due to superluminal expansion.

Ning Qing was a person who lacked imagination.

However, among the six books the old gentleman recommended a few days ago, she had already read three, and she happened to have flipped through the others over the past few days...

Among them was "Universe Hypothesis: Great Universe, Beehive Universe, Great Plane and Small Plane, etc."

This book imagined other types of universes.

It was also difficult for the old gentleman.

The last question:

If you could know your life in advance, know that youth is short, know that the secular world is murky, know the powerlessness of love, know all the irresistible forces, and know the outcome of every event you encounter, but you cannot change it, would you still have the courage to come and experience everything all over again?

A large blank space was left below.

Ning Qing lifted the exam paper, held it in front of her, and a smile slowly curled at the corners of her mouth.

She then fell into deep thought.

It is unknown how much time passed before she picked up her pen:

"I once heard such a saying: perhaps before coming to this world, we all read the script of this life; the reason we still choose to come is that we feel that no matter what we are to experience in this life, there is still something worth our coming for, and it is still meaningful.

"I also know such a person—

"He is happy, he is sad, he is proud, he is ashamed... but he is also indifferent to happiness, indifferent to sadness, indifferent to pride, indifferent to shame...

"He seems to dare to do everything he wants to do, as long as he wants to from the bottom of his heart.

"People often think I am a detached person, that I do not care about anything, but in fact, this is not truly not caring, not true detachment. True detachment should be like his; no matter what he has experienced, regardless of joy, anger, sorrow, happiness, or even shame, he can accept it with a peaceful state of mind and feel the truth with a calm and transcendent mindset. Therefore, he only has true happiness and is never truly sad, regretful, or ashamed.

"In all things in the world, all emotions, stripping away the false surface and leaving only the truth, in his heart, only two words remain—

"Interesting.

"This question seems to be asking whether people have the courage, and whether they can calmly accept the truth."

"I think he has already provided the answer and the method for me."

This question, which seemed unrelated to the universe or the Plane, had taken up a lot of her time; she had answered all the other questions very simply, yet for some reason, she had written a great deal here. By the time she put away one of the fountain pens from the couple's set her younger sister had given her, quite a few classmates were already sitting there bored, waiting.

Why hadn't anyone handed in their papers?

Ning Qing did not care.

She was going to find her truth.

Ning Qing was the first to stand up, pick up her test paper, and walk toward the podium.

The proctor was from another college and immediately stopped her upon seeing this: "Hey, hey, hey! Time isn't up yet; you can only hand in your paper early during the last half hour. If you hand it in now, your professor will be criticized..."

"..."

Let them be criticized a couple more times.

Ning Qing placed the paper on the podium and walked straight out the door.

Seeing this, the other students seemed to have found a role model; they stood up one after another, took their papers, and walked toward the podium.