Chapter 1 The So-Called Public School

The so-called "public schools" of Pland City-State were completely different from the true universities of the Upper District. These schools, funded by the city hall, were not institutions for cultivating true scholars; their greater function was to train skilled workers for the factories in the Lower District and for the church's steam-powered machinery, while providing basic literacy education to the masses.

Given this premise, one could imagine the level of resources at the public school in Crossroads District.

This was Duncan's first contact with Morris, but even from his first impression, he could tell that the old gentleman possessed extraordinary academic attainments. He was a true expert who could accurately identify an antique from a pile of junk at a glance and accurately state its age and historical background. Such an expert would be more than qualified to be at a university in the Upper District.

Objectively speaking, his wealth of knowledge was completely wasted in the Crossroads District public school. Nina had said that hardly any students in her class cared about what the old gentleman taught; they considered it a mark of respect if they could stay awake for the entire lesson.

What's more, this Mr. Morris was able to produce a large sum of money to buy a dagger from a century ago—people who carried checkbooks didn't seem like ordinary citizens.

Duncan thought for a moment. Asking directly, "How did you get so rich?" seemed too abrupt, but using the art of language to put it another way would be very natural:

"Actually, I'm a little curious. How did a scholar like you end up teaching at a public school in Crossroads District?"

"...You're not the first to ask," Morris seemed used to others' questions about this. He just smiled faintly, carefully putting away his things as he said, "It's nothing, really. It's just that I'm getting old and tired of the overly tense academic atmosphere in the universities of the Upper District. Rather than compete with young people for the already limited resources, I thought it better to find a quieter place to complete my research... Besides, in my later years, I can pass on my knowledge to more young people. Isn't that a good thing?"

The old man didn't seem to be telling the whole truth, but Duncan could tell that he didn't want to talk about it in too much detail, so he didn't press the issue. He just casually mentioned, "But I heard from Nina that her classmates don't seem to value the knowledge you teach... In this Lower District where survival is difficult, is it too distant to pursue the glory of the ancient Cretan kingdom?"

"Even in the deepest and darkest alleys, as long as spiritual minds are still thinking, 'history' will always be valuable," Morris shook his head. "It is because of the history of the past thousands of years that we have come to this day.

"The lifespan of mortals is very short. It is the inheritance and reverence for history that allows the lifespan of civilization to far exceed the limits of the individual. And this is also the key that distinguishes us from those strange and blind things in the deep sea—they are ancient, but they do not know how to record civilization, so they can never destroy us.

"Of course, Mr. Duncan, you are also right. In this Lower District, few people are willing to listen to my lengthy lectures... But even if I only teach one student, I feel that my years have not been wasted."

Morris said this in a calm and unhurried manner, then suddenly seemed to realize something and gave a gentle and apologetic smile: "Sorry, professional habit. I was being a bit preachy."

"It's okay. I think it's a very valuable 'preaching'," Duncan immediately waved his hand. "In fact, I'm very happy to talk to you—you see, you are a historical expert, and I am an antique dealer. In a sense, we are colleagues."

From the perspective of "teacher," we are also colleagues—Duncan silently added in his heart.

"To be honest, judging only from the first impression of walking into this antique shop... I really don't believe the word 'colleague' from your mouth," Morris spread his hands. "But now I believe it a little—at least you have one genuine article."

Duncan's expression was very natural, thinking that it was more than just one genuine article. The moment the old gentleman filled out the check, he had already gone through all the cargo holds of the *Missing Ship* in his mind. If he wasn't worried about impacting the market, he would have planned out the decorating style of his eighth branch...

Calming himself down, Duncan continued to maintain a calm demeanor with a smile on his face: "I heard from Nina that you are actually more proficient in ancient history, especially the history around the ancient Cretan kingdom?"

"Strictly speaking, it's only 'after,' not 'before'," Morris immediately corrected. "The ancient Cretan kingdom was the beginning of civilization in the Deep Sea Era. Before the ancient kingdom was the Great Annihilation Event, which was the point where civilization broke down. No one can say what the world was like before that point—at least not with any certainty. All that exists are the contradictory descriptions in the wild tales circulating in various city-states."

Duncan pondered: "The point where civilization broke down... Like a 'horizon limit' across the river of history..."

Morris had obviously never heard this term before: "Horizon limit?"

"A concept. When applied to the 'Great Annihilation' event, you can think of it as an invisible wall of time. All information on the other side of the wall cannot be transmitted to this side, whether it is optical observation or the causal relationships of things, they are all cut off before that boundary. You can never stand on one side of the boundary and understand what happened on the other side, as if the timeline of everything only suddenly appeared from that boundary."

"A very interesting statement!" Old Mr. Morris's eyes widened slightly, and even a faint light shone in them. "A horizon limit across history... A wall of time... Indeed, very apt! Mr. Duncan, forgive my initial wrong impression and... Underestimation. You are more professional than I thought. Do you also study ancient history often?"

"No, I don't know much about ancient history, I just have a more flexible mind and can sometimes come up with some wonderful metaphors," Duncan immediately said modestly. He knew he should appear ignorant now. "But I am very curious about the Great Annihilation period... You mentioned just now that the orthodox academic community has no consensus on the history before the Great Annihilation, but there are many contradictory records in the 'unofficial histories' of various city-states? What are these records like?"

"Just unofficial history and strange tales... But I have indeed studied some," Morris pondered, slowly saying, "For example, there was a record in Pland City-State, a manuscript from the New City-State Calendar 1069. The original is no longer available. The manuscript described the world before the Great Annihilation as follows:

"The world is a sphere, floating in the vast sea of stars, with countless celestial bodies as stars adorning the night sky. There is a sun in the sky, and three moons. Humans occupied three continents, one of which is perpetually frozen, so people built a device called a 'dome' to cover the continent to create 'eternal spring.' The energy of this dome imitated the sun in the sky, using a certain component in seawater as fuel, and was almost eternal..."

Morris paused here, seemingly giving Duncan some time to think, remember, and organize, then continued:

"And on an island near Cold Harbor, explorers found a record engraved on a rock. That record also described the world before the Great Annihilation, and scholars were greatly puzzled after deciphering it with great effort—

"The stone tablet described that a homeland called 'Mother Star' had been exhausted, and all people were riding on a huge ship called 'Abinix,' which could cross the sea of stars and use dust and gas captured from the void as fuel. The giant ship sailed for forty-seven thousand days and nights, and was suddenly caught in a 'huge flash and vortex,' after which the ship disintegrated and disappeared in the vortex, and the descendants survived from the sea, leaving behind memories of their homeland in the caves.

"Of course, these records are not as bizarre as the legends left by the elves of Lightwind Port.

"Elves have a lifespan of a thousand years, their history should be more detailed and reliable than other short-lived races, but for some reason, the history of Lightwind Port is the most fragmented, absurd and bizarre of all city-states. Many of their scrolls have even been distorted into unreadable 'lost scrolls' by unknown forces, and have to be sealed due to severe contamination. In the oral poems of the elves, the world before the Great Annihilation is described as follows:

"The world is a dream, it is the breath of the great demon god Sasroka in a half-dream and half-awake state. The elves were born in the dream, maintaining Sasroka's slumber. But one day, the demon god suddenly dreamed of a great flood coming, and He woke up in shock, so the flood leaked from His dream into the real world, and the elves were swept into reality along with it... The demon god Sasroka disappeared due to awakening, and the elves could never return to that peaceful home, so they settled in the Deep Sea Era after the flood."