Chapter 022 Apprentice of the Future

　　"Nonsense! When have I ever lied to you? Those are his handwritten notes—what I usually call The Chosen One’s Journal! And there’s something even better!" Wei Zhengdao said, feigning mystery.

　　Gu Moxun stammered: "W-what… something… even better?"

　　Wei Zhengdao: "I’ll tell you later…"

　　"T-then… M-master… p-please… go on! F-finish… and we’ll… go… see… The Chosen One’s Journal!" Thinking he’d soon get to see his idol’s handwritten notes, Gu Moxun was so excited that his stutter returned. No longer dumbfounded, he became so exhilarated! His face was beaming with excitement. If there were any words to describe him, that would be like a man obsessed with beauty catching sight of a peerless beauty…

　　His expression earned him a glare from Wei Zhengdao. “Calm down, boy! What’s the rush? If you’re this impatient, I won’t let you see that thing—I spent over a decade on it, gathering information from all sides to compile it!

　　I worked so hard and put so much care into it. You’re the first viewer, and maybe the only one. If you just glance at it casually without getting my original intention, I’d rather not show it to you at all! It would be a waste of my efforts!”

　　“Y-yes, yes! M-master… I-I… was wrong!” Gu Moxun hurried to apologize.

　　Wei Zhengdao picked up the water cup beside him, glanced at Gu Moxun—who was listening with wide eyes—and slowly took a sip of hot tea to moisten his throat. He then continued: “Before the Third World War, human civilization had been peaceful for many years. During those peaceful years, human civilization and technology also developed rapidly. People back then valued education, family, and life more. The estrangement between individuals and the conflicts between beliefs had diminished a lot!

　　That era was a wonderful one, but also a bewildering oen.

　　People worked hard to earn money, and used money to buy the things they needed to make their lives better. But gradually, humans became enslaved by money and forgot the original purpose of life…”

　　“Master, what is money?” The young Gu Moxun looked at the elder in confusion and asked. He didn’t understand the meaning of money—no human in space did…

　　“Money is a very complex thing. It’s a credit instrument for transactions between people, and between countries… Each country would issue its own currency for its citizens to use. Citizens exchange their labour for money, and use money to buy the goods or services they need. It’s the same principle as the Alliance Points we use in the Alliance. However, Alliance Points are more egalitarian—there’s no gap between the rich and the poor, and the basic points everyone receives are not much different. Moreover, there are level or special requirements for using Alliance Points, which also restrains the monetary nature of the points…

　　At that time, money was also a key measure of a person’s success. People with a lot of money could live in big houses, enjoy the highest living standards, choose the best romantic partners, and receive the most favourable treatment.”

　　“If people’s goals in work and life are all about money, then life would become meaningless, wouldn’t it? It’s like if we all lived just for Alliance Points—only taking tasks that are easy to earn points, while avoiding difficult and time-consuming work like technological research, resource collection, educating children, and military/martial arts training—wouldn’t the Alliance fall into chaos?

　　People who want to improve their professional skills would lose motivation when they see others earning so many points. In such an atmosphere, even those who want to become strong would struggle to focus on cultivation, right? Could there still be strong people who constantly surpass themselves and lead the era in such an environment?” Gu Moxun poured out his doubts one after another, pinpointing the core of the problem with sharp insight! At this moment, he didn’t stutter at all—his eyes were filled with wisdom!

　　Wei Zhengdao was shocked by the boy’s words, his eyes widening as he looked at the young man like a rough jade. He never expected such profound insights from someone so young!

　　The elder said to the boy with joy: “Haha, well said! Exactly! How many adults fail to see what a child can easily understand! Hahahaha, it seems I don’t need to say anything more!

　　Let’s go! Let’s go see The Guide’s Journal. With your insights and vision, I believe you can discern the truth of the Apocalypse era from my work, gain your own understanding and growth, and thus cherish the hard-won peace even more!” As he spoke, Wei Zhengdao propped himself up with both hands, grabbed his dragon-headed crutch with his left hand, and his body hovered a few meters to the right front! He landed precisely on his cloth shoes, tapped his toes twice after putting them on, and walked toward the door.

　　Immersed in excitement—thinking he’d finally get to see his idol’s handwritten diary—Gu Moxun completely missed his master’s magical hovering movement!

　　He rushed to put on his shoes, then ran after the elder toward the floating lift platform on the second floor. Gu Moxun followed closely behind Wei Zhengdao, unable to contain the overwhelming excitement in his heart! He imagined the earth-shaking deeds recorded in the handwritten journal of the idol he’d admired since childhood. In countless daydreams over the years, that man had always appeared like a god descending from heaven—saving survivors from peril with extraordinary strength…

　　In his dreams, he was a handsome, powerful, tall and straight saviour, kind and approachable! As a legendary strongman, he must have been valiant and unparalleled in charm, right? Having defeated countless masters and evil villains, saved lives and healed the wounded—what kind of handsome appearance did he truly have? He united the remaining Apocalypse survivors, formed the final army, and defeated the evil forces. Then he led humanity into the universe, built space civilization, eliminated the apocalyptic virus on Earth, and preserved the spark of human civilization! Such a saviour with magnificent achievements must have been an extraordinary person! In his dreams, Chu Mufan always floated in front of him, smiling and extending a guiding hand…

　　“Do you really want to see Chu Mufan’s handwritten notes?” As soon as they stepped onto the floating platform, the elder asked, pulling Gu Moxun out of his reverie. After speaking, the elder also showed a strange smile, staring straight at Gu Moxun with his eyes.

　　“Yes, of course… of course I… do!” Gu Moxun sensed something was off, but still insisted on his wish.

　　“It’s not hard to see them. Originally, this journal is a required course for Guides.

　　However, just reading the journal isn’t enough—you also need to use the course-ware device I made.

　　And as I said, this is a course. Since you’re so eager, I can adjust things and we’ll start this course first. But you must promise me one thing, okay?” Wei Zhengdao stared at the boy and asked!

　　Gu Moxun nodded without hesitation. Even if a hundred requests were made now, the boy would definitely say yes! He was simply too eager to see what that legendary figure from a hundred years ago was really like!

　　“Good! Promise me this! Even if you’re disappointed, you must never muddle through! You have to be sincere, calm your mind, and truly read, learn, and reflect on these courses. Can you do that? Moreover, reading it just once is too little to gain anything—you need to watch it at least three times! You must remember everything that happened in it. What do you think?” Wei Zhengdao said with a slight mischievous smile.

　　“Okay, I’ll definitely read it wholeheartedly!” Gu Moxun had thought it would be some special request, but it turned out to be just asking him to read it a few more times…

　　For him, this was a dream come true, not a request at all. Thinking he’d get to see the handwritten works of the god he admired so much, he’d never get tired of admiring them, even if it took forever! The boy agreed to his master without hesitation, completely ignoring the elder’s cunning smile…

　　“Great! Since you’ve promised, I’ll tell you the origin of that mysterious course-ware.”

　　“W-what… is its… origin? M-master?” Thinking this thing had taken Wei Zhengdao over ten years to make, it must be extraordinary—and the boy stammered with excitement.

　　“That’s holographic image data crafted from the memory chip extracted from the Destined One Chu Mufan’s brain. Back then, for personal reasons, he copied his complete memories and entrusted them to Dr. David, the first Guide. Initially, Chu Mufan’s idea was that if something happened, humans in space could retrieve information from his memories and see if the clues inside could help solve their problems. Later, this memory record passed through many hands before ending up with me. I spent over ten years gathering information from all sides to build a device It can convert his memories into holographic projections through virtual imaging technology and display them directly! At first, it was just a selfish endeavour of mine, but later I realized this method would be perfect for training Guides!

　　Now that I’ve accepted you as my disciple, I’ll do you a favour—let you be my first viewer, so you can learn and experience it thoroughly. But if this course-ware falls into the hands of someone with ill intentions, it would be disastrous! That’s why I designed three trials to test your courage, temperament, and resolve! In fact, your quick passage through the Black-and-White Heart Door already proved your good temperament and lack of evil thoughts! The later martial arts contest with Zheng Feng was a last-minute idea of mine—I wanted to test your resolve and give you more tempering…”