Chapter 866 You Are Also Innovation! (Large Chapter)

Mediocrity and innovation are like fire and water, seemingly irreconcilable.

But in reality, that's not the case.

Just as there is no absolute perfection in the world, no absolute chaos, and no absolute miracle, there is no absolute innovation. Even if the former is absolutely infinitely great, because there are other infinities, they can never achieve the highest correctness.

Every innovation is for the sake of becoming better... So what's the subtext of this sentence?

It means that it's not good enough now.

There are still things that can't be done.

Some things are indeed beyond our power.

If you deny your current inability, then there is no way to innovate. To insist that you can do it now is not objective, not realistic, and it is impossible to start innovation later.

Admitting your powerlessness is the first step to innovation.

So, if you are powerless, what should you do?

The answer is to do nothing.

Forcing it will only lead to complete failure.

It's better to rest, think, and be a bit mediocre... Just like if you can't write a novel, don't force yourself to squeeze out a few thousand words of garbage that no one can read. It's better to take a leave of absence.

Doing things is about getting them done, and done well.

Just like novels have to be good to read. If you force yourself to write them and they aren't good, the matter isn't handled well, and the readers and superiors won't buy it. What's the point of trying so hard? It's all emptiness.

Su Zhou is very clear about this... Things that can't be done just can't be done. Forcing it will only be counterproductive and even ruin things. Forcing a fight against an unbeatable enemy will only get you killed.

If you need to run, then run. If the enemy surrounds you, then outflank them. If the enemy launches a long expedition, then retreat to your base and defend it. If that doesn't work, then you launch your own long expedition.

Waiting to become stronger and then returning to defeat the enemy does not affect the final result being a happy ending.

It may not be perfect enough... not completely perfect, unable to beat the game in one life, defeating everyone you meet...

But innovation is just about being good enough. If you can't do it this time, keep trying next time.

The most important thing is not to give up—not the kind of not giving up where you stubbornly hold on, but the kind of not giving up even after admitting that you can't do it and admitting that you have failed.

This is also a kind of love, a kind of blessing!

A beautiful world must be a world where everyone can make mistakes and has the right to have things they can't do!

"Hongshi, watch the blade!"

With such a blade slashing out, carrying the full power of a Hedao (Harmony Dao) expert, just the aftershocks shook the surrounding void, transforming into various world phantoms, like a rising sun, illuminating the other end of the multiverse, transforming into dawn.

It slashed at another expert, penetrating his magic weapon, robes, supernatural powers, flesh and blood, and bones, finally piercing his chest in the other's roar.

…

An old man walks on the prairie.

This prairie is wide and serene, and the sunlight shines upon it, like a tumbling green ocean.

The old man is old, but not very old. Although his hair is gray, his complexion is still ruddy, and he doesn't have many wrinkles. Only the lines on both sides of his mouth are slightly upturned, which should be the result of constant smiling.

The old man is smiling now. He looks around at the endless prairie and smiles gently. With each step forward, he seems to become more satisfied and happy.

A long, long time ago, the prairie was not actually a prairie, but a cursed land burning with flames. At that time, the cursed land was not serene, but full of wails and cries. Dark clouds churned in the sky, and what fell was not cool rain, but burning sulfur and boiling iron and blood.

The chain of hatred ran through many universes, and the key of remembrance became a notebook of hatred. Too many mutually loathing causes and effects were intertwined, but there was no relieving result. They could only solidify into a hell called despair and resentment, spreading across this Cycle Plains.

The old man has experienced many generations of reincarnation and witnessed the appearances of eighteen different hells—some were remembered because of jealousy, some were remembered because of lies, and some were because of hatred, hostility, killing, and curses... Yes, not all remembrance is because of 'love' and 'recollection'.

If too many remembered souls linger because of resentment, then even a peaceful underworld will turn into hell.

Whether it is eternal slumber in peace or infinite punishment, it all stems from the life's own choice.

But that was only temporary.

As time passed, the hell would also dissipate, and the countless souls lingering within would be gradually liberated. What was ultimately left to the many walkers was such a silent and peaceful, infinite prairie.

The old man could hardly remember anything. He was also a member of hell at the beginning, remembered because of some kind of hostility, some kind of unwillingness, some kind of chain of hatred, and greedy desire.

But later, as time turned, the shallow loves and hates on his body began to recede, and the thought that allowed him to continue walking here was no longer an intense emotion, but a faint recollection.

This made the old man feel quite relaxed—it wasn't that he couldn't bear such intense emotions, but that the old man instinctively felt happy for the person who remembered him.

People who are always hating cannot be happy, and people who can never let go cannot be happy either.

The old man believed that one day, the person who remembered him would create a world where everyone could be happy, a world that could save all those who suffer.

Perhaps he could let go.

And he himself could embark on the path of reincarnation without any worries.

--What?

Too difficult? Absolutely impossible to do?

Haha, so what if it's difficult? That's his most proud... most proud...

In short.

He firmly believed that the other party could do it, and it had nothing to do with possibility.

So the old man walked easily on this boundless prairie, day after day, until now.

And now, beside the old man who had been walking alone, suddenly appeared the phantom of a middle-aged man.

The man had black hair and red eyes. At first, he was stunned for a while, staring at the old man, and then he stepped forward and walked with him.

[It's tiring to walk here]

After a long silence, the man spoke first, saying somewhat apologetically: [Aren't you tired?]

[Not very tired] The old man responded with a smile: [I can continue to walk]

[But it's always tiring] The man said in a low voice: [If that's the case, what will you do?]

[I will...] The old man blinked. He thought for a while, then shook his head and said: [I'll stop and rest]

The old man stopped, turned his head, and smiled at the man: [Just like now, you have to rest for a while when you need to rest]

[Only then can you continue to walk]

There was another silence. The old man started walking again, and the man followed beside him.

They walked through the alternation of day and night, the rotation of the sun and moon, saw the cloud sea rippling with waves, and heavy rain falling with roars. They saw the cold wind freeze the soft grass and trees, and they also saw towering mountains rising abruptly above the earth, with snow clinging to their peaks. The rushing river valleys flowed down from above, traversing the prairie.

The old man and the man waded across the river. The taste of the river water was salty, like tears.

And finally, they walked through a sea of burning fire, warm but not scorching, and the rising smoke turned into a ladder of light, reaching straight into the sky, with vague figures climbing and walking on it.

[...Can I really rest?]

The man was walking on this prairie, He enjoyed the time with the old man, but He always felt that this was not good, He could not tolerate such time.

So He asked confusedly: [During the time I stop to rest, there may be someone waiting for me]

[If I rest, the person who is waiting for me may not be able to wait]

[If I rest, those who need me to save them may not be saved]

He murmured, looking around at the boundless prairie and the wind: [Can I really rest?]

[Are you very anxious?] The old man was also a little surprised: [Is there definitely someone waiting for you?]

The man thought for a while and nodded: [Definitely]

The old man asked seriously: [Is it only by setting off immediately that you can barely make it?]

The man thought for a while, hesitated for a moment, and then nodded: [Immediately]

The old man's expression was solemn, his brow furrowed, and he became serious for a moment: [Is it something that only you can do, that only you can do?]

The man thought for a while and remained silent for a long time.

He shook his head: [No]

He sighed: [It's not that it has to be me]

[That's good] The old man relaxed his brow, and he relaxed: [No big deal, you can rest]

[But this is not a reason for me to rest]

The man heard the words and was not very satisfied.

He raised his head, looked at the eternally shining sun on the prairie, and clenched his fists: [Someone... also advised me to stop temporarily, but if I really rest, then during the time I rest, those who have not been saved... wouldn't they have no hope?]

[He advised me to give up. If I listen, wouldn't that be equivalent to me and him killing those people?]

[What nonsense] The old man shook his head: [The murderers are always the murderers. What does it have to do with you, the savior?]

[What's more, not to mention whether you can save them... Under this sky, are only you two capable of saving people?]

After struggling for a long time, the man breathed out and finally replied: [...No]

[Someone will take over your burden]

So the old man nodded with satisfaction: [As long as you help them save more people when others are resting, and trust the correctness of others, then won't everything be fine?]

The old man and the man continued to walk.

The man was silent for a long time.

He was pondering some of the simplest questions in this world, but also the most complex questions.

--Can I trust others?

He thought so. This question is not a problem for many people at all, but even until death, no one may be able to give an absolute, one-hundred-percent answer.

Believe in the conscience and morality of human beings, believe in the beliefs and wills of comrades, and believe that other than yourself, there are also people who can guarantee the survival of the vast majority of people.

It's hard to believe.

A person with conscience and morality may be able to guarantee that he will never actively betray others, but can he guarantee that everyone else is like him?

Apart from Him, is there really anyone who has no desire for the common people, but only hopes that they can live as much and as well as possible?

Even, even that innovation... will make unrealistic demands on its own people, plunging the common people into a vortex of constant progress, constant self-reflection, and eternal unease...

Can you believe it?

[I can't do it]

The man's spine suddenly collapsed, he bent down and half-knelt on the ground, the man covered his face and sighed, tears flowing from his fingers: [I... have seen too many people's fickleness, have seen too many people's hypocrisy]

[I once saw someone encountering injustice and standing up for it. He was just speaking a fair word, but he was regarded as a traitor. It was clear that someone was wronged, and he wanted to uphold justice, but he was slandered as a relative of the other party, received bribes, or that the other party had an unspeakable relationship with him, with many years of friendship]

[I have seen someone abandon his wife and children for wealth, betraying his best friends, just because money can buy new beauties and gain new friends]

[I have seen some slaves, who do not want freedom even when they are enslaved, but instead seek value from the enslaved life, praising the master's preferential treatment, and taking pride in being the master's dog, admiring and reveling in the master's joy]

[I can't believe them. Most of the people are like this. When they encounter difficulties, they will retreat. When they encounter disasters, they will say that if the sky falls, there are tall people to support it. Even if some people are unwilling to retreat and are willing to stand up, they are criticized by many people, who think they are fools]

[I am willing to be a fool, I go to save these people again and again... but will there really be other people willing?]

Raising his head, the man, still with tears, clenched his fists: [How can I dare to believe them? I have always looked at the people with the greatest malice, because I must do everything well, not letting them have any chance to make mistakes, how can I rest?]

[Just like... you...] he said, looking at the old man.

[You believe them, but how did they treat you?]

The old man also stared at the man, the two silently facing each other.

He couldn't remember who this man was, nor did he know what relationship he had with him. The other party came inexplicably, and all in all, everything was a bit bizarre.

But, he felt... the other party was very worthy of his pride.

Of course, of course.

Of course, worthy of pride.

In any case, the man did things that the old man had never imagined or expected.

[Silly child]

So he reached out and grabbed the man's shoulder, trying hard to pull him up: [What are you talking about?]

But obviously, he couldn't pull him up. The man's weight far exceeded his imagination. It seemed to be a heavy pressure made up of a universe, several universes, who knows how many worlds, stars, and how many planes and time and space.

If such heavy pressure were on an ordinary expert, they would have collapsed long ago, or fled from this responsibility. For the man, this heavy pressure was also too heavy, long unbearable, but the man had been stubbornly resisting, not saying a word to outsiders, but constantly adding more weight to himself.

Unless he himself was willing, perhaps few people in this universe could pull Him up.

Since he couldn't do it, the old man didn't force it. He reached out, leaned down, and patted the man on the shoulder: [You have to believe in everyone... Now everyone's moral standards have problems, but that doesn't mean it will be eternally like this in the future. If you don't believe in everyone, how will everyone believe in you?]

Saying this, the old man's tone was leisurely, and he looked far into the distance at the infinite prairie: [If you don't rest, if you encounter an unprecedentedly strong enemy in the future, but you are defeated by a single move because you didn't cultivate your spirit well... Wouldn't that be both failing to save people and being very regrettable?]

[But, in infinite possibilities, there must also be my persistence, so I can win...]

The man opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to refute, but was interrupted by the old man: [No buts]

The old man raised his hand and pointed forward, the endless green prairie leading to the boundless distance.

At this time, his tone was quite high-spirited: [You said infinite possibilities? I understand this very well. This means that the number of people you can't save is infinite, and the number of people you can save is also infinite]

[If, because you rest, the number of people who can't be saved is infinite; then because you rest, the number of people who can save more is also infinite]

The man also raised his head at this moment, He looked at the infinite prairie, his eyes blank.

And the old man's words continued: [Do you understand? Silly child]

[Unless you yourself are 'infinite', otherwise, no matter how you choose, there are infinite futures, and none of them will be as you wish]

[But if you are 'infinite', then no matter how many infinite possibilities there are in infinite futures and infinite time and space, they will all be as you wish]

The old man said: [The most important thing is to believe]

He once again reached out to the man, with a smile on his face.

[Child, although I have long forgotten, it is precisely because I believe that I can trek through these endless years]

He said so: [I believe that someone has not forgotten me. I believe that he also believes in me. Because of belief, I seem to be walking alone on this Cycle Plains, having traveled for who knows how many years, but I have never felt alone]

[Because of belief, 'people' will intersect, parallel lines will cross, and infinite causes and effects will be derived... The beginning of everything, including correctness, is because of conviction]

[You can be disappointed, look down on, and even hate the fickleness and unteachability of the people... these are all your rights]

[But you can't not believe in them—because you came out of such people, didn't you? How can you not believe?]

The old man stretched out his hand with comfort, joy, and appreciation: [Even if you don't believe in the people... child, you must remember]

[Your existence itself is my belief]

The man silently reached out and took the old man's hand, standing up.

He reached out and pressed the center of his chest, where there was a blade wound, This blade wound was hot and painful, This kind of heat is something that only the purest young people can create. The person who created this blade wound must not have seen hundreds of millions of years of evil from the people, so he can be so pure, hot and scalding.

[All things and people will lie and deceive, be arrogant and hypocritical, be greedy and excessive, be lazy and irritable]

He stood up, closed his eyes, and murmured to himself: [All things and people are pitiful and sighing, ignorant and at a loss, eager to survive, and will hurt others for their own survival]

[Powerful existences, just appearing are evil, When their cultivation is successful, they will become a natural class, they will naturally oppress and naturally draw different ravines with others]

[I know that this is infinite evil. Unless all things and people 'love' each other, the strong love the weak, and the weak also love the strong, otherwise the mutual infringement and harm will never end]

[I thought this would save them]

[What a joke] The old man said: [You don't even believe that they can do it, so why force them to do it? Are you crazy?]

[If you believe, you wouldn't force it, would you?]

The blade wound on his chest was getting hotter and hotter.

The man suddenly understood at this moment that it wasn't that the person who stabbed this blade was so hot because he was naive, The real heat had to burn endless evil thoughts to achieve. He must have also witnessed many evils, many pure ugliness.

Many phantoms flashed before the man's eyes—He saw that there were emperors who purely wanted to survive, who wanted to live better, killing hundreds of millions of people under their rule for their own selfish desires, and there were national teachers who helped the evildoers, using the blood of the people as nourishment, nourishing their own Great Dao path.

He saw that there were gods who suspected each other, because they could not believe each other, because it was difficult to communicate, so they used killing as language and slaughter as communication, vying with each other for the chance to survive in the next era and the vitality to continue in the next era.

He also saw that there were pure evildoers who trampled on other people's wishes for their own respective wishes, There were evildoers rampaging across the planet, spreading fear, and building their own towering ladder, There were also demons calling out in the deep space, killing wantonly just to let the people's eyes focus on themselves.

There were too many phantoms, too many.

For the sake of true peace, to reshape a brand-new world, seven wish-holders fought each other, causing innocents to bleed, but also casting the future they wanted; wanting to prove his own value, no longer being the pet of the immortals, the king turned back into a demon, taking away the future of his people and turning the people into toys in his palm.

Too much, too much, for freedom, so trampling on the right law; for the right law, so trampling on freedom.

Because he hoped that the people would no longer shed tears, the great wish made for a perfect ending created the bitter fruit of generations of immortals and gods crushing and overturning; the original stardust was in extreme pain because of the existence of nothingness, so it would rather destroy the people and the universe than know whether the meaning of survival existed.

Until the end, the sun sank into the dusk, and the void twilight overturned all things.

But there was a dawn that lit up, brightening the day and night.

The man silently knew that the Demon Lord of Devouring Evil had swallowed all the malice before finally lighting a flame at the final point, turning into the current heat.

--Was the person who stabbed this blade disappointed?

Every time the long blade was drawn, he was disappointed.

--Angry?

Every time he struck out to kill an enemy, he was angry.

--Did he take action?

Every time he encountered ugliness, he took action without hesitation, vowing to save them.

What was the difference between him and himself?

[...]

After a long silence, the man opened his mouth.

He said softly: [He believes]

[He believes that if he does this, the people can become better, and the people can definitely become better... just like himself]

[So bless them, give them strength and possibilities]

Disappointed, so what?

If you are not disappointed, you don't need to save them. If you are not disappointed, you will not go to teach, you will not go to save, you will not go to transcend all things from the sea of suffering, and save the people from misfortune.

"Disappointment is just a beginning, not the end."

There was a voice coming from the blade mark on his chest: "Hongshi, great existences are stronger and more perfect than you, are truly infinite, and transcend infinity... but because things are done by people, there are still mistakes in the world."

"If you want one person to save them, all things and people will obey your will alone, one kind of order and law, one person guiding the way forward, then [Unification] does it better than you."

"If you want to predetermine the path of the people, appoint the destiny and future of each person, then [Fate] I think does it more perfectly than you."

"You hate sin, and hope to judge everything and adjudicate everything with your own power... to be honest, I think the past me could also do better than you, that's the path I've walked."

"But I am wrong, great existences also have mistakes, but so what?"

"Hongshi... firmly believing that you are wrong is also believing."

"Rest for a while, prepare your spirit, 'believing' is the starting point of infinity, so..."

"Hongshi—watch the blade!"

Vaguely, such a voice was heard.

[What are you waiting for, others have already reached out]

The old man watched the man smilingly from the side: [Ye Qiu, are you still wandering here?]

The old man who dug the well said softly: [If you believe me, why don't you believe that in this infinite heavens, there will be a second me?]

[The people are like a tide, why wait for my return? In the infinite heavens and the void sea, there are also thousands upon thousands, infinitely many people like me]

[Why are you unwilling to believe that in the future, the people can all be like me, worthy of your belief?]

The old man waved goodbye with a smile, He walked forward without any nostalgia, leaving the man in place.

[Goodbye, Little Ye, I can continue to walk, I believe you can let me continue to walk]

He believed, believed that the man could do many things, many things that he could not do.

So he walked forward without hesitation, not looking back.

Thunder rumbled from the sky.

Clenching his fists and watching the old man leave, the man, called Hongshi and also called Ye Qiu, raised his head. He saw that there was a long blade that supported the sky and the earth, running through endless time and space, bursting with thunder.

It was that hot blade that blasted him into this place, blasted him into silence.

He was no longer angry, but still a little dazed, he couldn't help but call out loudly: [Who exactly are you?]

In an instant, He heard a surging sound, that was a surging tide, a hidden torrent, an eternal and ceaseless force was rolling.

"Who am I?"

The voice responded: "I am a kind of power, always dormant, eternally flowing."

"I make the crying ones smile, and I make the happy ones unsatisfied."

"I am Zhuzhou, and I am innovation."

[Humans originate from light, are born in heaven and earth, apes seek survival in the soil, but will also look up at the stars, gazing for a long time]

[When life is born, it has a due date]

[When living things are born into the world, they are followed by the shadow of death]

[The heavy pressure of survival is equally shouldered by all things and people, causing the people to bow their heads; in the hearts of all things created by light and soil, the ugly silt and the dazzling flames are born together]

[There is a fire in the eyes that gaze at the stars, but the fire is not something sacred, it will be easily extinguished, extinguished by survival, fatigue, numbness, pain, and despair]

[If it is extinguished, it should be extinguished]

[It's just that to this day, humans are still gazing into the distance]

"Because there is me."

"Because there are thousands upon thousands of people like me."

"Because there are thousands upon thousands of people like you and me."

"I am that pair of eyes that gaze at the stars, the greed that longs for a better life, I am the abyss that plunges into eternal calamity, and I am the spider silk that climbs to the top of salvation."

"I am Zhuzhou, and I am innovation."

That voice said solemnly: "Also the heart that believes in the people and is believed in by the people."

"I believe in love, believe in dreams, believe in all unrealistic things, believe that I can create a future that is more beautiful than fairy tales—humans have not sunk into darkness, precisely because humans are unwilling to sink into darkness."

"That's why we are born, we are the wishes of the people, and we are one of the people!"

"Therefore, believe firmly!"

In the multiverse void.

Su Zhou slashed out a blade, sinking into Hongshi's chest.

Endless blessings were poured into it, Su Zhou drew his blade, and the divine blood of countless Hedao experts splashed, outlining a brilliant rainbow in the void.

Hongshi's blood was gray-brown, steady, firm, but without gorgeous colors. He walked wearily through the long years, without relatives, without friends, without teachers, without descendants, and without inheritors.

He walked alone, until he was struck by a blade.

For a time, even a Hedao expert was blasted into a state of confusion. A Hedao of the same level as himself attached his whole heart and soul to a natal divine blade, pouring in his most core Great Dao meaning. If such a strike were to hit a Hedao expert like Tianfeng Xuanren, or even the Taishengshengzun, it would probably send them back to the Great Dao imprints to wait for rebirth in one strike.

If they were unlucky, they might only be able to see these Hedao experts, who had been annihilated to nothing, in a tavern at the end of the universe.

But how powerful was Hongshi? His obsession, persistence, correctness, and Great Dao, and even the power of the many people in the Hongshi world group who believed in him, were constantly supporting him.

Yes, Hongshi was not doing well enough. Just in the gap between the Great Dao turmoil caused by his battle with Su Zhou, many rebels and traitors would appear.

However, just as many people like Lü Cangyuan were causing destruction, there were also thousands upon thousands of cultivators who believed in and upheld Hongshi's path of salvation, going out to repair the many affected cities, rescue the injured masses, and appease the weeping people.

Even many worlds themselves were yearning for Hongshi's return—as a world, there was no better manager than Hongshi.

After all, how many people who were born as humans were willing to suppress the speed at which the people gained power in order to protect the rights and interests of the world itself? You must know that who knows how many powerhouses had the thought of 'this world is no longer livable, so I will take my people to another world to exploit'.

Therefore, the many worlds of the heavens and myriad worlds also welcomed Hongshi's Great Dao.

Yes, Hongshi did not believe in the people.

But the people were willing to believe in Hongshi, who had always been saving them.

Because of those calls, Hongshi's dazed will recongealed in the void. His scattered eyes converged, and he saw Su Zhou, who was retracting his blade and staring at him.

He stared, and then coughed.

[Cough cough...]

His body swayed, and he steadied himself.

Under Su Zhou's gaze, Hongshi remained silent for a long time.

The youth also waited patiently.

Until the end, all the turmoil in the void subsided, all the brilliant light was quiet, and all things returned to silence.

A voice sounded.

[I have been defeated]

Raising his head, breathing out, Hongshi stared at the youth in front of him. He said slowly: [But, Blessing Innovation, can you bless me?]

He said slowly, word by word: [Bless me, this loser, this person who has gone astray?]

This was his last question.

"Of course."

And the youth said: "Hongshi the Emperor."

He smiled and reached out his hand: "If you are willing to believe."

"You are also innovation."

Hongshi's chapter can be considered to be over! Asking for monthly tickets!