Chapter 591 - 552: The Trolley Problem, Whose Mercy?

On the narrow path of light, Song Ciwan stopped breathing for a moment.

She was silent, a silence so profound it was as if she had forgotten how to breathe.

In that fraction of a second, no one knew what a fierce internal struggle she was enduring.

Then, to everyone’s utter surprise, she decisively and quickly gave her answer to the difficult question—

Indeed, when Song Ciwan stepped onto the Ancient Starry Road, she thought she was walking this path alone, with at most a Corpse Demon watching her answer questions from the back of a giant tortoise at the road’s end.

But in reality, the entire Nine Provinces Mortal World—every city, every county, anywhere a Mountain and River Mirror existed—was projecting an image of the Ancient Starry Road at this very moment.

Every living being watching from afar through the Mountain and River Mirrors, whether human or demon, could see Song Ciwan walking upon the Ancient Starry Road!

However, the Mountain and River Mirrors could not show the roars of the Ancient Divine Insect Race in the Void Abyss on either side of the path of light, nor could they reveal the true, immense terror of this Ancient Starry Road.

People could only see the image from the Mountain and River Mirrors floating in the air, magnified.

Across the Nine Provinces Land, a Mountain and River Mirror hung above every city and every city gate.

The surfaces of the mirrors floated and expanded, forming enormous screens of light that hung high above the city walls.

On these screens, starlight twinkled. Amidst the vast, empty darkness, there was a slender path of light, and upon it walked a Cultivator in flowing white robes.

The young woman of the Human Race walked alone in the silence, heading toward the distant stars.

The path she walked seemed to lead to the end of the starry sky, yet it looked more like she was on her way to a grand, romantic, and mythical rendezvous!

When this scene first appeared in the Mountain and River Mirrors, those who saw it were actually filled with envy.

"What’s going on? What happened?"

"Why are the Mountain and River Mirrors acting strangely? Where is this place they’re showing? Who is the woman in the mirror?"

...

Not everyone knew of Xing Lan. Even if they had heard her name through the Ten Thousand Spirits Celestial Pride List, not many actually knew what she looked like.

Fortunately, some people had arrived earlier and were more knowledgeable. A voice immediately answered, "That’s Xing Lan Fairy. Before her, a member of the Demon Race also walked this Ancient Starry Road. But that demon was only able to cross because Xing Lan Fairy helped her answer the questions."

Indeed, it wasn’t just Song Ciwan’s journey on the Ancient Starry Road that was being shown. The Corpse Demon’s passage had also been projected onto the light screens of the Mountain and River Mirrors.

The Nine Provinces was in an uproar. Countless people swarmed toward the city gates, and all sorts of voices rose from below.

Even the City Guard Armies in every city couldn’t help but feel their minds wander.

They wanted to watch the scene reflected in the Mountain and River Mirrors, too!

At Demon Suppression Pass, a Mountain and River Mirror also hung before the gates of the Grand Governor’s Mansion.

Most of the Demon Hunters from the Wind Fury Camp were crowded before the North City Gate to watch, while some soldiers from the West Wind Army with the proper clearance rushed toward the Grand Governor’s Mansion after receiving the news.

At the North City Gate, Wen Tingyu was both amazed and anxious, wringing his hands. "Xing Lan Fairy is still too kind! She actually helped that female demon cross the path. Now that it’s her turn, every question seems to have gotten harder. What is she going to do?"

Of course, some were indignant, criticizing Song Ciwan: "A so-called Celestial Pride who doesn’t even understand the hatred between our races. Helping the Demon Race? What kind of Celestial Pride is that? Despicable! Infuriating!"

Yu Wenxu, on the other hand, muttered as if in a trance, "If the Immortal Island is opened, the people of one region will suffer. If it is not, the entire world’s populace will be devastated. What should she do? How can she choose? I... I can’t even make a choice!"

At this moment, across the Nine Provinces Land, the vast majority of people were just like Yu Wenxu—empathizing with her, their hearts twisting over the same question, torn and unable to decide.

No one thought the ancient path she walked was romantic or mythical anymore. Countless people began to agonize over the same problem.

Some pontificated, "If it were me, I would definitely choose to open the Immortal Island. The people of one region versus the people of the entire world—is there even a question of which weighs more? Since ancient times, righteous causes have always required sacrifice. Sacrificing a small group for the success of the greater whole is the inevitable path!"

Naturally, others retorted, "Easy for you to say! What if that place to be sacrificed was your hometown, with your parents, relatives, brothers, and sisters—including yourself! Could you still make that choice?"

Someone else stubbornly craned his neck and argued, "For the greater good, so what if I’m sacrificed? If my kin understood the stakes, they would willingly die for the righteous cause! In a great catastrophe, there must always be pioneers. I am willing to be a forerunner, to be the fuel, to burn myself to illuminate the world!"

This stubborn man was a Scholar who had repeatedly failed his examinations.

And at the very moment his voice fell, the wind and clouds suddenly changed color.

The heavens and earth responded, and a ray of Spiritual Light descended from the sky.

Just like that, this Scholar from Guangling County received the Celestial Spiritual Light out of thin air. In an instant, his Talent surged, growing three feet, breaking past the Qi Nourishing Realm and entering the Vast Qi Realm!

The onlookers were stunned.

And during this same period, similar scenes were occurring in many places across the Nine Provinces.

In the past, a single county might not see even three or five Scholars receive Celestial Spiritual Light in a decade. But today, at this moment, most of those who made such vows before the Mountain and River Mirrors drew down Celestial Spiritual Light.

Although most only gained three inches of Talent and reached the Qi Nourishing Realm, there were still quite a few who broke directly into the Vast Qi Realm.

Later, the Court’s statistics showed that on this day, the total number of Scholars in the Nine Provinces’s Eighty-One Counties who received Celestial Spiritual Light for their vows reached a staggering five thousand, six hundred and nineteen.

This number surpassed the total number of people who had received Celestial Spiritual Light across the entire Nine Provinces in the past ten years!

Under the Spiritual Energy Tide, all sorts of absurdities were taking shape.

It was hard to tell whether this was a cause for joy or sorrow, hard to distinguish right from wrong.

Back at Demon Suppression Pass, before the Grand Governor’s Mansion, Yu Wenxu was so tense his face was as white as paper, his entire body drenched in sweat.

Veins bulged on his temples and the side of his neck. He swayed unsteadily, having pushed his mind to its absolute limit pondering this question.

In comparison, Song Ciwan, currently walking the Ancient Starry Road and facing this world-defining problem, seemed infinitely more at ease than Yu Wenxu.

’She isn’t troubled at all?’

Yu Wenxu muttered, "What to do? What to do?"

A thousand unsolvable knots tangled in his mind. Just as a metallic, sweet taste rose in Yu Wenxu’s throat and he was about to vomit blood, he heard the woman on the Ancient Starry Road answer, her voice cold and firm: "I will not open it!"

She said, "There’s a flaw in this question. It only says that if the Immortal Island is opened, the people of one region will be harmed; and if the Immortal Island is not opened, the villains beyond this world will be difficult to eliminate. But it never stated that opening the Immortal Island would *definitely* save the world! Can opening one Immortal Island truly save an entire world?"

On the Ancient Starry Road, the Human Race’s Celestial Pride let out a soft laugh. "The only ones who can save the world are the living beings of this world themselves."

This wasn’t a trolley problem. A true trolley problem has no real solution.

But this question could be decided with great power!

Song Ciwan did not voice the rest of her declaration, but a fire was blazing fiercely in her heart.