Chapter 650: Flame of Order

Later on, as the Federation grew increasingly powerful, it finally had the resources to consider other matters. Education, healthcare, welfare, social security... these systems were gradually established, allowing ordinary people to enjoy basic rights to survival.

Yet even so, unfairness still existed, and it always would.

Because as long as there was competition, as long as there were differences, and as long as there was scarcity, unfairness would never disappear. Resources were always limited, while human desires were infinite. How to distribute limited resources would always be a difficult problem. No matter how it was distributed, someone would always feel it was unfair.

Xu Wuyi finally understood. He understood why he had been so confused over the past three months. Because he had been pursuing something that did not exist. Absolute fairness had never existed. It did not exist in the past, it did not exist in the present, and it would never exist in the future. It was not a goal that human effort could achieve; it was merely an ideal, a utopian fantasy.

He could pursue fairness and strive to make the world a fairer place, but he could never achieve absolute fairness. Because fairness itself was a concept that defied precise, objective definition. It was subjective, existing in the minds of countless people. Different people would always have different understandings of it, and no one could satisfy everyone at the same time.

In the darkness, those images began to dissipate.

Xu Wuyi floated quietly, a complex wave of emotions welling up in his heart. There was relief, disappointment, clarity, and also bewilderment. He was relieved because he finally understood the source of his confusion. He was disappointed because the conviction that had once sustained him turned out to be nothing but a pipe dream. He had finally seen reality clearly, but where should he go from here?

Right at this moment, a light illuminated the darkness. It was not the light of a sword, nor the light of a fire, but a much softer, warmer glow. An image surfaced within the light.

He saw himself. The twenty-three-year-old Xu Wuyi stood at the peak of a towering mountain. Below lay endless territories—cities, villages, forests, and deserts. Behind him was a blazing grand sun. Before him was the boundless Earth. He simply stood there, devoid of sorrow or joy, anger or resentment.

"Fairness is the ultimate goal, but it is also a goal that can never be reached.

"When one gets closer and closer to this goal, something else begins to emerge...

"And that is Order."

The figure in the image raised his hand, pointing at the Earth below.

"With Order, the weak can receive the most basic protection. With Order, the strong can be subjected to necessary restraints. With Order, the distribution of resources has Rules to follow.

"Order is not fairness, but Order is the only path that leads close to fairness.

"Under Order, we can discuss how to make distribution more reasonable. Outside of Order, there is only the law of the jungle, where the strong prey upon the weak."

The figure in the image lowered his hand and looked at the blazing sun behind him.

"My fire is not meant to incinerate unfairness.

"Rather, it is to illuminate the path ahead.

"It is to draw a clear boundary in the darkness.

"It is so that everyone can find their own place within this boundary."

As his voice faded, the grand sun, a Transformation of the Golden Crow, began to change. Its originally gold-red Flame gradually became tinged with a faint layer of blue. That blue was very pale, so faint it was almost imperceptible, yet it gave off a completely different feeling. If the gold-red Flame was blazing and domineering, possessing extreme destructiveness, then the blue Flame was calm, rational, and full of Order.

It was still burning, still shining, still radiating heat. But it was no longer merely incinerating; instead, as it burned, it demarcated boundaries. What it sought to reduce to ashes was not all of creation itself, but chaos and disorder. What it sought to illuminate was not its own path, but the path ahead for everyone.

This was the Flame of Order.

Xu Wuyi quietly watched that blue grand sun, an unprecedented wave of enlightenment welling up in his heart. He finally understood what his Heart Image was missing. It was not missing power, nor Rules, nor form. What it lacked was direction.

His Golden Crow was born from a heart of indignation against injustice, but all along, it only knew to incinerate unfairness; it did not know what to do after the burning was done. If unfairness was burned away, would the world become a better place? It would not.

Burning away the old unfairness would only give rise to new unfairness. As long as there was competition, as long as there were differences, and as long as there was scarcity, unfairness would never disappear. Furthermore, Xu Wuyi’s very existence would generate unfairness. Therefore, simple incineration could not solve the root of the problem.

What was truly needed was the establishment of new Rules. It was to have everyone compete under the same set of Rules; to prevent the strong from wantonly oppressing the weak; to provide the weak with channels for upward mobility; and to make the process of distribution more transparent and just. This was not fairness; this was simply Order. And what he had to do was become the person who established that Order.

The darkness began to dissipate.

Those images, those voices, that confusion, and that bewilderment all dissipated along with the darkness. They were replaced by a realm of light. Within the light, that blue grand sun slowly rose, its radiance spilling across heaven and earth. Wherever the light reached, everything became clear, gaining boundaries, contours, and Order.

Xu Wuyi opened his eyes.

He was still standing in Lin Jianyi’s small courtyard, beneath that ancient pine tree covered in white snow. The snow was still falling, the wind was still blowing, and time was still flowing. Everything was exactly the same as it had been before he questioned his heart. But at the same time, everything was entirely different.

Xu Wuyi lowered his head and looked at his own hands. They were still the same hands; the skin, the bones, the flesh—there were no changes whatsoever. But he could feel that something deep within his sea of consciousness had changed.

He closed his eyes, and his consciousness sank into his sea of consciousness. The dark-gold great marsh still undulated slowly, profound and weighty, as stable as the Earth. That was his True Intention of the "Mountain", his foundation, and his anchor.

From the depths of the great marsh, the Golden Crow slowly rose. But this time, the Golden Crow was different from before. Its feathers were still dark-gold, but the edges of every plume rippled with a faint halo of blue light. That halo was very pale, yet it gave off a completely different feeling. Its eyes were still red-gold, but deep within its pupils, there was an additional speck of spectral blue light. That light was very faint, yet it seemed to contain endless wisdom and calmness.

It spread its wings and circled once above the sea of consciousness. Wherever it passed, layers of blue ripples blossomed on the surface of the dark-gold great marsh. Those ripples slowly spread out, eventually blending into the great marsh and becoming one with it. Then, the Golden Crow landed back in the center of the marsh and slowly sank.

The great marsh returned to tranquility, but beneath that calm, there was an additional, almost imperceptible blue halo. That was not a Flame, nor was it light; it was something much deeper.

It was Order.

Xu Wuyi opened his eyes and looked at Lin Jianyi. That Sword Dao Grandmaster was still standing beneath the ancient pine tree, quietly watching him. His gaze was calm, yet it carried a faint, almost imperceptible hint of gratification.