Chapter 764: The Cold 3rd Debate (4)

‘If I remember correctly, didn’t those agents all self-destruct right after I trapped them?’

‘So… the ones that blew up were clones?’

‘That was it. Suddenly, everything made sense. It explained why they sent a rescue party when he first trapped them, and why they all decisively committed mass suicide when they were about to be trapped for good.’

‘It was probably because the first two he trapped had already lost their ability to resist, and they were afraid of something being exposed, so they had to attempt a rescue. And the mass suicide later? Was that entirely because they were just clones?’

…

Zhang Deming’s thoughts raced. After a few moments of silent observation, Guk Liancai said in surprise, “Thought Remote Sensing? The Outer Celestial Universe calls this teleportation? Isn’t this just the Avatar Dao with an added Dao Mark to enhance long-distance control?”

Zhang Deming shook his head. “They’re still different. After all, the Cloning Dao and the Avatar Dao are very different.”

Guk Liancai, who knew nothing about the Celestial Universe’s cloning technology, looked at the Light Screen that had appeared before him, displaying a brief introduction to cloning. “What’s the difference?” he asked. “Aren’t they both just creating an avatar?”

“Er…”

Zhang Deming was at a loss for words. ‘How should I explain this? An avatar is a temporary Energy Body constructed from Spiritual Power and controlled by a Technique. Even if it’s tangible, it’s not a real person. A clone, on the other hand, is a body of real flesh and blood?’

‘No, that’s not entirely accurate either!’

Zhang Deming hesitated for a moment before saying, “The fundamental difference between their Cloning Dao and our Avatar Dao is… hmm… Clones can very easily develop their own consciousness. If they aren’t handled properly, you could easily end up with all sorts of other ‘yous’.”

Zhang Deming finally managed to come up with an answer.

The others paused, and Guk Liancai said in astonishment, “Like the Demon Path’s Soul Splitting Clone? A thousand clones, a thousand individuals?”

“Er… something like that. It’s just that in their Celestial Universe, it’s not considered part of the Demon Path.”

As a programmer, Zhang Deming understood the difference between avatars and clones, but trying to explain it clearly… ‘It’s something you understand intuitively but can’t really put into words.’ In any case, there was no way for him to give them a proper scientific explanation.

So, Zhang Deming said vaguely, “Senior Brother Guk, if you read the information on cloning carefully, you’ll probably understand.”

But Guk Liancai retorted, “A vile path like the Soul Splitting Clone… Not only do they not prohibit it, but they’ve made it a primary direction for development. This Outer Celestial Universe Federation is truly… willing to teach anything to anyone!”

Zhang Deming was speechless.

‘Given the cultural differences… your interpretation is certainly one for the books!’

Gan Zili, having just skimmed the information on cloning technology—of which the Celestial Spirit Sect knew little—frowned at the Light Curtain. “What’s there to even discuss?”

“While most techniques in the Summoning Category have distance limitations, techniques for control over extreme distances aren’t exactly unheard of, are they?”

“It’s just that creating a second Incarnation of equal strength is difficult. If all he wants is long-distance control, regardless of the avatar’s power, couldn’t he just learn a few techniques? That path is already quite mature!”

Zhang Deming paused, then looked at Gan Zili. “The problem is that the Spirit Root aptitude of disciples from the Celestial Universe is generally quite low.”

“In Hongmeng, the average Spirit Root is five points or higher. For every hundred people, you’ll find at least one Cultivator with a Spirit Root of fifteen points or more who’s capable of cultivation.”

“But in the Celestial Universe Federation, for their own societal reasons, the average Spirit Root recorded in their census is only 0.7. You’d be hard-pressed to find a single Cultivator among thousands of people.”

“Furthermore, possibly due to their focus on technology, the number of talented Cultivators with high Spirit Roots isn’t showing steady growth like ours. In fact, it’s constantly declining…”

“So this Thought Remote Sensing they’re working on, just like their other so-called Daos, is technology. It’s meant for ordinary people—or at least, ordinary people are the target audience.”

“The Soul Splitting Clone of the Demon Path is a technique where one careless mistake creates problems, where you might even end up wanting to kill your other selves. Even if they’ve developed some ‘technology’ for it, would any Cultivator in their Celestial Universe dare to use it? I know I wouldn’t!” Guk Liancai scoffed.

‘Although their natures are different, the results are pretty much the same,’ he thought. ‘When it comes to the consequences, the Soul Splitting Clone and the Cloning Dao are remarkably similar. One mistake, and you’d have to kill yourself.’

…

While they were conversing, Shang Tingjie, who was down below, had already finished his presentation.

However, due to the cultural differences, most people—just like Guk Liancai and Gan Zili—had interpreted the so-called “Thought Remote Sensing teleportation” as a path related to avatars.

As a result, the Celestial Spirit disciples, who had been tasked with participating in the discussion to show support, all started debating from the perspective of avatars. They acted like seasoned experts, and since the people from the Celestial Universe weren’t familiar with this topic either, the discussion quickly went off the rails.

Moreover, even with Zhang Deming’s earlier example, many tried to simplify the topic to spark a lively debate among the low-level disciples, but no one managed to succeed as he had. The atmosphere grew dull.

The vast crowd of low-level disciples watched their martial uncles debate, but most felt completely lost.

After watching for a long time, Zhang Deming shook his head. He activated the one-way, soundproof Light Curtain around their group of four, turned to look at Dang Jun’an nearby, and said,

“Sect Leader, please give some guidance to the disciples who are participating as a formality. Tell them to focus their arguments on the aspect of a Heart Spirit guiding a Dao Mark, not on avatars. If they keep going like this, the Celestial Universe’s topic will be dead in the water, and neither side will get anything out of it.”