The ancient return was exposed by his sister's live stream.

"What about the Chan sect?"

"I saw the teachings of the Chan sect over the west wall." The third professor—surnamed Zhao—came around from the north wall, holding a notebook in his hand.

"The original words of Yuanshi Tianzun were... 'Heaven selects the best to survive, and the weak return to dust; this is the natural order.'"

The three professors exchanged glances.

"It means that if there isn't enough spiritual energy, then only geniuses will be kept," Professor Li said.

"Survival of the fittest," Professor Zhao said.

"The Jie School says that people have rights. The Chan School says that only the elite are allowed to remain," Professor Lin said.

"So they fought for ten thousand years."

The emotions expressed in the comments section at this moment were very complex.

"The Jie Sect... doesn't seem to be wrong either."

"What the Chan Sect said makes sense, doesn't it? When resources are scarce, it's impossible for everyone to survive."

"But why should you decide who lives and who dies?"

"Isn't this just the trolley problem... an ancient version of the trolley problem?"

"The age-old trolley problem."

Chen Siyao observed all of this but remained silent.

Her attention had shifted to the last section of the south wall.

The war ended.

The text on the far right of the south wall is quite different in style from the preceding war accounts.

The preceding account is in chronological order, detailing events in a specific year and month, presented in a calm, objective, and restrained manner.

But in the last part, the writing style changes; it's no longer a narrative.

It's more like a personal record, imbued with emotion.

Chen Siyao noticed the difference in the handwriting. The first tens of thousands of characters were written with even strokes, indicating a standard script developed through long-term training.

However, in the last part, the force was uneven. Some strokes were so heavy that they left dents on the stone surface, while others were so light that they seemed to be made by a trembling hand.

She squatted down and began reading from the beginning.

"The Alliance of All Laws of the Same Origin and the Alliance of Righteous Paths are locked in a standoff at the Ninth Realm of the Thirty-Three Heavens. A total of seventy-three factions remain on both sides. Those who died in battle, died of old age, or were wounded and forced to retreat—a total of forty-four factions have been wiped out."

Forty-four sects. Destroyed.

After ten thousand years of fighting, only seventy-three of the one hundred and seventeen sects remained.

She continued reading.

"After the battle between Lingbao Tianzun and Yuanshi Tianzun, thirty percent of the spiritual veins of the Thirty-Three Heavens were damaged. Both sides knew that if they fought again, the spiritual veins would be completely destroyed, and the Thirty-Three Heavens would become a death trap."

"However, neither side would back down. The Jie Sect was unwilling to abandon its disciples, while the Chan Sect was unwilling to open its doors."

Neither side would back down.

The mural depicts a scorched battlefield. People are still standing on both sides, but they are scattered sparsely.

There was a crack in the sky, and something was leaking out of it—spiritual energy. It dissipated little by little.

"Professor Li," Chen Siyao called out.

Professor Zhou looked up from behind the magnifying glass. "I saw it, I saw it, I just finished reading this. A stalemate. The spiritual veins are continuing to deplete, but neither side is willing to retreat first."

"and then?"

"Then..." Professor Li pointed to the part of the mural to the right.

There's a person drawn there.

Not one of the two teams. Independent. Standing in the void between the two teams. Surrounded by the lightning of heavenly tribulation.

"'One person is undergoing tribulation in the thirty-third heaven.'"

Chen Siyao stared at the human-shaped figure.

The mural painters clearly put more effort into this area.

Most of the other figures are drawn in a freehand, outline style, but this person undergoing tribulation is drawn in much more detail.

He was tall and thin, standing very straight, and stood there motionless as the lightning of the heavenly tribulation struck down from above.

"Who is this person?" Qin Xiaoyu asked.

Professor Li shook his head. "There are no names on the mural. It only says 'There is one person.'"

"Keep reading," Chen Siyao said.

"The Heavenly Tribulation consisted of eighty-one cycles, the sea of ​​thunder overturned, and the sun and moon lost their light. Both the Jie Sect and the Chan Sect ceased hostilities to observe."

Everyone stopped to watch.

Two factions that had been fighting for nearly ten thousand years stopped fighting at the same time because of one person's tribulation.

"All the sect leaders witnessed this. The Celestial Venerable Lingbao, the Celestial Venerable Yuanshi, and the Celestial Venerable Daode were all present."

The three Celestial Venerables have all arrived.

"'When the eighty-one kalpas are over, heaven and earth will return to peace. This person will attain enlightenment.'"

Successfully survived the tribulation.

"Lingbao Tianzun, Yuanshi Tianzun, Daode Tianzun, and seven others went to offer their congratulations."

Seven people went to say hello.

Chen Siyao went through these seven names in her mind. Lingbao Tianzun, Yuanshi Tianzun, and Daode Tianzun were the three great celestial venerables. The other four should also be figures of the same level.

"Seven people went to offer congratulations." Professor Li adjusted his reading glasses. "This means..."

"This person who underwent tribulation has advanced to the same level as them," Professor Lin added.

"right."

The live stream chat exploded with comments.

"Wait, are seven big shots of the same rank going to congratulate us together?"

"Who is this person?"

"The three Heavenly Venerables have all gone, so who is this person?"

Chen Siyao didn't look at the comments. Her eyes never left the human figure undergoing tribulation on the mural.

"What's next?" she asked.

Professor Li continued reading.

"After this person attained enlightenment, the Alliance of All Laws of the Same Origin and the Righteous Path Alliance... ceased hostilities."

That's the end of it.

"What do you mean?" Qin Xiaoyu was a little confused. "Just because this person transcended the tribulation, the great battle is over?"

"That's what it says on the mural." Professor Li looked at it carefully again to make sure he hadn't missed anything. "It means... he attained enlightenment, and the two sides stopped fighting."

"Why?" Ye Chendong asked.

This is everyone's problem.

A battle for survival that lasted for ten thousand years, involved more than a hundred sects, and which even the three Celestial Venerables could not mediate... ended just because one person advanced?

He did not ascend to a level higher than everyone else. He was on par with the three Celestial Venerables... It's clearly written on the mural.

Even the intervention of the Celestial Venerable of Morality was useless before, so why should this person's advancement make a difference?

Professor Li examined the following text repeatedly with the magnifying glass. "There's no further explanation."

"That's it?"

"That's it. It just says the words 'ceasefire.' The next part is another paragraph about the post-war arrangements."

Qin Xiaoyu turned to look at Chen Siyao. "Master..."

Chen Siyao did not respond.

She was still looking at the human figures in the mural.

The lightning of the heavenly tribulation surrounded him, and he stood tall and elegant.

The drawing isn't very detailed. It only shows the outline, body shape, and posture. There's no face.

but...

Chen Siyao stared at it for a long time.

That standing posture.

His hands made no hand seals, no fists, no defensive gestures. He simply stood there. Facing the heavenly tribulation, he stood motionless. He was utterly composed.

She had seen this posture before.

Every time my brother stands on the balcony looking into the distance. Every time my brother waits for her to finish eating. Every time my brother faces anything.

That outline...

Chen Siyao's lips moved slightly.

She didn't say anything. She looked away from the mural.

"Professor Li, what does that next part... about postwar arrangements, say?"

"Let me see." Professor Li moved over.

Professor Li spent nearly an hour reading the text about the post-war arrangements.

Professor Lin and Professor Zhao joined in the discussion, and the three old men squeezed in front of a stone wall, occasionally arguing about the pronunciation of a certain character or the punctuation of a certain word.