This person is still the same gentle and elegant as before, and the star fruit is indeed fine.

Li Qingyan hesitated for a moment and decided to get straight to the point: "I have a question I would like to ask Teacher Deng - are you a fifth-level monk?"

"Ah...... This one. Dumfrey laughed, "I'm not. ”

Li Qingyan was stunned. It confirmed his suspicion, but he didn't expect this person to admit it in front of him.

"It turns out that Mr. Li is here for this. Dumfrey said sincerely, "I blame you for not making it clear to you." I'm not cultivating the Chinese school, but a small branch of the theocratic school, the Hermetic school. My major is cosmic spirituality, and this time I came to Beishan mainly to have a cooperative project with the training base here, which is to study the direct transformation of ancestral souls and soulless people. You know we have some advantages when it comes to natural spirituality. ”

Li Qingyan knew about the so-called "Hermetic faction". I also know that this school is not a "small branch of the divine school".

In fact, the term "theocracy" is a rather general concept. At the time when the monks of the East and the West first came into contact and communicated with the practitioners, the monks of the East scoffed at the less systematic practice of the West and were "too lazy" to conduct in-depth research because of pride. If you only look at it at a glance, you will only see that Nestorianism was the main faith of most Westerners at that time, and further south, Tianfang Christianity also dominated.

Both schools are monotheistic and have similar core ideas, so they are only referred to as "theocentric schools". But in fact, there are many other practices that have been handed down from much earlier, even much earlier than these two sects, but because they are not very systematic, they are all grouped together.

It is only in recent decades that the work of sorting and sorting has resumed, but most people in the spiritual world are prejudiced against those who do this kind of work, and feel that it is completely fraudulent of funds.

As for the Hermetics, they are not actually a small school. Although it appeared relatively late, the grandfather was famous - he was a magical advisor to Queen Elizabeth I. He came up with the name "British Empire".

This genre is not self-cultivation, but focuses on spirituality. Some people in China believe that their practice is similar to the superficial method of breathing and nailing in the stage of "refining qi and building a foundation". However, in recent decades, after learning more, the two sides realized that they were thinking about "how to refine the aura between heaven and earth into a conscious spirit".

Both human cultivation and demons come from the original "ancestral soul", and the number of ancestral souls is limited. Therefore, this kind of research direction is indeed very valuable, and the two sides often cooperate in some fields.

So...... It makes sense.

At first, Dunfrey showed great interest and affection for the native civilization, and Li Qingyan realized that it was because of this that he had a preconceived idea, and took it for granted that he was a monk of the Chinese school.

But even so, there were some hidden worries in his heart. It doesn't bode well that something goes wrong at the beginning, and he thinks it's time to reconsider the "enrollment" of star fruit.

Dumfrey seemed to see what was on his mind, and instead smiled, he looked a little ashamed. However, there are still three points of hope in the shame: "Mr. Li is...... With all due respect, Mr. Li, in the case of Sister Ling, it is most appropriate for me to teach her. I've made some progress in my research, and I've come to the mainland to translate that progress into results—I can guarantee that Ling Mei's future achievements will not be under the spirit of the Spirit......"

Li Qingyan frowned and interrupted him: "What does Teacher Deng mean......?

Dunfrey was stunned for a moment, and then suddenly said, "Mr. Li still doesn't know that Ling Mei is a soulless?"

Hearing this, star fruit's face turned pale.

The intermarriage between human ancestors and mortals has given most people a soul in their bodies. There are strong and weak souls, and only "stronger" souls can practice.

But the "stronger" criterion is actually quite loose – about seven or eight out of 10 people are considered "stronger" today. In other words, Beishan City has a population of 20 million, and about 14 million to 16 million people are considered "relatively strong".

Theoretically, all of these people can practice, but the resources for cultivation are limited, so it is natural to choose the "stronger" ones from among these "stronger" people. Otherwise, if a person spends most of his life, he will always stay in the realm of the lower seven levels and will not be able to progress, which will be a huge waste of resources for both individuals and society.

Because of such a ratio, neither Li Qingyan nor star fruit thought about such a thing as a "spiritless".

Spiritless are too rare - it must be guaranteed that from the time the ancestral soul appeared four thousand years ago until now, each generation has been born from the combination of two soulless beings in order to pass it on to the present day.

To this day, there are no more than a thousand soulless people identified worldwide - and the vast majority are descendants of royal families. For historical reasons, royalty in many countries strictly forbade intermarriage with practitioners. This is because in the past history of some regions, "practitioners" were considered evil and ominous.

Dumfrey smiled wryly: "I see. Mr. Li, you know that all of us who do teaching and practice will be taught the 'Yuanguang Method', and we can see the strength of a person's soul. That's why I ...... when I saw Sister Ling just now Gaffe and want to take her away in a hurry. This kind of thing is not a good thing for most people, so I didn't mention it, thinking you would have known about it. ”

Another "unexpected". Li Qingyan sighed in his heart, he made two low-level mistakes in one day. I seem to be a little stupid lately......

He had no choice but to say, "Teacher Deng, I have to ask my sister's opinion on this matter." ”

Then he went to see the star fruit. The girl wore the sportswear he bought, white shoes. The shoes were soiled when they exploded in the morning, but now they seem to have been wiped clean by her. Before she could calm down while standing next to the car, Li Qingyan said, "Star fruit, if that's the case, I suggest you—"

He wanted to advise her to wait and see.

In his vague memory, a man told him that there were many ways to take advantage of a person. The most stupid and inefficient way is to coerce with violence and fear, and the clever way is to win the trust of that person, using warmth as a means of control. But it takes patience and time to do it wisely, so many people are accustomed to using the first option, which is inefficient, but can be compensated for by scale.

Li Qingyan was able to understand the advantages and disadvantages of these two methods, but he never understood what the concept of "utilization" was.

If it is considered "utilization" to obtain benefits for oneself through some means, is it not "utilization" to pay a salary to a government employee like him and ask a government employee like him to maintain the system and ensure social stability?

What if he now takes star fruit out of one dangerous situation, gives her some gentle compensation, and then throws her into another dangerous situation, using her to lure out something he wants to know, is it considered "use"?

Logically speaking, if he hadn't done this, star fruit might have died a long time ago. He was only trying to make her safer while maximizing the interests of the two of them.

He felt that this was his own code of conduct.

"Exploitation" is inevitable. A Nestorian saint who redeems a sinner to please the Father is also a kind of "use", even if he only gains peace and comfort in his own heart. For in a broad sense, this kind of peace and solace is also a kind of "higher purpose", such as ideology or religious belief. And he used sinners to get it.

But now he sensed that something might be wrong—not sure that something was wrong with Dumfrey, but just some subtle premonition.

This hunch led him to believe that if star fruit went to the ashram, it would indeed be able to lure him into what he wanted. But at the same time, the risks that girls have to bear have increased dramatically.

However, star fruit quickly emerged from its surprise and disappointment with itself. She interrupted Li Qingyan's words: "Brother, I'll go." ”

Li Qingyan saw something in her eyes. He realizes that he has always been right about the girl.

So he was silent for a while, and then breathed a sigh of relief: "Okay." ”

Dumfrey also breathed a sigh of relief and laughed, "That's right. Mr. Li and Miss Yang, there is no need to feel depressed about being born as a soulless. On the other hand, this is precisely a kind of luck - we were all spiritless before the ancestral soul appeared. After that, we had souls, but from another point of view, I was 'polluted' by ancestral souls - ancestral souls do not descend on the spirits. ”

"It is estimated that there are still about 100,000 ancestral souls between heaven and earth. They are all wandering, waiting to descend - the spiritless are the best carriers. What does this mean? This means that Miss Yang has a good chance – if my research ultimately succeeds – to become the progenitor of our time. This will be of great help to us in our research on the origin and origin of the ancestral soul!"

"There are many monks, but there are not many ancestors. That's why I said that Ling Mei's future achievements will not be inferior to those of monks, and will even far surpass them...... Ah, I lost my words. I shouldn't say these things, but you should rest assured - it's not a bad thing. ”

Li Qingyan smiled: "Okay." ”

He said goodbye to Dunfrey and star fruit, and helped the car to watch them drive away and drive into the gate of the training base.

Maybe the girl wanted to seize this rare opportunity because she knew her identity, maybe she knew that she was in a lot of trouble and didn't want to implicate others, maybe she understood Li Qingyan's intentions and planned to cooperate with him decisively. But no matter which possibility it is, Li Qingyan once again felt that dealing with smart people is indeed worry-free and effort-free.

It turns out that star fruit is such an identity.

Li Qingyan pushed the cart and walked back slowly along the road, thinking as he walked.

The Spiritless...... Ancestral Soul.

According to the estimation of Xiuzhen historians, when the ancestral soul appeared four thousand years ago, the number of human beings in the world was about 120 million. The Republic prides itself on its long history and uninterrupted cultural heritage, but 4,000 years ago, in the 2nd millennium BC, the most densely populated region of the world was not on this continent, but in the valley of the two rivers.

However, the data left by the Lianghe Valley during that period shows that there were no "human ancestors" or "demon ancestors" there at that time. It was not until more than 500 years later that there was a record of a "high priest with divine powers".

Later research also showed that in the second millennium BC, the region with the largest number of human ancestors and demon ancestors was the current Republic Continent. This meant that the Ancestral Soul should have appeared here in the first place, and then gradually spread to other parts of the world.

At that time, the number of human ancestors on the Asian continent should have been around 500,000. At that time, the population of the Xia Dynasty was about 3 million, about one-half to one-third of the total population of the Lianghe River basin at that time [Note 1].

"Human ancestor" is just a title that refers to a person who has an ancestral soul. The first ancestral spirits were not all attached to humans or animals, but only a small number. Others wandered between heaven and earth, gradually merging with others over the course of their long history. Therefore, "human ancestors" continue to appear in history, and their most significant feature is that they are "born with supernatural powers".

Xiuzhen historians estimate that the total number of ancestral souls at the beginning was about 3 million, and the number of ancestral souls surviving between today and today is about 100,000 to 300,000.

Ancestral souls can only descend on the spiritless. The affinity of human beings for ancestral souls is much higher than that of animals. It stands to reason that because the number of soulless people is already extremely rare, the number of ancestral souls should be reduced very slowly. On the other hand, the number of ancestral souls has been decreasing sharply due to the fact that the United Demon States of America has been engaged in the work of capturing ancestral souls, and the Republic has taken corresponding countermeasures.

It is estimated that by the middle and late stages of this century, that is, around 2070, there will be no more ancestral souls in heaven and earth.

And star fruit is a spiritless...... Did those notes actually have something to do with that, not her background?

Li Qingyan didn't need to work hard to make up the common episodes in film and television dramas - the soulless girl was accidentally possessed by a powerful ancestral soul and had terrifying power. Because of his own miserable situation, he fell into the devil, and then slaughtered all sides, causing terrible damage. The Waste Wood Monk Squad was ordered to solve the crisis in the face of danger, and finally killed the ancestor girl/tearfully killed/had to be killed.

In this kind of episode, there are usually descendants of the Lianhua Sect among the six sects and five sects - it is said that the secret of the Lianhua Sect, the "Lingtai Guan Idea", can peek into the past and the future, and has the ability to perceive great crises.

In reality, the monks of the Lotus Blossom Sect do mostly serve in the crisis management department, and it is said that the current sect master also serves as a special adviser to the Grand Commander.

But if you really expected that star fruit would do something terrible in the future because of her status as a spiritless...... It's not as simple as asking for a note to appear next to you every month. Li Qingyan sighed lowly - compared with this kind of thought, it is more reliable to say that his future self has come to the present by the time machine.

If...... There's no problem with Dunfrey.

Then it's time to meet Zhou Lihuang. Li Qingyan tried to string together what happened in just three days-

He finds star fruit, and "coincidentally" the Red Gang also receives the news and begins to hunt her down.

When he arrived at the checkpoint, he "coincidentally" Zhou Lihuang was there to "experience life".

When I entered the city, a meteorite happened to fall, and when I went out for breakfast, it happened that Wang Rucheng went to find someone to find a short-term view, and the drone happened to malfunction after the incident.

And now Dunfrey happens to be a teacher who studies the uninitiated.

These things, there is nothing wrong with them alone, but they are very strange when they are strung together, as if there is an invisible force to bring them together. Li Qingyan realized that he had to find a point – a key point.

Whether the two attacks were instructed by Zhou Lihuang and Pei Yuanxiu is already being investigated. And this Dunfrey...... He decided to check it himself and make sure the guy was okay.

===============

Note 1: The figures here refer to historical population numbers, but with minor modifications.