Inside The Black Mist

The lecturer on the platform was in his early forties, with gray hair, a beard, and visible laugh lines, indicating a laborious daily routine.

But his eyes were bright and lively, reflecting a certain sharpness, like a well-polished mirror!

Introducing himself as Liu Jinglin, the lecturer displayed a gentle smile and said with a tone of appreciation, "I never thought that such a dull course would attract 13 students, with 11 of them being Ascenders."

"It's an honor to teach Ascenders."

He sounded like an ordinary person.

He tapped on the lectern, activating a display. The color of the wall behind him darkened from white to black in just two to three seconds.

Text began to appear on the now-darkened wall.

Liu Jinglin wrote "Civilization" on the interface of the lectern, and the projection screen on the darkened wall synchronized accordingly. The bearded lecturer cleared his throat and said in a mild tone, "No matter what kind of world it is, as long as intelligent life appears, civilization will inevitably form. The Inverse Universe is no exception."

"Here, let me first explain what civilization is."

"Civilization is the accumulation of history. It enhances our understanding of the objective world, embodies a certain spirit recognized by the vast majority of people, and encompasses inventions, creations, order, and customs."

"Civilization opposes barbarism. It represents order. A complete civilization must possess elements such as tools, language, writing, beliefs, laws, faith, city-states, and nations."

Liu Jinglin paused for a moment before continuing, "And in Inverse Universe 127, after more than eighty years of research, we can confidently tell you all that there was once a splendid civilization in that Inverse Universe!"

There was murmuring in the classroom.

Tianyang glanced at Lao Xu beside him, who seemed unsurprised, even absent-mindedly looking at his communicator.

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As someone who had ventured into the Inverse Universe several times, Tianyang wasn't surprised by this conclusion at all. The existence of metropolises like the Megacity and towns like Huanggu Town indicated that the Inverse Universe had its own set of rules.

What Tianyang was curious about was how much the fortress knew about the civilization in Inverse Universe 127.

On the platform, Liu Jinglin gestured for everyone to quiet down.

He seemed pleased with the students' reactions and smiled. "Civilization has many elements. Today, I want to talk to you all about... literature within the Inverse Universe."

Tianyang was momentarily taken aback. Literature? What was that?

Many others seemed to share his confusion. A girl with delicate features raised her hand and asked, "Teacher, what is literature? Are you referring to the writing in the Inverse Universe?"

"No, no, no," Liu Jinglin hurriedly explained, but his explanation only made it more confusing. "Literature refers to the study of writing, or you can also see it as the art of writing."

In front of Tianyang, a young man with short hair stood up and asked, "Teacher, what is art then?"

Liu Jinglin smiled in response. "Art is a cultural expression that intentionally shapes certain emotions through means or media."

"In fact, whether it's art or literature, these are all based on the analysis of the Inverse Universe's writing. From the information discovered in the Inverse Universe, we have learned certain vocabulary. We believe that in Inverse Universe 127, there was abundant material wealth. Most of the inhabitants of the Inverse Universe were able to ensure their survival, and literature or art was created by them to please their senses and soothe their spirits."

Lao Xu smirked. "They must be really idle."

Liu Jinglin pointed at Lao Xu, "You're right. Research indicates that the inhabitants of the Inverse Universe didn’t need to engage in overly strenuous labor to obtain material resources for survival. So, they had a lot of free time, much more than we can imagine."

"Because of this, they created things like literature or art to fill the void in their spirits, and we find that these things can resonate with human emotions."

"We once collaborated with the medical center, trying to use these things to guide patients with Inverse Universe phobia. Artistic creations comforted their spirits and released their emotions. The results were very encouraging. Accepting literature and artistic influence, hmm, that's another term from the Inverse Universe."

"After accepting artistic creations represented by words, the patients' spirits became more stable. This shows that in treating psychological trauma, whether it's literature or other forms of art, they have their own unique advantages."

There was another round of discussion.

After a while, Liu Jinglin began writing down several terms on the lectern's interface.

The words appeared on the darkened wall in sync: novels, poetry, and drama.

Someone asked, "Teacher, are these works of literature?"

Liu Jinglin nodded. "These are forms of literary expression. At the same time, they are things that we in the fortress lack. I believe that we should also have our own literature and art, so that we can have something to rely on emotionally and make our lives more passionate!"

Next, the bearded lecturer began to explain the meanings of these terms to the students, using some specific materials discovered in the Inverse Universe as examples and trying to explain what literature was in plain language.

As the class came to an end, Liu Jinglin turned off the projection screen on the wall and smiled. "That's it for today's class. In the next session, I will discuss the military civilization of the Inverse Universe. I think many of you should be interested in that, so remember not to be late."

After class, Tianyang and Lao Xu left the classroom. As they passed by the lectern, Liu Jinglin, who was tidying up, suddenly looked up at Tianyang.

Tianyang curiously looked at him, only to see Liu Jinglin grabbing his arm abruptly.

"You... Are you Tianyang?"

Liu Jinglin's expression was complicated, with anticipation, fear, excitement, and timidity all mixed, forming a complex emotion that Tianyang found difficult to understand.

"I am. What's wrong, teacher?"

Liu Jinglin took two steps back, supporting himself against the lectern. "It's you? Really you? I thought..."

Tianyang didn’t understand. "You thought what?"

Liu Jinglin seemed to suddenly remember something; his expression changed, and he became restrained. Shaking his head, he said, "It's nothing. I heard that you took on the Qin family alone. I thought you were a mature and brave Ascender, but I didn't expect you to be so young."

Tianyang furrowed his brows slightly. He wasn't foolish; he could tell that Liu Jinglin's words lacked sincerity.

"What were you about to say?" Tianyang pressed, sensing there was more to Liu Jinglin's initial reaction.

But Liu Jinglin had already hastily packed up his belongings and walked out of the classroom, disappearing into a staircase.

Tianyang exchanged a puzzled glance with Lao Xu before they continued on their way. As they left the classroom behind, Tianyang couldn't shake off the feeling that there was something significant about Liu Jinglin's reaction—something he needed to figure out.