Because that Levi had previously come to the school to look for his sister Lina, and because of his impoverished Zaunite appearance, he had made quite a fool of himself in front of Lina and her classmates.
Therefore, many of the students present had seen the old Levi and retained some impression of him.
In their memories, Levi was supposed to be a standard Zaunite apprentice: crude, sloppy, slow-witted, careless, foul-mouthed, yet insecure and constrained in front of the wealthy—a man whose temperament completely failed to live up to his good looks.
But the Levi appearing before everyone now, despite still wearing those faded, threadbare work clothes, had a confident smile, bright eyes, clear thinking, and elegant speech. Even his every movement seemed filled with a fighting spirit.
Such an earth-shattering contrast alone already seemed like a miracle.
Not to mention, this ordinary apprentice had suddenly become a "Wind Elementalist".
And on Levi's shoulder stood a bluebird with lively eyes, seemingly possessing human intelligence. Everyone knew that in folklore, the bluebird was the incarnation of the Goddess Janna, representing her will.
From his background to his image and temperament, Levi perfectly resembled the legendary divine envoy of Janna.
Of course, he also perfectly resembled those swindling charlatans.
However, these future scientists present actually bought into it.
Because in Runeterra, gods and magic truly existed. Blindly denying the existence of gods was what was truly unscientific.
Thus, many students quickly accepted Levi's claims.
"Mr. Levi is the Goddess Janna's chosen, so..."
Then Janna Thought was a true divine oracle.
Wouldn't those who followed Janna Thought become believers of a true god, backed by an overwhelmingly powerful goddess, allowing them to walk unhindered across Runeterra?
If that were the case, why worry about failing to achieve great things!
"No, it is not that simple," Levi said, promptly noticing and snuffing out this tendency to oversimplify the struggle.
He only wanted to give these students confidence, not push them to the other extreme where they would just lie flat and do nothing, waiting for a goddess to fall from the sky and save them from their misery.
"Janna does indeed exist, but..."
"She is actually extremely weak right now."
"Over two hundred years ago, this gentle goddess exhausted her divine power to protect Zaun during the canal explosion, facing an unprecedented earthquake and tsunami. Now, her lineage of faith has been severed, her believers are few, and her divine power has completely dissipated. She is no longer the Goddess of Wind who could summon the wind and rain."
"Huh?" The students were astonished.
Some students who thought they had seen through Levi's tricks, guessing he would next pull out standard missionary rhetoric like "how powerful Janna is" or "what you get if you believe in Janna," were completely blindsided.
If you want to attract people to believe in a god, how could you describe that god as so powerless?
"Because, as I mentioned in that article, what Janna hopes to propagate through me is not herself, but the ideological theories she has summarized over the past several millennia."
"What we must follow is not a god, but the truth!"
"Janna is not our god either; she is our guide, our like-minded comrade!"
Levi's words were resounding, sending a wave of shock through the room.
The people of Runeterra had never encountered such a novel concept—a god was no longer a grand deity, but someone walking alongside them?
"Yes! Janna is not inherently great. All of Janna's power comes from human faith. When people believe in her, she is strong; when people forget her, she will fade away."
"Therefore, divine power never originates from gods, but from us!"
"This..." This astonishing theory, pointing directly to the essence of the power of faith, plunged everyone into deep thought.
First, they were shocked to learn that Janna's divine power came from humans. Then came disappointment, lamenting Janna's current weakness.
And then, these brilliant minds realized what Levi truly wanted to tell them:
If divine power came from humans, didn't that mean that as long as more and more people believed in Jannaism, the originally weak Goddess Janna would grow stronger and stronger?
Was this like buying insurance?
As long as they were willing to fight for Janna Thought, they could rely on their efforts and faith to gradually mold a god of the mortal realm who could protect them?
"Creating a god with human power!"
Many students who had originally held no hope for the struggle suddenly perked up.
They gradually began to believe that this endeavor was actually viable!
"Then what exactly is Janna Thought?"
A student finally asked this crucial question.
To promote faith in Janna Thought, the contents of this faith had to be clearly explained.
Levi's article only mentioned the 'what' and the 'why', but completely omitted the most important part: the 'how'.
They had discussed this point earlier, but it only resulted in splintering into countless factions, wasting endless breath without reaching any conclusion.
Everyone wanted Levi to tell them...
"What exactly should we do, and what exactly should we pursue?"
Levi slowly picked up a piece of chalk, and the eyes of the entire room gathered on him.
Lina and the students nervously held their breath.
Viktor, with a focused expression, picked up his pen and paper.
Seraphine looked bewildered. But she still tried her best to perk up her ears, carefully chewing over every word Levi spoke.
At this moment, Levi answered,
"As for what to do, there is actually no standard answer to this question."
"We can only rely on the principle of seeking truth from facts, constantly trying and exploring, to find the most suitable path."
Yes, there was absolutely no standard answer to this question.
Levi had centuries of theoretical accumulation, and Janna had millennia of experiences and observations, but even combining the two might not necessarily create a path truly suited for Runeterra.
And he could also foresee that on the road of exploring the future, surrounding the question of 'how to do it', there would likely be even more discussions, more disagreements, and perhaps even a splintering into countless factions.
"But no matter how everyone thinks about this question, or how severe your respective differences are, you can all still be comrades, believers in Janna Thought."
"Because true believers of Janna, no matter how vast the differences in their gender, nationality, region, race, or ideology, and no matter what avenues they each attempt to realize their ideals..."
"Their ultimate ideal is the same, and their ultimate goal is the same! And that is..."
Levi heavily wrote a line of large characters on the blackboard:
"Great Harmony!"
What was Great Harmony?
The productive forces are highly developed, social products are extremely abundant, and people generally possess an extremely high level of ideological awareness—from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.
This was a flawless dream.
Everyone was captivated by this dream. Their blood boiled with passion, and their hearts trembled violently.
Seraphine couldn't quite understand Levi's profound theories. But she could hear that, at this very moment, the souls of almost everyone present were singing something, shouting something.
These souls were filled with light and warmth, causing Seraphine to unknowingly feel uplifted and moved. Even if her abilities lost control again, even if countless dark and agonizing melodies surged from afar like a tide, she surprisingly no longer felt afraid or uncomfortable.
She even inexplicably birthed a surge of energy, wanting to save those suffering souls and clear away this dark canopy of heaven!
"However..."
After the surge of passion, they still woke from the dream.
Rational students gradually realized:
Wasn't this ultimate goal a bit too ultimate?
"Mr. Levi, what you described sounds exactly like Bandle City in the Spirit Realm. It's a utopia that is almost impossible to realize in the Material Realm..."
"Such a goal..."
"Can we really achieve it, just by ourselves?"
Countless gazes filled with questioning, anticipation, and doubt looked over.
And Levi's answer was surprisingly, "No—just by ourselves, we cannot do it."
"Huh?" The students were taken aback.
Was this a joke? After saying so much and describing the ideal so beautifully, he ended up saying they couldn't do it at all?
"Why must it be achieved right now?"
But Levi asked them without changing his expression,
"Everyone, will you die?"
"Of course," the students replied, looking bewildered.
They were all human; of course they would die.
"Then will Janna die?" Levi asked again.
"..." The students froze.
Janna was a god, an amalgamation of the power of faith. She would never die.
"Janna will not die!"
"Her thoughts will not die!"
"Our faith will not die!"
"As long as there are still people who believe, her soul will forever drift above Runeterra, forever guiding humanity toward our ultimate goal!"
"Therefore—"
"What are you afraid of?"
"Even if we die, even if we fail, so what?"
"Janna will always be here, and her thoughts will always be here. If this generation cannot do it, the next generation can continue. If the next generation cannot do it, there is the generation after that, and the generation after that!"
"History spirals upward. Janna is always moving forward, and we are always moving forward!"
Levi did not think that he himself would live to see that day.
Being able to take one small step forward was already a victory.
But he believed:
"One day—"
"The ideal will be realized!"
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