The Liyue Academy had been open for nearly a year.
It was still small.
But something unexpected had happened.
The students had started asking questions.
A lot of questions.
And Noel was beginning to regret telling them to do so.
“Lord Noel, Why?”
Noel was walking through the academy courtyard when a student approached him.
“Lord Noel!”
Noel stopped.
“Yes?”
“Why does the moon change shape?”
Noel blinked.
“Good question.”
Before he could answer, another student arrived.
“Why do plants need sunlight?”
Another:
“Why does water flow downhill?”
Another:
“Why does metal become hot near fire?”
Another:
“Why does—”
Noel raised both hands.
“STOP.”
The students became quiet.
Noel sighed.
“I am happy you’re curious.”
He pointed toward the library.
“But that’s exactly why we need a library.”
The Problem
The academy had books.
But not enough.
Most knowledge was still passed down through spoken tradition.
Noel wanted something different.
He wanted knowledge that could survive generations.
So he gathered the academy’s teachers.
“We’re going to build the largest library in the region.”
One teacher looked surprised.
“How many books do we have?”
Noel looked around.
“…Twenty-three.”
Silence.
Someone coughed.
Noel nodded.
“Then we have work to do.”
The Great Writing Project
Noel established a new program.
Anyone who knew something useful could contribute.
Farmers wrote about crops.
Doctors recorded treatments.
Builders documented construction methods.
Merchants recorded trade routes.
Hunters wrote about animals.
Scholars recorded observations of the stars.
And students were encouraged to write down their own discoveries.
Noel made one rule:
If you don’t know something, say that you don’t know.
No pretending.
No inventing answers.
No copying rumors and calling them facts.
The teachers loved the rule.
The students quickly discovered that research was much harder than homework.
A Curious Student
One student in particular kept appearing in Noel’s path.
She was eleven years old.
And she asked questions about absolutely everything.
One afternoon, she approached Noel with a stack of papers.
“Lord Noel!”
Noel looked at the enormous pile.
“…What is that?”
“My research.”
“On?”
“The healing effect of the golden statue.”
Noel’s expression changed.
“Really?”
Lina nodded.
“I measured how long people stayed near it.”
Noel took the papers.
She had recorded times.
Symptoms.
Observations.
Even differences between people.
Noel stared.
“This is…”
Lina waited.
“Good.”
Her face lit up.
“Really?”
“Very.”
Noel handed the papers back.
“But don’t conclude that the statue can heal every illness.”
Lina nodded.
“Because I haven’t tested enough people.”
Noel smiled.
“Exactly.”
He pointed toward the library.
“Keep studying.”
A New Principle
That evening, Noel added another inscription to the academy.
“Knowledge is not the absence of questions.”
Below it:
“Knowledge grows when questions are asked.”
The teachers admired it.
The students loved it.
And Noel hoped the principle would survive long after he was gone.
The Library Opens
Two years later, the library was finally completed.
It contained hundreds of documents.
Not thousands.
Not yet.
But hundreds.
The building was enormous compared to the original academy.
Stone shelves filled the walls.
Tables stood beneath large windows.
A central section was reserved for maps.
Another held agricultural records.
Another contained mathematics and philosophy.
And in the center was a large empty shelf.
Lina looked at it.
“What’s that for?”
Noel smiled.
“Future knowledge.”
She frowned.
“Why leave it empty?”
Lina looked at the empty shelf.
Then smiled.
“I’ll fill it someday.”
Noel laughed.
“I’ll hold you to that.”
The System
That night, Noel received another notification.
[Liyue Library established.]
[Recorded knowledge: 612 documents.]
[Education level increased.]
[Scientific development increased.]
[Morax Template Synchronization: 14.7%]
Noel stared at the number.
“Fourteen percent…”
He looked toward the academy.
Then toward the library.
Then toward the city.
He finally understood.
The Morax template wasn’t only about Geo.
It wasn’t only about being a powerful ruler.
It was about building something that could endure.
The Tailed Beasts Notice
That night, the connection appeared.
Shukaku.
Noel smiled.
Kurama.
Gyūki spoke next.
We heard you built a library.
Noel raised an eyebrow.
“How?”
Son Gokū laughed.
Your humans talk too much.
Noel sighed.
Apparently.
Matatabi asked:
What do they study?
“Everything.”
Isobu suddenly joined.
Do they study us?
Noel smiled.
“Yes.”
Isobu became interested.
What do they write about me?
Noel paused.
“…Mostly that you’re very large.”
Silence.
Then Son Gokū exploded with laughter.
Isobu grumbled.
That’s not scholarship.
Noel laughed.
“You’ll survive.”
The connection faded.
Noel looked toward the academy.
The city was quiet.
But the lights of the library remained on.
Inside, students were still reading.
Still asking questions.
Still discovering things.
And Noel realized something.
He had started Liyue because he wanted a home.
But now…
He was building something that could survive even after every person currently living there was gone.
A civilization.
To be continued…