Endless Debt Chapter 1363 - 112: Spark

What exactly is life?

On his journey forward, Saqin constantly pondered this question in his mind.

From a biological perspective, what is called life is an organism possessing characteristics such as cellular organization, metabolism, growth, development, heredity, and reproduction.

Before the Ether invaded the Material Realm, such theories might have been ironclad rules, but now the world is completely different from the world of the past. Today, Saqin lives in a world transformed by the Ether, where the definition of life is no longer limited to various biological accounts, with some additional mysterious elements.

Soul.

From the scholars’ perspective, life is the Trinity of body, mind, and spirit, with each Condenser viewing the soul as their treasure until one day, the primal matter was unearthed, and the Soulless were born into this world, then they realized that the soul is not the key to defining oneself.

So what exactly is life?

Regarding this part of the debate, scholars within Raymond Gaudent are divided into several factions, often accusing and shouting at each other, faces flushed.

Saqin disliked such intense debates. He preferred quiet contemplation alone, yet no matter how much he pondered, he could never find an accurate answer.

This feeling was powerless, and also profoundly frustrating.

"Could it be that life, as they say, was truly created by so-called gods?" Sometimes Saqin couldn’t help but wonder.

Saqin could replicate embryo cells, create terrifying alchemical creatures, but he alone could not create humans, could not create another living, intelligent being.

Standing in the empty chamber, the ghostly green light illuminated the incubation pods, arranged densely like insect cocoons, with transparent fluid enveloping curled figures.

From infant to fully grown adult, the incubation pods had it all. After years of research on the Soulless, Saqin indeed achieved good results. These individuals before him were Soulless, in the truest sense, pure humans.

They were indeed pure, yet filled with flaws.

Scholars tried guiding these Soulless, but their eyes were vacant, responding little to external stimuli, akin to walking corpses.

These Soulless were indeed living beings, yet they seemed to lack something crucial, dim and unintelligent.

Without a soul, the Alchemy Matrix naturally couldn’t be implanted within them, making later adjustments difficult.

Breaking free from these disturbing thoughts, Saqin tried focusing his attention on the present, where not far ahead, a person stood quietly, gazing down at the Soulless in the incubation pods, with scholars around maintaining a respectful distance, their demeanor full of reverence.

Saqin walked over, wanting to address the person before him with that familiar appellation, yet ultimately, he greeted him like the other scholars, respectfully saying, "Your Majesty."

The person turned around, dressed in the same attire as the other scholars, blending into the crowd, hardly distinguishable, thus he wore a delicate Golden Mask, crowned with laurels.

He once had many appellations, but now people usually only called him by that name.

King Solomon nodded lightly, then his gaze returned to the incubation pods before him, able to clearly see the baby immersed in the nutrient fluid through the transparent container.

It was roughly seven to eight months old, with the umbilical cord still attached to its abdomen, eyes tightly closed, body curled up like an insect within a cocoon, waiting to transform into a butterfly.

King Solomon’s voice was cold, devoid of any emotion, "You shouldn’t have hidden this from me, Saqin."

Saqin remained silent, slightly bowing his head, while Suzi beside him showed discomfort, gripping Saqin’s arm.

"You violated the ethical code,"

Saqin took a deep breath, revisiting the prepared words in his mind, then said, "This was to explore the truth."

He was about to continue speaking when noticing the surrounding people, Saqin added, "Everyone, leave for now."

The scholars glanced at each other and left the place silently, even those awakened Soulless did the same.

"I was merely trying to find a way to create true life, a living Soulless possessing high intelligence, rather than these aimless lumps of flesh."

Saqin worked hard to suppress his emotions, speaking rationally, "I completely replicated these embryos according to the human blueprint template, yet they seem to be lacking something..."

"So you abandoned embryo cultivation, choosing to create Soulless through natural birth?"

King Solomon sternly interrupted Saqin.

Saqin was stunned in place, while Suzi turned her head away, not daring to meet King Solomon’s gaze.

"Saqin, I am not angered by your violation of the ethical code," King Solomon continued, "the so-called ethical code is merely to constrain the mediocre, but for us, haven’t we committed fewer of the taboo sins in pursuit of the boundary of truth?"

King Solomon’s voice grew lower, "My anger stems from your attempt to deceive me."

Saqin was silent for a moment, then said, "Over the years, I’ve tried many methods, but still made no progress. I even began to doubt that perhaps my attempts weren’t wrong, and the present ones are the correct answer."