Fulen strolled along the streets of Winston District, contemplating what he had accomplished and what he hadn't, and planning his next steps.
"First, I need to subscribe to the Trier Commercial Evening News. This means a trip to the post office. However, there's no rush, as my Apprentice is far from being fully digested. Still, experiencing this world's post office in advance would be a good experience. Hmm, I can do this on my way home."
"Wait, when I first transmigrated, there was already a newspaper subscription in the study. I remember it was… right, the Trier Daily, one of the most influential newspapers in Trier. But why haven't I seen this newspaper in my mailbox yesterday or today?" Fulen had just recalled the newspaper subscription, but immediately realized something was off. He had subconsciously felt something was amiss all along.
However, Fulen thought about it carefully and found that he truly had no ideas regarding this matter, so he could only rule out any Beyonder connections. After all, the only thing that could cause Fulen's various coincidences, "0-08," was still locked in the Evernight Goddess Church, awaiting Adam's plan and the Evernight Goddess's tacit approval to reappear in the world. Secondly, the influence range of "0-08" was also limited. Finally, Fulen could only attribute it to mere coincidence.
Fulen continued to sort through his thoughts: "Next, it's the true nature of this Beyonder organization. In my father's diary, I only saw some particularly notorious Beyonder organizations, which included the Churches. The rest were some organizations that have existed since the fourth epoch or the beginning of the Fifth Epoch: the Demoness Sect, the Moses Ascetic Order, the Secret Order, the Blood Sanctify Sect, the Hermits of Fate, the Brotherhood of Light, the Theosophy Order, the Numinous Episcopate, the Life School of Thought, the Rose School of Thought. Also, Sam is a Pyromaniac, which should only be from the Red Priest and Demoness Pathways. Is it the Theosophy Order or the Demoness Sect?"
In a flash, Fulen thought of other possibilities: "The Sauron Family and the Einhorn Family also control the Red Priest Pathway. So, are two Angel families fishing? No, the Sauron Family… could it be the Iron and Blood Cross Order? The decline of the Sauron Family and the rise of the Iron and Blood Cross Order occurred almost simultaneously. And this Extraordinary Gathering hasn't been eradicated for so long. Did the leader of the Iron and Blood Cross Order really seize the Beyonder characteristic of Sequence 2 Weather Warlock, or even the Beyonder characteristic of Sequence 1 Conqueror, when the Sauron Family declined? I can't rule out this possibility, so I need to be careful, as a tall tree catches the wind."
Fulen recalled the cross-shaped symbol and couldn't help but somewhat believe his deduction. Then, Fulen continued to ponder: "So, next, it's my personal matters. The family gathering and the philosophy gathering are imminent. I must prepare. I need to borrow relevant philosophy books from the library. At the same time, I also need to study the originally prescribed learning content so that I can quickly and successfully digest the potion. Ugh, what a headache!"
Unbeknownst to him, Fulen had already arrived at the entrance of the Trier National Library. Fulen was not surprised, after all, the Hopton District, where the Trier National Library was located, was right between the Heink District and the Winston District, and Fulen understood that his earlier thoughts had kept him immersed for a bit too long.
Considering that his most pressing task recently was to learn some basic philosophical knowledge, Fulen entered the Trier National Library without much thought, searching for the books he needed.
Soon, Fulen arrived on the second floor of the Trier National Library and searched for relevant content in the theology section. Fortunately, Fulen found a book called "A Concise History of Ancient and Modern Philosophy" by Geka Allen on the right side of the theology section on the second floor. Although it was called a concise history, the thickness of this book made Fulen a little apprehensive, because it was one and a half times as thick as the thickest "Five Years of College Entrance Examination, Three Years of Mock Exams".
Fulen originally held onto a glimmer of hope, wishing that the master's font might be particularly large. He then took the book to the reading area on the second floor. In the end, Fulen found, without surprise or joy, that the book's font was actually one or two sizes smaller than other books.
After rubbing his temples with both hands, Fulen felt the inexplicable headache subside a little. Then, Fulen read the author's note to himself: "...Fortunately, I am in an era of philosophical explosion, and I am fortunate to be able to introduce various philosophical treatises and terms to many readers. I will try to write this book in the most concise language for everyone who wishes to study philosophy..."
Fulen couldn't help but deeply doubt this philosophical master's sensitivity to numbers. Then, Fulen saw a sentence: "...This is definitely the most comprehensive and least verbose introductory philosophy book you will ever read..." Fulen had by now lost the mood to complain, only feeling the difficulty and tortuousness of digesting the Apprentice Pathway.
"Perhaps I was wrong, the Apprentice is not played this way at all. I was wrong, truly wrong…" Fulen, who had long been tested by books, once again knelt before the grand hall of learning. However, Fulen's body was very honest and went against his own thoughts, once again placing this large tome on the table and reading it in detail.
Soon, Fulen let out a sound of genuine appreciation: "I didn't expect this Geka Allen to actually have some talent; the book he wrote is quite humorous and easy to understand, I never would have thought!" Then Fulen slapped his forehead in annoyance, thinking: "Oh no! How could I be so careless? I knew I was coming to study, yet I didn't bring a notebook, pen, or scratchpad. It's fine, I'll just browse today, and come back tomorrow to study seriously."
By continuously reading this "A Concise History of Ancient and Modern Philosoph", Fulen couldn't help but gain a profound understanding of this world's history.
In this world, starting from the Fifth Epoch with recorded history, philosophy first experienced the infiltration and suppression of theology, then several representative masters emerged to promote philosophy with strong religious overtones. However, due to the mutual struggles of polytheism, this world did not experience a thousand years of Dark Ages like the ancient Western Middle Ages, but rather quickly passed through this period.
Under the vague tacit understanding of several Churches, although philosophy was subordinate to theology, philosophy and theology were unrelated to each other, and at the same time, a development process completely different from the history of philosophy Fulen had experienced before emerged.
Philosophy advocated rationality and experimentation, and then proved the existence of God and the necessity of theology. Through this path, philosophy was able to exist semi-independently.
As for the important figures in the history of philosophy, Geka Allen also discussed them in separate topics in chronological order, including but not limited to Mared, and Patterson, the sources of pragmatic philosophy; Lumiel, who believed that humans are born free; and even Rosell, as a great man who proposed terms and ideas including but not limited to metaphysics and mechanical ethics, and even founded dialectics.
Fulen stated that he did not understand the specific operations of this Steam Child.