They had been having a normal discussion, but the moment Faen asked about where the suppressed "fighting spirit" and related negative emotions had gone, he could clearly feel the atmosphere within the entire Temple of the Long-Standing shift.
Elders looked at each other in small groups, and Elder Guchuan, who had been debating Faen, frowned and fell silent. After a moment, Karma spoke peacefully from the side: "We are merely discussing the harmony between the two realms."
Hearing Karma's words, the surrounding elders nodded. Subsequently, Guchuan tacitly avoided the question of where those suppressed negative emotions went. Instead, he continued to speak about Ionia's ancient traditions, tranquility, resonance, and the relationship and importance of balance.
But Faen did not intend to stop there.
Debating the "Way," in a sense, was no different from a formal argument—both involved using one's viewpoint to dismantle the opponent's. However, depending on the worldview, it involved many unique concepts.
Elder Guchuan wanted to express the tradition of Ionia. What Faen wanted to express was certainly not the trampling of tradition, but a critical thinking about balance—whether it was truly correct to completely pursue peace while rejecting and suppressing humanity's innate spirit of strife.
"The seemingly gentle spring breeze and rain of tranquil nature also possess a side of rage, filled with violent storms and roaring thunder," Faen said coldly. "To completely discard the innate spirit of struggle within the human heart would mean butterflies should not struggle to break their cocoons, and trees should not strive to pierce through rocks to grow toward the sun or root down for nutrients. If one truly wishes to complete a resonance with the myriad spirits of Ionia, then one should understand this aspect of the spirit even more."
Hearing Faen's words, the crowd fell into a temporary silence. Among them, the most surprised were Shen and Usan. To be honest, when they heard Master Xynia say that Faen was already qualified to be a Master but was rejected and marginalized by the Temple because of his differing philosophy, they hadn't quite believed it.
After all, in their impression, which Master didn't have white hair? Which one wasn't long-renowned? Which one didn't have fame and students everywhere?
By comparison, Faen's reputation wasn't bad, but in Ionia's high-end cultivation circles, he was definitely an eccentric, non-mainstream rebel kid. And his age, in his twenties, was close to theirs...
Under such circumstances, it was hard for them to believe that Faen's spiritual enlightenment could be on par with those Masters.
But now, they were starting to believe it.
Faen wasn't simply expressing his ego; he was combining numerous manifestations from both the Material and Spirit Realms. This proved that what Faen pursued was absolutely not disordered violence, but—like these Masters—an inquiry into this world and the balance between the two realms.
Facing Faen's direct interrogation, the Masters on both sides fell into silence.
Regarding the existence of negative emotions like the "fighting spirit," it was difficult for them to provide a precise answer. The primary reason was...
"It is a taboo," Karma, sitting above and maintaining a calm expression throughout, spoke peacefully. "Elder Guchuan was not defeated by your argument, nor is he fearfully avoiding the topic. It is because for all of Ionia, that represents an unknown calamity."
As she spoke, she looked at Faen, a look of slight surprise flickering in her eyes.
Karma had long heard of Faen; this wasn't even the first time she had seen him. But in Karma's previous impression, Faen's thoughts were always too extreme, decadent, and disheartened. This meant that even if the logic Faen spoke was sound, it remained unconvincing.
But now, although the meaning of what Faen said wasn't much different from the past, the current Karma could sense a unique emotion behind his words. That emotion was no longer the old despair and pessimism toward the future, but a confidence and fighting spirit as indomitable as a warrior's.
Though it seemed like a small thing, this shift in mindset made Faen's words much more impactful. In his expression, his word choice had become not only more concise but also more precise and accurate.
Clearly, during his time away from Ionia, Faen had experienced a great deal.
Thinking of this, and recalling the discussions, speculations, and prophecies her many "past selves" had held regarding the future, Karma spoke calmly amidst her thoughts: "If I remember correctly, Faen... you once said you could see the future."
"Just some fragments and clues," Faen shrugged.
The elders in the Temple were not surprised by this. They had known about it for a long time—such abilities might be rare in Valoran or Shurima, but in a Spirit-permeated Ionia, they were not unheard of.
While not common, it wasn't extremely rare. Because Ionia had always possessed the most powerful prophet—the Enlightened One, Karma.
Although it isn't explicitly described in the main plot, in her Legends of Runeterra spells, Karma has a special spell called "Eye of the Dragon/Insight," and throughout many Spirit Realms, there exist numerous planes similar to the Material Realm. All of this meant the Ionians were certainly not ignorant of the future.
However, as mentioned before—"Prophecy itself is a curse," Karma said calmly. "Among the past Enlightened Ones, there is no lack of painful lessons where preparing in advance to avoid a tragic disaster actually caused the disaster to arrive, or made it even more severe."
"Indeed," Elder Guchuan nodded, then sighed and looked at Faen. "I do not deny your understanding of this world. But your understanding of this world is by no means your understanding of Ionia... After the ancient wars ended, Ionia's veil became exceptionally fragile. Any pursuit of the spirit of strife actually becomes a source that exacerbates the imbalance."
Though they disagreed, Elder Guchuan was not opposing Faen just for the sake of it. Rather, his view was similar to what Faen thought of them—they simply believed, unchangingly, that remaining unchanged was Ionia's best answer.
But unfortunately...
"The era of remaining unchanged has ended," Faen shook his head.
Just as Elder Guchuan was about to say something more, a traveler wearing a bamboo hat suddenly ran in from the outside in a hurry.
"Enlightened One! Elders! It's terrible! Noxus has gone mad! They've declared war on Ionia—no, the fighting has already begun!!"