Chapter 1053: Sister Bai in the World-Casting Courtyard
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 1053: Sister Bai in the World-Casting Courtyard
Before that, however, I really needed to share the joy of this success—for instance, with Sister Bai, who had been making time to keep me company these past few days.
And with the First Generation Elder, who had provided me with so much help.
This was Consciousness Incubation, after all... The First Generation Elder and I had discussed the composition of life: soul, consciousness, race, bloodline... None of these, taken individually, constituted true life.
Even when combined, they couldn't fully encapsulate the concept of life; rather, it was life itself that derived these concepts.
The uniqueness of life lay in what it lacked—be it wisdom, memory, self, or the five senses.
The First Generation Elder’s greatest realization from her research into life was that there was no such thing as a perfect organism.
But because of that, I was even more curious about what a life that infinitely approached perfection would look like.
The various races of the Void weren't it; neither were the Alien Beasts or Magic Beasts, nor would the spirits of the Fool's Dream I was about to create be it.
Even "Humans"—the most populous race in the Void with the most prosperous life sequence—were not it.
It felt more like a subjective bias originating from the Void itself. Looking at the distribution of life sequences, it seemed as though the "humanoid" concept leaned closer to the "perfect life."
Thus, the Void had assigned a name to this non-existent perfect life.
The Perfect Human.
Consequently, the concept of "Human" became a general term used to refer to all the major life-bearing races of the Void.
This wasn't other races worshipping the "Human Race" in that sense; they were worshipping the "Perfect Human," the synonym for perfect life.
Even races that called themselves the Human Race or Humans were the same as any other race—separated from the "Perfect Human" by an unbridgeable chasm.
If any human actually took pride or felt superior because of the name, they would only earn a collective eye-roll from other races. And if they pushed their luck, those other races would be happy to show them that even a "perfect life" could be ground into meat paste by absolute power.
Of course, very few people knew about the concept of the Perfect Human. The threshold for accessing such knowledge was incredibly high.
Even if an ordinary person ascended to the Transcendent level and wandered the Void, they would, at most, remark on how many human-type species there were among the Myriad Races.
They remained ignorant of the "Perfect Human" concept and "perfect life."
According to the First Generation Elder, even Dean Mei’s understanding of the Perfect Human was limited to knowing the name.
If I hadn't delved into projects and research within the Life Domain, the First Generation Elder wouldn't have brought up the concept with me, even if I had met her.
Right now, I was looking at the private message interface of the Tree of Great Knowledge, feeling a bit puzzled.
I had contacted Sister Bai, but she hadn't responded for several minutes!
I wasn't being high-maintenance; usually, Sister Bai replied almost instantly. One should never underestimate the sensory capabilities of a Body Cultivation expert like her.
"Did something happen?" I frowned, muttering to myself. Just as I started to worry, a message from Sister Bai finally popped up.
Bai Yu: Sorry, I was busy just now. But I have to congratulate you, Xiao Han! Another successful experimental project!
Bai Yu: [Celebration.JPG]
Bai Yu: [Throwing Confetti.JPG]
Yang Yuehan: Hehe~ Want to celebrate?
Yang Yuehan: I'm in the dungeon world.
Bai Yu: Sorry, Xiao Han, it’s a bit inconvenient for me right now.
Yang Yuehan: ?.?
I stared at the chat interface, wondering what could possibly be the matter.
In the Witch Academy, what could possibly tie Sister Bai down?
Well, I just had to go see for myself!
Just as I was preparing to go find her, I suddenly felt the call of a reverse summoning spell.
"Hmm? No time to come find me, but you can summon me over? Hehe~ It’s all the same anyway!"
I followed the aura of the summons and unfolded my magic.
A moment later, I descended into a brand-new location. Immediately, a familiar fragrance hit me—the kind of scent where even a single breath felt like pure bliss. This place... this was!
The World-Casting Courtyard!
I opened my eyes and looked out over a sea of flowers. There, I saw two figures sitting leisurely on chairs woven from vines, watching my arrival.
"Uh... Sister Bai, and... the First Generation Elder?!"
My eyes widened as I recognized them. I was stunned.
Sister Bai... was actually in the World-Casting Courtyard?
In an instant, I understood why she said it was inconvenient to reply. Private chatting with another Little Witch right in front of the First Generation Elder was indeed a bit awkward...
"Come, Xiao Han, have a seat." The First Generation Elder still wore that same kind, gentle smile.
With a wave of her hand, vines in the garden intertwined, weaving a chair out of the ground.
"Thank you, First Generation Elder," I said quickly.
This wasn't my first time here. While I wasn't quite as relaxed as I was when visiting Dean Mei’s office—which felt like going home—I was no longer as stiff as I had been during my first visit.
After all, I was a Little Witch who had chatted with the First Generation Elder many times. To act like a stranger now would actually feel more awkward.
Still, the Elder’s "young" appearance paired with that smile always gave off a "grandmotherly" vibe rather than one of mature sophistication.
And with Sister Bai sitting beside her, the contrast was even more pronounced.
"I didn't expect the First Generation Elder to invite Sister Bai before I did."
"Well, based on the topics we discussed before, I became quite interested in your Dream Domain Order. However, considering you were busy with your own affairs, I invited your Sister Bai over instead. You won't blame me, will you, Xiao Han?" the First Generation Elder said playfully.
"Oh~ Not at all, not at all! Sister Bai is incredibly talented when it comes to the Dream Domain Order!" I chimed in. Of course, I knew the Elder had many choices—like Sister Muli, Long, or Sister Fanny.
But specifically calling Sister Bai over was clearly related to me. In the Witch Academy, not every witch was permitted to enter the World-Casting Courtyard.
In fact, from what I knew, the concept of the World-Casting Courtyard mostly circulated among the academy's Transcendent Witches as gossip and legend.
"Bai Yu is indeed a very talented child, and very hardworking," the First Generation Elder remarked.
"The Elder overpraises me. I only hope to keep up with Xiao Han’s footsteps," Sister Bai said humbly.
"You see~ You’ve been led astray by Xiao Han, both of you acting so modest. To have the mindset to chase after Xiao Han—who is still a Little Witch—while you are already a Transcendent... that is a state of mind most witches cannot achieve. In the end, this is the result of your own hard work."
As the Elder spoke, Sister Bai listened intently.
Then, the First Generation Elder continued, referring to what had just happened: "Bai Yu just received your message. She says you’ve perfected your Consciousness Incubation technique?"
"Oh, yes! That’s right. As soon as I succeeded, I wanted to share the joy with Sister Bai and you, Elder. I just didn't realize you two were together."
"It seems you’ve gained much. Regarding the application of techniques, if you encounter anything you don't understand or need to refine, you can go find First Casting. Her obsession and execution regarding techniques are things a pure theorist like me can't match."
"You're joking, Elder. You are hardly a 'pure theorist.' That modest claim is even more extreme than mine."
"Aiya~ I’ve been influenced by your habits, Xiao Han. I’ve started acting humble too, haha!"
The atmosphere lightened considerably after the Elder’s joke. After a bit more small talk, the First Generation Elder steered the conversation back to the main topic.
Lest we forget, the reason I was here was that I had completed the final step of the Consciousness Incubation technique.
"So, Xiao Han, can you tell me now? What exactly is the composition of consciousness?" the First Generation Elder asked directly.
She had asked this question from the very beginning. She hoped that once I perfected the technique, I could provide an answer.
After all, even she had never stepped into a project like Consciousness Incubation.
"Consciousness isn't a 'composition.' It is a derivation of life."
After a moment of thought, I offered that answer.
Consciousness Incubation wasn't an independent technique; it existed essentially to serve "life," rather than to simply create an independent consciousness out of thin air.
That was neither possible nor realistic.
"So, in your experiments, consciousness is a derivation of the soul?"
"Not exactly. The soul cannot represent life itself..."
"But rather a more complex biological system, correct?" the Elder finished for me.
"Exactly!"
To an individual organism, the concept of life is like an unresearchable black box. "Incubation" is like the ritual of life’s birth; during this process, life can be observed, separated, and its parts defined.
But all of that is as inaccurate as blind men trying to describe an elephant by touch.
Beside us, Bai Yu listened with curiosity to a conversation she could no longer follow. The words sounded like broad, general concepts, but her Heart Sense told her there was another layer of meaning beneath the simple language.
Even so, Bai Yu tried her best to understand. She knew very well that being in the World-Casting Courtyard was her greatest opportunity right now.
And she knew even better that for Xiao Han, the World-Casting Courtyard was an even more significant opportunity.
After a back-and-forth exchange, the First Generation Elder received an answer that satisfied her deeply.
Through this conversation, I was also able to articulate my understood concepts more clearly. This would help me build deeper research upon this clear, logical framework.
For example... the concept of race.
The First Generation Elder was listening with great interest now, especially when she heard how I had used the Wood Elf as a template to complete the creation of life. Her curiosity was unmasked.
She truly lived up to her reputation as the living history of the Witch Academy; she was so thirsty for knowledge she had never heard before.
If there was one thing about the First Generation Elder that hadn't faded with age, aside from her beauty and knowledge, it was her curiosity about the unknown.
"Actually, I can give a small demonstration."
Sensing the Elder’s anticipation, I took the initiative to propose the idea.
Of course, I wasn't doing this just to show off. By demonstrating on the spot, if I ran into any issues, I could ask for her guidance immediately.
Wisdom shaped by accumulated knowledge and the inspiration I gained from flashes of insight were two very different perspectives.
"Wonderful~ Since Xiao Han wants to show us, let’s see it."
"Mhm. I’ll give it a try. However, this time I’m not going to replicate what I did in the dungeon world. I have a brand-new concept."
"Oh? A brand-new concept? Tell me about it." Hearing this, the Elder’s curiosity piqued even further.
The more she accumulated, the more she felt constrained by what she already knew. She loved hearing children talk about wild, imaginative fantasies; it brought her perspectives she had never considered.
The reason she thought so highly of Xiao Han was that Xiao Han wasn't just a Little Witch with a flighty imagination—she was a genius who could actually realize her most outrageous ideas!
"Here’s what I’m thinking. After completing the creation of a new Wood Elf, I had the idea of mass-producing various elemental spirits to serve as my God Servant Army. But that can't be rushed, so I set it aside for now. Then, I thought about what would happen if I combined the techniques and spells I’ve mastered."
"The reason I had this thought is because I have a spell called Element Spirit's Blessing. My initial concept is... to bestow life upon spell effects! Even a fleeting life has its own value. Like a flame that burns until it flickers out, the light it emits is the trace of its desperate struggle to prove it once existed..."
I spoke a long string of thoughts, from the initial flash of inspiration to the extension of the logic, my understanding of life, and my interpretation of the meaning of existence.
The First Generation Elder listened very seriously.
"Even a fleeting life has its own value..." The Elder chewed on my words, seemingly lost in thought.
"Those are very profound words... and the concept is fascinating. But using a spell as the foundation for creating life—if you told that to any other witch, they’d think you were mad."
"But it’s not impossible, right?" I said with a smile.
If I didn't have a certain theoretical foundation and special techniques to back me up, I wouldn't dare dream this wildly.
"Right! As long as a concept is logical, it is naturally not impossible. We simply lack the means and techniques to realize it. That’s something First Casting once told me." The Elder smiled, then looked at me.
She saw a faint, unmistakable confidence in my eyes. "So, Xiao Han, you believe you can do it?"
"Well, I’ll have to try to find out. I just finished the Consciousness Incubation technique; I haven't verified anything yet~"