Chapter 1061: Extraordinary Snapping Transcendent Equipment
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 1061: Extraordinary Snapping Transcendent Equipment
The battle only truly began when I brought out the Book in the Box to face Sister Bai.
When it comes to fighting, it’s either to achieve a specific goal or because you’ve calculated that the battle will yield a worthwhile harvest.
The reason I agreed to this fight with Sister Bai was to understand the gap between myself and a Transcendent in terms of raw combat power.
Sister Bai had a similar motive; she wanted me to understand the vital importance of equipment in battle.
Did we both achieve our goals?
Essentially, yes.
Sister Bai made me realize that equipment is a tool of combat power, and she, in turn, realized through my various methods that even a Transcendent’s repertoire can be quite one-dimensional.
After all, being Transcendent reflects one's realm, but fighting relies on one's means.
A Transcendent who neglects their studies might still rely on a basic Fireball Spell, whereas a practitioner who uses their head will have methods that are ever-changing.
As Sister Bai fought me, she explained.
The general impression of a Transcendent expert is someone capable of destroying a world single-handedly, but not every Transcendent possesses such world-extinguishing means.
First, one must acknowledge a simple fact: the more powerful the method, the higher the threshold, and the more time and energy it takes to cultivate and master.
Take the Witch race’s spellbooks as an example. Low-level spellbooks, like the Fireball Spellbook, are practically everywhere, but high-consumption spellbooks are almost impossible to buy.
For instance, you almost never see a Myriad Methods Book within the Witch Academy. Even if someone masters a spellbook with extreme consumption and stands at the top of the academy, that method remains relevant even after they promote to a Transcendent Witch.
Back then, Mentor Belica was willing to trade her years of accumulated insights into Rune Technique and Totems just for my unfinished "Resurrection" spell—which was really just a conceptual outline at the time. That alone shows how precious powerful spells are.
During the recent Soul Essence restoration incident, she even offered her entire research estate as a deposit just for the mere possibility of a Resurrection spellbook.
Keep in mind that I haven't even promoted to Transcendent yet, nor have I learned the Real Editing Technology required to create spellbooks, yet she was willing to invest so heavily in advance.
That says it all.
If I remember correctly, the Dean mentioned that the threshold for using a complete Resurrection spellbook starts at five hundred thousand mana.
And that’s a spell that costs one unit more than a Myriad Methods Book. A single domain of the Saint Realm requires a hundred million mana.
Could there be spellbooks with a consumption threshold of a hundred million?
Even Sister Bai didn't know the answer to that.
For Sister Bai, even as a Transcendent Witch, the highest level she had ever encountered was the "Million Divine Spellbook."
If the circulation of spellbooks is this difficult within the Witch race, it’s even harder for the spells, magic, or witchcraft of other races in the Void to spread. Unlike physical objects, these methods cannot be plundered; if you don't know how to do it, you simply don't know. Even with a Witch’s spellbook in hand, it’s not something you can just cast immediately upon acquisition.
Therefore, equipment is the best medium for exerting the "power" one has accumulated.
Sister Bai demonstrated this to me personally using Transcendent equipment.
At the level of Transcendent equipment, the weapons in Sister Bai’s hands seemed to transcend my understanding of objects. They were no longer external items or mere tools; they felt like an extension of a living body.
Equipment = Power. In that moment, the concept was made manifest.
I finally understood the true meaning behind the phrase Sister Bai kept repeating: "The Void is a place where equipment is king."
Wielding Transcendent equipment, Sister Bai forced me to the point where I had to deploy Spell Life.
The use of Spell Life is the ultimate manifestation of my dominance over spell effects. Even though they are fragile as "living beings," as spell effects, they were so cunning and precise that even Sister Bai had to take them seriously.
The spell I am most familiar with is the Elemental Spirit's Blessing, which was also the only type of Spell Life I knew. However, Sister Bai was clearly pulling her punches, allowing me the room to figure out a "Fireball Spell Life."
She knew very well that this battle wasn't about winning, but about something else, so she allowed me to "cultivate" in the heat of combat.
Later, Sister Bai "regretted" that decision.
Because a lifeform transformed from a fireball was infinitely more troublesome than a pure fireball!
Even if it was just a fireball.
It acted like a comrade-in-arms, coordinating with me in perfect harmony, blooming with the most dazzling sparks in its brief existence.
And that wasn't even the most absurd part. A Fireball Spell Life controlled with a spellbook as its core is technically a spell effect that has broken free from the book. Under constant optimization, new forms of Fireball Spell Life gradually began to emerge...
The Fireball Spell Life had mastered the effects of other sequence derivations of the Fireball Spell!
Every time a Fireball Spell Life died or was born, it represented the diverse evolution of a brand-new spell life!
Admittedly, these methods still couldn't withstand the "numerical values" of Transcendent-tier spell effects, but the utility itself caused Sister Bai endless trouble.
At this moment, a fireball leaped atop my Book in the Box. Leveraging the spellbook’s inherent amplification, it transformed into a blazing blade.
In this posture, the fireball delivered its strongest strike!
After this blow, its life would vanish along with the flames, yet the Fireball Spell seemed ecstatic, as if it had been born specifically to manifest this single strike.
"Kill!"
I couldn't help but roar in resonance with the fireball!
Even Sister Bai’s eyes widened at this strike, as if she were witnessing something impossible. Her combat instincts took over, and she raised a Transcendent longsword to meet the blow.
Clang! Crack...
The collision between the crimson flames and the weapon produced a piercing screech, followed by a crisp snap that announced the weapon’s breakage.
An Extraordinary snapping a Transcendent weapon?!
Even in the Saint Realm, Sister Bai found this unbelievable. Even when I had managed to kill a Transcendent Wizard before, it had been by utilizing a Void Rift.
But this time... it was a spell!
The defining characteristic of Transcendent equipment is that its power intervenes in Real Time. It should be impossible for anyone below the Transcendent level to completely destroy Transcendent equipment. At most, they might leave a notch, which would naturally mend itself through the equipment's self-repair techniques.
It was the same logic as why an Extraordinary cannot normally kill a Transcendent.
"Xiao Han, you! You..."
"Phew... oops~" As the flames dissipated, I snapped out of that special state. Looking at the broken sword in Sister Bai’s hand, I sheepishly stuck out my tongue.
"Sorry, Sister Bai... I remember Transcendent equipment being quite expensive?"
After all, it was Transcendent equipment!
A weapon that only a Transcendent could wield. In Sister Bai’s words, even the top clubs in the Witch Academy could barely scrape together enough resources to forge a single piece of Transcendent equipment.
After all, club members aren't Transcendents, and they don't even meet the threshold to work with the materials.
Regardless, Transcendent equipment was ridiculously expensive!
"...It's fine. It's actually more expensive now." Sister Bai knelt down to pick up the broken blade fragment.
"Uh... what? What do you mean? Sister Bai, you're not going to extort me, are you? I don't have any money—just my body. Want it?"
"Of course I do~ But I didn't mean I was extorting you." Sister Bai looked blankly at the figure before her who had no idea what had just happened, then suddenly broke into a smile.
"You're not extorting me, but you still want me?"
"You offered yourself up; why wouldn't I take you?" Sister Bai said with a laugh.
"Fine, fine~ Consider it compensation. So... what about the sword? Can it be fixed?"
"I'm not fixing it. I'll keep it as a souvenir," Sister Bai said, smiling.
Heaven knows how much prestige she would gain if she showed this to her friends! This was snapped by Xiao Han’s spell. How impressive would that be!
A Little Witch snapping Transcendent equipment!
Who else could pull that off!
"Huh? A souvenir?"
"That's right! You have no idea what an incredible thing you just did... but let's not talk about that. Xiao Han, in that moment just now, did you touch Real Time?" Sister Bai asked directly, without hiding her curiosity.
In that instant, she had felt a disturbance in Real Time. If power cannot extend into Real Time, then no one can break a Transcendent sword.
"Yes, I did," I nodded in admission.
The reason I had fought so seriously toward the end was because I felt the atmosphere of the battle had reached the right pitch. In the Witch Academy, no one had ever pushed me to such an extent, forcing me to invest myself entirely—mind, body, and instinct.
So, in that final strike, I used that momentum to break through the "barrier" of Real Time.
However, I haven't promoted to Transcendent yet. It wasn't that my life essence had reached Real Time; rather, in that fleeting moment, I combined technique and power to briefly leap across that threshold.
It was an absolutely wondrous experience. It was different from the limitations of Spirit Vision, which is a gift that allows me to see Real Time. That feeling of power stepping into Real Time was as free and authentic as a fish entering the ocean!
If my Spirit Vision talent is like being in a submarine diving deep into the ocean of "Real Time," where I can only glimpse a corner of the deep-sea scenery through a porthole...
Then the moment I personally touched Real Time was like jumping into the sea myself. Even if I couldn't go as deep as Spirit Vision allows, I "experienced" the power of Real Time from every angle.
To use an analogy:
Using the abilities granted by Spirit Vision to manipulate Real Time is like trying to scratch an itch through a boot. Personally stepping into Real Time is like submerging your entire self into it; even a flick of the wrist causes Real Time to ripple in response.
This ability is an instinct, much like how Sister Bai can tear through space using her Real Touch.
And I had experienced that instinct in that moment...
Even if it was only for a split second, it was enough for me to savor countless times.
If my plan to promote to Transcendent was previously just a matter of following a schedule, now... I felt a spark of active desire to reach that realm.
"I knew it! Xiao Han, are you about to promote to Transcendent?" Sister Bai asked excitedly, grabbing my shoulders.
Even though she knew that Xiao Han was getting closer and closer to Transcendent status through those special techniques, witnessing it so directly was an unparalleled shock to her system!
Xiao Han had only been in school for two years!
What was she doing back when she was a second-year?
"Hehe~ It's getting close, but don't get so excited~ It'll still be a year or two at the earliest." Feeling the immense shock in Sister Bai’s heart, I felt a surge of secret delight.
It was that satisfying feeling of having one's hard work finally recognized by Sister Bai in such a visceral way.
"How could I not be excited?" Sister Bai panted, but her gaze caught sight of the Fool's Dream nearby, causing her to restrain her next instinctive actions.
"Sister Xiao Han~ Is the fight over?"
"If it's over, can you let us out now?"
The Fool's Dream watching from the sidelines were tapping on the protective spell Sister Bai and I had jointly set up.
Because anything can happen in a fight, we were worried the Fool's Dream might get too excited and get hurt by the aftershocks, especially since they essentially possessed no Transcendent power.
"I almost forgot." I walked over and dispelled the protective spell for them.
"Sister Xiao Han looked so cool fighting just now!"
"Yeah, yeah! Sister Bai too!"
Once the spell was lifted, the four little Fool's Dream swarmed toward me.
The Fool's Dream rarely saw "combat," especially the ones following me, as I rarely let them encounter such things.
This time was an exception.
I picked up Yulan, while the others floated around me, staying within the dreamscape.
Yulan and the other three were gradually beginning to adapt to this "Dreamification" talent.
Yu Yun kept sighing in admiration, saying that the battle between Sister Bai and me was like a work of art.
The intertwining of spells, body arts, and equipment did indeed constitute a combat process with significant artistic value.
This was exactly why the arenas in the Witch Academy were packed with spectators at every moment.
Unfortunately, no one else would ever see the battle between Sister Bai and me.
"Sister Xiao Han~ Um... can I fight with you too? Just like before, with that whoosh-whoosh fire."
As Yu Yun said this, my expression froze slightly.
I turned my head to look at Yu Yun floating in mid-air. Even I hadn't expected her to suddenly say something like that!
"Yu Yun, why did you suddenly think of that? Fighting is a very dangerous activity, you know~" I tried to dissuade her subtly.
"But I saw Sister Xiao Han and Sister Bai looking so excited while fighting!" Yu Yun tilted her little head and asked in confusion.
"This..." I blinked. In an instant, my mind raced through many arguments to continue dissuading her, but I rejected them all.
Explanation? Analysis? Or more persuasion?
None of them seemed quite right.
An explanation wouldn't be clear enough, the Fool's Dream wouldn't understand an analysis, and as for persuasion... I would simply become an insurmountable mountain standing in front of them.
Besides, Yu Yun only mentioned "fighting." I had many ways to let the Fool's Dream experience what they were talking about without any risk.
"Then how about I take you to experience it and see?" I said.
I saw Yulan’s eyes light up in my arms.
"Sis~ter~ Xiao~ Han~" Yulan’s voice chimed in from my embrace right on cue.