Chapter 1112: A Subversive Concept—The Great Ordinary Spell
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 1112: A Subversive Concept—The Great Ordinary Spell
Inside Dean Mei’s office.
"Huh? The Holy Angel Academy still hasn't come looking for me?" My surprised voice echoed through the room.
"Look at the state of the Main World right now. They wouldn't dare just waltz over here. In fact, they’re probably hoping they never have to cross paths with you again."
"It seems they’ve really made up their minds... Sigh..." I let out a small lament.
"I heard you took down another Transcendent. A Transcendent Holy Angel this time?" Dean Mei didn't dwell on the previous topic, shifting instead to this recent event.
While both involved killing a Transcendent, a Transcendent Vampire Grand Duke and a Transcendent Holy Angel were two very different concepts.
"That’s right. Their methods were a bit tricky. I had to use some... specialized means to trap and kill them." I thought back to that battle. It had given me a deeper understanding of the Transcendent level.
It also made me realize that I truly didn't have the right to be arrogant in front of every Transcendent.
"Wait... I don't recall seeing any other Transcendents descending upon the Emerald Forest besides that Holy Angel. Sister Mei, how did you know?"
"The death of a Transcendent is no small matter. Even across worlds, there are plenty of people keeping a close eye on things. I am the Dean of a Witch Academy; surely I’m allowed a few intelligence channels?"
"Ah—fair point!"
"You don't seem worried at all."
"What is there to be worried about?"
"You’ve caused such a massive stir in the Main World that you’ve essentially dragged the power struggle of the Transcendent level into the public eye of the Extraordinary. What exactly are you planning?" Dean Mei asked curiously.
She wasn't interrogating me. Once she had felt comfortable leaving things in Xiao Han’s hands, she had no intention of overstepping.
"Are you planning to lead the Extraordinary forces of the Main World to revolt against the Transcendent academies? If you want my opinion... that’s like using a game of house to deal with a brutal war."
"Sister Mei... Transcendents aren't everything in the Main World. We often treat 'Transcendent' as an insurmountable boundary, but that clearly ignores the significance of the Extraordinary within the Main World. Isn't the Witch Academy’s current push to promote Extraordinary power and techniques to society just a way of laying the groundwork for the future?"
"So, you’ve already started planning for the future?"
"The future is still a long way off, but I understand that certain things can't be neglected. Besides, I don't believe that Extraordinary power is 'not power.'"
"But the Extraordinary is still too weak compared to the Transcendent. Not everyone is like you. In fact, you can't even be categorized as 'Extraordinary' anymore. You should be called... a Pseudo Saint Realm," Dean Mei said.
She said this primarily because she didn't understand my train of thought or what I intended to do. From her perspective, the Extraordinary were as helpless as children before a Transcendent, making them effectively useless.
"Pseudo or not, I don't care. When a person starts defining themselves by 'levels' from the bottom of their heart, they become shackled by those frameworks and perceptions."
At this, I thought of the Holy Angel I had fought. He was exactly like that—at the end, he had gone mad, believing he had defeated a Domain and reverse-slayed a Saint Realm.
The more weight one places on the boundaries of levels, the more one is limited by that perception. They might even attribute the significance of a grand achievement to an act that should have been natural.
That Holy Angel thought that as a Transcendent killing a Saint Realm, he was 'reverse-slaying' them. He was so happy he nearly lost his mind.
But when I, as an Extraordinary, reverse-slayed a Transcendent, I only saw the essence of a life structure built upon the Real World. Once I understood the fundamentals, things that others found miraculous felt, to me, exactly as they should be.
"That perspective of yours... is a bit ahead of its time," Dean Mei remarked. She didn't dare say whether Xiao Han’s idea was right or wrong, mostly because she didn't want to be the poor soul proven wrong when Xiao Han eventually validated her theory.
In her eyes, it wasn't the first or second time Xiao Han’s ideas had been "ahead of their time."
"Ahead of its time? It’s just a natural realization that comes when your power reaches a certain level. The so-called 'standard path' is the most universal, but once you’ve walked the side paths, you realize it’s not the only one." I stopped there, not wanting to delve into anything too esoteric. I quickly shifted the topic: "By the way, Sister Mei, the research project you’re pursuing... it’s the Ordinary Subject, isn't it?"
"You even know about that? I haven't mentioned it in a long time. There are plenty of witches in the academy who don't even know what my project is," Dean Mei said, sounding surprised.
"Mhm. I learned about it indirectly from the First Generation Elder."
"Then it’s not surprising. But why bring it up all of a sudden?"
"I’m just curious. Since you’ve chosen to stick with the Ordinary Subject, Sister Mei, you must have your own understanding of the power of the 'ordinary.' So why do you subconsciously ignore the role the Extraordinary plays in the Main World?" I tilted my head, seemingly waiting for a logical answer.
"Extraordinary power..." Dean Mei fell into a rare silence. Her instinct was to find a counterargument, but the more she thought, the more she realized this was indeed a valid question.
Her intuition told her there was a flaw in the question itself—a blurring of the concepts between Extraordinary power and Ordinary power. However, if only Transcendent power was defined as 'power,' then Extraordinary individuals were, relative to the entire Main World, 'ordinary' forces.
If the Ordinary Subject she championed was correct, then there had to be a way to harness this Extraordinary power.
And that was the crux of the problem.
She couldn't think of any method to harness the Extraordinary to resist the Transcendent.
Or perhaps, thinking about it that way was wrong in itself.
But... was it?
"Xiao Han, do you have a way?" After struggling internally for a moment, Dean Mei gave up. Her subconscious dismissal of this issue wasn't something she could resolve in a short time.
"Maybe I do, maybe... I don't. But it never hurts to be prepared," I said with a shrug.
"Are you playing coy with me now?" Dean Mei chuckled, suddenly feeling more relaxed.
"I’m not playing coy. I’m just not sure if they can truly become that sharp blade," I said, shaking my head.
"Every time you talk like this, I get the feeling you’ve already built eighty or ninety percent of the plan in your head. Can't you satisfy your Dean’s curiosity?"
"It’s really nothing much..."
"No plan is ever guaranteed to succeed, Xiao Han. You don't have to keep it to yourself just because you aren't a hundred percent sure."
"...I thought my Body Cultivation Heart Sense and expression management were flawless."
"We’ve spent quite a bit of time together. As your Dean, do you think I don't know you by now?"
"Fine~" I sighed, giving in. "Sister Mei, do you remember that [Transcendent Knowledge] fragment you left with me?"
"Why bring that up?" Hearing me mention it, Dean Mei immediately thought of our previous discussion regarding Fool's Dream and the Witness Contract.
"I told you, if you want it, that [Transcendent Knowledge] can effectively belong to you."
After all, it was a loan with no expiration date—a long-term investment she had practically "begged" me to take.
"There’s no need to keep emphasizing that, Sister Mei~"
"Alright..." Dean Mei dropped the subject, but her mind was racing. "Xiao Han, since you brought it up, does your plan have something to do with it? Are you trying to recreate the Great Weakening Spell?"
"Not exactly." I shook my head, but didn't deny it entirely.
"Then what do you want to do? Don't tell me you have another idea?"
Faced with Dean Mei’s inquiry, I simply smiled without saying a word.
She had basically guessed the gist of it.
"Well, no one ever said [Transcendent Knowledge] has to take a specific form, right? Just like the Great Wisdom Enlightenment Art." I suddenly remembered something and added, "This time is different from the Great Wisdom Enlightenment Art. I guarantee that the final product will be a spellbook. No, a Great Spellbook!"
"You don't really need to emphasize that. Having ideas is a good thing; don't let my concerns stifle a great train of thought. For Transcendent Witches, the final destination of researching [Transcendent Knowledge] isn't always a Great Spellbook. It’s just that witches happen to have a particular fondness for them."
"I’ve noticed you’re much easier to talk to than before, Sister Mei. When I dismantled the Great Wisdom Enlightenment Art, you gave me a symbolic scolding."
"Not used to it? I can scold you right now if you’d prefer."
"No, no! I don't have a penchant for being yelled at," I said, waving my hands frantically.
"Good. But I am curious—what kind of power will you turn my [Transcendent Knowledge] into? If it’s the Great Weakening Spell... using that concept as a basis for derivation doesn't seem to offer many more possibilities." Dean Mei spoke half to me and half to herself. After all, she had been the one to lead the creation of the original Great Weakening Spell, so her understanding of that [Transcendent Knowledge] concept was terrifyingly deep.
"Is that so? I wouldn't be so sure~"
"You already have a new lead, Xiao Han?"
"I have a few ideas, yes," I nodded.
"Care to share? I’m curious to know what I overlooked after being immersed in that power for so long."
"I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to keep you in suspense this time." I shook my head, declining Dean Mei’s request.
Because this idea was... simply too bizarre.
"You! Sigh... Fine. I’ll treat it as an unrevealed surprise and wait for you." Ultimately, Dean Mei shook her head helplessly. Even though she said she had given it away, it had been with her for so long and she had anticipated its return for so long. In the end, she hadn't even held that power in her hands one last time to reflect on it.
To say she wasn't curious would be a lie.
"Mhm. I believe I won't disappoint you, Sister Mei." I still didn't reveal too much of my plan.
It could be said that this idea subverted all my previous understanding of Great Spellbooks.
If Great Spellbooks were categorized into types...
There were offensive spells, like the Great Glacial Throne Technique.
Or auxiliary types, like Dean Mei’s former Great Weakening Spell.
And functional types, like my Tree of Great Knowledge.
The brand-new "Great Spellbook" I wanted to create would no longer follow these classifications.
Instead... one spell would be an entire research path.
Therefore, I gave this yet-to-be-born Great Spellbook a very ambitious name—the Great Ordinary Spell.
Naming a spell after the Ordinary Subject!
It showed just how arrogant my idea was.
But looking back at my perception of it, everything had a trace to follow.
The first "spark" of this idea came the moment I removed that [Transcendent Knowledge] from my own body!
At that time, even though nothing about me seemed to change—and in fact, I had lost a piece of [Transcendent Knowledge]—I had undergone a subtle transformation.
Back then, I didn't know what conceptual change had occurred.
But now, I seemed to have a faint inkling.
It was... a transition from the ordinary to the extraordinary!
From the moment that [Transcendent Knowledge] was fished out of the Main World by me under the guise of "Talent Awakening," my life had been completely altered.
People had analyzed my brilliant and meteoric rise, only to find to their shock that the things I had achieved shouldn't have been so low-profile.
As Dean Mei put it: if anyone else had achieved even a tenth of what I had, they would have been a shining star in the Witch Academy!
But my low-key personality had somehow suppressed all that brilliance. It was as if an invisible hand had wiped away my luster, to the point where even the Main World Consciousness hadn't noticed me until I fully revealed my talent.
So... the moment I removed that [Transcendent Knowledge], I underwent a metamorphosis.
Calling it a metamorphosis wasn't quite accurate. Rather... I had returned to my true form!
I began to shine within the entire Witch Academy, with a brilliance that even other Transcendent academies couldn't overshadow.
My every move could now sway the hearts of countless people... something the old me wouldn't have dared to even dream of.
But now, it was all happening.
I didn't resent that [Transcendent Knowledge] for masking my past glory. On the contrary, I was grateful for it. A person’s transformation is gradual, and it had given me the chance to transition.
If anyone besides Dean Mei understood it best, I believed it was me.
Though it had only been with me for a few years—a mere blink of an eye for other Transcendents—its presence covered my journey from having nothing to the point where its power could no longer hide my light.
All of this formed a closed loop of perception the moment I took it out.
Since then, a seed of inspiration had been planted in my heart, and at that time, I had instinctively sealed it within the Book in the Box.
When the [Transcendent Knowledge] functioned as the Great Weakening Spell, it maintained the balance of the Main World for over a thousand years.
And now, I would give it the form of the "Great Ordinary Spell" to become the blade that ends all of this.
Perhaps this was my own ridiculous persistence... the conflicts of the Main World should naturally be ended by the people of the Main World.