Chapter 1121: The Boundaries of the Ordinary?
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 1121: The Boundaries of the Ordinary?
A halo's effect was certainly not limited to a mere boost in "proficiency." At its core, it still functioned by taking mastered knowledge or techniques and manifesting them in a state of perfection through an infusion of power.
This could be viewed as an additional supplement to one's spellcasting proficiency, or as a form of knowledge-sharing instruction.
However, this "instruction" didn't teach the caster. Taking a Fireball Spell Amplification Halo as an example, the halo taught the spell itself. Whether the spell "understood" the lesson was irrelevant; the results manifested after the casting did not lie.
The idea to use the Tree of Great Knowledge Sharing Halo for teaching had come from my Body Cultivation Clone.
Logically, a Body Cultivation Clone needed to solve various problems through the path of body cultivation. However, body cultivation focused primarily on internal development—on drawing more power into oneself.
Consequently, the path of body cultivation lacked the systematic "knowledge medium" for dissemination that spell cultivation possessed. It placed far more emphasis on personal practice and individual enlightenment.
To break this cycle of isolation in its transmission, other methods had to be employed.
At least for now, I had no way to achieve this level of results through pure body cultivation alone. Body cultivation lacked a "knowledge medium" similar to spells, and it certainly didn't have a convenient tool like a spellbook.
Furthermore, "Self-Awakened Body Cultivation" wasn't something that could be learned through study. If it were, then methods like knowledge infusion, sensory synchronization, and precision teaching could allow even the dullest person to master knowledge in a specific field.
"So, Xiao Han, you want to use the Tree of Great Knowledge to create a 'Self-Awakened Body Cultivation Halo'? You want to use sharing to allow others to subtly feel, improve, and synchronize with that sensation?"
"Exactly! That’s the idea!" I nodded.
As I spoke, a spark of inspiration flashed through my mind, as if I had suddenly realized something.
I instinctively looked up, my gaze meeting that of my Body Cultivation Clone. The clone possessed a purity of body cultivation power that surpassed my own, so the moment this thought was born in me, the clone received the same line of reasoning.
"What is it, Xiao Han?"
"I’ve thought of a possibility—a divergent sensory synchronization based on Heart Sense Affinity!"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, I’ve found a possible way for body cultivation to have a 'knowledge medium' for transmission, just like spell cultivation..." Facing Sister Bai’s inquiry, I quickly calmed down and organized the fleeting thoughts, explaining them to her.
The dissemination of knowledge had shaped the glory of the spell cultivation system and had even benefited body cultivation to an extent. However, body cultivation focused more on the self and practice; perception and feedback were its true cycle.
After refining the ideas regarding the Tree of Great Knowledge's halo effects, a new concept emerged.
Sensation.
This concept wasn't unfamiliar. After all, while I was researching the life sequence and racial concepts, I had defined the vital role sensation played within the concept of a race.
However, the concept of sensation was still too "ethereal and formless." It lacked a "foundation" that could anchor it.
That was until I thought of a concept within my Perfect Human Body Cultivation that was on par with Emotion Body Cultivation: the "Affinity" derived from Heart Sense perception.
Its potential for development was no less than that of Emotion Body Cultivation. It simply hadn't been built into a complete, independent body cultivation mode because it had been integrated into the framework of the Perfect Human Body Cultivation.
But "Affinity" was indeed sufficient to serve as the foundation for "Sensation."
In the realm of the transcendent, affinity was linked to transcendent energy—such as the basic elemental affinity, life affinity, and nature affinity. But these were not the limits of what affinity could be.
My rudimentary experiments with affinity had taught me that there was also divergent affinity—where one radiated an aura of affinity—and internal affinity—what one felt an affinity toward.
But the most ideal form of affinity was undoubtedly bidirectional.
Affinity was the foundation best suited to carry sensation, and sensation was the ultimate medium of experience.
That feeling of one's heart racing upon seeing someone, being unable to look away, or feeling uncomfortable and wanting to leave—these were all the most direct and basic "experiences."
Yet, it could not be denied that even though there was no practical interaction, a practical sensation was produced.
While this was often mixed with a large amount of subjective judgment, errors, and misleading information, that was merely because the radiation of "sensation" had never been controlled or refined.
"Sensation" could do so much more!
"So, just like that, we have two more viable paths?"
After listening to my detailed explanation, Sister Bai understood my train of thought. It had to be said that after being with me for so long, Sister Bai was so familiar with my way of thinking and speaking that she could practically finish my sentences.
Our time together recently had also given her the feeling that "I am working hard and progressing alongside Xiao Han."
This kind of mutual endeavor was constantly breaking down the cognitive barriers between us.
Sister Bai could feel it, and so could I.
In the past, the communication between Sister Bai and me had been far too sparse. It was more about me informing her of things rather than us working together. I had preemptively assumed that Sister Bai wouldn't understand these things and that it was enough for me to handle them alone.
But now, on the path of Perfect Human Body Cultivation, Sister Bai and I had found a "topic for mutual effort."
"Yes, two paths," I said, answering her question.
"Which one should we try first?"
"Which one?" A slight smile played on my lips. I shifted my gaze from Sister Bai to the Body Cultivation Clone. "We try both at the same time, of course!"
* * *
Meanwhile.
In the Emerald Forest world.
My Spell Cultivation Clone had already entered the Emerald Forest world, following the No. 0 Combat Sequence and the United Clubs.
Perhaps my main body had missed three months in the Main World, but the experiences and perspective of my Life Clone had never been absent.
I had fully witnessed the events of this period—watching them divide territories and fight for ground within the Emerald Forest.
The friction between the Main World and the natives, the interference of the Afuhemi Academy, and so on.
The most noteworthy thing during this time was the World Curse.
The Emerald Forest world could not resist the rank of the Main World. After the forced connection to the ley lines, passage was established, but the World Curse could not be erased. However, a World Curse of this level wasn't violent; it just quietly made people unlucky.
One could say that most of the Main World's failed attempts to seize elven territories were thanks to the World Curse.
Compared to the World Curse in the Emerald Forest, there was another World Curse that drew even more concern.
That was the "Fire Seeds" who had returned to the Holy Angel Academy three months ago.
Among them were some who had not yet ascended to the Transcendent level. For them to leave the Main World, they would inevitably have to pay a price to sever their Main World Ley Line Shackles.
However, their situation certainly wasn't as terrifying as mine, where a Transcendent had to trade a life for a single instance of freedom.
Now that the Fire Seed Project had been exposed and such a massive mess had been made, their hopes of leaving the Main World were incredibly slim.
During this time, more details regarding the Fire Seed migration plan were leaked.
The disclosure of these plans was inseparable from the "assistance" of those students who had been abandoned by the Main World and were now suffering under the World Curse.
With the secret pushing of the Baking House, the outline of the "World Destruction Plan" gradually began to emerge.
Though not many people believed it yet.
But as long as some did, it was enough.
Currently, the student bodies within the Three Top Academies had already developed significant rifts because of this. While the surface appeared calm, the struggles in the shadows were constant.
Intelligence and news always circulated among the top tier of those academies. Whether the information was true or false didn't matter; if these people believed it, it became the truth.
The exposure of the Fire Seed Project further polarized the views of this elite group. Some used it to eliminate rivals, while others were framed and isolated because of it.
The right or wrong of these matters was equally unimportant.
Human infighting would never cease until only one absolute voice remained in the academy.
Emerald Forest, Volcano Territory.
This was the only territory in this world where there was no dispute over ownership.
The main reason for the various conflicts and disputes in the Emerald Forest was that I did not interfere in the struggle for land.
Another reason was... the Spell Cultivation Clone carried the [Transcendent Knowledge] of the Great Weakening Spell.
But wherever I was, no one dared to make a move.
In the Volcano Territory, my clone continued the previous rhythm; the battles would not end.
However, the Spell Cultivation Clone's combat style had changed significantly.
After all, the Spell Cultivation Clone bore the responsibility of researching the "Great Ordinary Spell."
Although the concept of "Ordinary" was difficult to touch and even harder to understand, the "Ordinary" sub-project within the Great Witch Soul Project was very real.
A project was a path to seek power, but it was not power itself.
Therefore, my definition of the Great Ordinary Spell was a manifestation of power for the path of the Ordinary.
The concept of power wasn't represented solely by pure destruction or combat strength.
Dean Mei wanted to forge her own path within the Ordinary project. Her primary hope was that "ordinary" would not turn into "mediocre"—that the ordinary would have its own power.
In fact, Dean Mei's original line of thinking wasn't entirely wrong. The Great Weakening Spell suppressed transcendent power. Since they looked down on the ordinary, she would make them approach the ordinary, forcing her enemies to become the very thing they feared and loathed.
This was essentially the domination and application of the concept of the Ordinary.
Was the Great Ordinary Spell not something similar?
The difference was that Dean Mei utilized "weakening," whereas I hoped to utilize the Ordinary itself.
However, the concept of "Ordinary" differed from "Weakening." It was like body cultivation—it acted upon the self and could not easily benefit others. The Ordinary was the same; it was a concept of self-perception, or a mindset of self-persistence.
To complete the Great Ordinary Spell, one first had to achieve a very counter-intuitive effect.
And that was to be ordinary oneself.
It was like a body-strengthening spell—a spell that took effect directly on the self. The Great Ordinary Spell was, in essence, a self-acting spell.
Thus, the Great Ordinary Spell was a Great Spellbook that, once cast, would keep the user in a permanent state of the Ordinary.
If this effect were made public, people would likely laugh their heads off!
Such an effect was comparable to the "Dream Rewriting Spell that can only be used in reality with a specific level of dream overlap" and the "Enlightenment Meditation Art that costs one point of maximum mental power to cultivate one point of maximum mental power" that I had created back in the day.
When this thought occurred to me, I almost laughed at myself.
I tried to make the effect of the Great Ordinary Spell area-of-effect or target-specific.
But... it didn't seem to work.
If I insisted on creating such an effect, it would ultimately drift toward the essence of the Great Weakening Spell.
From this perspective, one could see that Dean Mei's Great Weakening Spell was likely the most suitable conceptual interpretation of this [Transcendent Knowledge].
It fragmented the Ordinary, using weakening as a lever to pry into the power of the Ordinary and applying it in reverse, turning the Ordinary into a blade to drive enemies into a corner.
But looking at my Great Ordinary Spell...
Does a truly useless spell really exist in this world?
Of course they do. This was a fact that had to be faced.
The reason I was so fond of the weak and ordinary Fireball Spell wasn't because it could be powerful enough to be invincible, but because I was confident that the Fireball Spell was merely a proof of my ability. What was powerful was never my spell, but myself.
The Great Ordinary Spell simply lacked offensive capability; its effects couldn't be utilized in direct combat.
This reminded me of a spell I had acquired once: "Unity of Knowledge and Action."
Not all spells had to have offensive power; the effect was what mattered most.
The question now was: what was the use of the Great Ordinary Spell's effect? What was it like to experience an ordinary life?
After using the Great Ordinary Spell, one would become the type of person who, if thrown into a crowd, no one would notice. This applied not just to perception, but to one's power and everything else.
It wasn't that people couldn't notice you; this effect wasn't the same as the reduced sense of existence from the Ordinary project.
It was a level of being ordinary. If you did something outrageous, people would still notice you. If someone targeted you, they wouldn't ignore you.
So... what was the point?
Once again, I used this piece of [Transcendent Knowledge] to construct the framework for the Great Ordinary Spell. It wasn't a Great Spellbook yet, but it had become a Great Spell structure with a theoretical framework.
The difference between the two was roughly the gap between casting from a spellbook and manually casting a ritual.
The spell effect was completed, and a Great Spell effect of a complete system washed over me.
This wasn't an area effect, but a self-acting one.
Feeling the spell take effect on my body, feeling all the power of the transcendent system "disappear," I entered a state of utter ordinariness.
The feeling was both familiar and a bit strange, yet I was still me.
The concept of "Ordinary" was very vague.
It didn't mean that a normal person was ordinary. In the eyes of a Transcendent, the extraordinary and the ordinary were no different. Perhaps in the eyes of the Saint Realm, the Transcendent was the same.
Ordinariness was also a feeling. Power could also exceed a certain boundary.
So... what was the boundary of the ordinary?
Perhaps this question could only be answered through constant trial and comparison.
Without much hesitation, a fireball appeared in my hand. Just as I tried to add the power of my cultivation to the fireball...
I finally discovered the anomaly!
The Fireball Spell seemed to maintain only its most basic prototype power. The additional power from my spell cultivation had vanished into nothingness under the influence of the Great Ordinary Spell.
So... the boundary of the ordinary is actually the Prototype effect?!