Chapter 1129: Afuhemi Academy’s Lockdown
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 1129: Afuhemi Academy’s Lockdown
Muli, Long, and Fanny had already been in the Main World for quite some time.
With the conclusion of my Fool’s Dream life experiments, these three witches were finally liberated from their duties as "tool people." The Primitive Dream Laboratory had since been repurposed.
After all, that lab had originally been assigned to me. Since I had been away for a long while, there was no reason to keep it tied up.
The long-term research projects regarding the Primitive Dream Realm had completed their data collection in the shortest time possible. As for the subsequent experiments regarding dream overlapping, the witches had their own methods to induce such phenomena.
They simply lacked the ability to manifest a controllable, deep-level Primitive Dream Realm.
The reason these three had come to participate in this experiment was primarily because their current circle of Body Cultivators had been introduced by Bai Yu. Thus, no matter how slow they might have been, they had received the relevant news over the past few days.
Even though two of them were already geniuses with the Self-Awakened Body Cultivation talent, they remained intensely curious.
After all, they had never heard of anyone claiming they could mass-produce a talent like Self-Awakened Body Cultivation through experimental means!
If they were merely curious at first—with Long, the only one among them without the talent, being the most eager—they were completely sold once they learned of the "Perfect Human Five Senses Body Cultivation Method."
It wasn't necessarily that they recognized the sheer power of this cultivation method, but rather its uniqueness. It was so unique that even they didn't understand it.
And if they didn't understand it... well, they obviously had to try it!
With these three joining in, it served as a perfect example for others.
After all, Muli and Fanny already possessed the Self-Awakened Body Cultivation talent, yet they were still willing to experiment.
Their initial attempts immediately surpassed the first batch of Body Cultivation witches!
They even faintly exceeded Sister Bai’s progress.
This was only natural, however. They were already Self-Awakened Body Cultivators and possessed Heart Sense.
The Perfect Human Five Senses Body Cultivation Method was built upon these very foundations.
I suspected it also had something to do with their prior exposure to Emotion Body Cultivation.
"This feeling... it’s incredible, isn't it? It feels as if my five senses have achieved a deeper level of synchronization with my Heart Sense. How is this possible?"
As the most outspoken of the Body Cultivation witches, Long gave a direct and unrestrained expression of her excitement after reviewing her transformation following a stage of cultivation.
"Perhaps it was always possible, and that is why you could do it," I replied with a bit of profound-sounding nonsense. Whether they could grasp the meaning was up to them.
"That aside, can this special five-senses training really help them reverse-engineer and mold the Self-Awakened Body Cultivation talent?" While Long was still marveling, Fanny had walked over to my side to ask about the core of the matter.
"Self-Awakened Body Cultivation is a talent rooted in the essence of life. The 'Self-Awakened' prefix dictates that it is strongly bound to an individual's consciousness and perception. Therefore, this talent cannot be plundered or manufactured; it can only be attained through one's own cultivation."
"One's own cultivation?" Fanny murmured, seemingly reminiscing about when she first obtained her talent.
Self-Awakened Body Cultivators either possess the trait at birth, gradually awakening as they grow, or they experience a moment of enlightenment that allows them to refine the talent later on.
"Exactly. Didn't Sister Fanny and Sister Muli talk to me about this? There is no way for a living being to obtain a complete Self-Awakened Body Cultivation talent in a short period. Thus, it must be a talent born from a specific catalyst acting upon the intersection of life essence and self-consciousness."
"In other words, the Perfect Human Five Senses Body Cultivation Method isn't the only way to cultivate; it's just a method that helps the practitioner reach that specific catalyst through training."
"Precisely~"
"I suppose I was overthinking it," Fanny said after a long silence.
Before entering the Main World, she had never been exposed to experiments regarding Body Cultivation. Her understanding of it was far more idealistic and self-centered.
This state was considered "purer," and it was highly beneficial for the subsequent cultivation of one's State of Mind.
What is a State of Mind?
A State of Mind is the inner order evolved from the sixth sense, Heart Sense. Body Cultivators might not understand much of the underlying truth, but they must use a specific way of perception to support their journey forward.
Before entering the Main World, everything she had learned on the path of Body Cultivation consisted of methods. Using one method to explain another was a very common learning style in Body Cultivation, even if one didn't understand the principles behind them.
Even so, she was considered an outlier among Body Cultivators because she enjoyed exploring those underlying principles.
Body Cultivators outside the void were so pure they only knew how to train their body arts. Under the transcendent advancement system of Body Cultivation, as long as one trained hard, progress was guaranteed.
Because of this, most Body Cultivators were associated with being brainless.
Now, she had entered the Main World.
The experiments on the Primitive Dream Realm order had opened up possibilities for Body Cultivation power that had never been touched before.
And now... she realized just how terrifying a Body Cultivator who actually used their head could be.
Consequently, the usually taciturn Fanny was now speaking just as much as the naturally extroverted Muli.
"Xiao Han, what do you think this experiment for Self-Awakened Body Cultivation is still missing? If we just keep practicing this Perfect Human Five Senses Body Cultivation Method, I feel like even with a thousand people, not a single one might reach that catalyst."
"Hmm... I believe the current experiment is lacking a special state of cultivation," I said, looking at the Body Cultivation witch sisters.
"A special state of cultivation? What kind of state?"
"If Self-Awakened Body Cultivation is a synthesis of consciousness, life essence, and so on, and the essence of our current training is to create an unknown catalyst and change for one's consciousness, then the state of one's life essence is equally important. It's like when I... when I first obtained Self-Awakened Body Cultivation, I died once."
"Died once?"
It must be said that the concept of death was quite heavy for Transcendent Witches.
Though death might seem like just the body failing and the soul dissipating, witches who hadn't made significant achievements in the field of Life still feared it deeply.
Because they lacked the means and abilities targeting life itself, and lacked the confidence of absolute dominion over their own lives, death remained an inviolable taboo.
It was much like the fear of death felt by ordinary people.
Even if someone said, "Don't worry, I have a Resurrection Spell and can bring you back," everyone would still ask in their hearts: What if? What if the resurrection fails?
No witch would gamble their eternal lifespan to play with death. Even if the probability was one in a hundred million, being dead was being dead; not even a Primal Witch could save you then.
The essence of a Resurrection Spell was actually a technique of life essence and physical reconstruction. You had to have something that still "existed" or was "alive" to be eligible for resurrection.
"Xiao Han, are you planning to have us cultivate at the brink of life and death?"
Amidst the atmosphere of doubt, a witch finally voiced the question.
"It doesn't necessarily have to be death. It's just about putting one's life essence into a special state to make it easier to harmonize with the birth of the Self-Awakened Body Cultivation talent. I happen to know a derivative spell that doesn't require dying: Reshaping Rebirth. It's a special kind of molting technique."
After considering the concerns of the Transcendent Witches, I chose this approach.
Regardless, this was their own idea, and I just happened to be able to accommodate them.
They feared death, but I didn't necessarily share that fear.
"I remember now. Xiao Han, you also mastered a special reincarnation spell, right? Reshaping Rebirth... that must be a special derivative spell."
As another witch mentioned this, the group finally breathed a sigh of relief.
If participating in an experiment meant repeatedly testing their lives on the edge of death, and the one maintaining their life was a Little Witch...
No matter how much confidence they had in this Little Witch, the objective risk was still enormous.
Furthermore, many of the witches here only knew me through a few meetings or various rumors.
Naturally, they couldn't entrust their lives unconditionally.
"Sisters, please rest assured. I would never let anyone take risks before testing the more dangerous parts of the experiment myself."
As I spoke, I withdrew my weapon, the Book in the Box.
From within, I pulled out a One-Ring Holy Spirit.
This was the very thing left behind by the Transcendent Angel I had slain in the Emerald Forest world.
It was essentially a life form. By using a Resurrection Spell, it could be revived—that was the nature of a Transcendent Angel.
"Oh~ it's a Holy Angel."
The witches realized what I had taken out. Perhaps Transcendent Witches only called it a Holy Angel when it was reduced to nothing but a Holy Spirit Halo.
"But a Holy Angel... there's no way He would cooperate with our experiments, right?"
"It's fine~ I just need to process Him a bit." I waved my hand, indicating it was a trivial matter.
I had mastered many techniques in the field of Life, from the consciousness and skills encompassed by the Seed of Wisdom, to the soul-drawing and soul-quality dominion of soul manipulation, and even the modification of consciousness through consciousness incubation.
In the natural world, no life is born as a natural slave, but life-crafting techniques can create beings that, from the moment of their birth, are willing to die for their creator.
* * *
While I was immersed in the experiments for the Great Ordinary Spell and Perfect Human Body Cultivation, many things were happening in the Main World.
"What did you say? Afuhemi Academy suddenly announced a lockdown?!"
By the time Cleveland received the news, Afuhemi Academy had already begun its isolation.
Images from the source of the news showed the territory where Afuhemi Academy was located being enveloped by a massive magical barrier.
The Afuhemi World Tree Branch, usually obscured by thick clouds, was now fully revealed under the weight of such terrifying power.
Even so, the images only captured a small corner of the World Tree's vast canopy.
The Main World was now in complete chaos because of Afuhemi Academy's actions.
Afuhemi Academy was one of the Three Top Academies of the Main World!
The territory it influenced was immense. The impact of its lockdown was enough to shake the entire Main World. Those most affected were the family factions that followed the academy like loyal dogs.
Unlike the families in the witch territories, whom the witches ignored—families who dreamed of restoring their glory, usurping the foundations of transcendent power, and ascending to become Transcendent Families—the families following the Transcendent Academies had already been tamed into a state of servitude.
Once their "master" stopped caring for them, their first instinct was to rush over and hand the leash back to the master, rather than running free.
However, the situation was unique now. Conspiracy theories about the Three Top Academies plotting to destroy the Main World had spread from the student bodies to the families.
If they had chosen not to believe it before, then now... after being abandoned, they were forced to reflect.
At the same time, Cleveland reported the matter to me immediately and continued to track the movements of Afuhemi Academy and the other two top academies.
The strange movements of Afuhemi Academy forced me to pause the refinement of the Self-Awakened Body Cultivation Halo.
At this stage, the Self-Awakened Body Cultivation experiments could be maintained by my Body Cultivation Clone for the time being, so I rushed to the United Club immediately.
After all, with such a major event occurring, the United Club would naturally take the lead in discussing the matter.
Inside the meeting hall.
The meeting officially began once I took my seat.
Dispensing with meaningless, redundant openings, Olina, the nominal rotating President of the United Club, went straight to the point.
Every club had its own intelligence channels. There was no need to repeat public information; representatives of smaller clubs who were uninformed could learn the details through the intelligence summaries distributed at the meeting.
The primary purpose of this meeting was to share specific, specialized information.
Meanwhile, I sat below, learning the finer details through Cleveland.
The information I was interested in mainly concerned the reactions of the student populations and the official academy administrations within the Three Top Academies.
Theoretically, due to the world-ending crisis, the two sides should have clashed. However, the influence of the student body on the academies was even smaller than expected.
It was just like in the witch academies; the will of the students could never sway the decisions of the Dean.
This was absolute suppression from the level of strength.
However, Afuhemi Academy’s lockdown hadn't come without warning. For instance... the migration of many core family strongholds within the Afuhemi territory.
According to reliable intelligence, members of those great families had already been transferred to a certain location within Afuhemi Academy.
This was essentially a total reveal of their hand.
"Afuhemi Academy transferred so many core family members at once—where else could they go? The Spark Migration Project can't move that many people."
Furthermore, the cost of severing the Ley Line Shackles for so many people would be astronomical.
"According to current reports, those elves seem prepared to transfer them into the small worlds within the World Tree. At least, that's what they call that place," Millian explained to me.
"Small worlds within the World Tree?" I frowned as I repeated the concept. Without hesitation, I sent an inquiry directly to Dean Mei.
I received an answer shortly after.
The Elven Mother Tree of the Transcendent Elves did indeed nurture small worlds. The carrier for the Elves' Great World Community was that so-called World Tree. The saying "one leaf, one world" described the World Tree's immense power.
A typical Elven World Tree couldn't achieve such a feat, but the Afuhemi World Tree could. Even if it was just a branch, one must not forget that the Elves were among the first transcendent races to invade the Main World. The physical space of the Main World they had carved up served as the best nourishment for the World Tree.
Thinking back to the shattered and desolate void of the Frontline World I had seen not long ago, one could easily guess where those broken worlds had gone.