Chapter 1141: Born Transcendent: Luomeo
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 1141: Born Transcendent: Luomeo
The days passed one by one.
After the United Club launched successive Academy Wars and cross-academy support missions against the Holy Angel Academy and the Wizard Academy, the turmoil throughout the Core World had reached its peak.
Coupled with the "smash the cathedrals, uproot the faith" craze sparked by the United Club, the operation proceeded smoothly in almost every territory, save for the Holy Angel Academy’s lands, where resistance remained fierce.
The transformation of the entire Core World felt as if the stage were being returned to the people of the Main World. Under the pressure of the shifting tides, their passion and blood were fully ignited.
Throughout this process, however, the hearts of the United Club members from the Witch Academy grew increasingly heavy.
The influence of the Transcendent Academies in the Core World had always been an insurmountable mountain. The students of the Three Top Academies were currently wielding their extraordinary powers for the sake of a pure ideal: the simple right to survive.
They fought because they believed the Witch Academy would continue to keep the Transcendent Academies in check. Otherwise, they truly could not fathom what kind of power could force those Transcendent Academies into such a desperate corner that they would refrain from interfering in the affairs of the Main World.
Within the resistance factions of the Three Top Academies, the Witch Academy had already stood on the same front as the people of the Main World. Meanwhile, the Three Top Academies held the means to throttle the Main World's lifeblood. Only the Witch Academy could play on that level of the board.
But as things developed, the members of the Witch Academy's United Club began to realize one thing: once the Three Top Academies fell, the Witch Academy would become the sole hegemon of the Main World.
A monopoly.
Even as members of the faction standing to benefit from it, those two words sent a chill down their spines. This was especially true for the Pro-Witch and Family factions within the Witch Academy, whose reactions were becoming increasingly polarized.
* * *
In the Expansion Realm, within the Witch Branch Academy.
The Self-Awakened Body Cultivation Experiment was still underway.
However, the focus on the experiment was no longer as concentrated as it had been at the start. The participating students now had enough time and space of their own, only needing to report their progress at scheduled intervals.
After all, this stage of the experiment was still dominated by the "Perfect Human Five Senses Body Cultivation Method." The "Body Cultivation Halo" and "Body Cultivation Sense" were merely auxiliary means.
One could not forget that this was an experiment aimed at forging an entirely new path for Body Cultivation. Actual combat was an indispensable part of that journey.
Thus, the most prominent feature of the testing grounds was the duel arena. There was no brilliance of spells here—only the raw impact of fist-to-flesh combat.
"Eh? They actually have physical arts duels here! Can I join in? I'll only use power below the Transcendent level to fight you."
While several students were practicing on the field, a voice suddenly echoed in everyone's ears.
Just as they were looking around to find the source, a figure had already come to a halt in the center of the arena.
"Who are you?" someone asked, facing the very young girl who still carried a hint of childish innocence.
She didn't look like an academy mentor, yet the Transcendent aura she radiated—identical to a mentor's—was unmistakable. Moreover, this was a specialized experiment, not a simple sparring session; her sudden appearance was far too abrupt.
"Allow me to introduce myself~ I'm Luomeo. I just arrived here in the Main World. You're all students of the Witch Academy, right?"
The witch calling herself Luomeo introduced herself with great confidence, making no effort to hide the fact that she wasn't a witch from the Main World.
"Everyone seems so stiff. I can feel the mana on you, so I'll take that as a yes. Who wants to go first and have a match with me?"
Despite Luomeo's eagerness, the students present were not nearly as enthusiastic as she had expected.
"Are you Body Cultivation students? Don't you have even a shred of courage to face a challenge?"
"Is it possible," someone finally spoke up, "that you've been mistaken from the very beginning? We aren't just having physical duels; we're conducting a specific experiment."
"Mistaken? Eh?!"
Luomeo looked around at the hundred or so people in the area with an expression of disbelief. She certainly couldn't tell this was an experiment.
"Don't try to trick me just because I look young! What kind of experiment is this supposed to be?"
As Luomeo voiced her doubts, I stepped forward from the crowd.
"We are conducting the Self-Awakened Body Cultivation Experiment."
"Self-Awakened Body Cultivation... Experiment?" Luomeo looked at me suspiciously, but her expression quickly shifted to one of intense interest. "I feel like you're very strong! Let's have a fight!"
"Your 'feeling' is quite accurate." I raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised. If I actively dominated "sensation," then the "little" witch before me was dominating "sensation" by amplifying her instincts.
"Right, right? You're way more interesting than these other guys! I can feel that you want to fight me too!" Luomeo said excitedly. "You haven't ascended to the Transcendent level yet, so I won't use Transcendent power against you either."
"There's no need to suppress your power. And let me tell you one more thing: one of the reasons behind the thought 'I want to fight you' is... I hope you'll stop causing trouble for me here."
"I smell the scent of self-righteousness~ Whatever! Since you said not to suppress it, I'll listen to you!" Luomeo didn't care about the details and lunged forward with a punch.
This punch utilized the most classic technique from the Body Cultivation Secret Classic. It was "Sky Opening Break," the primary offensive derivative skill among the nine major branches. Its momentum condensed onto her fist in a single instant.
However, Luomeo's confident strike hit nothing but air.
In the next moment, all she saw was a fist growing larger in her vision. The smirk on her lips vanished, replaced by sheer panic.
Bam!
"Gah!"
With a sharp cry, her figure was sent flying.
Luomeo quickly adjusted her posture in mid-air. Upon landing, she clutched her face with both hands; that punch had landed squarely and solidly.
"Waaa... hmph... That doesn't count! Who starts a fight by punching someone in the face!" Luomeo grumbled as she charged back in. In her mind, the duel wasn't over yet; she had just suffered a minor setback at the start.
A Transcendent fighting a non-Transcendent—she had simply been careless!
But as her expression turned serious, her entire aura shifted. The various physical arts she had learned, the battles she had experienced, the lessons and reflections she had gathered...
In Luomeo's eyes, the opponent before her was a powerhouse worthy of her full attention!
An instant later, the two figures crossed paths.
There was a dull thud of a fist connecting, and a fist-shaped indentation appeared on Luomeo's abdomen.
A textbook gut punch.
This time, Luomeo didn't fly back. She absorbed the full force of the blow.
This punch was nowhere near as heavy as the one to her face, yet Luomeo felt as if her internal organs had been knocked into total disarray. An agonizing pain, far exceeding that of simple organ displacement, surged through her pain receptors.
And that wasn't even the worst part. Along with the strike, she felt something else within her "snap."
"Urgh... uuu... waaaaah..."
Luomeo clutched her stomach and collapsed into a kneeling position on the ground, unable to stop the whimpering sounds escaping her throat. Even when she summoned her resolve to pull one hand away from her stomach to cover her mouth, she couldn't control it.
She felt an uncontrollable wave of sorrow. She couldn't trace the source—perhaps it was just the frustration of defeat, or perhaps... she knew she was wrong?
As for what she was wrong about, she didn't even know.
"Now that you've tasted defeat, put away your playful heart. This is the Witch Academy, a place of learning. You can choose any path you like, but don't barge in and disrupt others halfway through."
After giving the faux-loli witch a brief lesson, I prepared to return to my spot. If I hadn't sensed a total lack of malice from her, I wouldn't have bothered with her at all.
However... this "young-looking" witch was a genuine "Transcendent Witch."
It made me think of those "Born Transcendent" witches. Either that... or she was a freakish genius.
I leaned toward the former.
"Waaa... wait, ugh... wait!"
Luomeo wiped her tears and stood up, calling out to me.
"Hmm?" I turned back to look at her, slightly surprised. "You actually overcame the Pain Distortion on your own?"
Pain Distortion was essentially a method of disrupting another's perception by reversing the application of the Five Senses. Theoretically, it fell under the destruction of "Touch." Among the five senses, Touch encompassed the widest range of perception.
However, disrupting another's perception was not something an ordinary Body Cultivator could achieve. First, one had to use Heart Sense to understand the essence of the five senses, and use Time Sense to achieve absolute self-dominance. Only then did one reach the threshold for disrupting another's senses.
If one possessed Space Sense and the ability to dominate the external environment, disrupting perception became even easier. One wouldn't even need to physically hit the opponent to shatter their senses.
"Of... of course! I'm a Self-Awakened Body Cultivator!" Luomeo spoke with a lingering sob, but when mentioning her talent, her tone regained its pride.
It was clear that while she could use her Self-Awakened Body Cultivation talent to forcibly dominate her own body and repair the perceptual damage, she was utterly helpless against Emotion Body Cultivation. If she had Heart Sense, she might have had a chance to try and understand the attack, but without it, doing so was as difficult as reaching the heavens.
She could only wait for it to recover naturally.
"Being a Self-Awakened Body Cultivator isn't something to be arrogant about; it's merely the foundation for looking toward higher levels. I have that talent too."
"I know you have it, you definitely have it! Otherwise... I, I wouldn't believe it." Luomeo spoke with a slight stutter. "I know I was wrong! Help me recover... waaa... fix it! What kind of ability is this?"
"You're quick to admit your mistakes. I thought you'd be the stubborn type. I don't mind telling you: this is Emotion Body Cultivation. You can call it that for now."
I walked over and reached out, flicking Luomeo's forehead.
Luomeo felt the flick was light, yet it made her head spin and her eyes blur. But once she regained her bearings, that uncontrollable tide of sorrow vanished instantly.
"What a miraculous technique. Emotion Body Cultivation... how have I never heard of it?"
"The Void is vast; there are many things you haven't heard of. If you have business, please leave. If not, don't disturb the others."
"Wait! Don't kick me out yet!" Luomeo immediately reached out. "Uh... that... I don't even know your name yet!"
"Yang Yuehan. If you don't mind, you can call me Sister Xiao Han. That's what the others call me."
"Yang Yuehan... wait! You're that... that person! The genius Little Witch born in the Main World! Yang Yuehan!"
Hearing the name, Luomeo felt a surge of familiarity. Before coming to the Main World, she had heard many Witch Sisters mention this name.
A peerless genius born in the Main World! Rumor had it that while still a Little Witch, she had blazed a new trail for the Great Soul Subject and discovered the concept of "Dream Domain Order" without any guidance.
In truth, among the Void Witch race, Dream Domain Order was a topic that had been discussed to death, but no one could actually achieve it. Legend said the Primal Witch could do it, and that the power maintaining the Primal Dream was the Dream Domain Order itself.
But no one could verify that hypothesis.
Yet this Little Witch had done it, and she had even found a way to teach it!
Coincidentally, the threshold for mastering this Dream Domain Order was Self-Awakened Body Cultivation. This had naturally drawn Luomeo's intense interest. One of her goals in using the connection between the Main World and the Witch World's Great Library was exactly this!
"You recognize me... I didn't realize my name had spread so far."
"Of course! By the way, what experiment are you running here? You mentioned Self-Awakened Body Cultivation just now—is this an experiment for Dream Domain Order? Can I participate?"
"You have too many questions..." I looked at Luomeo, somewhat speechless. While I did prefer people or witches who were straightforward, I couldn't handle this level of added enthusiasm. "This isn't the Dream Domain Order experiment you're thinking of. This is the Self-Awakened Body Cultivation Talent Experiment—an attempt to allow people to acquire the Self-Awakened Body Cultivation talent."
"That... that's impossible!" Luomeo's first reaction to my description was flat-out denial.
This was the Self-Awakened Body Cultivation talent!
It was a talent so rare it was seldom seen even in the Void. Even Luomeo, who didn't know much about the deep mechanics of talents, knew that such a specific gift was something that could be sought but never guaranteed.
She had even embarked on the path of Body Cultivation as a witch partly because of this talent!
And now, a Little Witch was standing before her, telling her that she was conducting an experiment to make this talent available to everyone...
How could she possibly believe it?