Chapter 274: Wisdom Enlightenment, Futility, and the Value of Meditation Techniques
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 274: Wisdom Enlightenment, Futility, and the Value of Meditation Techniques
Lucianne’s arrival didn't affect me in the slightest.
As soon as she arrived, she threw herself into a flurry of activity, seemingly searching for a breakthrough in the Fool's Village Secret Realm and its associated tasks.
Meanwhile, Sister Bai and I remained perfectly at ease, continuing our cultivation of the Meditation Art. When boredom struck, playing with the local Fool's Dreams proved to be an excellent way to unwind.
The skills I had read about in the earlier briefings—things like planting and potion-making—did indeed exist among the Fool's Dreams. If they didn't, there wouldn't be such an abundance of Transcendent plants here, nor would there be "Fool's Dream Drink," a blended fruit juice that clearly utilized Transcendent arts.
These were specialized techniques distinct from those taught at the Witch Academy, but that didn't stop me from mastering them. I made a point of collecting seeds, especially for the fruits required for the Fool's Dream Drink.
The drink tasted wonderful and possessed potent effects; it temporarily boosted affinity and granted a "Vision" that allowed one to see the flow of energy. It was arguably one of the most vital tools for obtaining early Revelations.
As time passed—specifically, today—Lucianne wasn't the only one to arrive. Other guests found their way to Fool's Village, suddenly turning this remote, desolate Secret Realm into a bustling hub.
This anomaly forced me to wonder what exactly was happening in the academy outside. Had news of the Fool's Village Secret Realm leaked again?
This wasn't particularly good news for me. However, after seeing "Luck Seeds" within several of the newly arrived students, I felt a sense of resignation.
Fine then. The Script had begun to intervene. Though I felt a twinge of frustration, the Script's interference confirmed one thing: the value of this place was even higher than I had anticipated.
Besides... the Script isn't invincible. I had suppressed all those Children of Destiny during the exchange competition, so why should I fear a mere internal competition within the Witch Academy?
Among the newcomers, some were strangers, while others looked familiar. Not all were Children of Destiny, but their presence proved that the Witch Academy was bolder than I thought.
Had they snatched up the Children of Destiny from all the smaller academies? Some students still bore the hallmarks of their original schools; the freshmen poached from the Beast Academy were particularly obvious.
The banquet began as scheduled.
Perhaps because of the sudden influx of people, this banquet was more lavish than the one held upon my arrival. I didn't mind; in fact, I hoped they would make it even grander. The more magnificent the banquet ritual, the clearer the Revelations obtained.
During the feast, I simply sat in a quiet corner with a cup of Fool's Dream Drink, observing for any new Revelations. This time, my primary focus had shifted to the Fool's Dreams themselves.
Even so, I was approached by several of the newcomers. they hinted subtly at a desire for cooperation.
I didn't reject them outright, but I didn't divulge any intel either. Once I realized the Script was at work, I abandoned any notion of proactively sharing information. Of course, I still offered some basic hints.
"You should try the local specialty, the Fool's Dream Drink. The flavor is quite remarkable. I'm planning to collect some seeds from these fruits to try planting them back at the academy," I said with a smile, raising my glass to them.
"If you don't want to talk, then don't. And... get that weird-smelling, hallucinogenic juice out of my face."
"Suit yourself. Whether you drink it or not is no concern of mine." I shook my head and turned away, sharing the drink with another girl nearby.
In my eyes, they were far too impatient. If they truly wanted information, the memories woven into stories in the Village Chief’s house held many useful things, but Yu Hu would never mention them of her own accord.
Yu Hu had agreed to let me read those stories, but after borrowing them, I finally understood what she meant when she said she hoped I wouldn't find them boring.
The Fool's Dreams knew nothing of narrative technique. They wrote in a flat, literal style, often repeating the same processes over and over. I gave up after skimming a few, keeping a couple of books just to pass the time symbolically.
I gained a few more Revelations from this banquet, though I still didn't know what they were hinting at. Perhaps I would only understand their meaning once I truly touched upon that higher level.
The next day, more guests arrived in the Fool's Village Secret Realm. Among them, I finally spotted a familiar figure: Tan Han.
Since the Children of Destiny were gathering here, how could Tan Han, the greatest among them, be absent?
However, when we met, we only exchanged a few brief words. From a certain perspective, every "guest" who entered was a competitor. Before coming here, they had all researched the Fool's Village Secret Realm and the associated Wisdom Enlightenment task.
They knew this task had remained unresolved for over a century. While they likely understood they might not be the ones to solve it, they still possessed the "newborn calves fear no tigers" spirit.
Tan Han’s arrival provided me with yet another banquet and a bountiful harvest of Revelations. For the rest of my time, I continued my cultivation of the Meditation Art.
I was certain that after their various efforts proved fruitless, they too would begin to realize the importance of the Meditation Art. But before they reached that realization, they would have to suffer a bit.
"Yang Yuehan, have you been in this Secret Realm the entire time you were missing?" Tan Han couldn't help but ask when we crossed paths again.
"Naturally."
"Are you... practicing the Meditation Art?"
"Yes."
I could clearly sense that Tan Han was facing some difficulties and was trying to find a breakthrough through me. However, she was much more restrained than before. Her questions were indirect and probing; the old Tan Han would never have spoken to me this way.
My response also hinted at the importance of the Meditation Art. Even if one didn't aim to complete the task, spending a long time here practicing meditation was well worth it.
But their restlessness prevented them from seeing that.
With their arrival, the frequency of Nightmare attacks on the Fool's Dreams in the village increased. I attended the rituals where the Fool's Dreams shed their husks to return to the Ancestral Land, as well as the rituals welcoming the birth of new Fool's Dreams.
In these moments, though I mimicked the sorrow or joy of the Fool's Dreams, I was essentially a heartless chronicler. I labeled the Revelations gained here as "Revelations of Life and Death," for they were distinct from the others. As for their use... I still didn't know.
Days turned into weeks until Sister Bai reached a bottleneck in her Advanced Meditation Art. She had reached the end of the path for this technique.
"Sister Bai, how do you feel now that you've reached Perfection in the Advanced Meditation Art? Did you receive any Revelations?" I asked curiously.
"Feelings... I just feel like everything has come to a halt. It’s different from the slight friction I felt after finishing the Primary or Intermediate levels. This time, it’s as if I’ve suddenly slammed into a wall. If that sensation counts as an insight, then the Advanced Meditation Art is indeed the final step," Bai Yu described truthfully.
"The final step, is it..."
This aligned with my predictions. Upon reaching the Advanced level, the runes were already packed so tightly that there was no room for further vertical improvement, only horizontal expansion. But at this stage, increasing the breadth of the Meditation Art was meaningless.
Something was wrong. Even though I hadn't completed the cultivation myself, my mind was more active in terms of theory and logic. My focus quickly shifted to the Meditation Art spellbook itself.
Did such a strange spellbook as the "Meditation Art" truly exist in this world?
A spellbook that only worked once and was discarded after use didn't fit the definition of a spellbook. Furthermore, based on what I knew about the "advancement" of spellbooks, any spellbook should manifest vastly different power or effects depending on the strength of the wielder.
If I defined the effect of the Meditation Art spellbook as "enhancing thought and enlightening wisdom," then that should be a spell effect, not a permanent self-improvement.
Was there anything that could be continuously improved through cultivation?
Certainly, but it wouldn't be a spellbook.
When you cultivate a spellbook, you are improving the book itself—its advancement—not the user. This concept had to be clear. If practicing something improved the user themselves, what could it be?
There was one thing... something I hadn't had the chance to touch yet: Body Arts.
What are Body Arts? They are combat techniques.
So, either the Meditation Art was a technique wearing the shell of a spellbook, or it truly was a spellbook that lacked one crucial component—the thing that defined it as a spellbook. Something that turned "enhancing thought and enlightening wisdom" into a castable spell effect.
At that moment, I had a flash of insight. The Meditation Art was missing something vital. It wasn't something that could be fixed by simply tweaking the internal structure or the runes. Even if I used a brute-force method of trial and error until the end of my life, there would be no qualitative change.
Having realized this, I was no longer lost. I had only one thought: to practice the Meditation Art to its so-called end and personally experience the Revelation brought by Perfection.
Sister Bai’s description was, after all, someone else's experience. Only by feeling it myself would I understand exactly what the Meditation Art was missing.
"Yang Yuehan..."
Just as I was about to proceed with my plan, a voice interrupted me.
"Yes... Lucianne? Do you need something?" I looked at the girl before me. Compared to the day she first arrived at Fool's Village, she looked exhausted and haggard.
"All these days... all these days! Have you done nothing but wander around and sit here in meditation? Do you have no self-awareness as the number one freshman of the exchange competition?!" She was fuming, her face contorted with anger, as if long-suppressed emotions were finally exploding before the right target.
"And what exactly should I be doing?" I asked casually, baffled by her sudden outburst.
"Anything would be better than doing nothing! You've fallen, Yang Yuehan. I couldn't understand how I lost to someone like you back then, but now I see. You're just a person who relies on a spellbook to show off!"
"If you need to vent, please do it elsewhere. You're scaring the Fool's Dreams. If you've been driven to a breakdown by the task, what does that have to do with me?"
"What does it have to do with you? You're asking me that? I've always viewed you as my rival, yet here you are, living a life of leisure. Do you have any idea how bad your reputation has become outside the academy? I'm ashamed to have lost to you."
I comforted the Fool's Dream beside me as Lucianne’s behavior drew the attention of others.
"You keep saying I'm a disgrace to you, as if you live your life for my sake. How can you be so sure I'm not working hard? You open your mouth and immediately dismiss my results?"
"Then tell me, what have you worked on? Practicing that Meditation Art? That thing is a waste of time; its mental power enhancement isn't even as good as the Witch Meditation Method."
"And that is precisely the gap between us. If your mind has collapsed, you can leave. Don't come here to throw a tantrum." I spoke bluntly. Turning around, I signaled to Sister Bai not to intervene.
Ultimately, Lucianne seemed intimidated by the murderous glint in Bai Yu’s eyes and left.
"Do you want me to teach her a lesson?" Bai Yu asked.
"No need. Consider it a brief interlude in our boring lives. It seems quite a few people have opinions on my behavior," I said, shaking my head and glancing toward those who were lingering to watch the drama.
"Then how do you intend to respond to their confusion?" Bai Yu asked with a smile. She knew this wouldn't affect me; she was simply angry that the girl had spoken to Xiao Han in such a tone.
"I have no obligation to explain the meaning of my actions to them. Some people believe strength can solve every problem. If they truly believe that, why didn't they join the Beast Academy in the first place?"
After her outburst, Lucianne seemed to calm down.
The other onlookers had also learned of my current situation. Lucianne had essentially acted as their mouthpiece, asking the questions they all had.
But the answer they received only confused them further. Did a task truly exist in this world that could be completed by just playing and sleeping?
Yet, they didn't think I was a fool.
Most of them still wanted to get information from me. they believed my behavior meant I possessed knowledge they didn't. This was the essence of an information gap: both sides looked at each other as if the other were an idiot.
But only one side is ever truly the fool.
Once Lucianne calmed down, she realized she had likely been used. Recalling the few people who had approached her earlier—stoking her emotions and pointing her toward me—the sense of powerlessness made her feel even worse.
However, she didn't regret being used as a pawn, because she truly had needed to scream out that frustration.
She hadn't been sent here by Mentor Dinah; she had been tricked by the same group of people who had been poached by the Witch Academy. She had heard that the top student, Yang Yuehan, had given up on the Theory Monthly Exam just to complete this task. Since the Secret Realm was supposedly so important, the desire to get a piece of the pie was the primary motivation for most people coming here.
But after wasting so many days, they were beginning to realize their mistake. This place was nothing like they had imagined. Combined with the contrast between their own struggles and my apparent ease, Lucianne had been pushed forward.
Lucianne was self-aware. It had been the same at the Wizard Academy, and it was the same here. She knew she couldn't outmaneuver those people, and she knew this wasn't a Secret Realm where strength alone mattered—especially since their spellbooks had been exchanged away. So... she prepared to leave. Wasting time here was, in her eyes, the biggest mistake she had made.
Not long after Lucianne left, I received another guest.
Tan Han.
"Actually, I'm curious why you all came here. This isn't a place you should be. Blindly following the crowd... that doesn't seem like your style, Tan Han."
"Teacher Lina mentioned it. Initially, I was just curious and wanted to see what you had encountered."
"And? You've seen it. You've lingered here for so many days. What have you gained?" I asked with a smile.
"The Meditation Art. It's important, isn't it?" Tan Han asked a seemingly non-sequitur question.
"Yes, very important," I nodded. Although the Meditation Art was quite different from the Primary level, it still served to inspire thought, enlighten wisdom, and expand the mind.
Unfortunately, the Fool's Dreams couldn't use this spellbook for Wisdom Enlightenment. There were no shortcuts. The Fool's Dreams required external force to change, and as for their own efforts... Yu Hu was already carrying that burden for all of them.
Had she never tried the Meditation Art? She had, in the past. She had simply failed every time.
It was precisely because of those constant failures and repeated attempts that she had developed her current method of symbiotic reincarnation with the Nightmares. These were the stories Yu Hu had recorded in her books, but the reality of her suffering was far greater than the stories suggested. She had been trying for over a hundred years.
"Important... then isn't that enough?" Tan Han shook her head. "I can feel that it's different from the Witch Meditation Method. And... I trust the judgment of Fate."
"Fate..."
I didn't say anything more. She possessed the "Spirit Eye"; the "Fate" she saw was likely the predetermined Script, the convergence of Luck.
I hadn't expected Tan Han to be so at peace with it. She wasn't even as desperate as the others to complete the so-called task.
"Actually, I've been too tense lately. I'm just giving myself a chance to relax. I quite like the atmosphere here. If anything, our arrival has only caused trouble and... brought the Nightmares. The Nightmares seem to be part of the task's hints, don't they?"
"Yes. If there's nothing else, please leave. I need to meditate."
"Thank you. I am indeed leaving. In a few days, once I've finished the books I brought, I'll probably head out."
"Mhm."
I nodded, offering no further comment.
Tan Han’s final words were a declaration that she had no intention of competing with me. This was an unequal competition. Tan Han naturally wouldn't participate; only a fool would persist in the face of the impossible.
Tan Han knew she had come here because of Lina’s words, primarily to see how far her only true rival in the Witch Academy had progressed. Furthermore, she wanted to digest the theoretical knowledge she had recently acquired. She had actually considered challenging me to another fight, but given the special mechanics of this Secret Realm, that idea had to be abandoned.
And so, I returned to my normal, leisurely routine, waiting to cultivate the Advanced Meditation Art to Perfection and obtain the final "Revelation."