Chapter 309: Cooperation and Win-Win
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 309: Cooperation and Win-Win
"Sister Bai, what did you think of that City Lord we met earlier?" I asked, leaning in toward her as we made our way to find the Association President.
"Hmm? Why the sudden interest, Xiao Han?"
"Just curious."
"Well... that City Lord is a very formidable man," Bai Yu finally answered.
"Formidable? I only saw someone very approachable and polite. I mean, they probably just don't want to provoke us, but overall, he seemed quite nice, didn't he?"
"But you can't deny he's the man in control of the entire Ninglan New City, can you? People like that usually carry an aura of authority that's hard to mask. Yet he... I wouldn't say he can turn it on and off at will, but anyone who can hide themselves so thoroughly shouldn't be underestimated," Bai Yu explained simply.
"I suppose that's true," I nodded in agreement.
Of course, my main goal was to gauge Sister Bai’s opinion of him. We wanted to study basic Transcendent knowledge here—perhaps even form a learning circle to push each other forward. This might touch upon the City Lord’s bottom line.
After all, the Transcendent Arts we intended to research fell under the category of offensive, restricted-grade knowledge.
But... what did that have to do with me?
Did we have some deep, profound friendship with Ninglan New City? From a macro perspective, I was driving the development of their Transcendent field. They should be thanking me.
After asking for directions to the President's office, we paid a polite visit.
"Hmm?"
"Hello. Can I help you with something?"
When the office door opened, a familiar figure appeared before us. It was the man from the pair we had encountered at the History Museum.
"I'm looking for the President of the Beyonder Arts Research Association," I said.
"Is that so? What a coincidence. I am the President. My apologies, I forgot to introduce myself earlier. My name is Wu Mali, the current President of the Beyonder Arts Research Association. Might I ask the names of you two Outsider ladies?"
"Yang Yuehan. And this is Bai Yu," I said, briefly gesturing to introduce us.
"Ah, Miss Yang Yuehan, Miss Bai Yu. May I ask what brings you to see me?"
"Well, I was hoping we might find a way to cooperate. We're quite interested in the Beyonder Power you currently possess. Likewise, we possess Transcendent Power of our own. I wonder if you'd be interested?"
"Oh? You've also mastered Beyonder... Transcendent Power?" Hearing my words, the man’s interest became visibly piqued. "Could you demonstrate a little... oh, wait, I should prepare materials... actually, that might not work... my apologies..."
The young man named Wu Mali clearly understood what this implied. This represented Beyonder Arts from beyond his own cognition!
He was so excited he nearly forgot that we weren't even from the same world.
"It's fine. For us, Transcendent Power doesn't require many external tools. We call it... Magic."
With that, I snapped my fingers. Runes flashed, forming a Magic Ritual, and then—poof—a fireball manifested out of thin air in front of me.
This fireball was hand-cast, created from a pure Magic Framework without relying on a spellbook. Its power didn't seem any weaker than when I used a Fireball Spellbook back at the Witch Academy.
This was exactly why I called this place a paradise for studying spells!
Free from the limitations of spellbooks, one's direct understanding of magic became far more intuitive.
I admit that spellbooks are a higher form of the concept of magic, but they are so advanced I can only look up at them. For now, this manual method was much better suited for me to understand the essence of magic.
"This... this is!" Wu Mali’s eyes widened as he stared at the fireball hovering before me. He stepped forward, trembling with excitement, wanting to reach out and touch it.
I didn't stop him. After all, how could something in a dream harm reality?
"This... is miraculous!"
He was at a loss for words to describe the phenomenon he was witnessing.
"Just now... that! Could you let me see that combination of Beyonder Inscriptions again?"
"Certainly. But you should understand that we are discussing a much more important matter right now. Let's not lose sight of the big picture for the sake of a small gain," I said, letting the fireball dissipate.
As for them calling Rune Rituals "Beyonder Inscriptions," there wasn't really a problem with that. It was just a name. I had noticed it earlier while browsing their introductory books.
Characters imbued with special power, engraved onto objects to drive Beyonder Power—calling them Beyonder Inscriptions made perfect sense.
Furthermore, these were their own unique inscriptions, evolved by referencing established Runes.
Many of the inscriptions they had mastered were obscure Runes or combinations that I had rarely encountered.
They had also discovered that inscriptions possessed composite properties, or that some could be deconstructed into two or more parts. This had already become a part of their system, though it was still quite rudimentary compared to the Rune system.
"Oh, my apologies, I got ahead of myself. How... how exactly did you two wish to cooperate with us? Also, this matter seems to have significant implications; I'll need to feel out the City Lord's stance on this."
"I don't care about that. I only care about the results. What I want is for everyone to research and explore our Transcendent system together—whether in the form of a research group or something else. I need to create an atmosphere of mutual exchange and learning. I believe your Beyonder Arts Research Association is perfect for this. You already have the foundation, don't you?"
"This... do you mean you want to share all of this for free, for us to study and discuss?" he asked tentatively.
"Not exactly for free. In exchange, I require all research data generated during this period to be shared with me in full."
With my Memory Bookshelf spellbook, recording this data would be effortless. Whether I'd use it immediately was one thing, but this data would become my most precious wealth, forming the bedrock of my foundation.
Moreover, this was foundational knowledge regarding Runes, derived from the conclusions and results of many different people. In a sense, wasn't this just a massive gain for me?
Instead of wasting effort haggling over petty interests here, it was better to make concessions to secure the most vital assets.
"That... that is only natural! Our research association advocates for knowledge sharing; it benefits our exploration of Beyonder Power. Are there any other requirements?"
"I need people who truly love Transcendent Power, people with a spirit of discovery and exploration. I don't want lazy people who just want to coast on others' work. This requirement isn't limited by how much Beyonder knowledge they already have. Regarding the Transcendent Power system I'll be teaching, everyone starts as a novice on the same finish line. I don't want to see anyone pulling rank or constantly talking about 'past glories.' Do you understand?"
"Understood. I will strictly oversee those aspects. Is that all for now?"
"Yes, that's about it. Once everything is ready, I will personally explain the Transcendent system and Runology. It corresponds to your Beyonder system and Inscription studies. They're essentially the same thing; you just call them Beyonder Inscriptions, while we call them Rune Rituals."
"Transcendent system... Rune Rituals..." Although Wu Mali couldn't fully grasp these new terms, he knew they represented something far more systematic than what they currently possessed. If there was something good to learn, why wouldn't they?
They absolutely had to learn it!
"I understand. I'll make the arrangements as quickly as possible. I'll handle the negotiations with the City Lord."
"Good," I nodded, having reached a preliminary agreement.
As for why I was going through the trouble of teaching personally—teaching others is a form of self-assessment. It's a way to see one's own knowledge more clearly.
It was also a way to use other people's thought processes to realize that these concepts could be understood in different ways. That was the key.
The old me might not have understood, but now I realized just how important it was to "open up one's thinking."
Some things are truly vital, even beyond measure—like the knowledge I valued before, the perspectives I valued now, or the Revelations the Academy Dean valued.
This cooperation wasn't about who got the better deal; it was a win-win. I couldn't think of a single reason not to do it.
After discussing a few more details with the President, I prepared to leave. I didn't want to linger once the business was done.
"By the way, just out of curiosity, what was your purpose for going to the History Museum today?" He had only stayed for a short while before talking to us and leaving.
"Oh, I mainly went to visit the old Curator. He looked after me when I was young. He was also the teacher who first sparked my interest in Beyonder Arts. Whenever I feel my mind is cluttered, I go there. It's quiet."
"I see." It was indeed very quiet there; looking at those exhibits did make one instinctively reflect on life. "Right, that girl who was with you earlier..."
"Oh, you mean her? Her name is Ninglan Qiuyue. I'm sure you can guess her identity from the name. She's one of the most important members of our research association. Qiuyue is also very interested in Beyonder Power. You won't mind if she comes to learn your Transcendent knowledge, will you?"
"I don't mind, as long as she's not just a pretty face."
"Rest assured, Qiuyue has many unique insights into the current Beyonder system. She is definitely not just 'eye candy.'"
"Alright then, we'll take our leave. Once everything is set up, you can find us at the Ninglanxiang Hotel—though I'm usually not there during the day."
"Understood. Safe travels, ladies."
"Mm." I waved a hand, signaling him not to see us out. The conversation had been quite pleasant and trouble-free, so there was no need to stay longer.
Just as I stepped out the door, I nearly collided with someone. A familiar figure—it was Ninglan Qiuyue, who was undoubtedly the City Lord's daughter.
"My apologies, so sorry..." Ninglan Qiuyue said, sounding very apologetic.
"It's fine." Sister Bai and I stepped aside to let her pass, and she closed the door to the President's office behind her.
"That Ninglan Qiuyue was listening outside for quite a while," Bai Yu whispered to me.
"I know. It's no big deal," I replied.
With such a large presence standing motionless outside the door, the Information presented by my Spirit Vision was far too obvious. That was why I had mentioned her at the very end.
"Let's head back. I have some important things to do."
"Oh? What important things does our little genius Xiao Han have planned now?"
"Exploring the boundary between dream and reality, of course. Just as you said, Sister Bai, what we see is the real world, but we exist as dream-consciousness bodies. We can't interact with physical objects, yet... there are many things in the dream we can touch. For instance... this solid ground, these thick walls, the stones on the street... aren't you curious, Sister Bai?"
As I spoke, I stomped my foot and ran my fingers along the wall. In the dream, these things felt perfectly real.
I had a theory. For example, my idea of "Dream Invasion" into reality. The Information of many physical objects was being invaded by the dream, generating a dream-equivalent existence.
So, in principle, there was still some connection between dream and reality. Perhaps an interaction between Information?
"It is curious, but these things..."
"How will we know if we don't try? Sister Bai~ please~ experiment with me. Don't you want to know how much you can do here?"
I grabbed Sister Bai’s arm and shook it playfully. I had discovered that she was quite susceptible to this kind of acting.
"Fine... alright. It's not like there's anything else to do."
"Great! Let's go back to the hotel and try it somewhere private. I don't want to be a monkey on display for a crowd."
I already had a few ideas on how to test this boundary. Likewise, there was another thing I was curious about: what was the relationship between my current self and my original body?
I couldn't exist independently of my body. Even as a soul, wouldn't I dissipate without a vessel?
Then there were the Revelations from those Dream Demons.
Don't they feed on our essence, energy, and Soul Essence?
But we were currently just consciousness bodies. The things they needed to eat were closely tied to our physical bodies. Therefore, Dream Demons must have some method of establishing a link between us and our bodies—I just hadn't discovered it yet.
Perhaps... I needed to catch a Dream Demon and watch exactly how she drained a person. Seeing that direct transfer of energy would be the most intuitive way to feel where the connection between different existences lay.
Maybe the secret of the boundary between dream and reality was hidden right there.
Then again, considering that the problem of the boundary between dream and reality had troubled the entire Void for so long without a solution, I didn't think I had the talent or luck to solve it entirely. I only needed to understand the intersection between dream and reality in this specific environment where the dream was invading reality.
After all, as long as we were in the dream, we were far too passive when facing Dream Demons alone.