Chapter 312: Attempting to Promote Transcendent Runes
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 312: Attempting to Promote Transcendent Runes
"Wait... what? Was that really the display of power after using a Great Spellbook? Why did it feel like she just cast a simple Light Illumination spell? There weren't any special effects at all."
At this moment, the Transcendent Witches who had been eagerly anticipating the Great Spellbook's test were watching the scene as if it were a play.
However, not a single Transcendent Witch responded to the question. The awkward silence made the questioning witch instinctively pull her head back.
After all, there were always Transcendent Witches who envied the Great Spellbook and held a mysterious reverence for it; as they say, what you can't have is always the best.
But a Great Spellbook was still just a spellbook. There was no rule stating that using one had to involve a full-screen display of special effects.
The witch scratched her head in embarrassment and slipped away. She had assumed many other witches shared her confusion.
In truth, many did, but they weren't foolish enough to ask aloud or chime in.
One had to understand the caliber of the witches gathered here to witness the Great Spellbook test. Mere spectators had no right to butt in with their critiques.
This was the Great Wisdom Enlightenment Art.
A spell's name needed to reflect its effect as intuitively as possible—this was an unwritten rule of spell naming.
As for the act of customizing a spell's name, not just anyone had the right to do that. It was either a matter of self-amusement or being so powerful that you were the rules. In the witch world, those of the Truth Witch sequence generally possessed such authority.
And for this Great Spellbook, "Wisdom Enlightenment" was the very essence of the spell.
"This is only a Great Spellbook manifested in a dream, yet it achieved effects nearly identical to the real thing. The nature of dreams seems even more wondrous than we anticipated," remarked a Transcendent Witch whose focus was on the dreamscape itself.
"Are you all not paying attention to what that little girl is doing? Look at what she completed under the influence of the Great Wisdom Enlightenment Art." Although the witch spoke with a questioning tone, she was guiding the others' attention away from the spellbook and toward the user.
"The Memory Bookshelf spellbook... I recall the threshold for using that one is quite high. It sat in that auction club for years without a buyer, didn't it? She bought it?"
"Good heavens, she's treating a Rune Ritual like a dictionary. With methods like that, she could be called a walking encyclopedia of Rune Rituals."
The witches broke into a flurry of whispers. They hadn't expected the first test of the Great Spellbook to be so casual, to the point where many hadn't even had time to focus before it all seemed to end.
"Mei... the tester you chose is certainly... unconventional." A few Transcendent Witches who were close with Dean Mei Lind approached her to chat.
"Everyone has their own choices. I cannot interfere with their thoughts," Mei said with a smile. She hadn't expected the student she favored to make such a decisive choice either. It had caught her off guard, but nothing had deviated from her expectations.
Even if Xiao Han wanted to stay here just to study and exchange Rune Rituals, Mei wouldn't have complained. She would only have remarked that the girl was excellent at seizing opportunities—and equally excellent at learning.
"But... after using the Great Wisdom Enlightenment Art, that spell ritual the little girl deduced... wasn't that a prototype of Dream Authority?"
As soon as those words were uttered, the surrounding Transcendent Witches fell into a sudden silence.
Dream Authority. The moment the term appeared, the witches thought of that incredibly mysterious Soul Truth Witch. Wasn't the Dream Authority exactly what that Truth Witch mastered? It was a source of power derived from the Soul Subject.
Once the Dream Authority was returned to the entire witch world by the Soul Truth Witch through Truth Dedication, it shifted from an unreachable concept to a power that witches were eligible to touch.
The ones who utilized it to the fullest were the Primal Witches. They had used the Dream Authority to remodel the Primal Dream, resulting in the Dream Platform that Transcendent Witches now found indispensable.
Now, the term "Dream Authority" was being applied to a Prospective Witch who wasn't even a Transcendent Witch yet. How were these Transcendent Witches supposed to feel?
Even if it was only called a prototype.
"Be rational. That is merely a prototype fragment," Mei Lind spoke up. "Look closely. That is a spell that can only be used under specific conditions. It is a spell, not power that has metamorphosed into an Authority. It isn't even a spellbook yet."
However, Mei Lind's explanation only made it harder for many witches to stomach.
Mei Lind hadn't immediately and firmly denied the idea. Instead, she had simply pointed out a few technicalities to argue why it wasn't a prototype of Dream Authority!
Everyone present understood exactly what that implied.
"I find this little girl quite pleasing to the eye. Does she have a mentor yet?"
"I heard it's a Transcendent Witch named Xi Lan. I tried to poach her, but I couldn't get my hands on her."
"Xi Lan? Never heard of her. So she basically doesn't have a mentor, right?"
"If you want that unformed spell sequence prototype, just say so. What, you want to be her mentor just so you can reach out and take things from your student?"
"Enough. Your Real Five Senses don't support you mastering that anyway. Just watch." Mei Lind's final sentence effectively settled the matter.
As for how many witches actually took it to heart, that was hard to say.
* * *
"Eh? It's clearly... such a simple thing. How can I not teach it to you?" I looked at the Rune Ritual condensing in Sister Bai's hand, my face full of distress.
Originally, I thought that if I could use this method, Sister Bai would surely be able to learn it too. After all, this technique could ensure we had an absolute advantage within the dream.
But reality slapped me in the face. I found that I actually couldn't teach it to her!
"How can there be anything in this world that can't be taught?"
"It's alright, Xiao Han. Perhaps I'm just slow," Bai Yu said, dispersing the complex runes in her hand to comfort me. "I have plenty of ways to protect myself, so don't worry. I'm just glad you have this technique yourself; it puts my mind at ease."
"Something must be wrong," I sighed.
This failure was a real blow to my confidence. After all, I was supposed to teach the people here about Rune Rituals later.
With this outcome, I was starting to doubt my own teaching abilities.
Actually, I could guess the reason. This was a spell I had just mastered; it was likely still in the "laboratory stage." There was massive room for improvement, and there were many parts I couldn't even articulate clearly. Furthermore... this spell relied heavily on the effects of Spirit Vision to achieve such a degree of "rewriting" the dream.
If it didn't work, it didn't work... but after all that fuss, the sky had turned dark.
Time ticked by. In the dream, we didn't have the concept of hunger, but I still had a lavish dinner with Sister Bai. We could have gone directly to the hotel to get food—the items we took wouldn't affect the people in reality getting their meals.
However, I used my Dream Rewriting Spell to create this feast.
"Dream Rewriting Spell" was the name I gave to the magic I created. But it wasn't a Primal spell sequence, which meant I had either inadvertently replicated a feat someone else had already achieved, or... the spell wasn't perfected yet and didn't strictly belong to a spell sequence?
Regardless, as long as it was useful, I didn't care about the technicalities.
Beyond providing me with protection, the creation of this spell served as a revelation—a way of thinking, an attitude toward the world, and a means of response.
One could call this method useless or its creation a mere fluke, but I could recreate such "flukes" in other environments. That was the insight this spell gave me: be adept at utilizing the environment, especially a unique one like this.
Finally, it was night.
I shamelessly stayed in Sister Bai's room, using a very clumsy excuse: "This is the room we decorated together, so I'm sleeping here."
I suppose this could be considered truly sharing a bed with Sister Bai.
Thinking back, the first time, Sister Bai had run away. Then there was the Fool's Village Secret Realm, but we had slept in a tent then.
This was a real bed.
But on second thought... we were in a dream... so it wasn't truly sharing a bed, was it?
In the night, I lay on my side, watching Sister Bai's back.
Well... this seems nice enough...
As a new day began, I devoted much of my energy to perfecting this newly created spell. Since it was a spell I had "manually cast" myself, it naturally received special treatment.
Of course, living here, it was inevitable that we would come into contact with other Outsiders stationed here. In Ninglan New City, we were the same kind of people—all Outsiders.
However, I noticed that many of the Outsiders I met weren't from the Witch Academy. Honestly, even if they were, I didn't particularly care.
I merely exchanged greetings with them, leaving the rest to fate.
My focus had begun to shift toward the Beyonder Arts Research Association. Although the President hadn't given me a formal answer yet, I had already started spontaneously promoting Transcendent knowledge related to Rune Rituals there.
Combined with my status as an Outsider and the general curiosity toward novel knowledge, I managed to gather a small group of "enthusiasts." Although many people stopped to listen out of curiosity whenever I spoke, I knew that very few were actually interested enough to commit to learning. Most were just there for the spectacle.
I even received a report for "disturbing the peace by gathering a crowd in public." Not everyone liked this format; it was essentially street oratory.
I only had the courage to do this because of Sister Bai's encouragement. Even though the idea was my own, a concept must be executed and practiced—this was a hurdle that had to be overcome on the path to the Unity of Knowledge and Action.
The phrase "Unity of Knowledge and Action" sounds simple, but the path to practicing it is fraught with difficulties.
While I was lecturing on Runology, I noticed a few regulars at these sessions. The most memorable was Ninglan Qiuyue, the girl who had been with the President earlier. She was also the City Lord's daughter. I hadn't expected her to be so supportive, humbly learning what I taught and even taking meticulous notes while standing.
Naturally, she was the one who helped suppress the reports against us and informed me about them.
This continued until the President brought me good news. He had communicated with the City Lord, who agreed to my proposal. The President also provided me with a teaching venue and promotional support for the Rune Rituals.
Immediately, I conducted my first formal explanation—or perhaps... a lecture?
Regardless, the format wasn't the point. The point was to attract like-minded people willing to learn.
Furthermore, my personal lectures were by no means the primary way the Rune Ritual content would spread. There were recorded teaching videos and introductory books printed like the Beyonder Arts manuals. Those would be their main avenues for learning.
I couldn't possibly take everything on my own shoulders. I didn't have the energy. Those who were interested would naturally self-study through the channels I provided; those who were just there to watch wouldn't gain anything even if they attended my classes a hundred times.
Besides, I wanted them to help me learn, rather than me out of the goodness of my heart giving them remedial lessons.
"Teacher, I want to ask: compared to our Beyonder Inscriptions, where does the advantage of your Transcendent Runes lie?"
"There is no superior or inferior; they are essentially the same thing. However, the runes I am describing are part of a more systematic..."
"If they're the same thing, why do you act so superior about the distinction? In my opinion, your runes are just useless decorative symbols. Unlike our inscriptions, where every mark has a unique meaning without all that long-winded nonsense."
"Oh? And what is your point?" I asked, looking indifferently at the person who had stood up in the back row to nitpick.
This kind of heckling wasn't the first time, and this person wasn't the first to do it.
"I just want to tell you Outsiders: don't always think you're so great. Is it fun to trick us with those obscure, difficult terms? Do you even understand what is essence and what is dross? What's the point of the things you're teaching, other than throwing these puzzles and problems at us? It's all hollow, useless junk. Aside from satisfying your sense of superiority and vanity, what use are you..."
"Enough. If you don't want to listen, leave."
A female voice rang out, instantly silencing the room. The speaker was Ninglan Qiuyue, someone no one in Ninglan New City dared to provoke.
"Take him out. This place will never welcome people like him."
As people spontaneously moved to escort the man out, he continued to shout defiantly.
"I'm telling you, your little tricks won't fool me! You don't understand what 'Beyonder' means at all! You don't understand inscriptions..."
I watched the man being taken away. A small ripple of emotion stirred in my heart, but I quickly suppressed it.
I had long anticipated that teaching Transcendent Runes would meet resistance from those unable to accept new things, but I hadn't expected it to take this form.
The lower a person's level of cognition, the more absolute their views. They lack the breadth of mind to accommodate the opinions or ideas of others.
Most such people are dissatisfied with their lives and hope to rely on Beyonder Arts to achieve a leap in status, yet they remain so stubborn even when learning those very arts... I can only say he gets what he deserves.
The more ignorant a person is, the more arrogant they become. An arrogant personality only leads to self-destruction; I don't even need to lift a finger.
If my heart were shaken by that man's words, it would only prove my own immaturity.
However, I could remember his words—or rather, use them as a reference. I was well aware that the crowd I was currently facing mostly consisted of people similar to him, only he was a more extreme example.
"Let us continue. We will still use the Fireball Spell ritual as an example. When we attempt to interpret runes and chanting through other methods, it becomes another way to express the runes. It is much like how you use inscriptions, utilizing engraving techniques on materials..."