Chapter 382: Researching [Transcendent Knowledge]
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 382: Researching [Transcendent Knowledge]
The days passed one by one.
Every day, I methodically carried out my meditation and body tempering. I spent the rest of my time with Teacher Ji Niang, learning how to operate the various instruments and studying their manuals.
I hadn't actually started the research on [Transcendent Knowledge] yet. According to Teacher Ji Niang, after I finished learning the equipment, I still had to go through a massive amount of reference literature. After all, this was a task that required a significant reservoir of knowledge before one could even begin.
That data... just looking at the sheer volume of it gave me a shock.
I felt like a soldier who had already arrived at the front lines, only for Teacher Ji Niang to keep me from the heat of battle, making me shoot at wooden targets to practice my aim instead. It was a frustrating feeling.
"Xiao Han, help me test this. Complete the runes and see what the effect is."
"What’s this?"
I looked up and pushed my glasses higher on my nose. Because I had been buried in books and documents lately, I’d started wearing the pair of glasses Teacher Ji Niang had given me earlier; they were designed to relieve eye strain.
At that moment, Teacher Ji Niang pushed a module supported by the Ley Line system toward me.
"I can tell you're getting bored of reading all those documents these past few days, aren't you? Here’s a little problem to see if you can keep up with my pace."
"Is that so?" A flash of pleasant surprise crossed my eyes. While I hadn't quite reached the level of being "bored" with reading as Teacher Ji Niang suggested, I certainly wasn't going to turn down a chance to have some fun.
I took the Ley Line module. It was essentially a light screen of condensed Ley Line energy, carrying a pre-set combination of runes.
"Teacher Ji Niang, what's the deal with these runes?" I asked curiously.
"What? Are you stumped? Don't know where to start?" Ji Niang paused what she was doing and turned her head to look at me.
"No, it's actually quite simple. Once integrated, it feels like a simple effect for churning space—it can't even really be called a spell." In Ji Niang's eyes, it looked as if I had simply "pinched" the runes together. A moment later, a brand-new composite rune floated above my hand.
"What I'm curious about is... Teacher Ji Niang, why did you have me do this? Is this a specific part of [Transcendent Knowledge]?"
"Of course."
A flash of surprise sparked in Ji Niang's eyes. She put down her work and walked straight over to me, staring at the new composite rune in my hand, seemingly incredulous at my speed.
"These are runes copied in sections from [Transcendent Knowledge]. We need to test them constantly. The method is to use something akin to a brute-force approach to categorize and summarize the effects of these runes, recording every single detail. This serves as reference information for when we reach the integration phase of the [Transcendent Knowledge]. There can't be a single mistake in this process; otherwise, trying to troubleshoot later would be an absolute nightmare."
"Huh? We use... this method to understand [Transcendent Knowledge]?" I found it a bit hard to believe.
"Yes. Often, the most primitive methods are the most efficient and least prone to error. For witches with eternal lifespans, this is the most cost-effective way." Teacher Ji Niang explained carefully. I could tell she truly hoped to teach me everything so I could become her right-hand assistant.
Because of that, she didn't mind explaining things in greater depth.
"So, does that mean [Transcendent Knowledge] is actually composed of runes? If it remains static, can it still be considered a type of spell?" I asked.
"Perhaps. But using the concept of a 'spell' to describe it feels a bit narrow. Currently, the concept of spells doesn't encompass all the transcendent methods mastered by every race, so it's quite limited. As for whether [Transcendent Knowledge] is made of runes, I can only tell you that I don't know."
"You don't know?"
"Correct, I don't. We can only interpret [Transcendent Knowledge] through runes, but there's a high probability it is made of them. Runes are the language—or rather, the script—of the Void. The Void is like a massive book, relying on runes to write its story. Rumor has it that [Transcendent Knowledge] is a lost power of the Void, written into existence by runes."
"To use a vivid analogy: if [Transcendent Knowledge] were a living being, runes would be its genes. What we are doing now is sequencing the [Transcendent Knowledge], trying to master its primordial power. It's like a tech-side civilization performing gene sequencing on itself, treating its own genes as an untapped treasure to explore. Oh, sorry—do you know terms like 'tech-side' and 'gene sequencing'?"
"Yes, I know a bit about them," I said with a slight nod. In truth, these concepts weren't common in this world; the intervention of the transcendent had suppressed technological development to a terrifying degree. If Teacher Ji Niang asked how I knew, I could just say I read it in a novel.
"Good. Actually, rather than the gene analogy, runes in relation to [Transcendent Knowledge] are more like the concept of memes. If you're interested, you can look into that yourself. The formation and existence of [Transcendent Knowledge] are also dependent on a specific environment."
"I know that much." I nodded. It was like the Great Spellbook I currently possessed; it was once a product of the Fool's Dream Clan. Once that [Transcendent Knowledge] was expressed as a spell, it gave the Fool's Dream the ability to walk the path of becoming true living beings. Therefore, the best way to understand [Transcendent Knowledge] was to look at its original "birth" environment and gain inspiration to understand its existence from a more macroscopic perspective.
"You know? Oh, it's that thing from the Academy Dean, isn't it?"
"Mhm." I nodded, and we tacitly dropped the subject there.
From that moment on, I officially became a member of the team researching [Transcendent Knowledge]. However, I still had to keep up with the literature and documents.
That was the foundation. Naturally, I had to keep studying runology as well; otherwise, I wouldn't even have the qualifications to touch [Transcendent Knowledge].
"This string of effects all seem to be related to churning space. Is there a high probability that this [Transcendent Knowledge] is space-related?" I asked curiously, looking at a rune interpretation that was almost identical to the previous one.
"Perhaps, but we can't jump to conclusions yet. Don't let preconceived notions take hold. We need to experiment objectively, or it's easy to hit a dead end," Teacher Ji Niang said.
"That makes sense." I nodded, but then something occurred to me. It seemed Teacher Ji Niang's use of the keyword "dead end" had triggered something.
The next moment, a figure appeared beside me.
"Oho~ Your Chief Dead-End Inspector is now online~ I'm your best frenemy, the one who only appears when you think of me while stuck in a rut—your other self makes her grand entrance~!"
"I'm telling you, you're getting more and more ridiculous," I muttered under my breath.
"I'm not the ridiculous one, your inner heart is~ Don't you get it? I bet you don't get it at all~"
"Xiao Han, what are you muttering about?"
By now, Ji Niang had noticed my strange behavior. However, because of the nature of the Illusion Clone spell, the clone didn't actually exist physically. Even as a Transcendent Witch, Teacher Ji Niang didn't know exactly what was happening; at most, she could tell I had used an unknown spell.
"Oh, an Illusion Clone. I'm using an Illusion Clone," I explained quickly.
"An Illusion Clone? You're using that for... oh, I see." Teacher Ji Niang reacted quickly. "That is indeed a good method. It's fine, share the effect with me."
"Eh? Is that a good idea? My subconscious Illusion Clone isn't really under my subjective control, and she's a bit... noisy."
"It's fine."
"Did you hear that? She said it's fine! Let me go see her. I want to see what 'Little Ji Niang' can do to me." At that moment, the Illusion Clone started acting out.
"Um... looking at your expression, what did she say this time?"
"Uh... things that probably shouldn't be heard by you, Teacher Ji Niang..."
"It seems your subconscious is very active. It's alright, I won't blame you. To some extent, a subconscious train of thought is an excellent way to catch errors. Compared to the trouble it might cause, that's naturally insignificant."
"Well... alright then."
Runes flashed in my hand, and then the figure of the Illusion Clone manifested before Teacher Ji Niang.
"Hello, Teacher Ji Niang~ It's truly an honor to see you here. Do you need any help? I'm much better at communicating than the main body~"
"You..."
I stared at the Illusion Clone in shock. Hadn't she just been talking big about "Little Ji Niang"? She folded that quickly?
"An Illusion Clone reflects one's truest self to a certain extent. Xiao Han, perhaps you should reflect on why you've become like this."
"Yes..." I lowered my head, taking the lecture from Teacher Ji Niang. As for reflecting?
I was a rebel to the bone; why would I reflect on that?
I didn't want to become anyone else, not even the "me" in my subconscious. I only wanted to be myself, even if that meant being quiet and unsociable.
Besides... I was only quiet around certain people because I had simply lost interest in playing along with them.
When I eventually want to change, the future me will always have a better excuse to refute the current me. So, there was no need to worry about my current internal conflicts. Having reached this conclusion, I went back to my work.
* * *
This routine seemed to have become the norm for my life. I often wondered if this was the kind of life I pursued, the kind of days I hoped for.
But Teacher Ji Niang told me that this kind of worry was typical of the "short-lived species" mindset. Precisely because their lifespans are limited, they weigh whether everything they do is "worth it," because the limitation of time gives every moment an extremely high perceived value in their hearts.
Therefore, short-lived species have an instinctive resistance to complex, lengthy, and predictably repetitive tasks. Their subconscious feels like they are wasting their lives—that life shouldn't be this way—and their attention instinctively shifts toward the idea of "enjoying" life.
For witches with incredibly long lives, this was just another way of living. They didn't have those worries. My anxiety was simply because what I was doing was counter-intuitive and counter-instinctual.
While Teacher Ji Niang didn't offer a perfect solution, she suggested that by experiencing more and accepting this viewpoint, such troubles would gradually fade.
Of course, there was one more thing... I hadn't seen Sister Bai in many days!
Sister Bai had promoted to Transcendent, but since she had the recommendation letter from the Academy Dean, she theoretically shouldn't have taken too long to return.
Yet, my phone hadn't received a single call from her. Every night when I went back, I would check my phone, but there was never any news.
I had asked Teacher Ji Niang about it, but she couldn't give me a definitive answer since she wasn't the one in charge of those matters.
"Don't worry. If she hasn't returned, it means there are still things to do. You have to think for your Sister Bai, don't you? She can't just register and come right back. The Main World wouldn't accept a witch who just promoted to Transcendent coming here immediately; it would be meaningless, even with a recommendation letter."
"So... Sister Bai is currently studying in the Witch World?"
"More or less. Based on what you've said, the Great Library of the Witch World has the most comprehensive data on body tempering and body arts. Since she wants to become a mentor in the Main World, she needs to be sufficiently outstanding in at least one area."
"I see..."
"Yes. The recommendation letter from the Academy Dean only lowered the threshold for her. Now, she needs to prove her qualifications."
"Then... theoretically, the soonest Sister Bai could..."
"A few months at the earliest. If she's slow, maybe a few years. The price for this is that her strength will plateau for a long time, as learning skills is very time-consuming. Didn't you say she also wanted to look into Real Editing Technology?"
"Yes, I think so."
"Then don't be in a hurry. Learning Real Editing Technology takes years as a baseline. Her fastest route is to achieve some success in body arts. A large number of witches at the academy are scholars, and there are very few who teach body arts. She can take that unique approach. Once she gets the qualification to enter the Main World, she can come and go as she pleases."
"Oh..."
Getting this answer from Teacher Ji Niang gave me some peace of mind. I had originally thought "away for a while" meant a few days. Who knew it would take so long?
After pulling my emotions back together, I quickly threw myself back into the research of [Transcendent Knowledge].
I had to admit, the research had been going on for many days now. If this were a spellbook, I could have manually derived a spell from it by now.
But the [Transcendent Knowledge] remained unmoved. In terms of percentage, we hadn't even reached the 1% mark.
The initial "pioneering" phase was naturally arduous. However, once enough test results were collected, they could be entered into the Ley Line system to begin assisted testing. It was a classic case of "bitter first, sweet later."
Furthermore... according to Teacher Ji Niang's plan, this laboratory wouldn't just be the two of us—or rather, the two witches—in the future. As a quasi-witch, I barely counted as one.
Because the exploration of [Transcendent Knowledge] was a massive undertaking—something I had witnessed over these past few days—the best way to improve efficiency was to add more hands.
But there was a problem. According to Teacher Ji Niang, she didn't have much influence in the circle of witch scholars at the academy, nor did she have any notable achievements to her name. She wasn't a pure witch scholar, either. The only thing she had to offer was this [Transcendent Knowledge]. If she used it to invite other witches, there was a high probability she would lose the lead on the project.
This didn't align with her expectations. She truly wanted to rely on herself to create a Great Spellbook, rather than just participating as an ordinary witch. She wanted to be the one in charge!
"It's okay... Teacher Ji Niang. The [Transcendent Knowledge] is yours, so naturally, you should lead. I'm not afraid of anything. If it's slow, it's slow. I'm not in a rush, am I?"
"True... I'm mainly worried about you. I'm worried that in this long, repetitive process, time will wear away your sharp edges. If my progress ever starts to hold you back, you can leave my lab on your own."
"What are you saying, Teacher Ji Niang? Hold me back? How could that be? If I gain the ability, I'll be the first to help you solve this [Transcendent Knowledge], not leave because I think you're a burden."
"But... Teacher Ji Niang, do you really think that highly of me? To think that I'd ever see you as a burden?"
"Of course... I'm the one who brought you into the Witch Academy, and I've watched you make leaps and bounds in progress. How could I not understand you?"
"Alright... but now isn't the time for sentimentality. Where's my portion for today? Or... should I go to the [Transcendent Knowledge] myself to get it?" I asked.
"Go get it yourself. If you can't handle it, let me know. Your Spirit Vision is ultimately just a talent, not a method you've fully mastered. Be careful."