Chapter 552: A New Direction for Perfecting the Tree of Great Knowledge
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 552: A New Direction for Perfecting the Tree of Great Knowledge
"Thank you, Sister Natalie. I really like this book."
"I'm glad you do. If you're finished, you should head out. I need to help that little girl with her Ice Block Crown."
"Then I wish you the best of luck, Natalie~"
After being seen off by Sister Natalie, I left the alchemy area, cradling the Book in the Box in my arms.
The final test for the Book in the Box was now complete. In truth, this last test revealed the true core capability of the weapon.
As the name suggested, the Book in the Box was meant to be a container for books. Its structure and design indicated that its most vital function was "collection."
When I was deciding on a weapon type earlier, I hadn't asked for something with immense offensive power to bolster my own strength. Instead, I chose this comprehensive utility type because weapons are, ultimately, external objects—even if they do become a part of one's overall power.
However, a person's total strength isn't a matter of simple addition.
I had been so decisive in rejecting the first category of weapons because I possessed absolute confidence that, at some point in the future, my own strength would eclipse that of my weapon. At that point, such a weapon would be destined for obsolescence, unable to provide further assistance.
Of course, there was another reason I was critical of purely offensive weapons: why wouldn't I just choose a more convenient Spellbook?
With a Spellbook, I wouldn't have to worry about the hassle of carrying it or the risk of losing it.
Perhaps this perspective is incomprehensible to a witch specializing in the craft of "Spellbooks." Only those who lack confidence in their own growth choose a weapon as their primary source of combat power; those with true inner strength view a weapon merely as a supporting tool.
I couldn't resist flipping through the Book in the Box again. Aside from the preface and the table of contents, the first page contained the blade Natalie had given me.
Natalie had used that blade to teach me how to collect a weapon, how to manifest the original, and how to manifest a weapon copy.
And, of course, there was an even more important point...
I looked at the lifelike longsword depicted on the inner page. One side was covered in "text," but these were actually runes and composite rituals. According to Natalie, these were "Book Annotations"—a method she had customized based on the book's unique properties to buff weapons. For instance, this longsword had been temporarily granted three "Annotations": "Sharpness," "Sturdiness," and "Armor Piercing."
However, these annotations only worked on weapon copies, not the original weapon itself. Once the original weapon was removed from the book, its connection to the Book in the Box was severed.
If I still wanted to use the Book in the Box to buff the original weapon, I could technically project the annotations out of the book and onto the weapon, but that required higher technique, greater mental power, and various other factors.
Natalie had shared the "Book Annotation Technique" with me via the Tree of Great Knowledge, and the learning curve was quite steep.
This meant the barrier to entry for using this weapon was very high; it wasn't something one could master immediately.
Rather than calling the Book in the Box a weapon, it was more accurate to describe it as a canvas upon which I could freely apply the marvelous "techniques" Natalie had provided.
Natalie also mentioned that the "Annotation Techniques" she had summarized weren't the only ones compatible with the Book in the Box; techniques related to Sealing Arts were equally viable.
Because of the materials used for its inner pages, the book's potential for development was terrifying. Its true power depended entirely on how the user chose to wield it.
It was that specific comment that suddenly sparked an inspiration. I realized I possessed a power that seemed perfectly suited for it, so I followed Natalie's suggestion and left her laboratory.
I flipped to a new page. The second page contained my attempts at testing sealing spells, and the third was a test for hosting a Spellbook. Both had been largely successful.
Finally, I turned to the fourth page. It was blank.
Staring at the empty surface, I pressed my right fingertip against the page. A surge of energy flowed out, transforming into a series of knowledge-based deduction processes.
This was a special energy "derived" from the dual-tree structure of the Great Wisdom Enlightenment Art and the Tree of Great Knowledge. Its essence came from the Great Wisdom Enlightenment Art, but its form and expression were rooted in the Tree of Great Knowledge.
The unique properties of this energy allowed me to discover that it could facilitate the Knowledge Shadow's management of the Tree of Great Knowledge. If I could convert the energy within the Tree of Great Knowledge from its primitive state into this form—which was incredibly dense with information—it would drastically increase the tree's efficiency.
However, this was a massive undertaking. I had to complete it as soon as possible, before the Tree of Great Knowledge reached a stage of exponential growth.
But before that, it was equally important to use the Book in the Box to test the traits and nature of this "Power of Knowledge."
After all, ideas are just ideas. Practical application is what matters; conducting experiments based on mere assumptions is a recipe for disaster.
As the Power of Knowledge poured in, I used the Book in the Box to record it via a Sealing Art. Fine lines of text appeared on the paper, a form somewhat similar to a direct spell seal.
As I continued my testing, I finally confirmed a crucial piece of information.
The "Power of Knowledge" seemed to achieve a unification of "Transcendent Energy" and "Information" simply through the nature of its existence!
And this was just the most basic, surface-level information transfer.
What did this mean?
The flow of this energy allowed for information reading with minimal difficulty. The Tree of Great Knowledge's compatibility with it would likely be terrifyingly high.
But it made sense. Given how the Power of Knowledge was born, the role played by the Tree of Great Knowledge was self-evident.
Furthermore... I discovered within the Book in the Box that the Power of Knowledge could even evolve into runes!
Its definition of knowledge didn't seem limited to writing systems. If possible, it could even express knowledge using the myriad languages of that small world where Qiu Ruxin used to live. I had spent many days learning those languages back then.
Now that Qiu Ruxin has learned the language of the Main World... I haven't paid it much mind. Being able to do something like that... it must be some magical method used by witches, right?
For example, those special witch contracts known as "Language Integration Packs." I heard from Sister Bai that witches entering the Main World for the first time use such methods to quickly master the local tongue.
However, investigating those languages was ultimately superficial.
The true "Language of the Void" existed in only one form: "Runes." The fact that the Power of Knowledge could evolve into runes meant I now had a systematic power structure to perform "translations" of runes!
One must understand that runes are rituals in themselves; they represent meanings that cannot be explicitly defined. Whether it was the professional annotations of runes in modern Runology, the act of "chanting" in ritual incantations, or even the runic movements expressed in Body Arts—these were all forms of "translation." These acts of translation converted runes into a format that living beings or specific races could understand, evolving into transcendent paths and power systems.
Therefore, I had every reason to believe that by developing and evolving the Power of Knowledge, I was pioneering an entirely new power system!
I had often heard the saying, "In whatever way you choose to understand the transcendent, the transcendent shall manifest before you." This was the inclusivity of the transcendent, and this theory was the foundation that supported my continued development of the Power of Knowledge.
For instance, the "Annotation Technique" Natalie developed for the Book in the Box was a perfect example.
The expression of this Annotation Technique was clearly better suited for the Power of Knowledge. Perhaps Natalie's original intent was simply to make the form match the design.
But now, after achieving compatibility with the Power of Knowledge, this form of expression felt more like it was defining the technique's very existence, rather than being a mere design choice to fit the Book in the Box.
Having clarified this, I took the Book in the Box to the spell testing ground.
Testing at Sister Natalie's place was only to ensure there were no major defects in the book's quality. The subsequent testing and the process of syncing it with myself would take time, and I couldn't exactly live in Natalie's alchemy lab.
Besides, testing at the spell testing ground didn't cost much, and I wasn't exactly short on money these days.
My goal here was to perfect the compatibility between the Power of Knowledge and the techniques Sister Natalie had shared with me.
* * *
The next day.
After finishing my routine meditation and Five Senses Cultivation, I gathered the witches who were currently helping me perfect the Tree of Great Knowledge.
I had only one reason for calling this meeting: to announce the discovery of the "Power of Knowledge."
I wanted to use this to alter the fundamental structure of the Tree of Great Knowledge. It was a massive project, so I couldn't bypass them.
Moreover, this power was derived from two Great Spellbooks. The more I shared it, the better others would perfect it, and the more I would benefit, right?
After all, anyone wanting to help me perfect it couldn't avoid the Tree of Great Knowledge, which meant they couldn't avoid sharing knowledge with me.
Thus, after I gave a brief explanation of the Power of Knowledge, one witch immediately jumped up in excitement, though I wasn't entirely sure why she was so thrilled.
Perhaps... the thought processes of Transcendent Witches really are different from mine...
But it was clear that everyone here was a brilliant witch. They naturally understood what I was trying to convey and what I intended to achieve.
They naturally supported my plan to restructure the Tree of Great Knowledge, even if such a change would temporarily affect the use of certain abilities of the Great Knowledge Seed—for example, the inability to share information from the Tree of Great Knowledge via the Ley Line Identification Art. But these were only temporary setbacks.
It was something like... server maintenance?
However, the preparations required were extensive, and... I needed to report this.
Some of the older witches felt that this was an act of perfecting a Great Spellbook. If we accidentally triggered another void rift, it would be a real embarrassment—just like that time I ended up in the infirmary.
This wasn't something I could just ignore because I felt it was fine. Even if it was only a possibility, such matters had to be reported to the Academy Dean. We didn't want a crowd of uninformed witches thinking some big shot had completed a Great Spellbook without giving them a heads-up.
So, after I finished explaining the Power of Knowledge, many of the witches were bursting with motivation.
They felt that their spiritual guide—the one leading them to pioneer the field of Great Spellbooks—had just pointed them toward an entirely new track!
It was only then that they seemed to realize Xiao Han was a Little Witch who possessed two Great Spellbooks.
Even if one was jokingly called the most useless Great Spellbook and the other was still unfinished, she had now linked the effects of both and co-derived the prototype of a new power system!
And this prototype wasn't a standalone entity; its primary function was as a tool to assist in the development of Great Spellbooks.
This was equivalent to Xiao Han open-sourcing her development tools, allowing them to fully join the ranks of those perfecting a Great Spellbook!
In the future, they could go out and say they were Academic Witches who had successfully participated in and perfected a Great Spellbook, okay?
No one could resist such a temptation, not even a witch.
However, there was no rush for the time being. Everyone had their own tasks, and we were currently short-handed.
Furthermore, this project would ultimately center on me for the restructuring. They would help me perfect the theories, which would then be shared with me so I could lead the advancement of the Tree of Great Knowledge.
So, the burden would ultimately fall on my shoulders. No one seemed particularly anxious, though; for witches with eternal lifespans, a few days made no difference.
Besides, I was still technically on "vacation." It didn't really matter if I was there or not, since the Knowledge Shadow was there to assist them whenever they ran into something they didn't understand or didn't know how to coordinate. It essentially replaced most of my functions on-site.
One could say that among all the teams developing Great Spellbooks, the one I led was probably the most abstract...
"By the way, sisters, do any of you know a shop in the academy that sells formal dresses? I'm going to an auction in a few days, and I only have casual clothes at home."
"An auction? Who's hosting it that they managed to invite Xiao Han?" Hearing my question, a witch immediately leaned in, curious.
"It's just that auction before the start of the term. I heard the Jack-of-all-trades Club is organizing it."
"Oh, that one. Why are you going to that, Xiao Han? Just for fun?"
"Well... that auction is a convergence point for Luck. I'm going to join the fun; maybe I'll get to see a good show," I explained. "And you all know about the Dean's Qi Observation Art project, right? I'll be collecting some data while I'm at it."
"I see. Now I kind of want to go too. But if I go, those wizards and birdmen will probably try to pick a fight..."
"Can't you just watch the live stream?"
"You set up a live streaming platform that quickly?"
"Hehe~ I asked Sister Qiong for a bit of help. It's barely functional, I suppose."
"Um... I wanted to ask about the clothes. Aren't we getting a bit off-track?" I quickly corrected them.
"For an auction like that, Xiao Han, going in your teaching assistant uniform or casual clothes is plenty. Why take it so seriously?"
"From my perspective, that auction is just small-time. No need to put so much thought into it."
"Don't say that. This is Xiao Han's first time, isn't it? What's wrong with wanting to dress up a bit? I actually know a sister who does custom dresses, but... might it be too late for a custom order? That auction is only a few days away, right?" Another witch offered a different opinion.
"Speaking of which, Xiao Han, don't you have an emergency Change of Clothes Spell? A girl's clothes can easily get damaged or lead to an accidental exposure during combat. Having a spell for quick changes is quite handy."
"That makes sense. But we usually don't use that spellbook. Does anyone have one?"
"I do. I don't really use it much, so I'll give it to Xiao Han. It's a decent spell; it can record various clothing styles and swap them at will. I've already recorded quite a few styles in there, including several formal gowns and dresses. It can even adapt to the user's body data to display them in the most flattering way."
I looked at the spellbook the witch sister handed over and eventually accepted the gift, moved by her enthusiasm.
"Thank you, sister~"
"I'd much prefer it if you called me Sister Naiden."
"Then thank you, Sister Naiden~"