Chapter 581: Unification of the Domain, Perfection of Order
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 581: Unification of the Domain, Perfection of Order
The new semester had been underway for over a week. For most students, it was just another ordinary day, with many likely still shaking off the last of their post-holiday blues.
Even so, many students had yet to escape the shadow cast by the Players. If anything, the rumors within the Transcendent Academy were only growing more intense.
Reporters from the news clubs who had survived the hotel incident were busy recounting their harrowing escapes, bitterly denouncing the hideous nature of those Players. Even ordinary students who hadn't experienced a thing spoke as if they had been there themselves, cultivating a sense of crisis as if the sky were falling. Such was the nature of the Academy Network.
On this "ordinary" day, however, many Transcendent Witches found themselves glancing toward a certain direction of the Witch Academy. Though nothing had happened yet, it felt as if many of them were waiting for something.
Even the witches who weren't in the loop noticed minor issues today—specifically, that the information provided by the Ley Line Identification Art attached to the Great Knowledge Seed had diminished. To them, however, this wasn't a serious concern.
Witches lived long lives. From the emergence of the Great Knowledge Seed until now, not enough time had passed for anyone to develop a severe dependency on it.
As for those who ignored outside affairs, a bit of light inquiry was enough to get the gist of things. Those in the know were more than happy to tell them: today was the day Xiao Han would be performing maintenance and updates on the Tree of Great Knowledge.
As for how long it would take, no one knew.
* * *
Inside the new laboratory.
The facilities Dean Mei had prepared for me and the other witch sisters were so comprehensive that many of us, myself included, felt a bit out of place.
After all, we had never fought a "battle" with such abundant resources before. However, it is far easier to transition from frugality to luxury than the other way around; even with this level of opulence, everyone acclimated quickly.
Even though today was a momentous occasion for every witch present, everyone was busy with their own tasks. This wasn't due to a lack of cooperative spirit.
Rather, as the owner of the Tree of Great Knowledge, I was the only one who could perform the upcoming operations. Furthermore, everyone had already shared their preparations regarding various aspects of the tree within the Tree of Great Knowledge itself. One could say the existence of the Tree of Great Knowledge had fundamentally changed the nature of our cooperation.
We were no longer restricted to surface-level interaction and communication. This was even more efficient than the mainstream Consciousness Communication Spells.
Previously, I only had a vague idea, a train of thought about using the power of knowledge to unify transcendent power and information, but I had no clue how to actually execute it.
Now, I understood.
The key lay in the unification of the Domain Prototype and Order.
Although my current Domain Prototype was ostensibly a Body Cultivation Mindscape, that wasn't entirely accurate. It was also infused with the power of two Great Spellbooks.
In the past, my thinking had been too simplistic. I didn't know much about "Domains," and the same applied to "Domainization." The primary conflict was that the two Great Spellbooks and my Body Cultivation power could each independently complete the shaping of a Domain. However, the situation I faced was complex; I had arbitrarily defined it as a "patchwork" semi-finished product.
That was my primary problem.
My current capabilities were insufficient to manage a Domain Prototype shaped by three distinct powers that far exceeded my understanding.
"Disorder" was the root cause.
If I looked at it from the perspective of someone who had "been there," it became much simpler. The common knowledge regarding Domainization that those kind witch sisters had "gifted" me earlier had bolstered my theoretical understanding immensely.
From my current perspective, if I viewed these elements as a natural whole, everything became simpler. Once simplified, I only had one task to perform.
Since these three power systems had inadvertently merged within me, there had to be a connection between them. I only needed to unify the Order derived from the three.
The manifestation of that Order was Power of Knowledge.
My current goal was to perfect the Tree of Great Knowledge, but that wasn't my only goal. As the saying goes, plans can't keep up with changes. A goal is merely a direction for effort, not a shackle to limit development.
I suddenly realized that unifying the Order of the Domain Prototype was the first major problem I needed to solve. Once that was resolved, the perfection of the Tree of Great Knowledge would follow naturally.
To achieve the unification of Order, I needed a foundational framework. Only with a solid foundation could we discuss anything else.
And what was the framework that formed this Order?
The Domain Prototype.
What was the Domain Prototype based on?
The Body Cultivation Mindscape—which is to say, the Body Cultivation Sixth Sense: Heart Sense.
The two Great Spellbooks were clearly not the foundation. After all, I hadn't even fully mastered them yet, let alone achieved Domainization with them. Therefore, the only thing that could be "Domainized" was the Body Cultivation power system. The power of the two Great Spellbooks played a different role within it.
And that role had to be significant!
Otherwise, how could the manifestation of Order within this Body Cultivation Domain Prototype be a power system so closely related to the two Great Spellbooks?
After all, because of the path they walked, Body Cultivators usually gave the impression of being violent. Body Arts were seen as pure killing techniques...
But I couldn't let myself be deceived by such stereotypes. I was a Self-Awakened Body Cultivator; my Body Cultivation power hadn't been influenced by traditional Body Arts training, so it was purer.
Of course, perhaps what I considered "pure" would be seen as an anomaly by other Body Cultivation experts.
As my understanding of Body Cultivation deepened, I was gradually shedding my cognitive biases. The Five Senses Cultivation I focused on wasn't the entirety of Body Cultivation; it was merely one branch. However, since Five Senses training was integrated into almost every Body Cultivation method, treating it as a standalone path seemed... strange.
Perhaps this method of cultivation was only suitable for a Self-Awakened Body Cultivator like me, who hadn't been interfered with by established styles.
Thus, for me, Body Cultivation didn't have to be about "fighting and killing." Everyone walks a different path.
Once I clearly diverged from others, I needed to define my own path. Defining something is the anchor by which life understands the unknown; it can point toward a brand-new direction, or it can lead one into a ditch.
Eliminating—or rather, suppressing—cognitive bias was a path I had to walk right now.
As for how the Order of Power of Knowledge would unify the issues within Heart Sense, I could only rely on myself to coordinate it.
Returning to the essence of the problem: Heart Sense is a sixth sense independent of the five senses. It allowed me to gradually perceive the "inner voice" of life. Of course, "inner voice" should be in quotes; it wasn't mind-reading or a spell—it was pure perception.
Perceiving another's heartbeat, the contraction of their muscles, the thrumming of their blood... using a perception independent of the five senses to understand, to... resonate.
Gradually, I could also perceive their emotions: joy, anger, sorrow, happiness, grief, hatred, desire... they were faint, yet clear.
Whether it was bodily functions or emotional shifts, these could technically be perceived through the five senses as well. However, that was a "composite perception" based on the five senses, cognition, and reflexes.
For example, one uses "hearing" to perceive a sound and then understands it is a heartbeat. One uses "sight" to observe a facial expression and analyzes that the person is laughing.
But now, Heart Sense acted as an independent perception that skipped the complex analysis to directly understand the reactions of the lifeform being observed. Furthermore, it was much harder to mislead.
Heart Sense then directly inherited the concepts of heartbeats and emotions learned from "composite perception" and transformed them into the sixth sense.
Therefore, the emergence of the sixth sense didn't cause me much trouble; I had even adapted to it quite quickly.
And what was the Mindscape?
The Mindscape was Heart Sense's perception of the self—an internal realm constructed through self-cognition. It was also known as the Body Cultivation Realm.
In the Body Cultivation power system, it was a force similar to Body Cultivation Internal Energy, sometimes called "Mental Power." But regardless of the name, it was just a label.
This logic seemed similar to when I first became a Self-Awakened Body Cultivator. It was precisely because of this that Self-Awakened Body Cultivators found it easier to walk the path and awaken perceptions beyond the five senses. This was beyond doubt.
To describe the "Mindscape" using the concepts I now understood: it was the construction of my internal Order.
Back when I decided to use the Tree of Great Knowledge as the core of my future power system, that cognition influenced my internal Order. Power of Knowledge was born subsequently during my later efforts to create the Dual Tree Structure.
Countless coincidences had come together to create this miracle, as if every single piece was indispensable.
The so-called "Mindscape Manifestation"—the Domain Prototype—relied on the internal Order to manifest externally, reshaping the external Order.
Therefore, the strengthening of a Body Cultivation Domain required the constant reinforcement of my internal Order's resolve.
It felt somewhat... idealistic.
But "idealism" was also just a definition, a term used for description and understanding, not the absolute truth.
However, understanding it this way made it clear why those simple-minded people who practiced martial arts—who practiced like mad and believed their fists could shatter anything—could continuously progress and grow stronger. Because that conviction constantly reinforced their internal Order; their fists were the entirety of their perceived Order.
Though I would personally evaluate such Body Cultivators as "taking a shortcut," wasn't that also a way of delving into the transcendent? And wasn't this how the transcendent responded to them?
I finally understood why Body Cultivators were often called brainless. Under such an Order, the more brainless one was, the easier the shortcut. But every shortcut eventually has an end.
That was why transcendent power mastered without using one's brain could never go far.
But I couldn't be that brainless. I was rational, and I constantly tried to understand and research. Perhaps that was one of the reasons why the Order of my Body Cultivation Mindscape was Power of Knowledge.
Now.
The foundation was clear, the Order understood, and the preliminary preparations were complete. What followed would be a massive undertaking.
The unification of Order!
At that moment, the main body of the Tree of Great Knowledge was reflected within the Domain, and the power belonging to the spell's essence manifested as a Domain expansion.
No one present was surprised by my actions. They simply set down their work and turned their gazes toward the main trunk of the Tree of Great Knowledge, their eyes shimmering with excitement.
In that instant, a spectacle appeared once more within the Witch Academy—one that defied description.
It was so massive that it reached straight for the heavens.
This was naturally not the limit of the Tree of Great Knowledge, only the limit of the curtain walls within the Witch Academy.
Students in the vicinity who saw this wonder immediately let out cries of amazement. This was a sight rarely seen even in the Witch Academy.
The sudden appearance of this tree also struck a chord in the hearts of those who had seen it before. Seeing it again, and in such a complete form, the sense of grandeur and majesty made them feel utterly insignificant.
Before long, every student received a temporary notification from the Academy System on their phones.
[Transcendent Academy Temporary Notification] (Click to View)
Upon reading the announcement, many people gained a general understanding of what was happening. It turned out to be a normal occurrence during the mentors' academic research. While not common, the senior sisters had experienced similar things before.
However, most of what they had experienced involved things like explosions, transcendent energy leaks, or transcendent species going out of control and hurting people.
This was the first time they had seen such a magnificent phenomenon. It stood there above the Witch Academy, and even if the power flowing through it made their heads throb, it didn't hinder their pursuit of beauty.
Many students used it as a backdrop for their daily photos, posting them on the Academy Network as records of their wonderful lives.
But those who knew the truth were utterly shocked!
They knew exactly whose power that tree belonged to, but they hadn't expected her to cause such a massive impact within the academy so brazenly. Even the academy was using a temporary notification to help her avoid unnecessary trouble...
Just what kind of talent did she possess to be so highly regarded and favored by the academy?
They didn't understand, and they never would. In the end, their confusion could only turn into a sigh of admiration.
* * *
In another location.
"This is the commotion caused by that 'Xiao Han' you mentioned?"
"Yes. She's a genius, isn't she?" The speaker was, of course, Mei Lind. The person she was chatting with was the other Academy Dean who had recently appeared.
"I won't deny that."
"So you approve... is that it? Without her, our progress in repairing the ruins of the Main World would likely have stalled."
"That auxiliary instrument for the Qi Observation Art... I've seen it. Crude craftsmanship."
"Crude craftsmanship that performed the most important task. That's enough, isn't it? Perhaps you should be more open to new things. Don't you know the other witches are calling you an old fogey?"
"Hmph..."
"By the way, Xiao Han recently used what's called the most useless Great Spellbook to create a very miraculous spell: the Enlightenment Meditation Art. It's specifically designed to treat 'old fogeys' like you. Want to try it?"
"Specifically for me? Quite the bold claim. Stop joking around. You've turned the Main World into a mess lately; you'd better think about the trouble we'll face once the Main World is successfully repaired."
"Trouble? What trouble? It's always been us witches looking for trouble with other races," Mei Lind said dismissively. Then, her tone shifted. "But are you really not going to try that spell? The Enlightenment Meditation Art... you might find it interesting. And before long, this spell will be made into a spellbook and promoted among the witches."
"You value it that much?"
"I do. So... Scholar Serena Politzer, care to try? I imagine that with your scholarly rigor, you'd be interested in a spell slated for such large-scale promotion. Even if it's just to criticize it."
Serena hesitated for a moment before finally conceding.
"Fine... I'll give it a try."