Chapter 651: Revelations of the "Inverse" Concept
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 651: Revelations of the "Inverse" Concept
Once I learned of the "Rebel Witch" concept, its meaning became clear to me almost immediately.
However, one thing still didn't make sense: the void was vast, so how exactly did these Rebel Witches manage to set their sights on me?
Thinking back, Dean Mei once mentioned that my exploits had spread far and wide.
Assuming all information about me was public, what exactly would others be after?
My two Great Spellbooks?
One of them couldn't be stolen. Even if they killed me, they would only obtain a single fragment of [Transcendent Knowledge] and a copy of the "Great Wisdom Enlightenment Art"—a spellbook with absolutely no offensive capabilities.
Given that their research had gone astray to the point of betraying the witch race, I doubted any Rebel Witch scholar would be capable of utilizing the Great Wisdom Enlightenment Art effectively.
On top of that, I possessed the [Transcendent Knowledge] for Dean Mei’s "Great Weakening Spell."
In summary, all an attacker would gain was a Great Spellbook that added zero combat power and two fragments of [Transcendent Knowledge]. In exchange, they would earn the undying enmity of the Main World Witch Academy and the relentless pursuit of Sister Bai.
Furthermore, techniques and skills couldn't be stolen. If their goal was simply to prevent the witch race from mastering void information transmission techniques, that might make some sense...
Over at the Omni-Link Main Network Tree laboratory, we treated the matter as idle gossip before returning to our work.
There was nothing to worry about here; we were all clones, and clones lived to work. Some didn't even possess the capacity for frustration.
Meanwhile, far away at the spatial rift, my main self reached the same conclusion.
Many days had passed since Sister Mei last contacted me.
I hadn't really taken the matter to heart, but since my clones had taken the opportunity to look into it, I was now fully informed.
"Rebel Witches... to think such a fascinating research subject existed," I chuckled softly, preparing to resume my task.
However... that concept suddenly sparked a brand-new train of thought!
My hand, poised at the edge of the rift, froze.
If research subjects could have rebellious branches, then within the branches of the Great Soul Subject, could "Ordinary Soul" also have a "Rebel Soul"?
Or perhaps... a "Transcendent Soul"?
Born Transcendent... if such a subject truly existed, wouldn't it be perfectly suited for witches born from two Transcendent Witches?
It made sense. If being born Transcendent and possessing a Transcendent Soul was a gift from the heavens, then an Ordinary Soul represented those like us—those who changed their fate through their own efforts.
* * *
Meanwhile, back at the Witch Academy.
"Sister Bai~ can I ask you a question?"
"Of course. What’s on your mind all of a sudden?"
"It’s about research subjects."
"Subjects?" Sister Bai looked surprised. She knew Xiao Han had recently encountered some new concepts, so her curiosity was natural. "Go ahead, ask away~"
"Sister Bai, does the Ordinary Subject under the Great Soul Subject have an opposing counterpart?"
"An opposing subject? What do you mean?"
"Well, your subject is the Ordinary Subject. Is there an 'Unordinary' one? You know... a Transcendent Subject!"
"An Unordinary Subject... Hmm, I didn't hear much about that back then. Theoretically, an opposing subject makes sense, but a 'Transcendent' that stands in opposition to 'Ordinary' shouldn't be confused with the concept of 'Transcendent' as a rank or level," Sister Bai replied after some serious thought.
"Oh... so they can't be lumped together..." I quickly realized the flaw in my thinking.
"Exactly. You haven't gone and confused yourself with your own strange ideas, have you?" Sister Bai asked with a smile.
"Ugh... I definitely have. I need Sister Bai’s hugs and kisses to feel better..."
"Fine, fine~" Sister Bai stepped forward helplessly, but instead of a hug, her hands went straight for my cheeks, pinching and rubbing them contentedly before she planted a soft kiss on my forehead.
"Hehe~ I'll take that as a win~" I placed my hands over Sister Bai’s, not to pull them away, but to help her rub my cheeks a few more times.
"Since Sister Bai likes this so much... how about using me as a body pillow tonight?"
"That... might not be appropriate, right?"
"Why not? Being Sister Bai’s body pillow would be the ultimate fulfillment for this clone! I’m basically no different from a long cotton-stuffed pillow, just more realistic~ Unless Sister Bai is afraid I’ll use the clone to sneak a kiss in the middle of the night?"
"Xiao Han, why is your head always filled with such naughty thoughts?"
"Because I’m the clone assigned to stay with Sister Bai~ It’s only natural that my head is extra full of 'yellow' trash. Please~ I can even play dress-up games with you tonight! I have all the time in the world!"
* * *
Back in the Expansion Realm.
Though I hadn't confirmed the existence of a Transcendent Soul subject, I had gained other insights. Specifically, that within the same system, "rebellion" or "inversion" was always an option.
Could the Great Wisdom Enlightenment Art be used in reverse to become a "Great Wisdom Deprivation Spell"?
The mere name was enough to send a chill down one's spine. Any being that once possessed wisdom would instinctively dread its deprivation.
And... it didn't seem impossible to achieve; I just lacked a starting point.
Even when experimenting on mutant beasts, using the Great Wisdom Enlightenment Art to grant them wisdom and then dispelling the effect didn't equate to true wisdom deprivation...
As I pondered this, I noticed something slightly off.
Was my so-called "granting of wisdom" actually granting wisdom, or was it merely a spell effect?
The thought made my skin crawl.
But I quickly calmed down. No, the Great Wisdom Enlightenment Art only enlightened wisdom; it didn't grant it. Enlightenment was the spell's effect.
It was like the "crystallization" process of the Crystallization Art. The process was the spell effect, but the resulting crystal was a real, physical substance.
Understanding this made me realize my error—I had been conflating "Wisdom Granting" with "Wisdom Enlightenment."
With this realization, a new idea surfaced.
The Great Wisdom Enlightenment Art could likely derive another technique that utilized its spell effects!
"Wisdom Granting"!
A technique designed to complement the Great Wisdom Enlightenment Art, using the act of enlightenment to complete the granting of wisdom in an instant!
Drawing upon my inspiration and current abilities, I began to synthesize this technique...
However, mastering it didn't bring me much joy. I only felt a bit foolish for not thinking of it sooner. All I had to do was distinguish between spell effects and spell techniques.
But the technique was still incomplete. It could only be used on beings that were already biological lifeforms with a foundation for wisdom.
Beings that seemed to lack wisdom were often just missing the spark of enlightenment; they already possessed the necessary foundation.
But what if I wanted to create a lifeform that lacked that foundation entirely?
Therefore, the "Wisdom Granting" technique required a prerequisite: creating the foundation itself.
Thinking back... did the Fool's Dream race have a foundation for wisdom?
Looking at their ability to integrate into human society, their communication skills, and their emotional expression, I really wanted to say they did.
But the truth was... I didn't know.
The answer to this question could be simpler: I just needed to dissect and study dream creatures.
Did a dream creature possess a foundation for wisdom?
They could remember things, feel emotions, and interact with others. They seemed wise. I could even use consciousness communication spells to talk to them. So what were they?
A mere illusion of the dream?
Action was better than rumination. Any question that couldn't be answered through deep thought could be solved through direct experimentation.
I used my domain to create a dream overlap region and "baited" a group of dream creatures using soul crystals.
Once I caught them, I began a total overhaul...
I gave them a mimicry soul, endowed them with reality concepts, applied the Great Wisdom Enlightenment Art, and finally utilized the Wisdom Granting technique...
I watched the entire process, repeating it over and over, gathering data and ignoring not a single detail.
I continued this experiment for three days. Perched on the mountain ridge beneath the spatial rift, I had grown accustomed to the repetition. Spending three days on a single task caused me no discomfort. I had no regrets; my mind was calm and focused. Nothing could distract me, for I had countless clones experiencing the wonders of the Expansion Realm on my behalf.
Three days of constant attempts taught me one truth: dream creatures were just dream creatures—a fragile, hollow form of existence. They possessed nothing.
If one were to ask about their apparent wisdom, memories, or emotions, those were all merely abstract expressions of the Primitive Dream Realm.
Yes, those things were all "simulated" by the dream itself.
To use an analogy:
The Primitive Dream Realm was like a computer. Everything that existed and could be perceived within the dream was code. That code was "random" and nearly "infinite." Occasionally, anomalous states would give birth to "meaningful" programs that could actually run. Dream creatures were the products of that analogy.
Recognizing this reality only reinforced the importance of my unfinished "Soul Depiction" technique. It was the key to helping the Fool's Dream race forge a foundation in reality.
During these days, I hadn't just been studying dream creatures; I had been studying myself.
I used myself to confirm what exactly the "foundation" enlightened by the Great Spellbook was.
After all, I had used the Great Wisdom Enlightenment Art on myself.
Why could only biological life serve as a foundation?
This pattern brought to mind a very vivid "mental image."
If the soul was the soil, then wisdom was a seed buried within it that had yet to sprout. Wisdom enlightenment was the act of watering that parched soil.
The Great Wisdom Enlightenment Art didn't just help the "seed" of wisdom sprout; it also affected the "soil" of the soul to some extent, moistening it and providing a suitable environment for growth.
My "Wisdom Granting" technique was like "fertilizing," or more accurately, like a "Growth Spell."
It compressed a long, arduous process into something visible to the naked eye.
But that wasn't enough.
How could Wisdom Granting be limited to just "fertilizing"?
What if my target had no soul-soil and no wisdom-seed?
Therefore, the essence of Wisdom Granting should be the bestowal of the "Wisdom Seed" itself. Fertilization should merely be a side effect.
I now had a direction. If the keywords for a "wise lifeform" were wisdom and life, they could now be simplified to "Soul Essence" and "Wisdom Seed."
For the shaping of Soul Essence, I had "Soul Depiction." For the shaping of the Wisdom Seed, I had "Wisdom Granting."
Coincidentally, both techniques were works in progress—one had a clear direction but was incomplete, while the other had only just begun.
But difficulty... difficulty was the last thing I feared. What I feared was a lack of direction.
Who would have thought that the mere concept of a "Rebel Witch" would lead to so much contemplation?
Initially, I had only thought about using the Great Wisdom Enlightenment Art in reverse to strip away wisdom.
While I couldn't yet grant wisdom because I didn't fully understand what wisdom was, framing it as a "Wisdom Seed" made many things easier to grasp.
I might not be able to perform the full Wisdom Granting technique yet, but I had plenty of ideas for its inverse application.
Creating something from nothing was incredibly difficult, but if it already existed, stealing it was infinitely easier than creating it.
And I had to do it.
My understanding of the abstract "Wisdom Seed" was currently limited to theoretical guesswork. Only by coming into contact with the real thing could I study and understand it.
Only after understanding it would the progress of the Wisdom Granting technique catch up to Soul Depiction.
Ultimately, I just needed to study the Soul Subject—to learn how to use soul essence to shape a Transcendent Soul—to fully perfect "Soul Depiction."
As for Wisdom Granting... I wondered if there was a wisdom-related branch within the Great Soul Subject. If not, I would have to grope my way through the dark and find the "raw materials" for wisdom myself.
Just as souls were shaped from soul essence, what about wisdom? It couldn't be created out of thin air.
Having cleared my mind and established my goals, I was no longer lost.
I knew what I needed to do, how to do it, and the path to take.
First, I would perfect Wisdom Granting by understanding the Wisdom Seed. Then, I would master the inverse application of Wisdom Granting to expand my arsenal. Finally, I would use the inverse application to reverse-engineer the process of creating wisdom from nothing, thereby perfecting the Wisdom Granting technique.
I could do the same for Soul Depiction, but I couldn't find any soul-based lifeforms to experiment on. My Main World was composed entirely of soul essence, making it impossible to reverse-engineer. And those who possessed a true soul essence were all witches; I couldn't exactly experiment on my own kind.
Wisdom was different. Everyone had wisdom. As long as it was a lifeform, it had a foundation for wisdom—even mutant beasts. With such abundant raw materials, the experiments would be simple.
I looked up at the spatial rift in the sky. I had lost much of my interest in it. It had provided me with some understanding of spatial layers and insights into spatial teleportation spells.
Now, after some simple modifications and derivations, my teleportation spells were on the verge of being able to transport others.
But that was as far as it went. One must know when to move on. The inspiration and revelations regarding the Great Spellbooks were far more important.
Once I achieved some results, perhaps the Dean would personally open a spatial rift for me if I ever wanted to study spatial spell derivations again.
Though, I suspected that by then, I might be able to tear through space with my bare hands.
I had that much confidence in my own growth.