Chapter 772: The Possibility of Successful Self-Generated Mana Confirmed
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 772: The Possibility of Successful Self-Generated Mana Confirmed
"Is such a thing... even possible?" I mused, sensing the results observed from the very essence of my life.
From this perspective, I could see my racial concept and bloodline information being continuously "converted." This process of shifting into another state was what they called Witchification.
However, this was a result obtained solely through the theoretical support of the Great Witch Project and my own specialized observation methods. It was certainly not something a normal Prep Witch could achieve.
Other witches might know the requirements for ascending to a Transcendent Witch—following the steps, reaching perfection in their life essence, and researching a Witch Project based on that foundation to serve as the power base for their advancement. They would try repeatedly until they succeeded.
But I was observing exactly how the process of ascending to a Transcendent Witch operated. It was as if others were getting promoted and receiving raises by following company regulations, aided by a bit of luck and their own achievements, while I could see the internal mechanics of the entire system. As long as I aligned myself with these mechanics, everything would fall into place. In the end, it was merely a matter of how I chose to succeed.
Though it was just a metaphor... only now could I give a concrete promise: given enough time, I would definitely get that promotion and raise—no, I mean, I would definitely ascend to a Transcendent Witch.
If the students at the Witch Academy who believed they could ascend were relying on a confident mindset, then my confidence... stemmed from the fact that I knew exactly how to make it happen.
Originally, I only wanted to delve into the Witch racial concept and bloodline information within my life essence to construct an additional talent for a self-generated mana body. I hadn't expected to gain insight into the path of ascending to a Transcendent Witch under the framework of the Great Witch Project through this method.
Regardless... this didn't stop me from mastering the theoretical foundation for anchoring self-generated mana onto the essence of life!
All that remained was to prove it through practice.
Using myself as an example again: my self-generated mana was born from my Self-Awakened Body Cultivation. Once the framework was complete, it became independent of that cultivation. In other words, the two existed in a state where they were mutually independent yet mutually reinforcing.
"Mutually independent" meant that either could exist without the other without the framework collapsing. "Mutually reinforcing"... referred to the Totem they shaped together.
The relationship was like a firearm and its bullets, while the manifestation of the Totem was like the sound of the gunshot echoing in one's ears.
From a descriptive standpoint, they seemed loosely related, yet they were inextricably linked. This was the information presented from a different angle.
At this moment, I was also attempting the Witchified Body Cultivation Method. I was curious: if I followed this path, could I construct an entirely new self-generated mana anchored to my life essence?
Of course, that was just a metaphor.
Self-generated mana wasn't a physical object. Two independent entities of the same concept couldn't exist simultaneously. It was a capability built upon the essence of life.
Therefore... the most likely outcome was...
As I used the self-generated mana shaping ritual as a foundation and attempted to "hatch" self-generated mana onto my unformed Witch racial concept using my newly acquired theoretical knowledge, I didn't feel a new self-generated mana being born. Instead, my original self-generated mana naturally formed a special relationship with my Witch racial concept.
Then... a wondrous connection was born upon my life essence!
Self-Awakened Body Cultivation and self-generated mana were anchored to each other, while the Witchified Body Cultivation Method facilitated a link between my "Witch racial concept and bloodline information" and that self-generated mana.
Just like that, an open triangular framework was born!
"Ah?"
When this happened, even I let out a cry of disbelief!
Accompanying my cry was the instinctive manifestation of my Totem!
The Totem's instinctive appearance was a power that exceeded my control. I was supposed to be gradually mastering the Totem, but now it was "revolting" again, naturally breaking free from my command!
Quickly, fine Void Rifts were torn open by the Totem's unknown power. Such a massive disturbance immediately caused everyone in the laboratory to stop what they were doing.
The first to react were Mentor Belica and the other Transcendent Witch mentors.
As mentors, they had naturally felt this kind of power from a Totem before. There was also another power they were familiar with—the power of a Void Rift!
"Don't get close! Xiao Han is tearing open Void Rifts! Stay back!" Belica immediately deployed a protective spell, isolating the approaching crowd.
While such protective spells couldn't withstand a rift that pierced the void, they served their purpose by maintaining a safe distance.
"What... what is happening?"
Even Tan Han, who was in a sealed, undisturbed private experimental room, was startled by the commotion.
That heart-palpitating power was something even the transcendent-insulating materials of the laboratory couldn't block.
"It's the Totem. Is Sister Xiao Han triggering the Totem's power again?" The others, who only partially understood, could only explain it this way. After all, they had experienced similar events before and were... somewhat used to it?
At least they knew more than the completely clueless Tan Han.
"Xiao Han, what's the situation?" Mentor Belica, having been the first to react, asked as she and the other mentors helped stabilize the area. Once she saw that things seemed relatively under control, she spoke up.
"I don't know the specifics yet. The Totem seems to be undergoing a secondary refinement. Don't worry, the newly added power is a bit beyond my control, but it's still within the safety margins," I explained during a brief lull.
Once I perfected the relationship constructed by the three nodes, the Totem originally formed by my Self-Awakened Body Cultivation and self-generated mana "expanded" and "perfected" itself once more.
No matter how one described it, the fact remained: three "concepts" within my life essence had formed an open triangular relationship.
Because of this, the Totem underwent a brand-new transformation.
Furthermore, I discovered that the Totem itself seemed to be a kind of "strengthening adhesive." it acted as an additional bond between the three, like a safeguard maintaining the stability of the relationship.
"The Totem... is being perfected?" Hearing my explanation, Belica and the others were bewildered.
After all, they hadn't researched the field of Totems much themselves. The Totems they possessed were mostly imitations, and they hadn't mastered the source of power required to drive them.
This was the first time they had ever heard that something like a Totem... could be perfected.
Wasn't a Totem just a Totem?
Although they had many conjectures just from hearing these concepts, they lacked the practical ability to verify them, so those guesses were destined to remain mere fantasies.
As I felt the portion of the Totem representing the Witch racial concept and bloodline information, I gradually began to reel it in.
Having the prior experience of the relationship between the first two nodes and the Totem, I was slowly mastering the method of wielding it.
The Totem was like an extra power attached to an ability. The two weren't a unified force, yet they were closely related. As long as one figured out the relationship between that power and the Totem, the Totem could be utilized.
Currently, the part that could maximize the Totem's power was the Self-Awakened Body Cultivation portion. This was because I had extended that concept most deeply and extensively—it included not just Body Cultivation power, but also the power of the Five Senses, the prototypes of the Sixth and Seventh Senses, and so on. It even included the Martial Runes brought about by Great Perfection in Body Arts. This meant that even when performing Body Arts, I could guide the Totem to buff myself!
Next was the self-generated mana. As my understanding of it grew deeper—though most of that understanding was still "theoretical foundation"—the Totem portion of the self-generated mana was what I had "hypothesized" about the most.
While a hypothesis isn't the same as the truth, as long as it can be treated as a hypothesis, it can be applied within certain limits.
However... regarding the Witch racial concept and bloodline information, I really didn't know how to trigger the Totem with such a concept.
As the saying goes, it's fine if I don't understand it now; I'll just set it aside and deal with it later.
Besides, a Totem wasn't something that could be understood or controlled using conventional logic.
Gradually, the Totem around me faded, except for my outstretched hand. My fingertip traced an arc, and a pitch-black Void Rift, like a slithering serpent, followed the tip of my finger.
This all-destroying Void Rift was an application of the Totem's terrifying power. It wasn't the power of the Totem itself, but rather something achieved by that power.
It was like a finger dragging across the surface of water, leaving ripples in its wake. These Void Rifts seemed to have other uses, but for now, I couldn't utilize them well; I could only rely on them to cause raw damage.
I had personally witnessed Dean Bev Alanna catch a Void Rift with her bare hands, so the power of a Void Rift itself was something a Transcendent Witch of the Dean's level could likely withstand.
"Xiao Han, you've mastered the ability to tear Void Rifts?!" Mentor Belica cried out in shock, seeing my clearly "controlled" use of the rift.
"Not exactly. This is just a mechanism that comes with mastering the Totem. All I can do now is tear them open and wait for them to heal naturally. It's still very dangerous for me to touch them," I said, shaking my head.
"That's still incredible!" Belica said, stunned.
This was a Void Rift!
Its value already exceeded her understanding. The reason it exceeded her understanding was that she couldn't tear one herself, so she naturally didn't know what such a concept could achieve.
For a Transcendent Witch, a spatial crack that could be torn open at will was completely incomparable to a so-called Void Rift.
"That's not the important part," I said, shaking my head.
The Totem was a "buff" that didn't require me to cultivate; it would simply grow stronger as I mastered my own powers.
The important thing was that my actions just now had proven one thing: the Witch racial concept and bloodline information could serve as the foundation for self-generated mana and could be used to construct it!
Although this had been in the theoretical stage before, I had succeeded directly only because I already possessed self-generated mana.
Everything had fallen into place for me, but to turn this theoretical foundation into a practical technique that could be used by Yi Rui, Tan Han, and the others, we still needed constant experimentation. We had to find the possibility of success amidst countless failures.
"I've found the basic theory for constructing self-generated mana. Now I need a physical experiment," I announced.
"You succeeded?" Mentor Belica asked, somewhat surprised. She had thought this was just another attempt by Xiao Han to find new inspiration through the Totem, but she hadn't expected her to find the key point so quickly.
"It's not a complete success. I only used myself as an experiment to verify the possibility. But as you know, Mentor Belica, I already have self-generated mana, so my method isn't universal. It needs testing."
"Let me do it! You can use me for the experiment," Yi Rui was the first to step forward, without a hint of fear.
Following Yi Rui's lead, the others also began to volunteer. They had participated in this months-long experiment as "guinea pigs" precisely for this moment, hadn't they?
"No rush. Yi Rui, what is the current resonance limit for your Witchified Remolding Rebirth Art?" I shook my head, raising a hand to calm their excitement before asking.
I already knew the answer, of course, since my clone in the lab was constantly involved in the experiment.
But hearing it from the mouths of Yi Rui and the others—those who had worked so hard and struggled for this—was an affirmation of their efforts.
"We've reached 8,650. Give us a few more days, and we can perfect it to a limit of ten thousand."
"Is that so? That's quite fast." I nodded, giving them an affirmative response. Their speed had exceeded my expectations.
I had to admit, the Tenfold Base Resonance Method they had created with their wisdom was a stroke of genius. Though it had minor flaws, they didn't overshadow its brilliance.
Furthermore, to build a more stable self-generated mana shaping ritual, I had witnessed their entire process of perfecting the "Micro-Operation Resonance Method."
"Over eight thousand... that should be just barely enough to construct a complete self-generated mana shaping ritual. But ten thousand is safer. I will divide the construction stages of self-generated mana based on the natural grading of the tenfold base."
"So... Xiao Han, who do you want to go first?"
"You're asking me...?" My gaze turned toward Tan Han, who was standing to the side. The answer was already obvious. "Let Tan Han do it. The rest of you continue perfecting the resonance limit of the mana sources. Tan Han will cooperate with me for the next phase of the experiment."
"Eh? Tan Han goes first? Well, okay..."
Upon hearing this, a flash of disappointment appeared in many eyes. After all... this represented the very first successful case!
Everyone hoped to be the most memorable one. Although they knew the chance might not fall to them in the end, hearing it confirmed still felt a bit disheartening. They were human, after all, with their own emotions and their own pursuit of achievement and glory.
"Actually, I have my own reasons for choosing Tan Han," I explained proactively, seeing their disappointment. "The upcoming attempts will require constant trial and error. I've only proven the possibility of success with myself, but I haven't found the path to success for all of you. We will face a large number of failures. This is something that relies heavily on luck."
"And speaking of luck... who can compare to the concept of a Child of Destiny? To avoid unnecessary failures, we urgently need a first successful case to point the way for us. So, my choice of Tan Han isn't out of favoritism, but to make our path smoother."
Of course, I actually had another candidate in mind: Ninglan Qiuyue, who had completed the unification of the Expansion Realm. The luck she had gathered was even more massive, as she carried the luck of the Expansion Realm itself. Moreover... she possessed "Ninglan's Heart," a Transcendent item that could manipulate luck.
But for now... Tan Han was enough. Otherwise, how could Ninglan Qiuyue be considered a backup plan?
If I really had to use that backup plan, I might have to run to Dean Mei again to ask for a favor. After all, Ninglan Qiuyue was still in the Expansion Realm, and the passage to the Expansion Realm was currently closed.