Chapter 790: The Importance of the World Navel?
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 790: The Importance of the World Navel?
"Indeed~ If I had your help with this project, Xiao Han, everything would naturally move much faster. However, I won't force you to choose. After all, I know you have your own matters to attend to. Speaking of which, how is the progress on your self-generated mana experiment?"
"That... well, the self-generated mana experiment has actually made significant progress. Tan Han, who has been assisting me, has become the second pre-witch to possess self-generated mana before even ascending to the Transcendent level." I didn't hide the progress of the experiment; its implications were far too important.
"Oh? You've already succeeded?" A look of immense surprise flashed across Dean Mei’s face upon hearing my report.
"It's only the first successful case. We haven't been able to replicate it a second time yet, so it's far from being a complete success," I quickly corrected.
"Even so, you've touched the threshold of success. As long as the path is visible, time is merely the foundation upon which success is built." Dean Mei didn't seem to care about the distinction. To a witch, the current progress was essentially as good as total success.
Time was the one thing they never had to worry about.
For a while, the conversation between the Dean and me drifted completely away from the intelligence regarding the game world, veering toward the path of the Luck Qi Observation Art, and then, with a casual mention, toward the topic of self-generated mana.
Dean Mei was extremely interested in my current research. After all, the foundation of it all was a miracle she had personally helped shape.
Back in Ninglan New City, Dean Mei had used the incubation rebirth process and my self-awakening body cultivation to—through a series of coincidences—actually manifest self-generated mana. It was that very stroke of luck that had created the miracle we were seeing now!
Dean Mei was equally curious about the formation of self-generated mana. When it came to new techniques, she didn't mind playing the role of a student, listening to the process of its creation.
This truly made me feel overwhelmed by the honor.
She was particularly satisfied to hear that with self-generated mana, a pre-witch could use their physical talent to cross the Transcendent threshold much more easily.
I, however, felt it was only average. Setting aside whether a witch who took such a shortcut would have any outstanding advantages after becoming a Transcendent, given the current situation in the Main World, I felt the Ley Line Shackles were a much greater obstacle to ascension.
But... the Dean didn't care at all about this "get on the bus first and settle the fare later" approach to rapid ascension. A witch's path could be changed, and their chosen subjects could be retaken, but the ability to stand on a higher level ahead of time was something a non-Transcendent could never hope to match.
It was like those witches born as Transcendents. Witches conceived by two Transcendent parents were Transcendents from birth. They started on a higher plane, and their post-birth instincts and cognitive feedback were built directly upon a Transcendent foundation.
That kind of innate advantage was incomparable.
However, Dean Mei wasn't in a rush. She naturally wanted the technique for shaping self-generated mana to be as mature as possible. After just a short conversation, she identified several key issues.
The main problem was that the process was simply too complex.
Though it was nominally categorized as the Mana-fied Body Cultivation method, it involved a "Shaping Ritual," a "Structuring Ritual," and even a "Perfecting Ritual" once the structure was complete. Each ritual had its own prerequisites, such as the Mana-fied Reshaping Rebirth Spell and the upper limits of the Resonant Mana Source method.
And it wasn't just a matter of complexity; it was a matter of learning and application.
Starting from the Shaping Ritual, the principles of how the ritual was born were unclear. For the Structuring Ritual, it was unclear how the structural points for the witch racial concept were established upon the life essence. As for the subsequent Perfecting Ritual, the process of how it gradually reached completion was equally opaque.
The inability to articulate it clearly or explain it plainly was the biggest problem facing the self-generated mana technique.
This issue would also be the primary root cause limiting its large-scale promotion.
Of course, a lack of understanding wasn't the ultimate dealbreaker. To solve these root problems, there were many alternative solutions.
For instance... using alchemical items to assist in meeting specific ritual requirements. Dean Mei, however, was more a proponent of a specialized witch technique: "Potions."
After all, a potion was an excellent medium for carrying a ritual. It belonged to a different system than ordinary medicine and couldn't be lumped in with simple liquids.
But these ideas were just that—ideas. Until they were put into practice and showed results, they were nothing but empty talk.
Once we finished the topic of self-generated mana, we gradually returned to the subject of the game world.
After all, that was what I had originally come to ask about.
For example, the current level of control the Witch Academy had over the game world. Although that world had used shielding methods to hide its coordinates, it was still considered "prey" in the eyes of the witches.
Then there were the details of how other Transcendent races had played their tricks on that world.
For instance... how did those people get into the game world in the first place?
This brought us to the Void fleets of the Void Wanderers.
These were merchant groups that traversed the Void between worlds.
They were primarily led by a few Transcendent experts who could cross the Void, supported by a massive amount of manpower to maintain the goods stored within World Fragments.
Every Transcendent race had such entities, and the Witch Academy was no exception.
Dean Mei even described how, within the witch race, there were mobile Witch Academies specifically aimed at training Void merchant groups. This meant the academy was built upon a creation that could traverse the Void at will, as the Witch Academy model fit the pattern of a few Transcendent experts leading many non-Transcendent individuals across the Void.
Due to transportation costs, these merchants usually traded in renewable resources unique to their World Fragments, rather than focusing on buying low and selling high.
Even if the profit margins on such resources weren't high, the sheer volume made up for it!
This reminded me of the time in the Expansion Realm when Fu Xinglan and the others treated me. The coffee I drank then seemed to be a product of the Void Wanderers.
At the time, I had wondered why a group of wandering merchants connecting Void worlds would sell such low-end goods.
As it turned out... these people owned World Fragments. They were filthy rich!
While World Fragments were extremely valuable, they were common to certain people—specifically those who spent years on the frontiers of the Void, pioneering new worlds. That was the stage where acquiring World Fragments was cheapest.
However, because most World Fragments were either small worlds or hadn't even developed into small worlds yet, many of them couldn't even grow Transcendent crops. They could only grow ordinary ones.
Once they decided to retire from Void pioneering, becoming a Void merchant was a very decent way to spend their golden years.
The Witch Academy had its group of merchant witches, and other Transcendent academies had their own merchant Transcendents.
Furthermore, becoming a Void Wanderer required meeting several strict criteria. For one, you had to be strong enough to traverse the Void safely. Secondly, you needed substantial assets to manufacture a vessel capable of crossing the Void.
Just as you need a ship to sail the ocean, you need a "ship" to drift through the Void.
With these prerequisites met, a Void merchant group could do much more—such as carrying passengers on long voyages.
Traveling between worlds in the Void isn't something that can be done simply through Transcendent teleportation.
The Void is a very peculiar place—so peculiar that only those at the Transcendent level can directly face its horrific environment. Even communication signals can't bridge the gap between worlds. In such a harsh environment, how could one guarantee the stability of a teleportation?
This was the main reason why it was so difficult for the Witch Academy to locate the game world without real-time coordinates. The Void doesn't even have a stable concept of physical space. Using ordinary spatial teleportation spells in the Void is like trying to breathe in a vacuum—there's no foundation for it.
Therefore, only specific methods—such as the reverse summoning spells derived from [Transcendent Knowledge]—could achieve a different level of "teleportation." But clearly, these methods came with a heavy price, either in terms of massive consumption or high requirements and numerous restrictions.
For example, a reverse summoning spell cannot reach its destination if there is no one at the target end to perform the summons. Furthermore, such a summons can usually only bring one person at a time.
As for the spatial teleportation array Dean Mei had used to try and send away the Rebel Witch Sheryl... well, that was a specialized array combined with "brute force." The cost was enormous, but Dean Mei had been willing to pay it just to get rid of that Rebel Witch. Unfortunately, the Rebel Witch hadn't been appreciative.
In short, because crossing the Void is so difficult, Void merchant groups also moonlight as the "buses" of the Void. Some merchant groups on fixed Void routes transport guests while delivering goods. However, the "fare" for these passengers is quite expensive—though still cheap compared to the cost of a brute-forced teleportation. The only downside is the vast distance and the long wait times.
So, when one isn't in a hurry, Void merchant groups are quite cost-effective.
This time, it was a Wizard merchant group performing a rotation task for the academy's Transcendent Wizards.
Just as the Witch Academy has new mentors rotating in every so often, the Wizard Academy has a similar tradition, though their frequency of rotation is far less free or frequent than that of the witches.
This time, an "accident" occurred when the Void merchant group reached the boundary of the Main World's Void domain. The surrounding escort Wizard ships encountered a rare Void disaster and were currently missing. The fate of dozens of Wizards on board was unknown, but... fortunately, no Transcendent Wizards were among the missing.
The subtext was obvious. The final line about no Transcendent Wizards being missing was the Wizard Academy's way of not provoking the witches too much. After all, rules had to be followed, and the non-interference of Transcendents was the bottom line.
They were using the "accident" as a blatant excuse.
If they eventually "survived" in the game world, the Wizard Academy would likely step forward and offer a formal apology.
That was the general situation regarding the game world. Dean Mei didn't care about the movements of those families, nor did she care about the actions of the players. Thus, the Dean didn't actually know much about the specific intelligence I wanted. However, after learning about the high-level power struggle, there was no real need to understand the minor details.
I also asked Dean Mei about her attitude toward that piece of [Transcendent Knowledge]. Her answer was simple: she wouldn't force it, but if possible, she naturally didn't want the Wizard Academy to give that [Transcendent Knowledge] to the game world.
As for how they would deliver it, that was another problem.
The game world was shielded. This shielding was indiscriminate; even the Wizard Academy couldn't use brute force to send the [Transcendent Knowledge] through.
So, if they wanted to send it, there was only one way: turn off the shielding.
But once they did that, the Witch Academy would quickly regain control of the game world and wouldn't give anyone a second chance to interfere.
However, even if the Witch Academy reacted quickly, they still needed reaction time. If the Wizard Academy planned to use that window to complete all their resource exchanges, it wasn't impossible.
And the most precious item, the Terminal of Myriad Worlds, had likely already been swindled away.
Regarding this, Dean Mei could only offer me an apology. After all, she had promised me that I could harvest the game world, which naturally included that [Transcendent Knowledge]. Now that the Wizard Academy had played this disgusting trick, anyone would feel frustrated.
Even though she had compensated Xiao Han with a dungeon world, Dean Mei still felt it wasn't enough.
As for the suggestion that I go and fight for the Terminal of Myriad Worlds [Transcendent Knowledge], the Dean was absolutely unwilling to let me do so.
Heaven only knew what those Transcendent academies would do to kill Xiao Han at any cost if she showed her face again. After all, several Transcendents had died during the last assassination attempt!
The grudge had been set, and Xiao Han's value was only increasing.
Dean Mei would never want me to take such a risk.
After giving me this warning, Dean Mei chatted with me about other topics. But time always flies during a conversation. Having obtained the answers we sought, we bid the Dean and the others farewell and left the office.
"Mei, are you just going to let Xiao Han leave like that? You didn't even try to ask her to stay at the end?" One of the witches maintaining the Qi Observation instruments stopped what she was doing and asked.
"Xiao Han has her own things to do," Mei Lind gave a simple reason.
"But... no matter how important those things are, can they really be more important than the World Navel? If we find the World Navel, no matter how bad the situation in the Main World gets, we'll have the leverage to flip the table on those Elves, Birdmen, and that bunch of rotten people! Xiao Han would have a peaceful environment for whatever she wants to do." The other witch spoke excitedly, as if she had a deep obsession with "flipping the table."
The reason the witches were currently willing to sit "peacefully" at the same table as those Transcendent races was primarily because the other side held the initiative. The World Navel was the lifeblood of the Main World; even the Great Weakening Spell couldn't fully protect the Main World without it.
The spell was merely a means of restraining the three great Transcendent academies. If they truly wanted to destroy the World Navel, they would have to break through the all-encompassing blockade of the Great Weakening Spell. Once they attacked the effects of the Great Weakening Spell, it would mean a fight to the death, and the Witch Academy had the power to ensure they wouldn't escape unscathed.
What did that mean?
It meant that if the three great Transcendent races wanted to go for a "mutually assured destruction" scenario, they shouldn't expect a single soul to leave alive.
Thus, if they wanted to use the World Navel as a bargaining chip to flip the table or threaten the Witch Academy, the price they would have to pay was their very lives. No one could save them.
And so, the Transcendents of the four factions were locked in a "peaceful phase" of mutual deterrence.