Chapter 796: The Rough Path to Transcendence
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 796: The Rough Path to Transcendence
"Damn it... what's happening?"
A sudden, terrifying surge of palpitations struck, making everyone tremble involuntarily.
The members of the Hawthorne family, who had been leading the persuasion efforts until their throats were dry, were instantly terrified by this abnormal change. They turned tail and bolted.
Just moments ago, they had clearly seen that this girl was at her limit; she had collapsed to her knees. No one expected such a sudden upheaval!
"Could it be... damn it, is she trying to take us all down with her?!" Someone roared, and the shout sent the crowd fleeing even faster.
Even the personnel from the Shi'an Bureau began to lose their nerve.
The fear of death is an instinct carved into the very essence of life; no one is an exception.
I watched April’s current state from the side, excitedly grabbing Sister Bai’s hand. "It worked! Sister Bai, it really worked! Using the Ordinary Subject as the foundation, her Life Level is surging to touch Real Time. She’s beginning to complete the Witch Race Concept, incubating the Witch bloodline and self-generated mana..."
I was so excited I was almost incoherent. This was the first time I had ever witnessed a life-form ascending to Transcendence so directly. Seeing the Ley Line Shackles collectively give way for her confirmed my theory: the "complications" derived from the Ley Line Shackles are indeed the primary obstacle to Transcendent advancement!
What interested me even more was the method of using a Subject as the foundation.
The Ordinary Subject is a sub-subject under the Great Soul Subject. April’s interpretation of it was her yearning for an ordinary life and ordinary love.
Or rather, it was a pursuit—a "re-birthing" of the self after shattering existing perceptions and embracing a brand-new world. It was about giving oneself a second life and nurturing the child within.
This approach was somewhat similar to what I had done in the dream.
However... it was clear that my methods had been crude.
April would not be so clumsy; she would use her understanding of the true essence of "ordinary" to continuously refine this pursuit.
As for what kind of abilities this foundation of an ordinary soul would shape, even I wasn't entirely sure.
It was like Sister Bai’s Ordinary Subject...
Sister Bai hadn't explained it much. She only gave me twelve words: "Live in the ordinary, experience the ordinary, accept the ordinary."
Sister Bai came from an ordinary society. She had spent nearly ten years in the academy experiencing the "ordinary" of those chasing Transcendence; she had experienced the "ordinary" of commoners in society, the "ordinary" of the wicked in the Expansion Realm, the "ordinary" of her own daily life, and the "ordinary" of emotions when facing love... and finally, she accepted her own ordinariness.
One could say that both Sister Bai and April had their own perspectives and interpretations of "ordinary."
A Subject is like a specific facet of the essence of Transcendence. The way you choose to understand it determines how it responds to you.
And no matter what Subject a person chooses, they will eventually return to the most fundamental Witch Subject.
The Great Witch Subject is not something that needs to be actively studied. The moment the first mana source is placed into the body, bringing about the first Witchification of a life-form, the seed of the Great Witch Subject is imprinted into the essence of that life.
The formation of the Witch Race Concept and bloodline information acts like a passive guide, pushing the life-form to evolve toward becoming a Transcendent Witch.
The Great Witch Subject is like a "mold," while a life-form that has not yet ascended to Transcendence is like a raw casting waiting to be shaped.
Life Level and Life Essence are two different things.
The Great Witch Subject gives meaning to the Life Level once it reaches Transcendence, allowing the being to transform into a true Witch. It allows the Witch Race Concept and bloodline information to define the life-form through the Real Time of Transcendence.
The Great Soul Subject gives meaning to the metamorphosis of the Life Essence. It transforms soul quality into a soul, allowing the concept of life to receive a new interpretation and granting it blessings from the dream.
But... this process takes a long time.
When the Ice Sealed World slipped from April’s right hand, I knew it was my turn to take the stage.
April, in the midst of ascending to a Transcendent Witch, was undoubtedly at her most vulnerable. At least for the current April, her body and spirit were exhausted after all this turmoil; she had no strength left to deal with outside interference.
"Stop her! Don't let her succeed!"
"Open fire! Shoot! Now!"
"Switch to Transcendent bullets! That girl has come out of that space!"
The scene instantly dissolved into chaos. Those fleeing continued to run, while those in charge remained obsessed with the death orders issued by their family.
To them, April was already in the bag; they would not allow the situation to spiral out of control at such a critical moment.
For this, they didn't care if they had to use Transcendent bullets to kill April on the spot. They only needed to get the item she was holding!
With that mindset, they roared to stabilize the crowd, ordering them to maintain continuous fire to suppress their own internal fear of the unknown.
But in the next moment, they felt their surroundings change abruptly.
An invisible pressure descended upon them. The firearms spitting bullets in their hands seemed to have their pause buttons pressed; the violent, continuous vibration of the guns came to a screeching halt.
They witnessed a scene that would shock them for the rest of their lives!
The muzzle flashes of their guns were frozen in place. The bullets exiting the barrels were surrounded by special golden textures, suspended in mid-air, unable to move an inch further.
And at their target, a phantom of a giant tree—indescribable in words—was continuously extending its branches.
A figure stood directly in front of that tree, as if declaring herself its master.
With a gentle wave of that figure's hand, countless golden symbols flooded out like a tide, swallowing the flying bullets. The firearms in their hands were snatched away by an irresistible force, and in the next instant, every single weapon was reduced to a pile of scrap metal by absolute violence.
Then, a clear voice echoed in everyone's ears, forcing them to understand the meaning of the words.
"I will only warn you once. All ordinary people, disperse. Everyone from the Shi'an Bureau, leave the field. I have taken over here. Disobey at your own peril!"
I stood there holding the Book in the Box, wielding Power of Knowledge to disarm everyone in the most violent manner possible.
I have to say, sometimes violence is incredibly efficient.
Especially the Shi'an Bureau, whom I specifically called out. They didn't care about their destroyed weapons anymore; they only knew that the person in front of them was someone they couldn't afford to provoke.
The opponent was definitely an extremely powerful student from the academy—perhaps even at the level of a Wizard Tower Lord!
The Shi'an Bureau was just a place for retired graduates to live out their days. For the meager salary they got every month, why would they risk their lives for this?
"Don't run! Damn it... you useless bunch! Can't you see this person isn't from the Wizard Academy?"
At that moment, the Hawthorne family members saw the Shi'an Bureau turning to flee and began to curse.
But even so, it was futile.
"My lady, we should have no grievances with you, right? People from the Wizard Academy will be here soon. Are you sure you want to oppose the entire Wizard Academy?"
"Heh..." I looked at the man who, despite being suppressed by my domain, still stood firm to question and even threaten me. I only gave a cold laugh. "I've changed my mind. People from the Shi'an Bureau and the Hawthorne family—you can all just stay here quietly!"
As I spoke, the Power of Knowledge within the domain surged again. It transformed into an Annotation Technique, directly sealing everyone's movements.
In an instant, the people from the Shi'an Bureau wanted to curse the Hawthorne family's "pig teammates" to death!
They could have left this den of trouble just a moment ago!
However, I didn't care what these people thought.
That guy just now made me realize that I didn't show up to look cool; I was here to stall for time.
I couldn't let them go out and notify the Wizard Academy. So, after sealing them all, I expanded the range of my domain even further to implement an information blockade!
This way, whether they used phones, alchemy items, wizard tools, or even Transcendent items, they wouldn't be able to send any messages to the outside world.
Any information is a manifestation of data. Even for the Ley Lines, I had my Ley Line Identification Art performing real-time data filtering. Although I couldn't intercept data at the Ley Line level yet, I could perform a physical interception.
Powerful Transcendent force can interfere with and destroy Ley Line data; this is one of the simplest ways to clear it.
The force achieving this spatial lock was, naturally, the Annotation Technique formed by Power of Knowledge.
The compatibility of the Annotation Technique is terrifying. It can integrate with Sealing Arts to create an Annotation Seal; it can transform into Dream Runes to perform special resonance techniques for Dream Overlap; it can carry other powers to serve as a key component within the Omni-Link Main Network Tree to perfect a power network...
But now was not the time to worry about such trivialities.
Ignoring the people within the domain, I also gave everyone a silencing spell. Otherwise, the noise would ruin my experience.
I turned to look at April, who was currently oblivious to everything in the outside world.
At this moment, she seemed to have fallen into a long hibernation.
Only her surging Life Level continued to knock on the door of the Transcendent world again and again. Even I wasn't sure if she would fail.
"She is using the power of her Subject as a foundation to structure her own Life Level, allowing her to stably touch Real Time," Sister Bai explained from the side. As a Witch who had gone through this herself, she naturally understood the process.
However, Sister Bai was still in her "Ordinary" state. No one but me could see her. After all, Sister Bai was a Transcendent Witch; unless necessary, it was best for her not to show her face to avoid unnecessary trouble.
"I see..." I nodded as I listened to Sister Bai's explanation, because I truly did understand.
Only when the Life Level touches Real Time can the Transcendent Witch Race Concept be truly completed. Because the foundation of a Transcendent Witch is Transcendence itself, one must touch Real Time to structure and perfect the complete Witch Race Concept.
Because April's current condition was so poor, it would be more accurate to say she was attempting to ascend to Transcendence with my assistance rather than on her own.
Her entire being gradually transformed into a massive cocoon, supported by the Tree of Great Knowledge within my domain.
I had orchestrated this perfect observation opportunity myself. With the help of the Tree of Great Knowledge, I could gather more data without interfering with April's advancement.
Of course, this cocoon April had turned into was called a "Witch's Cocoon." it was an advancement cocoon formed from the Life Level. It would also serve as the "cradle" for April to reshape her body and achieve a Transcendent body once her Life Level reached Transcendence.
I had pushed for this as well. Advancing to Transcendence can be divided into many stages. It isn't strictly necessary to reshape and obtain a Transcendent body via a Witch's Cocoon the moment the Life Level ascends; it can also be achieved through a gradual transformation of the Life Level.
Neither way is strictly better or worse; they are just different methods.
But naturally, I had to consider my own interests. To witness more processes I had never seen before, I chose this method.
These were things far beyond what I could achieve on my own, yet April was displaying them completely before me. This direct observation and the sensations it brought were a magical experience that the words in books could never describe, no matter how many thousands of times they were written.
I looked at the data being recorded by the Tree of Great Knowledge. April's Life Level, nearing Real Time, repeatedly brushed against the boundary of Transcendence. This process was like a newborn life's heartbeat, knocking on the door of life, announcing its arrival.
The perfection of the Witch Race Concept, the incubation of a new Witch, the writing of the racial bloodline... the continuous refinement of these processes was the birth of a new life and, more importantly, the ritual of ascending to a Transcendent Witch.
April's consciousness seemed immersed in the power woven by her own Subject.
Perhaps there, she would personally shatter her past life. She would raise herself again in her own way. She would clearly feel the fulfillment and satisfaction brought by an ordinary life, for that was the thing she yearned for but had never experienced.
But these abstract, imagery-based matters were trials that only April herself could face.
What I cared about more was the process of advancement itself.
The boundary of Transcendence seemed to be just a single line—the sole benchmark for measuring Life Level. After all, this world only had False Time and Real Time.
Although I couldn't touch Real Time myself, the blessing of the Main World, "Spirit Vision," allowed me to catch a glimpse of its splendor in advance.
The reason ascending to a Transcendent Witch was so complex... was mainly due to the reshaping of the race concept at the moment of reaching Transcendence.
After all, Transcendence is Transcendence. It relies on the Life Level touching Real Time, and the Life Level also needs the race concept and bloodline information to balance the concept of life with the existence of the physical body.
One could say that ascending to Transcendence is a sophisticated chain reaction.
The race concept carried by the Life Level defines the racial existence, the bloodline information defines the physical composition, and the information compiled upon it by the race, and so on.
Life Level is the "thickness" of the Life Essence measured from another dimension.
At the moment the Life Essence touches Real Time through the advancement to Transcendence, they all complete the integration of life!
By structuring the Transcendent race concept upon Transcendence, life breaks free from the world's operating mechanisms, allowing life to be truly held in the hands of the living being itself.
This is the ritual of ascending to Transcendence.
Therefore, ascending to Transcendence is not without its thresholds or difficulties. It isn't something that happens naturally by doing nothing; all the obstacles to advancement must be overcome by oneself.
It's just that everyone's path is different...
And the Ley Line Shackles are the first threshold of perception. Only by crossing the threshold of perception is one qualified to touch higher realms.
Just as I was immersed in the enlightenment of the advancement ritual, the students from the Wizard Academy finally arrived.
They were the students sent to handle the final cleanup. Even they had no idea what they were about to face.
"More small fry coming in... how annoying..." The moment those wizard apprentices crossed the boundary of my domain and entered the range of my perception, I felt their presence immediately.