Chapter 849: Meat on the Chopping Block, Ready for the Slaughter
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 849: Meat on the Chopping Block, Ready for the Slaughter
The eeriness of the Primitive Dream Realm and its disordered rules, which defied reality, formed a chasm that blocked the exploration of dreamscapes by conscious minds from the physical world.
It was much like how the races of the Void rose from weakness to the Transcendent level. Only when their life level touched "Real Time" did these races truly realize just how vast the Void actually was.
The term "Real Time" bore the prefix "Real" because the first generation of great beings who explored it had been so moved by the unprecedented sights they discovered that they believed it to be the only true world.
Using Real Time as a foundation, Transcendents achieved a leap in their ability to utilize Void energy. The essence of this ability was a cognitive breakthrough. Even a Transcendent who knew nothing of the theory behind Real Time could instinctively perform basic applications of it.
It was like two lives born into primitive and civilized societies respectively; even without a systematic education, everything they encountered during their growth would be internalized as instinctual adaptation.
Sheryl turned these thoughts over in her mind. Only through such an explanation could she truly grasp the sheer magnitude of the Primitive Dream Realm’s status.
And she had to admit, the shock brought to her by the little witch before her—Yang Yuehan—far surpassed that of any genius she had ever encountered!
Just look at that massive Body of Order within the Primitive Dream Realm. Every movement triggered the reorganization or dissipation of the realm's inherent chaos. Even an entire dream world was being toyed with between her palms.
This was the level of power a "preparatory" Truth Witch should display!
At this moment, Sheryl’s eyes held nothing but an indescribable fanaticism, completely ignoring the fact that she herself was still drifting within the Primitive Dream Realm.
It wasn't just Sheryl. More than half of the Expansion Realm had been swept up by the Primitive Dream Realm, and those caught within it had similarly fallen into a trance.
However, most people currently in the midst of a night’s sleep had no sense of reality; they merely felt as though they were having an exceptionally vivid dream.
Their life essence made it difficult for them to peer through the illusions of the Primitive Dream Realm to see its true form. Only a few individuals caught a stray glimpse of the sky—of that colossal figure spanning the galaxy—but before they could see her clearly, they plummeted back into a deeper layer of the dream.
* * *
Within the Primitive Dream Realm.
I watched as the Fool's Village dream in my hand emitted a clear, translucent light. This was my first attempt at letting the order of my Dream Domain completely dominate a specific dreamscape.
The dream gradually condensed into a seed, which I gently pressed into the space between my eyebrows.
I didn't have much time to deal with the issues of Fool's Village right now. My priority was to quickly resolve the disaster the Primitive Dream Realm was inflicting upon the Expansion Realm.
My eyes slowly opened, and I finally took notice of the world spread out before me.
Intuition told me that this was the Expansion Realm.
And this... was the first time I had observed the Expansion Realm from such a perspective. It was beautiful—like an exquisite, person-sized replica of a world model.
I rested my hand lightly upon this massive "model" of the Expansion Realm.
Countless deposits of information kicked up like dust at my touch. I could feel nearly infinite consciousnesses floating atop the Primitive Dream Realm... Were these the consciousnesses of the Expansion Realm's natives?!
In an instant, I realized the gravity of what I had done.
So many people's consciousnesses had been dragged into the Primitive Dream Realm?
I have to admit, facing so many "innocent" people, I felt a brief flash of panic before a strange calm settled over me.
The life and death of these people seemed to hang on my every whim, yet I felt no "reality" to it. It was the feeling of a human presiding over the lives of ants.
Humans never feel true sympathy for ants.
Even though I was seriously reminding myself that these consciousnesses belonged to humans just like me, I found that I still lacked empathy for them.
Was this the "indifference" that Transcendents felt toward non-Transcendents?
Even though I hadn't officially become a Transcendent yet, I found this mindset terrifying. And watching my own psyche shift this way without being able to stop it was even more horrifying!
However... from a rational perspective, these natives were crucial to the development of the Expansion Realm. After all, population is the foundation of a world's social and economic growth.
So, regardless of the reason, I needed to save these ordinary people trapped by the Primitive Dream Realm.
I reached out my hand. The power of my domain's order spread out into countless threads of Power of Knowledge. These threads connected to the lost consciousnesses, anchoring them to reality so they could naturally return to the physical world.
As for how to make the Primitive Dream Realm recede from reality... that was something even I was powerless to do.
It was like how human civilization invented nuclear weapons but could not easily eliminate the resulting radiation.
However, once the consciousnesses of those ordinary people were anchored by my Power of Knowledge, they would be immune to being swept away and lost by the Primitive Dream Realm for a period of time.
Most of these consciousnesses were gathered in shelters or nearby locations. The only slightly troublesome area was the Ninglan Territory, as it housed several shelters, sanctuaries, and the core city, Ninglan New City.
But for me, it was merely a matter of time.
With the Tree of Great Knowledge and its dream-reconstructed counterpart, I could dual-locate individuals between the dream and reality to anchor them. Such a massive workload was, to me, nothing more than waiting for a spell's data processing to finish.
While processing these consciousnesses, I discovered a few special existences...
Specifically, in the core area that had been weighing on my mind.
From the ley line data, I learned that the elves had named this place the "Top of the Abyssal Chasm." It was here that nearly all the Transcendents' consciousnesses were gathered.
Naturally, I wouldn't just send these consciousnesses back as I had with the ordinary people.
Compared to those guys, I was more concerned about Sister Bai.
From our previous communications, I knew that Sister Bai and the Deans were all here. Since the Primitive Dream Realm had expanded so suddenly, they must have been caught in it as well.
"Found them..." With a mere thought, the ley line data within the Primitive Dream Realm quickly marked their locations for me.
Finding them was simple, especially since they weren't trying to hide.
With a flick of my wrist, a vast amount of information transformed into a scroll that unfurled before me.
I had manifested this in the form of a Dream Scroll, as this appearance served better as a platform for dialogue.
As my Power of Knowledge expanded and anchored, I "invited" them all over.
The reason I didn't immediately take them back to reality was that I wanted to ask how to handle the Transcendents from the other academies.
Though I had my own ideas—such as "better to kill a thousand by mistake than let one enemy go"—I had to consider the position of the Witch Academy.
After all, the number of Transcendents affected this time... was a bit too high.
When they tried to assassinate me last time, only Transcendents from the Dragon Blood Academy died. But here... people from all the top Transcendent academies were gathered!
Some academies had a dozen Transcendents present; others had dozens!
If they all got lost in the Primitive Dream Realm, "crippling" wouldn't even begin to describe the losses those academies would suffer.
* * *
Among the group from the Witch Academy.
"Oh~ Xiao Han noticed us," Mei Lind remarked.
Immediately after, she felt a familiar Power of Knowledge and a powerful aura of order guiding her toward the massive, unfurled scroll.
"Time to go. Let's see what kind of massive commotion Xiao Han has stirred up." Bev Alanna also excitedly accepted the anchor of Power of Knowledge. In an instant, the witches were whisked across immeasurable dream distances.
When they landed steadily upon the giant scroll, they found that it wasn't blank.
However, they couldn't see the contents clearly or in full; they could only vaguely discern patterns that looked like a child's random doodles.
Yet, as they stepped upon it, the surface was unexpectedly smooth.
Once Bai Yu and the two Deans arrived, Mei Lind spotted another figure being drawn in from a different direction.
It was the Rebel Witch, Sheryl.
"What a coincidence~ You're all here?" Sheryl greeted Mei Lind’s group quite sincerely upon seeing them.
"It's a surprise to see you here as well. Perhaps you should thank Xiao Han for bringing you along," Mei Lind replied.
"Of course! Don't have so much prejudice against us Rebel Witches, okay? It's not like I don't know how to be grateful~"
As they spoke, several more figures appeared on the scroll.
These newcomers were in a wretched state, some even being tossed onto the scroll quite roughly. They formed a stark, jarring contrast to the witches.
Mei Lind quickly recognized them—they were all Transcendents from the other academies!
However, they were currently in a miserable condition, seemingly tortured by dream creatures to the point where their mental states were unstable.
Fortunately, their Transcendent life levels had prevented the dream creatures from tearing them to shreds completely.
But if they wanted to live a normal life after this... it would be difficult. They would likely be left with indelible psychological scars.
"Sister Bai~ Deans, and... you Witch sisters, are you all alright?"
I looked at the figures standing on the scroll and asked. If their condition was poor, I would send them back to reality immediately.
"Xiao Han, we're fine. But you... your current state..." Bai Yu was the first to speak, her voice full of concern.
"Me? I'm doing better than ever~ Though these guys don't seem to be doing so well." I rested one hand on the edge of the scroll and pointed at the other Transcendents with a smile.
"Bai Yu, let me talk to Xiao Han," Mei Lind said, stepping forward.
"Okay..." Bai Yu hesitated for a second before nodding.
"Xiao Han, you brought us here because you want to ask how to handle these people, right?"
"Huh? Sister Mei, you guessed it already? I was just about to ask~" I replied, slightly surprised.
Given the current situation, however, anyone with eyes could see what was happening.
I really wasn't sure what to do with these people. After all, they were tied to the overall situation of the Main World.
While I was talking to Dean Mei, many of the Transcendents who had been tormented by the dream creatures began to recover their wits.
With my appearance, many dream creatures had fled in terror, leaving these people behind. They truly did owe me their lives for that stroke of luck.
"I knew it! This was all a plot by you witches! You set us all up!"
"What a grand scheme you witches have. I didn't expect your research into the Primitive Dream Realm to have reached such a terrifying level. You did this just to trap us all here?"
"Let us go, and we can still negotiate. Do you witches really want to see the Main World buried alongside you!"
Mei Lind and I looked at each other and instinctively laughed. It seemed some people still hadn't recognized the reality of their situation.
The few who had recognized it didn't even dare to open their mouths.
"Sister Mei, these guys know way too much. If you ask for my personal opinion, I'd rather they didn't return to reality at all. Just say the word, and I have a hundred ways to make them vanish into the deepest parts of the Primitive Dream Realm, never to return."
"Sigh~ Xiao Han, don't be so extreme. They are, after all, important frontline scholars from various Transcendent academies. Their value is worth far more than their lives."
Mei Lind and I played off each other, instantly silencing the crowd.
The feeling of deciding others' lives and deaths in casual conversation was a surreal experience for both sides.
"Then what should we do with them?"
"Maximize their value, of course."
"But... they know so much. If we let them go..." I said, feigning a troubled expression.
"I! We are willing to sign the strictest Witch Contract! We swear we won't reveal a single word!"
Suddenly, a figure resembling a Holy Angel among the Transcendents shouted at the top of his lungs. His voice was so shrill it was hard to believe he was a Transcendent Holy Angel.
"Dammit! You spineless birdman!"
Seeing someone fold so quickly, a wizard nearby began to curse. Clearly, he was still hoping to gamble—betting that the Witch Academy wouldn't dare target so many Transcendents at once.
But the birdman's preemptive surrender had destroyed their only leverage.
In the next heartbeat, the wizard who had shouted was sent flying by a massive force, tumbling off the scroll and into the deep layers of the Primitive Dream Realm.
This sudden turn of events forced them to face the truth once more.
They were nothing more than fatty meat on a chopping block, left entirely to the witches' mercy!
I pulled back my hand, watching the consciousness plummet into the abyss with total indifference. I felt no internal stirrings, only thinking that dying like that was far too easy for him.
Mei Lind, seeing me daze out, thought I was worried I had gone too far.
"Don't worry about them, Xiao Han. The Witch Academy already issued a prior warning about the Dreamscape Calamity in the Expansion Realm. We have more than enough reason to publicly distance the academy's reputation from these losses."
"You! You witches really did set this trap in advan— I... I didn't say anything..."
Hearing Mei Lind's words, one man started to protest in indignation, but he shut his mouth instantly when he met my threatening gaze.