Chapter 854: The Symbiosis of "Life" and "Knowledge"
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 854: The Symbiosis of "Life" and "Knowledge"
I remember the Academy Dean telling me that once one embarks upon a Great Soul Subject, the Soul Dream bestowed upon them cannot be used for any kind of experimentation.
This is because, in essence, it is a dreamscape constructed by the soul. Its rules are entirely different from those of reality; at most, it possesses a few simple physical laws paved by the inertia of shallow perception.
But now, I can clearly tell the Dean that such a claim is merely a prejudice born from a reality-centric perspective.
At this moment, I stand on the other side of the Soul Dream.
What towers here is no longer the Tree of Great Knowledge, but a giant tree sprouted from a Fool's Dream Seed.
For now... let’s call it the Tree of Great Wisdom Enlightenment.
Though... in the end, I didn't quite shape it into the form I originally envisioned.
While the current scale of the Tree of Great Wisdom Enlightenment cannot compare to the Tree of Great Knowledge, its size is still nothing to scoff at.
Here, the Fool's Dream spirits have established an even grander Fool's Village, for this Tree of Great Wisdom Enlightenment is the true cradle of their origin.
The Fool's Village over by the Tree of Great Knowledge exists more for play and study.
After all, within the Soul Dream, I first brought the original Fool's Dream spirits under the Tree of Great Knowledge specifically to play.
And the Fool's Dream spirits categorized learning and playing as equally important—or rather, as the same thing. To acquire knowledge through play, to practice it, to understand it...
Yu Xing accompanied me to many places. Although I could understand these locations with a single thought—this being my Soul Dream, after all—I still took tireless pleasure in admiring every masterpiece the Fool's Dream spirits had created.
Finally... we arrived beneath the Tree of Great Wisdom Enlightenment.
Before entering the Soul Dream, I had hoped to combine the [Transcendent Knowledge] fragment with the Fool's Dream Seed, using that as a breakthrough to architecture the Tree of Great Wisdom Enlightenment of my heart.
But once my consciousness entered the Soul Dream, even I didn't expect that the [Transcendent Knowledge] would choose not to merge with the homologous Fool's Dream Seed, but with me instead.
This was clearly a revelation. Once the Tree of Great Wisdom Enlightenment decided to break free from the framework of a Great Spellbook, it could no longer be replicated using the model of the Tree of Great Knowledge.
It chose a more direct path: pulling me into the cycle of [Transcendent Knowledge] shaping, making me a part of the final product.
A Great Spellbook is essentially an external object. Only through gradual synchronization and use does it lose its "external" quality and become one of the abilities mastered by a witch.
This is a standard part of the spellbook system created by witches.
However, this [Transcendent Knowledge] clearly skipped the "external object" phase from the very beginning.
This meant that from the moment this power was formed, it would be an entirely inseparable part of me!
The relationship between this power and me is now quite subtle.
No one can give me any reference for this.
But if I had to describe it, it feels more like a seed, waiting for me to irrigate it until it blooms.
This [Transcendent Knowledge] is not a tool I can wield at will right now; it is more like a part of me that has granted its recognition.
And I need to use this power to continuously push the Fool's Dream spirits toward the height of true life.
Having moved past so-called "power anxiety," transcendence is finally returning to its proper essence. Not all transcendent powers are born to achieve greater destructive force. By stepping out of the framework where power equals authority among living beings, transcendence is beginning to sprout more beautiful branches.
Namely, the aesthetics of defining life.
By stepping outside the framework of the Great Wisdom Enlightenment Art, the technique of Soul Depiction has become more intuitive. Granting life to the Fool's Dream spirits seems to have become something within easy reach.
Though these are all unpracticed ideas, they signal to me that when one stops overcomplicating things, success is no longer far off.
It’s like a child just starting kindergarten who fears the teacher testing them on addition and subtraction within a hundred, whereas an adult wouldn't give it a second thought.
I stepped forward and gently pressed my hand against the Tree of Great Wisdom Enlightenment. Thanks to a more systematic transcription, I could clearly experience the memories blooming within it.
Compared to "Tree of Great Wisdom Enlightenment," the name that fits it better at this stage is actually the "Fool's Dream Origin Tree."
After all, the former was my unfinished plan for it, while the latter is its true essence.
If the growth of the Tree of Great Knowledge stems from the constant irrigation of memories, knowledge, and information, then the "Fool's Dream Origin Tree" operates on a similar principle.
However, what it gathers are the memories created by the Fool's Dream spirits at every waking moment.
After all, it was originally the Fool's Dream Scroll; its essence remains the same.
Furthermore... as the memories of the Fool's Dream spirits began to fill with the knowledge from the Tree of Great Knowledge, I discovered that a special connection, with knowledge as the bond, was being established between the Fool's Dream Origin Tree and the Tree of Great Knowledge.
Between them, they constructed a "Dual Tree Structure" far sturdier than before.
The difference was that previously, the balance was maintained by two Great Spellbooks built from two pieces of [Transcendent Knowledge]. Now, they have achieved homology on a different level, a connection more profound than words can describe.
Gradually... I discarded my original plan, and the outline of a brand-new scheme emerged in my mind.
Before, I was obsessed with "knowledge" and "wisdom" complementing each other, which is what led to the birth of the Dual Tree Structure.
But there is actually another mode that doesn't necessarily require them to be complementary. Another form, which is... the symbiosis between life and knowledge!
In truth, although the [Transcendent Knowledge] of the Tree of Great Knowledge is essentially based on the concept of "plant growth," under my deconstruction, its concept has already completed a conversion into the trait of "knowledge."
The understanding and interpretation of concepts are products of cognition from different perspectives.
Perhaps the [Transcendent Knowledge] of the original Tree of Great Wisdom Enlightenment wasn't a concept "oriented toward life," but under my cognition, it became that concept.
Thus, the symbiosis of "life" and "knowledge" also fits the current Dual Tree Structure.
I once boldly declared that only power I thoroughly dominated truly belonged to me—that power must be an extension of my will.
And now... the interpretation of concepts is the same. Since it can be done according to my thoughts, why not do it?
Moreover... the symbiosis of knowledge and life explains another issue: the name of the Great Wisdom Enlightenment Art.
Dean Mei Lind once said that this was the most fitting name for this Great Spellbook.
She wasn't wrong.
Life stores knowledge, and through practice, it explores, summarizes, and applies that knowledge. Is that not the very expression of wisdom's enlightenment?
It’s just that the Dean overlooked that knowledge is a component of wisdom's enlightenment, viewing it instead as an independent entity of the Great Spellbook. For the Witch Academy, however, acquiring knowledge is so easy that it is naturally the most easily ignored factor.
So... the framework I envisioned has already been built.
The [Transcendent Knowledge] I currently hold is both the key to making the Fool's Dream spirits into life and the root of power for the Fool's Dream race itself.
That sounds a bit abstract.
Perhaps it should be expressed like this...
Witches turn [Transcendent Knowledge] into Great Spellbooks; thus, the Great Spellbook is the power represented by that [Transcendent Knowledge].
The Game World uses an entire civilized world as the hub of their civilization; thus, that civilized world and its technology are the vessels carrying that [Transcendent Knowledge], as well as the manifestation of its power.
And the Fool's Dream spirits... they pursue life through themselves. With "self becoming life" as the vessel to carry [Transcendent Knowledge], the Fool's Dream race itself is the power represented by that [Transcendent Knowledge].
Great Spellbooks, civilized societies, the Fool's Dream race... many concepts can become vessels for [Transcendent Knowledge]. From what I know, there are even those who turn [Transcendent Knowledge] into weapons.
There has never been a rule stating what the vessel of [Transcendent Knowledge] must be.
And I... as the Sage of the Fool's Dream race, will lead them toward glory!
The first step of this journey is to make them true living beings.
But I do not like ruling, nor do I wish for the Fool's Dream spirits to become tools in my hands. Perhaps they would be perfectly happy to be weapons for me, but I am unwilling for them to exist as such.
As they become life, they should enjoy the freedom that life entails—the freedom to decide what they want to do and who they want to be.
However, there is a contradictory point before this can be put into practice: before they become true life, my every thought, idea, and expectation constantly influences them. They will unconsciously become what I expect them to be, rather than what they decide to be themselves.
The most direct example is... their cat-girl forms.
This was a decision I made for them unilaterally. Even if I return their freedom to them, they likely still wouldn't choose any other appearance.
It is a nearly unsolvable contradiction. From the very beginning, it goes against my original intent, yet I wish for it to be so... I could even call my own behavior "double standards."
But...
The plasticity of life is something only possessed the moment one becomes life. And so-called freedom is a freedom one can only enjoy after becoming life.
Even if they voluntarily acknowledge me, that too is their freedom.
With this explanation, it seems my "standards" can accommodate my selfishness.
Perhaps I shouldn't have made such a rational judgment from the start. After all, I’m not some absolute, desireless saint.
I only need to ensure that my selfishness does not become their shackles. That is enough.
* * *
The Reality Realm.
The Primitive Dream Realm Calamity that occurred in the Expansion Realm did not cause much of a stir in Core World society; many people weren't even aware of it.
After all, this incident only affected the Transcendents and a few students of the Transcendent Academies. There was no need for the Core World to be in an uproar over it.
However, precisely because it affected those at the Transcendent level, the frequent movements between the various Transcendent Academies made their students feel uneasy.
The gambits and negotiations between Transcendents naturally didn't reach the ears of the students.
The various Transcendent Academies had lost a dozen or so Transcendents each—some even dozens. This was a crippling blow to them.
Initially, they absolutely could not accept this outcome. But constrained by the Witch Academy's advance notice, most academies knew there was something fishy going on.
As for the Witch Academy's explanation?
They didn't believe a single word of it!
But just as they were considering whether to turn hostile, the Witch Academy proposed a "win-win cooperation" rescue mission.
At first, the other Transcendent Academies refused. Considering safety, they were truly afraid that another "Dream Calamity" would strike and trap the rescue team in the Primitive Dream Realm as well.
But as time passed, the various academies gradually began to agree to the cooperation. This period of hesitation didn't even last a day.
It was clear that the pressure caused by the Transcendents lost in the Primitive Dream Realm was immense for the academies.
Of course, the witches were also pulling strings behind the scenes.
While the joint rescue plan was getting underway with great fanfare, the witches elsewhere were looking rather grim.
Among them was Mei Lind.
She had been profoundly shocked upon learning that Xiao Han's Great Wisdom Enlightenment Great Spellbook had shattered.
After all, that was a Great Spellbook!
But after speaking with Bai Yu... Mei Lind sighed and didn't press the matter further.
To be able to say, "Even a Great Spellbook cannot be an obstacle to her"—Mei Lind had to admit she couldn't compare to Xiao Han. Even she couldn't say something like that with such conviction.
Even though... she too had experienced the loss of a Great Spellbook.
It was only over the years that she had gradually accepted the fact of her spellbook's collapse. She had used practical action to reshape her own power, making herself stronger than ever before she could look back at her past recklessness.
Even now, she wouldn't dare claim that a Great Spellbook couldn't hinder her.
To think otherwise was equivalent to admitting that a Great Spellbook was the upper limit of what one could achieve, but few people could actively realize this.
However... the destruction of the Great Spellbook wasn't the reason for Mei Lind and the others' unease.
What they were worried about now was Xiao Han herself!
After destroying the Great Spellbook and stating she needed to reorganize her own power, Xiao Han had completely lost communication with them.
Even through Bai Yu's special communication channel via the Tree of Great Knowledge, there wasn't a single word.
Even they found it hard to determine if Xiao Han had met with an accident or if she was simply in a state where she absolutely could not be disturbed by the outside world.
The Witch Academy was currently actively cooperating with the rescue efforts in the Primitive Dream Realm, also hoping to find Xiao Han, but the results had been fruitless.
Xiao Han's physical shell showed no fluctuations of soul or consciousness. Therefore... Xiao Han had to still be within the Primitive Dream Realm.
Time continued to pass.
The accumulated unease was steadily mounting...
Until... Bai Yu felt that familiar soul aura upon Xiao Han's body!
Xiao Han was back!