Chapter 894: Ancient Remnant Ice and the Great Glacial Throne Technique
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 894: Ancient Remnant Ice and the Great Glacial Throne Technique
"You're not dead, obviously. Your soul and consciousness were just squeezed out of your body by the pressure of the Primitive Dream Realm."
I hurried forward to steady Long, preventing her from sliding any deeper into the depths of the Primitive Dream Realm.
"That’s impossible, isn't it? There’s actually a power that can bypass my Body Cultivation and shove my soul essence right out of its husk?" Long spoke instinctively, her face practically screaming, 'I have definitely never seen this before.'
"It just goes to show your understanding of the Primitive Dream Realm is still lacking. It’s not too late to learn how dangerous it is now," I said with a smile, pulling her back.
As I did, I shifted her physical body away as well, fearing she wouldn't be able to reintegrate her soul while so close to the Primitive Dream Realm.
After waiting a short while, Long slowly pushed herself up from the laboratory floor.
It seemed that, aside from experiencing soul-body separation during the throes of combat, she didn't usually let her soul leave her body. That would explain why she was so poorly adjusted to the sensation.
"Ahem... that feeling... was certainly interesting," Long said, smoothing out her disheveled appearance after standing up.
"How did it feel?" Muli asked from the side, clearly enjoying the show.
"It felt like being momentarily stunned by someone specializing in mental attacks. Plus, being separated from my body wasn't pleasant—there was this overwhelming sense of helplessness," Long replied, reflecting on the experience for the benefit of the other two.
She stretched her limbs, quickly returning to her peak state. After all, she was a Body Cultivator; she knew her own vessel better than anyone.
"Heh~ So, don't go looking for trouble if you can help it. Look at you—marching in all confident only to drop like a light. Seriously, don't push yourself," Muli remarked, her tone laced with a hint of schadenfreude.
"I just lacked experience. But honestly, an environment like that is perfect for tempering one's mental strength and will. It would be great if places like this could be made accessible to everyone."
"Keep that thought for the future. It’s not possible right now," I reminded her.
"Is it a technical limitation?" Long asked.
"More or less. Currently, there's no way to maintain the Primitive Dream Realm long-term. Its existence is only stabilized by my Dream Domain, which is why I haven't been able to leave this lab."
"Fair enough. I was just speaking hypothetically."
Having gained a general understanding of the laboratory's situation, the three witches prepared to depart.
The lab was a place of efficiency, not a museum for sightseeing where one could linger indefinitely. Since the three of them knew nothing of the technical specialties involved, they felt somewhat out of place.
After exchanging contact information via the Great Knowledge Seed, they made their move to leave. If they encountered any problems, they could contact me directly through the seed.
However, after leading the others out, Dean Mei Lind left a temporary clone behind.
"Is there something else, Sister Mei?" I asked, looking at the remaining clone.
"Yes. Your eyes..." Mei Lind had sensed it the moment she entered, but she hadn't asked directly until now.
"I'm trying to embrace Spirit Vision. I realized I was using it in a fundamentally flawed way, so I want to correct my path," I explained calmly, as if it were a trivial matter.
"Floating World... I don't know how you are enduring power of that magnitude. Perhaps the path life sought at the dawn of its birth allowed you to ignore its presence in another way, but trying to pick it up now will be incredibly difficult."
"That’s why I’m adapting~ Several of the older witches have already told me that the way I look at them is creepy..." I said jokingly.
"At your current level, honestly, it’s a massive strain. Most witches in our race wouldn't dare touch the 'Threshold of Madness' of Real Time—that’s a level where you either live or die."
"But I skipped that threshold from the very beginning. Still... Spirit Vision presents you with the perspective of Real Time regardless. That requires an immense level of life essence. At this stage, you can't just hand-wave it away by saying you're 'adapting.'"
"Sister Mei~ You really don't need to worry about me so much. You've given me so much care and indulgence... but that also means I haven't had many chances to grow through the wind and rain."
"But your current progress has already surpassed what is considered reasonable. You don't need to be in such a rush."
"Since you put it that way, Sister Mei, aren't you admitting that I could grow even faster if you weren't holding me back?"
"I..."
Mei Lind swallowed her words. The logic was, indeed, sound.
What was she afraid of? Was she afraid Xiao Han was growing too fast? Or was she afraid Xiao Han would encounter danger?
"Sister Mei, there are no shortcuts to growth. 'Fast' is just an attitude of pursuit. No matter how quickly I grow, I can't outpace a pure-blood witch who is born as a Transcendent Witch."
"..." Mei Lind fell silent. No one knew what was crossing her mind in that moment. "Heh~ Is Xiao Han starting to lecture me now?"
"No, no! How could I? I just wanted to express my thoughts!" I said, waving my hands frantically.
"It’s fine, I don't mind. It’s just that what you said reminded me of a certain Rebel Witch," Mei Lind said, shaking her head. "Since you've put it that way, I'll leave you to it. Just don't go and get yourself killed, or I'll have to work overtime."
Mei Lind had hesitated before saying that last part. Originally, she wanted to say, "If you get yourself killed, I won't save you," but she changed her mind at the last second.
The deeper implication of that original sentence would have been: If you listen to me, I'll protect you; if you don't, I'll abandon you.
Those weren't the words an educator should say; they were the mental shackles of someone with a pathological need for control.
Was that the relationship between her and Xiao Han?
She didn't think it should be.
"Thanks for understanding, Sister Mei! Don't worry, I value my life! Have you ever seen me do anything without being mentally prepared?"
"And this time? Spirit Vision doesn't listen to reason. To be honest, if you hadn't severed the Ley Line Shackles and accepted the Luck Seed, the World Consciousness would have guaranteed your survival no matter what you did. After all, Spirit Vision is a blessing bestowed by the World Consciousness upon the people of this world. But you..."
"The 'Child of Destiny' treatment, right? I don't need it. I have my own methods," I said firmly.
The "other methods" I referred to were the Soul Depiction techniques I used to elevate my soul's level!
Though only two days had passed, I had already more or less mapped out a path. After all, the power of Soul Depiction in terms of soul essence and soul shaping was undeniable.
Combined with the experience of soul ascension I had felt through Shi Ruizhi, the rest was simple. Many things follow the rule of "either zero times or infinite times."
Soul Depiction was no exception.
"Fine. Seeing how confident you are, I'll trust you one more time," Mei Lind said, preparing to dissipate her clone.
"Wait! Sister Mei, did you leave a clone just to talk about this?" I quickly stopped her.
"Of course. What else? Ask about your Dream Life research progress? Or samples of Dream State Soul Essence? I'm not a specialist in this field; knowing the gist is enough." As a veteran witch, Mei Lind understood the importance of focus.
Over a long lifespan, a witch's chosen research project became the anchor of her life. She might try many new things, but those were merely interludes—seasoning on the long, dry road of her primary subject. They wouldn't change her path.
And the path she had chosen... was a subject that was tedious to the extreme.
"Then... can I ask you a few questions? Don't worry~ they're just small things! Definitely not the kind of profound questions that even you wouldn't know the answer to!" I added quickly.
"Sure~ Ask away if you're curious," Mei Lind said with a confident smile.
As the Dean, she usually only interacted with other witches. Within the academy, the only "child" she could really talk to—aside from Xiao Han—was practically non-existent.
Of course, that didn't count the times she used clones to walk the academy under a different identity.
But honestly, ever since Xiao Han started asking questions she couldn't answer, she had been feeling quite a bit of pressure. Now that Xiao Han promised not to ask those kinds of questions, she was naturally interested.
"Sister Mei, you should know about the Glacial Throne Secret Realm that's been active lately, right?"
"Oh? That? Why the sudden curiosity?" Mei Lind relaxed upon hearing the topic, as she knew exactly what was going on there.
"I'm very curious. Why did the academy suddenly do this? Is it... just to reassemble that Great Spellbook? That thing has been shattered for a long time, hasn't it?"
"It’s certainly not just for the Great Spellbook," Mei Lind said, shaking her head slightly.
"So that means it is part of the reason?"
"You catch on quick, Xiao Han. Actually, the ones who want it aren't necessarily us... or rather, not just us."
"Other Transcendent Academies?" Hearing the Dean's words, I immediately thought of what Sheryl had told me. "Can that Great Spellbook still be traded to that Game World for their Terminal of Myriad Worlds?"
"Mhm, mhm..." Mei Lind nodded instinctively, then immediately realized how much information that one "mhm" had given away.
Her smile vanished as she looked at me.
"Cough... I see. Um... actually, I wasn't planning on caring about that..." I quickly changed the subject. Mei Lind had clearly realized that I knew something about the Game World.
And the only person Mei Lind could think of who would tell me such things was that Rebel Witch, Sheryl.
"I actually wanted to ask about those... 'Ice Crystal Monsters' in the Glacial Throne Secret Realm. They're very strange." I shifted the topic. I knew about the monsters' traits through the Great Knowledge Seed.
"Fine..." Mei Lind didn't press the previous point. She couldn't stop Xiao Han from interacting with that Rebel Witch, and she certainly couldn't stop the Rebel Witch from approaching Xiao Han.
"Those Ice Crystal Monsters are indeed special. You remember the Life Incubation Project I mentioned a few days ago? The monsters in that secret realm are products of that project. They have a name, one you're likely familiar with: Ancient Remnant Ice."
"Those are Ancient Remnant Ice?!" My eyes widened. But... it did make sense.
"Yes. Though unfortunately, while that lifeform existed in the void very early on, the race was swallowed by the passage of time. It was only through this experiment that it was revived."
"Wait... wasn't this secret realm supposed to be an experimental site for the Great Spellbook, the Great Glacial Throne Technique?" I asked, confused.
"Experiments with overlapping traits often share resources. You know that, right? The Ancient Remnant Ice Transformation is a fragment of the Great Glacial Throne Technique. The transformation originates from the Ancient Remnant Ice race, but the transformation in turn helped complete the Great Glacial Throne Technique."
"..."
"Without the Ancient Remnant Ice Transformation, the [Transcendent Knowledge] that formed the Great Glacial Throne Technique might not have become that specific spellbook. It might have become something like... a Great Glacial Technique. It’s just like how your Tree of Great Knowledge is related to the Myriad Methods Bookshelf, right?"
"I understand." I nodded immediately. I had understood the principle from the start.
[Transcendent Knowledge] is the core, while the essence of a Great Spellbook is the spellbook itself. Once you have the spellbook, it becomes a Great Spellbook.
In other words, [Transcendent Knowledge] can take any form its traits allow; it all depends on how a person understands and defines it.
Just as my "Tree of Great Knowledge" could just as easily have been a "Great Grass-Growing Technique."
"I see. So... is the academy really not going to interfere with that secret realm anymore?"
"Nominally, we won't."
"What if Tan Han and the others die in there?" I pressed.
"Do you have the power to save them?"
"I do."
"Then that isn't a question for me," Mei Lind said with a shrug.
"The Main World Script doesn't belong to anyone. Anyone with the power to interfere can shape it into whatever they like. I am no exception, you are no exception, and even the people inside the script are no exception."
Mei Lind knew exactly what she was saying: go ahead and do what you want to do. There's no need for hesitation—provided you can bear the cost of your actions.
"I understand."