Chapter 912: Success in Stages for the Primitive Dream Realm Domain Experiment
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 912: Success in Stages for the Primitive Dream Realm Domain Experiment
Time flew by, and before long, the semester was drawing to a close.
The lower-year students had already begun reviewing for their upcoming finals. Of course, this didn't mean they were cramming theoretical knowledge. With the assistance of Knowledge Seeds, the difficulty of learning theory had dropped significantly compared to previous years.
To maintain balance, however, the Academy had gradually increased the focus on combat training for these junior students. Even without sufficient Mana Sources or Spellbooks, they could tap into the power granted by the "Academy" by connecting to its integrated Power Network.
Furthermore, the Academy had further reduced the distribution of Mana Sources and Spellbooks to freshmen. The only remaining channels for students to acquire them were limited to private trades with upperclassmen. Eventually, the Academy’s curriculum would phase out the use of Mana Sources and Spellbooks entirely.
This approach was a slow, root-level solution to the proliferation of these items. It also addressed the issue of power lingering outside the Academy's control after graduation, ensuring that no "black market" for Mana Sources and Spellbooks could thrive beyond its walls.
In truth, witches weren't afraid of Mana Sources leaking out. After all, a Mana Source represented "Witchification." As long as someone sought power from one, they were essentially setting foot on the long path to becoming a Transcendent Witch. Other races simply couldn't use them.
The real concern was the outflow of Spellbooks. With a bit of modification to strip away the mana-driven conversion restrictions, a Spellbook could be turned into a source of raw, unbridled power. Those most familiar with this practice were the Wizards—men whose thirst for power drove them to any means necessary.
None of this, however, had much to do with me. Even the Academy's Power Network and Root Network were being iterated to rely less and less on my presence. I actually supported this direction.
For this semester's finals, I would no longer be involved at all. As my value and importance continued to rise, the Academy Dean was intentionally suppressing my Sense of Existence within the school. This wasn't a form of restriction; on the contrary, it was a way to protect me.
It was an undeniable fact that every single project I was currently working on would cause a massive uproar if exposed. The students might just see it as "entertainment," but what would the Transcendents of other academies think? They would undoubtedly want me eliminated as quickly as possible.
But for now, those Transcendents truly couldn't touch me.
* * *
Inside the Primitive Dream Laboratory.
"So, you're saying this stage of the experiment is officially over?" Muli asked.
"Mhm... a success in stages." I nodded, glancing at Long, who was still immersed in the Primitive Dream Realm. Then I turned to Muli and Fanny. "How does it feel? Shaping an order similar to a Domain within a dream—it's a magical experience, isn't it?"
"It really is. This was the first time I've observed the flow of information within a dream. I never imagined a dream could have such a structure."
"It's a bit early to say that," I corrected her. "The mystery of the Primitive Dream Realm is far beyond what can be defined by mere observation."
The Primitive Dream Realm couldn't be guessed at or defined using the logic of reality. To do so was to guarantee being wrong. It wasn't that the realm couldn't be observed—theoretically, it could—but it was like the River of Time. With every step up the ladder, you saw a completely new world. There was no absolute truth, only relative possibilities to be utilized.
This was an understanding I had pieced together while gradually adapting to my Spirit Vision during this period.
"Fine, fine—that's your 'scientific rigor' talking. I respect that." Muli didn't seem to mind much; she was more interested in the power she now wielded.
Once she returned to her physical body, she moved around a bit. Reclaiming her physical form after so long gave her a slight sense of "soul-deep" unfamiliarity.
"Yeah, I definitely need to re-adapt to my body. I feel like I'm starting to rust."
"Experiments like this shouldn't be conducted for long stretches," I agreed. "For a Body Cultivator, the harmony between body and soul is paramount. That's why it's necessary to conduct the experiments in stages."
"What about Long? Will she be okay?"
"I'm respecting her wishes. A prolonged separation of the soul from the shell only causes recoverable damage. Since she wants to persist, I won't stop her."
"Can we wait for her here?"
"Are you sure? Didn't you just say you wanted to go move around? I suggest you do exactly that. Maintaining your old habits will help you sustain or even refine your strength."
"Alright, I'll take your advice."
"I suspect you just wanted me to give you an excuse to leave," I teased.
"Well, we haven't been friends for that long. It would hurt the relationship if I just ditched her without a proper reason."
"Huh?" I gave Muli a strange look. "You've already stood 'soul-naked' before each other in this lab. After that kind of intimacy, you're worried about hurting the relationship?"
"Oh, true."
"If you're going, go. Or should I play the villain? 'Experimenters who have finished their tasks should not loiter and block the way.'"
"Haha... Got it! Fanny, let's go!"
After sending off those two "geniuses," I stood before Long once more. She was the only witch left now, and the space reserved for her in the Primitive Dream Realm felt much wider.
"They're gone?"
"Mhm. I sent them away. It's just you now," I said with a nod.
"Is this the gap in talent...?"
"Hey now, don't let one experiment kill your confidence. Comparison only brings pain. Compared to you, it took Sister Bai over half a month to reach that level. Your talent is even higher than hers," I said bluntly.
"True! Facing the gap and surpassing myself is what I should be doing!"
"One sentence and you're already getting fired up. How does it feel? You've experienced the sensation of two different witches shaping order in the Primitive Dream Realm. You should be the one who gained the most, right?"
"I did gain quite a bit. But I have to say, you're a genius."
"Why the sudden praise?" I asked, surprised.
"Because you deserve it. Whether it's Emotion Body Cultivation or this Dream Domain, they are essentially unknown applications of known methods. This is innovation! This is the future of Body Cultivation!"
"It's just the two of us here, no need for that."
"I'm serious, and you know it. Body Cultivation is just one of the channels that could achieve this, right? Yet you still chose it." Long spoke with a rational, analytical tone. "Your choice has paved the mainstream direction for this path. This trend will lead to a golden age for Body Cultivation."
"It's not that exaggerated. But you do see things clearly. There are indeed many channels that can influence the Primitive Dream Realm. I'm not so arrogant as to think otherwise. Whether it's methods I know or don't know, it doesn't matter. I chose Body Cultivation because... it fits my area of expertise. It was a selfish choice."
"Selfish? I don't particularly like that phrasing, but since I'm a beneficiary, I suppose I can't complain."
"Alright, enough with the flattery." I cut the topic short. I didn't particularly enjoy being praised; it was a way to satisfy one's own ego, and I no longer needed that. "Tell me, how much longer until you succeed?"
"Mhm... soon."
"How long is 'soon'?"
"Soon is soon."
"Fine, I get it."
Not everything could be quantified into an exact timeframe. It was like asking someone how much longer they were going to keep talking.
After finishing up with Long, I finally had a small window of free time to attend to some extra matters. I had been quite busy lately, especially while Muli and Fanny were establishing their Dream Orders; I simply had no time for anything else.
Then there was the improvement of the purification method for Dream State Soul Essence, the monitoring of the Fool's Dream situation, and the refinement of Life Evolution techniques.
The refinement of Life Evolution had branched into two paths: one was the shaping of Fool's Dream life, and the other was the technique for strengthening my own soul.
Now that I had some breathing room, I could finally spare some energy to study the Great Glacial Throne Technique.
Tan Han and the others had been in the Secret Realm for many days, and most of the relevant data had already been shared. They had officially come into conflict with others now; a large number of people in the Secret Realm had begun a counter-siege against the Ancient Remnant Ice.
When the Ancient Remnant Ice first locked down the teleportation zones, only to be suppressed by powerful external reinforcements, I knew a conflict was inevitable. The Ancient Remnant Ice couldn't stay on top forever. Even with their home-field advantage, they couldn't withstand a human-wave tactic. After all, the students wielded the systematic power of their races, while the Ancient Remnant Ice relied only on bloodline inheritance and innate instincts.
In the end, they were just pitiful creatures trapped in a Secret Realm for their entire lives.
Now, back to the Great Glacial Throne Technique.
Over the past few days, though I had gained much, I was still somewhat unfamiliar with the creation of a Great Spellbook. The main issue was that I couldn't use real-world editing for practical application, leaving many concepts difficult to grasp.
However, I had mostly figured out the spell aspect. If I didn't limit myself to a "Great Spellbook," I could—given enough time and [Transcendent Knowledge]—manually cast an effect similar to a Great Spell.
As I had suspected before, whether it was the Absolute Zero Crown Tan Han held, the twelve Hearts of the Cold Wave, or even the Spellbook for the Ancient Remnant Ice Transformation, they were all "vessels."
But they weren't just vessels for [Transcendent Knowledge]; they were vessels for the "Spellbook" itself.
By nature, a Spellbook had no "physical substance." It was more like a glowing cluster of energy—something that would dissipate and collapse without a host. Yet the crown Tan Han held was definitely a physical object; even the master alchemist Natalie had expressed amazement at the material.
None of these were parts of the Great Spellbook itself. Rather, they were ritual items used to shape it—specifically, for the Coronation Ritual.
From the records, once this Great Spellbook was born, its master would be the Ancient Remnant Ice. It wasn't a Great Spellbook intended for a witch's use.
As for what the witches wanted to do with the Ancient Remnant Ice and the Great Spellbook, that went without saying. There was no such thing as "waste" here; these were all stepping stones. The witches wanted the entire Main World—what was one Great Spellbook compared to that? Dean Mei had already sacrificed one back in the day, hadn't she?
And because its master was the Ancient Remnant Ice, when the Great Spellbook was forced to shatter, its fragments would return to the ritual vessels.
As for why it was all so coincidental... should I say truth is stranger than fiction, or was it the interference of Luck? It's hard to say. After all, what the Ancient Remnant Ice were fighting for back then was the status of the Destined Race of the Main World.
Unfortunately, these were just experimental records and notes; they wouldn't record what happened afterward. So, some of the details are my own artistic reconstruction—part deduction, part guesswork.
What I needed to do now was simple: satisfy my curiosity. I still had one Heart of the Cold Wave in my possession, and I needed to use it for a test.
I was truly curious about the concept of "shattered [Transcendent Knowledge]." Moreover, this had some common ground with my desire to bestow the power of "Holy Relics" upon the Fool's Dream.
The Fool's Dream weren't just one or two individuals; they were a race. I didn't want to simply lend them power; I wanted to truly bestow it and allow it to spread among them. This was a different form than the Tree of Great Knowledge dispersing Great Knowledge Seeds.
The only way I could think of was to "write" the power of the "Holy Relic" into the racial concept itself. But I didn't understand how to do that, nor could I broadcast the power of a Holy Relic as a racial concept.
The Great Glacial Throne Technique provided me with another train of thought: shaping the Great Spellbook into the form of that race!
The difference was that the witch predecessors who created the Great Glacial Throne Technique made the race the representative of the power—the Great Glacial Throne Technique itself. The one sitting upon the throne was the King held aloft by the Ancient Remnant Ice royalty!
But that didn't fit my philosophy. I didn't want the Fool's Dream race to become a tool of power itself.
I... wanted the power of the Holy Relic to take the shape of the Fool's Dream!
Was that possible? I didn't know. But before seeing the Great Glacial Throne Technique, I would have thought its method was impossible too. Perhaps this is the embodiment of "where there's a witch, there's a way."
I reached out and pinched the bead, which was radiating a chilling frost. The cold no longer had any effect on me.
With my Floating World Level Spirit Vision fully unleashed, I completed the analysis of the bead in an instant. However, the massive amount of information required me to process it bit by bit. That was fine; adaptation is the strongest trait of life.
Yet, no matter how I analyzed it, there was an interference factor on this Heart of the Cold Wave that I couldn't parse.
That factor was—Luck.
It seemed to be waiting for something, though I didn't know what.
Looking at the power of Luck again, it gave me a strange feeling. Much like the Ley Lines, its energy level was low, yet the concept of Ley Lines remained uncrackable to this day. Luck was the same. It wasn't transcendent energy; it looked simple, yet it possessed characteristics that even Floating World Level Spirit Vision couldn't predict.