Chapter 990: Yes, This Is a Trade
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 990: Yes, This Is a Trade
Countless phantoms of the Ancient Remnant Ice swirled around the massive throne.
The Ancient Remnant Ice race had already become a symbol of this power, the absolute and ultimate orthodoxy of their kind.
They were mandated by Heaven.
The piercing Luck influenced heaven and earth, resonating with the celestial phenomena and tearing through the sky.
At this moment, the Luck that floated above the Real World manifested into substance, bestowing its blessing upon the life form watched over by the World Consciousness.
The World Consciousness did not grant it a Luck Seed.
After all, a Luck Seed was a tool for interfering with Luck, whereas the Ancient Remnant Ice—whose very power and life were permeated by the World Will—belonged to the world from the very marrow of its bones.
...
The Observation of Luck Project's specialized key experimental zone.
This was the first time Mei Lind had witnessed the process of Xiao Han creating a Great Spellbook.
The previous instance with the Tree of Great Knowledge had occurred within a small world, where Bev Alanna had stolen the spotlight. Now... she was finally witnessing it again.
Though this achievement stood upon the shoulders of many witch predecessors, it still could not overshadow Xiao Han’s brilliance.
Furthermore, Xiao Han had created this while in the form of a clone!
"Oh my~ what a memorable scene. I really wish I could have seen it in person," Mei Lind remarked as she watched the display. She then glanced at the figure beside her, who acted as if the whole affair had nothing to do with her.
"Xiao Han, I remember you repeatedly rejected the Great Glacial Throne Technique before, yet now you’ve created it with your own hands... What’s this? A change of heart?"
"It never belonged to me in the first place~" I said, shrugging.
"Is that so? Based on the basic concept of the Life Clone you described to me, that Ancient Remnant Ice King is you. And since the entire Ancient Remnant Ice race transformed into power, it should be a part of you," Mei Lind asked, sounding somewhat puzzled.
"Sister Mei, do you know what the death and inheritance of life truly means?" I asked the Academy Dean with a smile.
I hadn't thought of this at the beginning, but after making a trade with the World Consciousness, my understanding of life had progressed a step further.
"What do you mean?"
"A life dies, and a new consciousness is born within the old husk, inheriting everything that was there before—yet it is no longer the original being," I said to myself.
It was a bit convoluted, but it was similar to Lingyi's friend in the dungeon world.
A dead husk regains the vitality of life, gestating a new consciousness and inheriting all that came before.
"A Life Clone can be inherited by a newborn life, provided I am willing to allow it."
"Then... will such a clone still be you afterward?"
"She would no longer be an extension of my will. She would be a brand-new life that inherited everything from that clone. For such a life, her greatest need would be to step out of the cage of my existence—including my memories—and realize her own self."
"The way you put it... sounds very dangerous," Mei Lind said, immediately thinking of too many potential accidents.
"Generally speaking, I wouldn't do it. Creating a brand-new life that isn't my own consciousness is somewhat irresponsible and doesn't align with my values. Even if I were to do it, I would erase my own memories first," I explained.
A brand-new life without my consciousness is like a newborn child. A Life Clone derived from my will, however, is more about me being responsible for myself. Death and abandonment are a form of internal gambit and choice, but that mindset shouldn't be forced upon a child who has nothing to do with me.
"Even if you say that, you're still going to do this to the Ancient Remnant Ice, aren't you?" Mei Lind reminded me.
"Yes, but this is a trade." I turned around to face Dean Mei Lind directly.
"A trade?" Mei Lind’s expression turned serious. Seeing the shift in my demeanor, she grew solemn as well.
She knew very well that I wouldn't joke during important moments.
"Yes. Sister Mei, you must have seen what I did in the secret realm, right? For a period of time—specifically, after I turned the Ancient Remnant Ice into true life—I was in a peculiar state."
"Yes, I remember that," the Dean nodded.
She remembered that timeframe clearly because, during the observation mission for the Observation of Luck Project, Xiao Han's actions had coincided perfectly with a certain anomalous data point.
"What did you do during that time?"
"During that time, after connecting the Ancient Remnant Ice life sequence, I received an invitation from the Main World Consciousness," I said.
After all, letting the Ancient Remnant Ice become my clone under the push of the script was essentially an invitation card. Everything that followed was a test of my fundamental abilities.
Though, that test was hardly worth mentioning for me.
"An invitation from the Main World Consciousness?" Mei Lind frowned again. She had never experienced such a thing. In her youth, she had invaded small worlds in the void and witnessed the manifestation of world wills, but she had never been "invited."
Mei Lind continued her inquiry, quickly recalling the incident Xiao Han encountered back in Ninglan New City: "How were you invited? Was it like the Luck Seed back then, with a voice echoing directly in your ear?"
"No, it was through Spirit Vision. The Main World granted us this gift as a medium. At that moment, under guidance, my Spirit Vision level crossed the boundary of the Floating World Level and ascended to the Real World. On that plane, I 'saw' the Main World Consciousness."
Even thinking back on it now, such a deep level of the Real World could only be perceived through an extreme form of Spirit Vision.
That encounter was like a silent film.
The other four senses were entirely derived from the synesthesia and mental filling provided by Spirit Vision.
"The Real World!" Hearing this concept, Mei Lind nearly lost her composure on the spot.
That was the theoretical pinnacle of Spirit Vision!
"It was temporary. The plane of the Real World is far too vast for me. By my estimate, I would need to at least cross into the Transcendent level before I’m qualified to master that power." After all, as it stood, I still needed to further elevate my soul level to fully adapt to Floating World Level Spirit Vision. Anything higher would be a burden.
"So... what kind of scene did you witness on that plane?" Mei Lind asked with anticipation.
Vision is the most direct sensory channel for a living being. That was a level she might never be able to reach.
After all... didn't she see that the Observation of Luck Project, modeled after Floating World Level Spirit Vision, required the cooperation of so many witches?
She couldn't even imagine the visual impact of the Real World level!
"How should I describe it? It was as if everything returned to the beginning. From the level of seeing mountains as something other than mountains and water as something other than water, back to the realm where mountains are once again mountains, and water is still water," I described, half-reminiscing and half-associating.
"Is that so? Well then..." Mei Lind could only speak with feigned indifference. As expected, such a description could never replace personal experience.
In her view, the fact that Xiao Han could even offer such a description meant she at least had her own understanding to serve as an anchor.
"It seems asking was pointless. Let's... let's get back to the topic. The trade. What trade did you make?" Mei Lind returned to the main subject.
She could already foresee that Xiao Han’s so-called trade was likely with the World Consciousness, with the Ancient Remnant Ice as the bargaining chip.
After all, the Ancient Remnant Ice was the power of the Great Glacial Throne Technique itself. This power was deeply linked to Luck; it wasn't as simple as the wizards thought—that taking it out of the Main World would sever the connection.
However, if a wizard truly wanted to sever that connection, it wouldn't be that difficult. To maintain the rule of equivalent exchange, the fairness of this trade could be confirmed.
"Actually, at the very beginning, I didn't think of it as a trade. It started with me asking questions of the World Consciousness. The trade originated from the last question I asked... I asked It: Where is the World Navel?"
"You asked that?!" Mei Lind’s eyes widened again, and she even stuttered her next words: "And... and the result? Did It respond?"
"No," I said, shaking my head.
"As expected." Hearing this, Mei Lind sighed. The World Navel was essentially the lifeblood of a World Consciousness. How could It just tell someone?
"Did you forget, Sister Mei? This is an equal and fair trade. I asked a question, but it was no longer a free question. So, It proposed this trade. It wants me to set the Ancient Remnant Ice race... free. The Ancient Remnant Ice will take on the role of the Main World's Destiny Guardian. Sister Mei, what exactly does the concept of a Destiny Guardian mean?"
"Destiny Guardian..." Mei Lind recalled the concept. She did indeed know of such existences; or rather, any Transcendent who had invaded other worlds had encountered them to some degree. "A Destiny Guardian is generally a role whose duty is to protect their home world. They almost never leave their native world."
"Similarly, they are almost always the combat ceiling of that world. They exist to protect the Destined Race, repel foreign invaders, maintain the World Script, guide the flow of Luck, and resolve incidents like Ley Line Stagnation in large worlds. That is roughly what a Destiny Guardian is."
"I see." I nodded. It was very similar to what I had guessed, but the responsibilities seemed quite numerous. They were even more of a hardworking model citizen than a Child of Destiny!
To use a metaphor, if a Child of Destiny is the little princess of a world, then a Destiny Guardian is the bodyguard and full-time butler.
"So you traded the Ancient Remnant Ice race for the location of the World Navel? The values don't match up at all," Mei Lind pointed out.
That would be like a bedridden, terminally ill person asking for a bodyguard who hasn't even grown up yet, and in exchange, telling that person the location of the power switch for their own life-support machine.
How was that possible?
"Naturally not," I shook my head quickly. "The Main World Consciousness also required that 'I'—representing the witch race as a whole—must not, in any form, directly or indirectly damage the World Navel. Furthermore, the witch race must use World Repair Technique to fix the Main World."
"Did you agree?" the Dean asked. "Those conditions are too much. Even if the World Consciousness doesn't give it to us, we can find the World Navel ourselves. It would take a lot of time and planning, but witches never lack time."
"I didn't agree. That’s basically treating us like laborers," I said, shaking my head. "So the Main World Consciousness took a step back. She hopes to establish a cooperative relationship on the premise of not harming the World Navel, with the specific content and direction of cooperation to be determined based on the situation."
"This proposal..." Mei Lind fell into thought.
"I feel the Main World took a very large step back," I said. "'Based on the situation' means that once the witches' power reaches a certain level, the Main World will choose to actively attach itself to us. It’s very sensible; at least It recognizes the situation. Having driven away the threats of those other Transcendent races, the Main World is still under the witches' say. The Main World itself only guards its basic bottom line. I assume the Witch Academy wouldn't do something like killing the goose that lays the golden eggs by overdrawing the Main World's foundation, right?"
"Put that way, it is indeed an enticing trade," Mei Lind commented. As long as they didn't touch the Main World's bottom line, the witch race could do as they pleased. It was almost entirely without restraint.
Hearing such a concession, Mei Lind could guess why: the Main World had no other choice.
It couldn't choose those three Great Transcendent Races; those guys could use the World Navel as leverage to destroy It at any moment.
The witches were Its only hope, especially after the witches demonstrated their World Repair Technique.
And the reason the World Consciousness was willing to leave the World Navel to the witches was that the witches needed the World Navel to repair the Main World.
The current Expansion Realm was not yet a complete Expansion Realm, but the witches could no longer continue the repairs.
Without the cooperation of the World Navel, the witches could only perform localized repairs using the Ley Line fracture in Ninglan New City as an anchor.
It served as a small taste of the benefits for the Main World.
"In that case... I'll use the return of the Ancient Remnant Ice race as an opportunity for you and the other deans to negotiate with the World Consciousness. After all, only you can represent the will of the witch race."
"Xiao Han..."
"Hmm? What is it?"
"You're still so humble." Dean Mei laughed and shook her head. "Xiao Han, you are equally capable of representing the witches' will in the Main World. You have that qualification, do you understand?"
Mei Lind spoke very solemnly.
She had realized that if certain things weren't told to Xiao Han, her understanding of interpersonal relationships and status was at a complete polar opposite to her understanding of the Transcendent level!
"Ugh... too much trouble. It's better to leave this kind of thing to the most~ respected and venerable Dean Mei!"