Chapter 373 : Chapter 373

Chapter 373: Main World and Small World

"Academy Head?"

As I was returning the tray, I encountered someone I hadn't expected to, or rather, a Transcendent Witch.

It was as awkward as deliberately waking up early to eat breakfast only to run into the principal on an inspection.

But seeing the Academy Head's tray, which was similar to mine, I realized that the Academy Head had also come for breakfast.

"It's Little Han. It seems... well... did you and your Big Sis Bai confirm your relationship?"

"Ah... no, can that be seen?"

I awkwardly stopped, shocked by the Academy Head's comment.

Then I instinctively looked at myself.

Nothing seemed to have changed, right?

"There are always changes in temperament that one cannot immediately notice, and I also saw you having breakfast with that little one named Bai Yu just now."

"I see... I didn't expect the Academy Head to come to the cafeteria so early for breakfast, either..."

So, it was just a guess based on seeing the whole thing.

I thought I had changed drastically.

"Of course. Achieving Transcendent Witch status doesn't mean you can't eat. You know that the True Five Senses involved at the Transcendent level include the sense of taste. Not eating anything or not trying things won't do. Have you witnessed the cafeteria's 'dark cuisine'? Those irritating foods are hailed as dark cuisine by students, but they are simply food provided for Transcendent Witches. Ordinary students are not recommended to try them."

"So that's how it is..."

I quickly nodded to show I had learned something new.

I hadn't expected the Academy Head to popularize transcendent common knowledge for me just by asking a simple question.

Transcendent taste sense, huh... I wonder what kind of ability that entailed.

But recalling how Big Sis Bai told me that transcendent touch could caress the ripples of space, I felt that abilities at this level were simply too terrifying.

"By the way, judging by your reaction just now, you must have met the Primal Witch Lord, right?"

Seeing that I wasn't speaking, the Academy Head proactively started a conversation, walking out of the cafeteria with me.

"Mhm."

I nodded without saying much.

Because I was thinking about whether the Academy Head had something to ask of me again.

But more importantly, after leaving the cafeteria, I didn't know where to go, so I could only awkwardly walk on the roadside with the Academy Head.

However, I quickly found my goal.

Today was a brand new day.

Meditation and Body Forging couldn't be abandoned before they even started.

So, I consciously headed toward the Meditation Room.

"The Primal Witch Lord seems quite interested in you. Generally, the avatar designated to guide an advancing Transcendent Witch will not have too much interaction with others, but she was very interested in you."

"Um... she just said a few words, is that considered very interested?"

"Naturally, it's more than just that. She said she has high hopes for you."

"Um... isn't that a bit of an over-interpretation?"

Just because the Primal Witch symbolically said "keep up the good work" and "I have high hopes for you," was it worth this level of attention from the Academy Head?

"Over-interpretation? Not at all. The Primal Witch having high hopes for you is truly having high hopes for you. She won't casually offer such words of encouragement to anyone, not even to her fellow Transcendent Witch sisters. She's usually straightforward. Let alone the fact that you're not even a Transcendent Witch. The Primal Witch is even more indifferent towards non-transcendent life."

Because she was the Primal Witch, she was only responsible for witches.

The minimum definition of a witch was Transcendent.

Reserve Witches, and even Prospective Witches, who hadn't reached the Transcendent level, were not included in this category, but Mei Linde did not say these words out loud.

"You should be happy about this. You should know that the Primal Witch has never misjudged anyone. Every time she extends goodwill towards a non-transcendent life form, it means that person will achieve great things in the future."

"Then... I'm truly flattered..."

I said helplessly.

"Don't worry, just treat it normally. An advanced evaluation has no inherent meaning. The Primal Witch's actions in this regard have never been an exception, not because the Primal Witch is so powerful, but because the people the Primal Witch has high hopes for have never failed her expectations. Only your effort is real."

"The evaluation you received merely gives you the qualification to anticipate the future in advance, do you understand? This single sentence from the Primal Witch is more valuable than the value you've demonstrated since enrolling. It's a credential, and also a protection."

"Seriously?"

I hadn't thought that much. I hadn't expected a single sentence from the Primal Witch to be... so valuable?

"Yes. Even if you were to publicly announce that you have a Grand Spellbook right now, no Transcendent-level person would dare to forcefully seize your belongings. The only people you need to guard against are your peers. Of course, if you really did that, trouble would still come one after another."

"I wouldn't seek trouble for myself."

I said immediately.

Telling people I had a Grand Spellbook?

How could I possibly do that?

However, the Academy Head had been accompanying me all this time, so it was highly likely she had something she needed me for.

I even suspected that running into the Academy Head here might not have been a coincidence.

After chatting a few more lines with the Academy Head, she finally revealed her intention, shifting the topic to other areas.

"Little Han, do you remember those Abyssal Demons?"

"Mhm, the memory is fresh."

After all, it hadn't been many days since I returned from Ninglan New City.

The Academy Head was coming to find me again.

Could she not let me rest for a moment?

However, the Academy Head mentioned Abyssal Demons, and my impression of them was still those Little Devils, Nightmares, and the existences from Imp Academy and Necromancer Academy.

But I guessed the following topic was definitely related to Abyssal Demons.

Did the Abyssal Demons have new moves... Seriously, they couldn't stay quiet for a bit, could they?

"After this incident, the Abyssal Demons are somewhat wary, so they don't plan to take direct action anymore."

"Not taking direct action? So, they'll take indirect action then?"

I asked.

As long as they didn't take direct action, it shouldn't be a major issue, just minor skirmishes at most.

I wondered if the Academy Head would use this opportunity to manipulate The Script.

But all of this should be irrelevant to me, and since I had severed the Earth Vein Chains and left The Script, I should avoid provoking those Children of Destiny, lest I be treated as a boss to be farmed.

"Something like that. They found a Small World and are pushing it towards the Main World."

"Huh? What?"

I suddenly looked up at the Academy Head, my eyes wide with shock and disbelief.

Although I had no concept of what a Small World was, something that could be called a "World" must be at least a planet, right?

If you added an entire star system or something, if that was pushed over here... wouldn't that mean the end of the world?

No, no, no... not necessarily.

Wait, the Abyssal Demons were just one Transcendent Race.

The Main World had four Transcendent Races.

There was no reason to fear such a thing.

If they had a way to push it over, we should have a way to send it back.

"Are you very surprised? Do you think this is very dangerous, or that it will be the end of the world?"

"Mhm mhm."

"Actually, no. If that Small World really comes over, to be frank, it's essentially an act of sending resources. The resources of an entire world merging into the Main World—you might not be able to imagine how great a change that would bring. Even though it's only a Small World, it's an entire world, with a complete Earth Vein and vast resources. It could even re-invigorate the ruined Main World you saw previously and reshape the Earth Vein."

"So... this is actually a good thing? Do Abyssal Demons do good things too?"

I was confused again.

"This is a straightforward plot by the Abyssal Demons. If we want to reap such benefits, we naturally have to pay an equivalent price, and even... endure the invasion of that world."

"So, the Abyssal Demons want to use this opportunity to cause trouble again? Academy Head... I have a question I don't know if you can answer for me?"

"Whether they're causing trouble or not, we don't even need to guess; it's a certainty. As for your question, go ahead and ask."

"Alright then. I'm just curious, what exactly does the term Main World represent? Why do those Abyssal Demons want to come here so desperately, regardless of the cost? Also, since there are Small Worlds, are there other classifications? What level is the Main World? Is it the most important world?"

"You don't know this yet?"

The Academy Head looked slightly suspicious.

It seemed she didn't fully understand the common knowledge level of the academy's students.

"Um... have I had a chance to know?"

"Then I'll tell you. Do you understand the concept of a World?"

"Mhm... the world we live in now?"

"A World is the fruit nurtured by the Earth Vein River in the Void. I seem to have told you a similar concept when I spoke of the Earth Vein, but it's the same thing. It's just that since you know the concept of the Earth Vein River, using that term is more accurate."

"Generally, for a world to be born and reach the threshold of a Small World, it needs to give birth to a World Will. Note: it's a Will, not a Consciousness. The World Will, in general, can be understood as implementing a certain will within that world. This will includes the birth and reproduction of life and the birth of civilization, etc. Thus, when a group of life forms, under the influence of the World Will, forms a civilization, this is the initial Small World."

"Following this, the Small World will continuously grow, nourished by the resource transportation of the Earth Vein River, evolving towards a Large World. This process is the transformation of the World Will into a World Consciousness. The World Consciousness is not limited by a one-sided will. At this point, the World Consciousness, viewed from the perspective of the world itself, is more like a life form, but it is not the kind of life form defined by the Interpretation of Life; this is merely an analogy."

"You can roughly think of it this way: the World Will of a Small World is like a newborn child, knowing nothing, only instinct. The World Consciousness of a Large World is like an adult who has constructed their own worldview, values, and other concepts."

"The long process between a Small World and a Large World is also called a Medium World, but this doesn't have much significance. Just know about it."

"Another sign of a Large World is the birth of Transcendent-level life within the world."

"Then... what about the Main World?"

I asked.

After all, the name Main World sounded very impressive.

It shouldn't be too bad, right?

But thinking carefully now... the Main World I was in... didn't seem to have anything special.

Aside from the Transcendent Academy, which was an outsider, this was a very ordinary world.

Its development seemed actually similar to my past life.

It didn't even develop the Transcendent... No, wait, it should be possible to develop it.

Don't forget Ninglan New City; they were also part of the Main World, but they developed Extraordinary Technology.

So, the fact that the Main World hadn't developed Transcendent power outside of the Transcendent Academy was likely due to the intervention of the Transcendent Academy, perhaps even locking down technology...

"The Main World is a very special world. Since you know that a world is the fruit of the Earth Vein River and that the Earth Vein River has various tributaries, do you know the difference between the fruits produced by different levels of Earth Vein tributaries?"

"Different lower and upper limits?"

I asked tentatively.

"Correct. The most direct difference is the lower limit. Some worlds need continuous development and evolution to become a Small World, while other worlds are Large Worlds from birth. This is the difference. And the Main World is the world born upon the mainstream of the Earth Vein River. Therefore, it possesses theoretical infinite possibilities, as well as... a special value. This is the Main World."

"I see..."

I nodded, considering myself to have some understanding, yet not a complete one.

This was just a rough conceptual understanding, but the specifics were completely unknown.

I didn't even know what the so-called "special value" was, but judging by the Academy Head's manner, she didn't seem to want to explain it to me.

"So, does that mean... there is more than one Main World?"

"Yes, you guessed correctly again. There is indeed more than one Main World, but... only one exists within the same Void time period. Once a Main World is conquered and development within the world is interrupted, a new Main World will be born on the mainstream of the Earth Vein."

"...So... strictly speaking, the Main World we are currently in is actually a Main World that has lost its Main World status?"

"Yes."

The Academy Head nodded, admitting it without reservation.

"But the newly born Main World hasn't been found yet, so this world is still given the title of the Main World."

"Hasn't been found? How is that possible?"

"What do you think? The Void is a vast existence. Finding a nascent and hidden world within the Void is very difficult."

"But... what about those Myriad Races of the Void or whatever..."

Hearing these concepts, I had thought they referred to territories already occupied in the Void, where the corresponding races knew their territories inside and out.

Even if the Void areas weren't occupied, they should at least know what was in that region, right?

"What are you trying to say? Alright... perhaps you're mistaken. The Void once had another name: the Dark Domain Beyond the World, meaning that once you step out of a world, the outside is a vast area beyond the sight of the eye. There is nothing there, and you can see nothing, perhaps only the light emitted by the energy dissipation between the flowing Earth Veins."

"The concept of the Myriad Races of the Void is actually a network of relationships between worlds that were formed when races collided and interacted by chance in this region of the Void. World-to-world distance communication via Void navigation would be the least efficient method. Now, stable spatial anchoring is generally used for spatial teleportation. Many barren Small Worlds are even ruthlessly used as transit worlds."

"But it's funny to say, discovering new worlds still requires using the most primitive method of entering the Void to explore and conquer."

"And one of the main forces for exploring and conquering the unknown Void is the Transcendent Witches, because Transcendent Witches have eternal longevity, great strength, and, well, they love seeking death."

"Um... I see..."

"Of course, so the Abyssal Demons are willing to contribute a Small World to the Main World. Our Main World naturally has to seize this opportunity. But you also need to understand one thing: since the Abyssal Demons chose to push this world over, it also means one thing: either this world is completely worthless, or this world is very troublesome. Otherwise, since the Abyssal Demons could find a Small World near the Main World, they should have chosen to digest it internally first, instead of acting like a charity."

"So... is the Academy Head asking me to do something again?"