Chapter 373: The Main World and the Small World
“Academy Head?”
Just as I was returning my tray, I unexpectedly encountered someone I had never imagined meeting here, oh no, it’s the Extraordinary Witch.
This was as awkward as running into the principal inspecting the cafeteria after intentionally waking up early to have breakfast.
But upon seeing the similarly sized tray in the Academy Head’s hands, I realized she was here for breakfast too.
“It’s Xiao Han, huh? It seems… um… have you confirmed your relationship with your Sister Bai?”
“Sigh… isn’t it obvious?” I awkwardly stopped in my tracks, shocked by her words.
Then I instinctively looked at myself; nothing seemed to have changed!
“There’s always some change in temperament that one can’t immediately perceive. Also, I saw you having breakfast with that little one called Bai Yu earlier,” she said.
“So that’s how it is… I didn’t expect the Academy Head would come to the cafeteria so early for breakfast…”
I had been completely seen by the Academy Head, and her guess about me was based on that. I thought I had changed a lot.
“Of course! Becoming an Extraordinary Witch doesn’t mean you can’t eat. You must know that among the true five senses involved at the extraordinary level, there’s taste. Not eating or trying things isn’t an option. Have you ever encountered the cafeteria’s dark cuisine? Those stimulating foods are dubbed dark dishes by the students, but they’re simply food provided for Extraordinary Witches, not recommended for ordinary students.”
“So that’s it…”
I nodded rapidly in acknowledgment, realizing that my simple inquiry led to the Academy Head enlightening me on the basics of the extraordinary level. Extraordinary taste… I had no idea what abilities that entailed.
But then I remembered when Sister Bai mentioned that extraordinary touch could caress the ripples of space, and I felt that kind of ability was incredibly terrifying.
“By the way, judging by your reaction earlier, I assume you’ve met the Primordial Witch, right?” Noticing I was silent, the Academy Head initiated another topic while walking with me out of the cafeteria.
“Mm.” I nodded without saying much.
I was wondering if the Academy Head had something else to discuss with me.
But more importantly, after leaving the cafeteria, I didn’t know where to go, so I awkwardly walked alongside the Academy Head.
Quickly, I had my own objective. Today was a brand new day, and I couldn’t afford to abandon meditation and physical training before I even started. Thus, I consciously headed toward the Meditation Room.
“It seems the Primordial Witch is quite interested in you. Generally, the avatar that guides the ascension to become an Extraordinary Witch doesn’t have much interaction with others, yet she seems very interested in you.”
“Uh… just saying a few words counts as being very interested?”
“Naturally, it’s not just that; she mentioned that she has high hopes for you.”
“Uh… could that be an overinterpretation?” Just because the Primordial Witch symbolically cheered me on and deemed me promising, was it worthy of the Academy Head’s attention this much?
“Overinterpretation? Not at all. The Primordial Witch genuinely has high hopes for you. She wouldn’t casually make such remarks about anyone without reason; she doesn’t even say such flattering words about fellow Extraordinary Witches. Generally, she speaks plainly, not to mention you aren’t even an Extraordinary Witch yet. The Primordial Witch is even more indifferent to lives that aren’t of the extraordinary level.”
Because she is the Primordial Witch, she is only responsible for witches. The lower limit of the witch’s definition is extraordinary; those still below the extraordinary level, even potential witches, do not fall into this category. However, Mei Linde did not express these thoughts further.
“You should be happy about this. You must know the Primordial Witch has never misjudged anyone. Every time she shows goodwill to a non-extraordinary being, it indicates that the counterpart will have significant achievements in the future.”
“Well… I’m somewhat flabbergasted…” I said helplessly.
“Don’t worry; just maintain a calm mind. An early evaluation is of no real significance. The Primordial Witch’s actions have always proven to be without exception; it’s not that the Primordial Witch is so remarkable, but rather that those she supports have never disappointed her expectations. Only your own efforts are genuine.”
“The evaluation you received is merely an early qualification to advance into the future. Do you understand? This remark from the Primordial Witch holds more value than everything you’ve proven since your enrollment. This is both a proof and a form of protection.”
“Is that so?” I never expected that a single statement from the Primordial Witch could carry such value!
“Yes, even if you publicly claim to possess a Great Spellbook, no extraordinary beings would dare to forcibly take your belongings. The only ones you need to guard against are your peers. Of course, if you truly want to do that, trouble will continuously come your way.”
“I won’t go looking for trouble,” I hurriedly replied.
Tell others that I have a Great Spellbook? That’s impossible.
However, the Academy Head had likely stayed with me for a reason, and I suspected encountering her here might not be coincidental.
After chatting with the Academy Head for a bit longer, she finally revealed her intentions, shifting the topic to something else.
“Xiao Han, do you remember those Abyss Demons?”
“Yes, I remember clearly.”
After all, it had not been many days since I returned from Ninglan New City, and now the Academy Head came looking for me again. Doesn’t she ever let me rest?
But when the Academy Head mentioned the Abyss Demons, my impression of them stayed on those little demons, Dream Demons, and those from the Inferior Demon Academy and Undead Academy.
However, I guessed the upcoming topic might be related to the Abyss Demons. Had they made some move again? They just couldn’t seem to stay quiet, could they?
“After this incident, the Abyss Demons are somewhat wary, so they don’t intend to act directly.”
“Not acting directly? So they plan to act indirectly?” I inquired.
As long as they weren’t acting directly, it shouldn’t be a major issue; it would probably just be minor skirmishes. I wondered if the Academy Head would take this opportunity to play around with the script.
But all of this should be irrelevant to me, and since I had severed the Earth Vein Shackles and distanced myself from the script, it would be best to avoid those Children of Fortune and not end up being treated as a boss.
“Pretty much. They found a small world and are pushing it towards the main world.”
“Ah? What?” I abruptly looked up at the Academy Head, shocked and unable to believe.
Although I had no concept of what a so-called small world entailed, if it could be called a “world,” it should at least be a planet, right?
If it included an entire star system or something… if it came crashing towards us, wouldn’t that mean the end of the world?
No, wait… not necessarily. After all, the Abyss Demons were merely an extraordinary race, while the main world had four extraordinary races. There was no reason to be afraid of such things. If they had the means to throw something over, surely we could find a way to throw it back.
“You’re surprised, right? Do you think this is dangerous, like, could it be the end of the world?”
“Mmhm.”
“Actually, that’s not the case. If that small world really comes over, to put it simply, it’s just a resource delivery. A whole world’s resources merging into the main world; you can’t imagine the huge changes that can bring. Even if it’s just a small world, it is still an entire world with a complete Earth Vein and a large amount of resources. It could even rejuvenate the main world ruins you initially saw and reshape the Earth Vein.”
“So… this is actually a good thing? The Abyss Demons can do good things too?” At this moment, I was puzzled again.
“This is the Abyss Demons’ cunning plan. If we want to benefit from this, we naturally have to pay an equivalent price and even… have to endure the invasion from that world.”
“So the Abyss Demons want to take this opportunity to create further chaos? Academy Head… I have a question I’m not sure you can answer.”
“Whether they want to create chaos or not is not something to guess; that’s certain. As for your question, you can go ahead and ask.”
“Alright then, I’m just curious, what does the term ‘main world’ actually represent? Why does that Abyss Demon want to come here at all costs? Also, since there are small worlds, are there other classifications? What level is the main world? Is it the most important world?”
“Don’t you know this yet?” The Academy Head seemed somewhat suspicious; it appeared she didn’t fully understand the basic knowledge about the academy’s students.
“Uh… do I have a chance to know?”
“Then let me explain. You understand the concept of a world, right?”
“Mm… it’s the world we live in now?”
“A world is the fruit borne from the River of Earth Veins in the void. I believe I’ve mentioned something similar before; back then, I referred to the Earth Vein, but it’s the same. Now that you understand the concept of the River of Earth Veins, it’s more accurate to use that terminology.”
“Generally, for a world to be birthed, it must reach the threshold for a small world by giving birth to a world will. Note, it’s ‘will,’ not ‘consciousness.’ You can usually understand the world will as implementing a certain will within this world, which includes the birth, reproduction of life, and the emergence of civilization, etc. Thus, when a group of lives forms a civilization under the influence of the world will, that is the initial small world.”
“Next, the small world will continuously grow under the resource delivery of the River of Earth Veins, evolving into a large world. This process is the transformation of the world will into world consciousness. World consciousness isn’t limited by one-sided will; at this point, from the perspective of the world, world consciousness resembles life more, but it’s different from the kind of life defined by Life Interpretation—this is just a metaphor.”
“You could think of the world will of a small world as an infant, knowing nothing, only possessing instincts, whereas the world consciousness of a large world is like an adult who has already built their worldview, values, etc.”
“The long process between small and large worlds is also referred to as a medium world, but there’s nothing significant about that; just understand it.”
“A large world is characterized by the birth of extraordinary-level beings within it.”
“And… what about the main world?” I asked, after all, the name “main world” sounds quite prestigious. It shouldn’t be embarrassing, right?
But upon careful thought… it seemed there wasn’t anything particularly special about the main world I was in. Apart from the Extraordinary Academy as an outsider, it was an ordinary world, and its development seemed quite similar to my past life.
It hadn’t even developed anything extraordinary… no, wait, it should be able to develop; don’t forget Ninglan New City—they were also part of the main world, yet they had developed extraordinary techniques.
So the main world hadn’t developed any extraordinary powers outside the Extraordinary Academy, likely due to the interference of the Extraordinary Academy. Perhaps even technology had been locked down…
“The main world is a very special world. Since you know that a world is the fruit of the River of Earth Veins, and you know that the River of Earth Veins has various tributaries, do you know what the differences are between the fruits borne from different degrees of Earth Vein tributaries?”
“Different lower and upper limits?” I ventured.
“Exactly. The most direct difference is in lower limits. Some worlds require ongoing development and evolution to become a small world, while others are born as large worlds, and that’s where the gap lies. The main world is a world born atop the mainstream of the River of Earth Veins, which is why it has theoretically limitless possibilities and… special value; that’s the main world.”
“I see…” I nodded, trying to grasp the understanding, but it was still not completely clear. It was only a rough understanding of the concept, and I was entirely unaware of the specifics.
Even the so-called special value was unknown to me, but judging by the Academy Head’s demeanor, she seemed unwilling to explain further.
“So, does that mean… there’s more than one main world?”
“Yes, you guessed right. There is indeed more than one main world; however… there can only be one in the same void time period. Once a main world is conquered and its internal development is interrupted, another main world will be born again atop the mainstream of the Earth Veins.”
“…So… strictly speaking, the main world we are in has actually already lost its status as the main world?”
“Yes.” The Academy Head nodded without concealment, “But the new main world has yet to be discovered, so this world continues to be referred to as the main world.”
“Yet to be found? How is that possible?”
“What do you think? The void is an immense existence. Finding a newly born and hidden world in the void is quite difficult.”
“But… what about those Void Races…”
After hearing these concepts, I thought they represented vast territories occupied in the void, where corresponding races were well aware of their regions, and even in unoccupied areas of the void, they at least wouldn’t be unaware of what was there, right?
“What are you trying to express? Well… perhaps you’ve misinterpreted it. The void used to be referred to as the Black Domain outside the world, meaning that after stepping outside of the world, the external area is an incomprehensible expanse to the eyes. There’s nothing there; you can’t see anything, and you might only see the light emitted by the energy dispersing from the flow of Earth Veins.”
“The concept of Void Races is actually a web of relationships formed from the accidental collisions and interactions of races in this area of the void, connecting various worlds. If distances between worlds were communicated through void navigation, that would be the most inefficient way. Nowadays, stable spatial anchoring is generally used for spatial transmission. Many barren small worlds are even ruthlessly used as transit worlds.”
“But it’s funny to say that wanting to discover new worlds can only be done through the most primitive means by entering the void and conducting pioneering wars.”
“One of the main forces in these explorations of unknown voids is the Extraordinary Witches. Because of their long lifespans, strong powers, and of course, love for danger.”
“Uh… I see…”
“Of course, since the Abyss Demons are willing to contribute a small world for the main world, our main world naturally has to seize the opportunity. But you must also understand one more thing: since the Abyss Demons chose to push this world over, it signifies either that this world has no value or that it is quite troublesome. Otherwise, since the Abyss Demons could find a small world near the main world, they should choose to digest it internally first, rather than engage in charity.”
“So… Academy Head, are you going to ask me to do something again?”
