Chapter 422: The Dilemma of Knowledge Tree Derived Spells
As soon as I opened the door and stepped inside, I saw Qiu Ruxin, who had just woken up, sitting on the living room sofa in her nightgown, with the TV still on.
“Hmm? Sister Xiao Han went out this early?” Qiu Ruxin said, somewhat surprised. Could it be that she had gone off somewhere during the night?
“What kind of look is that? Do I seem like someone who would go looking for trouble for no reason?” Seeing the expression on Qiu Ruxin’s face, I chuckled lightly and asked back. Although Qiu Ruxin didn’t say much, her eyes said a lot.
“Uh… no… right…” Qiu Ruxin said, her gaze evasive. Coupled with Sister Xiao Han being referred to as the “Catastrophe Witch,” this statement seemed quite insincere.
“I was out practicing body techniques, don’t overthink it. I was meditating earlier; how’s your progress with the Witch Meditation Method?”
“Uh… I still don’t have any leads on that…” Qiu Ruxin said, scratching her head, feeling somewhat like a student caught off guard during an inspection.
“Since you haven’t made any progress, you should spend some time studying. After becoming a preparatory witch, the Witch Meditation Method requires daily practice. Only with strong mental power can you support your extraordinary abilities in acquiring greater power.”
Hearing this outcome, I wasn’t surprised at all. After all, the entry threshold for the Witch Meditation Method is a bit high, so taking a little longer to learn it is not an issue. Even in the Witch Academy, those who learned it within one or two days were considered geniuses, at least according to what the seniors said.
Then, with a snap of my fingers, the Illusionary Clone reappeared beside me. Since Qiu Ruxin wasn’t occupied at the moment, I decided to give her something to do.
Otherwise, would I let her just watch TV this early in the morning?
Mornings should be spent on important matters, not wasted.
However, I was also intrigued by the TV program that was currently on. The television programming in this world isn’t very abundant, as the Excavators have caused disruption, leading to slow development in entertainment activities. There aren’t many channels, and little in the way of variety shows.
The channel Qiu Ruxin was watching had already started broadcasting news.
I watched the news report with interest; generally, this was how ordinary households learned about world events.
As I expected, today’s news urgently reported on the disruption of the Plant Network that affected the world during the early hours.
And they indeed confirmed my suspicions, stating that it was the Wanlian Main Network Tree, which, under the careful maintenance of its personnel, was undergoing a second revival and performing maintenance and upgrades to the Plant Network, ultimately praising the hardworking maintainers.
I must say, they understand public opinion well, and they ended up condemning the Excavators, urging the public to remember to protect their safety and reduce outings…
“Hmm, boring.”
After seeing that the subsequent news was of no interest to me, I turned off the TV and returned to my bedroom.
After last night’s research, I had gained new insights regarding the Memory Shelf Spellbook, and now I was ready for some derivation attempts.
At this point, getting hands-on, I finally understood one thing. Looking back, before I comprehended spell derivation and extension, I referred to my adjustments to spellbooks as “magical modifications.”
That was a purposeless behavior, relying entirely on luck. Now I could understand Teacher Ji’s feelings back then; deriving spells without a goal was indeed absurd, but that was only for basic shaping spells, which was still somewhat understandable.
Now, the spellbook I wanted to modify was the Memory Shelf Spellbook. Without a clear goal established, without detailed planning, without substantial reserves, and without an understanding of relevant knowledge, miracles would be impossible. Blind attempts like I did earlier wouldn’t work at all.
After I began to integrate the Plant Network framework with the spellbook, I encountered various issues. While many problems remained unsolved, I wasn’t worried, as those were simply matters of time. However, the biggest issue was that the effect of deriving spells from the Knowledge Tree Spellbook did not meet my expectations.
After spending an entire day on adjustments, I also obtained a “Knowledge Tree: Semi-finished Product” Spellbook. Since the framework was already in place, the remaining challenge was to classify and manage that knowledge and memory, which was quite troublesome.
Of course, there was a much simpler option: to scrap what I had previously learned and start over, using the current framework, allowing the Knowledge Tree Spellbook to automatically filter and categorize this knowledge.
But I wouldn’t choose that. I preferred to classify it myself, considering that a significant portion of the memories and knowledge in my Memory Shelf didn’t come from books.
Additionally, I encountered another issue; while this knowledge could be categorized and summarized when obtained, it merely represented a more advanced version of the Memory Shelf, not reaching the level worthy of being called a Knowledge Tree.
For the Memory Shelf Spellbook, even if it was a hassle to build multiple shelves for storing memories, I could achieve similar results in categorizing memories, so it was unnecessary to make such a huge effort.
Integrating the Plant Network spell model was simply about adding a system of management akin to what the Plant Network provided.
Just like the exact same problem currently faced by the Plant Network, when data becomes too vast, it requires a comprehensive retrieval function, or a retrieval system. The people in this world chose to use methods similar to AI retrieval.
The primary issue remained that the derived Knowledge Tree was too weak in terms of interconnection between different pieces of knowledge…
At this moment, I fell into deep thought. Having spent an entire day, I was honestly quite dissatisfied with how the Knowledge Tree Spellbook had turned out.
Although it was significantly better than the previous Memory Shelf Spellbook, it still hadn’t met my expectations.
For the time to come, I dedicated all my efforts to organizing knowledge, which was a long and tedious process. It was akin to the time I spent learning this knowledge initially.
Now, calming my mind to let everything settle, organizing these memories and knowledge was almost like reliving the process.
Moreover, I could also sort out useless memories or knowledge.
Perhaps I should set up a temporary memory partition for the Knowledge Tree Spellbook. Some memories have practical importance, and when they’re not useful, I can clear them out, otherwise, they would consume my energy and might interfere with my thoughts at crucial moments.
After all, no one likes for irrelevant memories to pop up during critical thinking moments, just like during an important exam when one’s mind is filled not with answers, but with a catchy song instead. This is serious memory clutter that needs to be cleaned up.
Thus, the act of forgetting must be given equal importance.
After all, the Memory Shelf Spellbook can only record a limited amount of information; even if I derive it into a Knowledge Tree, theoretically it still has an “upper limit.”
And compared to the Memory Shelf itself, it has more advantages.
The Knowledge Tree is continuously developing, with thoughts and knowledge resembling ever-extending branches and leaves.
I closed my eyes and visualized the awareness space where the Knowledge Tree resides. In the past, when looking at the Memory Shelf, it was merely a monotonous row of shelves. Now, it had truly become a large tree, although at this moment it looked quite wilted.
It even had no leaves.
But I knew very well that those extending branches represented my classification of knowledge and memories. I needed to use knowledge and memories as nourishment to water this Knowledge Tree, and ultimately it would sprout new branches and leaves.
At this moment, even without my active classification of the unorganized knowledge and memories, the root system spreading from under the Knowledge Tree had already begun to slowly take root, starting to draw from the remnants left behind in the Memory Shelf.
However, the speed was quite slow. Without my intervention, it might take years for it to passively organize itself.
So, it was indeed necessary for me to intervene personally.
This period of self-contemplation consumed over six entire days.
When I fed all those classified memories and knowledge to the Knowledge Tree, it had completely transformed its appearance.
Looking at the Knowledge Tree and its lush leaves woven from memories and knowledge, I felt goosebumps from a moment of achievement; this feeling of changing myself through my own efforts was truly exhilarating!
And after so many days of calm introspection and reviewing knowledge, I realized one thing.
The so-called derivation isn’t precisely a rigorous phase; it can still be constantly optimized.
Just like during this time, I also came up with a new plan for the Knowledge Tree.
If I could incorporate the “Active Learning and Application” spell into the Knowledge Tree, wouldn’t that be perfect?
The effect of the Active Learning and Application spell in stimulating associations between memories and knowledge, bridging subjective thoughts with objective knowledge, is simply incredible!
But that’s only an idea; the Active Learning and Application spellbook is another independent spellbook. Not to mention whether the linkage between multiple spellbooks is feasible, I’m not entirely sure about it. I wouldn’t want to dismantle the Active Learning and Application spellbook either.
Thus, I prepared to start again from the insights within the 【Extraordinary Knowledge】.
After all, the Active Learning and Application spellbook aligns too closely with the derivation spell of the Knowledge Tree. This is my subjective perception, while I currently lack the objective theory to support combining them.
If tackling all this meant persistent efforts on my part, that wouldn’t be impossible. Perhaps once this small world collided with the Main World, I might see some light.
It can be described as a thankless task.
Compared to that, I prefer to use a more clever approach.
So, for the time being, I planned to “travel the world,” visiting the Wanlian Main Network Trees in various countries, hoping to gain more insights.
As for those countries hiding their Wanlian Main Network Trees from others, to me, it was simply laughable.
Once I have control of that main Wanlian Main Network Tree, I would directly control the Plant Network, and indirectly control the vast root network that spans the globe, allowing me to easily deduce the precise locations of those Wanlian Main Network Trees in this world.
They probably never expected that my understanding of the Plant Network would surpass theirs, right?
Perhaps their use of the Plant Network, accumulated over many years, was richer than mine. However, who cares about that when I’m performing a dimensional strike against them?
I don’t care how creatively they can manipulate it; I’d just exert the highest authority and put a stop to it.
Regarding my desire to travel globally, I casually mentioned my plan to Qiu Ruxin. This trip isn’t just a test of the Wanlian Main Network Trees, but also a chance to practice the saying, “Read thousands of books and travel thousands of miles.”
Moreover, this would broaden my horizons and witness aspects I had never encountered before.
Increasing one’s experiences does indeed contribute to building a solid foundation, and this is also an interpretation of maintaining a balance between work and leisure.
Since entering the Witch Academy, I had been relentlessly pushing myself to learn without stopping for a moment. Even when I sought relaxation through rest, sleep, and entertainment, in my heart, I was always thinking about how long this rest would last and what I needed to do afterward.
In the past, I didn’t perform well in studies or enjoy play, always second-guessing my actions, leading to a chaotic life.
Even though I seemed to plan things out logically on the surface, that was merely superficial—a deeper form of self-deception and extreme irresponsibility towards myself.
Being unable to focus on one task is truly a pity.
Perhaps not being able to focus on learning isn’t a big deal for many, but to put it another way—being unable to focus on playing—reveals a person’s sadness.
I intend to keep going in this manner, traveling, learning, and reflecting.
Play should be pure play, while learning to complete the Knowledge Tree Spellbook should be taken seriously. Dissonance in enjoyment stems from uncertainty about the future, as one doesn’t know whether another opportunity to experience such enjoyment will come after this.
Humans have a compensatory psychology; this psychology makes even enjoying oneself not satisfying enough anymore, and such thoughts can continually occupy one’s mind, even harming one’s body.
Thus, I want to take this opportunity to completely resolve this problem.
Isn’t this behavior an embodiment of the spirit of knowing and doing?
This time, I left with Qiu Ruxin, as I was worried about her safety if I left her here. More importantly, I also needed the Extraordinary Item, the Tears of the Wild Plant, for insights into 【Extraordinary Knowledge】.
I feel quite open-minded now. Perhaps I have the qualification to touch this 【Extraordinary Knowledge】, but if I want to fully study the Great Spellbook, I’m still unqualified. Therefore, my efforts during this period are all about using this 【Extraordinary Knowledge】 for self-improvement; the Great Spellbook is too far out of reach for me, and only what I can currently grasp belongs to me.
“Um… Sister Xiao Han, here’s a global travel guide I made based on your information about the locations of the Wanlian Main Network Trees worldwide. It should be quite helpful for us.”
“Hmm? You made this yourself?” I was somewhat surprised. Although I already had a travel plan, specific details regarding routes and accommodations were still necessary.
“I searched on the Plant Network over the past few days, comparing many global travel guides. It shouldn’t… be a problem.”
“Thank you, I appreciate it.”
“It’s no trouble at all! It’s my honor to travel the world with Sister Xiao Han!” Qiu Ruxin said excitedly.
“Is that so? However, our global trip might end at any time.” After all, I was well aware that the Void Exploration team mentioned by the Academy Head was likely to arrive in about a month. Since a considerable number of days had passed since then, their arrival might be somewhat delayed, but I certainly intend to welcome them. As one of the earliest people to arrive in this world—oh no, as a preparatory witch—I naturally should introduce the current situation to those teachers and the Academy Head.
Of course, this isn’t me looking for trouble; rather, it’s about seeing the extraordinary witches’ astonished reactions upon discovering that there are “wild preparatory witches” here. Isn’t that more entertaining?
“Mm-hmm, I understand. You mean the teachers from the Witch Academy, right?” Qiu Ruxin nodded, her eyes sparkling with some anticipation. If the mentors from the Witch Academy, or even the Academy Head, came, wouldn’t that mean she could head to the Witch Academy early and escape this “sea of suffering”?
“Yes, so plans can change unexpectedly. You’ve done well enough to create the travel guide to this extent.” I said with a smile, my tone carrying a touch of praise.
At this moment, I found myself deep in thought, wondering when Sister Bai would return, as I wanted to travel the world with her as well…
But when that opportunity arises, I must take Sister Bai to a larger world for a global trip… No, that idea is still too small; I want to venture through the various worlds of the Void with Sister Bai!
Of course, that would have to wait until I have the corresponding abilities, as the environment in the Void is extremely dangerous. Without considerable power, how could I explore the Void?
One might even encounter a world that abruptly ends the journey.
