Chapter 822: The True Goal of Betrayer Witch Sheril
To facilitate a more efficient soul drawing experiment, I directly selected a spacious location within the instance realm for the solidification of specific rituals and the delineation of ritual nodes. The materials consumed were mostly prepared in advance, so I didn’t waste too much time.
With the assistance of these solidified rituals, using soul drawing became much easier for me.
At first, I thought soul drawing would be straightforward.
However, after conducting the life experiment, I realized that there were far too many considerations involved.
In fact, if soul drawing were not necessary, I wouldn’t want to use it on others at all.
This is because the process of soul drawing and the sublimation of the soul involves too many variables to consider, and it’s not as simple as just memory being one variable.
However… the concept held by Fool Dream is limited, so there are not too many concerns. Fool Dream has only her own “consciousness”, the “memories” extracted from the primordial dream world using the great knowledge seed, alongside the “wisdom” I am about to impart to her, aided by soul drawing, to give birth to the essence of her soul.
Thus, Fool Dream’s conceptual makeup consists only of “consciousness,” “memory,” “wisdom,” and “soul.”
Humans tend to impose incomprehensible complexity onto themselves, believing their infinity cannot be described by specific, limited concepts.
When a person is defined, life instinctively rebels against it, stemming from life’s pursuit of incredibly complex nature.
But objectively, is a person really that complex?
Not at all.
Just like Fool Dream, she is not complex to me, yet I want to give her the best.
As my experiment with little white mice increased, I also outlined a small area next to it as their breeding ground.
I communicated with these little white mice through mind communication magic for simple conversations. Although they lacked language, they had instincts.
Thus… after completing the soul drawing, I could compare the differences before and after.
Everything was indeed as I had previously guessed: the essence of life itself is a very complex concept.
It contains far too many elements including, but not limited to, wisdom, memory, race concept, bloodline, and body information.
There are too many things that cannot be depicted because I cannot define them.
However, life can complete itself.
This is a concept I realized when I was perfecting wisdom bestowal in the expanding realm.
Wisdom is not limited to “consciousness” and “memory,” but these two comprise the vast majority of the concept of wisdom, and life will naturally self-complete these missing parts.
This is the plasticity and regenerative nature of life.
Currently, the data I can collect from the little white mice has almost reached its limit, and the Great Knowledge Tree is analyzing the meaning of this data with full force.
“There are still so many little white mice left… indeed, the number is excessive.” I shook the beast trap, where there were still hundreds of little white mice inside.
“Perhaps I should try group soul drawing on the little white mice…”
Once I had this thought, I suddenly came up with many ideas.
Group soul drawing…
This should originally be a convenient means for groups.
But I thought of another possibility: the “soul link” between individuals in a group.
This doesn’t seem particularly difficult to achieve. As long as a “medium” is grafted onto the independent souls of individuals during the soul drawing process as a bridge, that would suffice.
And this bridge medium… could refer to the structure and theoretical foundation of mind communication magic.
Then this might create… a collective consciousness, right?
That’s somewhat terrifying.
Unless necessary, I generally wouldn’t employ such a technique on anyone, since with mind communication magic, everything seems sufficient.
However, if it were used on these little white mice, it would be acceptable, considering they are essentially materials for experimentation.
After some experiments, I also put the remaining little white mice to “waste Utilization.”
However, at this stage, I plan to keep them for a while longer to see what changes occur over time in little white mice that have sublimated into the essence of their souls.
“By the way, is it almost evening?” I looked up at the sky; the day and night in the instance realm had already synchronized with the outside world after time adjustment.
I didn’t expect the process of the life experiment to consume so much time.
“I’ll stop here for today, Yu Lan～ You all should rest well; I’m going to find Sister Bai.”
“Okay～ Sister Xiao Han, take care～”
……
Villa.
“Let’s play a game, shall we?” Sheril said, her gaze fixed on Bai Yu, with even a hint of teasing.
“What game?” Bai Yu frowned and asked.
This conversation was entirely controlled by the other party, and she felt quite displeased, but she had to comply.
“I will reveal to you the purpose of my arrival in the main world, and you cannot tell anyone; this is the game’s rule. Sign the contract, and the game begins, and you… can decide whether to participate in this game.”
“Purpose… what is your purpose in telling me this? Why choose me?” Bai Yu emphasized this question directly, eager to know the answer.
“Once you sign this contract, I will tell you.” Sheril picked up a contract; the contents were simple— the other party reveals her purpose, while she must comply with not disclosing it in any way directly or indirectly.
“What’s the point of this?”
“Because that guy Mei is too boring, so… I turned to you.”
“That reason has no credibility whatsoever.”
“So… will you sign? If you don’t sign, then no one in the main world will know my true purpose; if you sign, then you will be the only one who can try to stop me.”
“……”
Bai Yu took the witch contract. The contractual binding power on it was terrifying compared to what she had seen before, so this Betrayer Witch must be a witch with deep insight into the subject of witch contracts.
Sheril observed Bai Yu in silence and did not rush her, merely watching her with interest.
Sheril couldn’t think of any reason for the other party to refuse; after all… even if she rejected, it wouldn’t matter to her, or rather, even if this contract wasn’t signed, her purpose was already apparent.
The Betrayer Witch group is generally very sincere. If issues can be resolved through communication, she would never choose a more costly way.
Because that would be no different from seeking attention… although some mischievous Betrayer Witches might do so, she wouldn’t, at least not regarding this issue.
“You seem to have deemed that I will sign it.”
“You seem to have an answer in your heart as well.”
Sheril responded; this was her first interaction with the Heart Sense Body Cultivation Witch. Such witches trust more in the truths they perceive.
Because they can easily sense sincerity from hypocrisy, they are also less enthusiastic about performing with others.
These Body Cultivation Witches and sincere Betrayer Witches really match well.
“I choose to sign, just to verify my inner guess.” Bai Yu calmly picked up the feathered pen that was handed over and signed her name.
The next moment, the parchment turned to flames, and the contract split into two parts, merging into both parties’ bodies.
“So, I really enjoy dealing with witches like you～ so sincere it’s a bit cute. If it were that guy Mei, if she guessed my purpose, she wouldn’t bother signing a contract to validate such assumptions～” Sheril was quite pleased to see Bai Yu’s decisiveness.
“You should fulfill the contract now.” Bai Yu’s words remained very concise.
“Right, then I’ll state it directly～ I came to the main world for one reason… Yang Yuelan.”
As soon as Sheril said this, Bai Yu understood why the other party approached her because… she was the only witch close to Xiao Han.
Though Xiao Han seemed to have good relationships with many witches, even with the Academy Head, there remained an invisible barrier between them.
A barrier… characterized by using respectful language even when speaking or communicating.
Sheril had also noticed this, so she approached Bai Yu.
In her view, Bai Yu was the only “unstable factor” concerning Xiao Han.
“Seems like you’re not surprised at all～ You know? That guy Mei still thinks I came to the main world to seize it and worries about whether I might disrupt their plans; it’s just laughable～” Sheril laughed as she recalled this.
However, Bai Yu did not find the humor in it.
“They can easily seize the main world; it’s just a matter of time. Only their attitude towards Xiao Han cannot be resolved by time.”
“So…”
“So, I want to correct them!”
“Why? What’s wrong with their treatment of Xiao Han that requires your intervention?” Bai Yu asked in confusion.
“How should I put this? Take their attitude towards that so-called game world as an example: Mei’s stance is that she does not want Xiao Han to get involved because it’s too dangerous, but I think just the opposite—Xiao Han should face these challenges head-on. Mei even promised that Xiao Han should be the one harvesting the game world; she should be the one supporting Xiao Han!”
“A conflict of ideology…” Bai Yu summarized.
“Exactly! A conflict of ideology! They still treat Xiao Han like a child! But in my view… lifespan and age do not grant them the right to act superior; they enjoy her innovations while resting on her achievements and restrict her within the Witch Academy under the guise of protection…”
“You’re begging the question.”
“Look, you can still distinguish between important and trivial matters!”
“But do you really think protecting Xiao Han well is beneficial for her?” Sheril didn’t think the rebuttal was a problem, “Consider those days you spent with Xiao Han outside the academy. Wasn’t she very happy? Very free? Gathered so much? After that, according to your notion, Xiao Han advancing to Extraordinary is certain, and she even made great strides in the Self-Generated Magic topic…”
“What about the risks? Unilaterally taking risks, not discussing the potential dangers, will only harm Xiao Han!” Bai Yu had always been fixated on the word “risk.”
“Fine～ I’ll acknowledge that this is an unavoidable hurdle, risk… but if even risks cannot be endured…” As Sheril was saying this, her earlier playful demeanor vanished; her expression became serious and imposing, “Then I will represent the Betrayer Witch community thereafter… as the first not to acknowledge Yang Yuelan’s qualification to achieve the highest honor of a witch!”
“……”
“The highest honor of a witch—the Truth Witch, Bai Yu, you wouldn’t want to cut off Yang Yuelan’s path, would you? Perhaps achieving the title of Truth Witch does not need the Betrayer Witch’s acknowledgment, but the group’s disapproval… would also be a massive blow.”
“Are you threatening me?” Bai Yu pressed her lips together and questioned.
“No, I’m making you understand. The reason I previously said you have made no progress… is that you never learned to look far ahead. If you want to achieve something, it’s not just about reaching a certain stage through efforts; it’s a long-term plan.”
“If Xiao Han gained my recognition as a Little Witch, I would spread her achievements within the Betrayer Witch community, and she would earn that approval. You only need to do this, and you can manage the most challenging group within the witch community—the Betrayer Witches. You stand to gain, as does Xiao Han, doesn’t it?”
“……”
“My patience is limited. Emotional persuasion and rational analysis… might be hard for you to accept, but I am merely expressing what I believe is correct. So if you’re unsure of how to choose… why not ask your Xiao Han?”
“Just like… when Xiao Han first entered school and you asked her if she wanted to step into the dispute of fortune; perhaps her answer will surprise you like back then.”
“You even investigated this matter?”
“Of course～ I take matters regarding Xiao Han seriously.” Sheril said earnestly at this moment.
In fact, Sheril knew this was just an investigation. With the support of the Betrayer Witch community, how could there be any irreparable situation?
But clearly, Bai Yu, who had just recently become an Extraordinary Witch, did not understand the intricacies, and Sheril had no objections to facilitating such a situation.
It was similar to the Witch Academy initially intimidating new students, telling them that someone could d*e in the new student combat competition while deliberately omitting that resurrection spells were already very common in the Extraordinary world.
“It seems you still need… wait a moment, oh no～ not a good time…”
When Sheril was about to say something, suddenly, she seemed to sense something, and the next moment, her figure disappeared from in front of Bai Yu.
Before Bai Yu could figure out what was happening, the next event clarified her confusion.
A spatial rift suddenly tore open in the villa, and stepping out was the familiar figure of Xiao Han!
“Sister Bai! Hehe~ You’re really here at the villa!”
At that moment, I returned from the instance realm, appearing immediately at the villa, as I suspected Sister Bai was likely here.
“Xiao Han? Why did you suddenly come back?!”
“What’s wrong? Of course, I had nothing to do～ they no longer need me for the self-generated magic experiment, so I came back～”
I dashed into Sister Bai’s embrace, replenishing her energy, but the next moment, I suddenly looked up, as if I had discovered something, “Sniff sniff～ there’s the smell of another woman!”
“Xiao Han, your nose…”
“It’s the Betrayer Witch’s scent!” I instantly recognized, “And it’s very fresh! That guy has intruded into our villa again!”
“Sorry, Xiao Han…”
“No need to apologize… that guy’s strength is a bit exaggerated, so Sister Bai, don’t act on impulse～ let’s head back to the instance realm; she can’t come in there～” I quickly interrupted Sister Bai’s words.
“…… Okay, let’s go.” Bai Yu was slightly taken aback but quickly nodded.
