Chapter 1119: The Coming-of-Age Ceremony Held in the Main World?
Why suddenly talk about this… So what exactly have you done? I paused and turned to Sheryl. “Xiao Han, do you know what a coming-of-age ceremony is?”
“Coming-of-age ceremony?” Hearing this term, I felt it was quite unfamiliar. I knew the general meaning of the term, but I had never experienced it.
“What does it mean? Is it some kind of weird ceremony held when one turns eighteen?”
“Eighteen? Haha… Of course not. Age doesn’t hold much significance for many races. Eighteen is more of a joke. In the Void, the coming-of-age ceremony signifies the younger generation shedding their naiveté and gradually mastering their own destinies.”
“Don’t consider age? Then how do you define the younger generation?” At this moment, my attention was focused on another aspect.
As soon as I asked this question, even Sheryl was momentarily taken aback.
“As long as you remain active in the Void, your mindset of youth or maturity determines whether you belong to the younger generation. After all, many extraordinary races in the Void have lifespans that span thousands of years, and some races, like witches, have shed the essence of life’s decay, theoretically granting them eternal existence.”
“Such a casual and arbitrary definition; what if some old guy appears and claims he’s still young? Isn’t that being unreasonable?”
“The coming-of-age ceremony is a recognized event for the geniuses of the younger generation in the Void. The word ‘recognized’ is key; it filters out the vulgar, lazy, and even rogue types. Let’s put it this way: if an unsuitable child attempts to disrupt this coming-of-age ceremony, an invisible hand will crush them.”
“Oh~ So this is a game among the various extraordinary races in the Void, maintained by an absolute backing of fairness?”
“It seems Xiao Han, you don’t care much about this matter?” Sheryl noticed I was nitpicking and continuously asking detailed questions, sensing my indifferent attitude.
“It really doesn’t sound interesting.”
“It seems Xiao Han is not keen on participating? This is one of the rare grand events in the Void! Maybe the next time it opens, you’ll have already surpassed the younger generation. This is a rare opportunity! You wouldn’t want to play a boring spectator role at such a grand feast, right?”
“Even if you say so… Hmm.”
What exactly is this coming-of-age ceremony about? It can’t just be a gathering of geniuses from different races for some meal, ultimately turning into a social event…
“……pfft…hahaha…”
After hearing my words, Sheryl was initially stunned, and then she couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
“It seems I guessed wrong… Is this really that funny?”
“Ahem… um…” Sheryl actually wanted to laugh a little longer, but she sensed a shift in the atmosphere, suddenly feeling that the matter was not that amusing anymore.
“It’s rare to hear Xiao Han tell a joke; can’t I enjoy a good laugh?” Sheryl said somewhat regretfully.
“I don’t think being unknowledgeable is something to be openly mocked.” I responded.
However, sometimes I have double standards when dealing with this matter, but more often, I just find it unnecessary to explain.
“Alright, alright~ At least you deserve me to retract my earlier laughter,” Sheryl gathered her thoughts and continued: “The coming-of-age ceremony is certainly not what you described as a mere formality. Perhaps you’ve been influenced by the Main World, but the races of the Void will not sit down and congratulate the young generation of the witch race on their coming-of-age.”
“In the Void, any major event cannot escape conflict and struggle, and the coming-of-age ceremony is no exception. You can understand it as the younger generation gathering in a certain location of the Void to engage in a brawl, assessing who is stronger. There’s no possibility of sitting down for a good chat or having a meal during that time.”
“The coming-of-age ceremony is a game of continuous fighting, and good-natured people will create a list. As long as you have the ability, you can even treat it like a leveling game.”
“And this is also a great opportunity to gain fame in the Void. In the Void, those without skills have no right to leave their names or titles.”
“Looking across the entire Void, you are a witch. To others, you are just a witch. If you were an elf, you’d be an elf; if you were a holy angel, you’d be a bird person. Your race is the entire mark and symbol of your existence in the Void.”
“It sounds like you are pushing me to participate in this coming-of-age ceremony. Why… Is the ceremony going to be held in the Main World?” I asked.
“Hehe~ You guessed right! It seems the only one eligible to participate in the entire Main World is you~ You are the face of the Main World!”
“Eh…” I dodged Sheryl’s hand that reached out to pat my shoulder, then said, “That said… Even if I’m the only one in the Main World, there must be many in the young generation of the witch race, right?”
“Even if there are many, what does that have to do with you? At the coming-of-age ceremony, they can also be your enemies.”
“Huh? You have to compete with your own kind?”
“Why not? Even among the same race, geniuses have their pride and competitive spirit. But all of this is premised on the fact that the witch race holds an absolute advantage in standing. If the witch race can’t compete with other races, comparing within the same race would only expose them to ridicule from others.”
“That makes sense.” I nodded in agreement.
“So, how do you feel? Are you curious now? Get to know the talents beyond the Void and see the world outside the Main World! Just hearing about it is exhilarating, right?”
“The last time I entered the Game World, you said something similar.” I smirked, recalling the past.
“This is different!” Sheryl awkwardly smiled and continued, “In the Void, the real geniuses, the younger generation eligible to participate in the coming-of-age ceremony, start at the realm of Extraordinary Sanctuary.”
“There are so many geniuses in the Void?”
“Of course! Don’t forget, those who can be called geniuses are mostly cultivators nurtured since childhood by extraordinary races or forces. They just lack a chance to soar, and this coming-of-age ceremony is such an opportunity!”
In the Void, not just anyone can hold a coming-of-age ceremony. If you’re a genius from a small race, holding a coming-of-age ceremony with the might of an entire world is just self-indulgence; no one would pay attention to you.
So when powerful races like the witch race take the lead to host such grand ceremonies, they will strive to showcase themselves.
Even just being qualified to show your face at the coming-of-age ceremony is a great honor!
“Extraordinary Sanctuary…” Hearing this term, I suddenly realized that this realm seems to be both the terminus in the Void and the starting point of adulthood.
But it also seems quite natural; everyone is at the Sanctuary level, and there generally won’t be absolute realm suppression.
The division of the Sanctuary stage essentially depends on the number of domains; the more domains one has, the more means and abilities they possess. The competition between powers ultimately comes down to the clash of techniques, right?
It seems there’s no such thing as simply brute strength; there’s only the collision of pure combat skills… Suddenly, it felt interesting!
“Are you lamenting the Extraordinary Sanctuary? I believe you can definitely make it, with your capabilities, transcending into Sanctuary should be a basic operation. There’s no need to belittle yourself. You must understand that most of your opponents are talented seeds from extraordinary races, which means they were born extraordinary. Your starting point is lower than theirs, but I believe your speed of growth is absolutely not inferior to theirs.” Sheryl said to comfort me.
“No… That’s not what I mean.” I shook my head and said, “I’m just lamenting the threshold.”
“Let’s change the subject. Xiao Han, do you want to learn about some already famous talents beyond the Main World? If nothing goes wrong, you’ll likely encounter them, and if you don’t understand them, you might really suffer a loss, after all, gathering intelligence is also a reflection of a person’s abilities.”
“Alright… I’m fine with it. The coming-of-age ceremony, battles of geniuses, learning about the world—those still feel quite distant from me. I just want to handle some issues at hand first and then discuss this matter.”
“Do you think I’m rushing these concepts on you too quickly?”
“That’s not what I meant… Well, let me ask you, when does this coming-of-age ceremony start?” I asked.
“Um… It’s going to be several years later.” Sheryl pondered and estimated.
After all, the Betraying Witch community places a lot of importance on this coming-of-age ceremony, and many matters are no longer under her control. There are just too many implications tied to this coming-of-age ceremony.
It even involves the rise and fame of the Main World in the Void!
In the Void, it’s not just individuals who need to gain fame; Void domains and many peculiar places do as well.
The Divine Kingdom Grand Market is the most typical example, as it literally translates fame into profit!
Who doesn’t want to replicate the miracles of a divine kingdom? But is there a second Divine Kingdom Grand Market in the Void?
There isn’t…
“Several years…” Hearing this time span, I couldn’t help but laugh: “This time frame is enough for me to start from scratch and develop to where I am now, so why rush?”
“……”
At that moment, Sheryl was speechless, wanting to refute something but finding herself unable to argue back.
So why was she in such a rush?
Was the development of the Main World beyond her expectations?
Who knew that at the beginning, she had only heard a rumor and rushed to the Main World to witness the talented little witch she had been looking forward to, and everything eventually unfolded in this way.
At this moment, Sheryl suddenly felt a sense of helplessness akin to that of Mei Linde.
When you think you’ve discovered her moment of rise ahead of others, before you realize it, she has already grown into an existence nearly inscrutable to you while you cling to your outdated thoughts.
Not good… She has become part of the old guard!
After shedding that Betraying Witch, I arrived in the Instance Realm.
Although I instinctively felt that the Betraying Witch had no good intentions in seeking me out, the concerns she raised genuinely sparked some anticipation.
Three years… It seemed like it could allow me to develop from nothing to my current state again, but this time, the last phase of the Fool Dream life experiment had already passed in a flash of three months, and this semester was nearing its end.
This made me realize one thing.
As I continued down the path of the extraordinary, time seemed to hold even less meaning for me.
In the past, I was always in a rush, and the attitude toward life of a short-lived human race made me feel quite urgent about everything, fearing things would take too long to progress.
After all, for an ordinary person who can only live about a hundred years at most, life is consumable. If any endeavor seems meaningless, it is a waste of life! A waste of existence!
When I truly fulfilled the promises of the Fool Dream race, I felt a release within, suddenly experiencing an overwhelming sense of accomplishment and emptiness, as if I had completed my life’s main quest and fulfilled my mission.
I clearly still had many things to accomplish, actions to take, but there was no need to rush.
My mindset had transformed through each experience, as if the invisible pressure compelling me forward had been removed.
Even though I understood that such a thing didn’t objectively exist, this state of being wasn’t something one could easily escape from.
Successfully creating the Fool Dream race seemed to mark the turning point of everything.
This matter made me realize that the promises I made perhaps weighed even more heavily than I expected.
Of course, that’s not to say I blame the Fool Dream; they have accompanied me for quite some time, witnessing my growth. Their existence holds profound significance for me; they have become a spiritual consolation akin to Sister Bai on this journey.
Returning to the Instance Realm, Sister Bai and I were discussing “Complete Body Cultivation” here.
It’s been three months, and the foundation regarding complete body cultivation, enabling a person to acquire “Self-Awakening Body Cultivation” through practice, is still not fully accomplished.
This isn’t surprising—when I initially researched self-generated magic power, even bypassing self-awakening body cultivation took a long time.
Self-Awakening Body Cultivation isn’t a talent that can be easily obtained.
However, this does not mean that over the course of three months, I’ve had no inspiration at all.
At least I’ve determined one thing: Self-Awakening Body Cultivation cannot be achieved through pure external interference.
Just like the sublimation of soul material into a soul, I can change the essence of a person’s life through techniques like Soul Drawing by intervening externally, but I cannot do the same with Self-Awakening Body Cultivation.
After all, the prefix “self” in “Self-Awakening” indicates that this talent is fundamentally tied to one’s own consciousness and awareness.
With my understanding purely related to consciousness and the concept of race, I can deduce the crux of the issue simply. It is precisely for this reason that progress in this matter is difficult.
Unless… one can forcibly change a person’s awareness… but is that even possible?
In any case, I will absolutely not use such means to forcefully change Sister Bai’s awareness. The autonomy of consciousness is a red line for a life to maintain itself, so the means available to me are greatly limited: suggestion, hypnosis, mental guidance, cognitive guidance…
But none of these work; external interference cannot reach the threshold of “self-awakening.”
Unless… self-learning or self-enlightenment could change the essence of life and consciousness, and that is not the most important thing.
Referring to my earlier series of gradual changes after achieving Self-Awakening Body Cultivation in the beginning, this itself had already served as the clearest reference.
But… learning and enlightenment… those are easier said than done!
