Chapter 569: 47. The Secret of the Soul
“Fei Maba Ha, Fei Maba Ha!”
“Oo! Oo! Oo!”
Shifting his gaze away from the distant and cold Northern Region, he returned to the Southern Continent, spanning across mountains and oceans.
At this moment, within the Red Dragon Court at the southern end of the Southern Continent, the atmosphere was lively. In this not-so-wide corner of the kingdom, countless dragon court paper crafts, dyed in a natural red dye, were fluttering in mid-air, swaying under the gentle breeze.
This was a type of sacrificial tradition inherited since the establishment of the Red Dragon Court; such a tradition helped unify the court, making it more cohesive.
Looking out the window from Fisher’s room, the surface of a dragon head floating in the sky was wrapped in several transparent threads, while the other end was held in the hands of many dragon court residents shouting in excitement on the street below.
This was the first time Fisher had seen such a scene, but he wasn’t new to activities of a similar sacrificial nature, with the distinction being that the other events were related to different deities.
When he lived in the church as a child, Sister Teresa often took him to various worships and festivals. Just as many subhuman races in the Southern Continent naturally worship Fei Maba Ha, the belief in the Western Continent was also relatively singular. Moreover, different beliefs resulted in believers displaying entirely different personality traits.
Take Captain Alagina, who solely worshiped the Frost Phoenix; she was very accommodating toward subhumans, emphasizing familial ties, love, friendship, and such emotional bonds. Meanwhile, the Ocean Subhumans who worshiped Ramastia exhibited a plain simplicity and kindness, while it was unclear if the Whale Folk inherited the true nature of the God of All Forms, causing their personalities to become very indifferent, living casually and at ease (except for Xu).
In the Southern Continent, although the worship of Fei Maba Ha was interrupted due to historical reasons, his character remained deeply rooted in the dragon tribe, flowing through their bloodline along with the Dragon Court.
To Fisher, the belief in Fei Maba Ha felt quite complex; it resembled the notion of “a fierce tiger subtly sniffing roses,” a bit inconsistent on the surface, especially evident in Raphael.
The expression was that he seemed barbaric and boisterous on the outside but was, in fact, very delicate and gentle on the inside.
While contemplating these various thoughts, Fisher’s magical circuits began to dim slowly as if, observing the raucous scene outside, his own thoughts calmed down.
At this moment, Fisher was bare-chested, sitting in front of his desk, the window sill very close to him, revealing the bright morning sky outside.
The desk was placed in front of the window, a habit Fisher had developed long ago in Saint Nali. This setup helped him think and refresh his mind, especially now; his mind felt as clear as that of a historically renowned sage.
On the nearby bed, a disheveled blanket enveloped the somewhat worn-out body of Raphael, who, shielded from the morning sun’s shadow, had a slightly dull pair of dragon horns and a sweet sleeping face—whenever she rested, the twin horns on her head, which were a part of her soul, would exhibit corresponding changes. This was a conclusion Fisher arrived at after day and night observation.
Interestingly, during these days busy with the affairs of the Dragon Court war, she had been running around. Just yesterday, she returned to lie down beside Fisher only in the early morning.
According to Fisher’s habitual thought process, if you were extremely tired returning to rest, you would simply fall asleep immediately, but it seemed it was not the case for the dragon race.
The first thing Raphael did when she returned to Fisher’s side every day was to ask him, and she could do so several times, as if this was part of her process of decompressing or resting.
Only after she had “eaten her fill” could she contentedly drift into a deep sleep, and then, after a very short period of rest, she would be energetically revived.
This was the daily routine of the dragon race, leaving Fisher, a human, somewhat puzzled. Fortunately, he had already reached the mythical rank, and his reproductive rank was unknown to him, so Raphael’s demands were practically negligible to him.
Today was no different; she had just requested and then drifted off to sleep, leaving Fisher to enjoy a quiet morning.
Emhart was resting outside, as a few days ago, to prevent this particularly irritating guy from ruining her good fortune during the night, Raphael specially arranged for him to have a room to read a book.
This idea likely popped up a few nights ago when, excitedly returning from outside to wash off her fatigue, Raphael found Emhart sleeping on Fisher.
But this was also fine, as it allowed him to study the Soul Supplement Handbook properly.
At this moment, Fisher’s mind was exceptionally clear. After confirming that he could not read the Life Completion Manual, he turned his attention temporarily to the other Soul Supplement Handbook he possessed.
He had previously read this handbook but had not finished it entirely, as it left some ends dangling. At the time, his soul quality, or rather, his rank, was not sufficient to support continued reading, so he paused.
He still remembered the last point he had reached; it was about Jahl Uzz thinking about entering the spirit realm and that the spirit realm seemed to be a destination for members of the Creation Society. They firmly believed the way home was located somewhere in the spirit realm.
There wasn’t much left. At this moment, before resuming his reading, Fisher began to ponder a question concerning his old profession—magic.
Previously, he had privately consulted Jasmine about the damage to the Fluid Sword, but she informed him that its repair required the power of Ramastia or waiting for the power contained within the Fluid Sword to slowly recover.
However, seeing its feeble state, it was likely that it wouldn’t recover anytime soon.
Without the Fluid Sword, his combat methods seemed exceedingly monotonous.
Although he was at the mythical rank, compared to other born mythical beings, he had practically only basic brute strength to rely on. Moreover, according to the Life Completion Manual, his current “human” form did not fully allow him to unleash the power of the mythical rank.
Other mythical beings or those who reached mythical ranks through other means possessed a deep understanding of the world’s rules, whereas Fisher accessed the myth through chaos. Did that mean that the power of his mythical rank effectively relied on chaos to exert its effects?
The power of life chaos might be usable by altering his form to adapt the structural framework for exerting force, but without possessing the treasure, he could not change structures beyond the mythical rank.
Consequently, he had to contemplate another path related to chaos: magic.
In reality, both soul and magic belong to chaotic powers, but relative to the power of the completion manual, Fisher instinctively wanted to consider magic, a method he was very familiar with and confident was safe.
The highest power of magic only reached the Fourteenth Rank, meaning it could not surpass the mythical rank. However, this did not mean magic could not generate power comparable to the mythical rank.
Currently, the only known method to enhance the power of magic was through multiple rings.
The problem arose: the only known multi-ring magic in the human magic realm was created by Teacher Heilson, the “Dragon Slayer Gun.”
Fisher did not know the specifics of Heilson’s development of dual-ring magic; it might have been a flash of inspiration due to talent or a result of long-term theoretical experiments. Heilson had never disclosed this process to the outside world, even the existence of this magic was known to Fisher solely because he was his student, as Heilson had never revealed it in the academic community.
But during his time in the Ideal Nation, Fisher had witnessed Tang Zeming Asuka create multiple-ring magic effortlessly using chaos from her mind, and it wasn’t any form he had taught her.
Tang Zeming Asuka, now the Magic Lord, was likely the true origin of magic in the world. With such seemingly cheating talent, Fisher was not surprised; as a student, there was no need to be inferior to the teacher. The current issue was how this teacher could learn from his student to grasp the method of creating multi-ring magic.
He squinted, focusing his gaze on the Soul Supplement Handbook before him.
Suddenly, an idea struck him.
If the power of magic stems from the soul, then both rings and the discovery of magic were essentially deconstructions of the operational rules of reality.
This theoretical essence dictated two requirements for creating magic: one was a sufficiently strong amount of magical power (soul quality), allowing Fisher to inscribe magic and providing the necessary source and trial-and-error costs; and the other was some means or power capable of clearly deconstructing operational rules, allowing Fisher to observe previously unrecognized magical laws from an unprecedented perspective.
Perhaps Tang Zeming Asuka was able to satisfy both points, which was why she possessed such exaggerated magical talent.
But conveniently, Fisher currently had something at hand that could satisfy both requirements.
The Soul Supplement Handbook.
He gently pinched the cover of the Soul Supplement Handbook and started to open it bit by bit. As before, his magical circuits suddenly lit up. However, this time, as his skin turned the pages of the supplement handbook, an extremely peculiar feeling surged within Fisher’s heart.
He sensed that everything around him suddenly became profound, as if everything in sight was slowly fading away, leaving only the boundless darkness and the chair he sat on, the supplement handbook before him, and the wooden table beneath it still present.
Fisher did not feel uncomfortable; he merely furrowed his brows, wanting to continue reading the content of the Soul Supplement Handbook. Just then, opposite him, a pale male hand with some black body hair gently pressed down on the pages of the supplement handbook, interrupting his reading.
“…”
Fisher silently looked up, only to see across the table a middle-aged man with sparse hair, only a very shallow layer of hair on the back of his head, staring blankly at him.
His face was ravaged, with dark purple bags under his eyes, looking entirely drained of spirit. He wore an ancient light red robe exuding a strong Southern Continent Dragon Court style, but the thin fabric only accentuated his gaunt physique.
Meeting Fisher’s gaze, he slowly withdrew the hand resting on the Soul Supplement Handbook and, languidly and dryly, patted his hand before speaking to Fisher,
“Congratulations, it’s been a long time since someone reached the mythical rank among those who possess this supplement handbook after me. You are the first and probably the last.”
“…Jahl Uzz?”
Fisher had seen the figure of this man previously when he experienced hallucinations in the Northern Region.
The man before him nodded and replied, lacking spirit,
“Yes, that’s me. No need to wonder why you suddenly find yourself here; this is all predetermined by me. Now, you have read the vast majority of the notes I recorded. The remaining part is a very brief segment, my last words before attempting to enter the spirit realm. Reading that part means you have inherited all the knowledge within my mind. That part is limited, but highly dangerous, so I need to ensure that the owner’s soul is sufficiently strong, or rather, twisted, requiring at least a mythical rank.
“Before you begin reading that part, I need to share a few things with you. Some things not recorded in the supplement handbook. Consider this a warning, or a sharing of experience. After listening, you can decide whether to continue reading that portion.”
Fisher did not continue to read the pages of the supplement handbook on the table but focused all his attention on this exceedingly weary and aged man before him; he was another transferred person from beyond the world.
He discerned that the person before him, “Jahl Uzz,” was not a living soul but rather a recorded content from the supplement handbook, bearing the message Jahl Uzz wished to convey. However, the method was unclear to Fisher. Based on the level of intelligence displayed by this shadow, it was hard to determine whether it was some application of the chaotic knowledge of the soul.
After hesitating for a moment, he asked,
“What do you want to share with me?”
“A secret, the secret of the soul.”
“The soul?”
“Yes, although I have not interacted with many other owners of supplement handbooks, just one, the Fate Lord, or rather the president she impersonated. Through long-term research, I’ve begun to realize that the knowledge contained in my mind may be the most unique among all supplement handbooks. Not because of others, but because this knowledge closely relates to one concept.”
Jahl Uzz’s pale face slowly lowered, then he rubbed his hands, nervously and shakily spoke,
“Do you know? Beyond this world, the place I used to live, Earth, or whatever chaotic other star systems and universes there are, in that place, the soul is [nonexistent], or rather, it doesn’t not exist, but nobody, no existence knows it exists.”
Fisher furrowed his brows. After all, in his world view, the existence of the soul was common knowledge known by almost everyone; even those who hadn’t studied magic were aware of it. This made it hard for him to grasp Jahl Uzz’s words.
“What does this mean? So, the soul is a phenomenon unique to our world?”
Yet the moment those words slipped out, he immediately felt something was off, because if that were the case, then it would be impossible for Tang Zeming Asuka to possess the magical circuits he was so familiar with.
Sure enough, Jahl Uzz soon shook his head and said,
“On the contrary, the soul is the only rule shared by this world and the outside; however, few people are aware of this truth. Only because of the special chaotic knowledge I gained could I be fortunate enough to know this secret. You know, information has its gaps. As the saying goes, the higher you stand, the farther you see. This principle is evident; the stronger and smarter existences tend to know more than others.
“To magnify this insight to a racial level, in our world, we know very little about the world beyond the firmament, and the same goes for the rules governing the world; undoubtedly, there are other stronger and smarter races that know more than us and can achieve more. Then, there are surely even more powerful and clever races beyond them who know even more. This continues ad infinitum until it reaches the powerful deities who exist in a world similar to this—Ramistia, Dalasgon, Anehbatros, Heya, Ouyun.”
At this point, Jahl Uzz slowly lifted his expressionless face, looking at Fisher before him, and then said,
“Now, continuing forward with the prior logic, if these deities have yet to reach an omniscient and omnipotent strength and wisdom, then there must be something even beyond them that they themselves cannot comprehend in terms of principle, nature, and origin. It’s just that they, ha, compared to our earlier example of humanity, know very little, and as they grow stronger, the unknowns become fewer.”
“You mean—”
“Yes, that thing is the soul, and it is the most related aspect of the knowledge I acquired.”
Jahl Uzz smiled a tragic smile and continued,
“In our world, the soul is entirely ungraspable. It’s like a fantastical concept until I arrived in this world and confirmed that, indeed, I have a soul like yours. It truly exists, but within your world, the soul is [shaped]. This is in complete contradiction to the knowledge I have acquired. The Sea of Souls here is abnormal or rather, very special, very… [precious].
“It’s aggregation density is even capable of restoring individual consciousness with [soul authority]. Those powerful existences that observe this world peacefully day and night; those stars are the proof. Moreover, there’s a vast gap in soul strength with those beyond the world. Hence, Ramistia could create several such powerful demigods.
“No one knows where those manifested souls come from. The gods see them as natural gifts, but I can assure you that those souls have masters. Their masters are the existences presiding over the souls whose rules and origins even the gods cannot comprehend. The subsequent content of the supplement handbook displays a fragment of that power, and so I say that my supplement handbook is the most unique among all.
“If you decide to continue reading, you will witness the brilliance of the soul. You will feel the power hidden deep within you, witnessing all the extraordinary sights that the souls that have traversed mountains and rivers, countless bodies, and infinite distances have seen. But you will also fall into unprecedented danger; your soul will first plunge into the chaos that this world cannot tolerate, turning into a ravenous predator.
“The soul is the source of consciousness and the most direct authority from an unknown powerful existence; the cost of such immense power will be a madness unlike anything other supplement handbooks can compare to. Thus, you need a clear and sufficient target to sustain you against that hunger to maintain your sanity in such a struggle. Do you have such a goal?”
Fisher was momentarily taken aback. He received too much from Jahl Uzz all at once, yet to digest it fully, he then heard the final question.
Recalling his past entries in the supplement handbook, Fisher couldn’t help but inquire,
“You used such power to return home, to see your wife and daughter?”
Jahl Uzz’s weary face momentarily froze upon hearing this, then the corners of his lips lifted into a very faint smile,
“Yes, I miss them dearly. They are the pillars for me to keep going, so I do not hesitate to wield the power of knowledge.”
Fisher was unaware of the ins and outs of this matter; he only knew that in the end, Jahl Uzz had failed; otherwise, this supplement handbook wouldn’t have ended up in his hands.
But perhaps, like Fisher now, he also had his own reasons for having to act this way.
“I understand now. Thank you for your sharing, Mr. Jahl Uzz.”
Jahl Uzz smiled faintly but did not say anything more. Immediately afterward, the surrounding darkness suddenly dissipated, and the text of the supplement handbook on the table became very clear.
Outside the window, the paper dragon head of Fei Maba Ha had drifted away, leaving only an exceedingly quiet morning sky.
Gazing at that sky and pondering over the information just received from Jahl Uzz, a spark of inspiration, a thought related to magic, suddenly lit up in Fisher’s mind.
“Mm.”
He felt a small surge of excitement within, wanting to try to implement this idea closely linked to the Soul Supplement Handbook. But just then, beside him, a somewhat uneasy whimper from the bed interrupted all his thoughts.
He slightly turned his head and saw Raphael, resting under the covers, eyes closed but with an unpleasant expression, seemingly trapped in a terrifying nightmare.
Fisher quickly rose, quietly approached her side, and noticed a thin layer of cold sweat covering her forehead, matted in her hair.
“Black Mud… don’t come near.”
As he drew closer, he heard her softly mumbling something in her sleep, describing scenes from the nightmare.
(End of Chapter)
