Chapter 293: Triggering a Strange Encounter

Though he asked aloud whether there was any hope, the science fanatic’s mind was clearly focused on a different question—Feng Xue could see it, but he couldn’t say it outright; after a moment’s pause, he spoke:

“It’s not a matter of saving or not saving—ultimately, your spiritual realm and cultivation base simply haven’t kept pace with your magical cultivation. Each of you is spiritually complete, energetically robust, physically strong; as long as you calm your mind and refine slowly, you’ll naturally return to the right path.”

“… ” Upon hearing this, the science fanatic felt a flash of excitement, followed immediately by worry—after all, “spiritually complete, energetically robust, physically strong” were just upgraded character stats; in reality, he was a weakling who gasped for breath after walking two li.

Thinking of this, he ventured tentatively:

“Master, my physique was also created by magical cultivation—is there no other way to compensate?”

“I didn’t notice that, but then again, if one could truly forge such a body, it would be absurd for one’s life to be utterly empty.” Feng Xue’s expression grew thoughtful, making the science fanatic feel a pang of guilt, as if he’d deceived an AI; Feng Xue, sensing the moment was right, said:

“I do have a method of Divine Path cultivation, originating from the ancient Wu-Xi lineage—you might think of it as conjuring a deity out of nothing, then treating that deity as your core talisman. The stronger the deity, the stronger your soul becomes; with a powerful soul, cultivation naturally becomes twice as effective. If you further supplement it with dietary alchemy, you should be able to make up for the deficiencies.”

“A deity?” The science fanatic vaguely sensed this wasn’t about fixing a flaw—it was likely a method for cultivating in reality. But as a modern man, he still found faith complicated, and couldn’t help asking:

“You call it a deity, but it’s just a name. Ancient Wu-Xi practitioners called themselves messengers of deities to gain cultivation resources. In essence, it’s merely establishing an idol and collecting devotional energy—whether you call it a deity or a manifestation makes no difference. If you’re inclined, try cultivating it. Copy the text and place it on your bookshelf.”

Feng Xue casually explained the cultivation principles of Wu You’er’s face, then pulled out a book he’d long prepared and handed it to the science fanatic.

“The ‘Wu Xuan Tong Xiu Qi’?” The science fanatic was about to open it, then suddenly realized this act was impolite—he turned to thank Feng Xue, but when he looked up again, the figure that had just been before him had vanished.

“Did I just receive true transmission?”

The science fanatic was filled with the joy of encountering a novel-style stroke of fortune. He immediately activated the screenshot function, rapidly capturing every page, saving them to his study archive, and even feeling it wasn’t safe enough—he wondered whether he should log off to back up multiple copies on a hard drive, and perhaps print a physical version—when his friend communication suddenly chimed.

In his mind, he should have been studying this secret manual to honor this fortune, but just as he was about to ignore it, he remembered Professor Wang had said he’d send a message. He snapped to attention and opened the message bar:

[Professor Wang]: I’ve created my account. I’m in the Xinshoucun now.

“Coming!” The science fanatic instantly added the friend, sent a brief text, then stepped out of the library and called:

“Someone kill me back!”

“What got into you?” The Dragon Warrior, who’d been waiting for his new inspiration, was taken aback by his sudden outburst. The science fanatic merely shrugged:

“Someone I know made an account. I need to go pick him up.”

“Oh, alright. This village’s been expanded, yet they still haven’t installed a respawn point or teleport array—every time you have to run all the way here. What a pain!” The Dragon Warrior shrugged too, followed the science fanatic out of the village, then unleashed a “Demon King’s Addiction.”

The science fanatic’s skull shattered by a staff blow, instantly teleported back to town, then immediately teleported to the Xinshoucun …

…

“Professor Wang!” Finding Professor Wang—who hadn’t customized his face at all, just using the default model—by his ID, the science fanatic hurried over. Professor Wang heard his call and rushed forward:

“Where’s your staff? Show it to me!”

“This is a safe zone. Let’s go outside the city.” The science fanatic was infected by Professor Wang’s urgency. Without further words, he grabbed the professor’s arm and activated [Instant Step].

“What the hell?” Professor Wang, suddenly experiencing extreme back-pressure, nearly thought his blood pressure would explode—then remembered he was in a game, and exhaled in relief. The science fanatic, hearing this, pointed to his ring:

“Instant Step. Because it’s so useful, nearly everyone who can use it has engraved one. It can transport up to two people at high speed, but only in straight lines—changing direction makes you stumble.”

As he spoke, the science fanatic explained to the old professor the structure of these magical rituals. Professor Wang listened intently, walking with him toward the Hidden Village, asking questions about every detail of the rituals, even borrowing a device that could record a single spell and attempting to cast one himself.

Unfortunately, aside from the fact that this level-1 character’s mana was pitifully low, he’d never undergone training with first-generation talismans—he could barely feel the sensation of mana leaving his body, let alone cast a spell.

But Professor Wang clearly wasn’t in a hurry. He mentally organized his theories while asking the science fanatic to cast simple spells based on his ideas, referencing the basic skills he’d seen online earlier.

After about half an hour, as they neared the Hidden Village, Professor Wang finally nodded thoughtfully:

“That’s enough.”

“So what exactly were you testing, Professor?” The science fanatic, who’d been too busy casting spells to think, was curious about the old professor’s thought process. Professor Wang didn’t hide it:

“I’m mainly testing the activation mechanism of these rituals. For example, the spells you cast earlier—Thunder Summoning, Fire Summoning—basically convert mana (players don’t know mana differs from blue bars) into lightning or fire, then release it. Along the way, you can mold, redirect, or filter to add more properties. So directly inputting electricity into the ritual is essentially the same as first converting mana into electricity…”

“But didn’t we already discuss this?” The science fanatic didn’t understand why Professor Wang was testing something they’d already talked about. Professor Wang shook his head with an expression of “unteachable fool”:

“How can you be so dense? If mana can be converted into electricity, and electricity can be channeled through various rituals, why not reverse it? Can electricity, through [conversion], be turned back into mana?”

(End of Chapter)