Chapter 1386: The Possibility of Turning False into Real, Speculations on the Nature of the World

There are two relatively feasible directions that Xia Duo can think of—

One is to deeply simulate the birth process of the new Natural Holy Power, allowing the territory's residents to develop a high degree of identification with this order during the process of participating in a certain Order Cycle, thereby perceiving the Holy Power corresponding to this order.

However, there is one thing Xia Duo is very certain of, and that is that Holy Power is related to Faith Power.

Can the Faith Power generated merely for a certain order reach the threshold for the birth of Holy Power? This is a question that is very difficult to bypass and, at the same time, almost impossible to answer.

Perhaps when the number of residents increases in the future and the number of people jointly participating in a certain Order Cycle grows, it will become self-evident, but for now, it is still lacking.

As for the other direction, it is to disregard Faith Power, and even the thoughts of the residents themselves, and purely guide the manifestation of Order Force from the Order Cycle.

Xia Duo is more inclined toward this direction.

After all, the appearance of Holy Power means the appearance of a new conceptual entity; perhaps it is merely a Holy Power conversion mechanism and not an existence with self-awareness like a god.

But regardless, Xia Duo does not yet fully understand the principles within this, and he is still quite wary of it.

Additionally, there is another problem, which is that these Order Cycles are entirely under his control, so whether a new conceptual entity can be born is still a question.

Might it send him onto a god's throne? Or perhaps cause these Order Cycles to spiral out of control?

The risks are not small, and with other options available, Xia Duo will not prioritize the option of Holy Power conversion.

……

At the Code Sculpture, Xia Duo continuously perceived the focusing and diffusion states of the Order Network, and in this process, he constantly attempted to influence Reality.

But to his frustration, no matter how he operated, even if he deliberately broke a certain cycle of Order Force, it failed to produce any influence on the real world.

It was as if this true and solid power were entirely a virtual existence!

After repeated attempts without results, Xia Duo could not help but feel a bit discouraged, "Could it be that Order Force is really just some kind of virtual conceptual power?"

But even a virtual existence in a Projection Plane can be manifested into a real existence, so what is needed for the manifestation of Order Force?

"Could it be that, going around in circles, I have to return to Faith Power? Or is it that Force is missing?"

Xia Duo closed his eyes slightly and fell into deep thought. In his consciousness, countless sparks of inspiration flashed and extinguished repeatedly. It was only after a long while that he opened his eyes.

Only, a trace of confusion still remained in his gaze, "If Order Force is a virtual power, then the Ascension Ritual and gods need to be reconsidered."

From this, Xia Duo thought of the saying "Turning False into Real" from the ancient texts of his homeland; perhaps Faith Power is the key to Turning False into Real in this world!

Thinking this way, even the birth process of conceptual entities like the New Natural Philosophy seems to have an explanation.

It is just that this possibility appears particularly terrifying to Xia Duo; it means that as long as one manipulates the human heart, all possibilities can be realized, which almost denies the significance of objective reality and practice!

It also almost denies all of Xia Duo's ideals!

Because, if Faith Power can truly Turn False into Real, then the boundary between reality and virtuality is not so distinct; the reality in the eyes of the believer is the true reality!

All of Xia Duo's ideals are built on the foundation of objective reality and practice. If objective reality can be easily changed, can it still be called "objective"?

In a world where subjective will occupies the dominant position, what meaning do practice and effort still have?

One only needs to keep fantasizing, right!

Xia Duo finds it absolutely impossible to accept such a world!

……

For a time, Xia Duo was also frightened by this speculation of his own. Yet, because it involves Faith Power, he will be unable to prove the correctness of this speculation for quite some time.

This is like a thorn constantly stuck in his heart, making him very unhappy.

"Forget it, let's wait until all the Order Forces have completed their cycles and try again. Order Force is not necessarily a virtual power!"

Regardless of the nature of this world, since Xia Duo is already in it, the only thing he can do is strive to adapt to this world, and only then talk about further understanding and transforming the world.

"There is only one kind of heroism in the world, and that is to love life after recognizing the truth of life!"

Xia Duo does not consider himself a hero, but he is definitely not lacking in the Courage to continue living, nor in hope for the future.

If this world is a subjectively idealistic world, then at least he can hold onto the bottom line of his self: "I think, therefore I am."

Of course, Xia Duo would prefer this world to be an objective world that can be understood.

……

After leaving Code Plaza, Xia Duo did not continue to patrol the Territory, but returned to Niya's Study on the top floor of the Tower of Time to observe the Territory with the help of the Projection Window.

Although this method lacks many details that can only be observed through real contact, it is not unacceptable as a supplementary means of patrolling the Territory in the short term.

Niya was not there, and Xia Duo sat alone in front of the Projection Window. Although he was observing the Territory, various speculations about Faith Power and the nature of the world still surfaced in his mind from time to time.

This state continued until near noon, when he received a Sending from Lord Collins and stopped.

Perhaps it was just being idle; once there was something to do, he stopped thinking about it.

……

Savile Territory, Town Hall.

Xia Duo personally hosted Lord Collins, who had come from afar. In addition to the standard hometown delicacies, Patriarch Aoruipusi of the Silver Leaf Family was also present to accompany them.

During the meal, Collins asked about the situation of that investigator, Tuofu. Xia Duo asked Aoruipusi to answer this question—

"The Moon Crown Family is one of the top Upper Families in Cormanthor. For nearly ten thousand years, this family's inheritance of High Mages has never been severed, which means that the current Moon Crown Family possesses at least one High Mage.

"As for that investigator, Tuofu—"

Having said this, Aoruipusi glanced at Xia Duo. Seeing that Xia Duo had no reaction, he continued: "According to inquiries made by my friends in Cormanthor, the heir to the Moon Crown Family is not Tuofu, but that Tuofu is definitely not simple either. According to what Lord Xia Duo said, that person is very likely to be another High Mage in the future."

Collins nodded. Although he had long had the idea of opening up the Elf market, he did not know much about Elf society, especially Cormanthor, which has a subtle and near-hostile relationship with Netheril.

Hearing Aoruipusi's introduction at this moment, Collins actually did not have much confidence in his heart, but as a Lord and a Senior Arcanist, he naturally had his own set of logic for doing things:

"Do you think that Tuofu is trustworthy? I would like to hear your opinions."

"The status of my friends in Cormanthor is too low; it is almost impossible to get in touch with members of the Moon Crown Family and verify Tuofu's identity. But in Cormanthor, there are very few Elves who dare to impersonate an Upper Family, especially since the higher the status, the more they will take pride in their own family and the less they will impersonate other families. I personally feel that Tuofu's identity is relatively trustworthy, but her purpose is hard to say."

"Lord Xia Duo, what do you think?"