Chapter 1548: Perception Breakthrough, Forward Base

In fact, this is also a viewpoint that Xia Duo has always insisted on: as long as it is something a computer can do, humans can do it just as well with their own flesh and blood; it is merely a matter of time.

All algorithms are, to a large extent, abstract manifestations of human thinking, only that computers focus on one path, making it difficult for humans to catch up in terms of speed.

But for some abstract judgments, algorithms can only simulate them and cannot perform them exactly like humans; for example, an instance that a well-trained computer program misjudges might be something a human could judge at a single glance.

Graphic algorithms can basically be considered abstract judgments, or rather, specific algorithms with abstract judgment as their goal. As long as a computer lacks abstract thinking, a trained human will be more accurate than a trained computer.

Of course, speed is definitely incomparable; after all, the human body has limits, while a computer's computing power can be increased almost without limit.

Xia Duo is currently undergoing training in quasi-graphic algorithms within telepathy, and as for the results—

Of course, they are still not as good as Iolum's!

This is mainly because there are simply too few Phantoms of Distortion in this area, and since Iolum does not hold back, the time Xia Duo actually has available for training is limited to that short moment from discovering the Phantoms of Distortion to eliminating them; it is truly too limited.

However, Xia Duo is not very disappointed, because in this process, he had an unexpected gain: he discovered that he could vaguely perceive Iolum's presence.

Training with Phantoms of Distortion is training, and training without targets is also training; in fact, "no target" is not truly no target, as Iolum has always been within his telepathy.

It is just that because the perception is too vague, it is approximately equal to nothing, but as long as one superimposes multiple results over time, and combines them with the specific location of Iolum that he sees, Iolum appears in his perception without exception.

Afterward, by abstracting more precise features and substituting them into real-time perception, Xia Duo can then perceive Iolum's presence in real time.

It is just that this real-time perception is too vague, similar to an ice cube falling into water; if one did not know beforehand, it would be impossible to detect under normal circumstances.

Now that Iolum can be perceived, if it were someone else, one would probably be fumbling in the dark again.

Is it possible that to find someone through telepathy, one must first spend a period of time with that person? If one can already spend time with them, why bother searching?

Xia Duo is, after all, still a bit unsatisfied, though this cannot change the fact that this is a major breakthrough.

……

After another perfect instant kill, Iolum did not continue searching, but instead beckoned for Xia Duo to land on the ground. "Calculating the time, the people from the Seven Towers should have already entered; let's leave the rest to them, and we will go find Buluode first."

"Uh—"

Xia Duo was stunned; so you actually still remember Buluode!

However, he had no objections to Iolum's proposal to stop in time. They had just finished off 11 Phantoms of Distortion in total; except for the three they encountered together at the beginning, the ones found afterward were all one by one.

It was almost like picking them up for free; counting the two Xia Duo obtained individually, that makes thirteen in total, which is already close to the upper limit of a small settlement; it couldn't be many more.

As for large settlements, a King of Phantoms of Distortion is almost certain to appear, and once they encounter this kind of Plane Overlap, they would likely have already led their subordinates to break through, or simply devoured their subordinates and run off alone.

Iolum judged that this Ether Overlap only involved a small settlement of Phantoms of Distortion, and Xia Duo is still relatively convinced of this.

Next, finding Buluode is a bit troublesome.

The environment here almost dictates that Scrying spells are difficult to be effective, and telepathy can only target Phantoms of Distortion; Xia Duo really wants to know what Iolum will actually do.

"Help me keep watch!"

After saying this, Iolum took out a small, exquisite Nushen Statue from his robes. Seeing this, Xia Duo hurriedly dodged; among all the gods, besides the Elf main god, the one he fears most is the Magic Goddess.

Because he truly cannot understand the other party's preferences, nor her views on Arcanists.

Whether they are beloved children or thieves, it really is just a matter of a single thought. Xia Duo does not want to be a thief, nor does he want to be a beloved child; it is best to keep a respectful distance.

Only after exceeding the range covered by the Holy Relic's radiance did Xia Duo stop and watch Iolum perform Spellcasting; as for keeping watch, he would just do it along the way.

He believes that Iolum could not possibly entrust his safety entirely to him.

……

As Iolum performed Spellcasting, the winds and clouds in this unknown area suddenly changed color; the Ether Mist that originally filled the space between heaven and earth suddenly turned into seven-colored light, disappearing in large swathes.

At the same time, Xia Duo observed that the macroscopic structure of the Magic Net began to show order; it seems Iolum is seemingly calming the Magic Net.

But Xia Duo knows that with such a large-scale riot of the Magic Net, even with the assistance of the Goddess's Holy Relic, it cannot be calmed so easily.

What's more, using a Holy Relic to calm the Magic Net cannot gain Divine Grace, but instead consumes it; Xia Duo feels Iolum would not be so unwise.

Even if it is to find Buluode, Buluode is not a child; what danger could he have here? He can always be found by searching slowly.

But Xia Duo still thought wrong; the ordering of the Magic Net's macroscopic structure did not evolve into a specific Spell, but instead went deep into the microscopic, reaching the very end of the Magic Net.

The next moment, a divine light swept past, and the degree of the Magic Net's riot in this area instantly dropped by a magnitude; in Xia Duo's eyes, the tenth layer of the Magic Net had already completely calmed down.

However, affected by the violent tremors of other layers, the tenth layer still had a tendency to return to chaos.

Just at this moment, Iolum put away the Holy Relic and came to Xia Duo's side. "I have already found Buluode; he is rushing here, and the people from the Seven Towers have also arrived. Later, they will stabilize the Magic Net together, and after that, we will consider how to handle the aftermath."

"Then what are your plans, Teacher?"

"The Ether Overlap Region created by this accident will likely be difficult to separate in the short term, and it would be a pity to destroy such a special area. I intend to build this place into a Forward Base that reaches deep into the Ether Plane."

At the end, Iolum added, "And share it with the Seven Towers."

"An Ether Plane Forward Base?"

Xia Duo was just worrying about how Iolum would handle the aftermath; he did not expect the other party to turn this waste into treasure in the blink of an eye. The Ether Plane has a great connection to the birth of planes; there is undoubtedly huge profit there.

If one could have such a Forward Base, it would have immeasurable benefits for future research, development, and utilization of the Ether Plane.

Of course, since it is a Plane Overlap region, if you can advance into them, they can certainly advance into you; who is to say this isn't the best breakthrough point for Ether Creatures to invade the Material Plane!