Chapter 3194: The Probing of the Brightness Society

————It will be later~~

————

Although it was called a light meal, due to the conversation during the banquet, it dragged on until nearly midnight before it ended. Afterward, Xia Duo returned to Golden Maple Manor, settled his avatar, and returned his consciousness to his main body.

Niya had been waiting for him, and tonight he was still prepared to continue attempting to awaken his psionics autonomously, by way of weakening or even depriving himself of perception.

During the preparation time before the experiment, Xia Duo and Niya chatted about the news he had received from Ruigeante that evening—"Kalishi is actually able to return from the dead; this is simply too exaggerated!"

In truth, this was also the main reason he was still pushing himself so hard this late. Facing such an unkillable enemy, aside from attempting to awaken psionics, he really could not think of any other way to cope.

"Return from the dead? What is so exaggerated about that? Didn't Kelifu also return from the dead before? And he even died in the Astral Plane, with his soul completely extinguished."

Niya did not know much about Kalishi, relying entirely on Xia Duo's accounts. She truly did not quite understand why Xia Duo was so concerned about Kalishi's return from the dead.

"That wasn't a simple return from the dead, but rather letting others use any means to kill him, and then he returns from the dead. Even I cannot achieve such a method. Although I can guess that such a resurrection method must have some kind of limitation, the problem is that none of us know what that limitation is!"

"Ah? Then doesn't that mean we have no way to deal with him?" Niya also revealed a worried expression.

"It's not to the point of having absolutely no way," Xia Duo comforted her. "Since he can resurrect, then we just shouldn't kill him. We can seal him away or banish him to another realm."

"Then he could just kill himself, couldn't he?"

"Indeed, and it is very difficult for us to prevent such suicide. This is also the most troublesome part about him. Thinking it over, I still feel that I must start from psionics. His resurrection method must involve psionics; without mastering psionics, I might never be able to defeat him."

Although he had not yet reached the point of directly going to war with Kalishi, Xia Duo had a premonition. He felt that he and Kalishi would one day reach a state of complete opposition, and if he still had no countermeasure by then, it would be too troublesome.

But Xia Duo's words made Niya even more worried. "Must it be you? Didn't quite a few Arcane Mages from Evereska go to the south to study Psionic Magic before? Can't you trust a single one of them?"

"It's not that it must be me, but that I currently control the Alliance Computing Power Pool, and this is Kalishi's direct target. Neither side is willing to concede, so we will eventually reach that point of hostility. As for the other Psionic Mages of Evereska—"

Speaking of this, Xia Duo could not help but frown. He told Niya, "On one hand, they truly cannot be trusted. Those Psionic Mages only awakened their psionics after receiving an Artifact Baptism in Zhamu Dasi, and they are influenced by the Artifact until they become a Psionic Master. Most importantly, those Psionic Mages are all following Kalishi now!"

"And on the other hand, those Psionic Mages who also practice Arcane Magic have not shown signs of fusing Arcane and Psionic like Kalishi has. At most, they use psionics to assist in Arcane Magic research. There is little point in seeking them out; it might even expose the Alliance's plans."

"So you are just betting that you can awaken psionics now?" Niya was still unwilling to accept such a reality.

"There is some element of a gamble, but I haven't placed all my hopes on this. My goal has only ever been one, and that is to stop Kalishi's New Artifact Project."

"As long as the other side is willing to compromise, or the practical foundation for building the Artifact is gone, wouldn't that be enough? As for being hostile with Kalishi, that's nothing. Hostility doesn't mean constant conflict. I am wary of him, but isn't he also wary of me?"

If he had absolutely no confidence, Xia Duo might have considered giving up his position in the Alliance long ago, rather than doing as he was now—thinking of various ways to stop Kalishi.

"By the way, before I didn't know Kalishi could return from the dead, so I couldn't figure out why the relationship between Kalishi and Zhamu Dasi, which seemed both like they were in league and like they were hostile, existed. Now I can propose a possibility, which is—"

"Kalishi relies on his ability to return from the dead to coerce Zhamu Dasi into cooperating with him. Of course, it might not be a direct threat; perhaps he just demonstrated this ability, and Zhamu Dasi agreed half-heartedly."

"This should also be a point that can be exploited. Besides, Kalishi is, after all, an outsider to Zhamu Dasi. It is always possible to sow discord between them, though it is difficult to build mutual trust between the Alliance and Zhamu Dasi."

Under these circumstances, Xia Duo had one more reason to awaken psionics. Originally, Kalishi, who practiced both Arcane and Psionic, should have been the best intermediary and messenger of trust between the Alliance and Zhamu Dasi.

Yet, it was precisely Kalishi who had the problem.

And the other Psionic Mages from the Northland were all formed through Artifact Baptism. Before they become Psionic Masters and shake off the influence of the Artifact, it is difficult for them to gain the trust of the Northland.

In fact, even if they really became Psionic Masters, it would still be difficult for the Northland to trust them. After all, the Northland still does not know about the Artifact influencing Psionic Mages!

They simply think these Psionic Mages from the Northland are traitors.

Xia Duo felt that if he could awaken psionics, he might be able to become an intermediary between the Northland Alliance and Zhamu Dasi, especially now that the Alliance's rejection of Psionic Magic had decreased significantly after experiencing Kalishi's temptation.

……

Soon, the preparations were complete.

Carrying various expectations, Xia Duo sat once again in the center of the Void Array, still adopting the cross-legged posture with a strong sense of ritual. Afterward, he closed his eyes and began to empty himself, embracing the void.

At the same time, the Void Array began to work, continuously weakening Xia Duo's perception. Just like the previous few experiments, as his perception disappeared bit by bit, he began to feel uneasy.

But this time, he had a stronger desire for psionics than ever before. He used this desire to suppress the inner unease, letting his self continue to sink.

As his perception disappeared completely, the only thing Xia Duo could perceive was the existence of his own self, but even this sense of existence was continuously weakening. This touched upon his preset psychological defense line.

Thus, the experiment was interrupted. When his perception returned, a massive amount of information flooded in. He accepted it all in a near-dizzy state, like someone who had just experienced a return from death to a new life.

He gasped for air, his mind still recalling that experience of the void. For a moment, he even felt that he had already awakened psionics, but in reality, he had not.

……

"Rest for now, try again tomorrow!" Niya stepped forward to help Xia Duo up while she began to shut down the various pieces of equipment in the Laboratory on her own.

Seeing this, Xia Duo could not help but reveal a bitter smile. He himself had the heart to try one or two more times, but Niya did not agree, so he could only listen to her.

After all, the situation was not yet so urgent that he had to attempt to awaken psionics without a moment's rest.