Chapter 291: Wuwuwu, Your Time Got Reset

Chen Ran was very familiar with 'Ignorance'.

On a macro scale, the most important point when viewing history is to avoid historical nihilism. For example, some might claim that Qin Shi Huang was the son of Lü Buwei.

That is historical nihilism.

The answer is that it's impossible; Qin Shi Huang could never have been Lü Buwei's son.

If you could doubt whether Qin Shi Huang was Lü Buwei's son today, then tomorrow you would doubt whether Qin Shi Huang even existed in history.

The day after tomorrow, you would doubt the entire history of China, and you might even completely deny human civilization.

Your mind would fall into chaos, unable to distinguish between what was real and what was fake.

On a micro scale, when a rumor spreads in a classroom, the source can easily be found using the six degrees of separation rule.

The rule of six dictates that if you randomly ask someone who knows the rumor who told them, they will give you a name. You then go to that person and ask the same question, getting another name. When you hear the person you are questioning say:

Using this method, you can find the origin of the rumor within six people.

But in reality, no one ever searches for the source. Instead, people just parrot what others say. No matter how much the person being targeted by the rumor tries to explain themselves, their words hold no credibility in your heart.

This is 'Ignorance'.

This kind of 'Ignorance' isn't the ignorance we typically understand. Rather, it is the process of one's knowledge or cognition shifting from certainty to uncertainty.

It is equivalent to your free will fighting against your knowledge or cognition. You don't know whether to trust your own free will or your established knowledge.

When the wind blows a flag, is it the wind moving, the flag moving, or, as those monks claim, is it your heart moving?

In truth, the wind moves the flag, and the wind and flag together move your heart.

By the same logic, 'Ignorance' is definitely caused by receiving certain interfering information.

For instance, believing someone's words, their viewpoint, or their conclusion is what causes you to deny your previous knowledge.

From this, it is clear that players in the state of 'Ignorance' are immune to external information.

Of course, Ignorance, Distance-Free Technique, and No-Self are merely 'Knowledge', not 'Action'.

Only when one severs their Ego can they achieve the Unity of Will and Deed.

It is like emotions—you know he is interfering with your emotions, but before reaching the First Realm of Lingtai, you will still be affected by his interference.

—

Chen Ran also understood 'No-Self' to some extent.

If 'Ignorance' is the denial of the external world, then 'No-Self' is the denial of the internal world.

I deny my Ego, hence No-Self.

For example, anyone who has quit smoking knows that they will always subconsciously light a cigarette. Sometimes, they don't even realize they have lit it.

This habit is a Personal Common Sense developed from long-term smoking.

Therefore, 'No-Self' is the Personal Common Sense corresponding to the aspect of 'Knowledge'.

—

Chen Ran understood both Ignorance and No-Self.

But what was the Distance-Free Technique?

He felt it should be a transition bridging Ignorance and No-Self.

One had to understand that once internal common sense—which is Personal Common Sense—is abandoned, you are no longer yourself; you become a stranger.

Would this unfamiliar version of you still follow your original plan to retrieve your Ego, to find the original you?

No one could be certain.

Just like Chen Ran himself in the cyclical cloning Secret Room—Chen Ran A, B, C, and D all wanted to kill him and take his place.

A strange Chen Ran would definitely want to kill the original Chen Ran rather than retrieve him, meaning the original Chen Ran would...

Be completely dead.

Therefore, 'Distance-Free Technique' should be a psychological world meant for storing the Ego.

Chen Ran could prove this by observing the four different Short and Fats representing joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure within Short and Fat's world of consciousness.

In other words, Short and Fat had stored his Id within the 'Distance-Free Technique'.

However.

Chen Ran couldn't understand why Short and Fat was able to pull his consciousness into Short and Fat's 'Distance-Free Technique'—his psychological world—just by making eye contact?

Furthermore, how exactly does one store the Ego or the Id inside a psychological world?

He felt that if he couldn't figure out the underlying principles, this Instance...

Would mean certain death!

What kind of cosmic joke was this? Just Short and Fat alone made him once again feel the kind of despair he experienced when he first encountered a Three-Star Player.

He even began to suspect that the Mental Cultivation Method received by Amateur Lie-Slayers was an incomplete copy.

The white world...

If joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure were removed, Short and Fat's World of the Heart would contain absolutely nothing.

In other words, among the three prerequisites of Ignorance, Distance-Free Technique, and No-Self, only the Distance-Free Technique could achieve the Unity of Will and Deed during the First Realm of Lingtai.

—

Inside the Secret Room, everyone else stared in shock at Chen Ran, who had first closed his eyes in deep thought and then sat cross-legged. The Youth solemnly asked Lin Xuan, "How many days did it take for you to cultivate your heart?"

"Less than two days."

Everyone's expressions froze. One had to know that it took them a month, or even two months for some, to cultivate their hearts to the First Realm of Lingtai.

Yet Lin Xuan had only taken two days. Chen Ran and Qiu Yinong had tracked Lin Xuan, so they should have cultivated their hearts around the same time as him.

This meant that Chen Ran's Heart Cultivation likely also took only two days.

However, looking at it now, Chen Ran had already begun to experience an epiphany the very first time his consciousness was pulled into the 'Distance-Free Technique'. This indicated that his Heart Cultivation time might be even shorter than Lin Xuan's.

Everyone simultaneously turned to look at Qiu Yinong.

Qiu Yinong thought for a moment and said faintly, "He completed his Heart Cultivation in less than a day."

"..."

This wasn't a difference between two days and one day.

It was a difference in talent.

The talent of Superego Players went without saying, but to possess twice the talent of a Superego Player...

No one dared to think any further, afraid of touching upon taboo information. After all, they were just lowly grunts in Hell, and the less they knew about certain things, the safer they were.

The Youth glanced at Lin Xuan, who appeared somewhat hesitant. With their current hand of cards, the strength of Four-Star and Five-Star players had already far exceeded his psychological expectations. If Chen Ran could reach an epiphany, then their three-man alliance of mutual interest might stand a chance at winning. However, if that happened, he might have to face a Three-Star, Distance-Free Technique Chen Ran himself.

If...

If he disrupted Chen Ran's rhythm right now, it would be absolutely impossible for the three of them to kill the Four-Star and Five-Star players.

'Suppress the Mental State!'

Lin Xuan's gaze sharpened, while Qiu Yinong stared coldly at the slowly gun-raising Lin Xuan.

"You're all a bunch of idiots," Lin Xuan declared, preparing to raise his gun and use a skill.

"Liar-Slayer: Wheel of Time."

Qiu Yinong fired a shot without any warning, instantly plunging the Secret Room into darkness and erasing everyone's memories of the past five minutes.

—

The white world.

The sorrowful Short and Fat, seeing the expressionless Short and Fat appear, hurriedly wept and complained.

"Your time has been reset! Reset to five minutes ago, boo-hoo-hoo!"

"Boo-hoo-hoo, the following events will happen in the next five minutes..."

The joyful Short and Fat took over the conversation.

"Hahaha, I'm dying of laughter! You pulled Chen Ran into the World of the Heart, but you let him run away! Does it have to be this funny?"

The angry Short and Fat continued.

"Fuck! That damn Chen Ran actually dared to force you into explaining what the Distance-Free Technique is! You gave him face, didn't you?! I really want to smack the shit out of him."

The sorrowful Short and Fat spoke up again.

"And right after that, he had an epiphany, and the Youth told Lin Xuan to use a skill, boo-hoo-hoo."

"Boo-hoo-hoo, the moment Lin Xuan told a lie, Qiu Yinong used her skill first, and you lost your memories. That's exactly how it went."

After hearing the entire sequence of events, the corners of the expressionless Short and Fat's mouth curled up into a smile as he exited the World of the Heart.

'These Three-Star Players probably still aren't aware of the true terror of the Distance-Free Technique.'

'No rush. We'll take our time playing.'