Chapter 29: Method

Lu Mi combined his learned physics knowledge and thought for a moment:

“Why not just call it the Law of Conservation?”

“That’s another law entirely, but you don’t need to know the details yet,” the woman nodded approvingly. “In essence, it’s the same as the Law of Indestructibility, just with additional prerequisites and specific elaborations.”

I see… Lu Mi pondered a moment, then carefully said:

“According to the Law of Indestructibility, to obtain extraordinary characteristics, besides hunting corresponding monsters, I could also target other extraordinary individuals?”

Since extraordinary characteristics are indestructible, when an extraordinary individual dies, their corresponding characteristics must be released.

The woman showed a hint of solemn reflection:

“You’re perceptive.”

“That’s why this law shouldn’t be known by most extraordinary individuals—it would breed mutual killings and destroy all trust among them.”

“Even without this law, humans would still kill each other,” Lu Mi wasn’t concerned. “In the real world, aren’t suspicion, bullying, and murder already common?”

The woman responded with interest:

“But at least there’s still some warmth, some glimmer of humanity.”

Lu Mi thought again for a while:

“From another perspective, this law should become a shared understanding among extraordinary individuals—only then can the weak prepare in advance and avoid becoming outright prey to the few who know.”

The woman gave a slight nod:

“There’s some logic to that.”

“In fact, there have been a few actual battles between extraordinary individuals; those involved likely guessed some of it already.”

She shifted topic:

“The second law is the Law of Aggregation of Extraordinary Characteristics.”

“Aggregation…” Lu Mi couldn’t comprehend it.

He couldn’t deduce it from what she’d explained earlier.

The woman’s expression grew slightly more serious:

“As the original Creator of this world, even after splitting into the extraordinary characteristics of different paths, He hasn’t fully withdrawn from the stage—His spirit is scattered within these characteristics, eternal and unextinguished, unless this world is utterly destroyed.”

“Though these spirits resemble more like imprints, they all carry an instinct to reunite and resurrect the original Creator.”

“In other words, once you become an extraordinary individual, you’ll find it easier to encounter others—especially those on the same or adjacent paths—and this is a fate-driven aggregation; the higher your sequence, the more pronounced it becomes.”

Lu Mi had many questions about these words, but couldn’t ask them all at once, so he started with the most urgent:

“Combined with the Law of Indestructibility, can we conclude that aggregation leads to killing?”

The woman showed approval once more:

“You’re truly perceptive about such matters.”

“At lower sequences, it’s manageable, but once you reach the demigod stage—especially after becoming an angel—you’ll need ways to weaken or avoid the effects of aggregation.”

“Demigod? Angel?” Lu Mi, though aware that every path ultimately leads to godhood, was still startled and intrigued by these terms.

The woman casually explained:

“‘Demigod’ is shorthand for half-god, half-human, encompassing sequences 4 through 1.”

“Among them, sequences 4 and 3 are called Saints; sequences 2 and 1 are called Angels. Above them are other titles, but you shouldn’t know them yet.”

Saint… Angel… Lu Mi instantly thought of patron saints and angels from different regions.

Are they real?

Are saintly relics the corpses of Saints, retaining extraordinary characteristics?

Lu Mi suddenly felt fear and asked instead:

“Does every extraordinary characteristic contain the original Creator’s spiritual imprint, and does the higher the sequence, the more imprint remains?”

“Then wouldn’t those who ingest potions also be affected in other ways?”

The woman nodded and smiled:

“Otherwise, why do you think this path is called dangerous and mad?”

“This is one of the main reasons ingestion can lead to loss of control.”

“‘Loss of control’ means losing command over your supernatural power and your own spirit, mutating into a horrific monster.”

“Are there other reasons?” Lu Mi pressed.

The woman hummed:

“First, residual spiritual imprints from previous owners of the extraordinary characteristic—intensity depends mostly on their original status, though their final obsessions and madness also add to it. Second, ingesting the potion in the wrong order or manner causes massive internal conflict. Third, certain entities exploit potion ingestion to exert influence—for instance, every time someone on the ‘Seeker’ path takes a potion, they involuntarily receive a knowledge infusion from the ‘Hidden Sage.’”

Was the voice I heard after drinking the ‘Hunter’ potion similar? Lu Mi weighed his words, then honestly recounted his experience, concluding:

“Which entity was that voice from?”

The next moment, he saw the woman’s expression turn slightly odd.

She spoke solemnly:

“Some entities can contaminate you—or trigger loss of control—merely by your awareness of their existence.”

“Unfortunately, the owner of that voice is precisely such an entity. You’re not yet ready to know His sacred name.”

So terrifying? A Sequence 0 god? But I and most people in Indis know the ‘Eternal Sun’ and the ‘God of Steam and Machinery’—and nothing’s happened… Could there be a difference between true gods and demons? No—she just mentioned the ‘Hidden Sage,’ who’s also Sequence 0… Could it be she doesn’t even know which entity it is, and is using vague words to hide her ignorance? Lu Mi’s mind raced with multiple thoughts.

Considering his own weakness, he dropped the subject and asked about another term he found intriguing:

“What is an adjacent path?”

The woman’s expression returned to normal:

“Generally, once you choose a path and ingest its potion, you must walk it step by step—otherwise, you’ll inevitably lose control, at least partially. But exceptions exist: each path has one or more adjacent paths, allowing you to shift at specific sequences, such as Sequence 4—the threshold between human and demigod.”

“The adjacent path to ‘Hunter’ is ‘Assassin.’”

“Assassin…” It sounded more prestigious than ‘Hunter’… Lu Mi asked eagerly:

“What’s the adjacent path for ‘Seeker’?”

“If I switch to an adjacent path, will I no longer be affected by the ‘Hidden Sage’?”

“It’s the ‘Generalist’ path. The current Sequence 0 is the ‘God of Steam and Machinery,’” the woman replied calmly. “Even after switching, you’ll still be affected by the ‘Hidden Sage,’ though the influence weakens significantly—since the extraordinary characteristics still remain, unless you find a way to expel them.”

“How do you expel them?” Lu Mi hadn’t expected this.

“The simplest way is to have a child—there’s a decent chance the extraordinary characteristic will transfer genetically through mysticism,” the woman mentioned briefly. “You can also use special abilities from certain paths, but it carries risk and demands a heavy price.”

Lu Mi nodded and asked another question:

“Must the shift happen only at a specific sequence?”

Reaching Sequence 4 to become a demigod sounded impossibly distant.

The woman glanced at him:

“Theoretically, you could shift at a lower sequence—but the risk of losing control increases drastically. Only attempt it if you have no other choice.”

She paused, then said:

“The two laws have been explained. Now comes the method.”

“It’s one of the most important pieces of knowledge in the mysterious world.”

Most important? Lu Mi instinctively straightened his back, utterly focused.

The woman continued:

“It’s called the ‘Performance Method.’”

“It helps you digest the potion. Once digested, ingesting the next sequence’s potion greatly reduces the risk of loss of control.”

So that’s why I can’t drink a Sequence 9 potion today and Sequence 8 tomorrow… I need to use the ‘Performance Method’ to digest the first one… Lu Mi suddenly understood.

He didn’t interrupt, listening intently as she explained:

“Remember—it’s digestion, not mastery.”

“What is the ‘Performance Method’? It means acting like an actor according to the sequence’s name, thereby harmonizing the difference between yourself and the residual spiritual imprints of the extraordinary characteristic, gaining its recognition, bypassing the original barriers, and fusing the characteristic with your own being.”

“So I have to play the ‘Hunter’—go hunting in the mountains every day?” Lu Mi slipped into lecture mode.

The woman shook her head:

“That’s the most superficial form of performance. We must understand not just the surface meaning of the sequence name, but its deeper essence—for example, a city is also a jungle; everyone is both prey and hunter.”

I know this well… Lu Mi had long grasped the deeper meaning of ‘Hunter.’

It came from his past life as a wanderer.

“How do I know I’ve digested the potion and can advance to the next sequence?” he couldn’t help asking.

The woman smiled:

“When the potion is truly digested, you’ll feel it yourself.”

Fair enough… Lu Mi dropped the subject and asked curiously:

“Who named the sequences?”

Why does acting according to their names help digest the potion?

The woman’s expression turned serious:

“The earliest sequence divisions came from the remnants of the original Creator’s split—a stone tablet inscribed with esoteric knowledge.”

“Because it contained secrets of becoming a god, it was called the Blasphemous Tablet.”

“In ancient times—late Second Era and throughout the Third Era—a powerful deity close to the original Creator emerged, called the Ancient Sun God. After His death, a second Blasphemous Tablet was born from His remains; all current sequence names and potion recipes come from it.”

The history I learned about the Second and Third Eras wasn’t like this… Lu Mi muttered inwardly.

The woman continued:

“During Emperor Luo Saier’s reign, he drew from the second Blasphemous Tablet and created a set of Blasphemous Cards, modeled after the Major Arcana of Tarot—twenty-two cards in total, each containing one divine path.”

“Was Emperor Luo Saier also an extraordinary individual?” Lu Mi was stunned.

As an ordinary Indis person, he found it hard not to feel some admiration for Emperor Luo Saier.

“Otherwise?” the lady laughed.

Lu Mi asked further:

“Is he that powerful?”

“Close to a deity,” the lady replied succinctly.

So powerful? Lu Mi was both startled and yet felt it made perfect sense.

He thought for a moment and said:

“Then wouldn’t Emperor Luo Saier’s diary be extremely valuable?”

The lady nodded:

“Yes, but very, very few people can decipher that strange script.”

Aurora seemed to own some copied versions of Emperor Luo Saier’s diary—she appeared able to read them… was part of her power derived from this? Lu Mi fell into thought.

(End of Chapter)