Chapter 1181
Chapter 1181 - 1167 Awakening
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8 min read
Is Lu Ping’an still human? Physiologically, he probably no longer qualifies, but his rare diligence has truly become a devil in the eyes of the newcomers.
This batch of Ancient City University trainees is actually divided into two phases: one that has already been trained and another that has just joined before coming out and still needs "resources" to grow.
Those who are ready for the field are naturally the "almost-graduates" from the first phase, but their growth in the courtyard has left them extremely lacking in actual combat experience and even more so in the realization of life and death...
"Wake them up directly, and continue..."
Since the best among them hope to set foot on the battlefield, to complete the transformation from a "student who pays for training" to a "new recruit who earns a salary."
In fact, Lu Ping’an is responsible for them, and the casualty rate of new recruits is the highest, and it is often not caused by a lack of strength.
"...How is it, if it’s too much, just forget it."
At this moment, facing Lu Ping’an’s smiling inquiry, Mei Yuge, soaked through, froze in place.
She had just climbed up and hadn’t even caught her breath when the devil... the boss came over again.
"I... I..."
Without saying another word, the girl chose to dive into the sea, continuing today’s training.
This time, it was Lu Ping’an holding the towel who was stunned.
He truly thought it was almost enough and was ready to bond with the little guy he had his eye on, to ask if she had any questions, ready to give her some extra help...
"Heh, don’t take it out on the kid..."
With Old Guan saying this, Lu Ping’an could only sigh, hanging the towel on the edge of the deck and turning to go about his own business.
He knew that if he stayed, today’s "training" would probably never end.
But through such an intensive "training (test)," the quality of the new recruits was mostly revealed, and the subsequent pairing of veterans with newcomers would be much easier.
Since Lu Ping’an couldn’t be of help here, he naturally left.
The initial assessment training was enough with his presence, and his authority allowed him to do what he wished without anyone objecting... This short morning was enough to teach these youngsters a profound lesson, to not underestimate the battlefield.
It was somewhat like the first harsh discipline of military training... Afterward, Lu Ping’an could leave, handing the specific training over to more suitable professionals.
"Let’s talk."
"Good, go to your room."
Lu Ping’an of course knew that Guan Xinxian had something important to discuss with him.
"How to start..."
Lu Ping’an initially thought that Guan Xinxian wanted to talk about Fishman matters.
In Lu Ping’an’s view, he had been acting a lot more normal lately... but the calmer he appeared, the more serious the suppressed emotions were likely to be, especially with the recent confrontations with the Octopus Forces.
Lu Ping’an even prepared himself, in case Guan Xinxian requested, to dispatch two teams to accompany him in causing trouble for the Octopus.
While reason knew this was just an outlet for resentment and wouldn’t solve anything, sometimes reason alone cannot resolve problems.
But now, when Guan truly began to speak, Lu Ping’an realized he had underestimated him all the more...
"Something about this world is off, you know, due to certain reasons, my knowledge of Exotic Realm studies actually isn’t inferior to that of a professional Scholar, especially when it involves the Fishman..."
Back on Earth, Exotic Realm exploration was a niche field of study, pursued only as an elective by professionals with an inclination toward the "Travel Canine school."
It is an extremely subtle body of knowledge... It mainly deals with traits and rules of various planes, along with general knowledge.
But from what Lu Ping’an has experienced, each world is completely different... When the fundamental rules of each world vary, the so-called general rules often become a joke.
Therefore, before the era of pioneering, the study of Exotic Realms was quite unpopular, focusing mostly on specialized research for specific Exotic Planes.
This led to its rather impractical positioning... It’s quite useful when you’re going out, but how much experience with Exotic Realm exploration do you really have? In the end, it turned into a kind of arcane study, like "Demonic Studies," where most students are extreme enthusiasts of Exotic Realms, those who dig holes in their own world to summon demons.
Jia Yi was definitely one of the Masters in this arena; without enough knowledge of the planes, he couldn’t have opened a Plane Gate of that level.
And Guan Xinxian, evidently, was also a research master of the "Fishman World," but he focused more on general knowledge and how to cope...
"...This world is very wrong. We newbies have grown too smoothly, have you noticed? When we treat the natives well, especially the Long Hand Clan, our luck improves significantly..."
As the team’s expert in Plane research, Guan Xinxian was the first to put forward his hypothesis.
"Are you talking about a naïve consciousness or a lucid one...?"
"I suspect it’s lucid, and this is dangerous, Lu Ping’an."
Albeit a good thing, Guan Xinxian seriously offered his warning on his professional level.
Lu Ping’an’s team had also experienced many Exotic Realm worlds, and the rules of each world are different. As for something like World Consciousness, Lu Ping’an definitely believed in its existence... Getting the recognition of World Consciousness, in some sense, is a prerequisite for linking with the world and becoming a Proper God.
But in most worlds he experienced, including Earth itself, World Consciousness was more like a "rule mechanism."
It always operates towards a benign cycle, such as Earth’s "Fate Counterwind," Silent Mountain Range World’s "Savior mass production," and Green Planet’s law of the jungle without rules.
It exists, almost like air itself; it has its own preferences and characteristics, but Mortals can only indirectly understand its existence through certain mediums and outcomes.
This is the "naïve" World Consciousness, and it is the most likely form of World Consciousness encountered in most worlds with subjective World Consciousness.
However, the other type of world, the one with "lucid World Consciousness," is very problematic.
"Are you sure? Then why hasn’t It slapped the invaders dead with one blow?"
"It’s hard to say. It might not have the ability, or It may want to use the invaders from outside to promote further evolution of this world or even proactively eliminate the Long Hand Clan that no longer has potential..."
The universe is unconscious; it regards everyone as insignificant... Such seemingly ruthless words are in fact the true "kindness."
If the heavens and earth had a complete Self-consciousness, how terrifying that would be—a personality with experiences and preferences, and thus no so-called "fairness."
When it casually shapes fate according to its own needs, creates legacies, and exterminates outdated ethnic groups or even species, all living beings become mere puppets in Its hands.
And it wasn’t until Lu Ping’an saw such worlds in some documents that he truly broadened his horizons.
There was a world where hurricanes laden with mud and sand blew all year round, yet it had rare resources like Golden Sand and Golden Water. The locals, "Sandpeople," were friendly and hospitable, presenting visitors with a large amount of local specialty products.
Does that sound nice? Later on, some people’s relatives went missing, and after professional investigation and calculation, it was discovered that out of ten people who entered that world, at most seven or eight came out. A portion of life that went in stayed there forever.
"They, they were eaten, eaten by the world..."
After a series of Plane campaigns, the mystery was finally solved.
There was no such thing as the "Sandpeople" ethnic group there, only the planetary consciousness and the Infinite sand puppet dolls upon it.
What does the world eat life for? Of course, It doesn’t need "nutrition." What It craves are the rules from Exotic Realms carried by outsiders.
That barren world without any specialty products, needed more rules from Foreign Domains to improve itself.
Yes, without specialty products, humanity later discovered that the so-called "miracle of life" Golden Water was actually the evolution of life of the missing, the "by-product" after the native world squeezed it out.
Similarly, there’s the "Theatre World," which enjoys "court dramas" and "conspiracy" plots, creating a world filled with darkness, oppression, and madness... In that world, you are not you, he is not he, your consciousness is free, but your fate and body are merely props on the stage.
After experiencing a series of problems, people reached a Consensus that worlds with consciousness are extremely dangerous, and now, Guan Xinxian is saying that our world is...
"I have evidence, our world is over ninety percent a lucidly conscious world!"
— End of Chapter 1181 —