Sanctuary Paradise

Chapter 878 Possibilities Beyond Paradox

The Void, the land where stars have shattered.

Shh, shh~!

The sound of pages turning rose from beneath the ravaged debris of the stars. Amidst the rings of stars littered with planetary fragments, a man in a suit sat cross-legged on a white plastic chair anchored to a meteorite fragment. He began to read, his head bowed as he turned the pages of a book:

"Speaking of which, I've always been curious about one thing: how did you dare to entrust them to that person from the academic sect for training?"

The man in the white suit glanced at the scholar in white robes beside him as he spoke, and said:

"Given her level, if she really intends to protect those two, all your current plans will be in vain, right?"

To let a supreme peak achieve nothing sounds like a joke in the Astral Plane, but the truth is that there are at least two people in the current academic sect who can do it.

One of them is naturally the mysterious academic sect leader who is so elusive that one doubts his very existence. The other is the one he just mentioned, a true monster who claims to be a scholar but is actually no different from the sect leader, even though he is only the head of the sect.

He answered more than half of the 100 academic questions, redefined the magic system, and silenced all the geniuses of that era without any inheritance. He also cultivated two unparalleled peak experts, the number one magic system expert recognized by the astral realm—"The Omniscient" 83203.

Although there is no record of the other party making a move after reaching the peak realm in the entire star realm, if the other party really took a liking to those two and intended to spare their lives, even the white-robed scoundrel beside him would not be able to do anything more to those two.

As long as the other party speaks, not to mention the white-robed scoundrel beside him, even if all the other peak figures of the era are included, they must give him face. This is the value of the title "Omniscient One" in the Star Realm.

"Don't worry, she won't stop you."

Faced with the man in the white suit's question, the scholar in the white robe simply gazed calmly at the distant starry sky, his pupils reflecting the boundless darkness at the end of the starry sky, and said softly.

"Oh? Could it be that that person also agrees with your plan?"

"How is that possible?" Upon hearing this, the white-robed scholar chuckled, staring at the scene reflected in the pupils, and murmured:

"For her, the Astral Plane or the Abyss are merely a process on the path to knowledge. Although the anchor of humanity has temporarily kept her here, how could these things truly restrain her steps?"

Indeed, although the other party occasionally showed great interest in matters of the astral realm, and even occasionally revealed an unexpected smile, the white-robed scholar knew very well that this was merely because the other party's rational judgment that the existence of humanity and morality had a positive effect on the pursuit of knowledge.

"The world she sees is already different from ours. Perhaps her humanistic anchor can make her stand on the side of the astral plane, but that's only on the side. How could I possibly interfere with her thoughts?"

"All I did was offer her a possibility."

"possibility?"

"Ah, yes, the possibility..."

As the white-robed scholar spoke, his gaze shifted slightly, a hint of reminiscence flashing in his deep, star-like pupils, as if recalling some past events. He murmured:
“A possibility that she could not possibly prevent.”

"As long as this possibility exists, no matter how faint, she cannot interrupt what is happening now until everything is completely certain."

"I'm starting to get curious, what exactly is this 'possibility' you're talking about?"

"Hehe, it's not a big secret, just a hypothesis that no one has successfully proven yet, and a little-known fact that not many people know."

"Oh?" Upon hearing this, the man in the white suit couldn't help but look at the face of the scholar in the white robe, clearly very curious about the assumption and little-known facts that the other party mentioned could lure the rumored 'omniscient one' into the trap.

"Don't be so curious. If you continue to observe them, you'll soon discover this little-known fact about them as well."

The scholar in white robes merely chuckled softly, glancing almost imperceptibly at the man in the white suit. His deep, star-like pupils reflected countless overlapping images of the other man, and he said calmly:

"That is, the entire astral plane... has never actually produced a person who truly cultivates both magic and techniques simultaneously."

……

……

Sanctuary Paradise, the headquarters of the academic sect.

[Teleportation complete. The pioneer has arrived at the designated destination: Academic Sect Headquarters]

No matter when you come here, this place still inexplicably creates an overwhelming sense of pressure...

As the cold notification tone faded, Xin Lailai, having thoroughly cleaned herself, emerged from the portal into the silver-white laboratory. After cautiously surveying the surroundings, she spoke with utmost respect to the woman in the white lab coat seated at the lab table:

"83203, we're here."

"Well, sit down."

The voice, devoid of any emotion, fell silent. Upon hearing this, Xin Lailai sat obediently in the chair beside her, looking unusually reserved.

"Did Xingluo's intuition fail to transform?"

"Uh… yeah."

"How long did you hold out?"

"This... according to the current time flow, should be about 3 minutes and 56 seconds."

"Four minutes? Hmm... for a first attempt, that's a pretty good result."

Good result...

This statement, as expected, was echoed by the expert 83203...

The cold, detached assessment caused Xin Lailai's gaze to flicker, realizing her guess hadn't been wrong. The next second, she heard 83203 continue:
"Don't worry too much about it. In this matter, you are not the first to fall here, nor will you be the last. As for the real reason for your failure—"

83203 paused, put down the tablet, looked up and looked at Xin Lailai before continuing:

……

"Skills cannot be learned together; this is the 'possibility' I offered her."

The calm reply spread from beneath the shattered starry sky, causing the man in the white suit sitting on the white plastic chair to pause in surprise, a look of astonishment appearing in his eyes.

"You might think, how could such a conclusion be drawn when there are so many professions and traditions that combine skills and techniques in this world?"

"But it is what it is."

"The way of magic and the way of technique, from the very beginning—"

……

"These are two paths that cannot coexist."

In the cold laboratory, 83203's gaze swept over Xin Lailai, and he spoke calmly. A huge wave surged in Xin Lailai's mind, freezing her expression and even her breathing for a moment.

Skills and techniques cannot be practiced simultaneously.

The principles of technique and the principles of skill cannot coexist.

Although they themselves had vaguely realized that the reason they could not successfully transform into Star Luo Intuition was likely related to the conflict between the two paths of technique and magic, they never thought that it would reach such an absolute level.

"Wait, 83203, if that's the case, then what about those things in the book..."

"Because they have never truly embarked on the path of cultivating both skills and techniques."

"Including you all before, it seems that you have mastered both techniques and magic at the same time, but in fact, you are just using the abilities of techniques in the way of magic."

The cold, prophetic reply preemptively silenced Xin Lailai's impending question. ...

"Think back to those so-called fellow practitioners of techniques you've met in the past. Was there even one among them who could simultaneously use the true intuitive ability to operate a technique master and the true range perception ability to operate a spell master?"

"Or perhaps, among those so-called practitioners who cultivate both magic and technique, has even one of them achieved a state of complete equivalence between their magical arts and their technical arts?"

Under the starry sky, the scholar in white robes gazed calmly into the distance and said softly, while the man in white suit fell silent, unable to find any way to refute him.

Indeed, as someone who survived to the level of a supreme expert as a rule-breaker, he had encountered at least seven or eight thousand so-called experts who cultivated both skills and techniques. However, none of them met the two conditions mentioned by the white-robed scholar.

Or rather, if you just calm down and think about it, you'll understand...

……

"This is simply impossible."

"Just as a person cannot move forward and backward at the same time, the intuitive ability of technique and the domain-oriented perception of a mage are destined to be incompatible from the principle of their own."

"Including those so-called 'dual cultivation of skills and techniques' that you see in the materials, they are essentially just using techniques or methods to cleverly obtain certain abilities similar to those on another path."

"If you can't even keep the development of the two paths on par, how can you be considered a true practitioner of both skills and techniques?"

In the lab, 83203 spoke calmly. Xin Lailai swallowed slightly, rapidly processing what 83203 had just said. Then, as if suddenly realizing something, she snapped back to reality and said:

"Wait, 83203, if that's the case, then why did you..."

"Just because something is impossible does not mean it is not possible."

The calm, almost prophetic reply fell once more, resolving the doubts in Xin Lailai's mind.

"It is common sense that skills and techniques cannot be practiced at the same time, but in terms of theory, they can still coexist. This is one of the topics I have been researching, and it is also another core reason why I led you down this path."

"And as I said at the beginning, you are not the first to try this possibility, and you will certainly not be the last."

"Throughout the long years, there have always been a few individuals who dared to challenge conventional wisdom and attempted to master both complete techniques and methods. Unfortunately, to date, although it has been confirmed that some people have come incredibly close to that realm, no one has yet achieved true success."

"To master both the complete techniques and the way of magic, one must simultaneously master true intuition and range perception. However, if the development of the two paths is completely equal, then when trying to transform one's perception inward or outward into intuition and range perception, one will inevitably encounter a phenomenon where the resistance on both sides is completely equal at a certain point."

As 83203 described it, two streams of magical power emerged in front of him, and then they rushed towards each other at the same speed, finally colliding heavily in mid-air and stalemating each other, neither of them able to move.

Incomplete equivalence implies imbalance and deviation, while complete equivalence implies stagnation and stagnation.

Stalemate and stagnation...

"Wait, 83203, doesn't this mean that transforming our Star Luo Domain into Star Luo Intuition is simply impossible..."

"When did I ever say that endless stagnation is equivalent to losing all change?"

83203 glanced indifferently at Xin Lailai and said:

"penetration."

"This is how to get the conflicting parties to cross the line when things are at a standstill."

"Although this process may seem to extend infinitely in your senses, as long as change continues, it is theoretically possible for it to be realized."

"Of course, this is only the condition required to take the final step. Before that, there are still some prerequisites that must be met."

"For example, since mastering both techniques and methods is the way to ensure that there is no imbalance between the two, then naturally, there must be a true core that does not belong to either techniques or methods to maintain this balance."

It belongs neither to the art of technique nor to the core of the art of magic...

Wait, isn't this describing...?

"Yes, your Soul Masters are products prepared for this purpose."

"..."

"Without this core, even if you successfully solve the problem of perception ability in other ways, when you reach the eighth level, you will be forced to choose between the path of magic or technique because the Grandmaster passive, which is the core, can only choose one path."

The calm reply answered the questions in Xin Lailai's mind. She stared at 83203 for a long while before her mind gradually processed what the other party had said, but at the same time, a brand new question arose.

"Um, 83203, we've roughly understood the issue of not being able to cultivate techniques simultaneously, but..."

……

"Based on what you've said, I'm suddenly curious: if it's just to verify a hypothesis, why would that person be so concerned about it?"

Under the starry sky, the man in the white suit closed the book in his hand and asked the last question of this conversation with some curiosity.

This time, however, the white-robed scholar fell silent, a rare occurrence. After a long while, he narrowed his eyes, gazing at the fragmented starry sky above, and murmured:

"That's because you don't understand how the world looks through her eyes."

"If you knew this, then the question you should be asking is—"

……

"You have already grasped the pure techniques and moves, haven't you?"

As the cold, detached voice faded, inside the laboratory, 83203 calmly gazed at the black-haired youth before him, and spoke amidst the youth's somewhat surprised look:

How do you feel?

"Uh...it's amazing. Even though I don't understand the specific principles, I can still use it."

"That's a good answer. There's no need to know the 'what' or the 'why.' You only need to follow what you desire in your heart to obtain power that surpasses the limit. That's the essence of the art of technique."

"Then tell me, what is the essence of the art of magic?"

"Research on Wan..."

Inside the laboratory, facing a problem she knew all too well, Xin Lailai blurted out a solution instinctively, but as soon as she finished speaking, she seemed to realize something and froze in place.

To study all things, and to exhaust all that is knowable through knowledge.

Without a doubt, this is the essence of magic.

So... since everything is knowable, what about the power that one can master in advance through techniques?
In the realm of magic, once one has mastered it, regardless of its principles and processes, it is no different from fish on a chopping board. Even if one cannot figure it out in a short time, from the moment that power is truly under one's control, it has already been included in the category of 'knowable'.

That being the case...

"Use techniques to anticipate the unknown, transform it into the knowable, and then use methods to transform the knowable into the known, achieving the transformation from not knowing what to knowing why, and then repeating this cycle to anticipate even more unknown things..."

"Although this is just a hypothesis, if one day someone really could reach this level, then—"

"He may truly possess the potential to transcend everything and reach the infinite."

……

(End of this chapter)