Rules-related weird stories: 4016.

Chapter 622 The Appearance of the "Primordial Ash Apostle"
Lin Yi decisively replied, "Alright! I'll follow your orders!"

"Let's find a place to sit down first."

Empty your mind.

"Then, expand your 'Minecraft,' and release your senses as before, to perceive the fluctuations in space and layers. You can release them freely without holding back, but remember to incorporate everything you perceive into your 'Minecraft'... This will be very useful later; I'll tell you the specifics when the time comes."

Lin Yi followed the instructions step by step, then suddenly paused, "Minecraft?"

"Oh no, I completely forgot about this technique! But what will happen to my body if I unleash all my senses?"

“It’s alright, I’m here for you now,” Tian Bufan said. “Later, your will will only have one anchor point here, and the rest will need to be transferred over. I will guide your actions while controlling your body.”

"Don't worry about the details, I'll remind you."

Lin Yi couldn't help but sigh, "I always thought that Will Leap and Descent were like the dual-control system in Ocean Rim, but I didn't expect it to be like Mega Man's network navigator, or even like Pegasus's one-control-one-navigator system..."

"You're overthinking it," Tian Bufan said. "Let's hurry up and get to the task at hand first."

"We need to arrive at the 'Principal's Office' with the Russians before midnight, and then go to meet Kuai Kuai."

Lin Yi knew that Tian Bufan's so-called macro-control would not be simple, but now he realized that he had underestimated the amount of work Tian Gongzi was capable of.

"Okay." Lin Yi then took a deep breath and released all his senses.

"Buzz——"

Within the realm of perception, the entire world was pitch black, and Lin Yi and Tian Bufan were the only ones radiating light in this illusory world.

"I can see you!" Lin Yi exclaimed.

“We’re in the same ‘coordinate system,’ of course we can see it, idiot. Don’t be surprised, just focus on your senses.” Tian Bufan was speechless.

"Awooooo!" Even though he was in his own territory, Lin Yi acted like a complete novice.

"Stay focused, expand your horizons, and unleash your senses. Don't waste your energy on the details of perception; just release, release, and release some more!"

"As you release your senses, your will will gradually leave this body and permeate into the layers, and what I want is for you to enter this state."

"Okay, okay..." Lin Yi agreed repeatedly, and then put all his effort into it... just like when Gotenks was trying to become a Super Saiyan 3 in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber.

But as he unleashed his full power, the pure white ripples around him, which had originally expanded with his perception, began to change.

Originally, they expanded outwards like ripples, but now they have become three-dimensional, transforming from two-dimensional ripples into three-dimensional spherical air waves, continuously expanding outwards from him as the center.

His sensory domain was being pushed larger and larger, like an ever-inflating balloon.

Countless grid lines began to fill his field of perception, and his field of perception began to ignore the physical boundaries of the teaching building, gradually covering the entire teaching building with him as the center.

Group B Class 1, Group B Class 3, Group B Class 5...

He sensed every classroom, and soon even the area above the 5th floor was within his perception...

However, this time his perception range expanded from inside the membrane, and when his perception range filled the entire teaching building like a balloon, it became unable to penetrate the membrane.

"What you are perceiving now is the entire teaching building, but due to the existence of the layer boundary, your perception cannot extend upwards."

“So, that thin film was a ‘layer barrier’,” Lin Yi murmured.

Tian Bufan explained, "The 'Layer Boundary' is the ultimate attribute of the gate. The more one delves into the extraordinary realm, the more one is affected, and the more insurmountable it becomes."

"The boundary walls you see covering the teaching buildings are the essential means and underlying logic by which architects anchor the form of the campus. Except for the library, every building exists on the layer level."

Lin Yi exclaimed in shock, "This 'boundary barrier' was built by an architect?!"

"No, they just used it. It's like discovering fire and then using it. There's a world of difference between that and creating fire!"

"The existence of 'layer boundaries' remains unsolved; the laws governing their operation and the mysteries of their penetration are still unknown. Currently, the only certainty is the 'multi-dimensional distortion and interference penetration effect'... We aim to use this method to allow you to stably complete the leap of your will across layer levels at the boundaries of your dreams."

"It's like the 'ritual initiation' in those fantasy theories, except we're having you descend from the campus to the art building!"

Lin Yi said, "Doesn't this sound a lot like the plot where Yuan Shikai and Mu Daxian were manipulated into setting up a ritual?"

"With the knowledge of a fanatic, how could he possibly master such advanced technology?" Tian Bufan sneered. "Besides, what we're going to do is use this method to throw your will over there. It's fundamentally different, understand?"

"I understand." Lin Yi truly understood this time.

Simply put, fanatics are like Mei Chaofeng, who has possessed the Nine Yin Manual for so many years but can only use the Nine Yin White Bone Claw. They've learned a little bit of the basics but haven't even grasped the essence.

And he also understood why his will leap might make him a target of the Night's Watch this time.

Putting yourself in their shoes, even if Yuan Shikai summoned the "original Ash Apostle," wouldn't he also be attacked?
His method of accessing the art building's layers is no different from that of a "primordial Ashbringer." If the Night's Watch detects him, taking a "Sanctuary" attack would be the least of his worries.

The best outcome would be for him to arrive at the "Principal's Office" at the observatory with Mao Feiyang before the Night Watchmen notice him.

Tian Bufan said, "So now you continue to release your senses. I want you to release all your sensory tentacles. If the entire teaching building can't bear your senses and will, then go and capture the details in the teaching building until you feel that there is no longer any sensory power in your body, and that your will has completely left this body!"

"Although I shouldn't question it, can I ask one more question? Will I die?" Lin Yi couldn't help but ask, "The kind where I die from exhaustion of 'feelings'..."

Tian Bufan said, "Back in the gymnasium, even your bones were annihilated, yet you survived. What are you worried about dying for now?"

"The kind of 'death' you should really be worried about has nothing to do with the physical sense."

"Oh, okay... wait a minute, you just entered the dream, you shouldn't have seen what happened to me during the day, how do you know I was annihilated but still okay?" Lin Yi asked in surprise. Tian Bufan didn't respond to his question, as if deliberately skipping over it: "I will hold onto your last wisp of sensory tendrils as an anchor point for your return."

“Ordinary leaps in willpower are simply not enough for you and Maozi to deal with the crisis at the art building, so I need everything about you except this body and a wisp of thought to come over.”

"Our action plan is to teeter on the brink of total annihilation; either we don't take any action at all, or once we do, we have to go all out."

"I understand!" Lin Yi's expression immediately hardened, and he stopped barking and asking questions. He quickly did as instructed.

His sensory tentacles then poured out of his body like a torrent. He didn't know how much time had passed, but he felt a dazed feeling in his mind, like having a high fever of over 42 degrees Celsius, and even experienced wave after wave of unclear thoughts.

The next moment, he felt his body become light and airy, and then his whole body floated up as if in a dream.

"Old Lin... Old Lin... Old Lin..." Tian Bufan's voice seemed to come from near and far, but it quickly became clear again. "Old Lin, Old Lin, how are you? Have you adapted yet?"

Listening to Tian Bufan's words, Lin Yi quickly checked his own body and found that the dazed feeling seemed to have lessened considerably.

Or rather, he "adapted" to this change at an extremely fast pace.

Below him, his own body was sitting in the classroom.

“Just now, all your will and perception flowed out like egg white,” Tian Bufan said. “Next, I want you to gather all these sensory tentacles into your current will.”

"Store everything?!" Lin Yi's eyes widened.

"Stop yelling, just do as I say!" Tian Bufan urged. "By the way, don't collect it inside the classroom. Go outside first and project all your senses through the shatterproof glass onto the walls. Otherwise, the noise later might be a ton..."

"Okay." Lin Yi didn't understand how big the "hundred million" was, but he still obediently did as he was told.

With a sudden thought, he arrived outside the teaching building.

His current state is extremely strange; his will is dragging his sensory tentacles, like an octopus head with countless twisted and bizarre tentacles.

Fortunately, it currently only exists at the layer level and cannot be observed by anyone; otherwise, the resulting panic would be catastrophic.

Under Tian Bufan's command, his sensory tentacles and will continued to shrink...

This was an extremely time-consuming process, because the ethereal Lin Yi's will was contracting his ethereal sensory tentacles, which was inherently an abstract and incomprehensible process.

But as it continued to shrink, it gradually presented a phantom humanoid outline on the layer level.

Within the outline of the human figure, gradually, gradually, tiny, scattered, shimmering lights began to appear...

At the same time, as this change begins to take shape at the layer level, ripples that are almost tangible begin to appear.

Tian Bufan swayed, gathering all the ripples within a three-meter radius around Lin Yi's will.

Gradually, as Lin Yi continued to shrink, his humanoid outline emitted increasingly dazzling and colorful hues, while Tian Bufan, through the power of the dream boundary, concentrated the aura fluctuations within this three-meter range, which, due to extreme precipitation and compression, transformed into a huge sphere of light.

In the endless darkness, such a sphere of light resembles a miniature sun.

When all the tentacles of will and perception retracted, Lin Yi was shocked to perceive his current state...

"I...I fucking...I've fucking turned into a 'Primordial Ash Apostle'?!"

He is now no different from the "original Ash Apostle" in his understanding!
"Young Master Tian, ​​it's me! It's me?!" Lin Yi cried out in terror.

Tian Bufan gave him no chance to recover, shouting, "Stop yelling! See that art building over there? Now! Right now! Run! Old Lin, hurry!!"

"Huh?!" Lin Yi was startled and before he could react, he suddenly noticed two chilling killing intents rising up in the campus!
A chilling, cold aura emanated from the cafeteria area, making him feel as if he were being pricked by needles!
Another force, emanating from the stadium area, was intense and frenzied. Just a wisp of its energy nearly shattered his current state!

But at the same time, he also discovered that the outline of the illusory art building that had been hanging upside down in the sky above the campus suddenly became clear!

He seemed to have seen a way out!

A path that doesn't exist in reality or the ordinary layers of the world has been laid out before him!
Without hesitation, he plunged in!
Almost the instant he entered that path, a phantom, slender figure, enveloped in pure white light, appeared in his location!
After the figure appeared, it stared at the spot where he disappeared for a while, then slowly faded away like a fleeting afterimage...

……

Just as Lin Yi was condensing a dazzling mini sun by shrinking his will and sensory tentacles, the "burial body" that had been lurking in the shadows in the canteen area began to writhe and tremble wildly.

Ashes...the smell of the sun...

I smell... the scent of the Holy Sun's Ashes!!

Let me go... Let me go!

It shook violently, causing the entire cafeteria to tremble precariously.

At the same time, the image of the slender, upright shop owner in a suit silently appeared next to the main body of the "burial body". He raised his hand and pressed on the space, and all the lights in the shop's air-raid shelter-like structure turned red, then suppressed the restlessness of the "burial body" like needles.

Let me go!! Let me go...!!

Don't you want to see... the ashes that extinguished the sun?!

It's appeared!! It seems to have reappeared!!

The "burial body" struggled incessantly, but could not break through the oppressive force exerted by the convenience store owner and the entire cafeteria.

"The aura of the 'Black Sun'?" the shopkeeper murmured. "I think... I've already seen it."

(End of this chapter)