Free Web NovelChapter 2734: Chapter 955: The Three Stages of the Art of Body Transformation
This bed came a bit out of nowhere.
Catching people completely off guard.
"Pr–Professor?"
Zheng Qing stammered, pointing at the big bed in front of him, wanting to say something but nothing came out, only feeling that the old man opposite had malice crammed into every bit of his smile.
By comparison, the Witch, whose face flushed first, actually calmed down before anyone else: "—Professor, are you planning to have us use ’Dreamwalking’ to complete the process of primary alienation?"
Zheng Qing was slow on the uptake; his ears finally beat his eyes and delivered to his brain information other than that bed—primary alienation—at the same time his brain quickly flipped through the handout for the content he had previewed.
Primary alienation.
This is a technical term in the Art of Body Transformation, referring to the first stage of the Art of Body Transformation.
The learning and mastery of the Art of Body Transformation has three stages, namely "primary alienation", "intermediate synchronization", and "advanced split-mind". At the primary stage, a Wizard can already complete the basic "body transformation", and can control a real, tangible double besides the main body. It’s just that this control has many limitations, such as the duration of the double being limited; such as the range of activity of the double not being able to be too far from the main body; and, for example, because of insufficient Soul strength or proficiency and other conditions, the double and the main body cannot remain awake at the same time.
"—Especially that last point, you need to pay extra attention."
Professor Yao held the handout in A hand and his pipe in the other, banging the blackboard with a loud thud: "Let me give you a possible example: when student Zheng Qing falls asleep, his Soul will ’wander out’ and sink into the double, controlling the double’s actions. The entire process, in his main body’s perception, is similar to dreaming... What’s the thing you usually regret most after waking up from a dream?"
Zheng Qing’s mind flashed instantly to Thomas’s laboratory, then to Su Shijun’s study, and finally he unconsciously glanced at the wide double bed beside him—only on this level can a man’s imagination make such sudden leaps.
At the same time, Jiang Yu’s steady voice came to his ears.
"The experiences in dreams quickly slip from our memory." She stated a fact everyone has personally experienced.
Bang!
"Very good!"
Old Yao gave the pipe a heavy knock—the force was so great that Zheng Qing worried he’d either break the blackboard or crack that very pretty pipe—Professor looked contentedly at the only Witch in the classroom and nodded:
"Exactly! During the primary alienation stage of the Art of Body Transformation, your mental state will retain this same feature: when you fall asleep and your double is active, you’ll probably forget a lot of what happened while awake; and when you wake up, the main body will in turn ignore the double’s experiences. This mutual crisscrossing can ensure that your mind remains in a dynamic equilibrium... Note! I’m saying ’probably’ and ’ignore’ because Wizards differ from Wizard to Wizard: some Wizards with powerful minds can clearly remember everything that happened in dreams and after waking; some with sharp minds can precisely flip back through experiences they once ignored... all of this is possible, so don’t cling to rigid rules."
Zheng Qing folded his arms and rubbed his chin.
"Sounds like this double isn’t all that useful."
He looked at the Black Gem Cat, who had once again started tumbling and rolling around on the big bed, and mused: "If I don’t know what my double is doing after I wake up, or if I can’t command my double to finish the things my main body hasn’t done yet... then what’s the point of this double? What if the double causes trouble while I’m asleep?"
Jiang Yu very much agreed and gave a tiny nod.
As if to annotate Zheng Qing’s doubts, on the big bed, the Black Gem Cat, who was currently tangled up in a free-for-all with the White Jade Cat, got excited and popped out its sharp claws; with a ripping sound, it tore a huge jagged slit into that beautiful red silk quilt cover.
Zheng Qing’s expression instantly fell.
"Very perceptive... and indeed, that’s the case."
The Professor at the blackboard didn’t shy away from this defect: "The practicality of primary Art of Body Transformation really isn’t very strong. But the reason Wizards separate it out as a complete stage is because once they master ’primary alienation’, Wizards can already use the Art of Body Transformation to refine Energy magic potion."
As he spoke, he took two steps forward to the big bed and gestured: "Enough talking, what you get from paper always feels shallow... Now, you two can lie on the bed and sleep, and try using ’Dreamwalking’ to manifest your split mind... What are you looking at me for? Haven’t you ever slept before?"
He glared at the boy.
This old monster is absolutely doing it on purpose!
Zheng Qing clenched his teeth, his face frozen in a stiff expression, and didn’t move for quite a while. In the end it was Jiang Yu who straightforwardly lay down on one side of the bed, closed her eyes, formed a hand seal, and in no time at all slipped into slumber.
The boy finally had the courage to breathe.
"You really should have prepared two beds!" He complained, giving the Elder Wizard a look.
"So this is my fault!"
Old Yao spread his hands, his sallow face twitching: "Classroom space is limited. One big bed lets two people lie very comfortably, so why would we put two beds? Of course, if you insist on another bed, I have no objection. But, how should I put this? Two small beds pushed together, that gap in the middle has absolutely no reason to exist... For the two of you, whether that gap exists or not, I think it’s very important."
He bit down on his pipe, smiling squint-eyed at the boy who still didn’t dare lie down: "—Besides, you don’t need to hide your feelings in front of a Legend. The sparks crackling between your two Souls are bright enough to blind me."
As he spoke, the Professor lifted A hand to shield his eyes and exaggeratedly took a small step back, as if an actual spark flared before him.
Completely lacking the reserve of a Legendary Wizard.
"...Lastly," Old Yao dropped his hand and patted Zheng Qing’s shoulder, speaking earnestly, "this ’sharing a bed but dreaming different dreams’ has an occult bonus for the primary alienation process. Just take it as the two of you lying together will let you master this Magic faster. Don’t ask me why. The reason occultism is called occultism is because it gathers many Magic phenomena that Magic theory can’t explain. Just like how when you’re walking and randomly decide to step on a certain fallen leaf, and then that particular thing is sure to succeed—it makes no sense, but the outcome is often unexpected."
These few reasons nicely persuaded the reserved boy.
He let out a long breath and nervously lay down on the bed—because he accidentally stepped his left foot on his right, he stumbled and almost fell right on top of the Witch—closed his eyes, then, following the key points he remembered from the handout, formed the Spells; in the haze, multicolored spell-lights wove and flashed before his eyes, and very soon, he sank into a deep sleep.
As if a long time had passed.
Yet also like a single instant.
He Awakened from deep sleep and opened his eyes.
The entire World had become much bigger.
