Chapter 134: The Conservation of Total Spirituality

The small window in the castle’s dining room had been removed and replaced with a massive pane of tempered glass, flooding the room with light. Unnecessary clutter had been cleared away, and the walls were now lined with steel shelves stacked high with white-bound books.

These volumes contained the supernatural knowledge gathered by Xuan Lü thus far—ranging from basic spells like Fireball, Shield, Lighten, and Night Vision, to advanced techniques for various vocations such as Lightning Strike, Wind-Chasing Arrow, Battle Cry, Battle Formation, and Shadow Step. There were even miscellaneous treatises and theoretical papers on the arcane of unknown authorship and questionable veracity.

All the supernatural knowledge here originated from two primary channels: trade and war. Most of the knowledge obtained through trade consisted of scraps squeezed from various factions while they were in the capital. These were generally common spells, akin to basic subjects like mathematics, physics, and chemistry, basic automotive maintenance, or everyday recipes in their own world. You might not get answers from just anyone on the street, but with a little effort, it was easy to acquire.

Clearly, other factions were not as peaceful toward Xuan Lü as they appeared; on the contrary, everyone remained highly vigilant, even the King, with whom they currently held the closest relations. No faction would hand over their core knowledge to Xuan Lü, choosing instead to remain silent on the matter.

The only "core" knowledge obtained so far was the Battle Formation provided by the King and the techniques for processing fairy materials acquired from Count Lev. Although the former fell under the category of basic knowledge, it was far more refined than other battle formations. Analogous to computers, they were essentially the same thing, but some possessed higher processing power than others.

The latter was a method for converting parts of a fairy into tools, serving as Xuan Lü's sole piece of supernatural manufacturing technology. In simple terms, it utilized the fairy’s elemental affinity to create a disposable item. The tools crafted by the Earth-attribute fairy were perfect for building infrastructure, such as laying roads or constructing bridges. While not as durable as reinforced concrete in essence, they provided an excellent framework that drastically shortened construction time.

The supernatural knowledge in this room was incredibly eclectic, covering the four major vocations—Knight, Mage, Archer, and Assassin—yet all of it was foundational. In other words, any monster hunter from the Hunter’s Guild could perform these feats. It was vast and varied, broad but not deep.

Of course, this did not mean these basics were useless. On the contrary, at this stage, they were of the greatest value to Xuan Lü. While not powerful, they allowed Xuan Lü to gain a comprehensive understanding of supernatural forces. For instance, the introductory foundation for Knights, "Melee Weapon Mastery," mostly consisted of techniques on how to exert force more effectively, how to better strike an enemy, and a small portion on the application of spiritual energy—the most common being how to use that energy to reinforce the body, strengthening it in every aspect. It was said that advanced weapon mastery could allow one to imbue weapons with spiritual energy to reinforce inanimate objects.

The reason Xuan Lü had sent over so many copies was primarily at Qin Le’s request. His excuse was that he was bored and needed something to do. He had already been reduced to a "door-opening tool," and for safety reasons, he rarely left the base core. To compensate for this, Xuan Lü had granted him high-level clearance, and his military rank had jumped rapidly, moving from Major to Colonel in just one year. However, Qin Le had no interest in such things; given his unique situation, rank was of little actual use. As for the clearance level, which rivaled that of the supreme commander, it was equally redundant.

In the past, he had done things for the Empire out of necessity—if you didn't stand high enough, it was easy to die without knowing why. Now that life was better, there was no way he would become a "wage slave" again. Furthermore, the think tank was far better at overall coordination than he was; as an outsider, there was no need for him to meddle in such affairs.

The political waters of the Republic were deep, and he couldn't quite grasp them yet.

On a leather sofa surrounded by countless white-bound books, Qin Le sat upright, holding a volume titled *Shadow Step*. Suddenly, a snow-white, slender leg draped over his lap, pulling his attention away from the book. He turned to look.

Aemeya was curled up on the other side of the sofa, fast asleep, with a textbook on Advanced Physics covering her face. She scratched her white belly from time to time, and a trail of drool had already formed at the corner of her mouth.

Qin Le’s mouth twitched slightly, and he once again questioned her species. Was this an elf? Was this truly the legendary, elegant, and noble elf? Was she sure she wasn't some mutated goblin that had crawled out from somewhere?

Just then, the physics book slid off, and the elf, devoid of any grace, opened her eyes, looking around with hazy, beautiful eyes.

"What time is it?"

Qin Le checked the time and replied, "Daytime, almost sunset."

"So late?" Aemeya yawned and then glanced at the book in Qin Le’s hand. "Did you learn it?"

"No," Qin Le shook his head slightly. "I don't know why, but I just can't seem to master this *Shadow Step*. It's been a whole month, and I can't find the feel for it at all."

Closing the book, he sighed, "Perhaps I'm just not suited for assassin abilities."

"..." Aemeya twitched her lips and glanced at the large stack of books on the table. Fireball, Battle Shield, Battle Cry, Lightning Strike, One-Handed Sword Mastery, Two-Handed Sword Mastery, Longbow Mastery, Wind-Chasing Arrow, Night Vision... a glance revealed almost every commonly circulated basic skill.

"Hmm... the only one missing is the assassin’s." She pointed to the stack and asked, "Have you learned all of these?"

"Of course, they’re quite simple." Qin Le held up a finger, and a small flame flickered at his fingertip. "As you said, spells are essentially formulas—1+1=2. No matter how the subsequent advanced spell corridors change, they are all variations built upon this foundation. The essence of Fireball is to generate fire; all other fire-attribute spells are built within this framework."

The supernatural theory Aemeya taught him was clearly different from what Xuan Lü had collected, differing from traditional theories. Both emphasized the understanding and construction of spell corridors, but Aemeya included the "Five Fundamental Theories." That is, all supernatural power in the world is based on the five basic elements, and all spells are merely painting over them, achieving goals by distorting these five foundations. Traditional theory, by contrast, held that all things possess spirit, and spells are gifts from the gods.

Aemeya fell into a deep silence. Surprisingly, she felt no internal turbulence, finding his logic perfectly normal. She had wanted to scold him, to correct his ideological errors, thinking that learning so much was useless and would only harm him. The correct approach should be to specialize in one path and study it incessantly. One must never be overambitious on the path of the supernatural, or one would end up achieving nothing.

But the words died on her lips.

"If you learn so much, be careful you won't be able to push open the door in the end." Out of their friendship, Aemeya couldn't help but offer a word of caution.

"Push open the door?" Qin Le frowned, then asked in confusion, "Are you talking about the Upper Three Tiers?"

When Aemeya had previously explained supernatural knowledge, she mentioned that the distinction between the lower and upper three tiers existed because the transition from the third to the fourth tier was a watershed. Only upon reaching the fourth tier could one be called truly supernatural—that is, transcending the mundane.

First tier: introductory; second tier: official; third tier: door-opening. That was the correct description for the lower three tiers. They were like a group of ordinary people holding blades; no matter how they brandished them, there was a limit. In terms of strength, the first tier was like a top-tier boxer with ten bullets; the second, like three fully armed soldiers with two magazines; the third, like a light armored vehicle with one to three shells. In terms of characteristics, the first tier involved spiritual awakening and the flow of energy through the body; the second, the flexible manipulation of spiritual energy; the third, reaching the required total volume of spiritual energy.

The fourth tier was unmeasurable. After all, the Upper Three Tier powerhouses encountered so far were elusive, and whether they could even be effectively targeted was a question. The only one with a clear movement trajectory, the King of Dawn, was like a human-shaped intercontinental missile. A casual sword strike could carve out a pit over a thousand meters in diameter, and he still seemed to have energy to spare. Xuan Lü had no data for anything above that, as they had never seen it, and Aemeya had provided no reference.

"Exactly. The lower three tiers can be piled up with massive resources. After all, their requirements are simply spiritual awakening, full-body spiritual flow, flexible manipulation, and meeting the total energy quota." Aemeya picked up a book and stood it upright on the table. "There is only one door between the lower three tiers, and whether you can push it open depends entirely on you. If you can't push it, it doesn't matter how many awakening pills you eat. This is the door for the Knight vocation; there is only this one layer."

Aemeya then stacked the books, the metaphorical "door" growing thicker with each one.

Qin Le speculated, "The more you learn, the thicker the door, and the harder it is to push open?"

"Not at all." Aemeya shook her head, her expression serious. "All supernatural knowledge is essentially boundless; it is all just a distortion of the five fundamentals. Don't be framed by worldly boundaries. As you say, you must look at the world with scientific, materialistic eyes."

Her slender finger tapped lightly on the standing books, and the heavy door collapsed instantly.

"Strip away all the halos attached to the supernatural; it is essentially just an objective phenomenon of the world, not something gifted by gods. My understanding is that so-called spells are a distortion of the most objective spiritual energy, and that energy is an objective existence."

"The total amount of supernatural energy remains constant, but the number of supernatural users continues to increase. Meanwhile, some individuals absorb excess energy, such as those in the Upper Three Tiers, royal artifacts, and..."

Aemeya’s scientific-sounding theory left Qin Le stunned. Her speed at absorbing modern scientific knowledge was truly astonishing. It seemed the think tank was right to restrict her access to certain data. Although he felt bad for her, he had to take precautions; he couldn't just reveal all their secrets to someone from this new world.

"Then what did you mean by 'can't push open the door'?" Qin Le asked.

"The lower three tiers are essentially the process of you learning to walk. To push open the door to the Upper Three Tiers, you must have enough strength. The source of this strength isn't how much you've learned, but how much you understand, and whether you are qualified..." Aemeya attempted to use the scientific concepts she had learned to make the abstract supernatural knowledge concrete and visual. "To put it in the simplest terms: you need to grow a pair of hands capable of pushing open the door, not a thousand weak, useless hands. Do you understand now?"

"So that's how it is." Qin Le nodded. His previously hazy impression of the supernatural suddenly became concrete. It no longer felt like something mystical, but rather something clear and logical. Before, he felt like he was cultivating immortality; now, looking back, it was more like studying math and science.

At the same time, he remembered the book he had read: *A pair of legs can only walk one path.*

"But I have no higher knowledge to learn," Qin Le said, pointing to the pile of books on the table, stating the fundamental problem he faced. He had nothing left to learn.

"Uh..." Aemeya scratched her head. "How about we borrow some from others? The only place in the entire kingdom that stores advanced supernatural knowledge should be the King's treasury."

The elf recalled her old profession. Based on her centuries of experience, those that held records of supernatural knowledge were usually kingdoms, empires, the Hunter’s Guild, or major churches—factions that needed to continuously impart such knowledge. Individual nobles didn't need such trouble; for the sake of security, they passed things down through the generations, teaching them from childhood. This led to gaps in inheritance, but it was far better than being constantly targeted by others. It was a high-risk practice, but nobles were often forced into it, especially those in decline. Being visited by unknown powerhouses every few days was more than anyone could handle.

"Forget it. It would be trouble if you were discovered," Qin Le refused, shaking his head.

"Hmph! Are you questioning my professionalism?" Aemeya bared her teeth, looking quite angry. The elf felt insulted that he didn't trust her centuries of experience.

*Knock, knock, knock!*

A knock sounded at the door. Aemeya immediately composed herself and sat upright on the sofa.

*Click.* The door opened.

Li Zhiyuan walked in with an apologetic smile. "Apologies, Colonel. I had to finish organizing the latest calculations for the gravitational constant, so I’m a bit late."

Because the gravitational constant and various meteorological data in this world were slightly different, missiles and fighter jets could not be used properly. To be precise, they could be used, but problems would arise—missiles would miss their targets, and jets might not fly steadily. This was why the airport had been completed for months, yet the Air Force had not yet entered the new world. It didn't matter if a plane crashed; they could just build another. But the value of every pilot was equivalent to gold. Especially those who had survived world wars; they were invaluable national treasures.

"Colonel, did you need something?"

Qin Le didn't beat around the bush. "I need you to launch an experiment—the 'Elite Repair Experiment.' We will use Awakening Pills to repair the bodies of retired special forces veterans."