Chapter 104: Balancing (2/2)
Translator: Strivon
Theory and practice confirmed one another, allowing Luo Nan to feel his mind grow clearer and clearer without obstruction. He stopped caring about whether or not he was wrong; he just spoke his mind. He took all the thoughts within his mind and through words and demonstrations on the mental plane, he displayed it all down to the bone.
"For a Self-Format that's mentally focused, one only needs to concentrate on the rationality of the operational structure of energy and information, on whether or not it is efficient. Changes and revisions can be done at any time but when it comes to the fleshly body, changing it is extremely difficult. It is like an inspiring illusion of a designer. The designer could bring out a refined rendering but there would always be a distance from a practical application."
"For a Self-Format that's materially focused, one needs to consider the paths of the inner organs, blood, nerves, muscle, bones, and so on. The precision required even includes aspects like cells and biomacromolecules.… This is like the work of an architect. Every kind of material has to be given sufficient consideration. Every single structure needs to be practical."
Luo Nan did not say these things without thinking. These were the subtleties that were embodied in Fairchild's demonstration just before. The micro level fine structural composition moved and amazed Luo Nan with its perfection, even if it was just the tip of the iceberg.
"Observation is the vocation of the mentally enhanced. Observation is used to experience and understand the operational laws of all of the world's living beings and try to predict a more refined and effective operational structure of energy and information. Oh, it could be called 'configuring'. One seeks to form a perfect pre-configuration."
Luo Nan felt more and more that the word ‘configuration’ that Jack had mentioned was really concise and marvelous. He could not help but use the word once more. "For a physically enhanced, one should focus on the practical reconstruction of the configuration in order to manifest control power and alteration ability towards the material plane… However, you use a materially focused ability to do work that is mentally focused. Obviously, this is very hard to do successfully. This defies the material laws!"
Fairchild let Luo Nan talk and demonstrate without end. Even though there were many things that were banal within Luo Nan's words, even though Luo Nan was repeating things over and over, Fairchild listened quietly from beginning to end. This was because he knew that Luo Nan was not trying to lecture him or prove something. Luo Nan was just combing through his own understanding once more.
This lasted until Luo Nan clarified the distinction between the mentally focused and the materially focused. Fairchild then asked simply, "Why can't one balance the two and attend to both?"
"Balance?" Luo Nan suddenly stopped and was a bit lost in thought. "Yes? Why can't it be balanced? It is clearly possible…"
Fairchild mentioned this without thinking. However, Luo Nan had a real life example.
Rui Wen who was still in a coma. Even though she had a slender figure, she was a young girl who possessed inconceivable abilities. Her short few minutes of slaughtering attacks were the most brilliant of demonstrations given to Luo Nan.
Luo Nan had once believed that the two different methods of Rui Wen and Fairchild each had their own merits but right now he suddenly discovered that Rui Wen's configuration of body and soul merging was the greatest refined model in revealing the effects of having the mental and the material plane in equilibrium.
From Luo Nan's current level understanding, it was nearly perfect.
"This is enough!"
Cat Eyes' had reached the limits of her patience during Luo Nan's idleness. It was a complete disaster within the Society's encrypted channel. Metal Box had withdrawn from the operation and Red Box and Papercut were also on the verge of quitting. The situation that He Yueyin let unfold had long since turned different from the powerful style she exhibited before.
Cat Eyes was one of the people trapped in a dangerous situation waiting to be rescued. Naturally, she felt upset. And right at this time, this dude—Luo Nan—was still speaking dialogue that turned back and forth from suddenly being enigmatic to being cliché… Fairchild could bear it but she could not.
Cat Eyes simply smacked Luo Nan on the back. "Nobody's getting anything done on the outside… Huh?"
Luo Nan fell straight forward when he was hit by Cat Eyes' palm. Luckily, Cat Eyes had quick reactions and managed to grab onto his shoulder. Otherwise, he would've fallen headfirst next to Fairchild's foot.
Remember, Cat Eyes had shared her perspective. Not a bit of Luo Nan situation could be hidden from the encrypted channel.
He Yueyin's cold voice cut across, "What's going on?"
Zhang Yingying exclaimed in astonishment, "Heartbreaker Palm! You!"
Cat Eyes was flabbergasted. God knows what happened. Luo Nan, this kid, had a critical imbalance between his body and soul but this was not enough to make him this weak!
Fairchild had a different reaction to Cat Eyes's blank response. He was not surprised at all. He just shifted his gaze towards an area above with no object in sight.
Over there, Luo Nan responded awkwardly. During his selfless demonstration on the mental plane, he had actually subconsciously let his soul pull some distance from his fleshly body. This one accident caused his soul to leave his body.
Luckily, he had cut deep into the mental plane. Fairchild, who had been constantly communicating with him, was able to lock onto his position.
Going into the out-of-body state was not that bad. However, his fleshly body had to suffer the consequences later on.. Luo Nan sighed and was about to head back to his body when Fairchild's thoughts cut across, continuing the previous dialogue just as before.
"Balancing isn't a compromise, rather it is a revision that is purer. Have you had a taste of it before? Merging with the rays of Truth is like sleeping within a womb. Every breath links together the inner and outer world. It is truly breathing out the old and breathing in the new, getting rid of filth and bringing in purity..."
Fairchild had made a description that was a bit abstract and confusing but his sincere emotions fused with the storm on the mental plane, allowing Luo Nan to have a blurry personal experience.
"We can give it a shot. Come help me."
Anyone else would have been confused by Fairchild's expression of words. Luo Nan, however, was able to understand without any difficulty. Intense curiosity suddenly overflowed from his mind, causing him to forget the fact that he was still in an out-of-body state. The dark chains then shook to strike Fairchild's mental storm.
Luo Nan's dark chains constantly remained on guard amidst their direct exchange no matter how long it was. However, the attacker and the defender were intentionally switched this time around.
The dark chains pressed down on the mental storm for the first time, pressing into Fairchild's controlling range. The power of the ‘My heart’s a prison’ format was instantly used, taking the orderliness that this format possessed and sending it into the depths of Fairchild's layer of waste heat, the mental storm.
Luo Nan was increasing his hold in a way, like when he did so against Rui Wen and Ink.
In an instant, Luo Nan's consciousness briefly cut into Fairchild's range of mental senses. A three-hundred meter radius area was brought into his clairvoyance.
The resulting cross-section covered a vast space of 300,000 square meters. The entirety of Frost River Reality was covered. A high-speed flow of energy and information rapidly converged with a bang. They went through a special configuration that filtered and analyzed the energy and information, arranged them into levels, and made them distinct and concise.
Fairchild closed his eyes as he quietly took in this wonderful experience... The marvels of this experience were not as simple as experiencing an all-encompassing perception.
Observation brought with it order, and order is the Truth.
At the same time, observation brought with it pressure.
For Luo Nan, receiving the information from Fairchild's mental senses was like taking the hits of a giant flail revolving at high-speeds; his entire soul was trembling violently. Though Fairchild's range of senses was inferior to his, Fairchild's level and depth of understanding far exceeded Luo Nan’s. It was like a super-rich nutrient, and it gave Luo Nan difficulties that were beyond his capabilities.
If Luo Nan was not in his out-of-body state and was in his fleshly body, then he would have vomited blood. However, in his out-of-body state, Luo Nan was able to feel the strength of his soul have some clear growth under Fairchild's stimulation and he was unable to suppress it.
"What the heck are you up to this time?"
An emotion like a bitter laugh surfaced in Luo Nan's heart as Fairchild made a sudden step towards Luo Nan. The snow-white gown fluttered to reveal a fist that had been concealed inside. The fist launched straight out, smashing into the chest of Luo Nan's unconscious body.
A radiance like liquid mercury circulated and surged between the tip of Fairchild's fist and Luo Nan's chest.