Reality and Illusion
Lu Li wriggled within the Soul Space, probing its truth. He wasn't overly worried about Niu Dingtian Lu Li, having spent years studying existence factors, protagonist auras, and other such things, and possessing a certain level of skill in judging people's appearances.
Even without Lu Li's help, Niu Dingtian could still achieve considerable success. The snail he easily killed had a strength rating of B+, which corresponds to a high-grade Earth-level life soul in the Heavenly Secrets Continent.
At least in the short term, Niu Dingtian is developing smoothly, but once his gains do not match his original fortune, it may cause disaster.
Lu Li had roughly figured out the three elements of an artificial protagonist's halo, which can be summarized as: favorable timing, advantageous location, and harmonious relationships.
The "timing" refers to the era, which is a certain law governing the development of heaven and earth. Otherwise, if the era is not in place and the fortune of heaven and earth is insufficient, the protagonist will find it difficult to succeed and will at most be a protagonist in a small area.
Then, "geographical advantage" refers to the environment. The protagonist must be in a turbulent environment. This turmoil doesn't necessarily mean war or anything like that; it could be business or something else. The protagonist must be one of the points of conflict in this turmoil.
Finally, the character and destiny of the protagonist are what truly matter. Everyone is born with their own destiny, and they gradually develop their own destiny. The saying that personality determines success or failure can be completely translated into destiny determining success or failure.
Destiny encompasses knowledge of personality, fortune, and fate. Part of destiny is innate, while another part is altered by circumstances. A person's true destiny is the unity of their innate and acquired destiny.
In most cases, one's destiny determines success or failure. Of course, destiny is not fixed; it can change or degenerate for various reasons. The most famous of these is the Golden Scale Destiny. People with this destiny may transform into a True Dragon Destiny when they encounter an opportunity, such as a certain person surnamed Hou.
In addition, there was also a case of defying fate. Lu Li transformed into a shadow creature, which can also be said to be a defying fate, turning from a tiny mortal into a terrifying monster.
Niu Dingtian Lu Li has a good destiny and decent opportunities, but to become the protagonist, besides the uncertain timing and location, the most important thing is the people. Although his destiny is good, it is only good. To become the protagonist, he needs to defy fate at least once.
However, Lu Li is not in a hurry. Although the mission has not been explained, based on Lu Li's research on the fate of heaven and earth, this world is still some time away from a major change, and the missions in the dungeon are generally related to major changes in heaven and earth.
"So I don't know what's going on with the other players. I was turned into a life soul because I'm an outcast, but what about the other normal players?" Lu Li pondered.
Leaving this soul space wouldn't be difficult for him now. He could simply follow the connection left by Niu Dingtian and tear this space apart to go to the Heavenly Secrets Continent. It would only be temporary, so Lu Li wasn't in a hurry.
This world is not simple. Most worlds are hostile to powerful alien beings, with Earth being a prime example. Even if some worlds are not hostile, they will suppress the strength of those who enter to a certain extent.
Lu Li discovered that the Heavenly Secrets Continent did not reject his entry at all. There are two possibilities: one is that this world is peculiar, unlike those flashy and cheap things outside.
Secondly, Lu Li's strength has not reached the upper limit of this world, so there is no need to suppress him. Considering the division of heaven, earth, darkness, and yellow in this world, there must be quite a few Heavenly Grade beings equivalent to A-level. Moreover, with four levels, there will be one or two more higher levels in the end. Isn't that common sense?
The first objective of the instance is to survive until the Big Fish Event ends. This means that there is a 90% chance that this so-called Big Fish Event will pose a life-threatening danger to all players. Therefore, Lu Li is not in a hurry to run out of Niu Dingtian's life soul space. Instead, he carefully studies it.
Not long after, combined with Niu Dingtian's physical report, Lu Li began to move again. This result was somewhat unexpected for Lu Li. The Soul Space was nothing other than Niu Dingtian's dream.
However, this dream had incorporated many elements, greatly altering its appearance. Lu Li needed to study it carefully for a while before he could discover the truth. Although this Soul Space was based on a dream, it was actually not much different from the Dreamlands.
"Although it has changed drastically, some basic settings are still followed." Lu Li carefully sensed it, and finally, a black tentacle stretched out, tearing open a slit, revealing a brand new space before Lu Li: "For example, most of the dream world is connected to the Dreamlands."
Lu Li then extended his tentacles from the crack, carefully collecting information about the new Dreamlands. After a while, Lu Li decisively retracted the tentacles and closed the Soul Space.
The Dreamlands of this world is like a lake, and each person's soul space is like a small puddle or tributary connected to the lake. The so-called soul is just a creature living in the Dreamlands.
Within that great lake slumber one or two great beings. Lu Li wasn't quite sure what they were, but it was clear that their status was far higher than his Lu Li. If he wasn't mistaken, the Big Fish mentioned in the mission should be that being that existed at the bottom of the water.
As for the so-called Big Fish Ritual, it should be a suicidal ritual to awaken the Big Fish. However, even if Lu Li knows this now, it won't be of much use. At most, he can be more cautious, since the game's restriction is that he cannot interfere with the Big Fish Ritual.
Having reached Lu Li's current level, he has a deeper understanding of the game. Although he still cannot understand the game's punishment mechanism, it is a significant improvement compared to before when he was completely unaware of the punishment mechanism.
In short, it is a mechanism that is intertwined with cause and effect, fate, and many other more complex factors. This mechanism will be activated if anyone violates the rules of the game, leading everything about that person to the worst possible outcome.
Given Lu Li's current skill level, even if he survives, he will suffer considerable losses under this mechanism. The most important thing in that Dreamlands right now is the so-called Big Fish. If he affects it, he might break the rules of the game, so there's no need for Lu Li to go looking for trouble.
"In comparison, it's better to let Niu Dingtian grow up as soon as possible so that we can collect more information." With this Lu Li Extraction a portion of the collected existence factors and transformed them into something that he then placed on Niu Dingtian's body.
Niu Dingtian, who was talking with his elders, suddenly shuddered. A mechanical voice sounded in his ear, "The Skybearer System activated. First host Niu Dingtian, hello. This system is at your service."