Void, silence, boundlessness, profundity.
In the eternally silent space like a vast black curtain, a few points of light dotted the center. Countless firefly glimmers gathered into six galaxy-like vortices.
The points of light continuously enlarged, and his vision cleared. It was actually a round bubble wrapped in a transparent Crystal Wall. Like a tiny planet floating in space, it formed a vast, desolate universe of stars together with countless identical Crystal Wall Bubbles around it.
"Where... is this?"
Inside the bubble!
Yin Ming stood upon the void-like ground.
Through the Crystal Wall, he watched the resplendent river of stars in the distance, where stars were constantly born, extinguished, and transformed.
One moment ago, he had still been in the Underground City's meditation room. The next, he had appeared in this vast stellar space.
Could a mere Zero-Ring Sorcery Rune really have the effect of shifting through space?
"Croak! Little wizard, this is your dream. Welcome to the Dream Realm."
Outside the bubble's Crystal Wall sprawled a huge red-and-black-skinned toad. Its back was densely covered in disgusting pus-filled lumps. It split its mouth wide and stretched out its tongue, leaving a trail of saliva across the Crystal Wall.
"A dream?" Yin Ming froze. Ignoring what the toad had said, he secretly used his mental power to outline Sorcery Runes in preparation.
"That's right, but not the illusory dream of your understanding. This is also a Wizard Hunting Ground."
"Every Crystal Wall Bubble is a wizard's spiritual dream. As long as you smash through the Crystal Wall and devour the other party's spiritual body, you can obtain their memories and knowledge." The toad had four fingers on each limb, with countless tiny suckers on their tips, firmly clinging to the Crystal Wall Bubble.
"Devouring means I could also be devoured." Yin Ming showed not the slightest excitement. Staring into the toad's eyes, he asked, "Then what happens to the one who is devoured?"
"Their body in the waking world falls into eternal slumber. For knowledge, one must always pay some price."
After saying this lightly, the great toad retracted its long tongue and bared its mouth in a savage grin. "It's all you wizards' fault, being too stingy with knowledge! Countless wizards are still researching ancient knowledge from before the Age of Dharma Decline. What a waste! With that time, they could be researching something new."
"Devour them! Only by using others' knowledge as stepping stones can you rise to a higher realm."
Yin Ming: "..."
Yin Ming agreed with this theory wholeheartedly.
He especially missed the Age of Dharma Decline, when one could download cultivation methods with enough data and find most non-secret cultivation methods online.
But the solution was definitely not a Wizard Hunting Ground. Mutual devouring benefited individuals, yet from the perspective of the whole group, it was an even greater waste.
Through devouring, the Wizard Hunting Ground concentrated knowledge and data, but it also directly erased the computational power contained in overlapping portions.
Moreover, this shortcut to acquiring knowledge would make wizards no longer keen on gaining knowledge through research. It was practically digging up the roots of wizardry.
"Who are you? A wizard who came to devour me?"
The Crystal Wall was being corroded by the toad's saliva, leaving only a thin layer as a barrier.
Yin Ming estimated the toad's strength inwardly. At the same time, through the Inscription Runes between his brows, he sensed his body in the waking world and tried to break through the dream and awaken.
"No! You're very lucky! Slurp..."
The toad licked the Crystal Wall again, splitting its hideous mouth wide. "I am a Nightmare Spirit. You may call me Void Ninth Lord. Compared with devouring, Ninth Lord prefers accepting tribute. One book containing supernatural knowledge can be exchanged for one month of protection."
Tribute?
Wasn't that just harvesting leeks?
The knowledge mastered by Wizard Apprentices overlapped by more than ninety percent. Only continuous squeezing could ensure a steady yield.
The bubble was completely empty. Yin Ming spread his hands. "Books? I entered the dream in a hurry this time. It seems I didn't bring any!"
"You needn't worry about that. Close your eyes and recall the supernatural knowledge in your mind. Imagine it turning into a book and appearing in your hand," the toad said.
Hearing this, Yin Ming focused his thoughts for a moment. Something appeared in his hand as though 3D-printed: a black-covered book, its contents seemingly copied straight from his mind.
"Since this is my dream, I can create things from nothing! Why should I offer tribute to you?" Yin Ming asked.
"Little wizard, this is not your dream. It is the dream of all wizards."
"Creation must follow the rules. Things that run wild as a heavenly horse, things that do not exist, and things you do not truly understand cannot be created."
The toad sneered.
Its long tongue, coated in transparent slime, shot through a hole in the Crystal Wall like a spring and stuck to the black-covered book in Yin Ming's hand.
It retracted the tongue and swallowed the book in one bite, the movement flowing like clouds and water, completed in one breath.
Then, as though rinsing its mouth, it repeatedly savored the book inside its mouth.
"Peh—"
Suddenly, the toad's expression changed drastically. It spat out the tattered book, covered in transparent slime.
With a face full of bad luck, it cursed furiously, "Little wizard, I forgot to tell you the rules for tribute!"
"First, the supernatural book offered as tribute cannot be a Meditation Method. Every regional core records all kinds of Meditation Methods for the current rank. What the Dream Realm lacks least is Meditation Methods."
"Second, the supernatural book offered as tribute cannot overlap by more than ten percent with knowledge Ninth Lord has already mastered."
Yin Ming: "..."
Truly, all roads led to the same destination. Even wizards could not escape plagiarism checks.
"The... no! You actually altered the Meditation Method Runes?"
The toad suddenly discovered that among the ten Mental Runes of the Vast Sea Meditation Method Yin Ming had offered, the energy circuits of nine had undergone subtle alterations.
His first time creating something in a dream.
Yet he had instinctively learned forgery without a teacher. How was a Void Spirit that could not leave the dream supposed to verify the knowledge he offered in the future?
"Crack, crack..."
The toad flew into a rage from humiliation and smashed the thin Crystal Wall layer with one slap.
It squeezed half its head inside. "I cannot spare you! A hen that cannot lay eggs can only be slaughtered for meat."
[Zero Ring: Crimson Flame Ring.]
Yin Ming condensed the crimson flames into a single point, turning them into a scorching firebolt that shot forth.
In the dream, his body had become an illusory spirit body. He could not exert even a shred of physical strength and could only use wizardry to attack and defend.
"Eh..."
Yin Ming made a surprising discovery.
Using wizardry consumed nothing at all. His mental power and magical power seemed inexhaustible.
Before the toad could squeeze inside, he began trying to create things from nothing!
Just as the toad had said, he could not create items beyond the dream's rules, such as the Scavenger Gourd.
Nor could he create things beyond his understanding, such as Alchemical Bombs.
Aside from the raw material foundations, everything he could materialize was something that met specific conditions in the waking world and that he could independently manufacture.
"Croak... It hurts. Once your Ninth Lord squeezes in, I'll let you learn who the true ultimate powerhouse of the Zero-Ring Apprentice region is."
The toad swallowed the flames in one gulp.
Flames capable of melting gold and refining iron became a wisp of green smoke that drifted from its nostrils.
Apart from its tongue being slightly scorched black, it suffered no substantial injury. Its massive body, like an inflated balloon, squeezed through the narrow opening.
"Croak..."
The toad leaped into the bubble space.
Without the toad's saliva continuously corroding it, the Crystal Wall rapidly wriggled and repaired itself, forming an enclosed space.
In the cramped space, one man and one toad stared at each other. There was not even room to dodge or maneuver. They could only clash head-on with their strength.
[Zero-Ring Wizardry: Shadow Touch.]
The toad's entire body was shrouded in a terrifying black shadow. Countless black tentacles spread outward in a wheel-like formation as it grinned savagely. "Ninth Lord has a feeling that devouring you will bring unimaginable benefits."
"No consumption! Creating things from nothing based on one's knowledge—doesn't this mean it compares realms, not attainment? The knowledge one has mastered determines the upper limit of combat power!"
Three metal spheres floated in midair.
Yin Ming extended a fingertip and lightly tapped one of them. The corners of his lips curled up, revealing a warm, gentle smile like a spring breeze. He spoke again, confirming with the toad, "You said... you possess the ultimate strength of Zero Ring, right?"
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