“A forbidden book.”
Li Zhan’s voice, though soft and elegant, caused Ovid to become rather surprised. He raised his head and continued to listen.
“This book, called ‘‘The Phenomenology of Essence’, was a collection of texts written by a saint-prince some hundred of thousands of years ago, and greatly discredited the texts of the clergy. Even Julia’s southern school of thought worked with the Papacy to suppress the spreading of this text. After two years, the prince who wrote this book and his princedom was all destroyed of these texts.”
Ovid did not expect the book to have such a history. He fell silent for some time, before asking in puzzlement, “How did you get this book then?”
Li Zhan looked at him and answered, “My father values all forms of literature. He had personally led a delegation to receive the book before the princedom was exterminated.”
Thinking of how large the collection Li Zhan’s father must book, Ovid had a faint sense of desire.
“Teacher’s wife, do you intend to follow Cai Hua?”
Li Zhan did not speak for a long time. Her eyes became calm as she said, “Indeed, I plan on ascending after ten days. Before then, you should study the book and write what you don’t understand down. On the day before I ascend, I will answer those questions for you.”
Ovid felt very helpless, and could not understand why Li Zhan had chosen to follow Cai Hua so quickly. In the end, he said nothing, holding ‘The Phenomenology of Essence’ in his hand, he absent-minded watched as she walked out of the cave.
---
So, during the entire day, Ovid did nothing expect reading this book, only drinking when he was thirsty, and eating when he was hungry.
As his reading progressed, he gradually understood why Julia would even work in coordination with the Pope to erase any copies of it.
It was because, in the beginning, the book outrightly pointed out the foundations its arguments were based on along with the details it would explain; The clergy believes the purest form originates from the stars and constellation, but the northern continents are capable of harnessing equally pure essence from the land itself. From this, it could be seen that all the essence, whether mana or spiritual, is intrinsic to the world itself - the spirit lingering between even the smallest existence is the same as the ones within stars.
Originally, when Ovid read this, he felt somewhat bemused, because this viewpoint sounded very familiar. Then he realized it closely mirrored the theory of the atom, which is perhaps why the clergy had been so adamant against it. If the practitioners of magic began acquiring mana from another untapped source, the number of people with mastery over mana would increase drastically. Then, how can the clergy maintain its’ monopoly over information?
Before entering this world, Ovid was a great bibliophile, constantly reading through his mother’s vast collections of classics and theorems. When he had entered this world, the vast differences between the old and the new had greatly confused him, and while the ‘Essence of Mana’ that every deacon had read at the start of their path toward eternity explained some, this book, which tied much of his understanding of physics to the new concepts of the world, greatly interested Ovid.
From sunrise to sunset, Ovid sat on the stone bed, silently reading the forbidden book beneath the tiny sliver of sunlight pass through. He was immersed in the knowledge contained within the new and old texts. It was new for this world was new to him in its entirety, and old for it contained the wisdom of previous men. Gradually, he formed an understanding that merged the foundations of his previous world and the current one, especially on the foundations of the essence and the new atomic model.
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He did not yet understand why Li Zhan had given him would solve the problem of the contradictions within his body. However, he believes ten years is more than enough to solve it… and reading a book or two for knowledge sake would not be harmful. After all, knowledge is power.
Gradually, the Great Dividing Range, it’s towering mountains and flowing clouds were shrouded in the darkness of night.
At some point, Ovid took out a few pieces of dried meat in his storage ring and hurriedly ate those. Quite a long time later, Ovid realised the lighting was not so good and found an oil lamp, placing it next to himself before reading again under the relatively dim oil light.
His experiences with reading in the past made him very able to quickly absorb information while maintaining an excellent degree of attentiveness. After he finished the book, he took fifteen seconds to perform the breathing exercise, before copying the book onto paper along with his thoughts. In the end, ‘The Phenomenology of Spiritual Essence,” was firmly placed within his mind along with countless other books.
By the time he had finished reviewing, the oil in the lamp was nearly exhausted. Ovid tidied the stone bed, cleaned his teeth with a rough piece of cloth, and finally closed his eyes.
---
At the state of half-saint, while it was not enough to go without food, water or sleep, one can supplement it with the mana they absorb. Because of that, even though Ovid had stayed up late into the night, when he woke up the next morning, he did not feel fatigued.
The time he woke up at was not the one in his usual tempo. He did not even bother practising his morning routine before he approached the entrance of the cave. Suddenly, his expression changed when he saw a clergyman who had lowered his head in contemplation, or perhaps just simply appreciating the view from atop the peak.
The man was wearing a mass-produced clergy uniform. His face was filled with wrinkles as deep as the most unfathomable of ravines. His hair was white as snow, but should one look closely, they would find traces of black hidden beneath, revealing a hint of youth. Just like the owner of Northweave, it was impossible for one to tell the age of this individual, whether he was old or young.
After meeting the person’s eyes, Ovid quickly rejected the idea that the clergyman’s lowered head was to view the Great Dividing Range, as there were an endless coldness and age in those eyes.
Ovid stopped before the entrance of the cave, his sword held in his right hand. After a long moment of silence, Ovid lowered his head and spoke, “May I ask who sir is?”
The man said with satisfaction, “No need to be so polite. Just call me the Prelate.”
Ovid was after all, unfamiliar with the world, and was not aware of the existence of this figure. He asked, “Mr Prelate, why have you visited me?”
The Prelate looked at him and said with a hoarse voice, “I was sent here by someone to send a message.”
Ovid realised what the Prelate implied, and his attitude became slightly warmer.
He looked at the Prelate and said, “Please come in.”
The Prelate wordlessly entered and stood out a stood to say on. He made sure the position was comfortable before signalling Ovid to sit on the bed with his fingers. He said, “The message was, ‘relativity’.”
Hearing these words, Ovid was even more sure the person who wanted the Prelate to deliver was message was his mother.
The Prelate looked at Ovid and sighed. “The person did not ask me to tell you anything else. But I have been thinking over these words for the past day, and arrived at some thoughts. Since I plan to leave after the sun fades, if you are willing, I will share my interpretations here.”
By then, Ovid had sat down. And after hearing these words, he swiftly retrieved a quill along with a thick stack of paper.
Seeing that Ovid had taken out a set of writing instruments even before he had finished speaking, the Prelate did not become angered but was instead rather impressed by the youth before him. He said, “To us humans, feelings are the most important thing. This feeling is what separates us from beasts, who are guided by their absolute instincts.”
The prelate continued, “But this feeling can only exist through comparing one with to another. How can we feel hungry when we never felt full? How can we experience joy without tasting the sorrows of life?”
The Prelate stretched out his hands slightly, and the mana within the cave slowly gathered to form a ball of water that fell to the ground. The water moved like numerous invisible snakes, gradually congregating at a hole.
“When men are born, they are born unknowing. Likewise, every strand of mana are born pure, and like water that becomes muddy after flowing down the mountain, it changes in relation to its experience.”
Ovid’s frowns furrowed. After a short moment of silence, he said, “Is Sir saying that mana is like water, without a tangible nature, it only interacts when interacting with some tangible object. For example, becoming a semi-circle in a bowl, or numerous, or yellow when carrying silt?”
The Prelate was taken aback slightly, but after a few moments, he nodded and continued, “When clergymen channel mana through their body, the mana must conform to the context of their body.”