Infinite Paradise
Chapter 111 - 86 Soul Visualization Method (4000 characters, please subscribe)_2

Chapter 111: 86 Soul Visualization Method (4000 characters, please subscribe)_2

Sigma, although an Emperor, held no special requirements for his burial site; he simply hoped his descendants would bury his body in Hero’s Tomb.

A coffin, a clump of yellow earth, a tomb mound that was neither too big nor too small, and a dark tombstone.

This was the burial arrangement for Sigma, the founding Emperor of the Empire.

On the day of the King Selection Ceremony, the incessant drizzle enveloped all attendees who wore black attire, stoically stepping solemnly towards the Emperor’s grave.

Leading the procession was Queen Morgan. Flanking her were the Twelve Knights, led by Lancelot, and the Twelve Civil Ministers, led by Aristotle, who together formed the political and military core of the empire, constituting the first tier. The second tier consisted of the Princes attending the ceremony, dressed either splendidly or plainly, totaling forty-eight.

Following them, the third tier comprised a group of women uniformed either holding staffs or empty-handed, about a hundred in number, all members of the Catastrophe Messenger.

In terms of strength and contributions to the Empire, the Catastrophe Messengers were no less prominent than the Emperor’s Forbidden Army, but strictly speaking, Catastrophe Messengers served as the private army of the Emperor, somewhat similar to the Jinyi Guard of the Ming Dynasty. Despite their power, they did not participate in the state affairs, hence their ostensibly lower status relegated them to the third tier.

Following the Catastrophe Messengers were Emperor Sigma’s blood relatives - either Princes and grand Princes who were too old to participate in the selection ceremony, or the late Emperor’s concubines and descendants like daughters, granddaughters, and great-grandsons.

At such a formal and significant event as the King Selection Ceremony, they were only able to take up in the fourth tier.

Had Morgan not held the actual powers of a Regent King, she too... could have been in the first tier, because she was also the leader of the Catastrophe Messenger.

Trailing the fourth tier were common officials and Knights, and finally the nobles and commoners.

As for Le Cheng and the other veteran players, they weren’t involved but stood as spectators watching from a distance.

"Frankly, the more I understand this country, the more I admire Emperor Sigma. Even in death, he occupies such a modest grave. Which other emperor could be as frugal?" Edward remarked as an observer, better appreciating Sigma’s greatness.

Nikun added, "Indeed, and look at the arrangement of the procession; relatives of the royal family are only in the fourth tier, clearly reflecting a hierarchy based on contributions, and they seem to accept their positioning. If it were our country, ha, if they weren’t at the front, I’d behead myself."

"The valiant Knights who fought bloodshed and the Civil Ministers who govern are both esteemed. Birth and lineage do not provide a superior status. No wonder this country has withstood the Catastrophe Legion for two hundred years."

"Yeah, if I weren’t a player, I’d love to become a citizen of the Empire. In such a country, as long as you are capable, you won’t be overlooked."

"But the more capable you are, the quicker you might die, right?"

"That’s true too..."

"With greater abilities come greater responsibilities, and with greater responsibilities, greater dangers."

"Hey, I’d rather stay as a Mental support citizen then, I want to live a bit longer."

"By the way, Brother Gai, didn’t you become a Divine Envoy? Aren’t you participating in this grand King Selection Ceremony?"

"Better not, I don’t want to steal Caster’s thunder."

Le Cheng shook his head. The main character of this King Selection Ceremony was Caster. His rash interference might overshadow Caster, leading to a plummet in his prestige - not something Le Cheng wished to see. Then again, merely watching did feel rather boring.

Why not try out the new ability?

Le Cheng suddenly had an idea.

He closed his eyes and silently recited the incantation of Rising Dragon Transformation.

Rising Dragon Transformation, the crux of this secret technique lies in visualization.

As is known, the majority of creatures, including humans, observe through their physical eyes, and the brain and consciousness respond based on what is observed. In other words, the operation of human consciousness largely depends on the physical body.

However, the physical eyes cannot see everything, such as the soul.

The so-called first transformation of Rising Dragon Transformation involves shifting the perspective, allowing the consciousness to break free from the constraints of the physical body and follow the eyes of the soul, thus observing things invisible to the physical eye.

According to ancient texts, to achieve this step requires immense spiritual power and soul strength. Otherwise, in the instant of making the switch, the user’s consciousness might get trapped between the body and the soul, leading to a collapse and irreversible consequences.

During the war, the human allied forces selected users only among warriors and mages with strong willpower. Even so, the final success rate was only one percent, and the collapse rate was merely ten percent.

This means that obtaining one Ascender typically required the loss of ten mighty warriors or mages.

Yet despite this, people never ceased to utilize this secret technique because a complete form Ascender was equivalent to an army of thousands.

[Hmm...let me think how to do it, it seems like this... and then this... and also this... oh, there it is!]

Le Cheng followed the incantation to make the switch, and within seconds, his consciousness successfully freed itself from the physical constraints and entered the state of Spiritual Vision.

What the heck, this is quite simple.

What about a success rate of only one percent? It must be just a scare tactic.

At this moment, Le Cheng’s perspective had already left his physical body. His consciousness, like a pair of invisible eyes, hovered above his body. As he looked downward, he found his own body resembling dough... not in a visual sense, but conceptually, as if it could be molded into various shapes.

Meanwhile, the veteran players around him seemed like fully formed doughnuts, lacking the potential to be remolded.

Simultaneously, Le Cheng also saw their souls.

Edward’s soul was a wolf, but it was very small, more like a wolf pup, running around in his body. Nikun’s soul was a jumble of incoherent symbols. Ding Zhen’s soul was a bunch of small animals, Jingxiang’s soul was a parcel, containing various items, Nabron’s soul appeared and disappeared intermittently, and Yaya’s soul... unfortunately, was not a duck, but a red flag.

So this is what souls look like?

Le Cheng felt extremely weird. He had always thought that the soul was a reflection of the individual itself, but now it seemed that was not the case, or perhaps... the visualization method of Rising Dragon Transformation was special, manifesting the soul in the field of vision in a unique form.

Upon closer consideration, it indeed seemed to be the case. The souls of Edward and others, rather than being symbols of their individual selves, seemed more like symbols of their abilities.

Then, Le Cheng looked at his own soul and suddenly realized why his soul was dough. Because the ultimate goal of visualization was transformation. The souls of Edward and others were already in fixed forms, but his own soul had no fixed form. This meant it possessed endless possibilities of transformation. If he could now visualize a dragon soul, then he could reshape his dough-like soul into the form of a dragon!

So in reality, the first step of Rising Dragon Transformation, while visualizing, also reshaped one’s own soul.

Then, where should he find the soul of a dragon?

Thinking this, Le Cheng immediately turned his gaze towards Lancelot in the front row.