Chapter 110: 109. The Knowledge Curse from History
Dorothy had never really considered whether the Three Kings were on the Omni-Path or the All-Knowing Path. After all, to her in the past, the Three Kings were too distant, so far that she probably wouldn't have any chance of encountering them in this lifetime. Such powerful figures were like gods in myths, essentially just background characters in her worldview.
But now, when she thoroughly considered this question, she found herself a bit unsure.
First, there was no doubt about the Three Kings' talent. If they weren't qualified to walk the Omni-Path, then no one in the Witch World could walk it. The most classic impression people had of the Three Kings now was their angels, dragons, and demons, which were pirated versions evolved to be even more perfect and powerful than the originals. They were a typical example of learning from barbarians to defeat barbarians.
However, upon closer inspection, Dorothy was astonished to find that the Nine Major Schools currently in existence seemed to have all originated from the Three Kings. Among them, the original Eight Systems were founded by the Divine King, and later the Dragon King founded the War Magic System, thus changing the Eight Systems into Nine Systems. The current Demon King was the culmination of these Nine Systems; it was she who refined and categorized these Nine Systems and thoroughly popularized them throughout the world, making magic accessible to everyone in the Witch World.
Looking at it this way, the Three Kings all seemed to be the grandmasters of the All-Knowing Path.
Tsk, but thinking about it carefully, it makes sense. It seems only weaklings like them, who are forced to choose, pick one or the other. True powerhouses seem to want it all.
Not to mention distant examples, even her own mother, Youfeiliya, seemed to be a dual cultivator. Although she was a Demoness primarily on the Omni-Path, she also seemed to have several prestigious magical academic awards.
"So, it's dual cultivation of both All-Knowing and Omni-Path?"
She looked at Vannie opposite her, somewhat uncertainly.
However, the black-haired senior shook her head in response to Dorothy's question.
"Your answer is both correct and incorrect."
"To be precise, the Three Kings didn't dual cultivate; they switched paths. The early stages of their long careers were the most standard Omni-Path, but after that, all Three Kings changed their paths. They are now considered Witches of the All-Knowing Path."
Hearing this answer, Dorothy was stunned, then astonished.
"Why?"
She asked subconsciously.
The black-haired senior shrugged slightly.
"Why else? Of course, because the Omni-Path is a dead end; it's impassable."
Dorothy: "..."
Ah, for this unexpected, yet upon reflection, perfectly reasonable answer, she was momentarily at a loss for words.
"Dorothy, you've also heard of the saying about a million mana achieving omnipotence, haven't you?"
Vannie asked again.
Still bewildered that the so-called Omni-Path was just a scam, Dorothy subconsciously nodded in response.
She had indeed heard of this hypothesis. It was quite popular on the Magic Net. Scholars had calculated that, based on a Demoness's growth curve, theoretically, with just 1,000,000 mana, given the omnipotent power of mana, that Demoness would reach the realm of omnipotence.
"Then, Dorothy, do you know the current mana count of the Three Kings?"
The black-haired senior asked again.
To this, Dorothy could only shake her head. She had never even seen the Three Kings in person, how could she know such a thing?
"The answer is 999,999 mana."
Vannie didn't keep her guessing any longer; she directly stated the answer.
"Everyone is stuck at that last 1 mana. It's quite strange, isn't it? Our Witches' mana can theoretically grow endlessly, and the longer one lives, the more mana they should have. But even the oldest Divine King's mana is still this number, yet in terms of actual mana reserves, she is actually several times more than the Dragon King."
"Hmm, to make it easier to understand, Dorothy, you can think of it as the Divine King possessing 999,999.9999 mana. Each additional digit after the decimal point represents a doubling of the Divine King's total mana, but no matter how many times it doubles, the decimal point remains endless, and the Dragon King's decimal digits are a few less than the Divine King's."
"When mana reaches the number 999,999, each additional mana represents a qualitative upgrade in the Demoness's mana quality. Unfortunately, that final qualitative change has become a reality that even the Three Kings can never reach. After that, their mana can only accumulate, but it can never undergo another qualitative change."
"That is one, and also ten thousand; it is an instant, and also eternity."
Although the senior's explanation was a bit abstruse, Dorothy suddenly understood.
She was familiar with this! Wasn't this the ultimate trick of Pinduoduo in her previous life?
"So, ever since the Divine King and the Dragon King both failed, the World Mother also accepted her fate. The Third King she later conceived, who is now the Demon King Teacher, is a wisdom-specialized Demoness. The World Mother hoped that the Demon King Teacher would honestly walk the All-Knowing Path, but the Demon King Teacher, who was intelligent from a young age, still didn't believe in fate. She also went to walk the Omni-Path first, and then—"
Vannie spread her hands towards Dorothy, who was thoroughly enjoying the gossip.
"You've seen the Demon King Teacher's current state, Dorothy. After hitting a brick wall, she also accepted her fate, then developed the Magic Net, popularized education, and began to furiously advance on the All-Knowing Path with the power of the entire world."
"The Three Kings now unanimously believe that to know how to break through the final one, one must first become all-knowing. Unfortunately, all current research results on being all-knowing point to the need to first be omnipotent to be all-knowing."
Dorothy: "..."
The gossiping Demoness was a bit dumbfounded.
Oh my, isn't this that classic joke?
I want to be omnipotent. Then you must be all-knowing first.
I want to be all-knowing. Then you must be omnipotent first.
I just want to be omnipotent! Then you go be all-knowing! How can you be omnipotent without being all-knowing?
Then I want to be all-knowing! Then you quickly go be omnipotent! How can you be all-knowing without being omnipotent?
Are you guys stuck in an infinite loop?
"Then what? How was this problem solved?"
Dorothy asked, somewhat curious.
In response, Vannie pointed to herself.
"And then I was born."
The black-haired senior also looked dejected at this moment.
"The Three Kings Teacher's title is the King of Finality. From this title, Dorothy, you can see that it represents the World Mother's expectation for the Three Kings Teacher, believing that she is the last King of the Witch World."
"However, one day, the Three Kings Teacher suddenly slapped her thigh, had an inspiration, and then discussed it with the two seniors, the God King and the Dragon King. In the end, the three of them jointly requested the World Mother, who was clearly very reluctant, to conceive me, the Fourth King."
"The Three Kings Teacher believes that the last missing 1 Mana power might not be the final part of the Omni-Path, but rather the initial starting point, the foundation of everything. So, if this foundation is not inherently present from birth, no matter how much effort is put in later, it will be impossible to make up for it. Therefore, they decided to use all the power of the world to create a Witch who is perfect and flawless from birth."
"And then came my birth. The Three Kings designed my existence with almost All-Knowing wisdom. The World Mother consumed almost all of the Witch World's accumulation over hundreds of thousands of years to conceive me."
"I indeed lived up to their expectations. From birth, I possessed the one that is the foundation of everything. I am one and all, a moment and eternity, the origin of everything and the end of all things."
As she spoke, terrifying magic surged behind Fan Ni. The ethereal drumming and flute sounds resonated, and eerie green flames and invisible sound waves danced, making her appear like a deity.
This also made Dorothy a bit overwhelmed; this gossip was quite intense.
"And then? And then?"
She urged.
However, with this urging, Fan Ni immediately wilted.
"Then it's like what you see now, I went crazy."
"Dorothy, you don't know, those Three Kings Teacher are not human at all. The World Mother also helped them speak. They wanted me to walk the Omni-Path, but they wouldn't let me copy templates, saying something like, 'Why would a perfect and flawless Witch like me need those weakling races' templates for reference?' They insisted that I figure out how to evolve and how to become omnipotent on my own."
"How am I supposed to figure that out? Why can all of you copy homework but I can't? I'm just a newborn child who doesn't understand anything. How would I know how to evolve to reach omnipotence?"
"In desperation, I went to study history. Don't they all say that only by thoroughly studying history can one know one's shortcomings? I just thought I'd give it a try."
"It's just, Dorothy, I've read through the entire hundred thousand years of Witch history. I've understood everything. So, guess what I learned from that history?"
The black-haired senior first complained, and then once again asked Dorothy.
"Uh, how would I know? I hate studying history the most, otherwise, I wouldn't have come to you, senior."
Dorothy rolled her eyes again. Why did this senior love to ask others questions so much?
"Alas, I only learned one thing from the entire history of Witches, and that is that Witches can never learn from history. Why do past mistakes always get repeated?"
The black-haired senior sighed, her voice growing low, and the myriad monsters behind her began to stir.
"I looked left and right at the true history of our Witch race, spanning over a hundred thousand years, in that entire library of history books. Every page of those books, whose dates are almost untraceable, was filled with slaughter and desire. I felt this wasn't right, so I looked again, horizontally and vertically, and only then did I discern something between the lines. It was filled with four words: beyond redemption."
"Nah, Dorothy, you said that we Witches clearly rose from the invasion of angels, growing through resistance against the oppressors. At first, we wanted to become stronger just for self-preservation. So why have more and more worlds been destroyed in our hands since then?"
"What difference is there between us now and the Lord of Radiance, whom we are still torturing?"
"I once saw a Little Witch, only a few years old, just finish despising the invader in front of the Lord of Radiance, then she turned around and kicked a foreign girl to death next to her for dirtying her clothes. But the adult Witches around them were accustomed to this. Although they reprimanded the Little Witch, saying it was bad, they ultimately said that children don't know any better and this time it would be forgiven."
"All of this disgusts me, Dorothy. It shouldn't be like this at all."
Fan Ni's voice carried an uncontrollable anger and sorrow, and the terrifying flesh carpet began to spread wildly from beneath her feet once again.
And those indescribable beings, which had originally only been active in the magic-derived world behind her, also began to come into reality as before.
"That day, after others left, I resurrected that innocent little girl. I originally wanted to comfort her, to explain on behalf of my race, but seeing the fear that lingered in the little girl's eyes when she looked at me, I ultimately said nothing."
"Ever since then, I probably went crazy. I was destined to be the Fourth King, supposed to lead the Witch race to a higher peak, but my truest inner thought was actually a desire for destruction. I yearned to completely destroy this arrogant Witch World."
"I genuinely feel that this world is already defiled. This world is beyond saving. To save Witches, we must destroy this overbearing arrogance, and make them, who already consider themselves gods, recall the pain of being dominated and trampled upon in the ruins of the world."
"Omniscience and omnipotence cannot save Witches. This flawed race of Witches can only correct their mistakes and usher in new life through destruction."
"This is the Knowledge Curse on me, Dorothy. Do you think I'm really crazy?"
The black-haired senior leaned in front of Dorothy, opening her eyes. Her beautiful yet sinister golden rectangular goat pupils were filled with confusion and bewilderment as she asked.
Dorothy: "..."
The bewildered Little Witch was once again numb.
Qian Bao, don't panic, the boss's weak point has appeared, quickly attack.