Ritualism was not a popular discipline within the ranks of the Red Collective.
Compared to formation studies, it was filled with vagueness and ambiguity. The lack of hard sciences underpinning its principles made it difficult for most scholars to transition into genuine ritualists.
It took a special mindset for people to understand the essence of rituals to not only conduct existing ones with great competence, but also develop new ones that could achieve unprecedented effects.
However, out of all of the disciplines within the broad field of cultivation science, people often believed that ritualism possessed the highest upper boundary.
Through mysterious principles that most people had no clue about, rituals could truly achieve the impossible and create massive changes that could not be replicated through ordinary ans!
Before they could discuss any specific proposals, Dr. Zeron Khabeel first spent a bit of ti explaining the basic foundation of ritualism to Ves.
"You have a record of successfully utilizing rituals in the past, so there is no need for us to emphasize their power and potential." The forr philosopher and scientist said with a smile. "What you may not be aware of is the underlying rules and theory that make it all possible. Have you ever thought about what rituals actually represent?"
Ves frowned. "Not really. My understanding is… highly deficient in that matter. I am not afraid to admit that most of my experints relating to the extraordinary domain have mostly been… ad-hoc. I had to explore almost everything by myself. While I have steadily co into contact with bits and pieces of ancient heritage, much of it is rather low-level or narrowly specialized. Even if they include a handful of rituals, the descriptions only focus on execution rather than understanding."
Dr. Zeron nodded in understanding. "That is normal. The creation, improvent and modification of rituals is a difficult and abstruse endeavor. It is all too easy to waste resources or cause unintended consequences that can inflict great harm on oneself. That is why this is a practice that is best left to professional ritualists of high-ranking qi cultivators."
"That… sounds logical, but… I have rarely encountered such accidents in the past."
"That is because the context and environnts are all different." The ritualist responded. "You cannot compare the conditions before the Great Severing with the conditions after this life-changing turning point. The light of ssier 87 has introduced many new possibilities, but has also begun to introduce new imprints that may or may not be welco."
"What do you an by that, doctor?"
The older man smiled. "What I am about to explain to you is a new theory that has steadily gained dominance in our academic circle. It has not yet gained a status that is indisputable, but we believe that it cos closest to describing the truth than all of the alternate theories. We welco any information that you can give us that can either validate this theory… or disprove it. Either way, after more of my colleagues have adopted this theory, we have been making significant progress in the developnt of new rituals, a number of which will hopefully be of great use in the Voribug War."
The Red Collective was not a superorganization for nothing. Despite its short existence and shallow foundation, every core mber was an able administrator, a respected scholar or a valiant soldier.
This was why even a field as strange as ritualism experienced rapid developnt. Everyone who had chosen to beco a ritualist was not a pushover and was eager to make achievents during this early period!
"So what is this theory, exactly?" Ves asked the expected question.
"We call it the Myth Reproduction Theory." Dr. Khabeel stated with a more solemn voice. "To summarize, it claims that every ritual is a reproduction of a great feat called a myth that other life forms, not necessarily humans, have conducted in the past. The original myth is usually a grand historic event that has created such an impact on an entire society or galaxy that it has left a permanent imprint on the ethereal plane of existence. This plane which hosts both extraordinary energies as well as the ntal activity of sapient existences is susceptible to such influences, especially when it has directly and uniformly altered the ntal activity of large populations. That is how truly enduring myths are born."
Ves looked astonished. He recognized nurous familiar ideas in this theory. Perhaps his personal experiences already caused him to discover a number of these points as well, but he had never gone through the effort of connecting the dots.
It was only after he received a clear explanation that he recognized how it all tied together!
This theory was likely true!
"So myths are grand and extraordinary feats that leave a distinct 'imprint' in the ethereal plane of existence." Ves said as the wheels already began to turn in his head. "Then according to your theory, rituals can give others a chance to reproduce the sa effects by following much the sa steps. Since the imprint already exists, I bet that the barrier of entry is much lower. This can allow much weaker people to benefit from such rituals. Of course, the magnitude and comprehensiveness of the outco will also be inferior, especially if there is a greater deviation between the original process and the ritual."
The ritualist smiled wider. "I am glad to hear that you have already deduced this much from my brief explanation. What you have described is indeed the central premise of the Myth Reproduction Theory. Ritualists who comprehend and believe in this theory have all been able to accelerate their progress and create successful rituals."
"That sounds nice, but that may be a coincidence." Ves cautiously said. "Do you have any solid proof or examples that can support this particular theory?"
"I do. I can present two profound cases that are especially relevant to you. First, let ask you a question. What is the strongest myth of the Red Ocean Dwarf Galaxy?"
Ves briefly grew stumped when he heard this question, but it did not take long for him to present an answer.
"Phase lords. Phase whales."
"Exactly, sir. The Red Ocean is an environnt that bears the strong imprint of the phase whale race. Even if it does not dominate the dwarf galaxy in the material plane of existence, it is absolutely dominant in the ethereal plane of existence. This may be one of the reasons why the phase whales never developed a strong desire to conquer the new frontier outright. They have already conquered the other native races in a spiritual fashion."
That made a disturbing amount of sense.
Ves suddenly made a shocking connection!
"Wait! If the phase whale race created such a strong imprint on the Red Ocean in the distant past, then that may have been responsible for birthing phase lords among the other races that inhabit the sa dwarf galaxy. The nunsers, orvens, zzamayels, juregs and so on originally did not possess the capacity to imitate the body cultivation of the phase whales, but because the latter race has created such an overbearing myth over many years, the other races have eventually gained an opening to beco phase lords."
Dr. Zeron Khabeel clapped his hands. "That is indeed one of the explanations that we have derived from this theory. The fact that phase whales are not only born with significant traces in their bodies, but can gradually evolve into superdinsional life forms can be explained by their obvious artificial design. However, this does not apply to the other native races who have naturally evolved from their respective ho planets."
"So you are not a believer in the theory that all of the major races in the Red Ocean are all artificially developed by a single progenitor race?"
"Absolutely not." Dr. Zeron shook his head. "I am not an exobiologists, but I have read the articles that conclusively determine that most of them are naturally evolved. Since this is the case, how can all of these different and diverse races practice the exact sa kind of body evolution when their individual biological traits are so different from each other? No biological process can enable such a radical transformation for so many diverse organisms. The fact that the major races all rely on strange and frankly unscientific processes to occasionally produce new phase lords is proof that the working chanisms fall outside of conventional biosciences."
Normal explanations no longer sufficed anymore. Only a radical one like the Myth Reproduction Theory could provide a sound logical basis to this phenonon!
"This also explains why phase lords have it much harder than phase whales." Ves said as he realized the implications for not only the other major races, but also his own Phase Lord Departnt! "We are all intentionally or unintentionally conducting rituals that allow us to reproduce the myth originally established by the phase whales. However, since our ans and thods are not as good as theirs, our results have many more shortcomings. This explains why it is more difficult to beco a phase lord, why phase lords are generally weaker than phase whales of the sa level and why phase lords cannot develop their own Phasewater Production Systems."
Imitations could never be as good as the originals.
Phase lords would always remain a step behind phase whales as long as the forr stuck to imitation.
This was also why it beca even more important for the Ascended Giants to move away from the shadow of the phase whales!
The human phase lords needed to work harder to develop their own combat doctrines and thods.
Compared to following the footsteps of an existing great race, it was much better for the Ascended Giants to create their own myth!
Ves could already guess that his other self would feel the sa way!
There was no way that the Dark Apostle would remain content if he realized the truth of his own existence.
It would be unbearable for him to accept that he could only exist as an inferior copy to a phase whale!
"Okay, the phase lord phenonon is certainly a powerful case that favors your theory." Ves responded. "However, it is not entirely solid. The sa phenonon can also support other theories."
"Then let introduce another example to you, Professor Larkinson. This one happens to be much closer to your heart. Since the Red Ocean is imprinted by a myth that has birthed an entire tradition, the sa can happen to the Milky Way as well. What do you think are the dominant traditions of the old galaxy?"
Two answers imdiately ca to mind.
"ch pilots and ch designers." Ves uttered without hesitation. "Wait…"
Dr. Zeron leaned forward. "Correct. Compared to the myth established by the phase whale race, the myth created by the humans of the previous generations is much stronger and more systematic. I believe that there is a clear difference between the two cases. The myth established by the phase whale race has likely developed organically, which explains why it is so flawed and inconsistent. In contrast, the myth established by humans at the end of the Age of Conquest is most likely an act of deliberate and preditated creation. This is why the progression of ch pilots and ch designers is much more accessible and consistent."
This was true!
Ves was not sure whether Dr. Zeron Khabeel had been inford about the existence of the Kingdom of chs and the Red Kingdom, but their existence aligned pretty well with the Myth Reproduction Theory!
Perhaps the Progenitors of chs not only believed in this theory, but actively exploited it to create their pinnacle work, thereby freeing the human race from the tyranny of the Five Scrolls Compact and bringing forth the much more enlightened Age of chs!
Ves also saw the act of splitting the Red Kingdom from the original Kingdom of chs in a new light.
The Polymath boldly initiated this extre action with the hopes of gaining complete control over this spiritual embodint of the greatest human myth!
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