Odis had already successfully advanced, and with Adam watching him closely, the "Hidden Sage" didn't have time to argue with Odis and immediately transformed into a torrent of information and left.
Odis said to Adam, "Thank you."
Adam looked at Odis and said, "It's good that you're back."
After saying that, he disappeared into the air.
Then Odis looked at Ariana: "Thank you for your help."
Ariana smiled slightly and left with Archbishop Anthony and the other two demigods.
Odis thanked the two demigods of the Church of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom, who exchanged a few polite words with Edwina and then left.
The border between Reimborg and the Republic of Intis,
The "god of steam and machinery" and the "god of knowledge and wisdom" seemed to realize that Odis had completed his ascension.
The colorless, somewhat ethereal, hazy ball of light retreated rapidly, preparing to return to the astral plane.
A magnificent voice suddenly emanated from the tower of books on the Remnburg side: "You have no chance left."
The ball of light paused noticeably, and in the next instant, it completely disappeared from the real world.
The tower of books also disappeared, leaving only a large area of mutated plants and animals.
On a barren mountain outside Azshara.
Odis looked at Hermes and Constantine, the two angels, one old and one young, who knelt before him on one knee and, with tears in their eyes, said together, "Great 'Sage,' welcome back to the earth."
From the memories she had just acquired, Odis learned that Hermes had also been one of the "Ten Pillars" of the "Ascetic Order of Morse." It was in the academic atmosphere of the "Ascetic Order of Morse" that Hermes invented the mystical language belonging to mankind.
However, during the Fourth Age, he was sent by the "Sages" to assist Adam in establishing the "Twilight Shrine".
Later, due to the "fall of the sage," this overseas mission continued for more than a thousand years.
Odis said to Hermes, "Go back first, I will talk to Adam about your matter."
Hermes stood up and said, "Yes."
After saying that, he disappeared from people's sight.
Odis then said to Constantine, "If the elves wish to return to the mainstream world, they can acquire Lenburg citizenship."
Constantine also stood up and said, "We are willing to join Remnantburg."
Odis nodded: "Come to Azshara again tomorrow and discuss this matter."
Constantine agreed and then transformed into lightning and left.
Finally, Odis smiled and said to Bernadette and the others, "I'll treat you all to a good drink tomorrow night!"
The somewhat weary demigods responded with smiles one after another and then left.
Only Odis and Bernadette remained on the desolate mountain. Odis opened his arms, about to embrace Bernadette.
Bernadette stared at Odis and asked, "Why are those two angels kneeling before you?"
The matter of the Celestial Master was, of course, something that couldn't be discussed. In an instant, Odis concocted a half-true, half-false reason: "After my promotion, I understood many things."
He said, "It turns out that during the Second Era, there was a powerful being called the 'Sage'."
"During the Fourth Age, the 'Sages' collapsed due to internal divine problems, and the uniqueness of the 'Hermit' pathway and a Sequence 1 characteristic gave rise to self-awareness, forming the 'Hidden Sages'."
"The 'God of Craftsmen' at that time acquired the uniqueness of the 'Perfect One' pathway and the Sequence 1 characteristic, which also became the reason why the time when the 'God of Craftsmen' became a god was roughly the same as the time when the 'Hidden Sage' appeared."
"And the 'Lord of Mysteries' is the remnant will of the 'Sage'—"
Odis described the struggle between the divinity and humanity of the "sages" as a battle between the "Lord of Mysteries," the "Hidden Sage," and the "God of Steam," and most of what he said was true.
And he told Bernadette, "During my ascension, the Lord of Mysteries intended to relinquish himself and entrust me with something very important."
"Actually, the 'Hidden Sage' and the 'God of Steam' are fighting over that one thing."
Bernadette asked curiously, "What is that?"
Odis answered truthfully: "The essence."
Bernadette, who had previously learned about the "Old Ones" from Odis, gasped and looked around before whispering, "Is it true? Could it be a trick by the 'Lord of Mysteries'?"
How could anyone, or even a god, abandon the source matter?
Odis laughed, "I believe it's true, because when I ascended just now, the 'Lord of Mysteries' could have easily influenced me, even replaced me, and I had no power to resist. But he didn't."
That's true. In fact, not only now, but when Odis was weaker, the Celestial Master had plenty of opportunities to take over Odis's consciousness and turn him into a clone that could continuously provide him with humanity.
Before this, Odis hadn't figured out why he hadn't done it. Was it simply that the time wasn't right?
Only today, after their conversation, did Odis realize that the Celestial Master's level of thought had surpassed his own imagination, and that he had long since pursued a higher level of enlightenment.
Odis also understood the Celestial Master very well, because he understood himself very well.
Just as he wants to bring his research to the world, allowing ordinary people to enjoy the benefits of mysticism and letting mysticism serve people.
This idea wasn't particularly noble, but he felt that he should do something with positive significance, something that transcends self-interest, so that the journey would have meaning.
Seeing that Bernadette was still somewhat suspicious, Odis smiled and said, "I come from a prehistoric civilization and am a scarce resource in modern times, so of course I can't just disappear."
Bernadette breathed a sigh of relief, joking about her unusual experience and her near-death experience—something that even gods would find difficult to imitate. Of course, she thought this way because she had never met Amon.
She then embraced Odis, and soon she sensed the spirituality emanating from Odis: "You should restrain your spirituality first."
Odis nodded: "Okay."
He paused and then said, "After I acquire the Source Essence, some ancient gods will definitely recognize me as a 'sage.' You just need to know that I am actually Odis."
Odis smiled. "This way, I can use my status as a 'sage' to expand my influence."
Bernadette nodded, indicating that she understood.
The two returned to Azshara, and Odis went back to his room, trying to control his spirituality.
Odis is in good condition. He feels that the potion he drank has been completely digested, which is not surprising, after all, he has been a "sage" for a long time.
Therefore, the process of gathering spiritual energy went very smoothly and was completed quickly.
He took a deep breath and began to observe his own state with his spirituality. First of all, there was indeed something in his consciousness that felt very cold and indifferent.
It felt as if all emotions and perceptions would come to a standstill there, like someone stuffing a handful of snow into your clothes in winter.
But if you ignore it, you don't feel that it has any impact.
Odis knew very well that this was because he possessed less divinity, and that his current humanity could completely suppress it.
So there's no need to pay too much attention to it.
Then Odis began to examine the new abilities she had gained. The most crucial ability was that she could freely transform into a mythical creature, which was a rolling stream of information that could turn surrounding objects into information streams as well.
The most direct attack method is to turn the opponent's body into an information flow. For example, to let the information flow enter the target's brain, putting the opponent in a "rock-like" state.
You can also add information to your own information flow to make your body stronger.
In the Mythical Creature state, Odis gains a faster movement speed, physical attacks can no longer harm her, and attacks from extraordinary abilities below the Angel level cause negligible damage.
Even extraordinary attacks at the angelic level can be dodged with agility.
However, since they are at the level of angels, their extraordinary attacks usually carry the power of the path, so attacks from angels should be taken seriously, as they can still cause severe damage.
Odis felt that the power he received was "underlying information".
-
The most basic information in this world.
For example, he turns a tree into a stream of information, which is actually the information state of that tree.
Everything can be interpreted using information. Take that tree, for example: when did it sprout? How does it grow each year? How does it flower? How does it bear fruit? What significant events did it experience in which year? All of these can be described using information.
On the other hand, the process of this tree sprouting, growing, flowering, and bearing fruit all involve biological knowledge, and the tree's growth process follows the trajectory of this knowledge.
The third point is the current condition of the tree: how many years has it lived? Is it healthy? and so on.
These three aspects together form a complete tree of information.
Currently, the information flow that Odis can convert is basically composed of three types of symbols: numbers, symbols, and patterns.
All of this information can fully explain and express a thing or a person.
This is not actually the "lowest level" of information. The most basic information can be expressed using 0 and 1.
This authority not only allowed Odis to transform himself and other things into a flow of information, but also gave him a different understanding of information. For example, he could find the information needed to analyze a problem in the shortest amount of time.
Their analytical and problem-solving skills have both improved.
Some of his previous abilities have also undergone qualitative changes. For example, with the core ability "mysterious reappearance," Odis can now easily "reappear" beings at the level of true gods.
Of course, this ability is still at the level of an angel, only the materials that can be "reproduced" are much richer.
The ability to "reproduce" has been further enhanced. For example, if it were to "reproduce" the "angry crash into Mount Buzhou," even the true gods would have to hide, and it would be very easy to smash a mountain to pieces.
The ability to "prophesy" has also been enhanced. It is no longer necessary to observe the "River of Fate" so carefully to make prophecies. Moreover, Odis's current spirituality allows her to make prophecies that will affect her.
For example, if Odis were walking normally and suddenly saw a picture of himself being injured, it would definitely mean that he was about to be attacked, and if he was not prepared, he would certainly be injured.
This is equivalent to turning an active skill into a passive skill. Of course, it can still be used actively, and it can make higher-level predictions, with clearer and more accurate prediction results.
Other abilities, such as "witchcraft" and "star magic," have been enhanced.
Odis noticed that the abilities such as "Pillar of Starlight" and "Cage of Stars" that appeared from Sequence 5 were actually more like the abilities of the "Generalist" pathway.
For example, the "Pillar of Starlight" fundamentally destroys the basic structure of matter, and the "Generalist" pathway possesses this ability. Adjacent pathways do not have abilities similar to the "Cage of Starlight," but at Sequence 5, they can use a thin layer of starlight as a shield to protect themselves.
After recognizing his new abilities, Odis entered the "Wilderness of Knowledge." Now, he no longer needed to meditate or take any other steps; he could enter the source matter instantly with a thought.
Upon entering, the spheres of light that made up the tower suddenly surrounded him, before Odis could even comprehend what was happening.
It had already entered Odis's body.
In that instant, a vast amount of knowledge flooded Odis's mind, from the small matter of repairing bicycle pedals to the grand scale of building a spaceship that could travel at the speed of light. Odis suddenly possessed all the knowledge that had ever existed in this universe.
From that moment on, the tower composed of orbs of light disappeared, and the rooms and factories that Odis had previously built were exposed in the wilderness with its illusory light.
Odis took a deep breath. He felt he could build new rooms and factories, but he didn't. Instead, he left his laboratory and factories in the wilderness to avoid trouble during future expansion.
Because Odis now has tens of thousands of "intelligent puppets" under his control, which are essentially "artificial intelligence" formed by relying on the computing power of the "knowledge wilderness".
Of course, Odis knew very well that their purpose was not to be like cattle and horses in a factory, but to monitor how knowledge was used throughout the universe and whether new knowledge had emerged.
This is somewhat like the kind of cosmic god-like civilization that Odis imagined, which monitors all intelligent life and can immediately know about any slight change in knowledge.
Odis's use of these "intelligent puppets" was a demotion; it was as if these "puppets" were all engineers, designers, and company executives, but Odis made them all tighten screws.
However, Odis had no intention of changing this, mainly because his current productivity was too low, and he could only let these "puppets" fill the gap. The key was that he was currently an angel and could not go to space. Even if he knew about the knowledge breakthroughs of civilizations in the universe, it would be of no use. He would just let them focus on tightening screws.
In that case, the weapons to be delivered to Fusak this month can be completed ahead of schedule, and we can also take on some more orders.
Then Odis came to the "central processing unit," which was actually left behind by the Celestial Master to communicate with Odis.
Odis sat down before the illusory sphere of light and enveloped it with her spirituality. In an instant, Odis's consciousness returned to that ink-painting-like environment, where the Celestial Master was still sitting cross-legged on that stubborn black rock.
Odis sat down as well: "I have two more questions I'd like to discuss with you."
The master glanced at Odis and nodded.
Odis asked, "I've discovered that there are some memories I still don't have."
"For example, why did Amon and Adam ambush the 'Dragon of Wisdom'? And who exactly is the current 'God of Knowledge and Wisdom'?"
The Celestial Master replied, "To be on the safe side, I have also sealed away my memories of this matter. I only remember that it was a plan that I and the 'Ancient Sun God' began to carry out in the Third Era."
"I once told him a lot of the 'history' that was going to happen in the mysterious world. He knew that the 'Origin' would one day awaken in his body and that he would be betrayed, so he would definitely make some arrangements."
Odis nodded and asked, "I also noticed that the knowledge I just gained contained almost nothing about the extraordinary, and very little about the First Age."
The Celestial Master patiently replied, "Only after you advance to the next level will you be able to acquire all the knowledge about mysticism and the extraordinary that the 'Wilderness of Knowledge' possesses. Only then will you be the 'Emperor of Knowledge'."
Odis said "Oh," and then asked, "Do I need an anchor to stabilize my position?"
"Yes, it is necessary," the Celestial Master said. "But your anchors are somewhat special. For example, those who have read your 'Fighting Manual' are your anchors."
"For example, those who have learned 'Garr Runes' are your anchors."
"For example, people whose lives have been changed because of the knowledge you spread can also become your anchors."
Odis paused for a moment before saying, "Then I don't need to develop followers—"
Then a question popped into his head: "Many of the techniques I use to utilize the 'Extraordinary Puppet' were provided by the 'Hidden Sage'! In that case, wouldn't my anchor also become an anchor?"
The Celestial Master smiled and said, "It's not too late for you to realize this now."
He paused for a moment, then continued, "Don't think that the 'Hidden Sage' knows nothing; he should already have some guesses."
That's why we provide you with some knowledge so that your research can be integrated with that knowledge, completing the first step of integration with you.
"Even if I strike again and defeat him once more, the anchor point will still exist because of the existence of that knowledge."
Odis was somewhat annoyed: "I shouldn't have been lazy on such a crucial matter!"
Seeing the Taoist priest's relaxed expression, he asked, "Do you have a solution?"
The Celestial Master said, "The reason I'm promoting you back from Sequence 9 is not only to strengthen your humanity, but also to make up for the experiences I didn't have back then, because I became a 'Sage' not long after entering the Extraordinary World."
"So you'll find that there are several sequences of potions that you have to digest completely."
"Another objective is for you to seal the consciousness of the 'wilderness of knowledge.' If I were to do this, it would be easy for me to reconnect with it. But you are a more pure human being, very sensitive to the other party's intrusion, and can effectively block it."
Odis was taken aback: "I'm going to seal it? How do I seal it?"
The Celestial Master smiled and said, "You'll know when the time comes."
Odis thought to himself: If you represent other sources, I seriously doubt you know either.
However, the Celestial Master represents the "wilderness of knowledge" and should have the corresponding authority to "prophesy." He must have seen some visions of the future.
Odis then asked, "Is there a way to completely eliminate them?"
The Celestial Master shook his head: "His belief that he is the 'original' consciousness is debatable, but he was once the past, and his spirit is immortal."
"In fact, as long as the 'wilderness of knowledge' is controlled, a part of his consciousness will definitely be present in the divinity. Being able to separate most of his consciousness like we are now is already a very good situation."
Odis nodded: "I will keep an eye on that information."
After asking his questions, Odis exited the ink-wash painting-like scene, which resembled a "wise man's time."
With a wave of his hand, he materialized machine tools and production lines for the new "intelligent puppets," putting them into production immediately.
In order to make use of them, Odis returned to the real world and stuffed a large amount of raw materials into the "wilderness of knowledge," enough for them to produce for a period of time.
Having accomplished all this, Odis returned to Cruz Island, changed her appearance, bought some food and a pitcher of beer from the night market, and returned alone to the cabin on the mountaintop. While drinking, she looked at the sea under the moonlight and the bustling island, feeling a sense of peace in her heart.
Although most of what happened today was within his expectations, it still left him feeling overwhelmed. At this moment, he didn't want to think about anything; he just wanted to clear his mind and rest.
After finishing the entire barrel of beer, Odis had his "invisible servants" clean up before he went back to rest.
The next morning, Constantine arrived as promised. Odis and Mandy received him and discussed the merger of Elf Island into Lenburg. The conversation went very smoothly, and the general strategy was settled in just over half an hour.
The remaining details can be left to Mandy and Constantine's subordinates.
After seeing Constantine off, Odis returned to the outskirts of Azshara, calling out, "Adam, Adam, Adam!"
At this moment, Odis felt Adam's gaze again, so he asked, "What do you plan to do with Hermes?"
Adam's voice suddenly rang out beside Odis: "After I become a god, Hermes can leave with the 'Psychological Alchemy Society'."
Odis looked around but didn't see anyone: "Okay."
He paused and then said, "This is equivalent to settling over a thousand years' worth of wages and travel allowances all at once."
Adam hummed in agreement.
Deep within the Misty Sea lies Elf Island.
After arriving on the island using a teleportation array, "Vice Admiral" Hal Constantine rushed to the Prince's Palace as quickly as possible.
Upon arriving at the palace gates, he asked a servant to inform His Highness the Prince that he had something important to report.
Soon, Hal was granted permission to meet Prince Constantine in a side hall: "Your Highness, I have just received a newspaper from Remburg, which contains an astonishing piece of news: Odis Gar signed a decree a week ago that elves and giants can now become legal citizens of Remburg."
From the time this newspaper was circulated across the sea, to Hal's acquisition, and finally to Elf Island, a week had passed since the decree was signed.
Constantine paused for a moment: "You came here just to report this?"
Hal was also taken aback; the prince didn't seem surprised at all: "Yes—yes."
"You haven't been on Elf Island recently, so you don't know that I've already been in contact with Xian and Odis Gar," Constantine said. "Be prepared, Elf Island is going to become an autonomous state of Lenburg. The teleportation array from Elf Island to Azshara will be completed next week, and the Lenburg government will also send some officials."
After standing there for a long while, Hal muttered in surprise, "From—the Autonomous Prefecture—"
The nationwide property and population statistics in Remnantburg were finally completed. After obtaining the statistical data, Odis immediately entered the "wilderness of knowledge" and had hundreds of "intelligent puppets" analyze and study it. They quickly produced a detailed plan for transformation and reconstruction.
So an hour after the statistics were handed over to Odis, Odis took a large detailed map of Remnburg and called a meeting of the important officials.
When the detailed map of Lenpo was unfolded, Mandy and the others were stunned. It was covered with circles and dots, as well as dense red pen writing.
When President Odis began to speak, Mandy and the others realized that each small circle represented a factory that needed renovation.
Seeing that everyone was about to take out their notebooks to take notes, Odis said, "I will give you detailed information after the meeting. Here I will just give you a brief overview. If you don't understand anything, you can look up the relevant information."
As Odis described it, everyone roughly understood that in the coming period, a huge transformation of Remenberg's entire industrial system was to be carried out.
First, the existing industrial system should be divided into two parts. One part consists of a group of factories that are mainly engaged in light industry. After certain supervision and institutional reforms, these factories will continue to produce daily industrial products to supply goods for the daily lives of ordinary residents.
A number of factories, primarily engaged in heavy industry, underwent a nationally coordinated renovation to build a complete "extraordinary technology" industrial chain.
Odis wanted to fully implement his designs, starting with the production of extraordinary tools for which current technology was relatively mature.
Meanwhile, the Remnburg Research Institute will continue to expand. Next, Odis will give them a large number of blueprints for extraordinary machine tools and extraordinary daily necessities, so that they can produce prototypes and accumulate experience.
Then these technicians were to immediately go and guide the factory's production work, and if there was anything they didn't understand, they should pray directly to the "Lord of Mysteries".
Odis knew very well that at the beginning, the entire country's industry would be thrown into chaos by him, and there would even be a large number of defective products in the early stages of industrial production.
This is the fastest way to jump from a normal industrial system to an extraordinary industrial system. Otherwise, if factory owners were to introduce extraordinary technologies themselves, who knows how long it would take.
Of course, you can't tell ordinary people that this is "extraordinary technology"; just tell them that it's a new energy product.
However, Odis plans to incorporate the study of mystical symbols into general education, teaching them alongside mathematics.
The application of mystical symbols is more like the calculation and application of geometry.
Simply learning these mystical symbols is not enough to create magic circles and talismans, because it involves a systematic body of knowledge in both "materials science" and "mysticism".
Learning only symbols is like learning only letters and words in a foreign language, without learning grammar and sentence structure.
Learning this allows people to gain a basic understanding of "extraordinary technology" products, and some talented students can also be recruited to the Remnburg Institute to engage in research work.
The next step for the Remnburg Institute is to establish a university to uniformly teach mysticism and "Garr runes," and to provide opportunities to become extraordinary individuals.
Even if you don't become an extraordinary person, you can still be an engineer in "extraordinary technology".
After Odis spoke for over an hour and roughly explained his intentions, he sat down and waited for a while before Mandy and the others caught up with the president's train of thought.
At this moment, most of them could not hide their surprise. Almost everyone present knew that the statistics on Rembrandt's economy had just been completed, and the detailed data had only been submitted this morning. Yet, before noon, the president already had such a detailed plan.
Every factory, and even some of the larger workshops, is in the president's plans.
This workload is quite staggering.
However, considering that the president is a high-level extraordinary being, this seems to make sense. The key question is, where did the president get so many new ideas? And how did he come up with this economic model, which is different from the current North and South continents and has a detailed plan?
At this point, an official asked, "What if—I mean, what if those factory owners are unwilling to cooperate with such renovations?"
?
Odis said, "First, try to persuade them seriously. If that doesn't work, then directly nationalize the factory and give the factory owner no more than 10% of the shares."
Everyone was stunned. 10%? Only 10%?
Odis laughed and said, "I know what you're thinking, and I know there will definitely be some extreme actions, but I hope that instead of sympathizing with the factory owners, you'll sympathize with the ordinary workers."
"Oh, right, the new Labor Law also needs to be followed up. I have already completed the drafting. Each worker's working hours cannot exceed 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week."
For Odis, not sending those factory owners to cut down trees and make furniture was already a great favor.
However, none of the officials dared to speak up. They realized that this would inevitably cause great chaos in Rembrandt society, and the entire country might even collapse as a result.
"We are at war now." Odis seemed to have read the officials' thoughts again: "We can use some tough measures. If you don't have confidence, I will put someone in charge of this task."
If you can do it, then do it; if you can't, then forget it. There are plenty of people waiting to see what happens.
Odis noticed that the officials trained by Odis, such as Mandy, were mostly bewildered, because Odis had only talked to them about the theory of "national economicism" before, and they did not expect that if it were actually implemented, it would be an ideological transformation.
Another group of officials, including radicals like Selt, were more concerned—or rather, distrustful of Odis, feeling that the president was making trouble for the country.
However, after hearing Odis's words, everyone expressed their determination to do their best to complete the tasks assigned by the president.