Chapter 608 - 561: The Skill of the Heart of Chaos

[You have chosen to have the nascent will of the First Civilization Cosmic Country merge with the "Heart of Chaos."]

[...]

[Due to your resonant relationship with the nascent will, after it merges with the "Heart of Chaos," you can also use the divine skills "Heart of Wisdom" and "Soul of Hope" within the territory of the First Civilization Cosmic Country.]

[Divine Skill: Heart of Wisdom]

[1. Your comprehension will be increased tenfold. When using numbered Nirvana skills, you can better perceive the underlying "principles" they are linked to.]

[2. You can weave your own insights, wisdom, and concepts into abstract "tags" and forcibly project them into a target’s mindscape. When you lock onto a target, you can enter a state of flow. In this state, the target will transform from a concrete form into an abstract "collection of tags." You can disable 1-2 of the target’s tags. After certain conditions are met, a tag can be permanently stripped away.]

[...]

’The increased comprehension is easy enough to understand.’

’The target is displayed as a collection of tags? Sounds a bit like the philosophical concept that "man is the sum of his social relations," doesn’t it?’

Shi Ming turned to look at Amonev.

Heart of Wisdom, activate!

Shi Ming instantly entered the state of flow. In his eyes, Amonev transformed from a living being into a collection of "tags"—hundreds, even thousands of them, all in different colors.

Shi Ming took a casual look.

[Secret], [Lantern Bearer], [Friend of the Secret], [Strictest Sister], [Whisperer], [Fallen Star], [Fantasy Dreamer], [Giant Enthusiast], [Scenery Master], [Slacking Expert], [Entrusted Guardian]...

Tsk, tsk.

Just as he thought, a target could be broken down into the sum of their social relations. But these tags were truly bizarre.

’Lantern Bearer’ was one thing, but... ’what the hell is a "Giant Enthusiast"?’

To be honest, the [Heart of Wisdom] skill was pretty good for prying into secrets. Even Amonev, the representative of [The Secret] itself, couldn’t keep everything hidden from it. However, Shi Ming swore he wasn’t intentionally prying... It was just that Amonev was the only living being around. He couldn’t very well aim the Heart of Wisdom at the distant Divine Treasure Vault, could he? Although, in theory, that was also possible.

He stopped prying.

If the target were an enemy, he could select and disable one or two of these tags, such as those related to their skills. And if a certain condition was met, he could even strip the tag away permanently. The method for stripping tags varied and would need to be determined on a case-by-case basis.

As for the function of weaving his own tags and inserting them into a target, that was even simpler.

It was similar to the supreme treasure, the [Ten Thousand Flowers Jade]. Strictly speaking, however, the Ten Thousand Flowers Jade only fixed a vague future destiny into place. The Heart of Wisdom, on the other hand, could create something from nothing—weaving a false tag, inserting it into the target’s mind, and causing them to subconsciously bring it to fruition. The less resolute the target’s mind, the greater the tag’s influence.

’Truly a divine skill.’

Besides the "Heart of Wisdom," the Heart of Chaos also granted another skill, called "Soul of Hope."

[...]

[Divine Skill: Soul of Hope]

[Even in the darkest of environments, there must be a light of hope.]

[1. You will become the anchor for the concept of "Hope." You can feel negative emotions such as frustration, sadness, and despair, but you will never be crushed by them.]

[2. Any attack that attempts to sway your mind will be nullified.]

[3. You can keenly perceive new paths in the midst of adversity, even those so faint that they do not appear in the River of Destiny, and turn them into a lifeline.]

[4. You can cause the "Utopia" from the collective consciousness to briefly manifest in reality (10-120 seconds). Within this Utopia, the widely-recognized rules of Lawful Good, based on the collective consciousness, will be forcibly and perfectly executed. All that is Lawful Good will be rewarded, and all that is Chaotic Evil will be punished and nullified.]

[...]

In terms of their manifestation, these two divine skills were on par with Shi Ming’s own [Eye of Destiny], [Arm of Judgment], and [Brain of Order]. However, the Eye of the Divine had granted three divine skills and had yet to evolve into its complete form, requiring Shi Ming’s continued effort. The Heart of Chaos, on the other hand, had only provided two divine skills, but they were already in their complete forms.

All things considered, the Eye of the Divine was indeed a cut above.

Because of his 100% resonance with the Cosmic Country’s will, Shi Ming could use these two skills within its territory despite not having merged with the Heart of Chaos himself. The passive effect of the Heart of Wisdom, in particular, which increased his comprehension tenfold, would be very helpful for his daily cultivation, especially when it came to merging with a third numbered Nirvana skill. The only shame was that these skills would disappear once he left the Cosmic Country’s territory.

Of course, this was the result of his own choice.

Amonev hadn’t realized that Shi Ming had been prying into her collection of tags. Seeing that the nascent will of the Cosmic Country had completed its initial fusion with the Heart of Chaos, she looked at Shi Ming, preparing to say her farewells.

"After obtaining the Heart of Chaos, the nascent will of the Cosmic Country will grow rapidly. Soon, this Star Domain, which has lain in a tomb for one hundred and twenty thousand years, will reignite the spark of civilization. Prosperity and order will be reborn here. I believe this is also the sight the gods wish to see."

"I also need to leave this place and go find Ali."

"...Are you sure you don’t want to continue being the regent?"

Shi Ming shook his head.

He had his own things to do.

"The will of the Cosmic Country can already manifest a physical form. It would be best for it to govern this nation itself. Of course, it might occasionally need some intervention and guidance in the early stages, but I’m just a [Neonate] with a little over twenty years of experience. I don’t have much expertise in this area."

At this thought, Shi Ming’s head began to ache.

He had seized the destiny of Sovereign Ron of the Thirty-Seventh Cosmic Country, so naturally, he had also inherited his nation.

In the distant Thirty-Seventh Cosmic Country, the mess Ron had left behind was waiting for him to deal with. Over the past few days, some of Ron’s subordinates had even sent remote communications, awaiting their Sovereign’s decree.

But never mind. He didn’t need to worry too much about it. As Sovereign, Ron had already delegated much of his authority in managing the Cosmic Country. Soon, the Nirvana Powerhouses of the Thirty-Seventh Cosmic Country would discover that with the Sovereign absent from governance, things might actually start heading in a better direction.

Then, he could slowly abdicate the position to that Angler.

’By some twist of fate, I beat him to three opportunities. Is this Thirty-Seventh Cosmic Country, which belonged to Ron, perhaps destiny’s way of compensating and rewarding me?’