Tokyo Sword Saint Online Dealing

Chapter 33 Dream, Mirror, Extraordinary

The sky in the Ghost Realm, or rather, in the Dream World, was also gloomy.

It felt like a torrential downpour was about to begin.

There was no one around, and apart from the two of them talking, there was only a deathly silent rooftop. Uesugi Kiyoshi pondered the information he had just received, his expression somewhat complicated.

spirits

This name is quite fitting; the weak are demons, and the strong are gods.

The law of the jungle, where the strong prey on the weak, is vividly demonstrated.

Uesugi glanced around at this desolate dream world, but his doubts only grew stronger.

Without mincing words, he asked directly, "So, this isn't the real world?"

"Where exactly is this place? How did I get here?"

Ryunosuke Akutagawa stopped trying to hide anything and spoke frankly.

"I told you, this is my dream world."

"It is a paradise for ghosts and gods, but a forbidden zone for humans."

"Only ghosts, gods, and extraordinary beings can be active here."

"As for what exactly the dream world is..."

Have you ever dreamed?

Uesugi Kiyoshi frowned and nodded.

Have you ever looked in a mirror?

Uesugi Kiyoshi then nodded.

Ryunosuke Akutagawa smiled mysteriously.

"That makes it much easier to explain."

“You can understand the dream world as the world in a dream, or the world in a mirror—different from the real world, yet born from the real world, another dimension.”

"As for the reason for the formation of the dream world..."

Have you ever heard of the sea of ​​consciousness?

In his previous life, Uesugi Kiyoshi was a top student with a wide range of reading interests. During his university years, he didn't have many entertainment activities, so he liked to spend his free time in the library reading all sorts of books, which was his cheapest way to relax.

Therefore, he was able to respond to Ryunosuke Akutagawa's rhetorical question.

"Sea of ​​Consciousness"

"The doctrine of meditation mentions that it is the habitat of the human subconscious, a place where humans think. Some Buddhist Zen schools believe that the sea of ​​consciousness is the nest of the human soul."

"you mean"

Ryunosuke Akutagawa nodded affirmatively.

"That's right, this is the [Sea of ​​Consciousness]!"

Uesugi Kiyoshi wasn't the kind of fool who would believe everything he was told. He looked around again, his mind filled with doubts.

“Inspector Akutagawa, I can roughly understand what you mean by ‘superhuman’.”

"Since you've brought me here, you must intend to have an open and honest talk with me. I'll make my point clear as well."

“I once encountered evil spirits and was pulled into a similar space. I named it the Ghost Realm.”

"Excuse my bluntness, but if you say this is actually a 'sea of ​​consciousness,' then that 'sea of ​​consciousness' is a bit of an exaggeration."

"This is a completely real world. Can anyone's consciousness contain a complete world?"

Uesugi Kiyoshi tilted his head and tapped his temple with his finger.

"Your brain will explode, Inspector Akutagawa, don't try to fool me like a child!"

Uesugi Kiyoshi is a man who likes to treat others as he would like to be treated. If people treat him with sincerity, he will treat them with sincerity in return. Since Akutagawa Ryunosuke has brought him to the dream world, he obviously knows that he has the ability to slay demons. There is no point in him hiding it anymore.

Why not make things clear and find out what these ghosts and spirits that have been troubling him all along are, and what the Ghost Realm is?

His meaning is simple: to give an example, some people can imagine a room in their mind's eye, while those with richer imaginations can imagine a building, a school, a police station, a supermarket, and so on.

Perhaps someone can do all of these things.

But can some people conjure up a city in their mind?

impossible.

Every detail of the city, every building, every street, the furnishings in every house, the goods on the supermarket shelves, the layout of every building—everything must be meticulously and clearly understood.

This is an enormous amount of information, and even with the human brain's limitless potential, it would be very difficult to process.

Not to mention from Kiyoshi Uesugi's perspective, this is not just a matter of a city—looking into the distance, the buildings stretch endlessly, clearly a vivid new world.

He had carefully investigated the ghost realm and found that the surrounding scenery, from the layout of buildings to the furniture and decorations of nearby shops, was exactly the same as the real world.

To simulate a world in the sea of ​​consciousness?

Don't be ridiculous. That's something only a god could do.

Ryunosuke Akutagawa's smile became even more enigmatic. He shrugged and spoke softly.

“You are very perceptive and have a strong understanding, Uesugi-kun, but you are going in the wrong direction.”

"You think the dream world is the consciousness sea of ​​superhumans or ghosts and gods?"

"I never said anything like that."

"Uesugi-kun, don't limit your perspective to this level. Have you ever thought about what would happen if the Earth beneath our feet had life, and if it possessed the same cognitive abilities as humans?"

"Does it think? Does it also have a sea of ​​consciousness?"

"There's a saying we often hear: nature possesses infinite mysteries. It can self-regulate and maintain ecological balance through ingenious means. But it can also rage, causing landslides, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, and massive earthquakes."

"Doesn't it look a lot like a human?"

"Many science fiction novels have proposed the concepts of 'planetary consciousness' or 'world will.' Are these really just fictional?"

"The so-called dream world is just the sea of ​​consciousness of the world we live in!"

"Therefore, this world is exactly the same as the real world in terms of details."

"Do you still have any questions?"

Although he heard some pretty exciting news, Uesugi Kiyoshi didn't show any surprise. He had even seen time travel before and slain several demons. If you told him about the will of the world, he certainly wouldn't deny it outright and think it was nonsense.

He even thought about it carefully and felt that this statement was highly credible.

However, there are still some things that don't make sense.

Uesugi Kiyoshi narrowed his fox-like eyes, glancing at the giant snake on Tokyo Tower out of the corner of his eye, and said doubtfully, "Logically it makes sense. But I've never seen this thing in the previous ghost realm!"

"According to you, the so-called Ghost Realm—the Dream World you mentioned—is the sea of ​​consciousness of the world's will. Then it doesn't make sense that I've never seen this thing before, but suddenly I have today!"

Ryunosuke Akutagawa shook his head and continued explaining.

“You’re right, the dream world you entered before does not contain [Jormungandr].

The reason for this...

Let me give you an example.

"If we compare the dream world to an apartment building, it contains a vast number of almost infinite rooms."

“Every room in it has the same layout.”

"So, whenever a new ghost or god is born, or a mortal undergoes a transcendent awakening and enters the realm of the extraordinary, their soul will be sublimated and their inspirational abilities will be greatly enhanced."

"They will possess various magical abilities and be able to see things that are invisible to mortals. At the same time, their souls will also establish a basic [link] with the dream world."

"This is the inevitable path for all extraordinary life in our world. If you insist on asking why, I can only say that it is the rule of the world."

"After the link is established, the newly ascended ghost or superhuman will have a suite in the apartment building in the Dream World with the exact same layout as the other rooms."

"This is it, Uesugi-kun. You've now been invited into my room."

"To be honest, you should know these things. Although I don't know which faction you belong to, you have definitely experienced a transcendent awakening."

"The Linker's Mirror of Inheritance, the Mystic's Sacrifice Ritual, the True Sage's Brain Development, and for the Cultivator, it depends on the technique they practice. If you're a swordsman, then you've most likely awakened a true sword!"

“Ordinary mortals could never kill ghosts and gods. As far as I know, not counting Yokota, you have killed at least five ghosts and gods. Even if they were just small fry, this is a rare achievement.”

"You are definitely a superhuman, there's no doubt about that, so you should also have your own dream world!"

Uesugi Kiyoshi's expression remained unchanged, but his mind raced, his thoughts churning, and his brain worked at lightning speed to piece together countless clues.

He doesn't have his own dream world, and he has never stepped into the ghost realm on his own. Only when certain ghosts or gods target him will he be passively dragged into their ghost realm.

But think about it carefully.

He has a mirage!

Hyakki-cho and Mirage Tower are both located on an island, which is surrounded by the sea and a vast gray fog. He has never broken through that gray fog and has never left Hyakki-cho.

Could it be that beyond the isolated island lies a completely new world?

The space where the mirage is located is his dream world?!

Uesugi Kiyoshi thought about it more and more and felt that this was very likely. He decided to conduct some experiments to verify this conjecture the next time he entered the Mirage Tower. Now was not the time to do such a thing.

He pretended to be deep in thought, raised his eyes slightly, hesitated for a moment, and said, "I don't know much about the methods of awakening extraordinary abilities you mentioned, but I do have the ability to slay ghosts and gods."

“I told you, I’ve entered the dream world, but I know nothing about it. Nobody taught me any of this.”

Ryunosuke Akutagawa was slightly taken aback and subconsciously asked, "Didn't the swordsman Kamiizumi tell you this?"

It was no secret that Uesugi Kiyoshi had learned swordsmanship from Izumi Hidekawa, so he wasn't very surprised when it was revealed. His master had already demonstrated extraordinary swordsmanship to him, and he knew that his master was the "extraordinary person" that Akutagawa Ryunosuke had mentioned.

However, his master had not yet mentioned any of these things to him. Kazumi Hidekawa had said that he would wait until Uesugi Kiyoshi underwent the True Sword Awakening before telling him what the "world of the extraordinary" was. The more he knew, the more dangers he would face. These were Kazumi Hidekawa's exact words.

Since his master had said so, he certainly couldn't disobey his master's orders, so he could only suppress his doubts.

Seeing Uesugi Kiyoshi shake his head slightly, Akutagawa Ryunosuke looked puzzled, but he didn't ask any further questions.

"Alright, I can't interfere in your sect's affairs. In that case, Uesugi-kun, please ask me anything else you want to know, and I will answer them one by one."