I was a woman with everything that everyone wishes to have. Money, career, fame, perfect family and a perfect love partner. I was a woman who was about to get married in a perfect church wearing a perfect gown.

Now I'm just a woman who woke up with nothing left and no one can recognize me.

"One other thing," Sunders kept up, "you placed so much nightmare energy in this part of the section just so that you can make people fear and even respect it, am I right?"
Angor nodded rapidly.
He defined a "theme" for each section when creating the illusion, and the theme for Witch's Town was "respecting your fear", which Sunders just pointed out.
"Nice idea." Sunders approved before giving his harsh opinions, "However, YOUR fear will only work on mortals and some of the apprentices with weaker mentalities. Wizards or stronger apprentices can easily see through your trick. They might regard your work as something interesting, and that's about it. Your emotion manipulation would have worked fine, if not for this easily-deciphered illusion. This is where you failed."
After going through the Witch's Town in Angor's illusion, Greya understood Angor's intention because she wanted to. Sunders meant to point out that she chose to follow the "story" constructed in the illusion rather than being forced to.
This meant Angor's illusion wouldn't work well on other people.
Even if it was intended to enlighten Greya, it would work better if the elements in the illusion fully affected her, thus allowing her to gain heartfelt awareness.
Angor looked down as he finally understood Sunders' judgment.
The illusion of Witch's Town only appeared to be good, but it was far from achieving its original goal.
"There are two ways to mend this. One is to improve your mind-manipulation capability as well as your own resistance to it, which means 'what appears to be fearful' in your view will eventually apply to others. The other method is to further perfect your illusions, in which case even if someone discovers flaws in it, they won't be able to escape from it easily."
He then left Angor alone to think about those words and entered the lone house mentioned by Greya.
As expected, the "bus stop" was placed inside an oil painting hanging on the wall.
While sitting in Cat Bus, Angor stared at his knees to rethink the lesson he just learned, and he failed to notice that Sunders had a slight grin on his face.
Despite the lecture he gave Angor, Sunders was generally satisfied with the illusion.
It was obvious that this illusion was not designed to harm people, but to satisfy Greya's "order". As long as the illusion met the requirements, some minor flaws didn't matter too much.
He came to the illusion to check "how well Angor's studies turned out". So far, Angor did a good job. Most of the logic shown by the illusion seemed intact, and the many interesting elements had shown Angor's brilliant imagination.
Illusions needed great imagination to achieve potency. As long as no extra demands were concerned, Angor had amazingly finished the job. It was just that Sunders was not the type to praise people easily. He preferred nitpicking.
…
Cat Bus allowed them to see more of Angor's illusions.
There were different characters that represented important clues or stories in various sections. It was not so impressive as there were many books that used similar ways to tell their tales, yet Angor did a better job compared to common novelists by presenting the best part of the stories for others to see.
If the illusion was a book, Sunders would believe that it was one of the collectible ones worth reading many times.
Instead of telling stories, Angor allowed anyone who saw his illusion to become part of the stories and experience them on their own, following behind the characters they preferred.
Sunders neither disapproved nor commended such a way of telling stories, but he was glad his student made it possible.
Anyone with time to kill or was resting between burdensome jobs would enjoy such a relaxed way of "reading".
As a former gentleman from a noble clan, even if he had spent a long time on the path of truth, Sunders would occasionally enjoy a storybook on his sunlight-blessed armchair. Any book was fine. Mortal novels, wizardry fictions… They were all about entertainment that kept his nerves from straining too hard.
Sunders would admit that Angor's illusion was top-class "entertainment", and this was probably why Greya asked the boy for the illusion.
Next, Sunders began glancing over the other sections like how Greya did.
The more he looked, the more surprised he was regarding Angor's potential in illusions.
Angor might have "cheated" his level by absorbing nightmare energy, yet the proficiency in illusions was completely gained through hard effort. Even with enough effort, an apprentice Illusionist wouldn't learn to create such a refined illusion within three years.
While traveling through different sections, Sunders took a brief stop at "Monument Valley".
This area did not have the ordinary logic as the other sections. Instead, there were strangely-colored shapes and objects placed randomly around.
When Sunders entered the area, he suddenly realized that this was an extremely interesting place, not because Angor slacked off.
He was looking at a flickering shadow, which seemed to be connected with all the strange structures around him.
Together with him, a character named "Ida" also entered the valley.
After some small tests, Sunders noticed that he had to move the shadow to manipulate the valley and help Ida escape.
"So I'm in charge of Ida's fate now?" Sunders raised an eyebrow and decided to play the little game.
With each of his movements, the structures in the valley would drastically change their orientations. Following these changes, the strange girl, Ida, began climbing over them like traveling through a mountain.
At first, Sunders didn't understand what he was supposed to do. From the shadow in front of him, he could see a giant gap on Ida's path, which would discourage any mortal from proceeding.
He believed "carrying Ida over the gap by himself" was definitely not the answer. It was a puzzle, and he needed to solve it.
He turned around and saw Angor trying to hold back his laughter as if the boy was happy to see his professor getting stumped.
Truth was, Angor was troubled by the puzzle just like this when he started playing the game on his tablet. He copied the game into the illusion because he found it to be interesting enough.
It didn't take Sunders very long to figure out the answer—the broken path was, in fact, an optical illusion created by a unique isometric view. When viewed from another angle, it became whole, thus allowing Ida to walk through.
The puzzle was all about seeing things from different perspectives.
"Now… this is interesting."
After solving the first puzzle, the next ones didn't seem so hard.
Sunders never had to move. By using the shadow within his reach, he helped Ida reach the exit of the valley and leave. 
The valley suddenly disappeared and gave place to a pink castle, from which Ida showed up.
The shadow in front of Sunders also changed into a smaller castle. Apparently, another round of puzzles was waiting to be dealt with.
Sunders didn't continue and left the Monument Valley with Angor. He did like the game, but he decided to visit the Mysterious Mountain because it was almost time for it.
He wondered where Angor found so many weird yet awe-inspiring ideas.
There was a monument placed at the entrance of Monument Valley, which had a line written on it:
[Journey to forgiveness]
So there's another story about that Ida too? Sunders thought.
…
Angor was still giggling when Cat Bus took them away.
Sunders gave him a poker face. "The illusion of Monument Valley is more problematic compared to the rest. The colors and structures, none of them should exist in common sense."
The gentleman spent several minutes pointing out the "flaws" until Angor began to wonder if it was a bad decision to place the game here. 
However, Sunders suddenly changed his attitude. "Once we're back, make another Monument Valley illusion so that I can get a better look of it, and hopefully give you some instructions accordingly."
Angor almost face-palmed himself.


A young traveler who receives enlightenment from another civilization is on a mission to save his beloved mentor. In his journey to seek the ultimate truth, he travels extensively and along the way, he experiences some unpredictable encounters. Will he be able to save his mentor or will his path be derailed?

Byron hoped their outing wouldn’t be too weird for Emily. He knew it was going to be weird for him.

But he tried not to be intimidated by the idea of his current fiancee and his ex girlfriend together on an outing. He wanted to see Nova again, and she seemed cool with the three of them hanging out.

Fortunately, Nova took over the conversation and handled everything with grace. Byron felt fairly dashing, walking around with a beautiful lady on each arm. Nova was showing off her figure in a flower patterned summer dress, while Emily looked cool in a white blouse and a pink skirt.

They walked along the pier, and Nova chatted about funny incidents on the set of Deadly Drollery.

”... and here I am, covered in clown makeup, trying to order a taco!” she concluded yet another story.

“Let’s go to the Science Museum!” Emily said on sighting the giant metallic globe perched on the famous futuristic-looking building. 

“Okay,” Byron said, “Have you been there, Nova?”

Byron could see that Emily felt left out of the conversation and that was probably why she wanted to do something more active rather than let Nova blather on. 

Nova seemed to be trying too hard to be fun and witty. He never would have thought it before, but he almost suspected she was trying to get his attention and rekindle their romance.

“Uh... no, never been before,” she said, though she didn’t look too keen.

“We don’t have to if you’re not into it,” Emily said, “It was just an idea.”

“No, it’s fine,” Nova agreed. “It’s funny how you can grow up in this city and never see the famous sights.”

The Science Museum was a good idea since it helped distract everyone from their weird situation. There were high-tech devices and interactive exhibits. In the Illusions and Puzzles room, Emily got caught up in solving a geometric puzzle. Meanwhile, Nova beckoned Byron over to one of the optical illusions.

“It’s not what it appears when you look closer,” Nova said, “That’s a lot like what happened with those films you produced, isn’t it?”

“Is it?” Byron asked, feeling totally confused. The spiral pattern of the illusion appeared to be spinning when he stared at it long enough.

“I’m sorry I accused you of trying to sabotage the studio,” Nova said, her beautiful face suddenly close to his. She was trying to speak softly and avoid being overheard by Emily, which raised his suspicions even more. 

“It’s all right,” he said. He still felt slightly bad for taking the credit for the success of the films, when it was all her doing.

“I should never have doubted your keen business instincts,” Nova continued, her dark eyes looking earnestly into his. “I understand now, you wanted me to try a different range of roles, and you knew I would succeed. You did it all for me, hoping we would be together again.”

He had dreamed of a moment like this once, but now he no longer wanted to get back together with Nova. He still wanted her in his life, as a friend. But his conscience was seriously starting to bug him, so he had to be honest. 

“Nova, I’m sorry,” he pronounced, “You were right the first time: I chose those films because they were the worst ones I could think of. I wanted to sabotage the studio. I wanted you to fail.”

Nova uttered a small gasp. “No, you’re not serious.”

“I am. I feel bad about it now, and that’s why I’ve decided to tell you the truth. I hope you can forgive me.”

“I knew it!” Nora said, forgetting to keep her voice down.

She strode away on her long legs, and as Byron was about to call after her, she said, “Don’t follow me!”

A few people stared at her as she left. “Was that Nova Summers?” someone queried. An excited buzz of voices filled the room.

“What just happened?” Emily asked, coming closer to him.

“I’ll tell you later,” Byron said, “Let’s get out of here.”

Too many people were looking at them with curiosity, and Byron didn’t feel like being the center of attention. He wondered if Nova would never speak to him again. He would hate to lose her completely. It didn’t feel as heartbreaking as the breakup with her, but it still hurt.

“Do you think she wants you back?” Emily asked when they got out of the air-conditioned building into the sunshine.

“I don’t know,” he lied, “It’s unlikely now, anyway.”

He felt bad about lying, but he didn’t want Emily to feel threatened. There was clearly no risk of him choosing Nova over her.

“Why?” Emily asked.

“I told her about the films,” Byron said, squinting in the too-bright sun. “I couldn’t keep taking credit for boosting her career.”

“That’s why she left?”

“Yeah.”

Emily seemed relieved. Byron wanted to tell her that he was only interested in Nova as a friend, but there was probably no point, unless Nova forgave him.

Emily Danzi has been stalked by a deranged man for most of her adult life. She thought she had left him behind when she moved to the west coast of Canada, but one rainy night, he catches up with her. Emily finds a temporary solution by having a complete stranger pose as her boyfriend. 

Byron Pomeroy, the man who was about to end his own life by jumping off a bridge scares off her pursuer but brings complications when she learns how deeply troubled he is, despite his enormous wealth. Emily wants to help him in return, but she must contend with Byron’s domineering mother and a devious journalist who wants Byron for herself and will destroy the reputation of anyone who gets in her way. 

“This might not be easy,” Byron began, “considering what I can safely call our mutual attraction for each other.”

As she sat at the table across from him, Emily could not deny it. It was good that the table separated them because she was tempted to reach out and stroke the beautiful outlines of his face. She wondered what it would feel like to kiss him. Suddenly she realized Byron was saying something, while she was completely distracted by his god-like appearance.

“...so, maybe you would like to make any suggestions?” he asked.

“Suggestions?” she echoed.

“About our new arrangement.”

“Oh, of course,” she said, flustered, “No, you go first.”

“All right.” He smiled as if he knew she had been admiring his looks. “Let’s start with public displays of affection. How far are we willing to go?”

“Um...” Emily had not considered this.

He took her hand and stroked it with his thumb, a light and teasing touch.

“Would this be okay?” he asked. 

Emily nodded, wondering how she was going to be able to stand this without surrendering to his charm.

“What about hugging?” he went on.

“Hugging...” Emily cleared her throat nervously. 

“We need to proved something for the journalists to talk about,” he said, though Emily suspected it was not the only reason he wanted to get closer to her.

“Hugging would be fine.”

“I guess kissing would be out of the question?” His eye glinted mysteriously as his lips bent in a wicked smile.

“I... haven’t thought about it,” Emily said. “Kissing on the cheek might be allowed.”

“No kissing on the lips then?” he asked. His whole look seemed to say, “try it, you might like it.”

Her body melting with desire, Emily stayed firm on this point. “No kissing on the lips.”

WARNING: This novel contains depictions of suicidal depression and stalking.

"Can I see Mr. Jiang Chen? In light of the recent security situation in Los Santos, I have some security adjustments..."
"I'm sorry, he's already rested. If you have any questions, you can speak to me."
Standing at the door of the embassy, Xia Shiyu declined Lawrence's request to visit. He was in the desert of Nevada, more than dozens of kilometers away.
Lawrence frowned slightly and eyed the embassy.
"This is very important. I hope you treat it seriously."
"He gave me full power to deal with it," Xia Shiyu replied with an uncompromising tone
Since this Ms. CEO already said that, Lawrence no longer persisted. He nodded, handed the files over, and left the embassy.
Xia Shiyu scanned the documents. They detailed the recent security situation and the FBA's adjustment of Jiang Chen's travel security work.
According to the description in the documents, it seemed Jiang Chen's security level increased?
As night arrived, Nevada's desert returned to quietness. Jiang Chen, who was wearing a kinetic skeleton, had returned to the modern world. He was still behind a bush. Silence surrounded him, leaving only the wind blowing.
Lights illuminated Area 51. High-powered searchlights scanned the military base.
Today's night was no different from the day before. All soldiers remained in their positions like before. Even the most meticulous soldiers, staring at the endless desert, couldn't help but feel tired and blank out.
No one noticed that an invisible ghost was approaching...
There was a gust of wind, and a soldier leaning against the checkpoint sneezed and rubbed his nose. The soldier standing across from him yawned and adjusted the rifle on his body. At this point, no one would check the post. Their standing posture was casual, at least not as professional as if they were in front of cameras.
However, at that moment, the soldier who sneezed looked around.
"Crony, did you notice anything?"
"What? A hare?" The drowsy Crony instantly woke up.
"No, it could be an illusion."
"Sh*t, we're about to get off our shift. Don't play with me..."
Upon hearing the soldiers' conversation, Jiang Chen was relieved.
The weakness of the optical illusion was being in environments where the optical difference would be obvious. It was difficult to achieve perfect invisibility, and walking in the sand would leave footprints. In order to avoid being discovered, he chose the road and directly entered from the checkpoint.
As for the lighting problem, he could only walk against the edge of the building.
Judging by the number of patrols, this military base was indeed one of the highest security military bases in the nation. In addition to those patrols with rifles at each corner of the base and invisible snipers, Jiang Chen also noticed helicopters flying by often.
He didn't dare to turn off his optical illusion for a single moment.
Fortunately, decades-long peace and stability made people lower their guard at this base with the highest security level. Jiang Chen didn't encounter any trouble along the way. He successfully managed to just sneak past the patrols like a ghost.
At such a large base, of course, he couldn't just wander around like a headless chicken. In the photographs taken in advance, Jiang Chen marked the buildings worthy of investigation on the map. These buildings included the large radio telescope, the fighter aircraft hangar, and several houses that he couldn't identify from the outside.
At the airport, Jiang Chen quietly slipped into a hangar.
Here, he saw a few prototypes that couldn't be named. The aircraft didn't have a cockpit, but it was supposed to be one of the fabled six-generation drones.
Jiang Chen hesitated for a moment to decide whether or not to put several bombs in it and take these planes away when he leave. However, he hesitated for a moment and gave up the plan. Making too much noise wasn't good for him. If he knocked down the hornet's nest, he feared the whole state of Nevada would be locked down.
In such a large desert, he couldn't walk back under his optical illusion.
He would silently come and quietly leave. Anyway, the purpose of his trip wasn't to blow up planes.
After the hangar was the radar station.
This two-story building was in the corner of the base, just like the "Giant Bowl" to which it was connected.
Compared to the highly-guarded hangars, garages, research institutes, and other facilities, Jiang Chen clearly sensed that the patrol efforts here were lax.
Hiding behind a concrete wall, Jiang Chen carefully avoided the two patrol teams crossing the main road and quickly moved to the back of the radar station and looked through the window. At this time, the radar station was completely dark. Obviously, all the work had been completed during the day. There should be no researchers inside.
He estimated the height of the window then glanced at the lookout tower not far in the distance.
It was a blind spot, or at least the searchlight's blind spot. No light could shine there.
From the storage dimension, Jiang Chen took out an electrostatic adsorption device similar to a suction cup. Although he didn't know the principles behind this device, he could easily control the adsorption between the suction cup and the wall by simply pressing the button on the grip.
He didn't know anything about particle physics, but it didn't prevent him from using it.
Jiang Chen put it on his arm and calf then stuck his arms to the wall like a gecko. He pressed the button of the right-hand grip and deactivated the adsorption of his right arm and left leg. Jiang Chen skillfully climbed up with his right hand and moved up to the window.
Fortunately, perhaps because it was too humid that day, but the window wasn't locked.
After entering into the radar station, Jiang Chen carefully turned on the detection equipment and determined that there were no infrared sensors or cameras in the room. Then he carefully examined the room.
The room was very dark, but the night vision function on his tactical helmet solved this problem. The dark blue light prism spread out in front of his field of vision, and everything in the room was clearly displayed on Jiang Chen's retina.
It seemed to be an office. Neatly stacked documents were placed on the row of desks. Jiang Chen stepped forward and glanced through them. Although he could understand English, the more technical stuff gave him headaches.
Fortunately, he could ask for help.
His watch was connected to his kinetic skeleton and he assigned the camera control of the tactical helmet to the artificial intelligence hosted on his wristwatch.
"Jean, what are these things in these documents?"
"...astronomical observations, some drafts, and some paper reports. Do you need me to translate for you?"
"No, I wouldn't understand even if you translated for me. Can you see if there's any useful information such as aliens, extraterrestrial civilization or related information?" Jiang Chen said with a headache.
Pointing his camera at the documents, Jiang Chen quickly flipped through them. But unfortunately, Jean didn't collect any useful information. With or without use, these files were stored on his memory card.
After leaving the office, he entered the hallway.
The placard on the door was a big help. The function of each room was written in English and was easy to find. There were control rooms, conference rooms, drawing rooms and other rooms, but those weren't what Jiang Chen was looking for. He was looking for the file room. Without a doubt, all secrets would be stored there!
After all, it was only a two-story building. Jiang Chen didn't search for long before he found his target at the end of the first floor.


After the nuclear war, ruins stretch across the landscape in the apocalypse.
If you accidentally survived on the wasteland, then you must be ready to face the endless hunger, ceaseless dangers, the mad zombies at night, and the peculiar mutant creatures that are the aftermath of constant radiation.
But for Jiang Chen, this place is heaven.
Mansions standing tall, luxurious cars parked on the street, high tech products and gold abandoned everywhere.
What? You were the president of a game development company before the war? You were responsible for the development of the 3D virtual reality online multiplayer game? Well, that’s great, why don’t you come work for me. Your salary is two pieces of bread a day.
iPhone? Ultra thin design? Don’t you see that the phone I invented is thinner than a condom?
Aircraft carrier? Fighter jets? Oh, I have those things as well, but they are designed for space combat.
Watch the story of Jiang Chen, who possesses the ability to travel through space and time, as he witnesses the creation of an empire stretched across space and time... 


"Un?" Peng Zhen had an urge to turn her head toward Mingyue, seeing the latter's condition. She didn't understand, but she felt that Mingyue just went away. 
But similar to the last time she saw, Mingyue were above Xiao Wu, mounting and hugging the latter's soft body and warm white-fur. Even Peng Zhen herself had a tinge of envy when she saw that. 
She was hesitant to wake Mingyue up or not, but in the end, she chose the latter.
[Is it my imagination?] Peng Zhen thought there was something happened even though nothing happened. Seeing the sleeping figure of Mingyue, Peng Zhen chuckled, [Sleep again? But indeed, the outside should be dark already – time for little kid to go to sleep. No wonder. . .]
Returning her focus toward the two fight in front of her, Peng Zhen didn't pay any attention toward anything else.
"Safeee. . . ."
Xiao Wu wiped her non-existent sweat on her temple. She never expected that Peng Zhen would turn her attention soon after Mingyue left.
Of course, the sleeping Mingyue that Peng Zhen saw was an illusion created by Xiao Wu. By manipulating Elemental around, and adding with the faint illumination, Xiao Wu could create a carbon copy of Mingyue without any difficulty – as long as no one came close.
The principle of this illusion was simple. Similar to a mirage, Xiao Wu could make an optical illusion – tricking every eye. 
Optical Illusions could use colour, light and patterns to create images that could be deceptive or misleading to our brains. The information gathered by the eye was processed by the brain, creating a perception that in reality, did not match the true image. Perception referred to the interpretation of what people took in through their eyes. 
Optical illusions occur because our brain is trying to interpret what we see and make sense of the world around us. Optical illusions simply trick our brains into seeing things which may or may not be real.
And that was one of the basic of creating an illusion.
Hence, Peng Zhen didn't feel weird when she saw an illusion of sleeping Mingyue because her brain processed what she saw as the real sleeping Mingyue, not an illusion.
As long as Peng Zhen or anyone who saw the illusion never realized the illusion, they wouldn't stop believing.
And of course, this kind of illusion was much safer than what Mingyue had done back then in Grey Brick Town – toward the two guinea pigs. The Elemental didn't mess with Peng Zhen's brain, only giving a fake image toward one of the five senses.
From five senses, people would depend on the most on was the sense of seeing, their vision. People would often say that eyes were the door of the soul, but eyes also were the door of the world.
One could perceive many and various things only from their vision – people perceived up to 80% all of the impression by means of their sight.
Different from the sense of touch, one could see something far. 
Different from the sense of taste, one didn't have to expose one's vulnerability.
Different from the sense of hearing, one could receive all various information in a glance.
Different from the sense of smell, a little disturbance wouldn't disturb one's vision.
Hence, it was not weird for one's eyes could be said as the window to the world. 
But also, one's vision was the easiest to trick – because of people's dependency on it. 
Moving her gaze toward the last place she saw that small figure, Xiao Wu could only sigh. This darkness reminded her of that experience four years ago. In the underground ruins, where they met a Demonic Beast. The first time she blamed herself because of her uselessness.
No matter what, she would never let the history repeated for another time.
"Protect Yueyue properly, Xiao Jing."
"I know what to do."
Receiving the affirmation from Xiao Jing, Xiao Wu relaxed her body a little as she did her portion of work.
…
A tiny figure blitzed forward – her two long braids were dancing around along with her fluttering skirt and sleeves. Under the darkness without illumination, no one could see her capabilities. 
But in Mingyue's vision, everything was as clear as day – without any obstruction from the darkness. 
If Liao Yun realized it, she would curse Mingyue – she was fast enough to overthrow Liao Yun in her speed. But in these four years, Mingyue would pretend to be a slowpoke.
But it was not Mingyue's fault at all since her performance was all thanks to the Elemental which was infused into her legs – improving her speed and relieving the muscle ache. Of course, relieving the muscle ache would work temporarily.
"Yin Yang Fish," Mingyue called with a soft voice as a white-coloured fish and black-coloured fish appeared each in her left and right hands. Both of them moved energetically as they went into close contact with Mingyue's hands.
The two fishes were two entities, but also at the same time, both were one entity. 
Both were separatable, but also at the same time, inseparable. One was real, while the other one was unreal. Both from a different place, but both were twisted together and interweaved, making a complete existence.
"Dagger."
Along with Mingyue's voice, the Yin Yang Fish's body re-materialized and morphed into a pair of sharp daggers, a black dagger and white dagger, one each in her hand.
Swiiiish. . . .
With a flick of her fingers, a hard-to-discern light was shot from her hand toward its target – ex-Pig Head's neck. It was very fast, not letting its target realized or made any movement.
Akin to an eagle dived down to hunt a rat, the thrown dagger was stabbed toward ex-Pig Head's neck without any retaliation.
Clank. . .
But, the unexpected happened. Even though the thrown dagger should be a deadly blow, there was no any mark, no wound at all.
And soon after that, ex-Pig Head reacted, and at the same time, he dashed toward Mingyue – he was provoked. 
"Yueyue!" Xiao Jing couldn't help to scream, but there was no change in Mingyue's face.
"Calm down, Xiao Jing." The tip of her lips was curled upward while circulating the Elemental in her whole body – improving her physical strength and reaction time. "It's not like the dagger is not sharp enough, but rather earlier was only a thrown dagger, without any Elemental of course. And now. . ."
Rotating the black dagger around her finger, she was prepared to clash head-on with the incoming greatsword.
The circulated Elemental in her body rotated even faster and shrouded the black dagger in her hand at the exact time of the clash.
CLANK!
The clash was at the standoff, but Mingyue felt a faint numbness in her grip. But she had no time to think about it as ex-Pig Head prepared for another slash.
Swiish, swish swish. . .
This time, Mingyue avoided every of the slash while she leapt backwards.
"Tsk. Even though I have circulated the Elemental, my strength is around Peak Grade Battle Warrior, eh? A little off from my expectation." 
This was Mingyue's main weakness. Her body was weak, making her unable to unleash more power. No, it might be suitable to say that her physique limited her own potential.
Mingyue's Elemental manipulation was very precise – she never found anyone with better Elemental manipulation so far. Even the tribe's leader of the Wind Chasing Tribe, Liao An fared lower than Mingyue.
Indeed, her experience as a cultivator in her previous life was the main reason for it.
Thus, she should have been able to unleash her maximum physical prowess. Unfortunately, circulating more Elemental in her own body would do the opposite.
When Mingyue was in deep contemplation, ex-Pig Head made a wide horizontal swing, making it harder for Mingyue to evade. But unfortunately, it was still not enough.
Arching her body into the shape of 'n' backwards, Mingyue narrowly evaded that one.
(Author's Note: Bridge up from gymnastic's movement, something like that.)
"You can't do it, Yueyue! Don't be hard-head and let me pack this doll!" Xiao Jing's voice was full of impatience as she appeared behind Mingyue. 
Xiao Jing's body was akin to the drawn and nocked arrow – only needed one order to unleash the arrow.
Opposite of Xiao Jing's mood, Mingyue was still giggling. "Not yet. I want to try a few more tricks."
Xiao Jing, ". . ."
Understood of Xiao Jing's scepticism, Mingyue explained, "This puppet has the capability to reduce the circulated Elemental when it comes into contact. For example, the earlier clash."
After arching her body, Mingyue somersaulted backwards to create some distance from ex-Pig Head. If it was a direct clash with only using a dagger was indeed hard, not to mention that there was one or two levels difference between their strength.
"If I have to sum it up, this puppet has two basic abilities. The first is reducing the circulated Elemental with each clash, which is a little problematic. If I have to make the comparison, it is similar to punch at cotton – the cotton would absorb and lessen the received impact. But there is no need to worry about me, it is only a minuscule amount for me, but I don't know about other people."
[But at the same time, this fight must not be prolonged too much. Or else, I will be on disadvantage. With each of clash, the condensed Elemental in the Yin Yang Daggers was scrapped little by little.] Mingyue added in her mind. 
Considering her delicate body, she would be KO'ed if she couldn't circulate the Elemental at all. But of course, she had a lot of tricks under her sleeve which wouldn't let the worst case of scenario happened.
"The second is their physique's improvement, and a massive one. Both this thing and that big-bodied puppet that wear the same ash-coloured armour have the same big improvement. But at the same time, there is no trace of Elemental from their body, which is the weird part."
[There is a possibility to improve one's physique by circulating Elemental in one's body. But for this puppet, there is a huge improvement in its physique even though there is no circulated Elemental. Why is it? Is it because the puppet cannot manipulate Elemental, or is it because the puppet is controlling a corpse, not a living human?] It was the most interesting part, also the part that she couldn't get the answer any time soon.
And the clash previously had made sure of Mingyue's previous conjecture. This ex-Pig Head and ex-Fatty Pig had a huge jump in their strength. Mingyue didn't know their original level, but their current strength sure was above Peak Grade Battle Warrior.
But the two puppets which were fighting Fu Tao sure were weaker if compared with ex-Pig Head and ex-Fatty Pig. At the very least, Middle Grade Battle Warrior.
Mingyue was sure that both ex-Pig Head and ex-Fatty Pig was at the very least at the first stage of Elemental Warrior.
Elemental Warrior, the stage above Battle Warrior. But the grading of Elemental Warrior was still a mystery, not even Miss Chen, the Mercenary Guild's receptionist knew about it. But, there was one thing Mingyue heard from Miss Chen.
A different grading – there was nothing about Grade 1 – 10 like Battle Fighter and Battle Warrior.
And what kind of grading? It was still a mystery for Mingyue since no one reached this level with the exception the leader of Red Rage Bear Mercenary, the Lin Family, and the City Governor themselves.
Mingyue made a small gesture, and the fallen white dagger made an arch toward Mingyue's hand.
Ex-Pig Head lunged forward to make another swing.
Clank! Clank clank clank!
With the pair of daggers, Mingyue could hold on her ground with ease, but she was still not letting down her vigilance. Without any offence, she could only stall the fight.
"Let's speed up the game," Mingyue smirked up and lunged forward. 
…

Arriving at the new world, an ex-cultivator vowed to never cultivate anymore

A naive little girl lived in a world full of deceit, she is faced with choices.

Treading along a new world with a lot of secrets. Who could she trust?

Will she fall? Or she will triumph over the mortal?

Follow the journey of Xia Mingyue, a mighty cultivator that was trapped in a weak body in the new world, new place, without cultivator.

*Warning, a slow-paced story until around chapter 80.

Announcement;
+Release 7-9 chapter a week, depending on my RL
+For each 50k views, there will be 3 bonus chapter that week.
+I will be posting this story on RoyalRoadl.com under the same nick, FrosDream193
But don't worry, I am mainly active in webnovel :D

*This is my first story, so I will appreciate various suggestions and critics.
*Story by FrostDream193
*Edited by FrostDream193

When I got into my mom's car after school she saw my sweater and smiled. "You found it."
"Yeah I found it. The whole school watched me find it."
"What?" She looked over her shoulder to check the traffic, and then glanced at me. "Where was it?"
"Up a tree."
"A tree? How did it get—"
"Don't ask. The janitor got it down for me." I turned to look at her. "Everyone clapped."
I didn't get any sympathy. "Well at least you don't have to buy a new one. And I'm sure you'll be more careful with your things from now on."
I wanted to tell her that Emelyn Peters had stolen it off the back of my chair before she flung it into the tree, but I was sick of arguing with my mom and bored with the subject of my pukey sweater. I decided to let her win this one. "OK, Mom."
After escaping from the garage, I ran up the stairs to my room and climbed the spiral staircase to my office. Homework could wait until later. I'd been looking forward to working on the third clue all day. Pushing my chair back over to the desk, I sat down and turned the yellowed envelope over in my hands. I pulled out the paper and unfolded it.
The drawing looked like a cross between an algebra problem and an optical illusion or a puzzle. I flipped through my math book and looked at the symbols in the geometry chapters. None of them matched the design on the clue. After staring at the tattered paper for a few minutes, I turned on my iPad and opened my Hidden Jewelry Box notes. After I took a picture of the clue I counted the squares, and then typed in: Bottom row, 9. Next row, 6. Second row 4. Top row, 1.
The diagram looked a little like a weird stairway or something you could climb, so the next thing I did was enter the directions the squares seemed to take to get from the bottom to the top of the puzzle: 4 to the left, up 1. 1 more to the left, up 1. 3 to the left, up to the top. Now I was at the top of…what? I blew out my breath. I was usually good at puzzles and math, but this didn't make any sense at all.
What could it mean? I posted a picture of the clue on my website, then sent out a tweet asking for my agents to check in and help. I hoped agent # 010 Star Dancer or # 002 Hidden Shadow might be online to post their ideas on my site under clues.
Next, I typed just the numbers of the squares in each row: 9 6 4 1
"Nine minus six is three, and four minus one is three." Then I added the numbers up. "Twenty squares," I said, looking at the equation on the clue. "U plus arrow plus four equals twenty. Sixteen plus four equals twenty, so U plus arrow equals sixteen. But what does that mean?" I groaned in frustration. "Nothing," I answered myself.
I grabbed my head with both hands. Now what do I do? I had no idea what the third clue meant, or where to look for the next one. I stared at the frayed paper.
That's when I saw it. A curly black hair, resting innocently on my desk. Except there was nothing innocent about it. My dad's hair was light. My mom and I didn't have hairy arms or legs. Therefore this came from someone else. Someone with dark curly hair, like Sledge: the guy in the construction crew gang who was working on our rain gutters.
Crew Gang, I thought. Good name for that bunch of creeps.
I stared at the little hair and my face got hot. What was he doing in my office? No rain gutters up here, no reason for him to be in this room at all. Unless he was snooping. Searching for something, like when I'd watched him peek into the gazebo and look into the corners of our backyard. I clamped my hand over my mouth as the truth dawned on me.
Those guys are looking for the hidden jewels too.
Xandra Collins's missing jewelry box had been all over the news since her disappearance. It made perfect sense that the men working on our house would be searching for her jewelry box. And there was a whole gang of them. Only one of me.
I had to beat them to it. I was one step ahead of them, and I needed to stay that way. Picking up the hair with my tweezers, I dropped it into a small Ziploc baggie and stowed it in my detective kit. DNA evidence, in case I needed it.
The clue sat there, challenging me.
 
What did the squares stand for? Could they represent a building? And if they did, how would I find it? I didn't have a truck like Smack. No way I could search all of Santa Monica on my bike. Fortunately Alexa and a gang of secret agents were on my side. The Shirley Lock Holmes Agency could track a clue faster than anybody. Girls Secret Agency had gone dormant, but hopefully some of the members would weigh in. I was looking forward to checking my website and reading their posts on what the clue could mean.
My brain needed a break. I shut down my iPad, opened my detective kit, and took out my fingerprinting materials. After picking out the clearest print in the dust on the windowsill, I covered it with a strip of clear tape and pressed it firmly down. I didn't have to brush on fingerprinting powder. The dust had done the job. I carefully peeled off the print and pasted it onto a Case Solution card.
Using my invisible marker I labeled it, "Turret Windowsill." Then I pulled out the box I had bought to hold fingerprints and clues, slipped my first Case Solution card inside, and closed the padlock. By the time the Skylar Robbins Detective Agency had solved its first big case, no doubt the box would be full.
Suddenly I heard a loud noise in the backyard and looked out my office window. Sledge was about to install our new rain gutters and I watched him for a minute. He walked through the side yard and out to the street, grabbing long sections of metal from the back of his truck. As he came back across the lawn his head swiveled back and forth, looking around. After he dumped the new rain gutters on the lawn in a big pile, he trotted back across the grass and stuck his head inside the greenhouse. Like he was searching for something. Of course he was.
I grabbed my pink Super-Zoom binoculars, turned off the light, and crouched down by the window to watch him. My binoculars rock. They were so strong I could see the hair on the back of his fingers as he picked up a section of metal half-pipe. A skuzzy blond guy picked up the other end, and they climbed up a couple of ladders and attached the new rain gutter to the house.
The hair on Sledge's arms was dark and curly.
Busted. I bet that was his hair that I found on my desk. So what was he doing in my office? There was no reason for him to be inside the house at all, unless he was looking for Xandra's clues. And what could I do about it?
Nothing. Yet.
My parents were totally impressed with Smack and his gang. I had to admit they were doing a great job remodeling our house. My mom was raving about them, even though she complained to my dad that they smelled "ripe," and she hated their snake and skull tattoos. I hated the fact that they were trying to find Xandra's jewels before I did.
But that wasn't going to happen. I hoped.
After dinner I had too much homework to work on clues, and started the problems on my algebra worksheet.


72 = 9 x B
550 km = Xmm
4A = 64
17.5 yards = Z feet


I got a tingling feeling. In every equation, one thing stood for something else. I penciled in my answers with my brain ticking. The next section showed a bunch of different shapes, and asked whether or not they represented a polygon. I looked at each shape, circling yes or no. I finished the worksheet with my mind on something else. A similar problem, with a much more important solution: The squares on the third clue equaled—what?
My favorite detective show was about to start so I recorded it. Trying to forget about the mysterious clue, and the fact that a bunch of hostile men were right behind me in my search, I picked up my science book and read a chapter on anatomy. I put Mr. Bidden's signed permission slip into my backpack with a sinking feeling in my stomach.

A deserted mansion perches on a steep hillside, overlooking a rocky canyon. Tattered curtains hang behind broken windows, and a turret stretches toward the sky. Three years ago the wealthy owner disappeared suddenly, leaving behind a house full of secrets: A mysterious note, tantalizing clues, a hidden floor, one piece of a treasure map, and a missing fortune in diamonds.

Thirteen-year-old sleuth Skylar Robbins moves into the mansion with her parents and embarks on a new and dangerous mission. Armed with her detective kit, and with the support of her BFF Alexa and a team of secret agents, Skylar sets out to decipher the clues and find the diamonds. Can she outwit a gang of aggressive bikers and find the hidden jewels before they do? Or will the perils of middle school--like battling ruthless bully Emelyn Peters for the attention of class hottie Dustin Coles--get in her way?

"Whoa, Mom, aren't you jealous that Dad is working with a woman like Rupert?" Alt-nii tried to tease Mom.

"...hmmm, so you're suggesting that Cyan has something with Rupert?"

Mom's answer was totally unexpected. Her voice is very, very calm.

I thought that at some point, Mom would hold some kind of jealousy against Rupert.

 

 

"Well, the three of them seemed close and all... Ah, maybe Rupert is with Gale, instead?" Alt-nii asked.

"Eh, no, I'm not into something like—," Gale quickly retorted.

"Uh, Rupert, I mean...," Dad was stuttering.

"No problem. I'm used to it already. Instead, I am happy that I can captivate the others without using any trick," Rupert's wry smile remained.

"...Huh?"

Alt-nii and I are looking at each other with confusion.

 

 

"Fufu, it would be funny if your dad is indeed smitten with Rupert. Okay, I shall encourage him to that path instead~," Mom chuckled.

...wait...

This reaction...

...now that I can take a closer look at Rupert... could it be that Rupert... is a man?!

A beautifully handsome man?

...Her body built is slender and slim so I can't really tell—her skin is beautiful, too—no way...

 

 

"Could it be that Rupert...," I started to speak.

"...Eh?!" Alt-nii seemed to notice it, as well, as he kept observing Rupert.

"Yes. Rupert here, is a man," Dad clarified for us.

 

 

"S-sorry, Rupert!" Alt-nii and I both bowed our heads to apologize.

"No problem."

"But, but, you look so alluring and beautiful that I—uhh, I mean, as a man, you're also good-looking! But your aura..."

Alt-nii is babbling. He's trying to hide his embarrassment.

"No worries there," Rupert gently smiled.

 

 

 

***

 

 

"Then, let's proceed to discuss our plan!" Dad clapped his hands together.

"I will be going with Meredea on a separate carriage," Mom's voice slightly hinted her sadness, looking at both me and Altaire bitterly.

"Meredea will arrive using a carriage from Capicastle. So, we'll be going ahead of you."

"We have devised a disguise plan, so listen carefully," Dad said.

"We will be going under the disguise of traveling merchants. I will be taking the role of the father—let's say, I will name my disguise Marvel Rashad," Dad then proceeded to use his illusion skills.

 

 

Dad then turned into a shorter and fatter man with a beard. His black hair is really in contrast with his real appearance. His eyes are now brown.

I don't think we have to really think about our disguise's names, but perhaps it's there to make sure we don't call one another with our real names in public?

 

 

"Next, I will be the mother figure," Rupert stood up and chanted.

[Gliderung, sâwolhord wendan] (Illusion, body alter)

Then, he turned into a beautiful woman. His formerly ashen grey hair turns into beautiful silky silver hair—as long as his waist, but his right bang still covers his right face.

His lips turned into seductive red, the same as his eyes—but his skin is still brown.

"The name's Ruby."

After that, he called off his disguise and returned to his true self.

 

 

"Eh?"

He isn't going to keep his disguise?

"Lyra, using illusion magic to disguise themselves cost lots of mana. Therefore, they won't be in disguise when it's just us."

Dad patted my head—wait what, no, not with that appearance, Dad.

 

 

Rupert smiled at me.

"That's right. Both Gale and I use additional magical tools to regenerate our mana and to make our disguise perfect."

"I, is that so?" I asked.

 

 

"Anyway, let me pose as the eldest son of you two."

It's time for Gale to take on the spotlight.

[Scinna, scîene wandrian] (Illusion, light alteration)

Huh, different spell?

He then took on the form of a teenage boy, with brown skin, silver hair and matte brown eyes.

"Voila, that's it, the name's Robert, the first son! What about you kids?" He then asked me and Altaire.

"Well, Altaire and Lyra should just be the second and third children, then. And to keep it easier, don't change into your opposite gender. Just try to think about your desired appearances," Dad encouraged us.

 

 

"Oh, I got an idea!"

Altaire-nii stood up and quickly transformed—nah, used his illusion magic to disguise himself in front of us.

His navy blue hair turned black, and his eyes turned both red. He also added some freckles to his face. He's become the cute younger brother!

"The second son of Rashad family, Rye~"

...which leaves me.

 

 

"Uhm, then I will be the third so—wait, third child and the only daughter... uhm..."

I stood up and focused myself to alter my appearance by illusion magic—let see, use my mana to cover my body and...

I turned my hair into the same long silver and silky hair that Rupert chose—and my eyes would turn both red. No changes to my skin.

"What about this?" I asked.

"Lyra is still cute, no matter how she's turned to!" Dad's remark. As usual.

"Good!"

"Well, you will certainly look like my daughter that way," Rupert added.

It felt kinda wrong, but okay.

 

 

"T, then call me... Murphy?"

"That's cute!" Gale said.

"Murph, Murph... That's nice! Hi, Murph, oh, just call me Rye or Nii-chan~!" Alt-nii took my hands and shook it up and down.

He must have taken a liking to the name that I chose.

 

 

"Eh, come to think about it. Gale used a different spell than Rupert?" I asked before I forgot.

"Ah, yup. Gale's affinity is light, so he's manipulating the light to create an optical illusion to disguise himself," Dad explained.

"Yes, Lyra! The three elements known to be able to show illusion are [Neutral], [Light], and [Dark]~!"

 

 

Neutral... well, the same mechanism as for how our Hartmann secret arts could act—manipulating mana to control our appearance, but it is limited so that it wouldn't be able to transform ourselves to such extent.

Light... As Dad explained, by manipulating the light, it's possible to generate optical illusion.

...What about dark?

 

 

"Uhm... Neutral... Light... I know how, but Dark...?"

"Dark magic can manipulate the light by absorbing them into darkness, or by using illusive suggestion to the target's minds," Rupert explained.

"Oh, I see... So, those are the only three elements that can use variations of illusion magic?"

"Exactly. Mine was a [Neutral] magic."

"I see... That's awesome..."

 

 

I was really in awe. The fact that the two of them can skillfully change their appearances is the undeniable proof that they are powerful in terms of magical power.

"Do all members of the Royal Spies have such powerful magical power?" I asked.

"Hmmm, well... No, there are people who rely on magical devices, potions, or other disguising tools. We all have different specialties and roles," Rupert kindly explained it to me.

"Well, if proficiency and excellency at magical power is an absolute requirement to be a spy, then there would be lots of Royal Magicians who are doing double-job as Royal Spies as well, right?" Alt-nii deducted.

"True. But being excellent in magic such as illusion magic alone is not enough for the magicians to be spies," Mom replied.

"Of course! You're gonna need lots of guts, and nice acting skills!" Gale said it with pride.

 

 

Oh my... I am really looking forward to seeing how they operate!

And no wonder Alt-nii and I are instructed to just disguise ourselves as the children—since basically, it's the same as our role right now. It will be easier for us—who are untrained in terms of underground activities—to disguise ourselves.

 

 

 

 

"Excuse me."

The front door is being knocked three times and a familiar voice could be heard.

A duke’s daughter wanted nothing in her life but the sweet nothingness of death, as she felt like her life served no purpose. Her wish was granted when she was killed in an unfortunate accident, yet in a sudden turn of events, she was forced to reincarnate.

As fate has it, she was reborn in her original world, but not directly after her death. As she is living her new life, she tries to forget the pain of her old life. But, what exactly is behind her reincarnation? Will she be able to live her new life to the fullest?

This is a slow-paced life journey of a reincarnated girl who's trying to find the meaning behind her past life and reincarnation.

--------------------------------------------
***Note*** :

- This story isn't a premium novel here, but if you'd like to support me even further (and gain advanced chapter access + help increasing the novel's update rate), here is my Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/ConvallariasLibrary
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Thanks for reading and for all who show your support (via comments, powerstones, etc)!

Even though they got swept away after hearing he can cure their master and mistress, but after coming to their senses they realised they can't just let anyone touch the demonic flower and let him do anything with it.
So they brought him back to their master's room and asked how he was planning to cure his masters.
Even though Aryan didn't want to reveal it he somewhat hunted them about his powers and said, "I can make nothing to anything and anything to nothing."
Alisa "…"
Ricky "…"
Sebes "…"
His third class villain dialogue hit him hard and they became flabbergasted for some minutes. Seeing no one was responding to his reply Aryan coughed up and rephrased his word in a better way, "Big sis Alisa, I can change the impossible to possible and change the possible to impossible."
Alisa "…"
Ricky "…"
Sebes "…"
This time they again got flabbergasted after listening to his third class villain riddle. Ricky wanted to tell something at that moment but he kept his shut and waited for someone to open his mouth.
This time seeing no one was opening their mouths, Sebes spoke up and asked, "Lil Sen, can you tell us in detail, what do you want to say?"
"Sigh~~~~ Mr Sebes I can't in more detail now, either you try to understand the riddles or let me do my work."
Sebes knitted his eyebrows and went into a deep contemplation. Alisa and Ricky too were thinking about it, but no matter how they interpret they can't tell anything out of it, apart from the statement that it's a third class, lame dialogue and nothing else.
After pondering over it for some time Sebes began to mutter something and try to decode it from the very beginning.
"So, you saying you can make anything out of nothing~~~ Here nothing implies air and anything literally means anything. You can change impossible to possible?! That's the same as making anything out of nothing~~!! Then does that mean you can materialise anything out of thin air?" Sebes asked with curiosity.
"Something like that," he replied with some modesty and asked them to check out his capability.
Both Alisa and Sebes felt somewhat weird since they didn't know what to ask him for a test. Amidst their thinking Ricky came off with something and asked "Can you make my stone-age playing set again?"
"Sure, take me there."
Alisa "…"
Ricky "…"
Sebes "…"
None of them had thought he would agree that easily. Even for a giant with their large pool of magic it takes them week to a month to make that playing set. But Sen~~~~ Agreed within a second.
Without any delay they took him to the place where the big crystal ball exploded itself, burning down Ricky's entire set up.
"Mhm…. Please stay behind," asked Aryan. And began to mobilise every ounce of energy in his body. His mental energy was getting accumulated in his forehead, and converting itself into a higher purity energy.
While his sage energy was accumulating in his heart, creating a reaction around it.
Aryan was almost ready to cast a mega scale magic when everything became black and he fainted down on the floor.
"O' the chosen one~~~~"
"Chosen one open your eyes~~~"
"O' the chosen one~~~~"
"Chosen one open your eyes~~~"
"O' the chosen one~~~~"
"Chosen one open your eyes~~~"
Hearing the echoing of the voices Aryan opened his eyes. Like all the time, this time too, he found himself in a dark space, with an unknown timeline.
"Sigh~~~ I am a regular here, I think."
While he was pondering about what he will face this time various sounds began to reverberate around.
A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. The content and purpose of dreams are not fully understood, although they have been a topic of philosophical and religious interest throughout recorded history. Dream interpretation is the attempt at drawing meaning from dreams and searching for an underlying message. The scientific study of dreams in the new era of cultivation is called oneirology.
An illusion is a distortion of the senses, which can reveal how the human brain normally organizes and interprets sensory stimulation. Though illusions distort our perception of reality, they are generally shared by most people.
Dreams mainly occur in the rapid-eye-movement stage of sleep when brain activity is high and resembles that of being awake. Dreams tend to be much less vivid or memorable. The length of a dream can vary, they may last for a few seconds, or even for hours and days.
Illusions may occur with any of the human senses, but visual illusions (optical illusions) are the best-known and understood. The emphasis on visual illusions occurs because vision often dominates the other senses.
One more interesting thing about dreams is that even though the dreaming person has a good memory most dreams are immediately or quickly forgotten.
Dreams tend to last longer as the night progresses.
Opinions about the meaning of dreams have varied and shifted through time and culture. Many endorse the Freudian theory of dreams – that dreams reveal insight into hidden desires and emotions.[qualify evidence]
Illusions are of various types. And some of them are visual, auditory, sensual, and magical.
A visual illusion or optical illusion is characterized by visually perceived images that are deceptive or misleading. Therefore, the information gathered by the visual sense is processed to give, on the face of it, a percept that does not tally with information from other senses or physical measurements.
A conventional assumption is that there are physiological illusions that occur naturally and cognitive illusions that can be demonstrated by specific visual tricks that say something more basic about how human perceptual systems work.
Other prominent theories include those suggesting that dreams assist in memory formation, problem-solving, or simply are a product of random brain activation.
From the ancient times there is an explanation of dreams as manifestations of one's deepest desires and anxieties, often relating to repressed childhood memories or obsessions.
The events in dreams are generally outside the control of the dreamer, with the exception of lucid dreaming, where the dreamer is self-aware. Dreams can at times make a creative thought occur to the person or give a sense of inspiration.
The visual system (eye and brain) constructs a world inside our head based on what it samples from the surrounding environment. However, sometimes it tries to organize this information "it thinks best" while other times it fills in the gaps. This way in which our brain works is the basis of an illusion.
An auditory illusion is an illusion of hearing, the auditory equivalent of a visual illusion: the listener hears either sounds which are not present in the stimulus, or "impossible" sounds. In short, audio illusions highlight areas where the human ear and brain, as organic, makeshift tools, differ from perfect audio receptors.
Magical illusion, something that is created by magic. 
Distinguishing between magical illusion and reality has always been in hard tasks for cultivators. If you felt for it, then you are destined to see the worse.
Illusions can occur with the other senses too.
Both sound and touch have been shown to modulate the perceived staleness and crispness of food products. It was also discovered that even if some portion of the taste receptor on the tongue became damaged that illusory taste could be produced by tactile stimulation.
Evidence of olfactory (smell) illusions occurred when positive or negative verbal labels were given prior to olfactory stimulation.
The Rukh effect shows that what we hear is influenced by what we see as we hear the person speaking. An illusion occurs when the auditory component of one sound is paired with the visual component of another sound, leading to the perception of a third sound. This is a multisensory, auditory-visual illusion.
Aryan "…."
After speaking about the mixed up theories about dream and reality, the four voices stopped and let Aryan think about it.
Meanwhile instead of hearing it full Aryan heard only a part of it and remembered something from his past world. While he was in his old world, and was sleeping behind a rock before the ancient ghost penguin came near that giant tree he heard the same things reverberating in his dream. But at that time the terms of dream and illusion were arranged in a proper way, not mixed up like this one.
And the most important thing out of all, 'Why in the world I am hearing this, right now? And that too here!! Out of all places?! In the sage world!!'
Another thing he couldn't understand was why in the world he heard this once in his old world. Listening to the terms explained in the reverberations he was pretty sure it belonged to his old world. "Then why here?" Aryan questioned himself.
Last time he knew the seven sages were somehow keeping an eye on him, but here, no one was keeping an eye on him.
'Then who are the owners of these voices?' thought Aryan.
But like every time, he was clueless this time.


[Check out my other book it's way much better]

Book Name: Project Relife: 2x Isekai System
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Grand Elder pondered for a while before posing out his answer, "Aryan, have you read any history books on the old ways of cultivation."

"What?!!" 

“Ah, how to say…. The answer you gave is invalid in this era. That cultivation system you are talking about is a two-millennium old history. I don't know how you came to know about those, but it's better to erase them from your memory.”
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

This is what Aryan got to hear from his gramps, on his fifth birthday.

Wang Huang, a genius venerable cultivator from the ancient era, died in an unforeseen accident while searching for his path to immortality.

After being stuck in a dark space for an unknown period, he took rebirth as the first son of Aditya and Anisa. Till the age of five, he was fantasizing of becoming an overpowered MC with a harem filled with seductive, voluptuous and alluring ladies.

But little did he know at that time, that the world of cultivation has taken many twists and turns over the past two millennia, and his past knowledge of cultivation is outdated!!!

Even though Aryan past life knowledge became trash in that new era, he didn’t give up on his dream of becoming an overpowered MC and continued his journey.

 But again, little did he know, that the upcoming future events, starting from Cultivation, followed by Cross-dressing, Sci-Fi, Cultivation Technique………

Will keep on crushing him and his world view!!

An Illusion? Of course, Hao Ren did not think that what he just saw was an illusion.
He was pretty damn sure that what he saw was Rollie, and it was not just in his imagination due to him missing his family. If he were to miss his family, he would miss anyone but Rollie, the dumb cat.
He associated what he saw to the Optical Eclipse that was happening near the Sunscorch Tower.
So after some perfunctory conversation with Veronica, Hao Ren made up an excuse and leave alone to look for a place that had the most concentrated Optical Eclipse phenomenon in the palace. Such places were not uncommon today. The energy blast of the Sunscorch Tower had dragged one-third of White City into a phase anomaly. He would see walls or platforms, or even houses that disappeared into thin air. Grape ivy and curtains that hung at the Optical Eclipsed places looked strange and particularly conspicuous.
He did not see the dumb cat again but two nervous maids in front of a pavilion.
The two maids' back was facing Hao Ren, and they did not notice that someone was coming up from behind. Hao Ren heard their conversation.
"Did you see that? It just flashed across my eyes. It almost scared the hell out of me."
"Ya, I saw it too! I thought it was an illusion. That thing that looks like an octopus floating in the air. It even flew toward me!"
"Eww – Stop mentioning it. I have goosebumps all over my skin already. There was still a man standing behind that thing. Gosh, he is the ugliest person I have ever seen in my life. He must be a demon from the abyss of Chaos!"
From the conversation between the two maids, Hao Ren immediately thought of the autonomous robots and Y'zaks onboard his spacecraft, the Petrachelys. He could not help himself but ask, "What are you talking about?"
The two maids were stunned. They bowed as a sign of respect when they saw it was Hao Ren. "Your Venerable Guardian, we are not slacking off, just—"
"Don't worry; I am not checking on you guys." Hao Ren said. "Did you just say you saw an octopus and a particularly ugly man?"
The two maids looked at each other and still visibly panic. But after finding that Hao Ren was friendly, they calmed down and described to Hao Ren what they had seen.
According to the maids' description, they suddenly saw those things appeared when they were cleaning the corridors, just like how Hao Ren saw Rollie earlier when his spacecraft, Petrachelys, appeared in his vision. But things quickly disappeared afterward.
Judging from the time it happened, it coincided with the time when Hao Ren was seeing Rollie.
"Does that octopus look like this?" Hao Ren frowned and released an autonomous robot from his dimensional pocket.
The autonomous robot gabbled and circled the two maids.
"Wow!" The two maids were shocked before they nodded. "This is the one! Is this your pet, Your Venerable Guardian?"
The two maids seemed to be in fear and admiration at the same time. The story about Hao Ren had been exaggerated as to become a legend among the servants, so much so that the octopus seemed not that terrifying in the eyes of the two maids. One of them nodded. "It looks pretty cute. We thought we had seen a ghost in the daytime."
Hao Ren was amused.
After sending away the two maids, Hao Ren tried to make sense of the pattern of the appearance of these illusions. While he was at it, a voice suddenly sounded in his head. "Buddy! Pattianne is calling buddy! Pattianne is calling buddy! Please reply if you hear this!"
Hao Ren was startled, and then happy. "I hear you. Have you configured the radio already?"
"It is clear! I know this thing is going to work!" The voice of the MDT was loud and clear, and particularly excited. "Buddy, your suggestion worked well. We found the relic of the goddess in the CARS, built a divine power-oscillation antenna here, and solved the shield problem! We can communicate as usual from now on!"
It was almost the best news Hao Ren had in a while. He could not help but get excited as well. "What do you use as a medium? Is it the lifeblood or the Gilded Disc?"
Before the MDT could say anything, Hao Ren heard Muru noted, "It's me."
Hao Ren was struck dumb.
At this moment, in the outside world, the 'material vacuum zone' of the universe, the Petrachelys was cruising in and around a group of artillery production bases. On the top the spacecraft, the poker-faced Muru was sitting there in a giant chair, holding a wand-like antenna in his hand, and a string of crystal oscillating amplifiers on his head. Nolan's holographic image was in front of the guardian giant, smiling. "Please endure it for a little longer; I am making you a more portable antenna in my stomach. The one you are using now is only the beta version."
Muru nodded. "No problem, I feel pretty okay now."
Hao Ren could not see the outside scene, but the could guess it. He was listening to the MDT. "When I went back and pondered about the closest things to the power of the goddess of creation, the lifeblood was a second-tier product Zorm produced. Same goes with the Gilded Disc, which was powerful but was a more distant bloodline of the goddess. So the closest thing to the goddess was still her son, I figured."
"Okay, you win."
"Buddy, I have something to tell you. Y'zaks has seen something in the corridor."
"Did he saw two girls in maid costumes?" Hao Ren knew what it was. "I saw Rollie too."
"Rollie?" The MDT was stunned but quickly came to its senses. "No wonder she cried like crazy that the soul of Big Boss Cat was demanding canned fish from her while she ran out of the lounge.
"Let Vivian handle Rollie; we have something more important to discuss. It turns out that we have just broken through a deeper divine blockade. What we saw just now were not illusions but the overlapping of two dimensions."
"Nolan is allocating 50 % of its computing power to retrace the dimensional readings. Buddy, what happened to you?"
"I blew up a seemingly important tower. But it's not a real explosion. I will tell you slowly."
Hao Ren told of what happened before, and when he finished, he said, "Many strange phenomena are happening here. These phenomena are harmless, but they affect people's daily lives. Recently, even the King's family is mooting to move out temporarily."
The MDT was silent for a moment before it said, "I have thought of something."
"I am all ears."
"Buddy, the magic explosion that you have caused has weakened the blockade of the goddess of creation in the Collow dimension. But because of the limited energy of the lifeblood, it did not completely bring down the barrier but only opened up a vulnerable spot. The connection between Collow and the real universe became closer on this vulnerable spot, which creates the phenomena you have seen. Since the divine barrier is still working, there will be only a limited number of materials that could break through the barrier and interact with the real universe on this point of singularity. The forms of interaction are also limited, which mostly confined to bizarre illusions. As for the Optical Eclipse phenomenon you have mentioned, it is likely a by-product of this singularity."
"So this haunted phantom-like phenomenon will continue for a while? It may cause chaos."
The MDT was silent as if it was checking the data. It then gave a negative answer. "It won't, buddy. Nolan thinks that the overlapping of the two dimensions occurred because Petrachelys happened to fly past your location. It means the Palace of the Golden Roses and the Petrachelys was on the same coordinates just now."
Now it dawned on Hao Ren that the Collow dimension and the real universe were like two parallel worlds: they were invisible to each other, but they shared common dimensional coordinates. When the Petrachelys was sailing in the material vacuum zone, it might have crossed path with the Collow dimension many times. Just like when Hao Ren caused a mysterious explosion in the Kingdom of Taros and created a singularity, the Petrachelys also happened to pass by at the same spot.
When the two dimensions overlapped, people on both sides would see the scenes in the other dimension.
"Buddy, if we follow this logic, perhaps we can directly smash the barrier of Collow," said the MDT. "We can get tens of thousands of tons of lifeblood to let it run wild. Even if the impact could not completely bring down the barrier, it might be able to open crack on the barrier."
"No, don't do this." Hao Ren said quickly as a thought suddenly crossed his mind. He was not going to let the MDT carry out the seemingly feasible idea.
"Why?"
"Why did the goddess of creation want to seal this place in the first place?" Hao Ren asked. "Collow, in the divine language of the goddess of creation, means 'prison.' The goddess purposely built this prison. Rockmarton may be dead according to local legend, but considering the situation of the tide of Chaos, I think that guy is still alive and kicking. It is just that he was incarceration. Before we could solve the problem, we should not open the gate of the prison."
The MDT thought for a moment and said, "Well, what you said makes sense. Let's put this plan on hold for a while. But I have designed a way to send stuff to you based on this idea. If we keep this transmission a one-way street, there shouldn't be a problem."
"Approval granted."
After they determined the plan, Hao Ren hung up the call.
He continued to mooch around the royal garden while thinking about how to educate the dumb cat. At this moment, a royal guard came hurriedly up to him.
"Venerable Guardian!" The guard stood in front of him and saluted him. "The King asks for you."


As a person who is down-to-earth as well as a good Samaritan, Hao Ren desires to live the rest of his life as a benevolent landlord. Stumbling into a curious yet mysterious lady, he began his journey of “collecting” abnormal and supernatural tenants. 
His life only became more chaotic when he receives a labor contract from “God”. Discover the many races, myths and worlds that lie beyond what humans define as normal! This bizzare fantasy full of fun is sure to bring you on a crazy rollercoaster of emotions!

As we were practicing in the ninjutsu, Kushina suggested,
"Hey! You guys why don't all of you join hands together and fight with Minato. Minato! What about another bell test for them, this time with Izuna included in the team."
"Hmm! That's not a bad idea. What do all of you think about it?" Minato asked his team.
"I am fine with it sensei," Rin replied.
"Can he keep up with us, Sensei?" Obito asked Minato.
"Yes, Sensei I hate to agree with Obito on this matter," Kakashi replied.
"Hey! What do you mean you hate to agree with me?" Obito asked angrily.
Ignoring them I answered to Minato,
"Minato-san, I don't have experience in ninja fights, I have only practiced Ninjutsu, some genjutsu, and Shurikenjutsu. I don't even know taijutsu that well. Will it be alright?"
"You don't have to worry about such things, you will learn all these things as you grow. No one can become a powerful ninja in just a day. Just watch, learn, and practice." Kushina replied to me as she cheered me.
"Ok! Minato-san, please take care of me." Minato nodded and placed two bells on his belt as he waited for our response.
"Kakashi Senpai, Obito Senpai, Rin Senpai, do any of you have some paper bombs." 
Rin and Obito nodded as they handed me over a few paper bombs.
"Ok! then. On the count of three let's start."
Team Minato was quick with their response as Obito threw a smoke Bomb and all of them disappeared in the forest. I have seen their fight from the Anime and was aware of basic Ninja fight rules. I quickly hid in the forest and for the extra assurance, I even coated my body with my new jutsu which I created using Light element.
'Light Style: Optical Camouflage'
I disappeared from the vision as I hid between the bushes and waited for the perfect opportunity to attack. I also created a Shadow clone who hid himself a few meters away from and also coated himself with Optical Camouflage. My clone began to prepare a trap as he laid the paper bombs on the ground and covered them with soil. The clone made some hand signs as he muttered,
'Light Style: Optical Illusion'
An illusion covered the trap as it appeared like a bush. My clone hid as I silently observed from the bushes with my camouflage on.
Soon, Minato appeared in the forest. From one of the nearby bushes,
'Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu'
A large fireball was launched towards Minato who did a somersault and landed on a nearby tree avoiding the fireball. A few shurikens and Kunai were launched at Minato who flickered and dodged the Kunais. 
'Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu'
A large number of smaller fireballs were launched at Minato who dodged them by kiting through them. Minato took out many shurikens and threw in the direction of Obito who was trapped between them as he fell from the tree.
Rin takes out her Kunai and cut a rope to launch a log tied to some ropes towards Minato as Obito uses the chance to throw a smoke bomb and hide again. Minato dodges the log as he jumps behind another tree to take cover. 
"Obito, in the direction of 2 o'clock" Rin informs Obito as he immediately makes some hand signs and launches another 
'Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique'
Obito panted as he cheered, "Yay, we got him."
Minato suddenly appears behind them as he removes a kunai from a nearby tree and places it on Obito's and Rin's neck.
'Both of you have grown strong Obito and Rin. Now, where are Kakashi and Izuna?'
Minato wasn't surprised much by Kakashi, as Kakashi was a genius and a full-fledged Chunnin. But what amazed him was Izuna, an academy student. He sure is patient, Minato looks around but wasn't able to spot Izuna.
'He has hidden very well.'
As he was distracted in such thoughts, a shuriken was launched towards him. Minato blocks the shuriken with his Kunai as Kakashi began to engage with him. Both of them traded blows with each other as Kakashi fought with a Chakra Blade and Minato blocked with a Kunai.
Kakashi threw a kunai with a paper bomb attached to it at Minato who jumps down to dodge it. As Minato was falling, Kakashi makes a hand seal as many paper bombs were ignited on the ground. Minato somersault mid-air as he lands near the illusory bush set by my clone to avoid the explosion.
"Got You. Katsu!"
The illusion disappears as the Paper Bombs explode.
"What the…"
Minato was shocked when he saw the bush disappear and many paper bombs appear.
Boom… 
The paper bombs exploded as Minato appears on a nearby tree with a kunai embedded in it. As soon as he landed, a huge fireball welcomed him that landed on the tree. Minato was surprised as he barely dodges the fireball. He looks around but was unable to spot me anywhere. 
Kakashi uses this chance as he attacked Minato and was able to barely touch the bells. Minato attacks Kakashi who turned out to be a Shadow clone.
Kakashi who was hidden behind a tree was about to make some hand signs as Minato appears behind him and places a Kunai around his neck.
"Not so fast! Kakashi."
"Yes! Not so fast Minato-san." 
I appear behind Minato as I placed my Kunai on his neck. Minato was surprised with this development but he smiled as he vanished in a puff of smoke.
"Damnit! A shadow clone." I shouted as Minato appeared behind me and places a Kunai around me.
"Yes! That's what I would like to say, Izuna."
"Are you sure, Minato-san!" I smiled as I disappeared in a puff of smoke.
"What?"
Minato, Rin, Obito, and Kakashi exclaimed in unison as I came out of my camouflage from the bush as two bells were dangling in my hands as my Kunai was pointed at Minato's back.
"You got me, Izuna."
Team Minato was stunned to see such an outcome. They never expected me to so smart. Minato praised me, 
"That was a very good move Izuna. But I have a question? How you appeared behind me, so suddenly without even alerting me?"
"Yeah! We are also curious to know about it." Rin, Kakashi, and Obito asked me.
I scratched the back of my head as I answered,
"I don't deserve such high praise, Minato-san. I just reaped the benefit from the efforts of Rin, Obito and Kakashi Senpai. They are the ones you should praise for."
"No! it was your strategy that leads to victory. It had nothing to do with us." Rin and Obito refuted my words.
"But still what was that technique you used earlier." Kakashi was curious about my Jutsu.
I felt no harm in telling them about it as they won't be able to understand the intricacies of the Jutsu, even though it was a Utility type Jutsu.
"That's a unique Jutsu I created on my own."
I made some hand signs as my body began to fade away from their vision. They could hear my voice but were unable to see at all. The Light passed from my body. I continued to explain,
"I have combined this jutsu with Genjutsu to fool the enemies of my presence. I haven't perfected it yet as people with Byakugan or Sharingan would be able to see my infused Chakra and the sensor type ninjas would be able to feel my Chakra. It is still a work in progress."
"Wow! That's a cool jutsu, you created." Obito and Rin clapped as they praised me. Minato also nodded in approval. I just scratched my head as they praised me.
"Damnit! I lost to Kakashi and now even Izuna." Obito complained as he made a long face.
Bonk…
Kushina placed a heavy basket on Obito's head as she cheered us,
"Good Job, everyone! You will succeed next time. But for now, let's have 'Kushina Special'…"
She was interrupted by Minato as he pointed at me. Kushina turned in my direction and saw two bells dangling in my hands. She dropped the basket as Rin hurriedly caught it. Kushina ran towards me, she grabbed me and gave me a bear hug. Her soft mounds pressed on my face as I began to suffocate. I struggled for a while until she left me from her panda embrace. I breathed heavily for a while as I looked accusingly at her,
"You are so cool Izuna. Wow! You are amazing and also cute." I felt a little hurt as she called me cute instead of handsome.
"Thank you, big sister, Kushina." Rin thanked Kushina for the lunch.
"My Rin is cute too!" Kushina spoke as she began to snuggle with Rin.
Tch...
Obito grumbled as he turned his back to Kushina and hmphed. Kushina became angry as their usual routine started with Obito being bashed on the head by Kushina as a small bump rose on his head.
All of us laughed and cheered happily as we ate lunch.
---------------
A/N:- Minato isn't nerfed. Izuna just caught him off-guard with a new jutsu. That's all.

A medical student died because of negligence of the authorities. Later, he is granted a second chance in life with some boons. But being an Otaku and Naruto fan, he chooses to live in the chaotic world of Naruto.
The story will follow canon for the initial part with a new plot. Major changes will reflect in the later part as our MC grows up. The story has strong AU elements and the power scaling is ramped up to explore various foreign elements in Naruto. Everything in its entirety will be a part of the Naruto series with details and speculations of my own.
This story is my original creation, and I post it on Scribble hub and Webnovel. You might find a few initial chapters on Royal Road. 
Note:- The starting 40 chapters or so have poor grammar and various mistakes since I was a new writer back then and lacked experience. But I am working on editing them.

Warning:-I don't own Naruto or any related stuff except my MC and Original characters and jutsus. (Yep, there are lots and lots of original jutsus in the story.)
-------------------------
Support me on patreon:- https://www.patreon.com/ForgottenLife
Join my discord server:- https://discord.gg/AH4tKSD
P.S. Cover is not mine. Credits to owner on pinterest:- https://pin.it/5m8HWOq

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