The next day, May described to Hou Xi Pa what had happened the previous night. He listened to her words with great attentiveness and, unlike his usual self, remained unusually serious. May was sure that he would say she was exaggerating and that she had too vivid an imagination. When she finished talking about her experiences, he fell into a strange silence.

  “Space of the Mind does not have the effects you described,” he finally said, putting a slice of bread with fish in his mouth. “I would never teach you something so dangerous.”

  “You're obviously wrong,” Niu Pin replied angrily, looking down at him. “As you can see, you don't know what you're teaching. It's over. May will no longer receive your teachings, as it is clearly too dangerous.”

  “Wait!” May interjected.

  The tall man glared at her and stood up from the table with a loud bang, so that all the other guests also turned their gaze to him. May had not anticipated such a violent reaction from her bodyguard. However, seeing the commotion he had caused, he returned to his seat after a moment.

  “You will not take unnecessary risks, May,” he said in a cold voice and looked at Hou Xi Pa again. “I can't believe I decided to trust someone like you with her.”

  Contrary to her expectations, the man did not cry out and curse her bodyguard, but instead fell completely silent. This was quite surprising to her, as she knew his temperament quite well. He rested his chin on his fist, resembling a sculpture she had once seen in a museum, and remained silent.

  “I have to see it with my own eyes,” he said suddenly after a long pause. “Only then will I be able to determine what happened.”

  “That's not going to happen!” Niu Pin snapped angrily, completely rejecting his proposal. His main goal was to protect May, and above all, he was told to keep her from doing anything foolish. At first, he didn't quite understand what they meant, but now he was sure this was one of those moments when he should react.

  “I don't know what happened, but if I don't look into it, it could pose a threat,” Hou Xi Pa said seriously. “It would be more risky to ignore the problem completely.”

  Hearing his words, Niu Pin fell into deep thought. His words seemed to make sense, but he didn't trust him, so he didn't want to agree.

  “You're right. In that case, it will be examined, but not by you, but by a specialist,” he replied.

  “A specialist?” Hou Xi Pa laughed mockingly. Then he looked straight at him and said with a stony face and a firm voice, “And where will you find this specialist? How many Spirit Summoners do you know? How many Soul Path masters? In the entire Island Mountain Sect, you won’t find a single person who is even remotely close to my level.”

  Niu Pin fell into deep thought. Indeed, he didn't know anyone like that, but was there really no one better than this shady man in the entire sect?

  “Senior Niu, I'm afraid Senior Hou is not wrong. I also looked for another Summoning teacher, but they are almost non-existent here. We would probably have to go to the Mount Yrdia Sect or somewhere in that area to find another expert...” May interjected, knowing that finding another practitioner was virtually impossible in this place.

  Spirit Summoning was an esoteric field, extremely unpopular in this part of the region. Even in the north of the region, where the field was more common, it was still a relatively rare field of cultivation. If anyone was going to look into it, Hou Xi Pa was the best option.

  “But if she doesn't wake up...”

  “You must be joking.” He rolled his eyes. “Last time, even you managed to wake her up. This time, I'll keep a close eye on her, so it will be much safer.”

  It took a moment of persuasion, but Niu Pin finally had to admit that doing nothing would be more imprudent than doing something.

  “All right, I agree, but I'll be watching you closely. If anything happens to her, I'll kill you myself.” He said, looking at him with bloodlust. Hou Xi Pa laughed, not caring about his threat, at least on the outside.

  Finally, they went to May's room. Niu Pin watched everything from a distance, ready to react immediately. Hou Xi Pa stood next to May and cast a spell on her. It was supposed to protect the clarity of her mind.

  “The most important thing is your state of mind. Last time, it wasn't that giant over there who pulled you out, but you did it yourself. Try not to lose yourself, because it could end badly,” he said with a serious expression.

  “So ultimately, you won't be able to help her if something goes wrong?” the bodyguard pointed out with a sour expression.

  “I'm stating the facts. I don't know what we're up against, so I can't predict whether I'll be able to help or not. I have a few theories about what might have happened, but nothing has been confirmed yet. It's just better to prepare for the worst.”

  “That's not very reassuring,” May said.

  She herself felt uneasy about it. Regardless of the number of security measures, it didn't seem safe. Of course, the presence of two people watching over her was reassuring, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something would go wrong. She hoped she was wrong.

  “So what's your theory?” Niu Pin asked as the man prepared some strange ointment.

  “You won't be able to help, so I don't see the point in explaining,” he said curtly. After a moment, he stopped and looked at him. “However, be on standby, and if anything happens, you must listen to me. Her survival depends on it.”

  Niu Pin returned his gaze and seemed slightly angry that he had even dared to suggest that something might happen to her. However, he finally nodded his head in agreement. Despite this, he ultimately recognized his superiority in matters of this kind. He watched him as he taught May in the carriage and knew that he could summon quite powerful Spirits. He didn't like him, but he couldn't deny his skill.

  Finally, he finished his preparations and stood up. He walked over to May and spoke. “We can begin. Just do what you did last time.”

  May nodded and took a deep breath. She began counting down to three to give him time to prepare. He looked at her strangely, but quickly understood why she was counting down and focused intensely.

  When she reached zero, she tried to enter the Space of the Mind again. She did it without any problems. It was almost ridiculous how easy it was for her now, considering that she had barely been able to begin before.

  Once again, she was filled with a transcendental feeling, her body melted away, but she stood at the source of her own consciousness. Aware of everything that was hidden within her, this was her true self. She was no longer a third-dimensional being observing the world in a two-dimensional vision, but something higher.

  She saw her existence as the sum of her experiences and her life so far. However, nothing was the same. Feelings, impulses, behaviors, everything was changing. Even memories were not immune to this process. Even while observing herself, she was changing, changing the self she was observing, which led her to further changes. The synergy, conflict, and interaction of the elements that made it up were now obvious to her.

  However, it would be wrong to say that she was looking from an “external” perspective. It was a feeling of non-perspective, of aperspective.

  Last time, she entered this place without thinking. She did not try to maintain her self-awareness, so this world quickly began to absorb her.

  This time was different. From the beginning, she wanted to not lose who she was. That is why this time she could ‘see’ what was in front of her much better. She became a witness to the processes that create identity and consciousness.

  This was the cause of her dissolution. The very act of observation deconstructed part of her being into the sum of processes and phenomena that made her who she was. Observing what ‘created’ her made her become nothing more than a collection of what she observed.

  “That's enough!” She burst out, stopping immediately. She stood up abruptly and jumped up, trying to get rid of the unpleasant feeling. No one awakened her. She did it of her own accord.

  Two men were observing her. She had no idea how much time had passed. Probably not much.

  “Are you okay?” Niu Pin asked, but she didn't answer.

  She needed a moment to sort everything out in her head. Hou Xi Pa also seemed bewildered, but that wasn't her concern right now.

  This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  She wondered about her own identity. Was she still the same person after entering whatever this was? It seemed like just a moment, but she had never seen a clearer reflection of who she really was.

  “Regulate your breathing,” Hou Xi Pa said suddenly, grabbing her by the arm. She didn't resist. “Okay, now sit down.”

  May did as he said. It lasted for minutes. He even stuck a needle in her finger, but she didn't say a word. Niu Pin tried to protest a few times, but to no avail. He also poured a glass of cold water on her.

  Despite everything, it helped. Finally, she began to feel like herself again. The surrealism began to vanish. The world began to exist again in reality, rather than being just an illusion of her worldview.

  “Thank you,” she whispered, coming to her senses.

  “What happened? It wasn't even a split second and you suddenly jumped up like some crazy person...” Niu Pin said uncertainly. “Hey Hou, is she okay?”

  “Yes.” He replied briefly, without even looking at him. “She was just confused, but I think she's better now.”

  “Yes. I’m better.”

  “So what happened?”

  May sighed quietly and closed her eyes. She really didn’t feel like answering his questions right now. So she was glad when Hou Xi Pa decided to do it for her.

  “It may have seemed like a split second to you, but God knows how long it was for her,” he said, smearing her forehead with some strange ointment. It had an unpleasant, pungent smell reminiscent of her time in labs on Earth, evoking thoughts of ammonia.

  Niu Pin continued to bombard the two with questions, but Hou Xi Pa quickly cut him off. Finally, a short rest was decided upon, during which May could rest and Hou Xi Pa could process what he had witnessed. Although May's bodyguard was not pleased with this, he agreed to it upon seeing the poor condition of his protectee.

  May fell asleep. It was strange because she had slept all night, so she wasn't tired. It felt like she had slept for a few days, but when she woke up and asked Niu Pin how much time had passed, she learned that she hadn't slept for even an hour. She touched her back, which was all sweaty, and her hand trembled slightly. It was a strange experience, a bit like being half awake. She didn't dream about anything, but she felt that the sleep was not entirely natural.

  May tried to stand up. Niu Pin quickly ran up to her and grabbed her arm.

  “I can manage on my own,” she said, pulling away from his hand.

  “Are you sure? You don't look too good,” he commented, not entirely convinced that she was feeling well. He was afraid she would fall down.

  May snorted.

  “Yes. I'm fine. My throat is just a little bit dry. I'm going to get something to drink, and in the meantime, call Hou Xi Pa.” She said, and her bodyguard nodded.

  She threw herself into one of the armchairs with a glass of water in her hand, while the other two returned inside.

  “So?” May began, without waiting. “Did you find out anything?”

  Hou Xi Pa looked at her intently. He looked her over from head to toe. Finally, his gaze settled on her eyes. She frowned slightly and cleared her throat. “Is something wrong?”

  “Do you even know what you've done?” he asked, looking at her seriously.

  “No.”

  The man couldn't believe his ears. He looked at her in disbelief. After a moment, he sighed loudly and began massaging his temples. Then he turned on his heel and disappeared for a moment. He returned after a while with a piece of paper. He put it on the table and began writing something on it. May and Pin came closer.

  He drew a few lines and labeled them with numbers.

  “What's this?” May asked. The man also wrote something underneath, but she couldn't read it because of his terrible handwriting.

  “Levels of consciousness. Well, at least a simplified version.” Then he drew a long line with his pen, showing a long movement. “The higher up on the diagram, the greater the level of consciousness...”

  Then the man surrounded the lines with a triangle, creating a pyramid. He pointed to the first, largest step of the pyramid.

  “This is the first stage of human consciousness... Well, at least for most healthy-minded people, he said. “These are the most basic human thoughts. By default, everyone is basically at this stage.”

  “Levels of consciousness? I’ve never heard of that...” Niu Pin suddenly interjected, who was carefully analyzing the diagram.

  His words might have seemed ignorant, but in fact, he was an educated man. He held a high position in the military and was at the Foundation Establishment stage. There were no fools at this stage. This meant that it was not common knowledge. May had also never seen anything like it in any book in this world or in the Cloud Academy curriculum.

  “Ugh... Master Tri-Tea would explain it better. Well, in any case, it's rather secret knowledge of my master's teachings, so I would ask you to be confidential. I'd prefer not to explain it, but I won't be able to describe it any other way.”

  Niu Pin became serious and looked at him with a hint of respect and regret. He was well aware of how difficult it must have been for him. Few people would reveal their secret knowledge to a stranger. It showed that he truly cared.

  “Well, in any case, the first stage is the things that are most instinctive. The awareness of wanting to eat, drink, or sleep. The fact that someone likes or dislikes something. Fear of heights or darkness... Instinct. The first level of the diagram is about that. Basic thoughts and needs.”

  It didn't seem like particularly groundbreaking knowledge, but May didn't interrupt and listened intently.

  Niu Pin moved his pen upward. “The second level. It is the last ‘basic’ level that can be experienced in a normal way and without techniques such as ‘Space of Mind’. The first was about instincts and needs, the second is about self-awareness. Well, as in the first, most people are also at this stage.”

  “Self-awareness? Isn't every human being self-aware?” Niu Pin asked, not quite understanding the meaning of the pyramid. “Well, except for the mentally challenged, but that would be an exception.”

  “Despite the name, it's about something else. Self-awareness, contrary to logic, as a concept in itself, that is, being aware of one's own existence, would still belong to the first level,” he said.

  “It's really confusing, isn't it?” said May.

  The man shrugged and continued after a moment.

  “Well, in any case, it's about awareness of oneself and the world. It's quite a complex stage, which is itself divided into many smaller categories. It's about being aware that other people have feelings, that they are the sum of what has shaped them. At this stage, you understand not only yourself, but also the world around you.”

  Niu Pin suddenly coughed. He seemed a little confused and asked with a slight hint of embarrassment in his voice. “Forgive me, but... This seems like fairly obvious knowledge... No offense.”

  “Well, that's how it's supposed to be. These are just the first stages of consciousness, they are ‘obvious’ in principle, though perhaps not to everyone.” He replied, not offended by his words. “However, I disagree that they are simple. At the peak of the second stage, people are able to understand their own selves - thanks to which they are able to control their own emotions, or even fear. Even the strongest cultivators have problems with this.”

  May frowned. Although there was no mysticism in it, it sounded like a primitive version of psychological theory. Normally, she would have dismissed it as nonsense unsupported by any evidence or clinical research, but she couldn't help wondering where this was going...

  “Well, for the third stage. Getting access to that specific stage should have been made possible by the Space of the Mind,” he said.

  “But something went wrong,” May stated.

  “Yes. But first, let me finish the explanation in a nutshell,” he replied, playing with the pen in his hand. “It is not accessible under normal circumstances. The exercises I taught you were designed to ‘expand’ your mind. At this stage, you not only understand your feelings through ordinary logic, but you see as if through threads.”

  “Threads?” Niu Pin asked.

  “It's better to explain it with an example.” With that, he got up and walked over to May's bed, which was unmade. "Let's imagine a situation. We have a man who got up in the morning. He is extremely ill, his head hurts, and he feels like he is dying. He has to go to the doctor. He is in a hurry and doesn't feel like making his bed... But despite this, he does it. Why?“

  May didn't like that he was using her unmade bed as an example... However, instead of holding a grudge, she began to ponder the question.

  ”Because he doesn't like unmade beds?" She tried to guess.

  Niu Pin looked at her with condescension. “I don't know the answer, but it's certainly not that."

  Hou Xi Pa laughed and replied. “No, that’s not the reason. In the third stage, he would know that he was doing it because of his own experiences. He would see the thread connecting them. When he was little, he didn’t make his bed, so his father beat him with a belt. It caused him pain and trauma, so now he makes his bed regardless of the situation.”

  “How was I supposed to guess that?” May replied irritably.

  “It was just an example. Anyway, that's the third stage of consciousness. Understanding where our behaviors come from. Space Of Mind allows us to do just that. It is a weak manifestation of ourselves. It allows us to understand and work on who we are.”

  May nodded. Although she didn't fully understand everything, she had a rough idea of what it was about.

  “So?” Niu Pin finally asked impatiently.

  Hou Xi Pa looked at May seriously, trying to figure her out. After a moment, he shook his head and sighed.

  “May went further. She did something that shouldn't be possible. Not even for the Elder of your sect... Hell, not even for the leader!”

  “Wait, aren't you exaggerating?” Niu Pin was shocked, thinking he was overreacting. “That would be...”

  “No, I'm not exaggerating...” he said, raising his pen.

  “So what I created... Which stage of consciousness is it?”

  Hou Xi Pa smiled and placed the pen on the fourth stage. May was about to say something, but suddenly he moved the pen one step higher, to the fifth stage of consciousness. May frowned. This time she decided to wait, and sure enough, after a moment, his pen moved and slid the papers onto the table.

  Off the scale?!

  “Um... What exactly do you mean by that?” asked Niu Pin, who was the most confused person in the room.

  He laughed. He didn't stop for a few seconds, which became slightly unsettling.

  “That I have no idea! I'm sure it was an absurdly high level of consciousness. I sensed my Master Tri-Tea, who had reached the fifth stage! But this... was something else! Something higher!”

  “But why do you think it's impossible?” May asked.

  “Master Tri-Tea was rarely able to reach the fifth stage. It almost never happened, it required luck and happened sporadically after many hours of practice. He was at the Nascent Soul stage.”

  “N-Nascent Soul!?” May exclaimed, shocked by this revelation! At this stage, there was only one such person in the entire Island Mountain Sect, and he had such a person as his master?

  “I know it's shocking, but let me finish. Master Tri-Tea told me that the higher stages are unattainable. Even he, who had devoted his entire life to it, was only able to reach the fifth stage of consciousness for a sporadic five minutes... He was at the Nascent Soul stage, but even then, the pitiful fifth stage was mentally demanding for him.”

  Niu Pin was also shocked by the revelation about his master, but he quickly regained his composure. “Let's skip the details. Will it be dangerous for her?”

  Hou Xi Pa said. "Theoretically? No. Space of Mind... No. That's a wrong name. In this case, it would be more accurate to call it Realm of Awareness. In any case, it's a deliberate decision. As long as she doesn't trigger it, she's safe.“

  Both May and Niu Pin breathed a sigh of relief. That was the most important thing.

  ”But why did this happen?" May asked.

  He frowned. “I should be asking you that. It's physically impossible for someone at your level to achieve that! You were lucky! If no one had been with you, your consciousness would have been overwhelmed, unable to adapt to such a level of consciousness perception. You would have certainly perished!"