Chapter 1601 Philosopher VS Philosopher Scholar <TOC> Chapter 1603 Blossoming
Translator: SumTLMan
Initially, they thought Onassis was preparing to counterattack, but it appeared more as if he was engrossed in a conversation with Suyatutai.
Suyatutai also furrowed his brows, reciprocating the dialogue.
At first, it seemed like a debate, but quickly, Suyatutai quieted down, as if contemplating a complex conundrum, lost in deep thought.
The sudden stillness on the stage left both Angel and Gloria perplexed. However, the surrounding spectators seemed unfazed, as if accustomed to such anomalies.
Explaining this peculiar circumstance, Shirley said, “Actually, this is far less bizarre than what has happened before.”
It turns out that this seemingly stoic Philosopher had behaved even more enigmatically in the past. At the start of each match, Onassis would merely murmur a few words, and his opponent would voluntarily descend into a state of confusion, effectively concluding the match.
“At least this time, Suyatutai made the first move and even debated a bit before sinking into contemplation. It’s a significant improvement compared to the past,” Shirley continued.
Gloria wondered, “When you put it that way, it almost sounds like a form of Word Magic.”
“If it were Word Magic, just keeping him silent would suffice. But even when he doesn’t speak, he can still make others fall into a spell,” recalled Shirley. “I remember a past instance where, before Onassis could even speak, he was silenced through an aura of silence. But even then, he lost. When questioned later, he said that even the aura of silence couldn’t prevent the opponent from disseminating information onto him.”
Angel reasoned, “So what you’re saying is, language is just one of the tools in his arsenal. His primary mode of combat involves the transmission of information.”
“Perhaps that’s the case, but no one can be certain,” Shirley paused before adding, “By the way, if it’s really about transmitting information, could one completely block the information he’s disseminating?”
Angel shook his head, dismissing the idea.
To completely block the information being conveyed by the other party means ignoring language, visuals, smells, pheromones… and so on. It might seem like you won’t fall into Onassis’s rhythm by doing this, but upon closer thought, taking such an approach would make it even harder to beat him.
The logic is simple: the moment you step onto the arena and realize that your opponent is Onassis, you’re already receiving information from him. If you completely block him out as if he were air, then who are you fighting against?
Shirley proposed another idea: “What about launching a wide-scale attack against the arena? This way, you can avoid receiving any information from the opponent.”
Since this is an arena with a limited range, Shirley’s idea seems feasible at first glance.
At this point, Gloria points to the arena: “Don’t forget, didn’t Suyatutai just cover the whole arena with a tidal wave? He probably had the same idea, but it didn’t work.”
Shirley sighed, “It seems that defeating him is genuinely challenging.”
In the arena, Suyatutai is still in deep thought. Onassis hasn’t made a move but is quietly watching him.
Gloria then leans in towards Angel and whispers, “Do you remember what Onassis said earlier?”
Angel nods and softly recites, “My existence is but a pattern of material form. All such forms are mere specks of dust beneath countless stars, inconsequential. Only the mind and thought can accommodate those countless stars.”
This was the first thing Onassis said after the match began and when faced with Suyatutai’s Tidal Wave Spell.
“It sounds quite philosophical,” Gloria says, having lip-read Onassis’s words at the time. She somewhat understands the meaning and has an intuition that Onassis’s ability to be unfazed by Suyatutai’s Tidal Wave Spell might have something to do with this philosophical statement.
“That phrase is from —The World Within the Mind—, an ancient philosophical text,” Angel adds.
Although books of an extraordinary nature face circulation restrictions in this world, the writings of mere mortals are not subject to such limitations. Even though Angel was born on the distant Old Land Continent, that region still occasionally receives foreign cargo ships bearing classic works from other continents, including the Feran Continent.
—The World Within the Mind—, although not a magnum opus, is quite renowned in philosophical discourse. Angel had read it when he was younger.
The book covers a myriad of topics, but, in Angel’s opinion, the crux of its philosophical inquiry boils down to a single question: “Who am I?”
“Who am I?” is a famed philosophical quandary, and many thinkers enjoy extrapolating from this premise. —The World Within the Mind— addresses this question through topics such as “The Material Universe and the Realm of the Mind” and “The Minuscule and the Magnificent.”
Angel succinctly summarized the book, then said, “In simple terms, what Onassis is talking about is a shift in perspective between the physical body and consciousness.”
Intriguingly, right after Onassis uttered those words, his physical form seemed to truly dissolve, metamorphosing into pure consciousness.
It was for this very reason that Onassis was entirely unharmed by the Tidal Wave Spell; his physical form had become inconsequential, while his consciousness had ascended to greatness.
“Quite interesting,” Gloria narrowed her eyes and suddenly broke into a smile.
She remembered the second sentence Onassis said to Suyatutai, which was an extension of the first: “I understand your confusion as to why I am unscathed in the midst of the tidal wave. It’s because I am clear on who I am.”
The preceding discussions are irrelevant; the most crucial point is that question: “Who am I?”
It was because of this statement that Suyatutai engaged in a debate over the meaning of “I” with him. This is a philosophical issue, and now it is being contested on the arena stage between the “Philosopher Scholar” and “Philosopher.” In the end, the latter’s contemplation seemed to outshine, causing Suyatutai to fall into his rhythm, lost in thought.
At this moment, a wave of astonished exclamations suddenly erupted from the spectator stands.
Gloria shifted her gaze to the arena, only to see Suyatutai’s figure gradually dim, as if fading away, his physical form transitioning from corporeal to virtual. However, Suyatutai was no Onassis. As his body began to blend into the virtual, he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood and collapsed onto the ground.
In the mere moment of contemplation, Suyatutai’s body had sustained immense damage. The agony, bordering on mortal pain, pulled him back from pondering the existential question of “Who am I?”
Struggling to prop himself up, he lifted his head to look across at Onassis, disbelief filling his eyes.
Five years ago, Onassis was just a child, earnestly holding a copy of —The Pink Elephant and Colorless Rain— and seeking philosophical guidance from him. Suyatutai had given some seemingly plausible answers, the accuracy of which he himself might not even have understood. But Onassis had happily accepted them.
Back then, Suyatutai had inwardly mocked Onassis’s naiveté. “How could such a person ever survive in the Wizarding World? He’ll eventually be swept away by the tide,” he thought.
But now, Onassis had used that very innocence to trample on what Suyatutai had once thought was his pride.
“I… concede,” declared Suyatutai.
The moment he admitted defeat, the panel of judges hovering in mid-air immediately raised their hands to signal the end of the match. Simultaneously, a medical team was swiftly dispatched to attend to Suyatutai.
While it may seem that Suyatutai merely coughed up some blood, appearing to be a minor injury, previous cases involving opponents of Onassis suggested that if not treated promptly, his internal constitution could very well have disintegrated into nothingness…
Chapter 1601 Philosopher VS Philosopher Scholar <TOC> Chapter 1603 Blossoming