In the Dream Gladiator Arena, the main consciousness sat on the high platform in the center of the arena, while a total of ninety-eight sub-consciousnesses now sat in the audience.
It was almost the limit of consciousness division.
It wasn't that Simon had exhausted his imagination and memories; he could still split about ten more consciousnesses, but that wasn't the issue.
The key was that Simon's main consciousness was already overwhelmed.
The thoughts of ninety-eight sub-consciousnesses rioted within his will, uncontrollable, sometimes colliding, sometimes drifting apart, like marbles in a lottery machine, a chaotic mess.
To alleviate the pressure, the main consciousness was now unable to perform observation tasks, focusing solely on battling the distracting thoughts brought by the sub-consciousnesses.
Simon knew he had to find a solution. Should he group the sub-consciousnesses again, with each group managed by a leader, and the leaders managed by the main consciousness? This might be a good idea, but it was hard to guarantee it wouldn't lead to negative consequences.
As the main consciousness's oversight decreased, the independence of the sub-consciousnesses would relatively increase. Simon was afraid these sub-consciousnesses would develop different personalities, and that would be interesting.
Should he disband the Dream Gladiator Arena now?
Impossible, Simon still couldn't do without it.
The main consciousness spoke tiredly, "Do any of you have good ideas?" The sub-consciousnesses all shook their heads.
"Why fear our own personalities? We are, after all, one," one sub-consciousness spoke. He was one of the most skilled swordsmen among the sub-consciousnesses, having inherited many of Simon's good memories and possessing a cheerful disposition.
"Then, we'll have to manage by groups," the main consciousness waved his hand, and ten high platforms with thrones rose from the audience seats. "You choose yourselves, ten spots."
After an intense struggle, ten of the strongest sub-consciousnesses ascended to the thrones in the audience.
The main consciousness then split two more consciousnesses, bringing the total to one hundred sub-consciousnesses, with each leader commanding nine sub-consciousnesses.
A brand new system was established in the Dream Gladiator Arena. The main consciousness only connected to the ten leaders, greatly reducing the pressure, while the leaders divided the circular audience into equal sections, overlooking the battle arena below, closely monitoring their team members.
Unsurprisingly, this was the custom of the Dream Gladiator Arena: as the number of sub-consciousnesses continuously increased, the hierarchy would become more finely divided.
Perhaps this would create a great collective, or perhaps it would push Simon into an abyss of self-destruction.
No one could say what the future held.
By joining the Colosseum of Fools, Simon was able to observe the swordsmanship of other warriors. In the Dream World, he used sub-consciousnesses to simulate the actions of these Fools, dissecting them one by one. He thoroughly analyzed their combat strategies, ensuring that the next time he encountered them, he could win in three moves. He could kill if he wanted, or let them go if he wished, completely gaining an overwhelming advantage. Furthermore, Simon continued to simulate the possibility of one person fighting the entire arena alone.
Different sub-consciousnesses performed differently; some were strong, some were weak, and the time they lasted in a siege also varied.
The results told Simon that he still couldn't take on a hundred opponents by himself.
Although he had anticipated this outcome, Simon was still somewhat unwilling.
In group combat, when a large crowd swarmed him, even if they formed a battle array, the number of enemies Simon had to face at any given time was limited. At this point, he should prevent being attacked from both front and back, preferably standing in a corner. There was no point in trying to break out of the encirclement; with layers of enemies surrounding him, a head-on charge would only result in being hacked to pieces.
In the Dream World, there was no need to consider stamina issues, so Simon could continuously try the optimal solution.
One method was very flashy: aerial combat. Jumping into mid-air, if enemies below swung at him, he would parry and use the force to bounce back into the air. If they raised shields, he would step on the shields to jump up, never touching the ground. As for opponents with aerial flight capabilities, like the Winged Fools, he had to be wary of being forced back to the ground.
The sub-consciousness that used this method lived the longest, but didn't kill a single enemy. Although the sub-consciousnesses were all highly skilled, it also reflected the weakness of aerial combat: its lack of offensive power. Dragging it out only led to one's own demise.
How Simon wished at this moment that he could have a flash of inspiration and comprehend Soul Energy accumulation. Relying on Soul Energy accumulation to launch powerful attacks, with a large range to compensate for his small stature, and strong force to make up for his delicate build, would be a miraculous technique to turn the tide.
Realizing that he now had to learn Soul Energy accumulation, Simon's main consciousness transmitted the idea to the leaders. The leaders, each according to his own ideas, led their team members to try Soul Energy accumulation.
Soul Energy accumulation, but what kind of 'energy' was being accumulated?
This world was not a wuxia novel with internal energy, nor a knight novel with battle aura, nor a berserker legend with rage.
The Soul Energy accumulation that the protagonist in Hollow Knight learned was a technique acquired from Nailmaster Sly's three apprentices. He just suddenly knew how to do it, able to use Soul Energy accumulation for a trump card, a three-hit combo, without specific details on the principles behind it.
There were only a few types of supernatural powers in the game: one was the Dream World that connected the consciousnesses of all insects, one was magic driven by Soul Energy, one was the Void power at the bottom of the Abyss, one was The Radiance's infection power, and a few niche ones, such as the Grim Troupe's crimson flames, the Godseeker's attunement device, and so on. There were also a few very subtle and ambiguous ones, difficult to define, such as the blue blood brought by Lifeblood Core, the crystallization of Crystal Peak, and so on.
Soul Energy accumulation could also barely be considered a supernatural power. According to Sly, it was a technique, and Simon was qualified to comprehend it.
The only thing that troubled Simon was what 'energy' was.
Sword qi? He had swung his Nail so many times and never saw any sword qi. The manifestation of the Soul Energy Slash was undoubtedly sword qi, but the inner nature might be more fundamental and complex.
Simon thought the most likely possibility was Soul Energy.
This special energy was roughly equivalent to the spiritual energy of heaven and earth in xianxia novels; some places had it in abundance, others sparingly, and when it was dense, it could even be seen with the naked eye.
But applying the energy freely available in the natural environment to swordsmanship, that was a rather high requirement. In wuxia novels, that would be the unity of man and nature, reaching a state of perfection, where the understanding of the art transcended its superficiality and began to delve into the underlying principles of the world, using swordsmanship to expound on the world – this was swordsmanship, the Way of the Sword!
This required exceptional talent, possessing not only superb swordsmanship but also the gift of perceiving the world, and even more, an original way of thinking to break through previous limits and enter a new realm.
For Simon, if he could manifest the free-floating Soul Energy and transform it into sword qi, then, regardless of how others did it, this would be his exclusive method of Soul Energy accumulation!
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