The difference between a saint and a great magician is that they can change the rules that govern the world.
The illusion created by Xiao Chen and Luo Ling is itself a manifestation of the rules. They are not only understanding the rules and changing the rules, but also creating the rules.
Just like when Yolanda was stabbed in the chest by the soldier in the illusion, if there were no rules for causing pain, the environment would not seem so realistic.
Although this rule is small, it is also a complete rule. The reality of the illusion is made up of many such small rules.
Therefore, the rules for Xiao Chen and Luo Ling to advance to the Saint level are very similar, both of which are to create various things in a world. This is simply the rule of "creation". Even though this world is illusory and simple, it is a logically complete world after all.
Any saint who wants to advance through such rules will end up with half the effort and twice the result. Building a world is a very difficult task for most people.
But for Xiao Chen and Luo Ling, this path was not that difficult because they had started creating such a world in their minds a long time ago.
Yolanda is now in a fantasy created by Xiao Chen, a futuristic sci-fi world full of mecha battles. This world has a great impact on Yolanda. She has been in a state of chaos and confusion since she entered this world. She regards herself as a candidate mecha master learning mecha operation, and studies and fights seriously in the training school. Xiao Chen is like a painter, constantly adding color to this world. With each addition, the world becomes more real and vivid. And the pen he uses is exactly one rule after another. Xiao Chen feels the potential of this world and hopes to form a decisive change in this world, so he pulls Luo Ling in. The two of them work together for the first time to weave a fantasy.
Gradually, they discovered that as they understood the rules more deeply, the world began to evolve on its own, out of their direct control. For example, the words spoken by the people Yolanda met were no longer the will of Xiao Chen or Luo Ling. They would automatically react according to the combination of rules, and even show a variety of emotions that only humans have.
And the story process of the entire world also began to develop and improve itself.
If Xiao Chen had to do these things directly, he would have to spend a lot of energy. After this illusion became a self-developed world, he no longer needed to distract himself and pretend to speak to those people one by one.
As a result, Xiao Chen and Luo Ling also gained some understanding of the rules of creation.
Yolanda had just finished a training session in this world. She jumped down from the control room of a mecha, walked into the lounge, picked up a towel, and was wiping the sweat off her forehead. At this time, Xiao Chen and Luo Ling appeared in this world. They arranged for themselves to be teachers and came to Yolanda.
"Teacher Xiao, Teacher Luo. What do you want to talk to me about?" Yolanda's memory was filled with the information of the two people in this world within a few seconds.
"Yolanda, I want to ask you a question." Xiao Chen said, "Do you think your life is real? Do you think you really live in this world?"
Yolanda was stunned. She didn't quite understand what the teacher meant by the question, so she nodded and said, "Operating mechas to fight is the most real life I can think of. Only when I tremble, shake and collide in battle do I feel that I am truly alive. Studying here, fighting here, this is the life I want."
"Doesn't this world give you any feeling of unreality?" Luo Ling also asked.
"Not real?" Yolanda asked. "How could it be? If this world is fake, then aren't all my efforts fake too? Although I can't remember many things from my childhood, I do remember many of the times I worked hard... From a girl who yearned for mechas to a warrior who actually operated mechas to fight. If this is also fake, then I would rather stay in this dream and never wake up."
Xiao Chen smiled and said, "Well said. I'm glad to see that you have such a clear goal. Then work hard at it and never give up easily."
The two left the lounge where Yolanda was. Luo Ling looked out from the window sill of the corridor. Outside was an ordinary Earth city. But as Luo Ling was observing it, the city began to change and evolve in an ever-changing way, like a fast-paced shot that was accelerated thousands of times. Houses were demolished and new houses were built. The process was repeated many times. When it finally stopped, what appeared before their eyes was a super-modern city full of technology that matched the mechas. Pedestrians and vehicles in the city were moving in an orderly manner.
Luo Ling said: "The fantasy world created this time is a little different. In fact, I didn't polish the scenes outside carefully, but they were able to evolve on their own, and the result of the evolution still looks very real."
Xiao Chen said: "Do you remember that when we entered the master level, we had to break the boundary between reality and illusion?"
"Um."
"I think that stepping onto the holy steps is to allow us to turn the false reality into the real reality. A reality that is under our control and subject to our will, even if it looks like the real world and has all kinds of details, is it the real reality?"
"Of course not. That's just the result of illusion reaching its extreme."
"So I think the real truth should be something that exists independently of our will, something that exists objectively. We can give birth to it, influence it, and destroy it, but we cannot guarantee that every link is under our control."
“Just like in mythology, God created humans but cannot control their fate.”
At this time, a man who looked like a security guard came forward. Xiao Chen did not allow the world to inject his memories. Therefore, he did not recognize Xiao Chen and Luo Ling. He looked at the two strangers with some caution and asked, "Who are you? Why are you in the mecha training center? Do you have a pass?"
"We were just curious and came in to take a look." Luo Ling said.
"Another mecha enthusiast? You guys are such a nuisance, leave now or I'll call the police. Is this the nth group of you I've met? You guys are really endless, can't you just go to the annual mecha exhibition in two days?"
The security guard drove them out, but the two seemed very happy because they had no idea what the security guard was talking about.
Luo Ling said: "Since the world we created has reached such a level, what about ourselves?"
Xiao Chen smiled and said, "Of course it's the Saint."