When the plot-skips players into the game world

The Swamp Man Technology is precisely the opposite of this "desire" Authority.

Or rather, it is a perfectly complementary ability.

Jacob's Swamp Man Technology can create a soul identical to the original, with an identical body. It just lacks the original consciousness, and there's even a possibility of a completely new consciousness emerging.

Shaping the body is not a difficult task; for the Extraordinary Abilities in this world, it's quite manageable.

But this technology that "adds a soul out of thin air" is inherently unreasonable!

—Neither scientific nor mystical.

Because the total amount of souls in this world is more or less finite. If the soul of the deceased cannot become a Phantom Demon in the Dream Realm, it will be recycled as material for new souls.

Generally speaking, following such a cycle, the number of souls should only decrease. However, the population in the Material Realm continues to grow. The reason is simple... the reproductive laws brought by the River of Creation have burdened the Source River with the mission of "creating new souls."

In other words, insufficient souls are supplemented by the Source River.

Therefore, ancient souls near divinity are like the "sun"; during the Dark Age, souls were as savage and bloodthirsty as beasts, mixed with the essence of "beast"; and as time goes on, all races are gradually developing in the direction of "love." This is why the Hourglass prevents necromancers in the Material Realm from manipulating and withholding souls, prohibiting resurrection from the dead, and disliked by the Fallen Celestial Marshal for directly abducting souls.

From the sparse population of ancient times to the billions of lives now, it has all been the miracle slowly brought by the flow of the Source River. However, should one carelessly drain the water, it wouldn't be good. No one knows how much pressure the Source River can withstand; it's better not to test this.

However, the soul recycling cycle mechanism is also unreliable—with the Heavenly Department Pillar God, one fishing on this side and another fishing on that side, the number of souls left for recycling will certainly be insufficient. It still relies on the River of Creation to release water... but as it is said, save a little if you can.

Since the Heavenly Department Pillar God is fishing, at least the Material Realm shouldn't be fishing anymore.

After all, you're not worthy.

This was probably the significance of the existence of the Path of Strength—to incite slaughter through violence, thereby reducing the population and releasing the pressure of creation. Authority would lead to war... after every large-scale war, the birth rate would significantly increase.

This is also caused by the abundance of recycled soul fragments.

So clearly, Jacob could not create souls out of nothing.

That is something only the Beast Master and Eternal Self combined could accomplish, and he is not even on the Path of Love.

For Jacob to obtain a new soul through the Swamp Man technology is no more than two possibilities—either he used souls lingering in the Material Realm as material; or he sneaked into other Source Rivers... such as the Source River of the Transcendence path, and stole some souls that neither the Pillar God nor the Celestial Marshals valued.

It's like homemade Valentine's Day chocolates—no one really starts from grinding cocoa beans. Typically, the existing chocolate is remelted and poured into new molds.

What Jacob is doing is not much different from that.

Such behavior is not compliant, but the rules are loose.

Most Phantom Demons can grow stronger by consuming souls. So these wild Phantom Demons... they can't be left with nothing.

As long as it's not too excessive... secretly taking a bite of unwanted souls is something ignored by everyone except the Silver-Crowned Dragon and the Hourglass. Besides, most Phantom Demons themselves emerged from the Source River through their own strength... given the risk of being eaten by other demons, you can't kick them back once they've made it out, right?

The soul that touched the power of the Phantom Demon has already become a Phantom Demon, and even if kicked back, it can't be recycled. Just like the problem faced by Hebashia's daughter.

But the issue is... when Jacob invented Swamp Man Technology, he was not even dead.

He hadn't even become a Phantom Demon, let alone an Angel Envoy... and he was already planning how to steal souls from the Source River. That's like seriously planning how to embezzle before even graduating elementary school.

Yet another problem arises—this technology is extremely difficult and infinitely risky. At the highest level, it could lead to execution by the Hourglass and even implicate the Serpent Celestial Marshal. And it appears to have no apparent rewards.

But Jacob relies on this technology to become an Angel Envoy for the Serpent Celestial Marshal—at least Aiwass doesn't think Jacob has anything other than this technology that would draw the attention of the Serpent Celestial Marshal.

Though Aiwass doesn't know what Jacob will do or become in the future, he can deduce Jacob's value from the actions of the Serpent Celestial Marshal.

They are, after all, the same person. Aiwass knows the Serpent Celestial Marshal as a ruthless, nine-speedrun player and thus understands he will not do anything unnecessary.

This indicates that Jacob has an irreplaceable role in a significant future event. But until Aiwass's traversal, Jacob had not officially appeared yet. This suggests that his emergence must be further down the line...

... further down the line, it would be during the Void invasion.

Combining the Celestial Marshal Shard in the Desire Domain, Aiwass finally understood part of the Serpent Celestial Marshal's plan—

The "creation" of the Swamp Man doesn't need to be completed when the original body is still present. This indicates that the Swamp Man is akin to a "3D scanning followed by 3D printing" technology. The biggest issue with this technology is that it will generate a completely new consciousness... although it's very similar to the original, it's essentially an entirely different person.

Just like Aiwass's mother—both Annies appear to be Annie, but one chooses to leave voluntarily while the other chooses to stay. This is enough to prove their evident differentiation.

But if this Authority is added, it's a different story.

This means that if Aiwass's "memory capacity" is large enough, he can scan a vast amount of data for fabricating Swamp Men; and engrave their self-consciousness onto something.

In other words...

The Serpent Celestial Marshal can replicate a portion of people in this world, and then reconstruct them from another world. Through such a method, he can "teleport" them to another world.

Moreover, if it's possible to destroy the old souls and old consciousness instantaneously while creating new souls, they would then acquire a "cross-world transmitter." The destroyed soul can be used as material for creating new souls, and the old consciousness would be eradicated to maintain the absolute uniqueness of a consistent will.

For the individual being "transmitted," it would feel like they arrived in a new world directly through a transmitter.

"...Star Trek?"

Alester murmured softly.

That was something she... that Ai Shiping in a previous life had seen as a movie. They also played similar games.

She and Aiwass immediately thought the same thing—since they both have this memory, it means that this is the knowledge given to them by the Serpent Celestial Marshal. Or perhaps... it is the part the Serpent Celestial Marshal wants them to know.

If it were just one person daydreaming, it would be fine, but if two people think of the same thing at the same time... it means it's highly likely to be the correct answer. After all, they are both another possibility of the Serpent Celestial Marshal.

"I understand now..."

The plan of the Serpent Celestial Marshal became clearer.

Why would he directly take two Source Rivers to the new world? Just to merge into the Miracle Pillar God? What if he can't come back then? Or what if the world is destroyed as soon as he leaves?

This authority, now gave Aiwass the answer.

As long as the Serpent Celestial Marshal holds a Blood Celestial Marshal shard in any way... he can directly replicate part of a person and recreate them from another world. And the soul material to create them can be extracted from the Source River.

If this world is destroyed, it is equivalent to the Serpent Celestial Marshal transmitting them to a safe place.

—That's by no means a hysterical do-or-die act, nor a last-ditch "final dance."

The Serpent Celestial Marshal hasn't lost his rationality or caution at all... not from the very beginning. Everything is within his plan.

Just like Aiwass, everything seemingly reckless is actually calculated and composed.

"...So, how are you going to decide, Aiwass?"

Alester looked at Aiwass with some concern.

The joy of just advancing was now overshadowed by more complex emotions. She was very worried that Aiwass would overthink... especially terrified that Aiwass would suddenly go crazy and choose to abandon himself to fulfill the Serpent Celestial Marshal.

After all, Aiwass possesses a part of the Path of Devotion, which is entirely possible. Compared to "suddenly snatching two Source Rivers in a frenzy," the success rate of the Serpent Celestial Marshal's plan is quite high now. It can even be said that it is sufficient as a "last resort."

No wonder some Pillar Gods chose to support the Serpent Celestial Marshal... and no wonder the Hourglass chose to remain neutral.

"Rest assured..."

Aiwass also knew what Alester was worried about.

He shook his head and softly comforted her, "I won't abandon you all. After all, my life no longer belongs to just myself...

"No matter what, I will be with you all."

Alester clicked her tongue in slight displeasure.

She could understand the implication in Aiwass's words—if it weren't for them, Aiwass might indeed choose that way. After all, it's the most stable and safest plan... someone who has planned for nine lifetimes will surely be more comprehensive than just one. Like how insiders should not direct outsiders... entrusting oneself to another self is a very "safe" idea.

Now, Aiwass hasn't done so only because he has attachments. He can't let go of the people he loves, the Great Sin Beasts who have entrusted him, and his wife and children.

Aiwass has a gentle and easy-going personality. Though he possesses a transcendent soul, he lacks aggressiveness. He seems more like someone who was robed in yellow and pushed step by step to where he is by the people around him.

—But to Alester, who cares about the world?

The world and everything are none of her business—Aiwass is the one that belongs to her.

Alester looked at Isabel, the bearer of the Desire Celestial Marshal Shard, giving her unfaltering and instructive advice:

"Aiwass can even have such thoughts, even if just for a moment, it means you haven't squeezed enough out, Isha—you need to manage him! These kinds of thoughts, he shouldn't be having them at all!"

"Uh..."

Isabel blushed instantly, covering her suddenly burning cheeks.

She wasn't so easily embarrassed, primarily because there were outsiders here...

...But after thinking carefully, perhaps they weren't really outsiders.

Isabel immediately perked up.

She looked at Aiwass, following Alester's guidance, like a little dog frowning, and her cute features turned fierce for a moment: "Are you thinking of hurting yourself again! You're not allowed to think about such nonsense!"

"Uh... I..."

Aiwass suddenly recoiled, becoming much more compliant.

"...Restraining devotion with love, can that reach the realm of rationality?"

Sherlock observed everything coldly from the side, murmuring softly, "Could this... actually make sense?"