Chapter 1007: Xiao Han's Coming-of-Age Ceremony?
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 1007: Xiao Han's Coming-of-Age Ceremony?
"That much confidence?"
"Yes." I nodded.
The moment the concept of the Life Clone was born, certain truths became self-evident.
I was no longer a mere bystander to the process of consciousness emerging from life; I was a participant. My perspective of observation had shifted, and with it, my capacity to understand.
Observation, experience, and understanding—these truly are the best means to perceive the Unknowable, at least to a certain extent.
"However, I might be quite busy for a while. The Ancient Remnant Ice cannot complete the subsequent incubation of its life consciousness after its total self-termination without my intervention. I likely won't have much free time in the near future."
"No time, then... Well, that’s fine," Dean Mei said.
At this stage, the Ancient Remnant Ice was still figuring out the large-scale preparation techniques for Hexagonal Crystal Amber, so there was no rush to use it as a bargaining chip.
The initial attempts at this technique had produced countless fine shards of Hexagonal Crystal Amber in the Qunluosen Wasteland, along with a vast amount of byproducts.
This directly proved the feasibility of the method.
It couldn't be helped; before the creation of the Great Spellbook, those materials were what I experimented with the most. These byproducts were all necessary results of verifying the Hexagonal Crystal Amber.
Once the preparation technique was perfected, the Ancient Remnant Ice King would be traded to the Main World Consciousness.
After that, it would be a matter of trade and cooperation between the Academy and the World Consciousness.
I trusted the Ancient Remnant Ice wouldn't be so foolish as to cause trouble.
Dean Mei chatted with me a bit more regarding the Ancient Remnant Ice. Since a decision had been made, it was only natural to prepare for any potential complications.
According to what Dean Mei and my clones had gathered, some witches were trying to use the Ancient Remnant Ice Transformation as an entry point to see if they could borrow the power of the Great Spellbook.
After all, the entire Ancient Remnant Ice race had transformed their very existence into pure power.
The result was... it was possible, but they were restricted by the Ancient Remnant Ice King.
This meant that if witches wanted to produce Hexagonal Crystal Amber in the future, they would inevitably need to deepen their cooperation with the Ancient Remnant Ice.
Or... they could make the Main World submit. Only then would the Ancient Remnant Ice, as subjects of the Main World, willingly work for the witches.
Some witches had even suggested "witchifying" the Ancient Remnant Ice.
However, because that might escalate the conflict between the witches and the Main World Consciousness, it was explicitly forbidden.
Dean Mei and I discussed this topic at length. Since it involved so many moving parts, we needed to be completely transparent with each other. Otherwise, any ambiguity would make the plan difficult to execute.
After concluding that topic, Dean Mei brought up the Academy War.
The development of this Academy War had exceeded my expectations. With the promotion of the Power Network model, the first conflicts to break out were actually regional—conflicts between ordinary people.
To be more specific... they were violent frictions between families.
It wasn't a conflict between academies.
Transcendent academies did not interfere in ordinary society, and the families had stepped in to fill the vacuum of social governance. The academies had tacitly accepted this solution.
After all, a world is vast; someone has to handle regional integration.
It felt somewhat similar to the Game World.
However, the Game World only had one Great Gamer, whereas the Main World had many transcendent academies and countless families of all sizes.
Regardless, everything was moving in the established direction. The grand trend was immutable, even if the minor details could be shifted.
Once conflict erupts, there will always be hands that don't want it to stop, fanning the flames.
After finishing my talk with Dean Mei, I left with Sister Bai.
Not long after I departed, Mei Lind did not rise from the sofa. Instead, a clone appeared beside her, stood up, and went to handle some of the Academy's auditing work.
The new branch academy was only partially built. The original Witch Academy had been the same, evolving into its current state under the witness of generation after generation of students.
Mei Lind’s clone picked up an application from the side. It was a request from Witch Dinah, who wanted to establish a Witch Cat Café in the best location of the new branch.
It also mentioned some arrangements regarding the Fool's Dream.
Mei Lind reflected on the matter of the Fool's Dream. If the Fool's Dream truly became real life, the number of individuals to be settled would be staggering.
After all, she knew that Xiao Han had brought back an entire Fool's Village of Fool's Dream spirits from the unknowable depths of the Primitive Dream Realm...
She hadn't seen them with her own eyes yet; she hoped there weren't too many.
At this moment, Mei Lind’s main body remained still. Her clone handled all the administrative tasks.
"Aren't you coming out for a cup of tea? You've heard enough by now, haven't you?" Mei Lind said.
There weren't many witches in the Academy for whom she would show such deliberate tolerance. The Rebel Witch who had snuck in was definitely one of them.
"You called just in time. A second later and I would have left~" A familiar voice accompanied a familiar figure as she appeared.
It was Sheryl.
"Why call me out? I know you don't particularly like me. If it's just to bicker, that would be quite dull~" Sheryl asked with a smile.
As Sheryl finished speaking, another voice chirped up: "It's the Dean~ Hello, Dean~"
The voice came from the little creature perched on Sheryl’s shoulder.
"Hello~ And what is your name, little one?" Dean Mei asked softly, her gaze lingering on the tiny figure even as she faced Sheryl.
"I'm Yu Cha~"
"Yu Cha? I didn't expect you to follow her." Mei Lind turned her gaze back to Sheryl. "What is it with today? Is it trendy to travel with a Fool's Dream spirit? Also... where did you kidnap her from?"
"Don't say it like that~ How can you call it kidnapping?" Sheryl said with a look of mock grievance. "As for where I met her... at the Witch Cat Café, of course. I felt we shared a certain destiny, so I invited her to see the sights, and she agreed."
"Yes! Sister Sheryl is super amazing! She took me to so many places, it was so much fun! I even took photos to share with the other Fool's Dream spirits~ They're so jealous!" Yu Cha excitedly waved a tiny camera—likely a custom piece hand-crafted through alchemy.
"So, the reason I haven't seen you causing trouble lately is because you've been taking her on a tour?"
"Witches have their own lives too, okay? Are Rebel Witches not witches?" Sheryl countered.
"Fine, I won't pry into your personal life. Why have you appeared now? Xiao Han just left, and you show up right on her heels. Quite proactive, aren't you?"
"Naturally, I'm concerned about Xiao Han. When she suddenly appeared in that state, of course I was worried—especially when she came to see you... I didn't expect to learn something so wonderful."
"And? What do you plan to do?"
"Let nature take its course~ Xiao Han has her own marvelous ideas. I don't plan to stop her; in fact, I support her wholeheartedly. It's just a pity that I can't offer any help on the path she's chosen."
After all, while a Transcendent Witch could achieve many things if they put their all into it, they still got headaches when faced with complex academic problems.
"It's enough that you recognize your place. I don't want you interfering with Xiao Han."
"Aren't you ashamed to say that to me? Do you even know your own place?" Sheryl shot back. "Oh, actually, it's quite clear. Investing early, doing her a favor, even entrusting your Great Spellbook to her. Why not be more generous and just give the Great Spellbook to her outright?"
"That would require her to be willing to take it. If Xiao Han hadn't brought it up, I would have forgotten about that contract entirely. But she remembered it clearly. After all that talking, I still ended up using a 'favor' to gloss over two Primal Spell Sequences—otherwise, Xiao Han might have ended up creating another race for me one day, not to mention a fragment of [Transcendent Knowledge]. Does Xiao Han even lack a Great Spellbook?"
"Fine, fine~ Let's not talk about that. Let's talk about Xiao Han herself." Sheryl walked over to the sofa, picked up the tea set, and poured herself a cup of black tea. She leisurely poured a cup for Yu Cha as well before continuing, "Speaking of which, if my senses are correct... Xiao Han's life level has been skyrocketing lately. She's been enrolled for less than two years, yet she's already touching the threshold of Real Time, isn't she?"
"You didn't know?"
"You didn't tell me, Xiao Han didn't tell me, and that Bai Yu didn't tell me either. Every time I try to search the Tree of Great Knowledge, it's all confidential information. How was I supposed to know?" Sheryl said, adopting a posture of total indifference.
"Then it seems there's a lot you don't know," Mei Lind said crossly.
"True~ You all certainly kept me in the dark. If it weren't for the secret realm exploding, I wouldn't have known that the Ancient Remnant Ice was actually Xiao Han's clone," Sheryl continued to grumble.
However, her tone was more one of wonder than actual complaint.
Before Mei Lind could respond, Sheryl spoke again: "Tell me... when do you think Xiao Han will ascend to Transcendence? Three years? One year? Or maybe... six months?"
"I don't know. Why are you asking? Do you plan to give her a gift once she becomes a Saint?"
"Giving a gift would be far too out of character for a Rebel Witch," Sheryl said, waving her hand dismissively.
"Then what do you want to do?" Mei Lind frowned. The implication was that Sheryl intended to "congratulate" Xiao Han's transcendence in the manner of a Rebel Witch.
"Xiao Han missed out on her 'childhood.' I plan to help her have a moment without regrets. How about... a Coming-of-Age Ceremony?"
"Nonsense!"
"How is it nonsense!" Sheryl’s voice completely drowned out Mei Lind’s.
"You... are already preparing for it?"
"You could say that. Think of it as lighting up this missing piece of the Main World for the Void. I will do my best to draw as many eyes from the Void as possible to this place. You all can take the opportunity to declare ownership of the Main World and push Xiao Han onto the stage of the Void in one fell swoop."
"..."
"If you're silent... I'll take that as a 'yes.' Though, whether you agree or not, the outcome won't change."
Sheryl watched the silent Mei Lind without rushing her. At the very least, Mei Lind hadn't immediately argued back this time, which meant she had moved past the stage of opposing Sheryl just for the sake of it.
She was thinking.
A Coming-of-Age Ceremony hosted by Rebel Witches for a witch ascending to Transcendence—that was an honor not just anyone was qualified to receive.
Calling it a Coming-of-Age Ceremony was an understatement; it would be a grand event for the entire Void!
At that time, countless young talents and geniuses of the same level would gather here. It would be using the Void as a stage to create an opportunity for a grand meeting.
If it were an ordinary ceremony, the competition between geniuses and the specific challenges issued would just be highlights on the stage, ultimately resulting in a recognized ranking.
But if a Coming-of-Age Ceremony was held specifically for someone, it meant the organizing power had absolute confidence that the individual could suppress all other talents.
Otherwise, it would be a laughingstock!
If Sheryl held this ceremony for Xiao Han, Xiao Han would not only face internal challenges from various factions within the witch race but would also be targeted by other transcendent races of the Void.
Xiao Han would have to bear the pressure of countless geniuses and carry the expectations of the entire witch race. She could not lose!
Absolutely not!
That kind of pressure and despair was not something just anyone could withstand. The witch race had countless geniuses who had never received such treatment, so Xiao Han would first and foremost face challenges from those very geniuses!
If she couldn't even win against them, she would have no right to represent the witch race in a ceremony held in her name!
At the very least, losing to a fellow witch would look better than losing to another transcendent race.
In battles against other transcendent races, there was no such thing as showing mercy. It was common for combatants to be beaten so badly that even Resurrection Spells couldn't bring them back.
Furthermore, during the event, other Transcendent Witches could not interfere. If they did, even higher-level entities would intervene.
A Coming-of-Age Ceremony had no room for losers who couldn't handle defeat!
Not even geniuses!
"Have you considered it?" Sheryl set down her teacup and stood up. This time, she had brought Mei Lind a massive piece of news.
Or rather, a surprise.
Yang Yuehan's Coming-of-Age Ceremony.
She was worth the Rebel Witches taking a risk. Sheryl knew she wasn't wrong; the only concern was... Xiao Han’s experience was still too limited.
The Main World lacked everything. It had no geniuses, no internal rivals, no enemies of equal standing, no conflicts or power plays between major forces, and very few races. There was a reason the Void races were called the "Myriad Races of the Void"...
"You're not about to open your mouth and say... 'It's still too risky,' are you?" Just as Mei Lind was about to speak, Sheryl cut her off. "I'll be very disappointed if you do."
Mei Lind’s words caught in her throat, leaving her in a moment of awkwardness. After a pause, she finally spoke: "When do you plan to tell Xiao Han about this?"
"After she ascends to Transcendence, of course," Sheryl said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"After she ascends? I thought you'd say 'now,' and then give some high-sounding excuse about giving her pressure to motivate her," Mei Lind said.
"How could I? Xiao Han never lacks motivation; she has her own ideas... Besides, as far as I'm concerned, this is... a surprise! And a surprise, naturally, should only be revealed at the very last moment."