Chapter 1032: Success and the Transcendent Standoff
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 1032: Success and the Transcendent Standoff
While the United Club was still debating its various agendas, the Expansion Realm was anything but peaceful!
None of the Transcendent Witches present had expected that an impromptu attempt, made just as they were preparing to rest, would last this long.
Inside the specialized laboratory, the temperature seemed to plummet by more than ten degrees—and it was no illusion.
Invisible forces of ice and snow vibrated, resonated, and cheered in the air!
The surging power felt like a new birth, as if life itself were bursting forth once more.
Simultaneously, the Qi Observation Art experiment monitoring the event recorded the most violent fluctuations in Luck ever seen!
"This is a bit like cheating... it's not exactly pure consciousness..."
I sighed softly, then instinctively took a few steps back.
The massive figure before me, having broken free from the control of my consciousness, moved for the first time.
Ice crystals formed from extreme cold shattered and fell from the joints of the Ancient Remnant Ice.
Then, a cheer erupted!
"It's a success!"
"Wonderful! It worked! We've verified the process of a soul gestating consciousness!"
The younger witches involved cheered without restraint, while the more composed ones looked up at the moving giant, their restless gazes betraying an excitement they couldn't find the words to express.
At that moment, as consciousness was born within the Ancient Remnant Ice King, a realization rooted in its racial concept surged through its mind, followed by the information etched into the very bloodline of the Ancient Remnant Ice.
In its bewildered eyes, countless images seemed to flash by in an instant.
A single consciousness appeared to dominate its perception; even though it currently possessed no memories, it suddenly understood many things.
The Ley Lines beneath the earth of the Expansion Realm resonated with it faintly, and information as fundamental as instinctual common sense became the foundation of its memory.
"You... all of you..."
The voice, thick with heavy static and distortion, was the first utterance of the newborn Ancient Remnant Ice.
"Hello."
Representing the witches present, I offered the first greeting to the Ancient Remnant Ice.
"How should I address you? As the King of the Ancient Remnant Ice clan, the Main World Consciousness? Or perhaps... the Walker of the Main World Consciousness?"
After the greeting, I asked my question with solemnity.
The consciousness of the Ancient Remnant Ice had been born, but... the [Consciousness Incubation] technique I had planned had not been fully realized.
Too many uncontrollable factors had forcibly intervened in the experiment, preventing me from perfecting the final step of [Consciousness Incubation].
I didn't know if this was a deliberate act by the Main World Consciousness—unwilling to let me study the authority of consciousness incubation, a power only the world itself should wield—or if it was a pure coincidence, born of the Main World Consciousness's eagerness to complete our deal.
The Ancient Remnant Ice before me was a "life" more perfectly aligned with the Great Trend of the Main World's Luck than any Child of Destiny I had ever known.
It reminded me of that conversation in the Real World. Perhaps the Main World Consciousness could not communicate in a conventional form, but it could achieve dialogue through other means.
Last time it was me; this time, it could be the Ancient Remnant Ice!
That was why I asked if it was a Walker of the Main World Consciousness—a way for the Main World to mirror its will through a form of life capable of communication.
However, looking at the bewildered Ancient Remnant Ice King and sensing through my Heart Sense that it truly had no idea what I was talking about... a seed of doubt grew in my mind.
Does it really know nothing?
While I was still lost in speculation, the team at the Qi Observation Art experiment was frantic.
In that single moment, the disturbance caused by the anomaly in Luck had been far too massive.
Although the Witch Academy had blockaded the Expansion Realm, such a huge commotion would undoubtedly make the other Transcendent Academies suspect that the witches were up to something.
No words were needed.
As the Academy Dean, Mei Lind directly tore through the space of the Expansion Realm and crossed into the Core World to deal with the fallout.
She wasn't alone; many witches rose and followed her!
Regardless of the cause, they had to weather this storm!
"Sorry, Xiao Han, I won't be much help staying here. I'm going to go back May up."
"Me too. Don't worry, you guys keep going. We'll handle the commotion and the pressure from the other Transcendent Academies! Good luck, Xiao Han!"
Several witches around me sighed. The joy on their faces hadn't even faded yet, but they seemed to foresee what was coming and prepared to depart.
"Thank you!"
I pursed my lips and offered a sincere word of thanks.
I knew this was going to be another standoff, much like the one at the Qunluosen Wasteland.
In fact, the situation was likely even more tense!
Those Transcendent Academies could tolerate the Witch Academy promoting the power network, they could turn a blind eye to the witches inciting students to start Academy Wars, and they could even swallow their own blood along with their shattered teeth when it came to my experiments with Infinite Mana.
But they could not tolerate the witches testing their bottom line over and over again!
Even if the witches were certain that the three Transcendent Races wouldn't actually commit mutual suicide under such deterrence, constantly poking their nerves would eventually turn them into mad dogs.
After seeing the witch sisters off, only Sister Lucine and a few witches involved in the consciousness incubation remained.
Regulating my emotions, I turned back to the Ancient Remnant Ice, which had now stood up.
"Thank you for returning life to the Ancient Remnant Ice clan."
"It seems you've realized something. Would it be convenient to tell me what you know?" I asked.
"I inherited the information within the Ancient Remnant Ice bloodline. I saw fragmented, broken images. I only know that those images were not me, yet now... I am myself. I suspect it was you who returned my 'self' to me."
"Bloodline information..." I was slightly stunned. I hadn't expected that. I had taken all of its memories, but once life was born, the information stored in the bloodline would, to some extent, be processed into memories.
However, these memories were more like the perspective of a bystander watching events unfold.
"That was my oversight... but your guess isn't wrong. Before you were born, I revived the Ancient Remnant Ice clan with my own consciousness. Now, through a special technique, I have returned everything belonging to the Ancient Remnant Ice to your clan. This is my honesty. Now... do you have any other doubts?"
I laid everything out. Sincerity is always the foundation for gaining trust.
As for the rest, it would come down to the art of language.
* * *
Meanwhile.
In the Core World.
The abnormal movement in the Main World's Luck instantly struck a nerve with the major Transcendent Races.
Sensing that the source of the anomaly was in the Expansion Realm, numerous Transcendents prepared to dive in headfirst.
But before they could enter, they were violently repelled back into the Core World by a massive force.
Fuming, the group of Transcendents headed straight for the Witch Academy's territory. However, upon seeing Mei Lind, they instinctively halted at the edge of the witches' domain. Even those flying high in the sky didn't dare cross the line by a single step.
"What exactly is your Witch Academy trying to do! Are you trying to force us into a fight to the death?"
The leading Wizard pointed at Mei Lind and began shouting. To an outsider, it might have seemed like his strength eclipsed hers.
"I was about to ask what you are doing! Picking a fight over every little disturbance. I'm a busy Dean, don't you understand that?" Mei Lind retorted with a dark expression.
Many Transcendents began observing the situation as soon as they arrived.
The Rebel Witch was nowhere to be seen, and Mei Lind was the only Dean present.
Seeing this, many Transcendents instinctively breathed a sigh of relief.
"I advise the Witch Academy not to dance on our bottom line. Do you really think we don't know what you've done?"
"You know? Hah." Mei Lind let out a cold laugh. "If you knew, you'd know exactly what happened. It was just a little witch's experiment causing a bit of a stir. Look at how worked up you've all become!"
"A little witch... hm?"
Hearing Mei Lind's words, many Transcendents frowned.
"Hah. Previously, you all came knocking on our door like you were here to demand justice for a few students. We kept our promise and moved her to the Expansion Realm so she wouldn't cause trouble in the Core World. You're still not satisfied? Do you want us to send her to the Witch Homeland before you're happy?"
"Mei Lind, do you think we'll take your word for it before we see the whole picture?" At that moment, a hunched Wizard stepped forward from the Wizard faction. Despite his frail appearance, his aura was anything but weak.
"If you haven't done anything, why stop us from checking the Expansion Realm? Are you feeling guilty?"
"Exactly! Are you hiding something?"
"Beat it!" Mei Lind barked at the few who chimed in. "The Expansion Realm belongs to the Witch Academy. It's not your backyard to enter as you please! If you want to make this a habit, then I'll start taking a stroll through your Wizard Academy every day after dinner. Three times a day! I'll even do my morning jogs in your Inner Ring! How about that?"
The hunched elder was left sputtering by Mei Lind's retort.
How could they possibly let someone like her wander through their territory?
What if she "accidentally" crashed into the Spiral Geocentric Observation Tower?
For a moment, the Transcendent Witches and the other Transcendents were locked in a standoff.
However, both sides were extremely restrained and refrained from attacking.
Last time at the Life Forbidden Zone, the witches had caught them off guard and maneuvered them into a position where they were in the wrong, forcing them to retreat in disgrace. It had been incredibly humiliating.
This time, they were truly serious.
"Oh? You... Tuskage. I didn't expect you to show up in person." Mei Lind suddenly noticed a figure.
Tuskage, the sole Dean of the Wizard Academy!
As long as he held that title, all others were merely Vice Deans.
"Your Witch Academy has provoked us Wizards time and time again. As Dean, I must naturally demand an explanation for the Wizards you have bullied!" Tuskage stepped forward to face Mei Lind.
"Just an explanation? I thought you were here to seek justice."
"Deflecting is unwise, Mei Lind. We have shared a tacit understanding to maintain peace in the Main World for a thousand years. It has been so long; why can't we keep it that way? It would be better for you, and for us!"
"Tuskage... are you even still a Transcendent Wizard? Years ago, you were sharp and aggressive. Now... heh."
Not all Transcendents present could hear the threat hidden in Mei Lind's mockery.
If Tuskage had lost his edge, then the deterrence plan proposed by the Wizards was nothing but a joke!
"Do you really think I wouldn't—"
"I know you dare!" Mei Lind cut Tuskage off. "But just because you dare doesn't mean the Elves and the Birdmen dare. Even if your spirit remains sharp, if you want to threaten me, will the Afuhemi Forest Elves and the Holy Angels join your madness?"
"How do you know they won't?" Tuskage's eyes were dark, but internally he was relieved that those two "teammates" hadn't shown up in person like he had.
That meant there was still room to maneuver.
"Fine then. Let's assume they are as ready to die as you are, willing to throw away the lives of all their Transcendents just to make us witches lose one Main World. From that perspective... we witches would really be taking a huge loss."
As Mei Lind spoke, she seemed to receive some news, and her expression instantly turned ugly!
A terrifying pressure of mana surged forth, causing the expressions of the nearby Transcendents to change instantly!
They thought Mei Lind, in her volatility, was about to strike.
"Mei Lind, what is the meaning of this!" Tuskage frowned and questioned her. Her anger didn't seem faked; she was truly enraged.
"You have the nerve to ask me? How wonderful... your Wizard apprentices certainly have a flair for the dramatic! Blood-sacrificing the commoners of an entire peninsula just to kill our elite students!"
"What?" Tuskage frowned. He had no idea what Mei Lind was talking about or why she had suddenly changed the subject.
"Playing dumb? Heh... I thought our little witch killing some students from your two academies in the No-Man's Mountains was what you called 'heinous.' But you? You blood-sacrifice a peninsula's worth of commoners just to trap and kill our students! I should be the one asking what you are doing!"
"The words you said to us earlier? We're giving them right back to you!" Mei Lind pointed at Tuskage's nose and began to scold him.
With a wave of her hand, an image appeared in the sky—a continental peninsula. But now, a blood sacrifice ritual covered a third of its land!
Pervasive blood had turned into crimson clouds, obscuring the peninsula, and a rain of gore fell brutally upon the earth...
"It seems I was wrong to bring Xiao Han to the Expansion Realm to keep her from interfering with the Academy War in the Core World. Quite a move! Is this the Wizards' idea of revenge? As expected of Wizards, famous for being cold-blooded. You haven't even reached Transcendent status, yet you've already mastered the essence of being a Wizard."