Chapter 1035: Techniques for Repairing Damaged Soul Essence
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 1035: Techniques for Repairing Damaged Soul Essence
The Witch United Club was the most unique organization in the Witch Academy, bar none. Consequently, the grounds allocated to it by the academy were immense.
The club headquarters, in particular, could be considered the largest club building currently in existence. After all, it served as the representative hub for all the major clubs within the Witch Academy; the grand conference room for club representatives alone was of unprecedented scale.
At this moment, however, the atmosphere inside the United Club was far from celebratory. It was oppressive, simmering with a volatile mix of grief and rage.
The Blood Sacrifice incident on the peninsula had occurred, claiming the lives of countless students. Who could possibly be happy in the face of such a tragedy?
I had contacted Cleveland again, and we agreed to meet in the United Club’s conference hall.
The meeting inside was currently drawing to a close. My arrival would serve to stabilize everyone’s emotions to some extent, and Cleveland would provide me with a detailed report.
A vast number of club representatives had already gathered at the headquarters. Even outside, the area was packed with a wide variety of vehicles. Not everyone in the Witch Academy had mastered spatial spells, and not everyone enjoyed riding a broom.
“Welcome to the United Club, Teaching Assistant Yang Yuehan!”
The young receptionist at the entrance watched me enter with a fervent gaze. I was soon met by the assistant Cleveland had sent to receive me. She led me and Ning, who was by my side, toward the main conference hall.
“Was that Teaching Assistant Xiao Han? Heavens… I finally saw her in the flesh!” the receptionist whispered in awe as my figure receded.
“So that’s the little witch who single-handedly caused the Earth-Sun Tragedy… I heard the fallout was so massive that the academy, pressured by the alliance of the Three Top Academies, had to station her in the Expansion Realm. I didn’t expect her to return so soon.”
“Of course she’s back! Before, the optics were bad, but look at what’s happening now. Look at what those bastards have done!”
“Exactly! Lord Xiao Han must be back to lead the United Club in a counterattack. We want blood for blood!”
News of my arrival at the headquarters spread before I even reached the hall.
The realization that the United Club’s "strategic deterrent" had returned from the Expansion Realm immediately put many at ease. Numerous representatives kept glancing toward the various entrances of the conference hall.
As a commotion broke out near the entrance closest to me, the noisy arguments and shouting within the hall died down in a chain reaction. Even the most heatedly debating cliques instinctively lowered their voices, looking up to see what was happening.
Then, they saw two white-haired figures entering the room, flanked by a small entourage.
The hall fell silent for a few seconds before the murmurs surged again, louder than before.
The absolute representative of the Red Velvet Baking House, Teaching Assistant Xiao Han herself, had arrived!
I ignored the excited crowd.
I was more or less used to the chaotic and noisy nature of these meetings. Everyone who could make it here possessed their own unique personality and power; even the United Club found it difficult to make everyone sit as primly as schoolchildren.
Furthermore, this was the Witch Academy—a fact that explained almost any irrational phenomenon.
I made my way to the Red Velvet Baking House’s section.
Aside from Cleveland, there were many familiar faces. After greeting them one by one, I took the meeting minutes from Cleveland. She then began to brief me on the situation.
This was an emergency meeting called primarily because the No. 1, No. 2, and No. 7 Combat Sequences had suffered retaliatory blood sacrifices on the Blood Slave Peninsula.
Currently, the various combat sequences had formed a joint rescue team and headed out. Because the space in that region was extremely unstable, spatial spells could not be used to reach it directly.
Many members from the Baking House had also rushed there, with Shopkeeper Xia Li personally volunteering to lead the team. That was why she wasn't here.
Before Cleveland and I could exchange more than a few words, representatives from the Jack-of-all-trades Club, the Witch Secret Realm Club, and several other core guardian clubs approached me.
The one I was most familiar with was Olina from the Witch Secret Realm Club, who was also the current host of the United Club’s major meetings. As for Nicola from the Jack-of-all-trades Club—the girl who, in my memory, had only recently become president—she had lost her former flightiness and gained a touch of maturity. At the very least, she no longer wore all her emotions openly on her face.
After a round of polite greetings, those who realized they couldn't get a word in edgewise tactfully stepped aside to wait.
Olina was the first to speak, her voice thick with suppressed fury.
The No. 1 and No. 2 Combat Sequences represented the elite of the Witch Secret Realm Club and the Jack-of-all-trades Club, respectively. As the president of the Witch Secret Realm Club, how could she not be enraged?
“The blood sacrifice on the Blood Slave Peninsula has had a devastating impact on our academy. Even though we dispatched rescue teams immediately upon learning of the situation, the outlook is grim. This incident is a failure of the entire United Club; we underestimated the horrific consequences that unexpected variables in an Academy War can bring…”
“No one could have predicted this. There’s no need to blame yourselves,” I consoled her. In truth, it could have been predicted—using Qi Observation Art, for instance—but I couldn't keep that spell active at all times, let alone monitor the luck of the entire Main World.
After offering my condolences, I continued, “Is the situation salvageable? Are there any difficulties regarding resurrection?”
“The situation is unique and the outlook is bleak. The blood sacrifice ritual of the blood slaves didn't just drain the blood and flesh of everyone within the ritual; it also siphoned their Soul Essence.”
Olina’s voice trembled. “According to the feedback from the mentors, such a violent extraction method causes almost irreversible damage to the Soul Essence. If the ritual had a specific beneficiary, the Soul Essence might even be consumed entirely. In that case, even a Resurrection Spell cannot bring back those whose Soul Essence has been spent… It would be absolute death.”
In the Witch Academy, there was no one who didn't fear absolute death.
“According to the mentors’ speculation, the Blood Slave Academy shouldn't dare go that far. A blood sacrifice of this magnitude is enough to catalyze a Vampire Duke. If that happens, it would mean a Transcendent has intervened in the Academy War. The mentors of the Witch Academy would undoubtedly raze the Blood Slave Academy to the ground with lightning speed!”
Nicola added a bit of "good news" from the side.
At the very least, this suggested that the students killed in the sacrifice were not "absolutely dead." If their bodies were brought back, they might still be revived.
It was like a repeat of the Earth-Sun Tragedy.
However, the damage to their Soul Essence… was far more severe than the side effects suffered by the students of the Afuhemi Academy and the Holy Angel Academy.
How could they give the student body an explanation?
The United Club had initiated this Academy War. No one had the power to take responsibility for such a loss. If handled poorly, anti-war sentiment would skyrocket, and everything the Witch Academy had done recently would look like a joke.
“Regardless, we must bring our people back. We’ll deal with the aftermath as it comes,” I sighed, though my mind was already turning to other matters.
Specifically, the art of Soul Essence repair.
Repairing Soul Essence wasn't difficult for me. Shi Ruizhi had been in a far worse state back then—unable to even maintain her basic life essence—yet I had fixed her using Soul Depiction.
While "Soul Essence deficiency" sounded terrifying, it was nowhere near as perilous as Shi Ruizhi’s case. The difficulty of the repair wasn't even as high as the difficulty of raising my own soul level.
However, I didn't want to use Soul Depiction to perform soul metamorphosis on thousands of people.
Although Soul Depiction was primarily aimed at the soul, Soul Essence was simply the primitive state of the soul before metamorphosis. The technique could still be used for repair.
But fixing over a thousand people at once… that was too much trouble.
Perhaps I could use Soul Depiction as a base to derive a "Soul Essence Painting" technique that was more suited for the people of the Main World.
Seeing how dejected everyone was, I took my seat.
“Everyone, don't be so quick to despair. I might have some good news.”
“Teaching Assistant Xiao Han, do you have a way?” Olina asked, hope flaring in her eyes. The representatives of the other clubs also looked over with intense focus.
“Your primary concern right now is the damaged Soul Essence, correct?”
“Yes. Soul Essence is the foundation of life. As far as I know, while ordinary Resurrection Spells can gather Soul Essence to a degree, they cannot create it out of nothing. After resurrection, the cost of repairing damaged Soul Essence is astronomical—to the point where even large clubs like ours couldn't afford to support more than one or two people.”
“Do you remember what happened during the second promotion of the Self-Generated Mana experiment?” I glanced at Shi Ruizhi, who was also present.
“Eh? You’re talking about me?” Shi Ruizhi pointed at herself instinctively.
At the mention of that incident, many people in the room felt their hearts tighten.
Although that matter had been "settled" and the "culprits" cleared out, many people had been involved. Even those who were merely in the know feared being targeted by the vengeful little witch before them.
As the president of the Jack-of-all-trades Club, Nicola bit her lip and spoke up. To say the Jack-of-all-trades Club had been ignorant of that affair would be a lie no one would believe.
“Teaching Assistant Xiao Han, about that matter…”
“I’m not here to settle old scores,” I said, raising a hand to cut her off. “I only want to tell you that the injuries Shi Ruizhi sustained back then were far more serious than mere Soul Essence damage.”
“Yet Shi Ruizhi is sitting here perfectly fine, with the only cost being the loss of her previous memories,” I continued. “Soul Essence damage is nowhere near as severe as the consequences of that sabotage. The Witch Academy possesses a special technique for repairing damaged Soul Essence.”
As I said this, many eyes lit up!
Hope surged within them.
A special technique!
The reason they were lamenting was precisely because they lacked a repair technique and had to rely on rare, precious items to slowly mend Soul Essence. If such a technique existed, and if the resource cost was manageable, the fallout of this incident could be greatly mitigated.
“Does such a technique really exist?! Forgive my boldness, but what precious resources does it require? The Jack-of-all-trades Club can start preparing them immediately!”
“The Witch Secret Realm Club as well! Also, we would like to ask which mentor possesses this technique? Teaching Assistant Xiao Han, could you ask that mentor to intervene? The Witch Secret Realm Club will remember this favor, and we will provide a reward that satisfies you…”
“Don't get ahead of yourselves,” I said, calming the excited crowd. “I can act as an intermediary to ask that mentor to help, but it won't be without a price. As for the specific resources required, I need to look into the details. I’ll send you a list later. However, one thing is certain: Soul Essence—specifically Soul Crystals—will be an indispensable resource for repairing damaged Soul Essence.”
I didn't plan to reveal my own methods directly. I would simply find a mentor to cooperate with me when the time came.
As for explicitly telling them to prepare Soul Essence, while it was indeed a necessary material for repairing life essence, my primary motive was my own.
I needed to accelerate my own advancement to Transcendent status, which required a massive amount of Soul Essence!
It wasn't just for the advancement itself, but for my plans after becoming Transcendent. My life essence was rooted in the soul; to reach the Transcendent level, my foundation had to be firmer than that of other students, which meant higher consumption.
As for the other resources I had vaguely mentioned, those would be my "commission."
These people didn't truly care about the deaths of so many students; they only cared about the massive fallout and the long-term effects of damaged Soul Essence. They feared that the Academy War would become unsustainable, preventing them from plundering more benefits.
Now that I had suggested a solution to the fundamental problem, they relaxed completely.
Since it was a mutually beneficial transaction, it was only natural for me to squeeze some affordable benefits out of them.
After all, I wasn't exactly a saint.
If one really wanted to trace it back, I was the one who had essentially instigated the start of this Academy War in the first place.
Once the matter was settled, the meeting—which was already near its end—concluded successfully.
The anxiety, regret, and unease that had clouded their faces mostly vanished. In their hearts, only the fire of revenge remained.
And that was exactly what I needed.