Chapter 1037: A Candid Confession
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 1037: A Candid Confession
The rain of blood no longer fell upon the Blood Slave Peninsula.
Dark red clouds hung frozen in the sky. The once-pattering drizzle had transformed mid-air into crimson snowflakes that drifted silently toward the earth.
As they settled, they began to accumulate.
Looking up, however, the world was not a blanket of pure white. The snowflakes bore a pale pink hue, masking the tragedies that had unfolded across the land with a deceptive beauty.
All of this had been triggered by a single question from me: "Watching them like that... do you have any intention of doing something?"
Ning knew neither resurrection nor burial spells. To her, the dead could not be brought back. However... she reached out her hand.
With a single wave, she transformed the world into a snowy landscape.
I continued to walk beside her.
The snow grew thicker, soon reaching mid-calf depth—an exaggerated accumulation by any standard. But considering this was the work of a Great Spellbook, it wasn't that surprising.
I had a strange feeling that Ning had done more than just change the weather.
It wasn't until I saw mounds rising in the snow, with man-sized entities of Ancient Remnant Ice crawling out, that I realized what she was truly trying to do.
"Quite the grand gesture..."
I sighed in admiration. I watched as the Ancient Remnant Ice—entities that radiated a bloody light even through their crystalline forms—began to gather the remains of the commoners one by one within the snow.
"What are you planning?" I asked, looking at the Ancient Remnant Ice.
The reason I called it a "grand gesture" was that this snowfall covered every inch beneath the blood clouds—meaning more than half of the Blood Slave Peninsula!
Wherever the snow fell, Ancient Remnant Ice was born. These constructs didn't possess much power; they were roughly equivalent to ordinary humans. A blizzard of this scale could only barely manifest kin of that strength level.
"Returning to the earth... that is the destination for soul essence."
"Burial makes it easier for the soul essence of the living to enter the cycle within the ley lines after death, right?"
"That is the intent," Ning replied, nodding after considering my phrasing.
I didn't object to her actions. However, the idea of mass burial on the spot was still a bit macabre. In a modern society, cremation was the norm; cities weren't meant to be graveyards.
But... at least a third of the Blood Slave Peninsula had already become a dead zone.
It didn't really matter anymore.
Besides, I didn't truly care about the logistics. This was an act of respect from a World Guardian toward the lives of a Destined Race.
I continued to walk with Ning, stopping occasionally.
"Did you think of something?"
When we stopped again, I watched her quietly. It wasn't until she opened her eyes that I asked tentatively.
"I don't know... I feel as though as time passes, information I've never known before keeps surfacing in my mind. It's accompanied by an intense sense of heart palpitations."
"Is it information buried within your bloodline?" I inquired.
When Ning had chatted with Tan Han and Shi Ruizhi earlier, she mentioned she "remembered" what they had done. It didn't seem like she was lying.
Of course, I was mainly asking to test another possibility...
"No. It has nothing to do with my race."
"Can you describe what kind of information it is? Is it images, sounds, some kind of whispering, or an indescribable impression?" I guided her gently, encouraging her to speak.
The moment she mentioned heart palpitations, I had a suspicion.
The Three Top Academies were constantly threatening to destroy the Main World using the World Navel. How could anyone feel at ease knowing their home could be obliterated at any moment?
"It's as if something very important is being entangled and bound by an unknown presence. It feels like being placed on an execution dock, watching a blade in my own hand about to pierce my own heart..."
"That is a remarkably vivid description," I remarked. It aligned closely with my theory.
The "important thing" was the World Navel.
"Piercing the heart" was the destruction of the world.
As for the rest—the binding, the execution dock, the sword in her own hand—they all seemed to point toward something specific.
Was this the fundamental framework the Three Top Academies were using to destroy the world?
"You seem to know something?" After voicing her inner dread, Ning looked up and caught me deep in thought.
"Would you believe me if I said I don't know much either?"
"I would."
"Really?" I chuckled softly. "I'm not entirely clear on the specifics of this matter, but I do know a few other things. Otherwise, I wouldn't be so lost in thought."
My words piqued Ning's curiosity. "Can you tell me?"
"Of course. But before that, I need to bring up something I mentioned to you before."
"What is it?"
"The deal with the Main World." I turned my head to look at her, hiding nothing. "Before, you only knew that you were one side of the trade. Weren't you curious about what you were exchanged for?"
"What did you exchange me for?" Ning asked.
"For something that can decide the life or death of the Main World. It's called the World Navel. If it's destroyed, the world is left with only one ending: death."
"Does that have anything to do with me? Or are you Witches planning to... destroy the world?"
"You've got it wrong. We Witches aren't that wicked. The ones who want to destroy the world are the Three Top Academies I mentioned—or rather, the three Transcendent Races they represent: the Wizards, the Holy Angels, and the Aphra Elves."
"So that's how it is." Ning quickly connected the dots regarding her relationship with the world. "So, the Witches want to protect the Main World? To protect this 'World Navel'?"
"Yes. So... if you don't want to be the World Guardian, you can leave it to the Witches. You would simply be a friend of the Witches who shared what she knew."
"And if I want to be the World Guardian?"
"Then use the power of the Witches to achieve what you desire. That is also your ability. Friendship is a form of power you wield."
After I finished, I gave Ning some time to process.
I admitted to myself that I was being a bit pushy with my guidance, but I didn't regret it.
Furthermore, the fact that Ning even used the phrase "if I want to be the World Guardian" proved she had accepted her innate identity much more easily than I had anticipated.
"So, the reason you've been following me all this time was to learn what you wanted to know from me."
"To be honest... yes."
"You didn't need to be so indirect. You could have been more straightforward. Your strength is far greater than mine. Setting aside Transcendents, even you could probably have taken me down within a day, couldn't you?"
"Where did that line of thinking come from?" I looked at Ning with a strange expression.
If it weren't for me, the Witches might truly not have bothered with much diplomacy. After all, even a World Consciousness wasn't necessarily an entity they would negotiate with as an equal.
But she had met me.
"It is an instinct carved into my race. Negotiations of power are much purer. The weak should submit to the strong; that is how it should be."
"You're never going to have any friends with that attitude."
"Does power need friends?"
"Is the friendship between friends considered a form of power?"
"Friendship can break."
"Fire can be extinguished, and snow can melt."
"I can't win an argument against you."
"Experience life more. Discover things you're willing to cherish. You'll realize that experiencing them is a very enjoyable process," I said with a smile.
"Is it really enjoyable?"
"It is for me, but not everyone can appreciate it." I shook my head. "Let's not talk about that. Since we're here, we'll likely run into the rescue squad sent by the Academy. Want to go take a look? This snow of yours... it might have caused them quite a bit of trouble."
"Really? My apologies. Should I withdraw this power?"
"Better not. Snow is better than being soaked by blood rain. For us, it's just a matter of a single Cleaning Spell." I lightly brushed my clothes.
Even under the constant effect of the derived Cleaning Spell, not a single snowflake had actually settled on my shoulders.
With a destination in mind, we stopped wandering aimlessly. After a quick orientation, we headed straight for the "Blood Slave Academy Ruins."
Beneath the bloody snow, we soon spotted many busy figures.
A large group had gathered at the edge of a massive sinkhole. Even without intentionally sensing it, I could feel a surge of energy carrying the scent of blood radiating from the source.
This was clearly the core of the blood sacrifice ritual within the Blood Slave Academy. It had been buried so deep; if the ritual's release hadn't torn open the ground and buildings, no one would have known when it might have seen the light of day.
"That... that's Teaching Assistant Xiao Han!"
As Ning and I descended, someone immediately spotted and recognized me.
After all, who in the United Club didn't know who I was?
"I didn't expect you to come in person, Teaching Assistant Xiao Han!"
Soon, a captain stepped out from the scattered crowd and approached me with great enthusiasm.
However, after expressing her surprise, she immediately began to vent her grievances in a roundabout way.
They knew that if this Teaching Assistant even lifted a finger, she could avenge the students who had died tragically on the Blood Slave Peninsula!
"The Witch Academy will absolutely retaliate for this, but we haven't finished the tasks at hand yet."
"Right, right! Finish the current work first! Um... Teaching Assistant Xiao Han, are you here to provide support?"
"Yes, in a way. I can help you quickly stabilize the anomalies in the material space and speed up the construction of a spatial portal directly back to the Academy."
"Thank you so much, Teaching Assistant Xiao Han! We've tried several times, but the spatial interference here is too great. I was originally thinking of heading further out to find a flatter area to open the portal."
Their primary goal was to open a spatial portal. So many people had died at once; the rescuers who had arrived might not even outnumber the fallen. That was nearly three full-sized core combat sequences!
They didn't have enough vehicles, and even if they did, wouldn't they be a laughingstock to the other Transcendent Academies along the way?
"Stabilizing space? Let me lend a hand as well." Hearing my conversation with the captain, Ning spoke up.
"Eh? Um... may I ask who this Senior Sister is...?"
"Just call me Ning."
"I see, Senior Sister Ning!"
"I am not a student of the Witch Academy. There is no need to call me Senior Sister."
"Not a student?" The girl looked at me hesitantly, unsure of the situation.
"At least not for now. Just treat her as my friend," I explained proactively after meeting her gaze.
As for what Ning was going to do... it was actually quite simple. Her Great Glacial Throne Technique possessed the power of a Ice Sealed World. That was spatial power touched by the rank of a Great Spellbook; using it to stabilize space was practically overkill.
Ning reached out and made a grasping motion in the air. With her palm as the center, the power of ice and snow bloomed. Everyone felt as if space itself had been frozen. After the initial sensation of abnormality, a slight movement felt like shattering a layer of ice covering their bodies, as if they had arrived in a brand-new world.
As the saying goes, the layman watches the show while the expert watches the craft.
Ning's display immediately left everyone stunned. They instinctively felt a sense of respect for this girl. As expected of a friend by Teaching Assistant Xiao Han's side!
As for me... with the enhancement of my Body Cultivation Eighth Sense, my spatial sense, I could feel that Ning's control over this power was still purely instinctive and somewhat unrefined.
But I didn't bother pointing it out.
The power of a Great Spellbook was more than enough to suppress such a massive blood sacrifice ritual. Once the energy dissipated, the material space would level out in no time.
Before we could chat much longer, the appearance of another figure made me pause.
"Shopkeeper... I didn't expect you to find your way here."
"Mm. I also didn't expect you to come in person, Xiao Han. Are you back from the Expansion Realm?"
"Yeah. After such a big event happened, I couldn't stay away, so I came to see for myself..." I said, then looked at the Shopkeeper and added, "I'm sorry."
Previously, the Shopkeeper had explicitly stated how cruel Academy Wars could be.
And the reality was exactly as she had said—perhaps even crueler than her descriptions.
The Shopkeeper was momentarily stunned by my apology, but she quickly recovered. "Why are you apologizing to me? It's not your fault."
"The United Club has decided to cover all resurrection costs for the students who died on the Blood Slave Peninsula. As for the issue of soul essence damage from the blood sacrifice, I've already used my connections to ask a Mentor to help with the repairs."
"Is... is that true? Teaching Assistant Xiao Han, are you serious!"
Before the Shopkeeper could even react, the others nearby immediately realized the weight of what I had just said!
"Yes. The priority now is to open the spatial portal. I will do my best with the rest."