Chapter 1079: The Spark Migration Plan
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 1079: The Spark Migration Plan
"So, the method used by the Spiral Core Observation Tower beneath the Wizard Academy to observe and lock onto the World Navel was this so-called 'Bloodline Lens Great Witchcraft'?"
"That seems to be the case." Dean Mei nodded. "I didn't expect them to use the Vampires as a front to carry this out so discreetly."
Many things seemed simple in hindsight, but the only real difficulty was the initial spark of realization.
"Then the Wizard Academy will likely realize soon that we've figured it out, right?" I asked.
"Certainly. Since it concerns their means of deterrence, they'll surely guess we know."
"Then why didn't they interfere with the Blood Slave Peninsula? They just let our students take over. And afterward, they even sent wizard apprentices to sabotage the facilities. If those apprentices hadn't started messing around, the United Club might not have even noticed."
"If they had interfered directly at the start, it would have been tantamount to telling us something was wrong. Even if they hadn't sent apprentices to sabotage the place, those massive underground facilities beneath the Blood Slave Academy would have been discovered sooner or later. And even if they weren't, they wouldn't be able to use those facilities to refine Original Bloodline anymore."
"Uh..."
"There's another reason. By letting us find out, the Wizard Academy is hinting at something: they have absolutely no way out now. The stock of Original Bloodline they have on hand should be enough to support at least one activation of the Staff of World Destruction. Next time, there won't be a standoff or threats—it will be an unannounced, mutual destruction."
"In short, it's a powerful ultimatum."
"Sounds like bad news..." I sighed.
"Not necessarily. Last time was already supposed to be their 'last time.' Whether they have more or not doesn't change much. They are already desperadoes we've backed into a corner."
"Then... I'm curious. Since they're doomed either way... haven't they thought about a way out? Why persist like this? Given the current situation, wouldn't retreating from the Main World be the best option?"
"Do you think they haven't been leaving? Ever since things started spiraling out of their control, many experts from the Three Great Transcendent Races have been leaving the Main World one after another. The Holy Angels were the fastest to run. After all, the Elves still have World Tree branches to defend, and the Transcendent Wizards have their own Wizard Towers in the Main World that can't be moved."
"Oh... so they do run."
"Of course they do. Furthermore, they need to keep the Main World's Witch forces in check. Many eyes in the void are now focused on this fractured Main World Void Domain."
As Dean Mei spoke, she gave me a strange look.
Mei Lind actually left one thing unsaid. There was another reason the Main World Void Domain was being focused on: the meddling of the Rebel Witches—specifically, that so-called Coming-of-Age Ceremony...
"Uh... is there something on my face?" I looked at Dean Mei, feeling a bit odd. My Heart Sense told me she was hiding something, wanting to speak but hesitating.
"Oh, it's nothing. I just feel like you've changed a bit, Xiao Han." Mei Lind brushed it off with a casual excuse. Of course, it wasn't entirely an excuse; she truly felt an indescribable change in Xiao Han.
"Changed? Can you tell me how?" I asked, surprised. She wasn't the first Witch to tell me I'd changed, but neither they nor I could put a finger on what that change actually was.
"I'm not sure... perhaps you've become even more dazzling. Let's not talk about that." Dean Mei shook her head. "What are your plans next? You've been causing quite a stir lately. It feels like you're dancing on the nerves of the other transcendent races."
"Steady growth. I'll continue my research into life consciousness, accumulating theoretical and practical experience. Then, next semester, once the new battlefield opens, I'll take the opportunity to declare war on the three transcendent academies," I explained.
Of course, I also needed to deepen my research into the bloodline power of Fool's Dream. I felt like I had far too much on my plate.
"If I remember correctly, your battle at the school forged the Infinite Mana talent and completed a full domain construction. Don't you plan to consolidate that power?" Dean Mei asked. Although she hadn't been there personally for that fight, she had followed it the entire time.
"Things have to be taken one step at a time~" I said with a smile, waving my hand.
Besides, I hadn't just accomplished those things. I had also created a special derivation for the Tree of Great Knowledge, which would become a brand-new breakthrough for my development of its power.
"True, one must take things slowly. Good things take time; being able to keep one's patience is very important." Dean Mei nodded in agreement. "So, Xiao Han, have you decided how to handle this drop of Original Bloodline?"
"I haven't really thought about it. Do you want it, Dean Mei?" I asked curiously.
The moment Dean Mei asked, I could feel her thoughts manifesting quite clearly.
"Yes. I think this thing could be used to trade for some good items from the Wizards. Of course, that's just a thought. I doubt they'd want it back, but they'll have to take it."
"Have to?"
"Naturally. The Bloodline Lens itself is a universal technique. Even though Witches don't use witchcraft, we can achieve similar effects through other means. Even if they don't dare use the Original Bloodline they get back from us, they're even more afraid of us starting research on the Bloodline Lens."
"I see. So this thing is basically a hot potato in my hands?"
"Not quite that bad, but it is a bit of a time bomb. Do you want me to see what kind of treasures I can squeeze out of the Wizards for it? If you decide to keep it for research, I'll keep that in mind."
"Let's go with the safer option." I opened the Book in the Box and flipped to the page where the Original Bloodline was sealed.
The "safe" option was, naturally, to get rid of the unstable element to keep those crazy Wizards from getting paranoid. Though the other side had been silent since the incident, they were likely just swallowing their pride for now.
But you couldn't always bet on the opponent staying quiet. Knowing when to compromise was also a form of wisdom.
* * *
Meanwhile.
The Three Great Transcendent Races accelerated their secret migration plans.
Take the Transcendent Wizards, for example.
While the accumulation of a Transcendent Wizard's power and foundation lay within their established Wizard Towers, their most precious assets were the knowledge they possessed and their vast troves of research data!
Abandoning a Wizard Tower was not an impossible choice. Transcendents had long lifespans; while they weren't eternally undying like Witches, living for tens of thousands of years was feasible. As long as their knowledge remained, rebuilding a Wizard Tower was merely a matter of accumulating raw power and materials.
This was already the fourth wave of the Wizard migration plan being carried out in secret by the Wizard Academy.
News had spread from the main clan that the situation for the Wizard outposts in the Main World was looking grim, yet they were still ordered to hold the Main World to the death.
The goal was to tie down the Witches of the Main World.
They had received word that the Witch race seemed to be making a major move in the Main World, involving some very important strategic layout. They had to stay behind to obstruct the Witches' progress.
Such a decision was cold-blooded, essentially telling them to go to their deaths.
But for the sake of the Great Wizard Will, the wizard faction led by Tuskage, the Academy Dean, suppressed the opposition from other factions. To appease them, the "Spark Migration Plan" was born.
The "Spark" was a tether, a choice. Under the witness of the Wizard Will, they would trade their lives to ensure that their cherished partners, bloodline descendants, personal students, and friends were taken care of by the Wizard World after they completed this grand act of self-sacrifice.
It wasn't just the Wizards; the other two transcendent races were doing something similar.
In short, the Staff of World Destruction Plan was definitely going to happen. Since they had chosen death, they certainly weren't going to leave the Main World to the Witches.
Yes, the plan would be implemented, but only after they had finished transferring all the "Spark Personnel."
They were no longer using the Witches' recent commotions as a threat, though they maintained that facade. Before their Sparks were fully transferred, they needed to use the Witches' actions as a convenient excuse to cover their own tracks.
And so... everyone was racing against time.
The Witches were fighting for time to break the deadlock, while the Three Great Transcendent Races were fighting for time to clandestinely execute their Spark Migration Plan.
However, such things couldn't be hidden forever—but that was the beauty of the gambit.
"Moving so many Sparks this time... the target is still too large. Even if there's a tacit understanding, the other side isn't blind. The Witches will get anxious."
After all, once a large number of Sparks were moved, the actual implementation time for the Staff of World Destruction Plan would be drastically shortened. The Witches were also racing for time.
"Let's create some trouble to distract them," someone suggested.
Currently, many powerful entities had gathered in the void outside the Main World. Most notable were those reckless Rebel Witches, followed by other void races attracted by the rumors leaking from the Main World.
"That's a good idea. I remember there's a small world in the Game World that was cast out and is about to collide with the Main World, right?"
"You want the Void Wanderers roaming the void to cause some trouble for that small world? I recall that small world was the work of that little Witch. Given how much those Witches care about her, it seems feasible."
"Void Wanderers" was a broad term. Generally, it referred to void lifeforms without any transcendent backing or background, but more specifically, it meant those creatures with little intelligence and only instinct that were active throughout the void.
To use an analogy, the "Void Wanderers" active in the void were like the cockroaches, snakes, and ants of a world—or perhaps like the shrimp, crabs, and shellfish of the ocean, or even deep-sea leviathans. They were impossible to eradicate and were everywhere.
Some of these void lifeforms were so powerful that even those in the Transcendent Saint Realm dared not provoke them, while others could be crushed with a wave of a hand.
But because they lived in the void, they possessed a near-transcendent essence from birth.
If there was a pecking order among transcendents, void lifeforms were the oddities distributed across every single level of that chain.
"Good point. It looks like I can scrap my original proposal."
"That wasn't what you were thinking before?"
"It is now."
With a few simple words, the matter was settled.
* * *
Back at the Witch Academy, I still had no idea what was happening.
After leaving Dean Mei, Sister Bai prepared to return to her cultivation.
Perhaps this recent practical battle had shown Sister Bai some of her shortcomings, as she began to immerse herself deeply in her training.
According to Sister Bai, although the Saint Realm was the final stage in the orthodox void advancement system, the strength of this realm could be accumulated infinitely.
If one spell could forge one domain, then over time, the variety of domains a Witch accumulated would become unimaginably vast.
The more tools one had, the closer one came to being omnipotent.
The gap in raw power between Saint Realm experts of the same level wasn't usually that large; the difference lay in whose techniques countered whose.
The more you mastered, the harder it was for others to counter you.
This was the essence of Saint Realm cultivation and accumulation.
I didn't stop Sister Bai from her ascetic training. Although I had told her that accumulating power wasn't as good as a breakthrough in perspective, it was clear that Sister Bai—much like the subject she pursued—belonged to the Ordinary Sequence.
Following the path step-by-step was her steadiest and fastest route.
Furthermore, Sister Bai had Body Cultivation power that other Saint Realm Witches lacked, including Five Senses Body Cultivation, Heart Sense, Time Sense, and even the Dream Domain Order that had never been publicly revealed.
Thus, Sister Bai's combat power and versatility had suddenly surpassed many of her senior transcendent Witches.
Most of Sister Bai's anxiety stemmed from me—this little Witch who was constantly accumulating, innovating, breaking through, and deriving.
Those were the words of the First Generation Elder, who saw through it clearly. Of course, as a Heart-Sensing Body Cultivator, Sister Bai saw it clearly too, but making a change was easier said than done.
As for me, I returned to the Land of Fool's Dream.
Yulan and the others would often return here, and my purpose for coming was to share the theoretical foundation of the Fool's Dream bloodline power.
Although the spirits in the Land of Fool's Dream didn't even have a biological essence, let alone bloodline power, not possessing it didn't prevent them from knowing about it.
The bloodline power of Fool's Dream was one of the foundations for a Fool's Dream spirit to become a true living being.
Every spirit of Fool's Dream possessed a near-instinctive craving for it.
I also took the opportunity to ask the spirits if they wanted to come to reality.
Mentor Dinah and Sofiri had already laid the groundwork for the Fool's Dream spirits to survive within the Witch Academy.
Speaking of which, it felt like I hadn't visited Sofiri in a long time. Back then, we were just friends who met in a Witch Secret Realm. Later, through a chance cooperation, we had built the plantation for the raw materials of the Fool's Dream drink.
Now, Sofiri seemed to have made it big in the Witch Academy, no longer having to worry about money.