Chapter 1107: A Great Show and Its Audience
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 1107: A Great Show and Its Audience
Over the past few days, the Baking House club underwent a significant internal purge.
The club had expanded too rapidly, leaving its foundations weak and the quality of its members inconsistent. This had allowed quite a few individuals with ulterior motives to slip through the cracks.
At least, that was how the outside world interpreted the Baking House’s sudden, drastic movements.
In reality, the true colors of every club member were laid bare under the Tree of Great Knowledge’s Ley Line Identification Art.
However, after some deliberation, both Millian and Cleveland suggested keeping the infiltrators. For one, they were short-staffed during this critical period. For another, it would be convenient to use them later to feed misinformation and lead their enemies astray.
After all, one could never truly eliminate all spies. As long as they were kept under a watchful eye, everything remained within a controllable margin.
Furthermore, the Baking House’s day-to-day operations didn't involve many sensitive matters. The core group consisted entirely of those who were fiercely loyal to me.
Thus, this "purge" was largely a symbolic gesture for public consumption.
Along the way, I intended to let these moles leave with just enough "intelligence" to ramp up the pressure on their masters.
As the Baking House finished its reorganization—leaving a trail of disgruntled departures in its wake—the first piece of "leaked" information began to circulate: a detailed after-action report on the operations within the underground facility of the Blood Slave Peninsula.
This was a version entirely different from the one shared with the United Clubs.
This summary introduced a specific concept: Primal Bloodline.
It was described as a unique factor extracted from the bloodlines of the Main World’s human race.
The report claimed its use was highly specialized and that it had already been privately submitted to Dean Mei. Much of the data from the underground facility had been placed under special seal, with explicit instructions that it was not to be disclosed to any student.
While the leak only provided the name "Primal Bloodline" and nothing else, the fact that it involved someone of the Dean’s level only served to ignite an insatiable curiosity regarding the facility beneath the Blood Slave Peninsula. Previously, that area had been occupied by the No. 0 Combat Sequence. Looking back, the whole situation seemed increasingly suspicious. They were dying to know the truth!
At that time, no other combat sequence had been able to reach that location. No one knew what had happened there.
All they knew was that a massive sound had erupted from the underground facility, as if something had been activated, after which the place had been left derelict.
Upon hearing this news, other clubs quickly and secretly dispatched members to the ruins of the Blood Slave Academy to begin exploring, hoping to find a breakthrough.
Others were busy trying to track down where the Baking House had "stored" the sealed data mentioned in the reports.
If it was marked as "not for student disclosure," it was almost certainly the Dean’s order.
The students of the Witch Academy were all prospective witches, not obedient little girls. The more a piece of information was hidden, the more they craved it—much like how the concepts of Luck and the Child of Destiny had eventually been forced into the public eye.
A few successful precedents had convinced them that even a Transcendent Academy couldn't keep secrets forever.
But while they were busy scurrying about, a troubling piece of news began to spread.
Someone on the Academy’s commercial street had spotted Teaching Assistant Xiao Han shopping with Mentor Bai Yu. Suddenly, Xiao Han’s expression had shifted, and he was whisked away by a summoning array.
This happened in broad daylight before countless witnesses; there was no mistaking it. People rarely saw anything that could make Teaching Assistant Xiao Han look so serious. And there was seemingly only one thing that would warrant such an urgent "Reverse Summoning Spell."
The World Navel of the Emerald Forest World had likely been found!
* * *
The Emerald Forest World.
"Sister Xiao Han!"
Seeing my figure emerge from the Reverse Summoning Spell’s array, the young girl clutching my summoning card let out a cry of pleasant surprise.
This was her first time receiving a mission from Sister Xiao Han.
Even though her role was simply to summon Sister Xiao Han at a specific location, the fact that she had been chosen out of so many others made her heart race with excitement.
The members of the No. 0 Combat Sequence had fanned out across the Emerald Forest World based on the maps they had acquired in advance, performing a grid-based search. They knew full well this wasn't how one actually found a World Navel, but they followed the orders nonetheless.
"You’re Mi Wei, right? Good work. You can keep this card. If you run into trouble in the future, you can try to contact me," I said. We were still quite a distance from the Void Rift, and it must have taken her a long time to travel this far.
"Yes! My name is Mi Wei! Thank you, Sister Xiao Han!"
The girl named Mi Wei didn't care about the age difference at all, calling me "Sister" with practiced ease. Internally, she was ecstatic. The fact that Sister Xiao Han remembered her name felt like a major life achievement.
"Um... Sister Xiao Han, what do we do next?" Mi Wei asked, quickly regaining her composure. "Did you... did you really find the World Navel here?"
"Don't listen to the rumors outside. I haven't mastered the art of dominating a World Navel... yet," I replied casually, making sure to emphasize the "yet."
I currently didn't have the time to research the techniques for dominating a World Navel, but that didn't mean I lacked the capability.
Admittedly, the World Navel of the Main World was buried so deep that even Spirit Vision at the Real World level could only catch a faint glimpse of it. However, when dealing with a small world—especially one whose soul essence had been hollowed out—finding the World Navel wouldn't be difficult if I were willing to spend the time.
"Ah? Oh, ohh!" Mi Wei nodded quickly. Since Sister Xiao Han had personally debunked the rumor, it was likely true. Still, she felt a twinge of disappointment. If Sister Xiao Han really dominated an entire world, wouldn't they all be set for life?
"There’s nothing to sigh about. Keep your eyes on the long term. Once you promote to a Transcendent Witch, you’ll realize that a small world is nothing. There are countless worlds beyond this one waiting for you to explore," I remarked, sensing her stray thoughts.
While Heart Sense wasn't exactly mind-reading, she wore her emotions so plainly on her face that it was impossible to miss.
"Ah! Yes!"
"Furthermore, your task is still quite heavy. Contact everyone in the combat sequence. Coordinate with Lin Xian and Lonafu to lock onto these coordinates and have them gather here for standby."
"Understood!" Mi Wei nodded excitedly and immediately shifted into mission mode.
Every member of the combat sequence was professionally trained. They weren't just powerful individuals; their execution of orders was flawless.
As she hurried off to work, I settled in to wait.
One of the primary reasons I had come here was the information reported to me by the Rebel Witch sisters wandering the void.
A damaged Spark Carrier drifting through the void was about to approach the material space of the Emerald Forest World.
Using the void displacement formulas and necessary parameters provided by those sisters, it was simple to calculate the approximate node where the vessel would crash into the Emerald Forest World’s material space.
My current location was a volcanic region, a rarity in the Emerald Forest World. The area was filled with volcanic clusters and high-temperature hot springs formed by geothermal heat. The most prominent feature was the massive active volcano beneath my feet.
There were Elven tribes here as well, and I could see the ruins of several player-built main cities.
However, the Elves here weren't Forest Elves, but various branches of specialized Elven races.
They weren't pure Elemental Spirits, but they possessed a bloodline talent that allowed them to actively undergo elementization. Calling them Fire Elves wouldn't be inaccurate.
From the Life Sequence, one could learn the specific names of these branches. For instance, the most common were the Lava Species, which were essentially Half-Fire Elves. Combined with natural environmental evolution, the Lava Species was the result of the external environment’s influence on the race’s bloodline.
Yet, even though the environment had shaped the race to such a meticulous degree, the Life Sequence still categorized their birth as a "common" occurrence.
Perhaps this was because the Elven race itself was so ubiquitous.
By this logic, there were likely more than just "Myriad Races" in the void; even "trillions of races" might not be enough to describe the diversity.
The moment I arrived at this volcano in the Emerald Forest World, many others suddenly went into a frenzy.
It was as if a silent signal had been given, and everyone was mobilized at once.
"Are these people always this slow? If they keep this up, they’re going to miss the show," I muttered, frowning slightly at the deduction data displayed before me.
By analyzing the fluctuations of Luck in the Emerald Forest World through Aura Observation, I could reverse-engineer the movements of our "invaders."
I found their efficiency to be severely lacking.
Logically, all they had to do was find a single member of the No. 0 Combat Sequence and follow them. Once they found my location, they could open a spatial teleportation channel and bring in a massive crowd.
And yet... this was all they could manage?
I had gone to the trouble of using the World Navel as bait to get their attention; they couldn't possibly be giving up now...
That simply wouldn't do.
On second thought, it wasn't that surprising. Most of the people searching the world wouldn't be carrying spatial teleportation equipment.
Back when the Free Warband Squad invaded the Elven territories, they only had one device per squad. It was impossible for every individual to have one. Anything related to spatial teleportation was far from cheap; you didn't just carry it around like a common tool.
However... I looked at the communications and private messages flooding in through the Tree of Great Knowledge.
Usually, I didn't bother with these messages.
But in this urgent situation, some people were desperate enough to think I might actually respond. They had bypassed Millian and Cleveland to contact me directly...
I have to say... you made the right choice!
I opened my friend list—which had been neglected for so long I couldn't remember when I’d added most of them—and looked at the newly popped-up chat box. I clicked directly on Phantom Communication.
A moment later, a flickering magical image manifested, standing about as tall as a person. The person on the other end was clearly unprepared for a face-to-face meeting; her movements were stiff and awkward.
In her field of vision, the magical image projected was my own.
Anyone would be startled by such a sudden development.
The person I had connected with was none other than Ming Xueming.
The former president of the Jack-of-all-trades Club, and currently a club veteran responsible for coordinating business in the Expansion Realms.
"Ming Xueming, it’s been a long time. I didn't expect you to be involved in this as well."
"T-Teaching Assistant Xiao Han? My apologies, I didn't mean to disturb you so abruptly!"
Ming Xueming’s breath hitched. She hurriedly straightened her posture and stood up, offering a reflexive apology despite her shock.
"Actually, I only heard that you had suddenly left due to some urgent matters, which caused quite a stir. We were only acting out of—"
"Enough," I interrupted, cutting off her attempt at a cover story. "Guess what the probability is that my Heart Sense can see through your lies, even through a magical projection? Clumsy excuses only serve to deceive yourselves. I know why you’re so desperate to find me. Speak plainly."
Ming Xueming struggled to hide her embarrassment. She took a moment to organize her thoughts before speaking. "Actually, we’ve been closely following your movements, Teaching Assistant. You left in such a hurry... may I ask... have you found the World Navel of the Emerald Forest World?"
"I haven't. I don't know where you picked up that concept—perhaps from my side—but I don't care. My goal was never the World Navel. The Emerald Forest is a world battlefield; what use do I have for a battlefield? If I wanted to master a world, it would be mine before you even knew it existed."
Silence fell on Ming Xueming’s end. It was clear she wasn't at the United Clubs, or even the Jack-of-all-trades Club’s headquarters.
She represented the faction within the Witch Academy that had completely leaned toward the Academy’s side.
They were the ones who saw the power of the Transcendent Academy most clearly. Their greed and ambitions were drowned out by that overwhelming strength, and they viewed the grand plans of the Great Families as nothing more than delusions.
But the more clearly they saw, the more they realized how little agency they truly had.
In the precarious state of the Main World, the Transcendent Academy was the harbor that would never fall, and Teaching Assistant Xiao Han was the ship that could return to that harbor at any time.
Their attitude would determine whether they were granted a ticket to board that ship.
"I am waiting for a great show to begin. Originally, there was no part for you in it. But since you’ve found me, I don't mind letting you witness something you’ve never seen before."
"Bring more spectators. This show involves many people—from the Witch Academy to the Three Top Academies. The more witnesses, the better."
"I’ve sent you the coordinates. From this moment on... act as if you never contacted me."