Chapter 1131: Embracing the Witches
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 1131: Embracing the Witches
Afuhemi Academy.
The moment the elves made their decision, it could no longer be hidden from the perception of the witches.
The morning light of the Core World brushed against the illusory canopy, and the silhouette of the Afuhemi World Tree gradually sharpened amidst the mist.
The great power of the Elven Mother Tree flowed through its gnarled, starry trunk. Starlight flickered intermittently across the amber bark, and billions of emerald-green leaf veins pulsed upon countless branches.
From atop the massive canopy came an ethereal prayer—a hymn of praise resonating from the vast Afuhemi Forest Elf population within the void. Upon closer inspection, every leaf seemed to reflect a starry sky, like a flourishing small world undergoing its own cycle of rise and fall.
Each microscopic space breathed stardust between the leaf veins, their throbbing pulse mirroring the respiration of the world itself.
They carried fragments of the Main World, depicting a facade of beauty.
Afuhemi Forest Elves moved between the branches, observing every leaf as it was birthed. They plucked withered and decaying worlds, returning them to the roots of the Afuhemi World Mother Tree to be recycled into nutrients for the world, nurturing new fruits.
This was the foundation of the Main World’s Afuhemi Forest Elves: a single tree was an entire world community, evolving a miniature universe and simulating the operations of a world.
It was constantly vying with the Main World Consciousness for the world's foundation, evolving world communities in an attempt to replace it.
The material space and the worlds nurtured by the Main World became the nourishment for the World Tree.
Only a World Tree that had grown to such a stage was qualified to seize the world's foundation within the Main World. However, the rank of the Main World was not something a mere World Tree branch could shake.
Furthermore, the Wizards, Holy Angels, and even the Witches did not wish for the elves to replace the Main World.
If the relationship between the Witches and the Three Great Transcendent Races was one of general competition, then the elves were the "monopolists" whom the Holy Angels and Wizards joined forces to restrain.
The great power of the Elven World Tree and its advantage in occupying the world were factors they could not ignore.
Even now, they refused to compromise. To them, letting the elves win or letting the witches win made no fundamental difference.
Outside the elven barrier, a silent standoff unfolded, interwoven with a wordless game of chess.
Things had reached a point where everything was laid bare.
This was a struggle between death and compromise.
They appeared to be facing death, yet they were constantly struggling toward life. The moment the Spark Migration Plan was exposed, they had already lost.
The Staff of World Destruction was their final shred of dignity, not a bargaining chip.
When the Void Witch race officially announced their intent to pioneer the Main World, the pressure of facing the most terrifying Transcendent race in the void became suffocating.
The power struggle within the Main World had never ceased. When witches with feathered wings appeared outside the barrier, the elves knew that a betrayal had occurred within the Holy Angel race.
When enchanting succubi took on the forms of witches, it proved that the Abyss and the Witches had reached a deep level of cooperation.
The inclusivity of the Witches transcended race, and the disorder of the Abyss accepted all.
The only constant in the Abyss was the Abyss Will. "Demon" was merely a collective term for life forms that had fallen into the Abyss. There, power was the only law. If a witch occupied a territory in the Abyss, she too could be called an Abyss Lord.
The Void was defined by more than just the concept of race.
Now, it was the Afuhemi Forest Elves' turn.
If they compromised, this would be a bloodless struggle. If they resisted to the bitter end, it would be a war of extinction.
"You Transcendent Witches really don't play fair," the Elven King, representing the branch of the Afuhemi World Mother Tree, said with a bitter smile beneath the elven barrier, unwillingly admitting his powerlessness.
"Hasn't it always been this way?" Mei Lind didn't feel there was anything wrong with it. With her own race backing the academy, how could she not cheer for them?
Insisting on individual bravado was the mark of a fool who couldn't read the situation.
"Embrace the Witches. The Primal Witches will treat every witch with equal kindness." May didn't offer much persuasion; she simply issued an invitation.
There was no point in forcing an existence above the Transcendent level to transform into a Transcendent Witch.
Only if they willingly embraced the witches could they accept their new identity from the depths of their hearts.
Now, faced with the oppression of their race and the severing of hope, every elf felt a unique sense of lingering attachment deep within.
The shackles of race were heavy—so heavy they allowed for not a single spark of betrayal.
Yet, the shackles of race were fragile—so fragile that once a single thought was severed, they could no longer bind a lost heart.
"What will the Main World eventually become?"
"Perhaps... it will become what it was always meant to be."
* * *
The contents of the conversation between the Transcendent Witch and the Afuhemi Elven King did not leak out.
The Transcendent academies that decided the fate of the Main World seemed to have hit a pause button. The Transcendent Principle of Non-Interference, once regarded as a mere unspoken rule, now seemed to have become an ironclad law.
Driven by wave after wave of momentum, the "Main World Restart Plan" spread completely.
Terrifying information reached every Transcendent academy and trickled down into the mundane society.
It caused massive panic.
Under such circumstances, the window for ordinary people to purchase tickets to the elven sanctuaries was slammed shut.
With the absence of family forces, the social order of the Main World began to collapse!
In cities once called civilized, riots, protests, and "zero-dollar shopping" sprees filled the once-prosperous streets.
Only in the impoverished lands did people continue to hover around the line of basic survival as they always had.
When the old order crumbles, a new order is born from the constant struggle.
Such is the nature of chaotic times.
When the United Club within the Witch Academy learned the truth, silence replaced hysteria.
As the plan was peeled back layer by layer before them, everyone finally understood the "Way of Salvation" hidden within.
Under the heavy pressure, all combat sequences of the United Club took up the sense of mission bestowed upon them by history.
When they set out once more, they were no longer driven by profit. They needed to use the fastest speed and the best strategies to integrate the power of the entire Main World, launching a series of "just" Academy Wars against the invincible top-tier academies.
As the Witch Academy raised the banner of salvation, those small Transcendent academies that once viewed witches as heretics and calamities began to flock to them voluntarily.
It was as if they had abandoned their former masters to live for themselves in this moment.
The former Hundred Academy Alliance also chose this time to officially visit the Witch Academy.
Student representatives from over a hundred Transcendent academies appeared together at the Witch Academy. It was a magnificent sight, marking one of the most historically significant meetings in the Main World.
They were willing to accept orders from the Witch Academy. The territorial divisions between Transcendent academies were being broken down through repeated compromises.
In this moment, the Witch Academy seemed to represent the righteousness of the world. Like a ruler who gains help because his cause is just, they gathered the scattered forces of the Main World into a single rope.
They accepted the order advocated by the Witch Academy, continuing until the branches of the Omni-Link Main Network Tree began to take root and sprout across the globe.
A new extraordinary order was being rebuilt in the Core World.
Perhaps the students didn't fully understand what was happening; they only knew they had found a glimmer of hope amidst the chaos.
However, the various races represented by the small Transcendent academies knew exactly what they were doing.
They were witnessing the Main World changing hands!
The former Transcendent academies could no longer offer them protection; they had already bowed to the Witches in the face of absolute power.
The rest were left to fend for themselves or... find their own way out.
The Main World would ultimately belong to the Witches. Becoming a witch, embracing the witches—perhaps that was another path forward.
The ambition to become a member of a Transcendent race outweighed the desire for racial independence.
Relying on the strong was an eternal theme for the weak within the void. Only the strong were qualified to shine and engrave their racial mark upon the void.
As more academies joined and the Witches' territory expanded, the reconstruction of underdeveloped regions became a source of immense pressure.
Families were not nations. The Main World had no concept of a "country," no poverty alleviation, and no public welfare projects. All development was linked solely to profit.
The Core World leaned toward the construction of family territories. The development of the outer society was mostly to cater to the needs of the Transcendent academies, including family, reproduction, education, and so on.
Even at this stage, the social problems of the Main World remained at the level of "unrest." In such a chaotic world, no one could trigger a world war.
Even if such an ambitious person existed, they would quickly be snuffed out by a squad from a Transcendent academy. The threshold for war remained loftily high.
Coupled with the power network and root network spread by the Omni-Link Main Network Tree, the order formed by these concepts, plus the absolute dominance of extraordinary power, caused the cost of social management to drop significantly.
However, even with so much happening, these remained trivial matters in the face of "salvation."
The United Club had not forgotten its true mission.
They broke free from the frameworks and restrictions set by their families. While the family members rejoiced over the profits to be made in a chaotic world, the students took salvation as their responsibility.
For the first time, they experienced the dissonance of saying "no" to family orders, because they knew clearly that in the face of survival, profit was worthless.
Most people within the families were ordinary people. Even if they knew the truth, they could not grasp its weight.
The families had already become a burden on the United Club's path to salvation.
After all, nearly ninety percent of the student representatives in the United Club came from family forces. They represented not just the club's interests, but the interests of the families behind them.
Unnoticeably, the semester had come to an end.
But the end of the semester did not terminate the unrest in the Main World.
They knew very well that to save the Main World, a confrontation with the Three Top Academies was inevitable.
Witch Academy.
Inside the United Club Hall.
"The holidays have arrived. Seeing you all present so actively here proves your passion for the Way of Salvation," my voice echoed through the meeting hall, though everyone's expressions were grim.
"However, I still wish to say one thing: the United Club is a club for idealists practicing the Way of Salvation, not a place where those families can reach their hands!"
"The series of trivial matters brought about by the changes in the Main World have drained too much energy. Family interference has become the greatest obstacle to our continued actions."
"The family forces claim to be the foundation of the Core World's reconstruction, crouching across the Main World and dreaming their own beautiful dreams. I only want to say—they are dreaming too much!"
My gaze swept across everyone below. Any small movement or flicker of hope could not escape my perception.
The fact that some were no longer even bothering to hide their behavior of secretly sending messages back to their families was enough to show how serious the problem I just mentioned was.
To me, the family forces were not a necessity.
Their thinking was still stuck in the profit struggles of mortals, failing to understand that the extraordinary order was already capable of dealing them a dimensional strike.
Why were the families so fearless?
Because they were confident that even Transcendent experts with absolute power could not maintain social order while eradicating them.
Therefore, even if they were dealt with, it would surely be in a mild, localized, and principled manner.
With such a process, they would have plenty of time to come up with many countermeasures. That was the source of their confidence.
"According to the notice issued by the Dean of the Witch Academy, during the start of this holiday, the academy intends to gradually open the passage between the Core World and the Expansion Realm. Furthermore, throughout the holiday, we will gradually establish a reverse reconstruction project for the Expansion Realm."
"At that time, the Expansion Realm, centered on the Ninglan central territory and joined by the Calamity Group, will enter the Core World to carry out various projects. The infrastructure that the families are unwilling to undertake, the Expansion Realm will undertake. The livelihood projects the families are unwilling to build, the Ninglan territory will build. The harsh territories the families are unwilling to take over, the Calamity Group will take over and pioneer..."
"Any dark hand that dares to obstruct the reshaping of the Core World's order or the reconstruction of the Main World's civilization will face thunderous retaliation!"
My words carried a sharp edge. This announcement was like a final notice, catching them completely off guard.
Opening the passage between the Core World and the Expansion Realm!
Only this time, it wasn't them going to help the people of the Expansion Realm rebuild civilization; it was them being forced to accept help from the Expansion Realm!
"Wait... wait, isn't this a bit too sudden?" In the silence, someone finally spoke up tentatively, though she didn't dare say too much.
Over this period, the assertiveness I had displayed had repeatedly redefined their perception of me.
But even so, I wouldn't give them a kind face.
"If you think it's sudden, then take the holiday to go home and have a good sleep. If you can't adapt, reality will help you adapt once you wake up."
The girl I rebuked looked even more embarrassed, lowering her head and not daring to speak.
They finally recognized the reality: they were no longer young ladies who could lounge in the shade of their family's legacy and do as they pleased.
The family forces they had always been proud of—and still were—were nothing more than tumors obstructing the development of the Main World in my eyes!
Admittedly, this move would undoubtedly disintegrate the unity within the United Club. But taking a step back, would the Witch Academy fail without the United Club?
Does the United Club represent the will of the people of the Main World?
The families, the rulers of the Main World, were ultimately a minority.
If I wanted to rebuild the glory of the Main World but was stalled by a small matter like a lack of manpower, then the Luck of the era would push more of the people's will toward me, molding more trendsetters born of the times.
The development of the Main World wasn't just humans putting in effort; the entire world was working toward it!