Chapter 359: Potential Issues Caused by Severing Ley Line Shackles
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 359: Potential Issues Caused by Severing Ley Line Shackles
"Citizens of Ninglan New City, it is my great honor to stand before you today and deliver my inaugural address. First and foremost, I must say that the fact Ninglan New City stands tall upon these ruins today is thanks to those who harbored ideals, who fought for them, and who did not hesitate to sacrifice their lives. Here, I would like to observe a moment of silence for the departed. They are the martyrs who defended Ninglan New City and ensured its survival; they deserve to be remembered by every one of us forever."
Ninglan Qiuyue’s powerful words resonated across the central plaza of Ninglan New City through the loudspeakers.
The usually boisterous plaza and surrounding streets fell into a heavy silence.
Following the announcements and the fallout of the past two days, the residents of Ninglan New City had finally received their long-awaited explanation. Faced with such a massive upheaval, the people had truly been trembling for their own safety. Initially, they had simply thought the violence was a coup sparked by the arrival of outsiders; they hadn't realized the very survival of the city had been at stake.
This was especially true since everything had occurred during an energy tide. The resulting beast tide had inflicted heavy casualties on both the City Guard and the City Defense Force.
The City Guard wasn't particularly suited for fending off the variant beasts outside the walls. Being forcibly deployed there by that dream demon had put immense pressure on the City Defense Force’s coordinated operations. However, had the City Guard not joined the fray in that emergency, the front lines of Ninglan New City might have collapsed entirely. During the chaos, many flying variant beasts had even breached the city's airspace. After all, while the Ley Line-protected Ninglan New City could offset the energy tide, it couldn't stop beasts from entering from high altitudes.
In the past, the city's stability relied mostly on the City Guard and Type III Beyonder Killing Weapons to pick off threats. Since most internal threats came from above, anything spotted was essentially a sitting duck.
But with the City Guard gone, the interior of the city had suffered significant losses.
The residents, however, didn't care about the strategic nuances of the danger; they only cared that such events, which rarely happened before, were now occurring on a massive scale.
You can't just ignore whether we live or die just because you want to seize power.
One could say that Ninglan New City was currently in its most unstable period, yet Ninglan Qiuyue still chose to deliver her inauguration speech today.
She did so because she possessed the strongest connection—or rather, the strongest backer—in Ninglan New City: the Witch Academy.
When the Academy Dean took me to return the Seed of Ninglan—the name of that transcendent item—I discovered that the Witch Academy actually intended to recruit Ninglan Qiuyue as well!
It made sense, though. Ninglan Qiuyue was a living Child of Destiny. How could they just leave her here? Naturally, they had to employ the Witch Academy’s traditional specialty: "abducting" her back with them.
However, Ninglan Qiuyue was the last remaining scion of the Ninglan City Lord’s lineage. If she wasn't the City Lord, no one else could hold the position "legitimately." Thus, this inaugural speech was a necessity.
For the sake of this Child of Destiny, the Witch Academy had offered numerous suggestions, including but not limited to moving the entire Ninglan New City to the Main World—the sanctuary where the Witch Academy was located.
Moving such a large landmass was a simple task for the witches. In fact, most Transcendent Academies possessed such capabilities, though their methods varied.
But the proposal was rejected. Not only did most of the officials oppose it, but even Ninglan Qiuyue herself was unwilling. First, there was the issue of an unfamiliar environment; second, integrating into a new world required a period of adjustment. There were countless foreseeable and unpredictable problems awaiting the city, and Ninglan New City simply couldn't withstand such a massive upheaval right now.
After considering everything, the idea was abandoned.
However... Ninglan Qiuyue hadn't been raised to be a City Lord. She had never received any education related to governance from childhood to adulthood. Theoretically, she wouldn't make a very good leader.
And so, she was sweet-talked by the Witch Mentors into becoming a student of the Witch Academy.
It must be noted that the relationship between the Witch Academy and Ninglan New City was never one of equal negotiation. This became crystal clear after a single Transcendent Witch wiped out all the variant beasts outside the city with one hand and intimidated the restless herds in the far distance. The officials lost all their fight after that. That was a one-handed curb-stomp! If even one such terrifying existence existed, any thought of resistance would have resulted in them dying a thousand times over before the thought even fully formed.
The fact that the Witch Academy allowed Ninglan New City to remain intact, rather than absorbing them as refugees into the Main World's society, was an act of great mercy.
So, from this moment on, Ninglan New City essentially belonged to the Witch Academy.
As for why the Witch Academy would go through the trouble of establishing a stable spatial channel here, it was naturally a confirmation of the city's value. Furthermore, it made it more convenient for graduating senior sisters who were promoting to Transcendent Witches to come here and sever their Ley Line Shackles.
As for whether that reason was the whole truth, I felt it was likely genuine. Whether there were deeper reasons was beyond my clearance to know.
As the moment of silence ended, Ninglan Qiuyue’s voice rang out once more.
I sat with Sister Bai in the front rows, listening quietly.
I had to admit, Ninglan Qiuyue had a talent for public speaking. Although she was reading a long script, she had written it herself, with only minor tweaks to the phrasing.
"Sister Bai, after Qiuyue finishes her speech, you should head back. You’ve been 'lying' in the infirmary for a long time now, after all."
"My physical constitution is strong, it’s fine. I still want to stay with you. After all, you chose to stay here too, didn't you?"
"That’s because I still have things to do. These past two days... I’ve been waiting for the Dean and the others to finish their work. They haven't even severed my Ley Line Shackles like they promised. But it’s almost time. The Dean contacted me and said to find her once I’ve seen the speech."
"Then I have things to do as well."
"What could you possibly have to do, Sister Bai?" I asked, leaning lazily against the back of the bench.
"Stay with you, of course."
"Eh? Saying something like that so suddenly... Sister Bai, don't you have any business of your own?" I sat up straight, bracing my hands on the seat and looking at her.
From a certain perspective, saying her "business" was staying with me felt a bit... ambiguous, perhaps.
"Hehe... I don't think I have anything else."
"Is... that so?" I let two of my fingers "walk" across the bench toward Sister Bai’s hand, eventually resting them gently on the back of her hand.
"Hmm?" Bai Yu naturally noticed my little movement, but she didn't pull away.
In a dream... I guess this counts as holding hands?
As time ticked by, Ninglan Qiuyue’s speech drew to a close. The remaining administrative tasks didn't require her personal attention.
As soon as she finished and stepped down from the stage, she found us.
"Scholar Xiao Han, Senior Sister Bai Yu... we meet again."
"Don't call me Scholar Xiao Han anymore. Since you’ve entered the Witch Academy and are in the same year as me, and you’re calling Sister Bai 'Senior Sister,' it’s inappropriate to call me 'Scholar,'" I said with a smile and a wave of my hand.
"Alright... anyway, thank you for staying specifically to watch my speech."
"Just curiosity. It’s my first time seeing a City Lord’s inauguration. I have to say, you really have a talent for this."
"Really? I was shaking with nerves up there. I’m just glad it went smoothly... at least for now."
"Is that so? I couldn't tell at all. But... honestly, there’s no need to stress. Being a City Lord isn't that big of a deal. The world is just one giant, shambolic stage. You don't need to be the perfect City Lord of your dreams; you just need to play the part of a City Lord people can believe in. There’s no need to put so much pressure on yourself."
"So that’s how you see the world? A giant, shambolic stage... haha... that’s a very fitting description."
Just like the Ninglan City Lord I first met—he looked mature and steady, yet he was still an ordinary man who made mistakes. He was also a failed father who had completely misjudged his own children.
Everyone is like that. People only ever see the polished, brilliant facade others present; no one sees the ordinariness behind it.
That’s just how the world works. Who you actually are isn't the point; what people believe is the foundation.
After a brief chat with Ninglan Qiuyue, we bid her farewell. The fact that she could carve out time from her busy schedule to see us proved a lot. Besides, I had my own business to attend to: seeing the Dean.
"Xiao Han, let me go with you, okay?"
"Okay," I nodded in agreement.
"What are you going to do next, Xiao Han? Is it the 'severing of the Ley Line Shackles' you mentioned?"
"Pretty much. And reshaping my body. The Dean said that since I haven't promoted to Transcendent yet, if I want to completely sever the Ley Line Shackles, it’s better not to use the Resurrection Spell to create a new body beforehand. It’s more direct to sever the shackles first and then reshape the body."
Of course, the most important factor was that I was currently in a dream, and my soul was in the dream as well. I had no connection to reality. Even if I used the Resurrection Spell to revive within the dream, it would be meaningless.
My Mana Source and Spellbook were still anchored to my Ley Line Shackles, but they were being kept safe by the Dean.
After severing the Ley Line Shackles, I had another problem to solve: the issue of the Mana Source and the Spellbook.
Usually, senior sisters who graduate have already promoted to Transcendent Witches. At that level, they can fully master their Mana Source and Spellbook. But I couldn't. I couldn't do it without external help.
And there was another critical issue: the Academy’s system information was built upon the Main World Ley Lines. Once I severed my Ley Line Shackles, my original student card information would... vanish. For graduating senior sisters, this was fine, but not for me! I hadn't even finished a full year of school! I didn't want to graduate so early...
But that was a minor matter.
The most important things were the Spellbook and the Mana Source.
This involved the reshaping of my body.
After the Dean’s explanation, I finally understood what that mysterious Body Cultivation power I suddenly possessed was: Self-Awakened Body Cultivation. I had learned a bit more about it from the Dean and had a general grasp of it now. I hadn't expected to accidentally achieve such a feat.
But... that was that.
Perhaps this was what they called having a "tranquil heart."
I was still more concerned about the Spellbook and the Mana Source.
The Spellbook was actually easy to solve because I had a spell called "Spellbook Shelf Spellbook." Essentially, even without Ley Line Shackles to carry my spellbooks, having this spell would perfectly solve everything.
The remaining question was how to master this Spellbook Shelf Spellbook.
The Dean proposed two solutions. One was to not use a physical spellbook at all. While in Ninglan New City—where the Great Weakening Spell wasn't in effect—I could figure out the ritual for the Spellbook Shelf Spellbook and manually cast it myself. This would bypass the weakness of being unable to master a physical book. However, once I returned to the Academy, I would be under the effect of the Great Weakening Spell again, and using spellbooks would become extremely difficult.
The other option was to fully master one spellbook with the Dean’s help. By utilizing the life essence of my soul, I could barely manage to master one book, though it would be a lot of trouble for the Dean.
As for my choice... naturally, I wanted both!
I decided to be thick-skinned for once. I would trouble the Dean, but I also wanted to understand this spellbook. After all, Teacher Ji Niang had used this very thing to trade away a massive amount of my useless resources; it was a significant investment.
Finally, she had promised me that the derived spells of this spellbook were incredibly powerful. If possible, I certainly wanted to give them a try.
As for the Mana Source... the Dean introduced me to the concept of "Self-Generated Mana."
The Primal Witches didn't use things like Mana Sources. Back then, mana was generated naturally within the bodies of Transcendent Witches. The disasters caused by mana leaking from their bodies were terrifying; in those days, Transcendent Witches were synonymous with calamity in the Void.
It wasn't until the concept of the Mana Source appeared that this state was finally brought under control.
However, the ability to generate mana internally remained a talent of Transcendent Witches.
It was also one of the sources of mana used by witches to craft their own Mana Sources. But this talent was exclusive to "Transcendent" witches.
Anyone below that level—even Beyonder Prospective Witches or Prospective Witches—couldn't do it.
But I was different. I was a Self-Awakened Body Cultivator. This state wasn't limited by death or the destruction of the physical body, because a Self-Awakened Body Cultivator is a being capable of perfect self-control.
Thus, the Dean had a bold idea—a unique experiment. Because Self-Awakened Body Cultivators were so rare, the Dean wanted to see if, with my cooperation, she could use the advantages of my state, combined with my advanced soul essence and the witchification brought by the Mana Source, to complete a partial "leap" in my Witch Physique before I even reached the Transcendent level.
In plain English: she wanted me to master the "Self-Generated Mana" talent, which was exclusive to Transcendent Witches, before I actually became one.
It was undoubtedly madness, but it was feasible. Otherwise, what did you think the Dean had been busy with these past few days?
She was naturally making the preliminary preparations for this experiment.
One could say that this experiment involving me also gripped the hearts of countless Academic Witches in the Academy. Driven by their curiosity for the unknown, they were absolutely not going to miss this golden opportunity.