Chapter 468: From Now On, Xiao Han Is No Longer a Student of This Class
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 468: From Now On, Xiao Han Is No Longer a Student of This Class
"Um... Sister Bai, are we just leaving like this?" I asked, casting a lingering, somewhat reluctant glance back at the classroom. Inside, the mentors watched with conflicted expressions, and the senior sisters waited in the staging area.
Though I hadn't spoken to them, their eyes seemed to say a great deal.
"Of course. Unless, Xiao Han, you want to stay and watch them come to blows over you? If you have such a wicked sense of humor for that kind of amusement, watch out, or you might get a licking~" Bai Yu said with a smile. She was clearly in a fantastic mood, her previous overbearing aura completely vanished. "Xiao Han~ if you were any more talented, I’d be worried other witches would spirit you away."
"Well~ in the eyes of those mentors, is there any difference between that and being spirited away by you? But... Sister Bai, the interviews aren't over yet. Is it really okay for you to just leave like this?"
"What’s wrong with it? Why waste more time here? No one is going to quibble over such a small matter." The interviews were meant to solve the witches' needs. As a mentor in Body Cultivation, and with Xiao Han being the only one in this batch who met the requirements, what was the problem with her only caring about this one student?
There was absolutely no problem at all.
"Hey~ sister, is your interview finished?"
As Sister Bai accompanied me downstairs, a witch was sitting leisurely by the entrance. She looked at Bai Yu, then at me, and asked the question.
"I found an excellent student, so I settled it on the spot," Bai Yu said, a smile she couldn't hide spreading across her face.
"Then congratulations~" The witch waved us off as we departed.
In the Witch Academy, every teaching building usually had a witch working part-time as a building manager. Generally, these positions required a Transcendent Witch—specifically the type who didn't have much to do and could spend the whole day just sitting there.
A building manager had many roles. She was responsible for most things within the teaching building, such as interior renovations. If a student's classroom or laboratory suffered an explosion or a fire, she was the first responder needed to save lives.
The barrier isolating this building from the outside world had also been set up by her, preventing idle students from wandering into the interview venue.
The moment we stepped out of the range of the isolation spell, we were met by a crowd of senior sisters gathered outside.
Seeing a mentor emerge, the sisters waiting to watch the drama immediately offered enthusiastic greetings. To them, there was no harm in staying on good terms with a mentor.
However, when they saw me following closely behind, they were struck with bewilderment.
Being personally led away by a mentor during the interview period... didn't that mean it was a done deal?
After a brief moment of dazed shock, they quickly recovered and recognized me.
"It's Yang Yuehan. This time, she's really a shoo-in..."
"Are you still calling her Yang Yuehan? You should change it to TA Yang." Whispers immediately rippled through the crowd.
"Maybe TA Xiao Han is better? It rolls off the tongue."
"A truly meteoric rise... I'm so jealous. Why haven't I met a senior sister like that to carry me to the top?"
Though these whispers were faint, Bai Yu heard them all. She didn't care, however. Whether it was envy or jealousy, it didn't change the reality that these people would only ever complain.
Those with real ability focused their sights directly on ascending to become a Transcendent Witch. According to the standard process, the position of Teaching Assistant was for students confident in their ascension and who intended to return to the Main World Witch Academy to teach. Even if they went to a Witch Academy in another world, this experience as a TA would be the best possible credential.
Once we were clear of the area, I took the initiative to start a conversation.
"Sister Bai, what you said back there about Spirit Vision... is it really that serious?" I asked, tugging gently on her forearm.
"I was bluffing, of course~ With those new witches acting so bold, thinking they could snatch my Xiao Han away... they're still too green."
"Eh? That... aren't you afraid they'll retaliate later?"
"Who told my Xiao Han to be such a genius? If they try to come and steal you, I'll just have to drive them off with my blade."
"Huh? Is that really okay?" I looked at Sister Bai with wide eyes. Since when did she handle things so bluntly?
"I'm joking. At most, they'll just spar with me to vent their frustration. Besides... Xiao Han, what I said earlier wasn't entirely without merit, you understand? There's a high probability you'll encounter such things in the future."
"Really?"
"Of course, though it won't be as dire as I made it sound. The human five senses are an integrated system. When one is out of balance, it does indeed cause considerable trouble, but you'll be fine once you adapt."
"So that means there won't be any major problems?"
"Mm. It's time to head back." Bai Yu nodded, confirming that I had the right idea. It really wasn't a massive issue.
"Where to?"
"To complete the final TA assessment, of course. After a mentor is selected, they usually set a test of their own. Finally, I'll write a report and application, and only then will your status as a Teaching Assistant be officially recognized by the academy."
"So much trouble?" I said, hurrying to keep up with her.
"It's fine, just a matter of following procedure. But Xiao Han, you'll be practicing Body Cultivation with me these coming days, okay? A Teaching Assistant holds power, but that also comes with obligations. If you don't have a certain level of experience in Body Cultivation and body arts, you won't be able to assist me in teaching the courses."
"Okay, okay~ I'll definitely practice with you, Sister Bai!"
In any case, many of my current projects had reached a temporary stopping point. Spending some time on Body Cultivation with Sister Bai was no problem at all. Since I had already stepped onto the path of the Transcendent, I wanted to experience the joy of dual cultivation in both body and spells. After all, if given the choice, who could refuse being able to "suppress with firepower from afar, and suppress with fist power up close"?
Anyone who wanted to be a squishy mage could go right ahead~
But before that, Sister Bai and I celebrated the success of today's interview.
We chose Senior Sister Isha's place for the celebration.
Sister Bai had taken me there before. This senior sister ran a private, invitation-only establishment. Because she had chosen not to ascend to a Transcendent Witch and instead stayed at the Witch Academy, my impression of her remained stuck on the time during the exchange competition when she said she was a fan of mine.
Sister Bai was mainly there to meet up with a friend. I naturally had no objections; after all, there were no outsiders when dining there, it wasn't crowded, and the dipping sauces she prepared were very interesting.
* * *
A few days later.
The academy released an announcement regarding a multi-school joint practical combat final assessment for all low-year students and students from external academies, which immediately sparked heated discussions among the student body.
The Academy Network was suddenly flooded with news on the subject. Previous rumors and smear campaigns were all drowned out by the impending test.
It was as if the Academy Network had no memory, or perhaps the so-called public opinion was merely a castle in the air; without the soil provided by paid trolls, it lacked the strength to hold a place on the network.
Once it was confirmed that all students would participate, everyone became incredibly excited. Of course, many students who lacked strength were deeply worried about their situation.
But if anyone was truly upset, it was the high-year senior sisters. Once again, they weren't invited to play in this multi-school joint exam!
They were the ones who had truly touched Transcendent power, the group with the freedom to master formidable strength. They had long been thinking of ways to "bully" students from other academies legitimately, but the academy rarely held many exchange events or competitions for high-year students, which was truly frustrating for them.
"Low-year students" generally referred to those in years one through three—students still under the guidance of a counselor without a specialized mentor. Limited by previous reforms, the Witch Academy had slightly increased the allocation of resources like spellbooks, mana sources, potions, and alchemy items for low-year students, or at least added more ways to obtain them.
So, even though a semester had passed and the reforms had only begun in the last two months, if a student hadn't formed a certain level of combat power within those two months, they were being somewhat irresponsible to themselves.
Following the announcement, many low-year counselors gathered their classes for temporary meetings to explain the precautions for the joint exam.
Consequently, there was a massive influx of information and rumors regarding the joint exam these days, leaving those classes that hadn't met yet itching with curiosity.
At that moment.
Students were arriving one after another at a certain teaching building.
Some came in groups of two or three, finding good spots to sit down once they arrived.
This was the classroom where Teacher Ji Niang of Class 14 had called the temporary class meeting.
"Our counselor finally called a meeting. If she waited any longer, I would have died of anxiety."
"Exactly~ some other classes held their meetings yesterday and went over all the precautions."
"Speaking of which, are you guys really that eager to go? I heard that because it's a joint effort with other academies, this is actual combat! If you get so much as a scratch, you'll be crying for ages."
"Is it really live combat? I mean, can't we just use the Witch Academy's dreamscape? At least there's no risk to your life. Even if it hurts, it's fake. Once you come out, you'll only have phantom pain for a few minutes at most."
"Do you think the Witch Academy has an infinite number of dreamscape pods? This involves multiple academies! We have to enter in batches just for a single monthly exam; there's no way."
"That makes sense. I was being stupid."
"Sigh~ why is our counselor always so busy? You never see her normally. It's almost time for the meeting, and everyone's basically here."
"Is everyone here? There's still one person missing. Do you think our former class monitor will show up for such an important pre-exam meeting? It feels like we haven't seen her in forever."
"Now that you mention it, I really haven't seen her in a long time. Sigh~ course exemptions must be nice."
"But she got a perfect score in theory. We can't compare ourselves to someone like that!"
"I hate all geniuses equally. Why can't I be the person I hate?"
"I think she'll show up. They emphasized that it's for all low-year students! She dared to skip the monthly exam, but does she really want to skip the final? This goes on your permanent record. If you don't take it, it counts as a fail, and there aren't even opportunities for make-up exams."
"What? Is it that serious? No make-up exams?"
"Of course. I looked into it."
"Are you sure it's not just because you barely pass your Elemental Theory course every time?"
"Don't call me out like that, okay? Barely passing every time is a skill in itself. It's called planning ahead, you get it?"
Listening to the chatter of the girls in front of her, Lucianne, sitting in the back, remained silent. She couldn't be bothered to tell these gossiping girls that their former class monitor—Yang Yuehan—likely wouldn't have any more chances to fail a course, nor would she care about missing a final exam.
She remembered clearly what Senior Sister Daphne had told her. That chance encounter had left her deeply shaken.
While she was still feeling smug about her own minor progress, she had looked up only to see an insurmountable peak. The other girl had arrived nonchalantly and left without a trace, but she had left a profound psychological shadow behind.
Lucianne felt that she didn't want to compare herself to anyone for at least the next few years.
She only wanted to slowly accumulate strength. With Senior Sister Daphne's help and the background of the Jack-of-all-trades Club, she could at least ensure she stayed at the very front of her peers.
Everyone was equally blocked by the mountain known as Yang Yuehan.
But after being "enlightened" by Daphne, she had let go of that grudge. Senior Sister Daphne was right: from now on, she and Yang Yuehan were from two different worlds. There was no need to try and drag her down or pick a fight.
One shouldn't be so naive as to think that just because they were once classmates, they were on the same level. That was the ultimate form of self-deception.
Setting aside the facts, if one excluded Yang Yuehan, she was still among the strongest of her peers!
Furthermore... she had never imagined that this Witch Academy, which had never been one of the three top academies, could be so terrifying, with such deep foundations and power so easily obtained... If she encountered the prospective wizards who were once her classmates, she swore she could beat them to a pulp without showing any mercy!
The few days she had spent at that Wizard Academy had presented her with so many unacceptable facts. In comparison, she even felt in her heart that even if she became a witch and joined the Witch Academy, it wasn't an unacceptable fate...
Thinking of this, Lucianne quickly shook her head to cast out such a terrifying thought. How could she just admit the Witch Academy was good!
At least she had been a boy back at the Wizard Academy!
She had the ability to let other girls carry on her lineage; now, she was the one who would have to... for someone else...
The mere thought of it was horrifying.
But as she cast those thoughts aside, Senior Sister Daphne's figure appeared in her mind again...
That exquisite body... those tempting curves and... ahem...
Lucianne silently gave herself a slap. Even though she was sitting alone, her face had turned inexplicably flushed. It wasn't until a figure walked quickly into the classroom that she reined in those idle thoughts, straightened up, and focused her attention.
The figure was, of course, Teacher Ji Niang, who had made time to come. Her arrival immediately silenced the slightly noisy classroom.
Looking over the class, which was almost entirely present, she took special note of the ones she focused on—like Lucianne, and Ninglan Qiuyue. In the freshman year of the Witch Academy, no other class had such a lineup: two children of destiny.
Then, Ji Niang took a deep breath and let it out in a sigh.
"I'm glad everyone is here. I'm sure you all know what this temporary meeting is about."
"But before we get to the official business, I have something to tell you all first."
As Teacher Ji Niang finished speaking, many students became curious about what could be so important that it had to be mentioned at the very beginning of the meeting.
"That is, Yang Yuehan of our Class 14 is officially leaving the class. Which is to say, from this moment on, Yang Yuehan is no longer a student of Class 14. Furthermore, her student registration at the Witch Academy has been canceled; she is no longer an enrolled student." Teacher Ji Niang paused here, as if observing the expressions of the students, before speaking again.
"Additionally... I must congratulate Yang Yuehan for passing the academy's Teaching Assistant assessment process and becoming a TA."
With that final breath, Ji Niang effectively stunned the entire class twice over. After several seconds of dead silence, the entire classroom was drowned out by the shocked cries of over a hundred people.