Chapter 469: I Will Intervene in the Joint Exam as a Teaching Assistant
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 469: I Will Intervene in the Joint Exam as a Teaching Assistant
"Hiss—it hurts... ow, ow, ow... it hurts so much!"
Inside the soundproofed Body Cultivation room, I felt Sister Bai’s slender, soft fingers carefully applying a colorless, semi-solid ointment to every inch of my body.
As the ointment was rubbed into my skin, it left no trace, as if the moisture had simply evaporated. However, it left behind an incredibly sharp, stinging pain on every patch of skin it touched.
"Xiao Han, this doesn't seem like you. While the first attempt is indeed quite painful, it shouldn't be enough to make you cry out like that, right?" Sister Bai spoke calmly, but her hands didn't stop for a second. Her palm slid over my right arm, and in an instant, she used only her sense of touch to perceive the structure of my limb and the flow of my muscles. She gazed at my forearm as if admiring a work of art.
"Ugh... there’s no one else here anyway. If I hold it in, I’ll just make myself miserable..." I tried to steady my thoughts and spoke up. "Sister Bai, is this really an ointment for cultivating the sense of touch? This level of widespread pain will surely just lead to numbness, won't it?"
"Don't worry about that, Xiao Han. This ointment was refined using alchemy. One of its properties is the suppression of the body's spontaneous numbing response to pain, though it won't hinder your subjective, conscious suppression of that numbness."
"This... this is just torture, isn't it?" I immediately retorted.
"In the beginning stages of Body Cultivation, an individual cannot achieve complete control over their body. This requires external stimuli to force the personal will to adapt to the senses. Adaptation is the first step toward bodily control. But! Xiao Han, you are a Self-Awakened Body Cultivator. As I said before, this ointment is meant to bring pain, not for you to enjoy it. If it hurts, why don't you use your ability to control your body to shield yourself from the pain?"
"Eh?" I blinked, stunned by Sister Bai’s sudden shift in logic. "I thought the pain was part of the cultivation..."
"Pain is not the primary goal of cultivation; it is a benchmark. It is meant to help you recognize yourself at the very beginning, to perceive your upper and lower limits, and eventually to ensure that your perception cannot turn around and affect you. Perception is a tool held in your hand, but it can also harm the self. Therefore, in perception cultivation, one must learn not to be backlashed or blinded by one's own senses. Right now, you need to gain an initial understanding of it."
"This understanding is different for everyone, depending on gender, age, development, and even race. You need to understand these differences, and you also need basic common sense—to understand the essence of general perception and how the system of sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch operates when integrated into a living body."
"Right, right..." I nodded hurriedly.
I naturally knew this; it fell under the category of basic human biology from my previous life. For example, sight can only see the visible light spectrum, hearing can only pick up a certain range of frequencies, and ultrasonic or infrasonic waves are undetectable. The same applied to smell, taste, and touch.
Regarding these senses, there were corresponding mechanisms. For instance, the pain from touch is a subjective cognition produced once the tactile feedback reaches a certain threshold. This cognition is often accompanied by other associated instincts, which in turn affect personal behavior, emotions, thoughts, and logic.
However, the basic compulsory education in this world regarding these matters was quite lacking. Education in the Main World primarily focused on selecting talent and training the "screws" needed to maintain the world's operation.
It was cruel but realistic. For example, the programs encouraging childbirth were essentially aimed at providing a larger pool of potential candidates for the Transcendent Academies. After all, quantity leads to quality.
Soon, Sister Bai thoughtfully finished applying the ointment and even helped me put my clothes back on.
However, the lasting effects of the ointment would persist for a long time. If I didn't want to be tormented by this persistent, albeit not excruciating, pain, I had to constantly adapt my ability to manipulate my tactile perception. I needed to turn this instinct into an inherent bodily talent that I could subjectively control—much like the Self-Generated Mana I had developed with the Academy Dean. This was a bodily talent unique to a Transcendent Witch.
Furthermore, I had to do it better than instinctual control.
After all, if I mastered this ability subjectively but performed worse than my natural instincts, then all this effort would be meaningless.
"Hiss—" The moment I relaxed, the pain would flare up. Even the slight friction between my clothes and skin provided a terrifyingly intense feedback.
"Take it slow. You'll get used to it eventually," Sister Bai comforted me. "As your consciousness grows stronger, you will realize the power of your spirit. But you must understand that the 'spirit' in the context of Body Cultivation is not the same as the 'mental power' used in meditation. A strong spirit allows you to do more things, such as multitasking and multi-threaded control. These thoughts, split off from your main consciousness, can be fully utilized to control your senses."
"I can definitely feel the difference. Compared to when I was just an ordinary person, I really am a bit terrifying now... hiss... ugh, mmm~ Sister Bai, what are you doing?" As I was speaking, I suddenly felt a sharp pang in my thigh. I looked down to see Sister Bai suddenly tightening my leg ring.
"Helping you create the perfect 'squish' against the strap, of course." Sister Bai stood up and clapped her hands, seemingly very satisfied with her masterpiece.
"Sister Bai, your perverted streaks always manifest in the strangest places. You look so dignified on the surface, too." I reached down to gently rub the inside of my thigh. That was the most sensitive spot, and the pain from the leg ring digging in was quite something. She was really making me suffer for the sake of her own fetishes.
"Is that so?" Sister Bai didn't seem bothered by my assessment at all. She pulled out a small notebook and handed it to me. "Inside are records I made outside the Main World regarding the finished ointments, alchemy recipes, manuscripts, and tutorials needed for the cultivation of the five senses. Aren't you somewhat involved in alchemy as well? You can try refining them yourself. After all, you'll feel more at ease using things you've made yourself."
"Oh, okay~" I took the detailed notes. The elegant handwriting recorded various alchemical contents.
Actually, while Sister Bai was applying the ointment, I had already checked it with my Ley Line Identification Art. However, the records of this ointment in the Ley Lines were sparse; most of the information presented was what Sister Bai had already mentioned, at most recording its material and transcendent energy composition.
Now that I had Sister Bai’s notes, my identification art synchronized the information in an instant.
"Hmm... it feels almost too simple," I commented. After understanding the materials, refining techniques, and rituals involved, I couldn't help but sigh.
Though I said it was simple, the Main World's Ley Lines truly had no trace of this information, which meant this stuff didn't exist in the Main World.
"Of course. This is like the incense used for meditation. Incense is also an alchemical product; it's simple, or at least the entry-level versions are."
"True. Now that you mention it, I'm tempted to just become self-sufficient." After all, who would refuse using items at cost price?
The only thing was that I couldn't guarantee the quality of the final product. I certainly couldn't compare to someone like Senior Sister Gongxi Huanxin, who had been immersed in refining incense for who knows how long. Experience is usually proportional to time.
"But if you can avoid it, there's no need to do everything yourself."
"Still, I feel like even if I don't have to do it, I shouldn't be unable to do it. What if someone tries to put a stranglehold on my supply?" I said instinctively.
"A stranglehold? Xiao Han, why would you have such a strange thought? Have you already planned to make enemies of everyone from the start? You should know that even the Transcendent Witches with the worst reputations in the Void don't need to worry about such things. The Void is a very pragmatic place. Where there is profit, even enemies will sit down calmly at the negotiating table to discuss business."
"Uh... is that so?" I felt a bit embarrassed. I was truly limited by my mindset from my previous life.
But I didn't back down from my view. Witches could do that because they were powerful themselves, right?
However, games at that level were beyond my imagination. Even if I worried, it wouldn't help. It was better to adapt to the present.
"Yes. You only need to demonstrate your value. Let's not talk about that anymore. Let's discuss something else. The hottest topic on the Academy Network lately is the Multi-School Joint Exam. Xiao Han, what do you think about it?"
"What do I think... I'll watch it from the sidelines, obviously. What else can I do? Does it have anything to do with me?" I spread my hands, acting as if it were none of my business. One of the reasons I became a Teaching Assistant was to avoid wasting time on periodic exams and tests. Even if it was just a day or two, it was still a distraction.
What I cared about wasn't the time lost, but the number of interruptions. As my research into the transcendent deepened, a single attempt sparked by inspiration could take a whole day or even several days. Naturally, I didn't want to be disturbed.
"Watch from the sidelines... Well, would you like to see it more clearly, Xiao Han?" At that moment, a smile played on Sister Bai’s lips.
"More clearly..." I turned to look at Sister Bai’s exquisite face and that smile I rarely saw. "Eek—Sister Bai, when you look at me with that smile... I feel like you're plotting something against me."
"Is that so? Fine then, I'll be more careful next time."
"Hey! Was that my point? Even if you're plotting against me, I'll do whatever you want, Sister Bai!" Seeing that she had misunderstood, I spoke up quickly.
"Really?"
"Of course~ But what you were going to say... you don't want me to participate in this Multi-School Joint Exam, do you? I'm already a Teaching Assistant; that wouldn't be right, would it?" I said, trying to change the subject.
"I was just curious. Once you become a Teaching Assistant, you can no longer claim the rewards for this Joint Exam. The rewards this time are quite generous."
"Generous?" The last time someone said the rewards were generous was... well, the last time. I hadn't even used the rewards from that Dream Exchange Competition; they were mostly gathering dust. And after I became a TA, the academy gave me a batch of resources that were also quite generous, but I still hadn't touched them much. They were just some spellbooks, mana sources, alchemical potions, and other precious materials.
I vaguely remembered I still had a few custom alchemy item vouchers I hadn't used...
Hmm... I still had one pick-up opportunity at Shopkeeper Xia Li’s place.
Without realizing it, I seemed to have many things left undone, yet I kept moving forward, leaving my past affairs behind.
"Yes. This time is different from the Dream Exchange Competition where only a few people were competing. This is a collision between the freshman populations of many academies. So... you can imagine?"
"Well, it still has nothing to do with me, right?"
"True. But... Teaching Assistants have their own way of participating. Don't you want to go in and see for yourself? If you don't seize the chance, you'll be stuck watching the Joint Exam live stream at the academy."
"Uh... that's a lot of information." Hearing Sister Bai say that, I realized I hadn't even looked into the upcoming final exam.
The announcement on the academy system only stated that the final exam would take the form of a Multi-School Joint Exam, but it didn't include the theory portion. After all, the theoretical transcendent systems studied by different academies were different, so a unified theory exam was impossible.
As for the content of the practical combat test, I really wasn't sure.
"You don't actually know the content of the Joint Exam yet, do you?" Sister Bai suddenly realized.
"Yeah, I really haven't looked into it," I admitted honestly.
"Alright, alright. I'll give you a brief rundown." Sister Bai sighed. "In short, the location for this Joint Exam is an archipelago in the tropical ocean of the Main World."
"An archipelago? Doesn't that mean it's the home field for the Sea Clan?" I asked.
"Perhaps. Rather than a home field, it's more like giving the Sea Clan a slight advantage. I heard there are temporary underwater volcanoes shaped by magic in the sea. If they aren't careful, they could be finished instantly. So, they can't be completely reckless either."
"I see... whoever thought of that is a bit of a genius," I said with a smile. The Sea Clan academies probably think they have it in the bag, but in reality, they'll be miserable.
"Since it's a Joint Exam, there's naturally a sense of balance. The place is called the Bobapus Archipelago. It's a fairly famous tourist destination; you should have heard of it, right?"
"The Bobapus Archipelago? No... I'm not really sure..." I scratched my head, embarrassed to admit it. My understanding of the Main World wasn't very deep. Or rather, since I was born into this world, I hadn't gone on a single vacation, let alone had the chance to learn about tourist spots.
"It's fine if you haven't heard of it. You just need to know the place exists. When the time comes, various academies, led by the Wizard Academies, will set things up there."
"The main method they'll use is a technique from the Wizard Academies called the False World Space Great Witchcraft. It replicates a 'false world' from the real world and then overlays it onto the real world to create an overlapping space. It's similar to how our Witch Academy overlaps with the real-world city of Modu. This way, it won't interfere with the normal operation of the Bobapus Archipelago in the real world."
"Wait? Great Witchcraft?"
"Is there a problem?" Sister Bai looked at me suspiciously, then quickly realized. "Great Witchcraft... oh, you're thinking of Great Spellbooks?"
"Yeah." I nodded.
"Great Spellbook is what we Witches call them. The Wizards continued the tradition of using the 'Great' prefix. But because the concept was introduced later, many modified witchcrafts have the 'Great' prefix added simply because the creator felt like it. So, this spell is not on the same level as a Great Spellbook."
"I see..."
"Of course. Great Spellbooks aren't something you find on every street corner. They are extremely precious. Anyway, let's put that aside and talk about the format of this Joint Exam and the roles of Teaching Assistants and Mentors. Maybe you could even be a battlefield reporter there? Haha, just kidding."