Chapter 479: Openly... Cheating
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 479: Openly... Cheating
"Poor eyesight... Heh, should I take that as a provocation?" The elf’s expression soured the moment her own words were thrown back at her. She asked in a low, threatening voice.
"Take it however you like. But I’m curious... was your Afuhemi World Tree torched by someone, or are you just going through menopause? Why is your attitude so aggressive?" I continued, my words laced with enough vitriol to make the veins on her forehead bulge.
Suddenly, a terrifying pressure erupted from her, radiating outward. A power I had never encountered before suppressed everything in the vicinity, making the very air feel as though it were solidifying.
Even I was heavily affected. An invisible force weighed down on me, making it difficult to even move a muscle... This was power beyond my current understanding!
I was momentarily stunned, but my Body Cultivation strength allowed me to instantly break free from the shock. However, the lingering palpitation in my heart was harder to shake.
"Fine, fine, fine! Attacking our academy's students now, are we?"
My gaze swept over the students who had been about to ask me questions. Although they had pulled back out of caution when the elf arrived, her display of power had still severely affected the dozens of candidates nearby.
One girl had lost her footing and tumbled to the ground, while another had dropped an alchemy item she was holding.
Seeing my opening, I struck first. I unleashed a derivative of the Fireball Spell: "Point-Concentrated Fireball Spell."
With the empowerment of the Tree of Knowledge, I had iterated on this derivative spell several times. Back when I was fighting myself in the Primal Dream, I had constantly updated many of my spells just to defeat an opponent who was my equal. Every iteration was designed to ruthlessly exploit my own weaknesses.
This Point-Concentrated Fireball Spell streaked toward her at the absolute limit of human reaction speed. Even with her instinctive reflexes, she couldn't dodge it; the blast slammed directly into her side.
At the moment of impact, her Elf Light Armor absorbed the initial shock. Dense clusters of runes flared across its surface, and the armor’s reactive defense instantly neutralized the force of my strike.
Following a piercing explosion of clashing energies, the elf could no longer maintain her haughty posture. She retreated clumsily to offset the momentum of the impact.
Shock was written all over her face—shock at how decisively I had attacked, and even greater shock at the terrifying power behind that single strike.
Her hand instinctively went to the light armor at her waist. The protective runes there had completely shattered under the blow, leaving the piece of equipment as nothing more than an ordinary, unenchanted outer shell.
"You!" She started to look up, ready to snap, but then she saw several unknown objects floating behind me.
In that short span of time, she could only guess they were some kind of spell effect, but she could feel that the magical intensity within each one was identical to the strike that had just hit her!
Trouble... this person was playing for keeps!
"You! You’ve violated the rules! You attacked a patrol teacher without provocation—"
"Without provocation? You’re the one who came up and attacked our students first, and now you’re trying to turn the tables on me? I think you’re looking for a death wish. Do you think our Witch Academy is just for show?" I unceremoniously pinned the blame on her. By now, Lin Yi and Adalin had noticed the commotion and rushed to my side.
"Look closely! When did I ever attack your students?! But you! You destroyed a piece of my enchanted light armor the moment you moved!" She pointed indignantly at the candidates behind her, then turned back to me in a rage. "I’m reporting you for a violation! You—"
"I said your eyesight was poor, but I didn't realize you were actually blind. You scared that student so badly she fell over! That stunt you just pulled made it so she couldn't even stand straight. Your behavior has compromised the mental and physical state of our academy's students, and you think you’re in the right?"
"How about I go try that out on your elves? And that girl over there—do you have any idea what that alchemy item you scared out of her hand was? It’s an alchemical bomb, and a defective one at that! What if it had hit the ground and exploded? I’m asking you, what then? This is a severe Joint Exam accident caused by the Afuhemi Academy Protection Team!" With every sentence, I took a step toward her. Under the dual pressure of my words and my spells, her face turned a shade of sour green.
Of course, the main factor was the two teaching assistants behind me, who had effectively cut off her retreat.
Only then did she realize... she was on the Witch Academy's turf. More importantly, she was in the wrong—even if the "wrong" was just an instinctive release of her life-level pressure that happened to scare two students.
As soon as I finished speaking, the other candidates around the girl who had dropped the alchemical bomb immediately scrambled away from her, as if they truly feared an imminent explosion.
"Fine... I was out of line... but you destroyed a piece of my enchanted light armor. Let’s call it even!" she said, her voice thick with resentment and frustration.
"How we settle the score is your business. I am fulfilling my duties. Even if reporting this doesn't get a violation marked on your record, believe me, I’ll make sure it leaves a bad taste in your mouth."
"Then what else do you want?" She admitted to herself that she was thoroughly disgusted by the situation, but she kept her expression carefully managed in case there were any live broadcasts nearby.
"An apology, obviously. Do I really have to teach you how to apologize? Don't you noble elves teach etiquette in your classes? You caused no small amount of trouble for our candidates; is a 'sorry' too much to ask?" I said matter-of-factly.
In the end, the farce concluded with the elf apologizing to the candidates. It was immensely satisfying.
Watching her dejected retreat, I didn't hold back.
"Safe travels! Feel free to drop by the Witch Academy whenever you like~" I waved her off with a smile. Once she was gone and hadn't looked back, the smile vanished from my face. I felt a twinge of disdain; it seemed she hadn't noticed a thing and had served as a perfect tool.
It appeared everyone's attention had been entirely consumed by the drama. I glanced toward Tan Han and caught her eye; she sent back a knowing, subtle smile.
Only then did I turn to the two teaching assistants, Lin Yi and Adalin.
"Thanks. If you two hadn't backed me up, I might not have been able to suppress that woman," I said politely.
"It was nothing. You could have handled it alone," Lin Yi said flatly. She had really just stood there and watched the show; she hadn't actually lifted a finger.
"Tch. Crude, enchanted trash. Is elven equipment always this pathetic?" Adalin said dismissively. She had clearly been eyeing that light armor with contempt. "Since everything is settled here, I’ll be taking my leave."
"Understood." I nodded, signaling I had things under control. I walked forward to face the candidates who were still lingering. "Alright, sorry about that. I apologize for the interruption. The trouble has been dealt with, so get back to what you were doing. Don't forget you're in the middle of the Joint Exam. If you're still angry, just remember: the Elf Academy is in that direction."
After offering a few words of comfort to the nearby candidates, I began to disperse the crowd.
Honestly, everyone loves a good show, even in the middle of a high-stakes exam.
And right now, the cameras were rolling.
My gaze suddenly shifted toward a specific direction—an anomaly in the Ley Line information reception. Through Spirit Vision, I could clearly see the informational distortion at that viewpoint.
Unsurprisingly, that was a live broadcast angle. It seemed similar to the broadcasts in the Primal Dream, though with some differences, given that this was reality.
However, by tracking the camera's movements, even if I couldn't control the "lens," I could gain a massive advantage. At the very least, I knew when I could cheat openly and when I needed to be cautious about it.
Since no one else could see these Ley Line broadcast viewpoints, the advantage was entirely mine.
Once the matter was settled, I left the area immediately, ignoring everything else.
I had to trust in the others' abilities; there was no need for me to worry. Besides, on the surface, I wasn't allowed to interfere with the Joint Exam competition, so whether I was physically present or not made no difference in principle.
Earlier, when Tan Han came to find me, it seemed as though she truly had nothing to say. Even after the incident was resolved, I hadn't exchanged a single word with her.
But was that really the case?
While all eyes were fixed on the confrontation between me and the elf, the real communication between Tan Han and me had already begun.
The elf hadn't noticed my subtle maneuvers, which was exactly the point.
In principle, even a standard Illusion Clone spell is indistinguishable to outsiders once it takes effect, let alone now, when it had become a Revelation of the Wisdom Shadow derived from the Tree of Great Knowledge.
Although I wanted to derive a permanent Knowledge Shadow to accompany me, the spell wasn't successful at this stage. Even the marks on the Fool's Dream members were still in the experimental phase.
But for simple information transfer, it was child's play.
Violations in this Joint Exam required reporting; the unspoken rule was "no report, no investigation." As long as the act wasn't leaked, broadcast via Ley Line information, or discovered by other academy assistants, then I had done nothing.
Any plan could be attributed to Tan Han’s own strategy.
Any information could be claimed to have come from the school-wide information exchange group Tan Han had organized for the Witch Academy.
The live broadcast of this Joint Exam had limited coverage, making the exact source of intelligence impossible to verify. You want to use Ley Line information to precisely track my violation?
Sorry, that technology belongs to the Witch Academy.
It was a perfect closed loop.
Furthermore... Tan Han possessed an alchemical item with my Reverse Summoning Ritual rune. Although it wasn't the later "business card" version, it was functional.
If she encountered a crisis that absolutely required the intervention of a patrol teacher, I could arrive on the scene instantly to "uphold justice" for her!
Given Tan Han’s personality, the probability of her being cornered was much higher than the probability of her being caught red-handed.
I had used the Knowledge Shadow to pass all this information to Tan Han. One could say that Tan Han now possessed a perspective on par with a patrol teacher. While I couldn't transmit information via Knowledge Shadows over long distances yet, as long as I was within a certain range and dominated the spell effect, information could be synchronized instantly.
This limitation was one of the problems I was working hard to overcome.
After all, this was just a spell effect. The Fool's Dream followers who trailed me didn't just have a simple spell effect; they carried Knowledge Leaves I had partitioned from the Tree of Knowledge.
But that method was ultimately limited. I couldn't keep splitting leaves from my tree to act as anchors for high-level spell effects. I had to find another way, even if the path was difficult.
But I didn't fear difficulty; I only feared being defeated by it. I didn't envy others for their cleverness; I only blamed myself when I lacked the ability to solve a problem on the spot.
I didn't know how "cleverness" or "wisdom" were measured, but I knew that anyone with the constant ability to solve problems would inevitably be labeled a "genius" or "brilliant."
For the Tree of Great Knowledge to achieve the capabilities I envisioned, it was definitely missing something. It was a matter of human effort; there had to be a solution, I just hadn't found it yet.
Now, I had a glimmer of an idea, inspired by... the Omni-Link Main Network Tree in that small world.
If I treated the Tree of Great Knowledge in my consciousness as the primary Omni-Link Main Network Tree, then what I wanted to do was derive more sub-plants under my control.
The trait of "control" reminded me of Ley Line Shackles, and... Luck Seeds.
Thus, I named this prototype plan the "Knowledge Seed" project.
* * *
"It looks like I have to leave. I can't provide you with information constantly, but I’ll return frequently to update the intel I’ve gathered and give it to you."
"I will still be following you, but my presence will take the form of my image within your subconscious. If you run into trouble, you can ask me anytime. It might not always be useful, but it’s just another way of asking yourself. What I want to tell you is... the power of a person's subconscious is incredibly vast."
Currently, on the subsidiary island where the Witch Academy was stationed, Tan Han was making final preparations to go on the offensive. In her vision, a silver-haired girl stood right beside her, speaking these words.
However, Tan Han gave no reaction, appearing just as oblivious to the girl's presence as the other students nearby.
Tan Han didn't dare to respond, nor did she even dare to look in that direction.
In their brief contact, Tan Han had already learned a staggering amount of information from this so-called Knowledge Clone. She knew Xiao Han was bold, but she hadn't expected her to be this daring.
From that brief encounter with the Elf Academy Protection Team, it was clear the elves were not friendly. The competitive pressure of this Joint Exam was immense. While she was confident her own abilities could secure a good result, she lacked the confidence to control the entire situation and achieve the absolute dominance the Witch Academy had displayed during the Dream Exchange Competition at the start of the semester.
That Dream Exchange Competition seemed like a lifetime ago, but it had provided a magnificent start to the semester and planted a seed in everyone's heart.
That seed was the belief that the Witch Academy should always carry itself with such flair in competitions. No matter which academy they faced—even the Three Top Academies—they should be like ants beneath the witches' boots.
Tan Han could feel it from her own fan club: any student with even a bit of strength possessed the absolute confidence and desire to do something big.
But as someone who had personally experienced that Dream Exchange Competition, she saw things clearly. Yet, she couldn't afford to be mediocre. Even being a "minor genius" wasn't enough; the people around her were too desperate for progress.
Just as Tan Han finished her preparations, someone entered her tent.
"Hmm? Who are you?" Tan Han asked curiously as an unfamiliar girl walked in. Tan Han remembered most of the frequent faces in her fan club, but this girl wasn't one of them.
As soon as the girl saw Tan Han, she made a startling statement.
"Tan Han, I want to cooperate. Our team found a resource point. If I lead you there, you must guarantee our interests!"
"What?" Tan Han was stunned. She hadn't expected a resource point to be found so quickly, let alone that the person who found it would come straight to her!
"Sorry, I’m a bit surprised. Can you tell me the specifics?"
"We found a resource point. We know you’ll find it sooner or later, but there’s a time gap. My teammates didn't come with me. If you can't guarantee our interests, I can't guarantee they won't leak the news to someone else... like Lucianne... or... Ninglan Qiuyue."
"I can do that, but you at least need to give me some basic information first." Tan Han adapted quickly, ignoring the girl's empty threats and carefully analyzing her intent.
First, the girl was part of a team, yet she had come to Tan Han. This meant there was something in the resource point that a single team couldn't monopolize.
"No, I need to sign a Witch Contract first," the girl insisted.
"The resource point... oh, I forgot to mention this. Inside the resource point, there is an immovable desalination alchemy item. It will be your most important water supply point going forward."
Hearing the Knowledge Shadow's voice, Tan Han couldn't help but feel her pupils constrict, despite her best efforts to stay composed.
She knew exactly how vital such a thing was.