Chapter 482: Lifaeya’s Outrageous Maneuvers
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 482: Lifaeya’s Outrageous Maneuvers
Hearing my words, the other party instinctively frowned, but their expressions quickly smoothed out. They were confident that no evidence could be pinned on them.
However, I wasn't wrong. We did indeed have the right and the duty to be here. They had no authority to drive us away, and if they were the ones to initiate a confrontation, it would ultimately be ruled as a violation on their part for striking first.
The problem was that proving a violation was incredibly difficult. Take the tricks they were pulling now—unless they confessed, it was nearly impossible to officially label it as cheating.
It wasn't that such things couldn't be detected; it was that every academy tended to turn a blind eye. If you took it too seriously, you’d already lost.
After trading a few more barbs and insults with them, I eventually let a look of feigned difficulty cross my face.
In truth, my Ley Line Identification Art had already finished organizing the information. However, generating "video and audio" of past events would require more time for calibration. From the text descriptions alone, it was clear they had tampered with things, and quite discreetly at that.
After all, what they were doing was merely "transmitting information." By using the rhythmic pulses of Holy Light paired with a specific reference code, they could relay simple coordinate data.
The crux of the issue was that their agreed-upon cipher was custom-designed, not some widely known decryption key. They could easily play it off, especially since Holy Light naturally possessed such rhythmic instincts.
Even if a report were successful, they had plenty of other ways to pass information... unless the recipient student was subjected to a lie detector test. But that was impossible. No student had stepped forward to trigger a formal grievance process. Based solely on my word—even if I produced visuals from the Ley Line Identification Art—it would be impossible to directly analyze who the beneficiary was, let alone subject everyone to a polygraph. The Joint Exam wasn't my personal playground.
More importantly... I didn't want lie-detection methods to become commonplace, and the restrictions within the rules ensured they wouldn't.
After all, who doesn't know how to cheat? Everyone was playing their cards close to their chests, and everyone’s heart was just as black as the next person's... well, except for those small fry from the Sea Clan. Maybe their brains had just been soaking in water for too long.
In the Joint Exam, everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty. Without hard evidence, nothing sticks. Furthermore, without a student actively filing a report, lie detection cannot be used on students as it would interfere with their testing state.
"Let's go. Their method this time is a bit hard to crack. If we keep this up, we'll just look like we're being unreasonable," I whispered to Lifaeya while holding my phone.
I glanced at the help messages Lifaeya had sent on her phone; neither Lin Yi nor Adalin had any intention of coming to join her nonsense.
I wanted to leave as soon as possible, too. Those two Holy Angels were constantly emitting a powerful "pressure." It was the same tactic that elf had used, and it was giving me a headache.
"Eh? Wait, Xiao Han, you don't have a way?"
"Where do you get the confidence to think I have a way?" I looked at Lifaeya helplessly. Just how big was this girl's heart, and how much unearned faith did she have in me?
And considering this level of logic, how on earth did Lifaeya manage to give Teacher Lina such a headache? It couldn't just be because she was reckless...
"Xiao Han, you're so smart. To become a teaching assistant at such a young age, shouldn't your head be screwed on tighter than mine?"
"Just because of that..." I slapped my forehead in exasperation. Though, to be fair, my brain was working a bit better these days.
"You two, since there seems to be a slight disagreement between you, perhaps you should take your discussion elsewhere. We are patrolling here and will naturally ensure the fairness of this Joint Exam," one of the two Holy Angels spoke up.
"Then I hope you keep your word. Don't go doing anything self-destructive—like sending out strange rhythms through those bird wings and crunchy halos of yours. It would be quite a coincidence if your candidates just happened to know the corresponding cipher and received some odd geographical coordinates. If I find any fishiness in this, I'll personally have my academy's mentors snap those rings off your heads!"
Having said that, I didn't reveal anything more. Since I couldn't stop what they were doing, I would bring their scheme halfway into the light. I didn't even need evidence; just the suggestion would make them wary, thinking I had discovered something. My main goal was simply to get them to restrain themselves.
We didn't have evidence, yes, but I had called out their cheating logic. If they continued to transmit information this way, someone would bound to notice the anomaly.
"You!" Being called out so directly caused a flicker of unease to cross their faces for a split second. However, as Preaching Angels, their emotional control was excellent, and they left almost no opening.
But that wouldn't stop the close-up on the live broadcast. Just a moment ago, I had seen the abnormal flow of Ley Line data pressing right up against that Holy Angel's face.
The camera was likely zoomed in on the guy's facial features. I was sure many senior sisters on the outside had noticed the slip, and even the proctoring teachers had seen it. However, they wouldn't mobilize over something so minor.
"Do not slander us so casually!"
"Just joking. If you believe it, then I might have to start believing it too," I said with a mocking smile. I pulled out my flying broom and sat on it sideways. "Lifaeya, time to go. There's nothing to talk about with birdmen. If their mouths weren't so effective, the world wouldn't be filled with so many Holy Light churches and ascetics. Why bother challenging their bread and butter?"
"You're right, Xiao Han. Mmhmm~ If I could out-talk them, I'd have renamed every Holy Light church in the world to the Church of Lifaeya by now."
Lifaeya had caught on. My words had clearly hit a nerve, meaning I was likely spot on. Although she was frustrated to let them get away with it, she was now more curious about how I knew.
She threw one last mocking look at the birdmen, turned, pulled out her own flying broom, and followed me.
"Xiao Han, Xiao Han! Don't fly so fast! Are we really just running away?"
"What else?"
"But the way you acted just now... you clearly knew what they were doing, right? Why not report them?"
"I know what they did, but as for reporting... I don't have enough confidence that it would succeed." As I spoke, my gaze drifted toward the Ley Line perspective. Even though we were moving at high speeds, the live broadcast was still following us...
Wait... even if it's night, there's no reason for the broadcast to be focused on two teaching assistants, is there?
Despite my internal grumbling, since the situation couldn't be changed, I decided to play along for now.
"We could have at least disgusted them a bit. Xiao Han, you shouldn't have let them off so easily. By the way, how did you find out? You had only just arrived, right?" Lifaeya quickly spotted the blind spot and asked.
"Oh, I found out through a spell," I said casually.
"A spell? What kind of spell is that magical? Prophecy? Deduction? Or some mystical prediction?"
"It's just a derivative effect of a specific spell. I haven't touched any of the things you mentioned."
"Alright, alright." Seeing that I had avoided giving a straight answer twice, Lifaeya didn't pry further. She just noted that I had such a method, though her curiosity remained. "Then Xiao Han, can you tell what I did today? Using that method of yours?"
"You..." I hummed thoughtfully, then silently cast the Ley Line Identification Art on her. From her tone, I got the feeling she had done something strange and was looking for a chance to brag.
"Is it difficult? Or are there restrictions on using it?" Lifaeya asked expectantly.
"You really..." After a short while, I realized what she had done.
She had actually blown up—no, wait—she had paralyzed the Never-Landing Life Floating Tree of the Afuhemi Academy!
To be fair, the tree hadn't actually fallen, so it still lived up to the title the elves advertised.
More importantly... she hadn't even been cited for a violation. She had only received a stern lecture...
Because the Life Floating Tree wasn't considered a candidate's tool within the scope of the Joint Exam, and there were no candidates on the tree when the accident happened. Plus, it was deemed an "unintentional" act, and the disaster was partially blamed on the violent expulsion tactics of the protection team.
Furthermore, the emergency measures of the False World Space Great Witchcraft ensured that the Life Floating Tree in the reality realm suffered no actual damage.
Though no violation was recorded, she had still been severely lectured by mentors from both the Elf Academy and the Witch Academy. I had a feeling... if Teacher Lina hadn't argued so fiercely on her behalf, Lifaeya would have started the Joint Exam with a violation on her record right out of the gate.
I was starting to understand Lina's feelings. This girl was even better at causing trouble than I was...
"You really are better at stirring up trouble than me. Haven't you been blacklisted by the Elf Academy yet?"
"Xiao Han, you actually found out?!" Lifaeya was both shocked and delighted. The matter had been suppressed to prevent it from spreading, as they didn't want it to affect the candidates' mindsets, even though the live broadcast had already exposed it to the outside world.
"But you did well. Not long after you left, a snooty elf came looking for trouble, but I talked her down."
"Really? No wonder... looks like I was right! Xiao Han, you're too kind. That girl came looking for trouble on purpose, so why did you just talk her down? You should have given her a lesson! If that happens again, I'll step in for you!" Lifaeya was surprised; the fact that the other side had come looking for trouble first was just too much!
"Just look after yourself. Try not to end up at the Review Meeting at the end of the Joint Exam. It would be embarrassing for me to watch."
"The Review Meeting? Do I look like I'm afraid of that? Believe it or not, I've already written a ten-thousand-word self-reflection in advance. If I run into any annoying pests, I'll just pull it out and show it to them. That kind of deterrence is way more effective than their sneaky little tricks!"
"Huh?"
I looked at Lifaeya with a face full of shock.
But then, thinking it was Lifaeya, it didn't seem so strange after all. I was starting to understand why the academy didn't let her out—in fact, that punishment seemed a bit light...
"Xiao Han, just imagine it: I whip out a self-reflection, and the opponent panics. As long as the method works, who cares if I'm actually planning to do something bad? I'm fighting fire with fire. Besides, my credit score is excellent right now—not a single violation on record. What's there to fear?" As she spoke, Lifaeya pulled several sheets of parchment from her storage equipment. One sheet was already mostly filled, looking to be at least a thousand words...
"Since I ran out of regular paper, I wrote it on the parchment used for signing Witch Contracts. Just ask them if they're scared! This is a legitimate balancing tactic allowed within the rules! If the rules don't forbid it, it's fair game. Xiao Han, don't tell me you didn't know that?"
"Of course I knew." But I had never seen anyone so outrageous. If I were her opponent, I'd probably have a mental breakdown. While we were trying to quietly do what little we could, she was out here doing bad things in broad daylight!
Even if she got hit, it was just one violation. And with her determination, she could afford to hit them three times!
Who wouldn't be terrified of such lunatic behavior?
"By the way, Xiao Han, where are we heading?" Lifaeya suddenly asked.
"Back to the affiliated island where the Witch Academy was originally located. Can't you tell?" If it weren't for the fact that leaving Lifaeya behind would be bad form, I would have just teleported away. More importantly, I had some questions to ask.
"Oh, right. Should we tell the others about the Holy Angels' situation..."
"Stop! We can't do anything that violates the rules!" I immediately cut off Lifaeya's prohibited suggestion. After all, that live broadcast camera still hadn't disappeared.
That would be a total self-report!
"What's there to be afraid of? It's just a chat between the two of us. Are you afraid this will be broadcast? We're just two teaching assistants, what's the big deal? You're no fun," Lifaeya said dismissively.
"Even if it isn't, we shouldn't do it, understand? Have some faith in our academy's students. Compared to those birdmen, we're only lacking a bit of innate advantage. Once they break out of that affiliated island and enter the main island, that's when the nightmare begins for the other academies."
"Xiao Han... wait... I'm not used to you talking like this. Did those birdmen make you go crazy with anger? What kind of talk is this? If we Witches don't cause trouble, are we supposed to follow the rules?"
"Idiot. If you break the rules to cause trouble, you can only do it three times. If you follow the rules to cause trouble, you can do it infinitely! Got it?" I glanced out of the corner of my eye at the broadcast camera. It still hadn't left. It seemed I needed to change the subject, and I happened to have something to ask her.
"Forget it, let's not talk about that. I have something I want to ask your advice on."
"Oh? Advice from a junior? Go ahead~ If I know the answer, I'll definitely tell you~"
"I want to ask... that uncomfortable pressure those two Holy Angels were emitting earlier, or rather, that aura—what exactly was that?" I phrased my question carefully.
I had wanted to ask this for a while. First, there was that elf, then the mentors from other academies I met while handing over eliminated candidates—their pressure was even more terrifying.
Yet, the mentors in the Witch Academy were all kind and approachable, with no such aura at all.
At first, I thought it was a specific use of power from the Elf Academy, but other academies, even the Beast Academy, had this pressure. That meant it wasn't a specific power, but a universal technique. Since the power systems of different academies varied, I couldn't find a common thread.
I decided to take the opportunity provided by the Holy Angel's pressure to ask.
"Pressure? Aura?" Lifaeya looked confused for a moment, but then she realized what I meant. Suddenly, an indescribable force erupted from her. The sudden anomaly made my body tense up. My body cultivation power forced me to take control of my limbs to resist this heart-pounding force.
"Is it this?"
"Yes..." I pulled back a bit of distance from her and spoke seriously.
"This? This is just Life Level suppression. Oh~ I almost forgot, Xiao Han, you're—ehehe..." Lifaeya spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
But she quickly realized that the person in front of her had been enrolled for less than a year. No mentor would have told her about this yet. Suddenly, she felt a surge of pride as a senior!
"Life Level suppression?" I asked, puzzled.
My inner thirst for knowledge drove me to learn more.
I understood the concept of Life Levels and knew it was related to ascending to Transcendent status, but I didn't know it could be used like this.