Chapter 526: The Value of Qi Observation Art?
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 526: The Value of Qi Observation Art?
"According to reports, a heinous incident occurred yesterday in Magic City. A terrorist attack launched by three individuals targeted three densely populated public areas in a premeditated manner, involving indiscriminate attacks and robbery. The incident resulted in a total of 32 deaths, with incomplete statistics showing over a hundred injured and incalculable property damage. Currently, no Transcendent Academy has claimed responsibility. The terrorists are suspected of wielding Transcendent power, and preliminary deductions suggest they belong to an unregistered, loose-knit civilian Transcendent organization..."
As this report caused a massive uproar in the outside world, a flood of discussions immediately erupted online.
Regarding such Transcendent attacks, the Main World usually chose to downplay the heat, revealing as little as possible.
However, this time, the report was released without any concealment. This led many to sense that something was amiss. Moreover... this happened in Magic City!
Magic City was the Witches' territory. For something so vicious to happen on their turf was a literal slap in the face to the Witch Academy.
But before the event could shock the entire globe, similar reports of irregular terrorist attacks began to emerge from various locations worldwide.
For a time, public discourse among ordinary people regarding Transcendents intensified. The "Transcendent Threat Theory" seemed to have entered a new cycle, circulating once again through the Main World.
In some regions, spontaneous protest marches broke out. After all, this was a severe incident involving a large number of civilian casualties!
Yet, looking back at the history of the Main World, ordinary people had been conditioned to both fear and yearn for the Transcendent world. Generations of peace had caused them to gradually forget just how terrifying the Transcendent could be.
Soon, the various Transcendent Academies quietly issued tasks to investigate these related incidents. They also sent out notices to students who had already left campus, emphasizing that Transcendent power must not be used for evil outside of school, while also reminding them to use their strength for self-preservation if they encountered such events. The situation continued to ferment, waiting for a spark to ignite it.
Naturally, the news of what happened in Magic City reached the internal Academy Network of the Witch Academy.
The Witch Academy had already posted tasks regarding the incident in Magic City, intervening in the matter. Thus, it also came into my line of sight.
Initially, I wasn't very interested. It was the holidays, and the Transcendent students had all left campus. It wasn't particularly surprising that someone with ill intentions would trigger a Transcendent incident.
What caught my attention, however, was the Witch Academy's attitude toward the matter. They had simply posted a task on the Academy Task board and issued a single notice. That was it.
This crime was committed in Magic City!
The Witch Academy was an existence built right on top of Magic City. Wasn't this effectively a raid on their home base?
The moment I realized something was off... my first suspicion was that this was a part of the Script.
Calculating the timing, the interval between Script nodes was just about right.
"Xiao Han, why are you suddenly interested in this?" Seeing me take an interest in an external news report, a Witch beside me leaned in and asked curiously.
"Eh? Sister Qiong, you know about this too?" I asked.
The "Sister Qiong" I was referring to was Joan Onions. She was one of the professional Witches introduced by the Dean to help link the Tree of Great Knowledge to the Academy Network's operating system.
She was primarily responsible for communicating with me during the integration process. However, that task was nearing completion, so she had handed the remaining work to a sister she'd brought along. Now, she was mainly focused on discussing the Tree of Great Knowledge's firewall with me in advance.
"I know a bit. But Xiao Han, there's no need for you to get involved, right? It's just a small matter. No need to waste too much mental energy on it."
"Oh, I just happened to see it. I was just curious... isn't the Witch Academy going to do anything? Or is there more to this than meets the eye?" What I actually wanted to ask was whether this was related to the Script.
After all, students who had mastered Transcendent power at the academy usually had nowhere to show it off. Now that they were home for the holidays, as Children of Destiny, they were bound to have some sort of encounter—like a sudden attack they would narrowly escape, only to discover it involved some organization. Eventually, they would follow the clues during their break and take down a civilian evil Transcendent organization, adding another achievement to their life's journey.
While such a plot was a bit cliché, it was highly likely to happen.
"Alright, alright... I don't actually know much, but it does have that kind of connection... Just don't go poking your nose into it, Xiao Han."
"Is it a so-called Luck Script?" I asked directly.
"You guessed it?" Seeing me lay it out, she didn't bother hiding it and asked back.
"The news has already spread, hasn't it? How could I not know?" I shrugged. "I really don't want to get involved again, but... I'm still very curious. Sister Qiong, how do you all usually find out about this information?"
"True... since it's like that, I won't hide it. But I only know because I listen to other Witches' gossip. You should know that when Witches chat, they'll talk about anything. Oh—it's already tea time. Want to come to my place for some dessert?"
"Um... thank you, but I'll pass. Have a good one—I hope you enjoy your tea time."
After a brief farewell, I turned away. I had gained a rough understanding of the Transcendent Witches' schedules lately.
No matter how urgent a matter was, Witches would always carve out time to relax, even when researching Great Spellbooks.
With my special permission, a certain part of my villa had been turned into a temporary location for tea parties.
Of course, it wasn't just for tea; the Witches also liked to enter the Primal Dream to play with others.
For Transcendent Witches, the Primal Dream was a platform for social gatherings with Witches from different worlds.
It was a world belonging to Witches, constructed entirely of dreams. It was clearly a different place from the dream worlds students usually entered.
I had heard them describe the vibrancy of that world. Apparently, a specific dream zone had been constructed within the Primal Dream for the Main World Witch Academy to facilitate information exchange among the academy's Witches. However, I wasn't yet qualified to step inside because I didn't possess the spell to enter the Primal Dream. Those who entered via equipment were restricted to scenes pre-set by the Witch Academy.
I wasn't particularly envious, though. I wasn't mentally prepared to interact with the Witches there yet. Dealing with the Transcendent Witches currently in the academy was exhausting enough.
And right now, I clearly had other things to do.
Since the Script had been edited, Luck would likely fluctuate significantly. This was a great opportunity—an opportunity to continue perfecting my Qi Observation Art!
At this stage, my research with Fool's Dream regarding consciousness communication in the Dream Sea had hit a temporary bottleneck. However, current tests had proven the feasibility of the concept. To complete it, many difficulties had to be overcome. For instance, the problem I was facing now... communication with the Dream Sea required Fool's Dream to be in a specific state of sleep. It was strange; I was shocked when I first reached this conclusion, but after excluding all other variables, this was the only one left.
Later, at the suggestion of several Witches assisting with my tests, I had Fool's Dream switch from sleep to conscious meditation. Meditation was a more subjective and controllable attempt than sleep. Currently, Fool's Dream was testing which kind of meditation best suited my requirements. This required a lot of trial and error to achieve the set goal.
In the meantime, taking advantage of this coincidental opportunity, I was curious to see how the current flow of Luck was moving.
As I activated the Qi Observation Art, the Tree of Great Knowledge presented the corresponding information regarding the movement of Luck. Most of the Luck torrents I had marked represented places where Luck converged—the so-called Children of Destiny.
However, the manifestations currently presented by the Qi Observation Art... showed a situation I had never observed before.
"There really is an anomaly. What does this mean?" I frowned in confusion as I looked at the data. The manifestations of Luck were a bit too abstract. Even after being "translated" by the Qi Observation Art, I could only roughly confirm the locations of some Children of Destiny.
For example, Lucianne had already returned to the Witch Academy. Although I was surprised she chose to return, I deduced it was likely related to the Great Knowledge Seed I had given her. When I factored this deduction into the variables, I found that the hypothesis aligned perfectly with the form the Luck was taking.
This was the function of the Qi Observation Art. As long as one understood enough facts, it was possible to deduce many things within the Script that were otherwise unknowable.
But because of this, the difficulty of perfecting the Qi Observation Art and completing the Luck Rules was far more terrifying than I had anticipated. At this stage, the Qi Observation Art felt more like... a deduction game to pass the time.
It felt like something suitable for Witches who had nothing better to do... This application of the Qi Observation Art was merely a method born from an inspiration triggered by the Ley Line Information Identification Art, so I didn't mind exposing this technique.
Or rather, thinking of this now, I was already considering how to leak it so those idle Witches could help me perfect it.
My ambition for the Qi Observation Art was to make it usable in any world where a Script was active!
"Xiao Han~"
Just as I was thinking this, a familiar voice suddenly sounded behind me. It startled me, and when I turned around, it really was Dean Bev Alanna!
"Dean Bev?"
"That's so distant. You call that Old Mei Po 'Sister Mei,' yet you're unwilling to call me 'Sister Bev'?" Bev said, putting on a heartbroken expression.
When Xiao Han signed the Little Witch Contract, that Old Mei Po actually hadn't invited her. That had made her furious. But this time, she was mainly here to collect something.
"Uh... Hello, Sister Bev~" I smiled and greeted her again. She was a Dean, after all, and a very generous one at that. Calling her something sweet cost me nothing. Besides, when I first met her, she had insisted on being called "Lord Dean."
"Good~" Hearing the sweet address, Bev beamed with joy. "By the way, I'm mainly here to pick up the Great Knowledge Seeds. I was delayed by some matters, which is why I'm so late."
"Oh, it's fine. I've been keeping them for you. The demand for Great Knowledge Seeds has been high lately, but my production capacity is steadily increasing. These are all my current stocks."
"So many?" Bev was surprised by the quantity I produced. "No, I didn't provide that many resources back then. Even that Old Mei Po only took fewer than ten..."
"That was before they were promoted, wasn't it? Now, I'm giving out Great Knowledge Seeds almost for free. It would be unfair to you if I still charged the previous price."
"Free..." Hearing that word, Bev's lip twitched instinctively. "You really don't want to make a profit at all, do you? I think I know why so many Witches are chasing after these seeds now..."
After all, no one could refuse a freebie, and Witches were no exception.
"Well~ not exactly. Has the Dean ever heard that the most expensive things are the ones that are free?"
"You little thing, do you have other plans?" Bev raised an eyebrow. Had she misjudged me?
"Uh... not at the moment..."
"Then isn't it still a giveaway?" Dean Bev said exasperatedly. "But since you're being so generous, I'll take them. Since that's how you feel, I won't force the issue. I'll help you get these Great Knowledge Seeds to the Witches who suit them. By the way, have you made any progress with that spellbook I gave you earlier?"
"Spellbook? Oh, that one. I... uh, haven't had time to try it yet. I'm not sure about the specifics. Is... Sister Bev very concerned about it?" I scratched my head, feeling a bit awkward.
To be honest, experiments regarding that spellbook hadn't even made it onto my to-do list yet. My time was almost entirely consumed by the two Great Spellbooks; I had zero spare time for anything else, especially recently.
Besides, I really didn't lack things to research. I had far too many good things on my hands.
"Oh, it's fine. I was just worried you might not be able to handle that spellbook, Xiao Han. If you don't want it, I can give you a different one."
"There's no need for the Dean to worry. I enjoy challenging difficulties. I don't think there's any spellbook that is completely unusable. Thank you for your concern, Dean."
"Alright then. It's good that you're confident." Bev didn't press the matter further. Her gaze was quickly drawn to the things in front of me. "What are you busy with, Xiao Han?"
"Oh, just some small experiments. They're related to Luck."
"Small experiments? Luck? Anything involving Luck is hardly a 'small' experiment," Bev Alanna said with surprise. She leaned in. "Mind introducing this to me? It looks a bit abstract."
"Sure~ I just don't know if this technique has any practical value, so please don't laugh at me, Sister Bev..."
Seeing the Dean's interest, I felt this was a good opportunity.
I wasn't sure if she would be interested, but... as a Transcendent Witch, she surely had her own means of manipulating Luck, right?
Regardless, I began explaining the details of the Qi Observation Art to Dean Bev.
"Every technique has its value. Don't measure the worth of a craft solely by its practical utility."