Chapter 589: The Opening of Ninglan New City
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 589: The Opening of Ninglan New City
As I left the villa amidst their chorus of farewells, I realized that I probably wouldn't be seeing much of them from now on.
I had already handed them the [Transcendent Knowledge] Seeds—the ones that hadn't undergone information grading—and given them their chance. If any of them could grasp it, perhaps we would meet again in a different capacity. If they couldn't... we might never have the chance to see each other again.
To be honest, they hadn't actually spent that much time with me throughout this journey. I didn't really want to dwell on that point, though, because they had anchored the concept of "friends" in my initial positioning.
But all good things must come to an end. Sharing a dormitory merely provides the illusion of being on the same level; in the end, everyone goes their separate ways. Whether we would meet again would depend entirely on their own capabilities.
I made my way back.
This time, I was heading to Sister Natalie’s alchemy lab. After these past few days of collaboration, Natalie had finally finished the major overhaul of the Book in the Box.
During this period, Natalie had called me over several times for three stages of debugging and one final major revision. Sister Natalie had told me I could come to collect it within the next day or two.
It just so happened that I ran into everyone at the dorm today, so I had stopped there first.
But... before that, another major event was scheduled to happen today.
I activated my Qi Observation Art. Since I didn't have the precision instruments from Dean Mei’s office to assist me, much of the information I deduced remained ambiguous.
Even so, as time ticked by, many things began to clarify.
I walked with a light step, snapping my fingers. As if hitting a specific node in time, a massive disturbance erupted in the sky above the Witch Academy. Many people instinctively looked up, though those familiar with the sight weren't startled by the commotion.
This was the opening of the Curtain Wall that shrouded the entire Witch Academy.
The last time there had been such a massive movement was... well, the last time.
As expected, people from other Transcendent academies had arrived.
At that moment, I received a notification from the personal academy system on the Academy Network regarding the exchange students.
I’ve noticed that the Witch Academy clearly knows exactly when things are going to happen, yet they never give advance notice. They only notify you the moment it occurs.
However, this time... things were getting interesting.
Furthermore, this exchange wasn't a mutual student swap; it was a one-sided "communication."
Essentially, other Transcendent academies were sending their students to the Witch Academy.
To ensure the Witch Academy wouldn't play foul, the Academy Dean had signed a Witch Contract on behalf of all Transcendent Witches, guaranteeing they wouldn't take the opportunity to forcibly abduct the visiting students.
This information had been recorded in the files Dean Bev shared with me last time.
Even with the records, I didn't know what kind of game they were playing. I wasn't about to be fooled by the naive rhetoric of "exchange and study."
"Hmm... that tree from the Afuhemi Academy... and behind it... the Holy Angels..."
I watched the commotion in the distance before finally shifting my attention away. No matter how much they were plotting, it wasn't as important as picking up my Book in the Box.
Just as I was thinking this, a call came through.
Looking at the caller ID, I was a bit surprised. It was Teacher Lina, whom I hadn't seen in a while—the Department Head for the freshman year.
I quickly picked up. It seemed Teacher Lina was also using the Tree of Knowledge to interface with the Academy Network, as a video feed appeared once the connection was established.
"Teacher Lina, it’s been a while. Is there a reason for the sudden call?" I asked first.
"Xiao Han, are you free right now? Hmm... are you outside?"
"Yes. I don't have anything major to do, I'm just on my way to pick something up. If you need something, Teacher Lina, you can just tell me."
"I’m going to be discussing something here shortly. If you're interested, you can come over. I know you're busy, so it's no big deal if you choose not to come, but I can give you a hint: it’s related to Ninglan New City," Lina said with a smile.
In the Witch Academy, aside from assisting mentors with teaching, Teaching Assistants had many other "voluntary" duties—like the monthly exam proctoring I’d experienced before, or the League Hunting Exam.
They even served as team leaders for high-risk tasks issued by the academy.
As for me... I didn't seem to have much of a sense of participation. Judging by Lina’s attitude toward assigning me tasks, she was quite willing to respect my wishes.
"Ninglan New City?"
Hearing Teacher Lina mention that, I was indeed interested.
Based on the timeline, the Expansion Realm where Ninglan New City was located should be in the process of merging with a small world, shouldn't it?
Or was the fusion already complete?
I had heard previously that the final wrap-up stage of this process was supposed to take several years...
"Yes. You look interested. Shall I send you the meeting room address and the start time?"
"Yes, please. Thank you, Teacher Lina." I eventually nodded and agreed.
After all, even though my status had risen significantly after everything that had happened, I felt it was still necessary to maintain basic respect when facing a Transcendent Mentor.
Of course, Transcendent Mentors from outside the Witch Academy were an exception.
I still held a grudge over what happened a while ago.
* * *
I visited Sister Natalie again, and after receiving my finalized Book in the Box, I left happily.
After all, this single weapon had cost Natalie an entire vacation plus the time from the start of the semester until now. As for the payment... well, Dean Mei had covered it for me, though Natalie had also pocketed some scraps of precious materials on the side.
Looking at the brand-new Book in the Box, I could hardly put it down!
If the previous version was merely a tool, then the current Book in the Box was a weapon I truly acknowledged!
I pulled the internal book from the case, flipped through the pages, and lightly stroked them; I could still feel the grain of the wood.
After the major overhaul, a new "material" had been added to the Book in the Box: my [Transcendent Knowledge] Seed.
The biggest change in the overhaul was made specifically to accommodate this seed.
The current framework of the Book in the Box had completely abandoned the original construction techniques, using the [Transcendent Knowledge] Seed as its skeleton instead.
This was a crazy concept I had proposed, and Sister Natalie had modified my idea and implemented it in a rational way.
The current Book in the Box could be described as a "growing [Transcendent Knowledge] Seed." With the seed as the framework, the Tree of Knowledge had shed its original arboreal silhouette to carry the framework of a book and those alchemical components, ultimately forming this New Book in the Box.
It could be said that the Book in the Box had now become a weapon that truly belonged to me. Even if someone else stole it, it would be nearly impossible for them to use.
Unless they used it to bludgeon someone, but then it wouldn't be any different from a brick.
I closed the book, spread my right hand, and pressed it gently against the cover. The Power of Knowledge began to surge through the book, and a phantom shadow of a tree extended from it.
Then, I opened the book again, and annotations made of the Power of Knowledge floated out, circling the tree's shadow...
At this point, the Book in the Box could perfectly interface and merge into my Domain Order, becoming a true weapon capable of carrying and wielding the Power of Knowledge!
Previously, in the dungeon, the slash I had unleashed looked terrifying, but that blade light had very little to do with the physical sword I was holding at the time. It acted more as an "image" of an attack, used to anchor a form of attack within the Domain's Order.
But now, the Book in the Box could truly carry the Power of Knowledge. When it recorded a blade and swung it, striking with Body Cultivation Internal Energy, that energy slash would be a reshaping of Order itself.
Furthermore... the Book in the Box could serve as an extension of my Domain. After all, the range covered by a Domain is limited, but the range to which I could throw the Book in the Box would certainly exceed that boundary.
It was just a pity... as the range of the power I mastered grew larger, many of my methods became difficult to deploy.
At the very least, they couldn't be used within the Witch Academy, or I'd just be asking for trouble.
After all, when I perfected the Tree of Great Knowledge, the phenomena it triggered required a special public announcement to explain. It would be unwise to go looking for trouble for no reason.
I checked the address and time Teacher Lina had sent me and made my way there at a leisurely pace.
The meeting was held in a very ordinary meeting room in the Central Teaching Area, though it was the large auditorium type.
By the time I arrived, quite a few people had already gathered. A quick glance at those present revealed mostly unfamiliar faces.
However, after identifying them, I gained some understanding. Almost everyone present was a Teaching Assistant of the Witch Academy.
My arrival naturally drew many eyes. Such a synchronized movement was truly the highest level of attention they could give.
Then came a wave of whispered discussions.
Perhaps they thought their whispering was quiet, but I could hear basically everything. I didn't bother arguing with them, though.
Acting as if nothing were out of the ordinary, I scanned the room and finally spotted Teacher Lina chatting with another mentor at the front. She instinctively looked up, saw me, and gave a small smile and a nod, signaling me to make myself at home.
There was still some time before the emergency meeting began. Just as I was looking for a corner to sit in, a voice and some slightly exaggerated gestures caught my eye.
Following the sound, I saw a girl with cat ears waving at me.
It was Lifaeya, whom I was somewhat familiar with—the troublemaking cat-girl who had written a self-reflection during the joint exam just to mock her opponents to their faces.
Since she was so enthusiastically gesturing for me to come over, I didn't stand on ceremony and walked straight to her. Compared to sitting quietly in a corner alone, I'd reluctantly choose to sit with a familiar friend.
"Xiao Han~ I didn't expect you to show up!" Lifaeya proactively struck up a conversation as soon as I sat down.
"Well, Teacher Lina called me personally, so I had to make time," I said naturally.
"A phone call? You really are amazing, Sister Xiao Han. We all just got a text notification."
"Is that so? Maybe I was just a last-minute addition," I said with a light chuckle.
Lifaeya then introduced me to several of her friends. These girls were all part of Lifaeya’s circle, and their personalities were quite similar to hers—mostly extroverted, talkative, and quirky.
They were curious about everything, and their topics of conversation were direct and jumpy.
They were also extremely curious about me. After all, this legendary TA had "ascended to godhood" based on a single battle and a single slash. They were dying to know more!
"Sister Xiao Han, won't you share your growth process with us? The rumors outside say you might... Hey, hey! Isn't that Liliana? She actually came!"
"For real? I heard she was beaten into a state of self-isolation during the last few days of the break. She adjusted her mindset that quickly?"
"If she sees Sister Xiao Han here, her expression is going to be priceless!"
The group began discussing the newcomer without any reservation as soon as they saw her, as if they were afraid she wouldn't hear them.
And Liliana did exactly as they expected, instinctively looking toward us. Her gaze froze the moment she saw me, her pupils constricting.
Combined with the exaggerated laughter from the girls beside me, Liliana couldn't take it anymore. She averted her eyes and sat down as far away from us as possible.
"Wow... that’s the first time I’ve seen Liliana back down..."
"She actually chose to run? Sister Xiao Han, I wasn't there at the time—did you do something even more excessive to her?"
"Yeah, yeah! Tell us the details!"
Lifaeya led the teasing, though they didn't dare be too loud. Even so, the commotion they were making was quite significant.
For a moment, I regretted coming here. I glanced toward a deserted corner; perhaps I should have chosen that spot after all.
However, despite the noise, no one raised any objections.
Eventually, the time arrived, and everyone had gathered.
A rough scan showed that the number of TAs present had reached forty or fifty.
This was the first time I had seen so many TAs gathered in one place; it was quite a sight.
Most of them had already shed the naivety of a student, and many had even begun to exude the aura of a mentor.
"Alright, basically everyone is here, so I won't waste words." Teacher Lina checked the time and walked to the podium. With just one sentence, the room fell silent.
"The main reason for calling this meeting is to assign you a long-term task. Those of you here are the ones we believe meet the requirements. We’ve already spoken to your mentors about this, so don't feel too burdened."
"Let’s get to the point. Just recently, our Witch Academy decided to officially open the teleportation channel to Ninglan New City. I’m sure some of you have heard the name, but I will give you a detailed introduction to this city in a moment. Before that, I want to tell you why I’m mentioning this place to you."
"Because starting this semester, Ninglan New City will be open to students. Senior students can enter upon prior application and approval. Junior students who wish to enter must meet the requirements for course exemption and submit an active application."
"This opening also includes the students from the various Transcendent academies who are coming to our Witch Academy for the exchange program."
"I want to emphasize this next point very clearly: You are not allowed to stuff a Mana Source into the body of an exchange student in any way, shape, or form. Don't even try it. Do I make myself clear?"