Chapter 590: Civilization Reconstruction or Bandit Invasion?
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 590: Civilization Reconstruction or Bandit Invasion?
The meeting dragged on for quite some time.
After all, the Academy hadn't made many formal public announcements regarding Ninglan New City. Most of those present who knew anything about it had gathered information on their own.
Naturally, Lina had to explain everything in detail.
I listened intently from below. It had been a while since I’d been there, so my current understanding of the situation was about the same as everyone else’s.
Perhaps Ninglan Qiuyue’s Tree of Knowledge contained a wealth of relevant information, but under normal circumstances, I wouldn't infringe on someone else's privacy like that. At most, I’d glance at the transcribed data observed by the Tree of Great Knowledge. It was a matter of principle.
Teacher Lina didn't describe the location of Ninglan New City as another world. Instead, she called it another spatial layer of our own world, bluntly labeling it an "Expansion Realm." However, she didn't elaborate on the world's hierarchical structure or the origins of the Expansion Realm itself.
Once the location was described, she moved on to the events unfolding there.
In the Expansion Realm, a small world from outside had merged with ours. To be precise, the fusion occurred within the Expansion Realm.
As for how they merged, she glossed over it without much explanation.
The result was that a world's worth of humans suddenly appeared. Their own world had essentially been destroyed, and they had "transmigrated" into our world's Expansion Realm. That was the current situation as Teacher Lina described it.
Our mission was to head to the Expansion Realm and assist those ordinary people with "civilization reconstruction."
This long-term mission would last until the end of the semester. Throughout the duration, there were no mandatory requirements other than a prohibition against large-scale, indiscriminate killing of innocents. You could even just wander around aimlessly if you wanted.
When the time came, we would travel to Ninglan New City via the Academy’s portal.
Ninglan New City currently fell under the jurisdiction of the Witch Academy, and the city's Lord had already joined the Academy. This was one of the reasons why the various Transcendent Academies were so eager to participate in this exchange.
While every Transcendent Academy had the means to reach the Expansion Realm—especially since its destruction was closely tied to them—showing up uninvited would be in poor taste. Aside from Ninglan New City, the rest of the Expansion Realm was a wasteland where "everything awaited reconstruction."
There was no reason to start at a disadvantage compared to everyone else.
The Expansion Realm was a brand-new territory for the Main World. Once the Ley Line connection and repairs were complete, it would be integrated into the Main World, followed immediately by a recovery of the Main World’s Luck.
The long-term mission included a brief list of tasks. Although nothing was mandatory, if someone really did nothing but wander around, they might as well just stay at the Academy and rot.
I skimmed the tasks; most were quite simple.
The primary objective was clearing out the mutant beasts running rampant in the Expansion Realm. I had some memory of this—back when the Expansion Realm was exposed to the Void environment, massive amounts of energy radiation and tides had saturated the areas outside the protection of the Ley Line ruptures.
Terrifying mutant beasts had been spawned within those ruins. However... their strength was mediocre. They didn't even have clear power levels.
For the most part, their strength was proportional to their size. At most, some of their organs had mutated to adapt to that primitive energy, allowing them to perform basic Transcendent attacks.
Furthermore, as Teaching Assistants, we were expected to assist any students in distress during the mission. If we encountered a student's corpse, we were obligated to bring it back to Ninglan New City, where teachers specializing in Resurrection Spells would handle the rest.
Finally, if we saw any Academy distress signals, we were to provide aid as quickly as possible.
With the logistics out of the way, Lina moved on to the next major point.
Namely, the benefits of going to the Expansion Realm.
During this trip, one could acquire many precious Transcendent materials. Teacher Lina even brought out several samples for us to see, many of which were completely unknown to those present.
However, through my Ley Line Identification Art, I obtained far more data. These materials were essentially evolved from "World Origin Soil."
Seeing the World Origin Soil, I understood. This was one of the "World Three Source Elements" mentioned previously—a rare Transcendent material produced after a world-shaking upheaval.
And it wasn't just these materials; the Expansion Realm held many other opportunities, such as crystals formed from high concentrations of Transcendent energy. These crystals were categorized into various types.
If we encountered them, the Academy would issue temporary tasks to assist in mining these crystals.
Naturally, these were paid tasks with generous rewards.
Generally, the appearance of these Transcendent crystals was also related to the World Three Source Elements—specifically, the "Transcendent Primal Crystals."
When Transcendent Primal Crystals existed in a high-energy, uncontrolled state, their energy levels would drop, forming various types of Transcendent crystals. Usually, this would radiate across an entire region, which is how these Transcendent crystal mines were formed. Technically, these also fell under the category of Transcendent materials.
While discussing these crystals, Teacher Lina warned us to be wary of nearby mutant beasts. After all, they were also drawn to such high concentrations of energy, which could lead to uncontrollable mutations.
Furthermore, ordinary humans exposed to the radiation of these mines would also mutate. Such individuals could be killed on sight, as these sudden mutations would shatter their cognition, turning them into mindless lunatics.
She also reminded us to take protective measures upon arrival.
This type of energy radiation could generally be blocked by using homologous energy protection spells. Because of their properties, these spells could absorb the uncontrolled radiation.
Finally, Lina introduced the last resource on her list.
In the Expansion Realm, we might encounter special crystals currently designated as "Unstable Soul Crystals." Once refined through specific methods, these Soul Crystals could be absorbed by living beings to increase their life level.
The mention of this effect sent a jolt of excitement through everyone!
Myself included!
Something that could directly raise one's life level was a true treasure!
However... after I appraised the sample in Lina's hand, a chill ran down my spine, and I instantly calmed down.
These so-called Unstable Soul Crystals were essentially condensed "Soul Essence," another of the World Three Source Elements.
What was Soul Essence?
Soul Essence was the foundation of conscious life within a world. Every unit of Soul Essence might have once been a specific person in history...
Therefore, absorbing Soul Essence was fundamentally no different from "cannibalism." This was especially true for the Teaching Assistants present, whose life essence was rooted in Soul Essence.
Only I and the few Great Witches present possessed the essence of Soul Life.
But even so, Soul Essence could evolve into a soul. Perhaps those who knew the truth would find it a difficult moral hurdle to clear.
But... I wouldn't.
It was just Soul Essence. Once a person dies, everything they were becomes meaningless. Perhaps... this is one of the reasons why Transcendents view non-transcendents with such "inhumanity"?
Once you step onto this path and begin consuming Soul Essence to raise your own life level, then... the Soul Essence governed by the world and flowing through the Ley Lines becomes no different from the living beings inhabiting the world.
Because... they are all just resources to be utilized!
Only by severing the Ley Line Shackles and escaping the world's rules of operation can one be conceptually recognized as an independent individual. Otherwise, a life bound by Ley Line Shackles is nothing more than a resource that has birthed a consciousness within a massive treasury of Soul Essence.
I suspected the Soul Essence in the Expansion Realm was the essence still circulating in the Ley Lines of that former small world.
However, it seemed a significant portion of that world's Soul Essence had already been harvested by the Players.
It was just that the Players' methods were crude. They didn't seem able to extract Soul Essence directly from the Ley Lines; instead, they fought against the Ley Lines by killing people to snatch it.
My focus returned to the meeting.
Everything Teacher Lina mentioned was the bait to lure everyone to the Expansion Realm. Such an opportunity was rare; with a bit of luck, one could strike it rich overnight!
And the benefits didn't stop there. There were also Ley Line Crystals and the like. This was one of the reasons why ordinary students were being allowed in; as long as they had some skill, they wouldn't return from the Expansion Realm empty-handed.
It was a treasure trove waiting to be developed!
However... as I sat there listening to Teacher Lina emphasize these resources, I wasn't as excited as the others.
I was only really interested in the Soul Crystals, so I remained relatively composed.
I was very clear about my goals. At the Witch Academy, my objective was to become a Transcendent Witch, not to build a money-making machine. Soul Crystals could help me promote my witch rank faster, as my life level was my Achilles' heel. As for the rest... I'd worry about that later.
Still, I couldn't help but wonder: was Teacher Lina really sending us there to help those people rebuild their civilization?
The way she put it, it sounded like she was letting a pack of bandits loose!
After sighing for the people of that world, I pushed the thought aside.
It wasn't my concern. If the Academy had arranged it this way, I would simply follow orders.
After that, Teacher Lina covered a few more precautions, and the meeting drew to a close.
Finally, all the Teaching Assistants present signed a Witch Contract. This was a comprehensive contract that could directly record the mission information into one's mind, much like a Language Witch Contract. Once signed, you would possess the knowledge of that language. Many witches newly arrived in the Main World chose to sign one.
The contract included several mandatory requirements, such as the prohibition against killing each other or maliciously killing students—including those from other Transcendent Academies.
It also specifically emphasized that we were not allowed to stuff Mana Sources into students from other academies.
As expected, they hadn't missed that detail.
It wasn't just us Teaching Assistants; everyone applying to enter the Expansion Realm had to sign a Witch Contract to ensure they followed the rules and understood the basic information. However, the content of the contract for regular students was different from ours.
After all, Teaching Assistants either possessed terrifying strength compared to average students or mastered more profound arts, such as Alchemy, Potions, or even Magic Potions. Consequently, our contract restrictions were more stringent.
With the signing of the contracts, the meeting finally reached its end.
Ultimately, with Teacher Lina’s dismissal, the meeting officially concluded, and the crowd began to leave their seats, buzzing with conversation.
The information revealed in this meeting was simply explosive. The sheer volume of data left them with an intense urge to talk, and as soon as they stood up, they began discussing it with their friends and colleagues.
"Hey~ Sister Xiao Han, Sister Xiao Han~ I heard you were one of the people who experienced the Sleep Curse back then. Can you tell us about what happened?"
"Yeah! I'm going to use Ninglan New City as my starting point this time. Tell us what you saw back then!"
"Hmm? Wasn't that all over the news back then? So many people who were there posted their experiences on the Academy Network. You can find a ton of stories if you just search for them," I replied.
"Aww~ reading other people's exaggerated posts is boring. I'm curious about your story, Sister Xiao Han! It’s bound to be more representative! I heard you really shone back then! You even had a major impact on the situation in Ninglan New City!"
"Exactly! So I'm really curious about what you actually did."
"I didn't really do much... If I had to say... the old City Lord of Ninglan New City was being manipulated by a Dream Demon, and his son wanted to violently overthrow his rule, but in the end, that son was also secretly being manipu—hm?"
Just as I was about to give a brief account of what happened in Ninglan New City, a figure stepped through the crowd from behind me.
"Yang Yuehan..."
"Who's calling me?" I instinctively turned around, only to see a figure standing right behind me.
The surrounding crowd consciously made some space, pausing to watch the drama unfold.
"Oh... it's you. What do you want?"
I looked at Liliana Elvira. She no longer had that arrogant air she’d had when we first met; she had even become somewhat withdrawn.
Liliana took a deep breath before speaking in a heavy tone. "Yang Yuehan... I want to challenge you... to another battle in the Arena!"
"That's it? Boring." Hearing her words, I frowned and dismissed her with a single word.
Fighting her again was meaningless to me. I could perhaps use her to test my new Book in the Box, but it would clearly be more convenient to do that in the Expansion Realm. There was no need to have another duel with her.
Besides... there was no profit in fighting her!
I had grown a lot during our first fight, learning a great deal about her combat style and other information. But fighting her again, especially in the Arena for everyone to see? No thanks.
"You! Stand—wait for me!" Seeing that I was completely ignoring her, Liliana snapped.
The other Teaching Assistants nearby couldn't help but laugh. Someone had challenged another to a duel, only to be told it was "boring." How entertaining.
Liliana’s name was quite well-known among the Teaching Assistants. How could she stand being treated like this?
"Is there anything else? If you're just trying to win back your pride, don't bother."
"Exactly. Your injuries just healed and you're already looking for a challenge? You've got some nerve," the people around me chimed in, firing back without hesitation. Everyone here was at the Teaching Assistant level; no one was afraid of her. Liliana couldn't find any sense of superiority through her status here.
"Weren't you manipulated into being someone else's pawn before? Weren't there rumors a few days ago that you were sulking in some corner?"
"Lifaeya...! You're just someone I've already defeated. What are you acting so smug for? I'm challenging Yang Yuehan, not you. Get out of my way."
Liliana stepped forward, pushing aside Lifaeya, who was fanning the flames, and stood directly in front of me. She was a head taller than me and looked down at me, hoping to use her height to create a sense of pressure.
"I am challenging you. Do you dare to accept?"
"Let me ask you: have you grown during this time? Have you become stronger? What exactly gave you the courage to provoke me again?" I asked bluntly.
"Of course... your victory back then was unfair. I need a rematch!"
"Then do you even know what the power behind that final blow I gave you actually was?"
"It... it was... nothing more than a type of Spellbook I hadn't seen before." Liliana, caught off guard by my question, didn't know how to answer but stubbornly gave the wrong one.
"A Spellbook? Is that how you see it? Fine... as long as you don't understand what that power truly is, you aren't even qualified to fight me." I almost laughed at her attempt to act like she knew what she was talking about.
She was a Teaching Assistant; she should at least have a brain.
"Not qualified... are you saying most of the people here aren't qualified either!" As I finished speaking, Liliana was stunned. This was a blatant insult!
We were all Teaching Assistants. By saying she wasn't qualified to fight, I was claiming to be on an entirely different level.
In fact... my "map cannon" comment had included almost everyone present!
Because they didn't know what that power was either; they had only heard that the power which had severed the dungeon was terrifying.
Only a few had asked their mentors at the time, only to be demoralized once more by the answer. Their only consolation now was that they hadn't personally fought me, so they hadn't technically lost.
Though they knew the truth, they remained silent, nursing their secret frustration.
People in high positions always carry baggage they can't let go of. Not everyone is capable of gracefully admitting that they are inferior to someone else.