Chapter 760: The Arrangement of [Transcendent Knowledge]
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 760: The Arrangement of [Transcendent Knowledge]
As the official start of the match was announced, both sides in the arena immediately unleashed their most trusted techniques.
Tan Han instantly activated her Staff of Absolute Cold, holding nothing back as she prepared to seize the initiative in a single wave.
The head of the staff, formed from the Crown of Absolute Zero, emitted an eerie, cold light. In an instant, it unleashed an overwhelming cold wave that plummeted the temperature of the entire arena.
Moisture in the air condensed into frost and snow, drifting slowly downward.
With just that one swing, the protective spells at the very front of the spectator stands were forced to manifest.
Tan Han’s opponent, the Teaching Assistant, was not to be outdone. She opened the match by activating a Super Consumption Spellbook.
Because her opponent was Tan Han, she knew that if she tried to probe or play it safe in this matchup, she would likely suffer a crushing defeat before she could even deploy her follow-up strategies.
Boom—!
The high-intensity magical collision right out of the gate instantly ignited the crowd's passion!
This was what they had come to see!
No ambushes, no underhanded schemes, no cautious probing—just a clash of spells at this level of intensity and energy right from the start! The explosion of energy, the thunderous roar, and the breathtaking elemental light effects were the ultimate performance to stimulate the audience's senses.
"Is Tan Han’s Staff of Absolute Cold actually an amplification wand?" I asked, somewhat surprised as I watched the collision between Tan Han and the Teaching Assistant.
After all, it was a weapon I had asked Sister Natalie to craft. I had seen it when I visited her, but I hadn't looked into its specific properties.
Initially, I thought the weapon was set to a Solidification Attack Mode. After all, the Crown of Absolute Zero itself possessed a chill that approached the Pseudo-Domain level; simply activating it should have been roughly equivalent to the "Fire Rain Domain" Super Consumption Spellbook I owned.
However, I hadn't expected Tan Han to use the staff in this manner. Instead of being the primary source of attack, it served as an amplification medium for her other ice-type spellbooks. This allowed even a simple Ice Spike spell to carry the power of a massive cold wave.
"If you call it an amplification weapon... you wouldn't be wrong," the Shopkeeper’s voice said from beside me.
As the former owner of the weapon's core, she was the one who had accompanied Tan Han through the process of mastering it. Naturally, she knew exactly what the Staff of Absolute Cold was capable of.
"At first, we only intended to treat it as a sealed item, keeping it contained. But that Alchemy Master, Natalie, actually managed to utilize the properties of Absolute Zero to turn it into a highly efficient amplification magic tool..."
"I see." I nodded, no longer surprised. I was the one who had introduced Tan Han to Sister Natalie. While I wasn't entirely sure of the extent of her abilities, I knew she was incredibly skilled.
Furthermore, I could sense that the seals on the Staff of Absolute Cold in Tan Han’s hand hadn't been fully released. It seemed this wasn't just a simple spell-amplifying wand; there was likely a mechanism to completely unleash the power of Absolute Zero. However, I suspected such a move would be the type that didn't distinguish between friend and foe, something not to be used lightly.
Even so, this wasn't Tan Han’s trump card.
After looking into Tan Han’s previous matches, I confirmed this suspicion. This "unleashing" was the final move Tan Han had used to win her last match against this same Teaching Assistant.
The reason the Teaching Assistant was being so wary on the field was likely because she feared Tan Han using that move again.
"Shopkeeper, can I ask out of curiosity about the [Transcendent Knowledge] Tan Han is holding?" I asked.
"Of course you can, Xiao Han. What do you want to know? Though... I don't actually know that much..."
"I want to know what parts are still missing for that [Transcendent Knowledge] to be complete. As of now, I only know that the Crown of Absolute Zero you had and that bead-like Heart of the Cold Wave are fragments. Are there others?"
"That... I’m not entirely sure myself. I only know that the crown I held was the most unique and the largest fragment. As for the Heart of the Cold Wave... I don't know the exact number, but I suspect there are twelve of them, because their shape corresponds to the twelve inset grooves on the crown."
"Are there really that many Hearts of the Cold Wave?" I muttered to myself.
"There are indeed many."
"Then... would you be willing to tell the story of how you originally obtained that crown, Shopkeeper? Of course, if it’s inconvenient, just pretend I didn't ask. I’m just a bit curious."
"The story..." Hearing me bring this up, the Shopkeeper seemed to fall into a memory. "How should I put it? At that time, I was still a student at the academy, conducting research on a new project with my Mentor. It was... around that stage."
"Around?" I was a bit confused. Obtaining that crown should have been a major milestone; her memory of it should have been quite vivid.
"It was a very long time ago, after all... I’ve been a graduated Senior Sister for many years now. It’s been so long that... even my Mentor has left the Witch Academy..."
"Eh? Left?"
"It’s the Mentor rotation. Xiao Han, you’re a Teaching Assistant, so you should know that the Witch Mentors leave after a certain period and are replaced by new ones, right?"
"I know about that. So that’s what you meant by 'left.'" I nodded in understanding.
"Yes. Because my Mentor left, my last connection to the Witch Academy was severed. That’s why... I couldn't protect that [Transcendent Knowledge] fragment anymore. In the end, I chose to pass the heavy responsibility of guarding it to Tan Han."
"Did you have a reason why you had to protect it, Shopkeeper?" If one couldn't protect a treasure, rather than spending the rest of one's life exhausted by it, it would be better to let go of the trouble and find peace.
"A reason I had to... The value of the [Transcendent Knowledge] fragment itself was reason enough to protect it, wasn't it? It was a trophy I won during the prime of my youth. Its meaning to me surpassed even its objective value. Even though my Mentor told me it was too early for me to be in contact with such a thing... but who hasn't been young and reckless?"
"Then may I ask, Shopkeeper, who were you competing against for it back then?" I continued.
Although the Shopkeeper was telling me many things, she seemed to be avoiding the actual story of what happened. I had to piece together the past bit by bit through questions.
However, based on the Luck clinging to this [Transcendent Knowledge] and Dean Mei’s personal admission that this was a layout within a "script," I could guess some of the truth. Back then, the Shopkeeper had likely been pushed by Luck to become a tool, guarding it until now.
"Well, there were many academies competing for it at the time. At least all Three Top Academies were involved, though it was limited to struggles between students. That’s considered a standard tradition among the various Transcendent Academies."
"So many students from different Transcendent Academies were involved... For so many people to gather, the appearance of this [Transcendent Knowledge] must have caused quite a stir, right?"
"Yes. I remember that entire region suffered a severe blizzard. It was because of that abnormal Celestial Phenomenon that so many people from the Transcendent Academies were drawn there. Eventually, we discovered that this [Transcendent Knowledge] was the cause. But back then, we didn't even know the concept of '[Transcendent Knowledge]'; we just knew it had to be an incredibly precious transcendent treasure."
"That happened?" I was a bit surprised. Thinking back, I didn't recall any news about a major, logic-defying blizzard occurring anywhere in the world.
Perhaps I was too young then to have any impression of it. Moreover, back then, I couldn't even watch TV, let alone the news. My family didn't care about the news; they only cared about themselves.
I continued listening to the Shopkeeper’s narration. The subsequent plot was fairly standard: the Shopkeeper had suppressed the representatives of the various Transcendent Academies and even her fellow competitors from the Witch Academy to seize the crown.
The Shopkeeper’s reputation had been forged during that time.
However, what really caught my attention was her mention that the [Transcendent Knowledge] had shattered at that moment.
"Wait... something’s wrong. Shopkeeper, slow down. You said that at the time, the [Transcendent Knowledge] was just a massive, formless light orb, and that when someone touched it, it would manifest as a giant throne and then drain all the mana from their body?"
"I don't remember clearly. I didn't have the chance to touch that giant light orb myself. I only made my move after the orb shattered into many small, fragment-like pieces." The Shopkeeper thought back to the scene, but there truly seemed to be no more details.
"Shopkeeper, do you think... at that time, the [Transcendent Knowledge] might not have been [Transcendent Knowledge] itself, but a completed Great Spellbook?"
"That... shouldn't be possible, right? No! It’s absolutely impossible!" The Shopkeeper hesitated at first but then became firm. "Who would just leave a Great Spellbook lying there? Xiao Han, didn't you say that a Great Spellbook is something even Transcendent Witches desire? How could it have been left for us to fight over?"
"That’s true." I nodded without arguing. If this was orchestrated by the Witch Academy, it wasn't necessarily impossible for it to be a completed Great Spellbook.
Furthermore, when Sister Natalie studied the crown, she said the material was definitely not ordinary. Could it be that it was originally the carrier for a Great Spellbook?
"By the way, Shopkeeper, can you help me mark the approximate location of that blizzard?" I unfolded a map of the Main World and asked.
"Sure... but Xiao Han, why are you so interested in this?"
"Just satisfying my curiosity~" I brushed it off with a random excuse.
Inwardly, I was thinking about other things.
If this was the work of the Witch Academy and they wanted to involve all the Transcendent Academies, then the location of this blizzard... should be here.
I looked at the map, at the continental locations where the major Transcendent Academies held influence, and finally locked onto a border continent. Then, the Shopkeeper stepped forward and lightly circled the exact spot I had predicted.
As expected... just as I thought, the appearance of this [Transcendent Knowledge] was intended to make the various Transcendent Academies fight for it.
But... why was it brought back by the Shopkeeper after the struggle?
What was the point?
Was this also one of the Academy Dean's arrangements?
As expected, I still couldn't understand the considerations of someone at the Academy Dean's level.
So, having satisfied a certain amount of my curiosity, I didn't dig any deeper into the details.
If this matter truly involved something important later on, I wouldn't mind personally going to that place to perform a Ley Line Reshaping.
The experience gained from combining Time Sense with the Ley Line Identification Art was no different from experiencing it firsthand. Discovering the truth this way was far clearer than listening to the Shopkeeper’s account.
Besides, the Shopkeeper really didn't seem to remember many of the finer details from back then.
Finally, I turned my gaze back to the arena.
By now, Tan Han was locked in a dogfight. If it came down to a battle of attrition, Tan Han didn't seem to be at a disadvantage. After all, she had the Staff of Absolute Cold for amplification, and most of the techniques she used cost only dozens or perhaps a hundred points of mana. In terms of consumption, Tan Han held a significant edge.
However, her opponent, having been a Teaching Assistant at the Witch Academy for so long, had already reached the upper limit of ten thousand Mana Sources.
Although Tan Han hadn't reached the ten thousand limit yet, she had several thousand. Combined with her lower consumption rate, she held a slight advantage.
After all, if her opponent wanted to match Tan Han’s power, her methods had to rely primarily on the empowerment of Super Consumption Spellbooks.
Therefore, the number of Mana Sources limited the duration of their prolonged struggle. Once one side’s consumption reached a certain critical value, that would be the moment for the true final gamble.
"I didn't expect Tan Han’s combat skills to have reached this level. Real combat truly is the fastest way to improve."
"Her opponent’s combat instincts are also excellent. To be able to trade blows with Tan Han to this extent, her understanding of spellbooks must be very deep."
"This level of application for Super Consumption Spellbooks is nearly at the level of micro-modifying them. It looks like she’s grasped the concept that a spellbook is actually a platform for spell derivation..."
I commented on the shifting situation on the field. A battle at this level was a fight of details, a clash of tactics and awareness. For now, this confrontation hadn't fully showcased the charm of an "Unrestricted" match, but it was a perfect display of the charm of magical combat.
I had thought the Teaching Assistant might use some dirty tricks, ambushes, underhanded schemes, or some unexpected move, but I hadn't expected this fight to be such an honorable duel.
"Hmm? Shopkeeper, Senior Sister Ying Shiqian, why are you all so quiet?" They had been chiming in earlier, but now it was just me, which felt a bit awkward...
In this moment where no one was responding to me, Xia Li, Ying Shiqian, and Xiao You were all sitting perfectly still, not daring to make a single sound.
Beside them, a figure stood with the overwhelming pressure of a Mentor. She held a finger to her lips, signaling the Shopkeeper and the others to remain silent.
Then, she quietly approached the figure in the front row, the smile of mischief and success on her lips growing wider.
Finally, she reached out as if to deliver a surprise, lunging from behind!
"Heh~ heh~ Xiao Han! Long time no see! Do you still remember me?"