Chapter 812: The Specially Authorized Experimental Filing
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 812: The Specially Authorized Experimental Filing
Once we reached the indoor training room, I immediately switched into my Teaching Assistant persona and began the lesson.
If it weren't for this session, I would have almost forgotten my status as a TA. But then again, Sister Bai usually doesn't let me waste time on her curriculum...
Just thinking about it made me sigh.
However, after teaching these girls in my dorm, I realized I actually have quite a talent for instruction. Even Hong Chenyi could understand the concepts and perform the movements correctly.
If that isn't proof of talent, what is?
Since they hadn't undergone the Mana-Rebirth Remodeling Technique yet, they couldn't truly begin cultivation. Consequently, I spent most of the time focusing on teaching the physical movements.
During the lesson, I realized another problem... Hong Chenyi and the others didn't have enough Mana Sources!
Although they had been consistently challenging the Witch Secret Realms to earn Mana Sources as rewards, their current count was nowhere near enough to perform the Self-Generated Mana Shaping Ritual.
But... that wasn't a dealbreaker.
Mana Sources were a resource that was almost "overflowing" within the Witch Academy; anyone with actual skill had plenty of ways to get their hands on them.
That didn't mean beginners could just pick them up off the ground for free, though. Most of the excess Mana Sources were simply being hoarded within the Academy in other forms.
Besides, Mana Sources weren't like Soul Crystals—the kind of resource you could only find by sheer luck. I could just have Millian collect some when the time came.
Still... preparing nearly ten thousand Mana Sources for each of the four of them was no small sum.
I was past the stage of helping them entirely for free. I had given them the opportunity; I shouldn't have to spoon-feed them as well, right?
Moreover, they were participating in an experiment for Self-Generated Mana. Once they mastered the techniques for Self-Generated Mana and Mana Source condensation, they wouldn't lack Mana Sources in the future.
So, I decided to let them take an advance on their future earnings. I didn't plan on giving them unconditional aid; without a little pressure on the road of hard work, how could they find the drive to move forward?
Especially Hong Chenyi. She seemed a bit too comfortable. If I didn't saddle her with some debt, I felt like she wouldn't take things seriously.
After leaving the training grounds, I had another meal with them.
This had become a tradition for our dorm. After all, who could refuse a delicious feast?
Once we finished eating, we went our separate ways to attend to our own business.
While I was spending time with them, an interlude occurred within the Academy.
Our phones—or rather, the Great Knowledge Seeds connected to the Interconnected Academy Network—received a "Joyous News" notification posted by the Academy System.
The general content was: “The student team led by Teaching Assistant Yang Yuehan has preliminarily overcome the difficulties regarding the Self-Generated Mana Body Talent. A first wave of small-scale testing is currently underway at the Academy...”
To receive a public announcement from the Academy System was truly shocking!
The last time such a notice was posted was back when the Tree of Great Knowledge manifested an anomaly within the Academy, wasn't it?
However, these announcements weren't pop-ups, so students who didn't pay much attention to the system notices remained largely unaware.
But those who understood the weight of an Academy System announcement immediately recognized the importance of the matter.
Very quickly, the concept of the "Self-Generated Mana Body Talent" began to spread through various circles. Many people were even trying to dig up information about the test and how to qualify for it.
They were almost completely in the dark!
It had happened so suddenly, and no one had mentioned it to them beforehand.
But they couldn't be blamed. After all, students couldn't enter the Experimental Zone, so news regarding the progress of experiments naturally didn't leak out.
Still, quite a few people recalled what Teaching Assistant Xiao Han had said at the arena on opening day. They just never imagined things would develop so rapidly!
I couldn't be bothered with the commotion this caused in other circles. My only concern was whether the experiment could proceed.
After finishing with my roommates, several other figures surfaced in my mind.
For instance, the ones I had fought alongside during the Exchange Competition: Minian, Shi Huiyu, and Lan Baihui. However, I hadn't been in contact with them for a long time.
Then I thought of Lucianne, as well as Qiu Ruxin and Ninglan Qiuyue.
But Ninglan Qiuyue was currently busy in the Expansion Realm, managing the Ninglan territory and its connections with the outside world under the Academy's special arrangements. I suspected the Witch Academy intended for her to integrate the Expansion Realm, so she likely wouldn't be available at this stage.
I probably wouldn't see her until a much later phase.
As for Qiu Ruxin... that girl who had enrolled halfway through the term. I suppose we shared a bit of fate, but she didn't have course exemptions, making her unsuitable for this particular experiment.
Then there was... Lucianne.
She seemed like a good target. I wondered if Millian had reached out to that unlucky girl...
However, her deep ties to the Jack-of-all-trades Club gave me pause.
That club was far too chaotic. I wasn't sure if Lucianne would end up reconnecting with the Wizard Academy because of her fence-sitting faction and family.
Then again, Lucianne wasn't a core member of her family; she shouldn't have any lingering sense of belonging to the Wizard Academy.
So, I decided that I did need to get in touch with Lucianne, if only to keep her from going astray. After all, she was the first person to test my Great Knowledge Seed, and I still thought quite highly of her.
* * *
Early the next morning.
I arrived at the laboratory as usual.
Last night, I had made the snap decision to look for Lucianne. As one of the few Children of Destiny in the Witch Academy, I could find her location just by using my Spirit Vision.
So, I had gone straight to her last night.
Since receiving the Great Knowledge Seed I gave her, Lucianne had temporarily shed her reputation for being theoretically deficient. Thus, I didn't find her in the library as I used to.
Instead, she was at another training ground.
As one of the elite students for whom course exemptions were standard, Lucianne’s daily routine was incredibly diligent and grueling.
She had experienced betrayal by the Wizard Academy and endured a lack of understanding from her family. Now, within the Witch Academy, her only support was the Jack-of-all-trades Club.
She worked desperately hard because she needed to prove she was worthy of such treatment!
She had realized much earlier than Tan Han that being a "Child of Destiny" meant nothing if one didn't have the strength to back it up. All she had was her own effort.
As for what she was working toward...
In the transcendent world, what was the ultimate yardstick for everything?
Power, naturally.
Transcendent power was the goal of her struggles.
Having been immersed in the Wizard Academy for a time, Lucianne had been more or less influenced by their ways. Transcendent power took many forms: equipment, alchemy items, potions, and materials. In the Witch Academy, there were two other universal standards: Mana Sources and Spellbooks.
She had seen the methods of wizards and experienced firsthand the hardships they faced to gain power. She understood the value of knowledge and the rarity of strength better than any of her peers at the Witch Academy.
That was why, upon seeing Mana Sources and Spellbooks, she had been so envious of the witches' "plug-and-play" power.
And now... she was one of those witches.
She wasn't naturally gifted at studying; otherwise, she wouldn't have been stumped by the theoretical courses the moment she arrived. But with the Great Knowledge Seed, that situation had changed significantly.
She needed power—power sufficient to master her own fate. Until she obtained it, she had to play the part of the obedient student. At the very least, she was powerless to resist a massive organization like the Jack-of-all-trades Club.
Currently, my relationship with the Jack-of-all-trades Club was delicate.
They didn't want to provoke me, yet they coveted the Heart of the Cold Wave in my possession. They were deeply wary of me, yet appeared respectful when we interacted.
This resulted in me sensing the guardedness of the people around Lucianne when I approached her. They clearly didn't want her to have too much to do with me.
Perhaps the incident with April made them feel that anyone who associated with me would eventually slip from their control...
In the end, I only spoke a few words with Lucianne before leaving.
It wasn't that they had the ability to drive me away, but rather that I could sense the look in Lucianne's eyes. She didn't want me to have too much contact with her either.
Of course, that feeling stemmed more from a sense of helplessness than a genuine lack of desire to communicate.
With my Heart Sense, I could easily see through what Lucianne was thinking; no matter how well she hid it, it was futile. If I stayed any longer, the one in trouble wouldn't be me or the Jack-of-all-trades Club—it would be Lucianne.
So, I didn't push the matter.
Now, back in the lab, I found Millian still lingering there.
"Sister Xiao Han... I'm sorry. There were so many things to do yesterday that... well, I only just delivered them this morning," Millian said, stepping forward to explain as soon as she saw me.
"It's fine. There's no need to apologize for such minor details."
After all, Millian had delivered the Soul Crystals on time, hadn't she?
Besides, I had given her quite a lot to handle yesterday—not just the negotiations with the Jack-of-all-trades Club, but also the arrangements and notifications for the experimental personnel. Those were all tasks that required a significant amount of time.
Before Millian left, I also asked her to help prepare the Mana Sources. These were, of course, for the experiment.
The quantity was in the tens of thousands.
This wasn't just for my roommates. Not every participant in this experiment would have the ten-thousand-unit cap for Mana Sources, and the deficit would need to be made up.
Naturally, these Mana Sources wouldn't be given away for free.
After all... there's no such thing as a free lunch in this world.
After seeing Millian off, I went to my station and looked at the special storage case. It was an alchemical tool specifically designed to preserve Soul Crystals.
Soul Crystals were inherently unstable; if an accident caused them to evaporate into an untouchable and unrecoverable soul-essence state, it would be impossible to salvage them.
I opened the case to inspect them. After confirming the quality of the Soul Crystals, I removed them and sealed them within my Book in the Box. No matter how secure a case was, could it possibly be safer than the seals within my Book in the Box?
I have to say, the quality of the Soul Crystals Millian prepared was quite good.
The quantity was more than enough for those three little Fool's Dreams. In fact, even after setting aside spares, there was a significant surplus.
However, I didn't plan on using Soul Depiction on the Fool's Dreams just yet.
I didn't know what the consequences would be or how much time it would consume. While in the middle of another large-scale experiment, I didn't want to invite unnecessary complications.
So, I planned to continue making thorough preliminary preparations for the Fool's Dreams.
I had to be personally involved in the early stages of the small-scale promotion test for Self-Generated Mana. Only after everything was on the right track would I step back and focus my energy on Soul Depiction.
I wasn't particularly interested in tedious, repetitive experiments.
Moreover, I trusted the abilities of Yi Rui and the others. They were no longer the group that needed me to lead them through every little thing.
In this large-scale experiment, the sisters from the lab would also participate in batches.
This was their own request. They couldn't wait for the Self-Generated Mana shaping technique to be perfectly refined before trying it; they wanted to be part of the path-finding process themselves, rather than just crossing the bridge built by others to enjoy the final result.
Perhaps this was the difference between their pursuits and those of ordinary people, but I understood. If I were in their shoes, I would likely make the same choice.
With that decided, everyone in the lab enjoyed a brief period of leisure, with many looking forward to the upcoming small-scale promotion experiment.
Why do I say it was a "brief" period?
Because by around that afternoon, our filing was already complete.
Furthermore, the requested venue and the supervising mentors had all been arranged.
The efficiency... was terrifying.
This wasn't something that could be approved with a simple stroke of a pen; there were many administrative details to handle, all of which required time and effort.
Clearly, this had been specially authorized.
Actually, just thinking about the Academy announcement from yesterday made it clear how much importance the Academy placed on this matter.
After packing up, the sisters in the lab began heading to the venue one after another.
Quite a few people went ahead with equipment to begin calibrations. Since the equipment needed to be synced with the information from the Great Knowledge Seeds, the setup was quite a hassle.
I also posted a notification in the group chat so that those not in the lab would know where we were going.
"By the way, where exactly are we going? This location doesn't look like somewhere I've been before."
"It seems to be an all-indoor training ground? At the Academy, any place that big is bound to be a training ground."
"I heard we need to go there ourselves to handle the negotiations, organize the space, mark the experimental boundaries, and set up warning signs to tell passersby not to get caught in the crossfire. We actually have quite a lot to do."
"Huh? We have to do all that ourselves? Why don't we post a task and recruit some volunteers to help us maintain the site?"
"Good idea. Should we go for it? By the way, do the volunteers need to sign an experimental confidentiality Witch Contract?"
"Probably not... This is a technique that's going to be promoted anyway. Would anyone really try to steal it? What would be the point? They wouldn't understand it even if they did."
"Let's have them sign a time-limited contract just to be safe. Consider it insurance."
As they chatted, they quickly organized the miscellaneous chores into a task application and posted it on the Academy System.