Chapter 836: The Only Witch Who Can Contact Xiao Han
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 836: The Only Witch Who Can Contact Xiao Han
"I really envy that little witch. She hasn't even achieved Transcendence yet, and she already possesses two Great Spellbooks."
For the Transcendents who lacked interest in academic research or the Primitive Dream Realm, idle gossip had become the only thing they could do.
This sudden accident had instantly transformed the standoff between the various Transcendent academies in the Expansion Realm into a collaborative research effort.
Though, in truth, each academy was simply conducting its own private studies.
The conflicts between the top-tier academies and the Witch Academy were irreconcilable; they naturally wouldn't share the data they collected or their research findings for free.
Even if the Witch Academy possessed an innate advantage regarding the essence of the soul, it didn't mean the others lacked their own methods.
It wasn't just the Wizard academies—renowned for their focus on academics and knowledge—that were getting involved; even the Abyss Dream Demon Academy had stuck a foot in.
Even though the Expansion Realm hadn't officially granted authorization to the Demon academies, the Abyssal demons had a standing promise that their incursions into the Expansion Realm would not be prosecuted.
Furthermore, they had dispatched the rare Abyss Dream Demons, which did not violate the principle of Transcendent non-interference. It could be said that the demons had calculated their moves with surgical precision.
As time passed, the Wizard academies, seeing the maneuvers of the Abyss Dream Demons, also brought in a group of students. they were sent to cooperate in data collection and assist with experiments.
"You Wizard academies are truly ruthless, aren't you? You won't even spare your own students, sending them in directly as cannon fodder?" A witch from the Witch Academy's side spoke up with a mocking tone, making no effort to hide her words from the students who had been summoned.
Hearing this, the faces of those students flickered through a series of expressions.
After all, no one wanted to be cannon fodder, and even less did they want to go to their deaths!
While the rewards promised by the Wizard Tower Lords were incredibly generous, one had to be alive to enjoy them!
"Hmph, it's merely a dream. It's not like they'll actually die. Haven't you all experienced the dreams of the Expansion Realm long ago? Are you really so unwilling to take a small risk?"
"If you aren't willing, the academy has plenty of apprentices who are!"
The Wizards were clearly dodging the main issue, conflating the concept of the Primitive Dream Realm with the previous dream overlap phenomena in the Expansion Realm.
However, dream overlaps and the deep layers of the Primitive Dream Realm were entirely different concepts!
Regardless, the Wizard Tower Lord who had rebuked them was right about one thing: the Wizard academies were full of lunatics!
And there were plenty of people willing to do it!
So-called rationality was merely an attitude of diligence within the academic field, but Wizards themselves were inherently mad beings. Of course, the prerequisite for that madness was that the risk could be transferred.
The students within the academies were another breed of lunatics, deliberately cultivated to serve as vessels for that transferred risk.
Perhaps only after they became true Transcendent Wizards would they understand the darkness inherent in this system.
With the Wizard academies taking the lead, the other Transcendent academies began to deliberate on whether they should follow suit.
First was the question of profit, followed by the issue of their public image. The Elves and Holy Angels were races with heavy "baggage"; even if they knew perfectly well they weren't exactly saints, they still had to maintain appearances.
On the Witch Academy's side, Mei Lind remained as steady as a mountain. As the busiest Dean of the Witch Academy, she naturally knew how to prioritize.
The danger of the Primitive Dream Realm was absolutely not something an ordinary student could withstand. Even a Transcendent Witch had to proceed with extreme caution.
Mei Lind gazed at the massive Dual Tree Structure in the distance.
They remained stably anchored within the framework of reality, which suggested that Xiao Han’s current state was, at a conservative estimate, still "optimistic."
As a witch who had once held a Great Spellbook, she naturally knew that such a book could provide a degree of assistance within the Primitive Dream Realm. While it wasn't much, it was like a charcoal fire in a blizzard—it ensured one wasn't entirely defenseless.
Xiao Han had two Great Spellbooks, plus that [Transcendent Knowledge] fragment she hadn't reclaimed yet. This meant Xiao Han could draw upon at least three sources of power!
However, [Transcendent Knowledge] that had been detached from the framework of a Great Spellbook could not be used within a dream; its power would return to its essence and concept. This was something Mei Lind had experienced herself.
Yet, she couldn't help but feel that this "experimental accident"—one significant enough to be called a "Dreamscape Calamity"—hadn't been triggered by a mere spark.
Rather, it felt as though it had been dominated from the very beginning!
The most irrational element was that ladder extending from reality into the dream. This was clearly not a creation that could be formed by a natural dream disaster.
It had to be a specific concept maintained by someone to anchor the relationship between the dream and reality.
But... she couldn't imagine who would have such capability. This was the Main World! How was she unaware of a witch with such skill and mastery over the Primitive Dream Realm?
Could it be... Xiao Han again?
Mei Lind narrowed her eyes slightly, looking at the figure at the very center of the Primitive Dream Realm.
Just moments ago, a witch who had approached the central descent zone of the Primitive Dream Realm had transmitted shared information through a Great Knowledge Seed. Xiao Han’s physical body showed no signs of conscious fluctuation, nor was there any soul perception. She had undoubtedly been pulled into the Primitive Dream Realm.
So... her question had now taken a different form.
Did she believe that Xiao Han had orchestrated all of this?
If she didn't believe it, they would need to find a way to rescue her. If she chose to believe it... that choice itself was a difficult one for them to make.
Before long, Mei Lind received another piece of news.
The Afuhemi Academy and the Holy Angel Academy had also opened student channels. In the end, they had chosen to let their students take the risk.
This should have been trivial news—what they did had nothing to do with the Witch Academy.
But evidently... these top-tier academies wanted to drag the Witch Academy into the mire as well.
Shortly after the students from the Holy Angel and Afuhemi academies arrived in the Expansion Realm, news of the events there spread back to the Witch Academy.
The gathering of so many top academies in the Expansion Realm was bound to be a major event. Many students and even some teaching assistants were inquiring about it.
They expressed a desire to participate in the events of the Expansion Realm.
Originally, the Witch Academy had no intention of entertaining these students. After all, historically speaking, the Witch Academy never cared about the opinions of its students.
So-called student pressure was utterly useless against the Witch Academy.
Until...
"Why not let those who are shouting the loudest come over? They are willing to sacrifice themselves for the witches; we should fulfill their wishes."
The one who said this was Sheryl. As a Rebel Witch, it was hardly surprising for such words to come from her.
"..."
"I know you care about your students—but after being in the Witch Academy for a while, I've realized that some of them have no intention of ever becoming Transcendent Witches. What's the point of keeping such students?"
"The fault does not lie with them, but with the Ley Line Shackles. This is an issue with the Main World, but time will slowly pry them open."
"What a boring excuse."
"In any case, not as boring as you."
After a few brief exchanges, the conversation reached a dead end.
However, not long after, the Witch Academy also lifted the restrictions on its students.
In an instant, the topic of the Expansion Realm reopening spread like wildfire across the academy network. Posts containing news from other Transcendent academies were constantly flooding the boards.
It had to be said that when it came to controlling the student body and managing "water armies," the families were quite adept at manipulation.
As for who the families were listening to, that remained unknown.
Regardless, a dog without a master will wag its tail for anyone willing to throw it a bone.
Did the students of the Witch Academy not know the dangers of the Expansion Realm this time?
Many of the well-informed ones actually did.
But they didn't care.
All they cared about was that the "entry channel to the Expansion Realm was open." Having tasted the benefits before, they knew the Expansion Realm was a gold mine where one could simply lean over and pick up money!
Risk was negligible in the face of profit!
Because they had no concept of the Primitive Dream Realm, they still believed it was just an ordinary dream overlap.
After all, humans cannot fear what they have never seen.
* * *
Several days had passed since the Primitive Dream Realm erupted in the Expansion Realm.
During this time, the collective gains of the Transcendents weren't particularly significant. After all, experiments at the Transcendent level often required time measured in Main World years.
This wasn't just a stereotype; it was a norm within their perception.
And in just these few short days, a massive number of students had already become trapped within the Primitive Dream Realm.
Their physical bodies lay at the descent point of the Primitive Dream Realm in reality. Only a few bodies had been brought back; most were left exposed there, as no one dared to approach.
Even if these people were killed and then resurrected, they wouldn't necessarily wake up, because their consciousness had already plunged into the depths of the Primitive Dream Realm.
This state was known as Dream Consciousness Banishment.
In the research of Wizards, it was also called the Primitive Dream Realm Consciousness Sealing Witchcraft.
This was the worldview of the Wizards. They delved into truth to acquire higher-level methods, not to broaden theoretical knowledge. Theory was merely a guide for witchcraft methods, not a truth to be passed down.
Thus, if a Wizard truly died without having trained an apprentice, that Wizard's knowledge would be completely lost. Future Wizards could only hope to piece together fragments of that knowledge from their journals, Wizard tools, and casting mediums.
The value Wizards placed on knowledge meant they would not allow it to be spread haphazardly. Even in death, a Wizard would not let their knowledge be easily obtained.
Some mad Wizards might even leave riddles in their journals to filter for a worthy successor.
As more and more students fell into a "slumber" over the following days, the students finally began to truly recognize the horror of the Primitive Dream Realm.
But they had no choice, especially the students of the Wizard academies.
On the Witch Academy's side, while the situation was also grim, the number of students trapped in the Primitive Dream Realm wasn't actually that high.
However, the number of Transcendent Witches who had plunged into the Primitive Dream Realm was so high that Transcendents from other academies wondered... if the witches had all gone mad.
As the Dean, Mei Lind’s expression was equally grim. Even though she knew those witches had chosen to enter the Primitive Dream Realm of their own accord and that no amount of warning would have changed their minds, she still felt a sense of distress.
Although every witch enjoyed the protection of the Primal Witch, once their consciousness fell into the Primitive Dream Realm, it was extremely difficult for even a clone of the Primal Witch to help retrieve them.
The Primal Witch would never leave the Great Library of the Witch World—this was a consensus within the Void. Therefore, the only ones who could save them were the Primal Witch's clones.
But that truly depended on luck, as the Primal Witch's clones were not omnipotent.
If the protection of the Primal Witch's clones were truly omnipotent for every witch... then every race in the Void would have reason to be terrified.
However, Mei Lind felt that right now, she should pay more attention to Bai Yu.
If the previously trapped witches were an expression of the witches' spirit of exploration and she couldn't dissuade them, then Bai Yu impulsively charging into the Primitive Dream Realm would be pure suicide.
But when Mei Lind found Bai Yu, she discovered the other girl's mental state... seemed quite good?
"Dean Mei? Why are you here?" Bai Yu seemed a bit surprised by Mei Lind’s arrival.
"I came to see you, of course. No one wanted this to happen to Xiao Han... I mainly came hoping you wouldn't do anything reckless."
"Is that so? Then you might be worrying unnecessarily, Dean Mei. Xiao Han is... doing quite well right now." Bai Yu’s tone hesitated slightly before she spoke.
"I... Huh? What did you say?" Mei Lind was about to speak when she realized something was off about Bai Yu’s words. "Xiao Han is... doing well? How do you know?!"
"Through the Great Knowledge Seed."
"The Great Knowledge Seed?!" Mei Lind stood up in excitement. "The Great Knowledge Seed can contact Xiao Han right now?!"
Mei Lind immediately tried to make contact herself, only to find there was no response.
This wasn't the academy network communication linked to the Great Knowledge Seed, but rather communication achieved through the sharing of knowledge and information between the Great Knowledge Seed and the Tree of Great Knowledge.
"There's no response..." Mei Lind looked at Bai Yu in confusion, seemingly waiting for an explanation.
"The relationship between my Great Knowledge Seed and Xiao Han’s Tree of Great Knowledge is unique and special... After all, this spans across reality and the dream. I'm not entirely sure of the specifics myself." Bai Yu shook her head. "Even the connection between Xiao Han and me doesn't allow for real-time communication. According to Xiao Han’s explanation... it might be related to the distorted concept of time within the Primitive Dream Realm."
"Then... where is Xiao Han now? How is she? Can she come back? What exactly happened in the Primitive Dream Realm, why did it..." Mei Lind asked anxiously.
"That's too many questions at once..." Bai Yu was overwhelmed by the barrage of questions, but she did her best to answer. "Xiao Han told me... she seems to be in a special dream called Fool's Village. She's fine and is getting along very well with Fool's Dream. As for coming back... she said she needs to stay there for a while to research the Primitive Dream Realm and concepts like Dream State Soul Essence."