Chapter 745: Sheryl: I Quite Admire Xiao Han~
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 745: Sheryl: I Quite Admire Xiao Han~
The Expansion Realm.
A temporary wizard tower on the frontlines of the Wizard Academy’s Primitive Dream Realm.
"News from the witches' side says the Expansion Realm might face a massive Dreamscape Calamity in the near future. They’ve already started packing up to leave."
"What? Where did you get this news?" The wizard leading the tower's data observation was interrupted by a panicked Tower Lord. His originally focused expression soured with displeasure.
"It was... a witch sent by the Witch Academy to notify us..."
"And you fucking believed whatever they said? Use your brain! You’re actually reporting this kind of 'news' to me?" The wizard was so incensed by the report that he began cursing.
He looked at the Tower Lord before him with increasing distaste. A Tower Lord wasn't a Transcendent Wizard; their position was similar to a teaching assistant at the Witch Academy. Essentially, they were still students—and in the current Expansion Realm, they were nothing more than expendable consumables.
Transcendent Wizards rarely collaborated on research projects. This led to the development philosophy of "One Transcendent, One Wizard Tower." Those assisting a wizard were always apprentices and Tower Lords.
The lives of these apprentices and Tower Lords were effectively held in the hands of the Transcendent Tower Lord because they were privy to too many of the wizard's "secrets."
Such were the ways of wizards. Once their methods were exposed, they would be targeted.
Relationships between wizards were inherently unreliable. Their only commonality was a single faith: the "Wizard Will."
"But... but the Witch Academy even sent this message to our main campus... I didn't believe it at first and didn't think it was worth bothering you, but this is a notice sent down from the Academy itself."
"The Academy..." The wizard frowned, still impatient. "Did the Academy order us to return?"
"No... but they are advising us to go back. The Witch Academy's behavior is too abnormal this time. Our Academy suspects they’re planning something big, and they even..."
"If they didn't force us back, then who gives a damn! Those guys at the Academy only know how to sit around a table and scream at each other. They keep demanding we share the first-hand data from the Primitive Dream Realm, and now that we have it, they want us to leave? They’re just afraid we’ll actually discover something! With that pathetic attitude of theirs..."
The wizard launched into a hateful tirade against the Wizard Academy’s high-ranking officials, his words eventually becoming too foul to repeat.
The Tower Lord stood carefully to the side, taking the abuse without daring to offer a single word of rebuttal.
The wizard eventually turned his attention and energy back to his current research, muttering under his breath.
"Heh... I’m right on the verge of a breakthrough... Those witches are truly foolish. They actually made something like the Dream Demon Spell public to their students a while back... What could those girls possibly learn? They don't understand the core of that spell at all. They have no idea how vast the application prospects for the Primitive Dream Realm Runes are..."
Clearly, this wizard, who had conducted significant research into the Primitive Dream Realm, had taken note of the "Dream Demon Spell" that most teaching assistants had been allowed to learn when the Expansion Realm first opened.
One couldn't blame wizards for spending time on such seemingly insignificant things.
After all, to a witch, even a mundane Fireball Spellbook was just a basic tool. But in the hands of a wizard, using their summarized Wizard Truth Rules as a lever, they could use knowledge to pry out an energy output several times its original level, achieving terrifying results.
This wizard had seen infinite possibilities in something everyone else ignored.
He intended to apply this new, self-optimized wizardry technique to the Primitive Dream Realm.
The witches weren't the only ones coveting the destructive effects of the Dreamscape Calamity; the wizards were the first to harbor such possessiveness.
In their eyes, the Primitive Dream Realm was the perfect vessel for a Consciousness Banishment Sealing Art!
Did people really think those student consciousnesses drifting in the Primitive Dream Realm were there just to collect data from a close distance?
No. The students themselves were the experimental consumables!
Their banished consciousnesses were the exact effect the wizards wanted to observe!
When the witches decided to explore the Primitive Dream Realm in person, the people from the Wizard Academy mocked them for seeking death, but in their hearts, they were overjoyed.
When those witches inevitably "failed to return," the wizards became even more convinced that the Primitive Dream Realm was an excellent medium!
If even Transcendent Witches couldn't resist the dangers of the Primitive Dream Realm, why wouldn't they pour all their energy into researching such a method?
It was well worth sacrificing everything for!
Situations similar to this wizard's were playing out in various other locations.
However, not all wizards, elves, or Holy Angels were willing to stay forever.
After all, there were plenty of people who had researched for ages without gaining a single thing.
Without positive feedback, and seeing the Witch Academy "running away" early, Transcendents from other academies also began considering departure.
Consequently, small frictions began to break out across the Expansion Realm. Mostly, it was Transcendents from other academies coming to the Witch Academy's side to stir up trouble.
While they claimed to be looking for a fight, they were essentially fishing for information or looking for an excuse to leave.
Still, they didn't dare go too far. If they truly enraged the witches, the witches would make sure they suffered the consequences.
Thus, the news that the Expansion Realm was about to face a massive Dreamscape Calamity spread even faster.
The students in the Expansion Realm were in a state of panic. Conversely, the students on the Witch Academy's side were showing some resistance; they didn't want to leave the Expansion Realm so suddenly.
While students from other academies were genuinely afraid because their schools had no intention of withdrawing, the Witch Academy students... were actually being forced to go.
Perhaps this was the difference in feeling brought about by the different academies.
One must not forget why the Witch Academy students came to the Expansion Realm in the first place. Coming here to assist mentors with experiments was just a front; the real goal was to extend their reach into the Expansion Realm once again.
Furthermore, the Witch Academy did not advocate pushing students into such dangerous experiments. One could say they weren't just acting spoiled because they were favored; they were practically pushing their luck.
Therefore, the Academy's attitude toward this evacuation was very firm. Those who refused to leave or tried to stall would have to bear the consequences themselves.
During this time, another person was also very busy.
"Mhm... okay... I understand." Millian nodded quickly in assurance, then gave her promise to Bai Yu before finally departing.
As a key member of the Xiao Han Fan Club, she had naturally made arrangements the moment the Academy temporarily opened the Expansion Realm channels.
However, she couldn't get in touch with Xiao Han—not even through the Great Knowledge Seed.
Driven by desperation, she sought out Mentor Bai Yu and finally learned of Xiao Han's situation.
The matter was incredibly complex, but by combining the information from her own intelligence network with the truth she learned from Mentor Bai Yu, she managed to piece together some of the cause and effect.
What shocked her most was that this latest anomaly in the Expansion Realm was once again caused by Xiao Han. However, this time, Xiao Han herself seemed to have been trapped in that place called the "Primitive Dream Realm" by the accident.
This left her deeply unsettled.
From what she knew, not a single student who had fallen into the Primitive Dream Realm had ever woken up. Moreover, this dream wasn't like the usual dream overlap in the Expansion Realm; this was a dream that could actually kill!
News of Xiao Han falling into the Primitive Dream Realm spread like wildfire among those involved in the experiments, dealing yet another blow to the Xiao Han Fan Club.
Many people left the club because of this. This was not something Millian wanted to see.
She knew very well that the fan club was essentially a loose group of people gathered under Xiao Han's name, each taking what they needed. Millian had used this to gather a massive amount of resources for Xiao Han, and she really didn't want to see the group fall apart.
To put it nicely, they were all partners. It made getting things done very convenient. Once they disbanded, it would be hard to call in favors.
Every person in the fan club represented a potential networking connection.
But Millian couldn't stop those who wanted to leave. They felt that Xiao Han was simply too good at causing trouble. "Instability" was the Xiao Han Fan Club's greatest flaw. Every few days, she would stir something up, and it was always some massive event that nearly got her killed!
Who could handle that?
Even regarding those who stayed, Millian knew they didn't necessarily care about Xiao Han's life or death. They just felt that staying offered continued benefits. Since that was the case, there was no need to burn bridges. After all... Xiao Han wasn't dead yet, was she?
And even if she died, what if it was a fake death like last time?
So, Millian had used her connections in the Expansion Realm to find Mentor Bai Yu and learn the situation.
Of course, this wasn't just her own idea.
Not just her, but the people in the fan club who truly cared about Xiao Han, as well as Yi Rui’s research group—they all needed reassurance.
Once Millian got the information she wanted, she left.
Bai Yu watched Millian walk away. Before she had gone far, a figure appeared in front of her.
"Why are you still here? Haven't you been contacting me a bit too frequently lately? Aren't you afraid the Dean will get suspicious?" Bai Yu said with a hint of helplessness as she looked at the Rebel Witch, Sheryl.
"Why are you so concerned about me? If that Mei really could guess my true intentions, shouldn't you be happy?"
"Stop talking nonsense. What do you want this time? Xiao Han is still in the Primitive Dream Realm. Are you trying to stir up more trouble?"
"Stir up trouble? Don't make it sound so unpleasant~" Sheryl gave a light chuckle and moved closer to Bai Yu's side. "The two of us are quite familiar by now, aren't we? There’s... no need to keep things from me anymore, right?"
"What do you mean?" Bai Yu asked, her voice neutral.
"Then I'll be blunt~ I don't believe the only communication channel between you and Xiao Han is the public one. Opening a separate private chat channel is very easy for the Tree of Great Knowledge, isn't it?" Sheryl asked with a smile, her tone certain.
"How can you be so sure? And since you called it a private chat, do you really think I’d show it to you?"
"No, no, no~ I’m not interested in whatever mushy things you two say to each other~" Sheryl waved her hand dismissively. "What I’m curious about is what you know! Xiao Han must know a lot of things inside the Primitive Dream Realm, but she hasn't said anything—or perhaps she can't say it publicly. However, in a private chat with you, she would definitely reveal a lot of intel."
"Why are you so certain?" Bai Yu continued to stall.
"I’m putting myself in your shoes~ After all, aren't you two a couple? If it were me, I wouldn't be able to remain as calm as you are. That’s the Primitive Dream Realm! Xiao Han must have said something to you to stabilize your emotions." Sheryl said very seriously, "To be honest, your acting isn't that great. I bet the Dean has guessed it too, though she hasn't asked directly. Since it’s your privacy, she’s choosing to probe indirectly. But I’m different; I’ll just ask you to your face~"
"And I can choose not to tell you. Where do you get the confidence that I will? If I were going to talk, wouldn't it be safer to tell Dean Mei?"
"I quite admire Xiao Han~"
"What?" Bai Yu looked at Sheryl with confusion, wondering why she had suddenly said that.
"You understand my motives, and you know the reasons behind them... I’m starting to believe what you said back then~ 'Xiao Han has her own rhythm, constantly moving forward... so-called schemes and conspiracies can't catch up to her.' I’ve finally started to experience that feeling myself~" Sheryl said with a smile, repeating the words Bai Yu had once spoken.
"Does that mean... your plan was ruined by Xiao Han's experiment? Or have you given up?" Bai Yu looked at Sheryl with a sharp gaze, as if trying to find a trace of defeat on her face, but she found nothing.
"I’m starting to admire her more and more. But I wouldn't say it was 'ruined.' After all, my goal was never to cause trouble for Xiao Han, but to create opportunities to see her brilliance. Tell me, what has she done? I’m all ears. I don't even mind if you embellish it a bit; the facts won't lie."
"..."
"Silence represents your hesitation. Hesitation represents that what you’re hiding isn't something you absolutely cannot tell me. So... is it that my chips aren't enough?" Sheryl looked at Bai Yu, her tone carrying a hint of helplessness, as if she thought Bai Yu was being greedy.
"You think you can learn Xiao Han's secrets just by saying a few words? Don't you think you're the one being greedy?"
"I suppose that makes sense~" Sheryl gave a token reflection and didn't argue. "But you also know that there’s no room for bargaining here~ If Xiao Han hates me for this, I don't care."
"You really are impervious to reason."
"It can't be helped~ Isn't it the job of us Rebel Witches to offend other witches? Tell me, or... you can ask Xiao Han. Is she willing to tell me?"