Chapter 934: The Weak... Withdraw from this Conflict!
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 934: The Weak... Withdraw from this Conflict!
With the "sacrifice" of the Ancient Remnant Ice, I could feel them reshaping the King's life form in the most primitive of ways.
Previously, that royal had shouted about paving an immortal soul for the King; in essence, they were reshaping the King's very existence through this method.
So... I was witnessing the birth and creation of life. It was a soul essence molded from the convergence of Luck and Faith, granting it the foundation to become power and to dominate power.
And this surge of power granted this body... ultimate affinity!
The power to stop the wind and snow with a wave of a hand, to reshape this form with a mere sidelong glance—it was a liberation I had never experienced, even with the Snow Spirit's Blessing!
I reached out to examine myself again. Influenced by my presence, the form of the Ancient Remnant Ice had become infinitely close to that of a human.
The race became my life, ice crystals reforged my bones, wind and snow adhered to become my skin, and ice-blue snowflakes transformed into my dress...
Power resonated with bloodline, manifesting as a crown of ice and snow. I crowned myself as King!
I had thought this was all a coincidence, but the moment I was crowned, I realized it was the hand of fate.
The World Consciousness watches every corner of the world. Following the threads of Luck, I seemed able to hear the world's whispers.
It gave me the chance to perceive life, allowing the manifested Ancient Remnant Ice to construct a life using my body.
It gave me the possibility to perceive power, letting the throne of ice and snow shine brilliantly against the backdrop of life.
This was not a form of persuasion, but an epiphany—a realization that communication was also a possibility.
The world seemed to be wailing, lamenting its former lows and its broken body.
Yet, amidst this enlightenment, there were those hysterically trying to destroy it all.
"Such a massive monster... spells don't work on her at all! Any part of her body that gets destroyed is immediately repaired by the ice and snow. How are we supposed to fight this?"
"Then focus fire! We Witches will take the lead; the rest of you support us! Stall for time and create an opening for me!" Ming Xueming, as the President of the Jack-of-all-trades Club, quickly formulated a simple response plan.
After all, the primary force present was the Witch Academy. The main teams from the other Transcendent Academies had already been lured to the laboratory ruins by them.
But that didn't matter; the Witch Academy side still had several collaborators with Self-Generated Mana.
With these people combining their attacks, they had the foundation for a powerful burst.
After all, the quantity of mana was the absolute truth!
As a massive surge of mana swelled, they began to charge their attack.
Such a colossal force could not be ignored, even by me.
When I looked over, I recognized many familiar faces among them.
Ming Xueming from the Jack-of-all-trades Club, and... experimental subjects who had participated in the first small-scale promotional test of the Self-Generated Mana experiment...
The rest were from other academies, so I didn't recognize them.
"Begone," I commanded, my voice brook no refusal.
The sound was ethereal, like the crisp clashing of ice crystals, echoing through the heavens and earth with absolute majesty.
"You damned monster, you're the one who should vanish from our Secret Realm! It's you! You shouldn't be here!"
Ming Xueming instinctively shielded her face, using spells to ward off the biting gale.
Facing the mountain-like monster before her, a sense of helplessness rose in her heart, but it was eclipsed by fury at this senseless turn of events.
The Jack-of-all-trades Club was an organization nearly as old as the Witch Secret Realm clubs. In a Transcendent Academy that could stand for a thousand years, the survival of a club for such a duration could truly be described as ancient.
Thus, the heritage of the Jack-of-all-trades Club was something ordinary students could hardly imagine.
As the President, Ming Xueming also held powerful heritage treasures.
However, these things were not meant to be used in normal academy activities.
They were for critical moments!
Her family understood the Transcendent Academy very clearly; it was no place for playing house.
In an era where the Transcendent stood above society, even a club was far more noble than the secular families that controlled worldly power.
Therefore, the struggles between clubs were battles that influenced the very landscape of the world!
And if it was a struggle, it couldn't be a simple, orderly contest of strength in some arena!
Clubs always held trump cards to maintain their existence—cards that, once played, could even influence the Academy's decisions.
Because Transcendent power could not be leaked to the outside world, clubs were the best vessels for such means.
In the history of the Transcendent Academy, there had been Academy Wars!
Otherwise, why would there be boundaries between the regions influenced by each academy?
It was only because the Main World had been at peace for so long that many things had been buried beneath a veneer of tranquility.
Even Ming Xueming hadn't expected she would have to use such a method upon entering the Secret Realm.
These heritages were left behind by the Senior Sisters of the club's past.
Though the Jack-of-all-trades Club might seem like it didn't do much good these days, its influence and role within the Academy remained irreplaceable.
Besides, they had once been great, hadn't they?
These means were either masterpieces left behind by Senior Sisters before they ascended to the Transcendent level, or "trinkets" gifted by eccentric Witch Mentors. Regardless, a "trinket" of the Transcendent level was a rare treasure to a preparatory Witch.
But as time passed, the Academy's favor toward the clubs had dwindled. This was partly due to the Academy's increasingly refined restrictions on Mentors, and partly due to the Mentors' disappointment in the students.
Consequently, these items were finite resources. They included powerful one-time-use alchemical items, potions whose recipes and materials were long lost, and even the rumored Myriad Methods Books, which rarely circulated in the Academy!
They had all of these, though the club would never breathe a word about them.
What Ming Xueming brought out was an alchemical item. Its name had been forgotten through the club's generations.
While theoretically a reusable alchemical item, it had sat for over a century without the maintenance of an Alchemy Master. Every use caused irreparable damage.
Ming Xueming drew a bow. From its external engravings and alchemical style, one could tell its design had long been rendered obsolete by time.
But its power had not.
The moment the string was pulled, it would continuously drain mana, condensing it into a mana arrow.
It would take as much mana as was available!
There was no upper limit!
Though it might eventually fail as the alchemical runes aged, the bow's usage records had never shown it reaching a limit.
Now, with several collaborators possessing Self-Generated Mana, if she were given enough time to charge, testing that limit was only a matter of time.
This was why she had chosen to bring this bow.
To buy Ming Xueming more time, the others were doing their best to draw the attention of the massive Ancient Remnant Ice.
But she couldn't tell if it was an illusion.
As Ming Xueming aimed at the colossal figure, she found herself overlapping this Ancient Remnant Ice with another silhouette.
That silhouette was a mountain she could never hope to scale!
"Annoying bugs..." I muttered with a frown.
To me in this state, these people were indeed as loathsome as insects. Combined with the influence of this body, its bloodline heritage, and its perceptions, I instinctively referred to them as such.
However, after seeing their attack, my brow furrowed. That bow reminded me of the Fallen Elf who had shot at me from another world.
That Fallen Elf had now become the source for nurturing my Knowledge Seed.
But compared to the arrow that had pierced my clone's body, the sense of crisis from this shot was far more threatening!
Stopping them was difficult, though. The pests around me were constantly using Great Witchcraft and Divine Arts to hinder me, and their strength was nothing to scoff at.
Under their suppressing fire, I realized how terrifying the advantage of "Undying" combat was.
I also felt the frustration of being pinned down by sheer numbers.
If only my main body were here—though that was unlikely.
Regardless.
In this home field of wind and snow, no matter which part of my body they destroyed, it could be repaired instantly. This speed was even faster than so-called Immortality!
"Quick! Pin her down! Don't let her start casting!"
"It's too late... Dodge! Move!"
Amidst urgent warnings and cries of frustration, the sky filled with hailstones that tore through the air like a dense barrage of cannonballs.
Shields that withstood the hail would shatter large chunks of ice, only to trigger secondary ice explosions, further draining the enemy's defenses.
And such a storm was merely the crudest of spells—a technique etched into the bloodline like instinct.
The enemy's attacks were too dense; any complex Magic Ritual could easily be targeted and broken, so I was forced to use such methods.
Ultimately, it was because I wasn't yet familiar with this body and had allowed the enemy to cross the casting safety distance.
Otherwise, I wouldn't have had to resort to such crude combat.
"Die!"
At that moment, Ming Xueming finished charging within the time the others had bought for her.
In truth, she had felt the "wail" of the alchemical item and didn't dare to force the charge any further.
The arrow, condensed from a massive amount of mana, caused intense distortion in the air!
This wasn't just light refraction caused by power affecting the air; it was a precursor to the condensed mana warping the space of the Secret Realm!
With a roar fueled by resentment, the arrow shot forth at a speed that defied the physics of a bowstring!
As it flew, the path it carved was instantly turned into a vacuum. Fine cracks in the Secret Realm's space tore open and healed in a flash.
Finally... the strike slammed violently into the long staff I had condensed in my hand.
How could I not defend against such a conspicuous and targeted strike?
But the staff of ice and snow in my hand shattered the instant it touched the arrow's tip.
The arrow's power far exceeded my expectations.
In the next heartbeat, the arrow continued its path of destruction through the staff's body. I could no longer dodge, so I let it fly toward my torso!
But the expected scene of the arrow piercing my body and tearing my form apart did not happen... The only thing that could be heard was the sound of ice cracking!
Ice Sealed World!
Using the power of ice and snow to command fragments of spatial rules—it, too, had become part of my power.
This arrow was pure condensed mana. In terms of raw burst, mana—as the highest energy level a life form could master—was unsurpassed in terror!
However, it lacked spatial properties. It was only through sheer, extreme force that it influenced physical space to a degree.
Now, the Ice Sealed World shattered, and the trail left by the arrow carved an indelible path upon it.
It had caused me terrifying damage, but it was not damage that couldn't be repaired.
"The games are over. The weak... withdraw from this conflict!"
As my voice rang out, the ice staff condensed in my hand once more. The spatial-warping power of the Ice Sealed World erupted at its tip!
I hurled it.
The ice staff, like a great spear, instantly leveled the snowy mountains and briefly tore through the space of the Secret Realm.
* * *
Meanwhile, outside the Secret Realm at the Witch Academy.
Ming Xueming and her group were forcibly ejected as the Secret Realm's space shattered under the terrifying force, tumbling onto the Academy grounds.
An ice staff dozens of meters long pierced the sky and slammed into the earth.
The sudden upheaval terrified everyone in the vicinity.
They watched as the ice staff stood embedded in the ground, scattering brilliant rainbows as the sunlight hit it.
The violent impact caused the group to briefly lose consciousness.
"This... this is!"
Xing Anlei, who had been entrusted with hosting the Glacial Throne Secret Realm, watched the catastrophe unfold. After brushing away the flying ice shards, she rushed forward!
This was the first time such a massive accident had occurred since the Secret Realm opened.
When she saw Ming Xueming among those on the ground, her pupils shrank in shock!
"President! Ming Xueming! Quick! Where are the healers? Save them!"
At this moment, they couldn't care less about the chaos. As she watched Ming Xueming receive treatment, before she could even leave the scene, she felt another ripple. Several more figures were spat out from the torn space of the Secret Realm.
These were all Wizards, Holy Angels, and others from the various Transcendent Academies!
Seeing that they weren't from the Witch Academy, Xing Anlei didn't look back as she hurried away. She remembered Ming Xueming's instructions before she left.
If something uncontrollable happened in the Secret Realm, find a Mentor immediately!
* * *
Back inside the Glacial Throne Secret Realm.
Having dealt with those annoying pests, I finally had the leisure to sense my gains once more.
But before that, there was one more thing to do.
I turned around. Under the wind and snow, everything was my domain. Simultaneously, the figures of Tan Han and her group were exposed to my gaze.
"She... she's looking! She's looking this way!"
Shi Ruizhi, who was following Tan Han, instinctively looked back and met the gaze of that colossal figure.
Instantly, every hair on her body stood on end!
"Don't panic..." Tan Han whispered, trying to soothe Shi Ruizhi while struggling to suppress her own ragged, nervous breathing.
"We have a contract with the Glacial Throne race. At least for now, we are on the same side!"
"If she really intends to betray us... we don't have any fragments on us. At worst, we'll just tear open the space and leave. I have spatial spells for that."
"R-really?"
"At least she hasn't attacked us directly, has she? We can try to communicate."
Their whispered plotting reached my ears, carried by the resonance of the wind and snow. Hearing their discussion, a faint, imperceptible smile touched the corners of my mouth.
I took a step forward and leaned down. My massive silhouette cast a heavy shadow over the four of them, radiating an intense pressure.
"O King of the Ancient Remnant Ice, we are allies who have signed a contract with your kin. We have no intention of coming into conflict with you..."
Tan Han stepped forward, shielding the three behind her. She met my gaze with a composed expression, attempting to negotiate, while her other hand remained ready to tear the space of the Secret Realm and flee at a moment's notice.