Chapter 938: Academy War?
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 938: Academy War?
Tan Han pulled Xiao You along, while Shi Ruizhi relied on her powerful physical constitution to carry Lucianne as they sprinted.
As for flying brooms, those things were nothing more than easily broken consumables within the Glacial Throne Secret Realm.
"Don't run! Stop right there!"
"Is that all you've got? Catch us first, then we'll talk!" Shi Ruizhi didn't forget to look back and throw out a taunt.
She then turned to Tan Han. "Hey, where are we going?"
"We're heading back to the Bak—wait, over there! Someone's here to meet us."
"Huh? Who'd be so thoughtful... to actually come and meet us?" Shi Ruizhi asked curiously.
But she soon found out exactly who it was.
"Oh! Xiao Han! Hahaha! Xiao Han, you came to meet us personally?" Upon seeing that familiar face, Shi Ruizhi felt an immediate, deep-seated sense of security.
The students chasing them also froze the moment they saw that figure.
I hadn't appeared in the public eye for quite some time, but thanks to the promoted Knowledge Seed, they recognized the name instantly.
But... they could only see the name.
Yang Yuehan—a name that was slightly unfamiliar, yet shocking enough to give them pause the moment they remembered it.
"Te—Teaching Assistant Yang!"
"You people from the Jack-of-all-trades Club and the Witch Secret Realm Club better not push your luck. Otherwise, I can't guarantee I won't do something... out of line."
"But... they're the ones who maliciously damaged our club's secret realm. Teaching Assistant Yang, surely you're a reasonable person?" At that moment, someone plucked up the courage to talk back.
"Reasonable... I like being reasonable. Since you put it that way, hurry up and show me some evidence. If you can't, don't blame me for teaching you a lesson. After all, you're the ones who slandered my club members first, and I'm very protective of my own."
"Or do you not have any? If you don't, I'm going to start swinging. Even if I've got the wrong people, think about it... do you really think your clubs would go against me for your sake? In the end, you'll be the ones left with lifelong disabilities."
I laid out the stakes for them with "sincere emotion" while pulling out my Book in the Box, just in case some of the slower ones didn't catch the threat in my voice.
But even if they didn't get it, it didn't matter. What if I actually did something?
Teaching Assistants were no longer subject to the same academy rules as students. Guess who would take the punishment if I got in trouble—my main body or my clone?
Under the crushing pressure, the group eventually slunk away in dejection. Now that I had appeared, they had an excuse to give their clubs when they returned. It was just a club, after all; why risk their lives?
Once they were gone, Shi Ruizhi finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Tan Han~ Look at you. You're invincible in the Omni-Link Arena, so why were you being chased around by these guys?" I turned around and asked in a teasing tone.
"It's mostly because those guys are so annoying. Once they stick to you, they have a million ways to pester you to death. I didn't have much of a choice~" Tan Han said helplessly.
After all, Tan Han was still a student. When it came to playing by the academy's rules, no one could beat the clubs.
More importantly, she wasn't a Teaching Assistant, so she couldn't ignore the rules like the Xiao Han standing before her.
"It is quite a hassle... Let's not talk about that. Let's head back first."
"Yeah, sounds good... But Xiao Han, I'm surprised. You actually came here personally?"
"Personally? How could I? I'm very busy. This is just a clone," I said.
"A clone?" Tan Han looked at me with some hesitation, her gaze eventually falling on the Book in the Box in my hand.
"Oh, this? I don't need it over at the Experimental Zone, so I let my clone carry it," I said, waving the Book in the Box. "Let's drop the subject. You're back now, but things are far from over."
"Not over? They're still going to cause trouble for us?" Shi Ruizhi interjected.
"Maybe, but it won't be anything major. They're going to be very busy for a while."
I accompanied Tan Han and the others all the way to the Baking House.
Though it was a bit far, there was a direct bus.
To be honest, it had been a while since I'd taken the academy's free transport.
Tan Han and the others had broken brooms, and since not all of them knew flight spells, this was the best option.
The trip only took a few dozen minutes, and none of us were in a hurry, so we chatted quite a bit on the bus.
Most of it was about their experiences, as they had spent many days in that secret realm.
They were also thinking about what to do next.
Shi Ruizhi wanted to rest or find somewhere to relax; as for her project, there was no rush.
Because of the experimental accident, the academy had opened some doors for her—specifically, the option for further studies after graduation.
But Tan Han and the others didn't have that luxury. They still had to deal with the final exams coming up soon.
After all, the semester was almost over.
However... before that, I needed to inform them of a few things.
It wasn't convenient to talk on the bus, but now that we were back, I had to give them a heads-up.
"Wh—What! An Academy War?!"
"You know, you could actually be a bit louder."
"Ow... Sorry, I was just surprised... Xiao Han, are you serious? You're not joking?" Shi Ruizhi immediately realized she had lost her composure and promised to be more careful.
"I can't guarantee it, but this world has been at peace for too long, to the point where it's been eaten hollow by parasites."
"..."
Everyone fell silent. The concept of "war" was foreign to them. Even in this world's education system, history was rarely mentioned.
It really was similar to the game world.
After all, the Three Great Transcendent Races had conquered and plundered the Main World to become its controllers. How could they allow that kind of history to remain?
Furthermore, this involved concepts like the Expansion Realms and the outer Void Frontline Worlds—concepts that hadn't even circulated in the Main World.
"An Academy War is no joke. It's not just a simple local conflict. After this war... many things will change. For example, extraordinary power will no longer be limited to the Transcendent Academies. The hidden truth will no longer be kept from ordinary people."
The Deans had grand ambitions.
They had already drafted plans for the Main World Core World planet after the war.
At this stage, it was already confirmed that the Omni-Link Main Network Tree would be planted in the world outside the Witch Academy's curtain walls!
The Witch Academy no longer wanted the power network system to be confined within its walls.
Rather than blindly using their transcendent status to lord over the world, it was better to let extraordinary power return to it.
This war, which would claim countless lives, would affect the entire world. When it ended, the game world would perform the final harvest, allowing that world's massive soul essence reserves to become the foundation for the Main World's rebirth.
As for the willingness of the common people to procreate?
The Transcendent Witches, who had experienced countless worlds, had their own wisdom.
The primary reason for a lack of desire to reproduce wasn't a harsh environment. If that were the case, primitive humans would never have had children.
The true desire to reproduce came from an endless hope for life.
This world was on the rise!
When people could see hope in their lives, it became the greatest motivation for the awakened new generation.
When a world's order was reshaped, the new social environment would offer countless opportunities.
Even if this eventually gave rise to new dictatorships and monopolies—monstrous entities like the current families—it was undeniable that during this stage of development, it actively pushed social progress.
As for what would happen after that, they would have to trust in the wisdom of future generations... What? Witches have eternal lifespans, so the "future generations" would still be these same witches?
Then what was there to worry about?
"Hmm? You're all back?"
At that moment, a familiar voice announced Xia Li's arrival.
She had heard the noise outside and come out to check.
Tan Han and the others had been gone for days, so hearing familiar voices naturally made her curious.
"Shopkeeper~ Yeah, we're back!" Shi Ruizhi waved with a beaming smile.
"Yes, we've all returned." Tan Han nodded. Shopkeeper Xia Li had always looked after her.
"Oh, right~ Shopkeeper, we brought back a new club member for you this time!" Shi Ruizhi suddenly grabbed Lucianne's hand and said with a laugh.
* * *
Inside the Primitive Dream Laboratory.
"So, you're back?"
Seeing the momentary, unnatural daze in my eyes, Mei Lind wasn't about to be fooled a second time.
"Yes, I'm back. The business in the Glacial Throne Secret Realm is mostly handled. All the fragments have been collected." I nodded and pulled out the final Heart of the Cold Wave.
I had originally thought about using this as a medium to intervene in the script, but as they say, plans can't keep up with changes.
"As long as it's handled. If that matter is settled for now, what are your plans next?" Mei Lind asked.
The Qi Observation instrument was almost finished with its calibration, so she wasn't in a rush. She even had the leisure to ask about my next move.
"Oh. Aside from the Fool's Dream life experiments, I plan to let go of the Primitive Dream Laboratory," I said.
Before Dean Mei could even open her mouth, the other witches nearby immediately grew anxious!
"What! Xiao Han, you're planning to give up on building the Primitive Dream Laboratory already?"
"Please don't! I'm begging you, don't! It's only been a short while!"
For witches who were used to experiments taking months or years, this opportunity was far too precious.
Many of the witches currently in the lab hadn't even finished a single experimental phase!
How could they not be anxious?
"Xiao Han, isn't this decision a bit... impulsive? If maintaining the Primitive Dream Realm is too exhausting for you, you can take a break for a while."
"The academy can also apply for a subsidy for you. We hope you can continue until some of the major experiments are finished. After all, many witch teams only dared to start projects related to the Primitive Dream Laboratory because of this lab."
Dean Mei Lind was also surprised by my statement. As the Dean, she had many things to consider—both my needs and the responsibility toward those new research projects.
"Oh! It's not what you think. I'm just not going to do it personally anymore. It's like the experiment for the standardized purification method for Dream State Soul Essence; the experiment won't stop, I just won't be participating in it."
I had done similar things many times before—from the initial experiments with the Great Spellbook to the development of derivative techniques for the Omni-Link Main Network Tree, and then the self-generated mana experiments...
Along the way, I had done a lot, but I had also let go of a lot. The more I knew, the more I felt that my time was insufficient.
I couldn't allow myself to be submerged in these tasks forever.
"Xiao Han, have you discovered a technique for a controllable, permanently solidified Primitive Dream Realm?" Mei Lind asked tentatively.
"Well, I've worked in that direction, but those techniques are all built on the level of the Primitive Dream Realm. It's like starting from zero. I'm not that much of a genius~"
"Then how do you plan to do it?"
"I'm not the only one who has mastered the Primitive Dream Realm Domain Order anymore. Sister Mei, why are you only focused on shearing this one little witch?" I pointed out.
"You mean... you want Long and the others to take over your job?" Dean Mei quickly understood my meaning.
"Do they have your level of skill yet? They probably can't reach your degree of control, right?"
Currently, in the Witch Academy, besides me, Bai Yu and the three other Body Cultivation witches had mastered this method.
However, none of them had my level of control. They couldn't even touch the shallow layers of the Primitive Dream Realm without using special alchemical items.
It could be said that even among geniuses, there were tiers.
"Ahem... This is the next stage of testing and experimentation for the power of the Dream Domain! Haven't they just mastered the Domain Order? It's essentially a domain prototype. Having them stay in the Primitive Dream Realm for long-term adaptation experiments and attempting to maintain a precise, controllable Primitive Dream Realm descent will help their Dream Domains form much faster!"
They could only replicate things based on my guidance. Without understanding the deep-level principles, they couldn't blaze this trail according to a set logic like I could.
"Oh~ I see." Dean Mei selectively ignored the long explanation I gave, but she understood the core point: let those three witches take over my work.
In her opinion, the idea was perfect!
How could Xiao Han's talents be wasted on simply maintaining an experimental environment?
Xiao Han had to be liberated from these meaningless projects!
Therefore, she absolutely supported my decision.
The other witches also breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing my explanation. At least their experiments were saved.
"Since you have your own ideas, as the Dean, I naturally support you. By the way, will Bai Yu be participating in this experiment?"
"Uh... Sister Bai won't! I have other arrangements for her." I froze for a second and quickly declined.
I wasn't worried about Sister Bai's progress; she could just take things step by step.
After all, it was an Ordinary Subject, and Sister Bai wanted to try everything. I wasn't going to force her. She had only taken the path of the Secret Realm Domain because she was the only witch in the academy who met the experimental conditions at the time.
Of course, the main reason was that I hadn't been intimate with Sister Bai in a long time!
I take back what I said earlier. I'll really die if I don't get to cuddle Sister Bai! 😫