Chapter 939: Ming Xueming’s Change of Allegiance
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 939: Ming Xueming’s Change of Allegiance
After understanding my thoughts, Dean Mei intended to personally speak with those three Body Cultivation Witches.
After all, this experiment required their cooperation. At no point should one underestimate a witch, nor should one take anything for granted.
It had to be said that the management of the Witch Academy was far too loose when it came to the level of Transcendent Witches. If one had to call it an academy, it was more accurately a gathering place for idle witches.
In that regard, it was quite similar to the Witch Tea Party.
The only difference was that it incorporated the capacity to convert and educate Prospective Witches. However, there was no rule stating what an academy had to look like.
It was much like how the Wizard world could never fathom the concept of "compulsory education."
In the eyes of Wizards, if you didn't want to learn knowledge, you didn't have to. Precious knowledge usually cost money; if it was being given for free and you were being forced to learn it, yet you still complained? To them, such a person was nothing more than a natural-born consumable for living witchcraft.
Witches were largely the same; they had their own views on education, as well as their own shortcomings.
After Dean Mei left, I planned to spend the coming period cooperating with several of the older witch sisters to first perfect the Qi Observation instrument. Once that was done, I would have time to deal with the next stage of the Dream Domain.
Though it seemed like one troublesome thing after another, some tasks were necessary. Only by doing them could I eventually free myself from those burdens once and for all.
In this world, there are always people—or witches—willing to fight to the death for the hardships you look down upon.
The late-stage tuning of the Qi Observation instrument was actually quite relaxing. While keeping an eye on the Fool's Dream, I spent my spare time focused on the Glacial Throne Secret Realm.
It wasn't that I insisted on multi-tasking or juggling so many projects. It was simply that the temptations within the Glacial Throne Secret Realm were too great!
The biological composition of the Ancient Remnant Ice race helped me understand the nature of life, while the ritual involving the Great Spellbook fragments helped me grasp the characteristics of [Transcendent Knowledge].
Midway through my research, I could even sense void rifts that threatened to tear open at any moment!
Consequently, my research on the fragments had stalled at the threshold of piecing them together. After all, now was not the best time to let this secret realm explode.
* * *
Meanwhile, at the Jack-of-all-trades Club.
After two days of fierce competition, a new club president had taken office.
Of course, due to the time constraints and the alliance of various family factions within the club, Ming Xueming had already voluntarily stepped down from the presidency.
Nicola had become the temporary president. However, if she wanted to truly secure the position and remove the "temporary" title, she would need to pass a probationary period.
Nicola, for her part, expressed great confidence.
After two or three days of upheaval, things had finally settled down. The club had been incredibly busy—handling the change-of-command notices and the preparation phases. Had this not been "long-premeditated," they never could have moved so quickly.
To complete the nominations, elections, and public announcements within two or three days was truly lightning speed.
Normally, changing a club president shouldn't be so complicated, but when a club reaches a certain size, certain formal procedures become essential to maintain authority.
But... no matter how fast they were, the time spent was still time wasted.
Heaven only knows how difficult these past few days had been for those maintaining the Glacial Throne Secret Realm's core.
First, Tan Han and her group had escaped, and no conclusion had been reached on whether to hold anyone accountable.
Shortly after, everyone exploring the laboratory ruins was driven out. Their fragments were confiscated, and the corpses of some were left behind in the secret realm because no one dared go back in to retrieve them.
Then there were the irregular, non-stop fluctuations in the secret realm's stability over the past few days. They had no idea why this was happening.
At one point, the secret realm nearly breached its stability limit and collapsed. The maintenance crew had all fled for their lives, only for the realm to somehow stabilize again for reasons unknown.
As for the cause of that near-collapse... it was because of my first attempt to use the Great Spellbook fragments, which nearly tore open a void rift!
If I hadn't stopped immediately, the secret realm truly might have been lost.
After the incident concluded, the Jack-of-all-trades Club and the Witch Secret Realm Club jointly applied for a transfer of the secret realm core.
It must be said that after being delayed for two or three days, the witch mentors were left speechless by their "efficiency."
Ultimately, however, they helped get it done. It wasn't that the witches were particularly patient with such things, but rather... this was all part of Dean Mei’s assignment.
During the transfer of the secret realm, the Academy issued several customary announcements and notices.
When the secret realm left the protection of the Witch Academy’s curtain wall and entered the outside world, this simple move immediately caught the attention of all Transcendent Academies!
The Three Top Academies, in particular, paid it high-level attention.
After all, they had sent their students to clear out the Ancient Remnant Ice, only to achieve absolutely nothing. In the end, they had even catalyzed the birth of an Ancient Remnant Ice King!
It had to be admitted that the other academies had excellent intelligence networks. They even had detailed information on the state of the Ancient Remnant Ice within the secret realm, leading them to deduce that the King of the race had not yet reached its peak level—it hadn't even become a true lifeform yet.
They also knew that the Ancient Remnant Ice had not obtained all the fragments. Thus, the situation was currently... tentatively safe.
But the fact that the Witches had placed this thing outside their academy was like a thorn in their eyes.
Furthermore, the area where the secret realm was placed was in an unplanned no-man's land within the Witch Academy’s sphere of influence. It was right on the border.
If they rashly tried to deal with the secret realm, the Witch Academy would certainly use it as an excuse to target them. If they didn't deal with it, having it right under their noses was incredibly uncomfortable.
Moreover, heaven only knew what form the final fragment would take when the set was completed.
The other Transcendent Academies had their theories regarding the Witch Academy's behavior. They suspected the Witches might have mastered techniques or methods even more inscrutable than before, and were simply waiting for the Ancient Remnant Ice King to be born so they could seize the World Navel in one fell swoop.
Though the idea was absurd—and even some less-than-professional transcendents could provide counterarguments—they were terrified of the "what if."
Back then, who would have thought the Witches would play the "race replication" card to swap out a Destined Race?
At this stage, no one expected the Witches to have researched World Repair Techniques.
Each of these probes was gradually increasing the pressure on them. It had to be said that the Three Top Academies were becoming exhausted. Even the newly joined Abyssal Demons, who called themselves the "Fourth Top Academy," were starting to distance themselves from the others.
There were even faint signs of them leaning toward the Witch faction.
But demons were a stubborn, lowly lot; they wouldn't play the role of the Witches' lackeys until the very last moment. Besides, becoming a lackey to a Witch was truly insane—they would turn you into their "little sister" in a heartbeat.
Regarding the Witch Academy's confusing maneuvers, some transcendents felt the Witch Secret Realm Club was simply at its wit's end. Knowing their current methods weren't working, they were intentionally trying to disgust their rivals, using this as a fuse for something else.
Regardless, the other Transcendent Academies were deeply unsettled.
Another point of unease concerned the Primitive Dream Realm.
Although the Dreamscape Calamity had occurred in the Expansion Realm, the descent of the Primitive Dream Realm there had chilled them to the bone. So many transcendents had been permanently lost in the dream at once.
If the Witches mastered such a method, wouldn't they all be doomed?
However, they had received no word of the Witch race making any major breakthroughs on the level of the Primitive Dream Realm. Whether it was self-delusion or not, they refused to believe the Witches possessed such a terrifying tool.
Furthermore, they didn't dare push their own research into the Primitive Dream Realm too aggressively. If they encouraged it, the Witches would use the opportunity to push their Fourth Interpretation of Life and the Great Soul Subject.
If Wizards got a taste of the sweetness of the soul's essence, they would inevitably follow the path blazed by the Witches once the momentum became irreversible!
Between the Great Soul Subject and the Primitive Dream Realm, it was an inescapable open scheme!
But regardless of the consequences, the Witches ultimately placed the secret realm in the border zone closest to the top Transcendent Academies.
While this made it more difficult for students from the Witch Academy's side to enter the secret realm, it did not hinder their determination to "return to the secret realm."
* * *
Ming Xueming did not attend the ceremony where Nicola was inaugurated as president.
After stepping down, she still had to face a series of internal club investigations. Until those were cleared, she could not become a club elder.
Ming Xueming didn't believe for a second that Nicola wasn't involved in this. But there was nothing she could do.
The Academy's rules might not include such accountability, but the club could handle it on their behalf. And if the club couldn't, the families would. Everyone was bound to a family, precisely to ensure they played by the rules and to provide enough shackles to restrain their behavior.
* * *
Inside the Primitive Dream Laboratory.
I was receiving Long and the others when I encountered something unexpected.
It was a clone.
After I sent my clone, Yue, to the game world, I had created a brand-new clone—the one that had previously assisted Tan Han and her group.
I had also informed Millian. This clone acted more like a relay station for Millian’s periodic reports. Millian didn't have the clearance to enter a facility of the Primitive Dream Laboratory's caliber.
If it were the previous Self-Generated Mana Laboratory, I could have authorized her, but this place involved many vital transcendent subjects; naturally, not just any student could enter.
Additionally, I had described the situation regarding the Academy War to Millian.
To Tan Han and the others, I could only say I made no guarantees. But to Millian, I was direct. This war was definitely going to happen.
Before that, the Academy would open the interconnecting channels to the Expansion Realm.
No matter how one looked at it, the Expansion Realm belonged to the Witch Academy. Once war broke out, the Witches could simply and forcefully blockade it.
Furthermore, the Academy intended to develop the Ninglan Territory into a "Second Magic Capital," much like the Core World!
What did this mean? It meant the Expansion Realm was about to get its own Witch Academy!
Though it would nominally be a branch academy, it was actually an insurance policy. If the reforms at the Core World Witch Academy turned out to be a disaster or failed outright, the Expansion Realm would host a brand-new Witch Academy!
After all, tearing everything down and starting over is always easier than slow modification. This way, the Academy could make whatever changes it wanted without any resistance.
Unless absolutely necessary, the Witch Academy's center of gravity would remain in the Core World. But before that happened, the Expansion Realm branch was definitely going to be built.
The early advantage of the Baking House was now undeniably apparent.
At that moment, Millian suddenly contacted me—or rather, she contacted my new clone.
Someone wanted to see me.
Ming Xueming.
The president of the Jack-of-all-trades Club—no, the former president.
Normally, I wouldn't have given it a second thought and would have refused immediately. What was there to talk about?
However, she gave me a reason to see her.
A badge. Or rather, a contract token.
It was a pledge I had given in exchange for information I desperately needed back in the Expansion Realm.
Now, as my clone toyed with the badge, I felt a bit of nostalgia.
"I remember the terms of that contract," I said. "Only the person mentioned in the contract is eligible to hold this badge and ask me to fulfill a promise within my power. But your name, Ming Xueming, was not in that contract."
"Fu Xinglan naturally mentioned that to me," Ming Xueming replied, her words carefully measured. "I brought this not to redeem a promise, but to demonstrate my stance—and to gain the opportunity to meet you."
She chose her words with great care. Indeed, by possessing this token, she could prove her allegiance.
What allegiance? A stance leaning toward me—the family faction aligned with the Academy!
The family compositions within the Witch Academy's clubs were incredibly complex, naturally containing many factions and leanings.
I was slightly surprised to learn that Ming Xueming was no longer the president. But what surprised me even more was why she had suddenly defected to Fu Xinglan’s camp.
The contract involving that Luck had mentioned many names—even infants who couldn't speak yet and distant relatives—but Ming Xueming’s name had been absent. This proved that her change of heart was a recent development.
"This is truly interesting. You want to see me? Why? I don't think this is a very good choice; in fact, it's quite risky for you."
"As long as it's worth it, what does the risk matter?"
"A rather evasive answer. Fine, I'll ask directly: why are you looking for me? There must be a reason."
"Before that... may I ask a question? Consider it a request."
"A question? Ask. I'll decide whether to answer."
"Tell me... the King of the Ancient Remnant Ice in the Glacial Throne Secret Realm... was that your doing?"