Chapter 993: Super Material—Hexagonal Crystal Amber
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 993: Super Material—Hexagonal Crystal Amber
Witch Academy.
With the periodic conclusion of the Gaze Qi Technique project, the next step was the review session Dean Mei had mentioned.
Before the review began, Dean Mei chatted with me for a bit.
"I didn't expect the other side to stop making a fuss so quickly. They showed their hand quite fast."
"True. It seems they really didn't want things to escalate," I agreed.
"So, Xiao Han, have you thought about why they decided not to pursue it? Even though everyone present knew exactly what was going on."
"It's probably because no one would benefit if the conflict continued."
"Why couldn't it be... because our Gaze Qi Technique experiment ended?"
"Hmm?"
I suddenly looked up at Dean Mei. She had just said something quite significant.
"The Gaze Qi Technique project is classified, right? Forget the students—even most of the Transcendent Witch sisters don't know the details... and it's impossible for other races to infiltrate the Witch Academy, so..."
"It's enough that you've guessed it, Xiao Han. There's no need to say it out loud." Dean Mei interrupted me at just the right moment.
"...Phew. It’s just hard to believe. Is this... one of those?" I meant a Betrayer Rebel Witch—someone passing vital intelligence from the Witch Academy to other transcendent races. This kind of backstabbing was far more infuriating than open rebellion.
"Not quite. Every witch makes mistakes, and the witch race doesn't believe in condemning everyone with a single stroke. If we judged purely by profit and loss, the witch race would have no room for a unique group like the Rebel Witches. If an error is to be corrected, an infringement on interests is inevitable. Only when they cross the ultimate line are they considered... betrayers."
"I see..."
"I know you don't particularly like those whose ideas conflict with yours, Xiao Han. But this is just the Main World. Once you reach the Void, you'll encounter even more eccentrics. You don't need to correct them, nor are you obligated to. Just be yourself, as you've always been."
"Thank you for the guidance, Sister Mei."
"From the look of it, you didn't really need my guidance, did you? Let's drop this topic," Dean Mei said with a smile.
There were indeed many eccentrics among the witches, and her attitude toward them was one of tolerance. Just as there were those in the Witch Academy leaking information out, there were naturally those in other academies leaking information to her. Otherwise, how could she be so well-informed?
"Let's talk about something else... like that Great Glacial Throne Technique. I recall it involved three of your plans. Now that it's over, what did you gain?"
"The harvest was significant..." I couldn't help but sigh with emotion at the mention of it.
After gaining an understanding of the Life Sequence, I realized how the Fool's Dream should proceed on its path.
Later, when the Ancient Remnant Ice is returned, the dissipation and rebirth of consciousness will resolve the relationship between the soul and consciousness for me. This will help Ling Yi solve the problem of her "slumbering" friend.
The symbiosis between the Great Glacial Throne Technique and the race also gave me inspiration for Holy Relics.
Finally, by gaining insight into the deeper rules and operational principles of Void Rifts, I became even more certain of the possibility of the Infinite Mana concept!
All in all, the gains from this attempt were massive!
Moreover, having solved the issue of the birth of soul and consciousness, I completed another hypothesis: the population of the Fool's Dream race is finally no longer a fixed number!
"As long as the harvest was good. I won't pry into the rest. I only have one question: the preparation technique for Hexagonal Crystal Amber."
"It's complete. The power that erupted the moment the Great Spellbook was finished proved the possibility of preparing Hexagonal Crystal Amber," I stated.
"Erupted?" Dean Mei paused at my description. "Wait, does that mean the Qunluosen Wasteland is now covered in Hexagonal Crystal Amber materials?"
"That might be an exaggeration, but that snowy plain is indeed filled with trace amounts of fine Hexagonal Crystal Amber. That's a sign that the preparation technique is still immature. Only with continuous optimization can we produce pure, large blocks of Hexagonal Crystal Amber," I explained.
I then looked at Dean Mei again. "Sister Mei, do you think I'm being too wasteful?"
"Wasteful... not necessarily. But the Qunluosen Wasteland is a buffer zone between the Witch Academy and other institutions. Won't your actions allow a large amount of material to fall into the hands of other academies?"
"Isn't that even better? These materials are the property of the Witch Academy. If they swallow what's ours, they'll have to cough it back up. If they won't cough it up, we'll beat it out of them."
"My goodness... Xiao Han, you've planned everything, haven't you? What if they return it all voluntarily?" Dean Mei was stunned for a moment before she completely relaxed, even asking a teasing follow-up.
"Given the typical behavior of those academies, they definitely won't return everything. In that case, we'll fight until they've returned it all, plus compensation for mental distress, bereavement payouts, combat expenses... well, that's about it. Sister Mei, the Academy will support me in this, right?"
"Of course~ Regarding disputes between students, the Academy maintains an atmosphere of relatively fair competition," Dean Mei promised me.
The meaning behind those words was clear: Transcendents would not intervene. If they did, that academy would face total annihilation.
If the intervention was minor—only one or two individuals—then the joint compensation currently being paid by the Wizard Academy for the Qunluosen snowfield incident would serve as the template!
If the top academies had to pay, then the smaller academies would have to pay the full price!
Can't afford it?
Then close your academy!
If they wanted to keep existing, they would have to borrow from the Transcendent Academy they were affiliated with.
For example, the Sun Rock Elves bordering the Qunluosen Wasteland could borrow from Aphra to pay their debts.
The tone for the aftermath had been set, so now I needed to prepare.
After all, trying to start a war by myself was a bit of a drop in the bucket.
Numbers are the foundation. There are times when I can't handle everything alone. If I have too many clones, they're hard to manage afterward, and destroying them all is a hassle.
It’s better to... let everyone make money together~
Anyway, I had long since passed the stage of worrying about money.
By drawing more people in with initial profits and letting them taste the sweetness of war, the wheels of conflict would become unstoppable.
Subsequently, the destroyed Transcendent Academies and territories would be incorporated into the witch race's domain. Only then could the Omni-Link Main Network Tree, the Root Network, and the Power Network in the Core World spread more extensively across the entire Main World.
I couldn't do this alone. Millian was currently busy with her layout in the Expansion Realm; calling her back now would hinder development.
So, I only had one path left: cooperation.
The Jack-of-all-trades Club and the Witch Secret Realm Club were excellent candidates.
Admittedly, a fair number of people and factions within those clubs were annoying, but there was no shortage of capable individuals among them.
It was all about win-win cooperation.
I opened my contact list. Without realizing it, the number of contacts I had deliberately kept had grown.
This time, I would have to trouble Fu Xinglan, Tracy, and the others again.
Last time, Xing Anlei hadn't returned empty-handed; she had brought back those materials. Given the immense value of Hexagonal Crystal Amber on top of that, I didn't believe they wouldn't be tempted.
The transcendent mines they had opened in the Expansion Realm back then had made them a fortune.
However, the materials born as a byproduct of world repair were naturally not as good as those created intentionally. Many of those materials were merely transcendent energy crystals, used as "batteries" for charging alchemy items.
But Hexagonal Crystal Amber and its derivatives were materials I had meticulously selected. Their value was highly specific; even Transcendent Mentors would use Hexagonal Crystal Amber on a large scale for their experiments.
That was a fact confirmed by Dean Mei.
After I left, Dean Mei began the review and data organization for the Gaze Qi Technique experiment. On the condition of signing a confidential Witch Contract, she announced the deal regarding the Main World Consciousness, as well as the subsequent arrangements and cooperation for the Ancient Remnant Ice.
Meanwhile, I went to the Baking House.
I waited quietly for the representatives of the two large clubs to arrive.
But this time, I hadn't just called them. I had also invited Tan Han, Shi Ruizhi, and even Yi Rui.
In fact, Yi Rui came in person.
After all, the further the self-generated mana project progressed, the easier it became. It was no longer about pioneering, but about continuous optimization based on the existing foundation.
At this stage, Yi Rui naturally had time to come. And the reason she came was, of course, to discuss matters regarding the "super material," Hexagonal Crystal Amber.
Their team had started as a group brought together by a shared interest in spell derivation, and later, I had recruited them for the self-generated mana project.
They had evolved from a loose club into a team with extremely strong collaborative skills.
Their expertise now spanned not just spell derivation, but also alchemy, pharmacy, runology, transcendent materials science, and more.
The Academy even had intentions of turning them into a top-tier talent team to assist with future reforms and promotion.
Yi Rui and her team would even move to the new branch academy in the Expansion Realm once it was built, to avoid being influenced by the current atmosphere of the Main World Witch Academy.
The first to arrive were Tan Han and her group. I heard Lucianne had gone home and hadn't returned yet, nor had there been any news.
But to me, it didn't matter. How bad could dealing with one's original family really get?
After Tan Han arrived, the members of the two clubs followed. It was clear they took my words very seriously—especially since it was a rare occasion where I had reached out to them first.
The last to arrive was Yi Rui. Although their self-generated mana project was no longer in the high-level laboratories of the Experimental Zone, their new location was by no means lacking in facilities. Moreover, it was a large-scale project team with several guiding teachers.
Taking leave and handling some minor errands had indeed taken her a while. This was quite a formal appearance for her.
"I believe you two are familiar with these materials, right? Has the club performed any professional evaluations on them?" I asked Fu Xinglan and Tracy. This meeting was driven by the interests centered around these items.
As the representative of the Jack-of-all-trades Club, Fu Xinglan naturally took the lead. "Of course! After Vice President Xing Anlei brought those materials back, the club immediately conducted a comprehensive value assessment. We were even speculating if there would be further cooperation. I didn't expect you to be so efficient, Assistant Xiao Han."
"The same goes for our Witch Secret Realm Club. After the Jack-of-all-trades Club finished their assessment, they sent us a copy. When it comes to material production and identification, our club has a significant say in the academy," Tracy added.
Within the Witch Academy, the Witch Secret Realm was undoubtedly the largest source of transcendent materials, especially renewable ones. They also possessed extensive technical reserves and equipment R&D for natural resource extraction.
They maintained a high level of cooperation with the Jack-of-all-trades Club.
"It's just that this one material... we don't seem to have seen it before." Fu Xinglan spoke again, picking up a material sealed in a transparent bag.
This bag contained Hexagonal Crystal Amber in its naturally occurring state. It was columnar and hexagonal in shape, as transparent as crystal, and emitted a faint chill.
When Yi Rui, who was listening on the side, saw Fu Xinglan bring this up, an interested look appeared on her face. She knew of the existence of Hexagonal Crystal Amber and had come specifically for it.
It wasn't a material primarily defined by elemental attributes, but rather one defined by its application characteristics, though it carried its own innate attributes.
"You indeed haven't seen this. I didn't bring it out last time." I took the bag from Fu Xinglan, opened it, and took a piece in my hand.
Most transcendent materials don't suffer from things like oxidation upon contact with air. The most common protection is actually transcendent energy isolation, since the characteristics of such materials are usually dictated by the internal energy.
"Its name is Hexagonal Crystal Amber. Its properties are very peculiar, and its value is extremely high. You can use the Ley Line Identification Art from your Knowledge Seed to learn more. The information has been classified as vital by the Dean, but I will give you temporary permission to view its properties."
"What? The Dean classified it as vital information?" The group hurried to check. It was true; without my authorization, they could only see the name and a very brief note.
Even Tan Han and the others, who possessed the Great Knowledge Seed, saw it marked as vital information that could not be disclosed freely, though they had the permissions to view it.
After all, the Great Knowledge Seed was currently only held by the mentor group, a few select teaching assistants, and those I had personally gifted it to.
While they were still looking it up, I spoke again. "This has been designated by the Dean as a special transcendent raw material for our Witch Academy's future strategic reserves. Its intrinsic and derivative values are immeasurable."
"In other words... this material is controlled by the Academy, right?"
"Yes." I looked at Yi Rui, who was the first to react, and replied with a smile.