Chapter 589: The Opening of Ninglan New City
After I left the villa amidst their cheerful farewells, I began to understand that I might not have many more chances to see them again.
The Great Knowledge Seed, which hadn’t undergone any information classification, had already been handed over to them. I had also given them the opportunity, and if any of them could seize it, perhaps we could meet again in a different way. If they fail to grasp the opportunity… there might not even be a chance to meet again.
To be honest, although they had accompanied me on this journey, our time together wasn’t that long. I didn’t really want to bring this up because they had anchored the concept of “friends” in my initial positioning.
But as the saying goes, no gathering lasts forever. Sharing the same dormitory is merely an illusion of being on the same level, yet it remains a finale where we will eventually part ways. Whether we meet again depends entirely on one’s own abilities.
On my way back.
This time, I was heading to Sister Natalie’s alchemy room. After these days of collaboration, Natalie had completed a significant overhaul of the Box of Books.
During this time, Natalie had called me over several times and conducted three phases of adjustments followed by a final major revision. Sister Natalie was also preparing to let me pick it up in the next couple of days.
However, today I happened to run into several people in the dormitory, so I came here first.
But… before that, something else significant was supposed to happen today.
I activated the Qi Observation Technique. Without the precise instruments available in Principal Mei’s office, much of the information was ambiguous.
Nevertheless, as time passed, many things became clearer.
I snapped my fingers and walked with a lively step, as if time had reached a certain node. A huge disturbance arose above the Witch Academy, causing many people to subconsciously look up, while those familiar with the scene remained unperturbed by the commotion.
Because this was the posture of the wall that enveloped the entire Witch Academy being lifted.
The last time such a major movement occurred was indeed the last time.
As expected, more people from other Extraordinary Academies had arrived.
At this moment, I also received a notice from the academy network’s personal academy system regarding student exchanges.
I noted that the Witch Academy could obviously predict when certain events would likely occur, yet it never notified us in advance, only alerting us when things happened.
However, this time… it was becoming interesting.
Moreover, the exchange wasn’t about exchanging students but rather a one-sided interaction.
Other Extraordinary Academies were sending students to the Witch Academy, that seemed to be the gist.
To ensure that the Witch Academy wouldn’t go back on its word, the academy head signed a Witch Contract on behalf of all Extraordinary Witches, promising not to forcibly take their students during this opportunity.
All this information was recorded in the details shared with me by Principal Beif last time.
Although there are records, I still had no idea what kind of game this was. Even if it was framed as an exchange for learning, I wouldn’t be fooled by such childish reasoning.
“Hmm… the tree from Aphhemia Academy… and the one behind it… is a Holy Angel’s…”
I looked at the commotion in the distance but ultimately shifted my focus from it. No matter how many schemes they had, they weren’t as important as my imminent retrieval of the Box of Books.
Just as I was thinking this, a phone call came through.
Looking at the caller ID, I was a bit surprised because it was Teacher Lina, whom I hadn’t seen in a while and who was the head of the new student grade.
I quickly answered the call, but it seemed Lina also used the Knowledge Tree to connect to the academy network, as a video feed displayed on the screen after I connected.
“Teacher Lina, long time no see. Is there something urgent that you called about?” I asked first.
“Xiao Han, are you free right now? Um… are you outside?”
“Yeah, I don’t have anything major to attend to, just about to pick up something. If you have something to discuss, feel free to say it, Teacher Lina.”
“I need to discuss something shortly here. If you’re interested, you can come over. I know you’re a bit busy right now, and if you choose not to come, it’s no big deal. I can tell you a bit about something regarding Ninglan New City,” Lina said with a smile.
In the Witch Academy, teaching assistants not only assist instructors with teaching but also have many other obligations, such as supervising the monthly exams, and other duties in competitions, etc.
However, I… didn’t seem to feel much involvement. From Lina’s attitude towards my assignments, she was also very respectful of my wishes.
“Ninglan New City?”
Hearing Teacher Lina mention it, I truly became interested.
According to this timeframe, the Expanding Realm where Ninglan New City was located should be merging with a Small World, right?
Or was it already completed?
I had heard earlier that this process would take several years to reach its final stages…
“Right, it seems you’re quite interested? Should I send you the address of the meeting room and the start time?”
“Yeah, okay, sorry to bother you, Teacher Lina,” I eventually nodded in agreement.
After all, even though I had experienced so much and my status had risen significantly, I still believed it was essential to maintain the most basic respect when facing Extraordinary Mentors.
Of course, this excludes Extraordinary Mentors outside the Witch Academy.
After all, I still remembered the grudge from that incident that occurred a while ago.
Returning to Sister Natalie’s place, after receiving my final Box of Books, I happily left.
After all, just crafting a weapon had consumed Natalie’s entire break along with our time since the start of the term, and the payment… well, Principal Mei covered that for me, also on the side, Natalie had secretly saved some precious material scraps.
Looking at the brand-new Box of Books, I couldn’t help but love it!
Compared to the previous Box of Books, which was merely a tool, this current one was a weapon I truly recognized!
I took out the inner books from the box, flipped through the pages, and could feel the texture of the tree.
After undergoing a major overhaul, the Box of Books had also added a new “material,” which was my Great Knowledge Seed.
The biggest modification made to the Box of Books was due to this Great Knowledge Seed.
At this moment, the structure of the Box of Books completely abandoned its original crafting technique and opted to use the Great Knowledge Seed as its framework.
This was a rather wild concept I proposed, and Sister Natalie made adjustments to my idea and realized it in a reasonable way.
The current Box of Books could be considered a “growing Great Knowledge Seed,” using the Great Knowledge Seed as its framework, allowing the Knowledge Tree to shed its original tree outline, carrying the book’s structure along with the refined components, ultimately forming this new Box of Books.
It could be said that the current Box of Books had truly become my weapon. Even if others tried to seize it, they would find it nearly impossible to utilize.
Aside from using it to hit someone, which really wouldn’t differ much from a brick.
At this moment, I closed the book, spread my right hand, and gently pressed it on the cover. The Knowledge Power surged through the book, and a phantom tree shadow stretched out from the book.
Then, I opened the book again, and annotations formed by the Knowledge Power floated around the tree shadow…
At this time, the Box of Books could perfectly integrate into my Field Order, becoming a true weapon capable of carrying and wielding Knowledge Power!
Previously, when I struck that sword in the instance, it seemed immensely terrifying. However, that sword’s glow was largely disconnected from the kn*fe in my hand at that moment; it primarily served as an attacking “imagery” used to anchor within the field and transform order into a form of attack.
And now, as the Box of Books could genuinely carry Knowledge Power, the sword it captured, when swung out using the Body Cultivation’s essence, would result in a blade of essence that restructured order.
Moreover… the Box of Books could also act as an extension of my domain. After all, the field has a limited coverage area, but the range that the Box of Books could be thrown would definitely exceed that boundary.
It’s just a pity… as the scope of the powers I control expands, many means can gradually no longer be applied.
At least within the Witch Academy, they couldn’t be used; otherwise, it would be inviting trouble.
After all, during the completion of the Great Knowledge Tree, all the phenomena exhibited required special announcements to explain, and creating unnecessary trouble is uncalled for.
At this moment, I glanced at the address and time that Teacher Lina sent me and went there at a relaxed pace.
The meeting location was actually a rather ordinary conference room in the central teaching area, though it appeared to be one of the larger meeting rooms.
When I arrived, quite a number of people had already gathered, and just a quick glance at those present, most of them were unfamiliar faces.
However, after distinguishing them, I recognized that most of the attendees were teaching assistants from the Witch Academy.
My arrival naturally attracted many people’s attention, and the uniformly synchronized movement truly signified their utmost regard for me.
Then came the waves of low murmurs of discussion.
Perhaps they thought the sound of their whispers was quite soft, but I could hear most of it. However, I couldn’t be bothered to engage with them.
I looked around as if nothing was amiss and finally spotted Teacher Lina chatting with another instructor at the front. She instinctively lifted her head to look at me, then nodded and smiled, a gesture indicating I was free to do as I pleased.
With some time still remaining before the impromptu meeting commenced, I was contemplating which corner to select when a voice accompanied by somewhat exaggerated gestures caught my attention.
Following the line of sight, I saw a girl with cat ears waving at me.
This was Li Feiya, the catgirl I was somewhat familiar with, the one who caused a stir during the joint examination by directly writing her reflections on her face.
Since she was so warmly gesturing for me to come over, I didn’t hesitate and walked straight to her. Compared to sitting quietly in a corner alone, I preferred to join a friend.
“Xiao Han~ I didn’t expect you to come too!” As soon as I sat down, Li Feiya actively began chatting with me.
“Yeah, after all, Teacher Lina called me, so I naturally took the time to come over,” I replied casually.
“Called? Xiao Han, you really are impressive! We all received notifications.”
“Really? Perhaps it was just a temporary notice,” I chuckled softly.
Then, Li Feiya introduced me to her few close friends beside her. They were all girls who got along well, sharing similar personalities with Li Feiya—outgoing, talkative, and somewhat quirky.
They were all quite curious about me, especially since I had become known as a legendary assistant for having “sealed my fame” in just one battle.
“Xiao Han, aren’t you going to share your growth process with us? The outside world is saying that you might… oh! Is that Liliana?! She actually came too!”
“Are you serious? I heard she was really disheartened after being beaten up at the end of the break. How did she adjust so quickly?”
“If she sees Xiao Han here, I bet her expression will be quite interesting!”
The moment these girls spotted a familiar figure, they openly began discussing, as if afraid the other wouldn’t hear.
And as they had wished, Liliana glanced over here, but the moment she saw me, her pupils involuntarily shrank.
Coupled with the nearby exaggerated laughter, Liliana could no longer bear it and turned her gaze away, ultimately sitting as far from us as possible.
“Wow… it’s the first time I’ve seen Liliana back down…”
“She actually chose to avoid it? Xiao Han, when I wasn’t around, did you do something even more extreme to her?”
“Yeah, yeah, tell us the details of what happened at that time!”
Li Feiya began to lead the tease, and although they didn’t dare to speak too loudly, even so, the noise they created was still quite significant.
For a moment, I regretted coming here. I instinctively looked toward a corner that had no one in it; perhaps I should have selected that spot earlier.
However, even so, no one made any objections to the noise here.
Until the time was up, everyone had gradually gathered here.
A rough look around showed that the number of teaching assistants present had reached about forty to fifty.
This was the first time I had witnessed so many teaching assistants gathered together; it was indeed quite a spectacle.
They had basically all shed their original youthful naivety as students; many even had a hint of a mentor’s aura.
“Alright, it seems everyone is here, so I won’t waste time,” Teacher Lina glanced at the clock, then walked to the front of the meeting table, prompting silence from the audience with just a single statement.
“The purpose of gathering you here today is to assign a long-term task, and those present here are deemed suitable for the requirements. This matter has also been discussed with your mentors, so there’s no need for too much burden.”
“Now, let’s get to the main point. Not long ago, our Witch Academy decided to officially open the teleportation passage to Ninglan New City. I’m sure some of you have heard of the name Ninglan New City, but I will provide you with more details about this city shortly. Before that, I want to explain why I’m bringing this up.”
“Because in the upcoming semester, Ninglan New City will be open to students. Senior students can apply in advance, and upon approval, they can enter. However, for junior students to enter, they must meet the requirements of course exemption and voluntary application.”
“The students open to this opportunity also include those from various Extraordinary Academies who will soon be engaging with our Witch Academy.”
“I want to emphasize once again regarding this matter: under no circumstances should the Magic Source be forced into the bodies of exchange students; attempts will not be tolerated. Do you understand?!”
