Chapter 643: Millien’s Ambition and the Formation of Influence
In just the time it took for a dinner, Ninglan New City seemed to have suddenly experienced a significant event.
Although it appeared that ordinary students couldn’t see any signs of upheaval, some people immediately sprang into action.
Those who had originally chosen to continue observing could no longer sit idly by.
Because they learned that the other party would be absent for at least a week!
What about the Extraordinary Materials mining area still shrouded in the Dream Overlapping Phenomenon during this week?
Should they risk allowing those ordinary people to mine despite the threat of Dream Creatures?
Even if they were to send a student who masters Dream Demon Spells, how much would that cost?
Dream Demon Spells are not something that average people can easily grasp. Even teaching assistants require some time to understand it, let alone the lower-grade students who have no idea what Rune Literature is.
Hence, most students who master Dream Demon Spells are upperclassmen. The hiring costs for such “high-end talent” are exorbitant.
They can easily find ways to earn money; expecting to use the life-saving Dream Demon Spells to help ordinary people fend off Dream Creatures devalues their skills.
If this week drags on, and they end up haggling over contracts with Millien for an extended period, the teaching assistant Xiao Han wouldn’t even know when she could offer help. This loss far exceeds just a week.
What they are mining are rare Extraordinary Materials! Not like ordinary ores that rely on quantity. Since the prevalence of alchemical items and the refinement of mining and detection techniques greatly improved their efficiency, even a day’s halt leaves them feeling extremely uncomfortable.
The only small comfort is that some resource points had already halted operations due to the Dream Overlapping Phenomenon, and waiting another week was something they could come to terms with.
At worst, they could seek new resource points a bit further away, but ordinary people simply cannot go that far.
Without ordinary people as a large, cheap labor force, mining efficiency and costs would significantly rise.
And now, the value of the second large shelter was becoming apparent.
The shelter provided housing for many, serving as both a resting place and a transit station. They could explore outwards from there, especially since it itself is a mixed mining area. Although it’s complex, its value is considerable.
However, an even more troubling issue surfaced.
The second large shelter currently belongs to Teaching Assistant Xiao Han and the All-purpose Association! The cooperative project that everyone had previously dismissed had now become highly sought after, but because they lost the initiative, they found themselves in a very passive position…
Moreover, the project leader responsible for building the second shelter and communicating was none other than Millien…
Now, Millien’s name had become well-known!
And this was precisely the situation Millien was anticipating; it was the confidence that allowed her to act like this!
That dinner had enabled her to acquire the final perfect piece of the puzzle, which was the business card that allowed her to summon Teaching Assistant Xiao Han at any time.
This was definitely an unexpected development for her, saving her a lot of strategizing, and she experienced what it meant for power to soar.
In that moment, Millien felt happiness come too abruptly; she had the timing and the advantage in her hands!
Moreover, she was also a member of the Xiao Han Support Group… It wasn’t impossible for her to make a move, and she even felt she could forecast the entire Expanding Realm for Sister Xiao Han!
That night, Millien didn’t sleep well; it wasn’t that she ignored Sister Xiao Han’s advice to rest and adjust her state, but because too many people tried to contact her.
It wasn’t that she wanted to just turn off her phone and give everyone the cold shoulder; it was unnecessary.
The more critical the moment, the more she needed to remain calm. There was no need to make relations with those people too fraught, as they would want to benefit from her later.
However, she also had to refuse those who needed to be turned down; the reasons were quite consistent—Sister Xiao Han’s schedule was already arranged for tomorrow, and it couldn’t be changed at the last minute.
With a strong backing, she could speak confidently.
That night, I slept quite comfortably.
Early the next morning.
After meditating, I began clearing the Dream Overlap Area with Millien.
Although there were only four contracts signed along with the All-purpose Association represented by Millien, it didn’t mean there were only five pieces of land; this included the resource points owned by every club, so together there were many areas, simply with five parties claiming them.
As I was smoothing out the dreams, I had a question in my heart.
That was the issue of resource point ownership.
However, I had also inquired with Millien that the Expanding Realm did not belong to anyone; this was stipulated in the Witch Academy’s contract. This area could theoretically be mined by other associations after dispelling the dreams.
But after understanding this, I realized this was a convention they had established over time. They respected the academy rules, but as the new version’s leading force, they also possessed the capability and authority to create rules.
They dared to act like this under the premise that the Witch Academy wouldn’t care about the matter.
And precisely because of this, I became the unstable factor; they couldn’t control me or pull me in…
“Sister Xiao Han, have you thought about forming your own faction?” Millien asked unexpectedly.
“Why do you ask?” Hearing her sudden question, my first reaction was actually to refuse; I disliked managing so many people. Perhaps I was influenced by the negative impression left by Tan Han’s support team.
“I see that you don’t really like to negotiate with those people in the academy, but as long as you stay in the Witch Academy, that is a reality you must face. I know you think strength can crush everything, but many matters naturally don’t require you to personally waste time with those people.”
“So what do you want to do?” I asked, although it was a question I already knew the answer to.
“I believe you still need a group of your own to help you deal with those problems that can’t simply be solved with power, and since you intend to cultivate the people in the shelter, wouldn’t you also want to impart Extraordinary Power to them…”
“That’s not the same.” I interrupted her, “What I give them is the foundational power to help them rebuild civilization as quickly as possible, and of course, we need to add one more point: be cautious of those people in the Witch Academy.”
“Alright…” Seeing I wasn’t yielding her way, Millien didn’t steer the conversation there any further, as she didn’t believe anyone coming to the Expanding Realm had genuine intentions to help those people rebuild civilization.
Maybe there were some hotheaded youths with fervor, but… anyone with the strength to stir things in the Expanding Realm wouldn’t fail to seek benefits.
“Well… regarding the establishment of a faction, or even as a club…”
“You are quite persistent.” I glanced at Millien; her making such statements equated to wanting to chart her own course.
However, two constraints restricted her existence: she was a member of the All-purpose Association and also a descendant of a certain faction of the Beike family. As long as her family didn’t experience any accidents, such relationships were quite standard within the family.
“You can figure it out yourself; I won’t provide any extra help. The only resources you have are my name and the shares you’ve secured for me yourself. If you ultimately turn everything into a joke, I will personally intervene to end this boring farce.”
“Then… that business card…”
“I have given out quite a number of business cards; they remain valid until I grow disappointed with this relationship, and that includes yours. I will treat every card the same.” I stated.
And saying that implied many things; she had many chances for error, as long as she didn’t do anything foolish enough to disappoint me, she could continue down this path.
It also included another point: she could seek out others who possessed the same business cards; if she could recruit them, that would also be her ability.
Upon hearing my words, Millien may not have fully understood their meaning, but her mood visibly brightened.
“We’ve cleared this area; now I have only three more places left. Shall we go directly?” Millien asked anxiously, holding the flying broomstick in her hand.
She didn’t possess the spatial teleportation spell, thus could only opt for a flying broomstick; most people chose flying broomsticks even if they had teleportation spells. They dared not haphazardly teleport to unfamiliar or unmarked places.
I was different; I had the roots of two Wanlian Main Network Trees extending, and one was connected to the Earth Vein—this “highway” allowed me to branch out far every day.
I could use these roots for coordinate pinpointing, then utilize spatial teleportation.
“Not so fast.” I shook my head, refusing Millien’s suggestion, then reached out to stroke the mutated beast I’d confined on the ground. “I can tell you have things to do, so go ahead. I know where the remaining spots are; the contract has the coordinates, and I have my own matters to attend to.”
“Okay… I’ll leave for now.”
Millien nodded without politeness and chose to leave.
She indeed had important matters to attend to, and her presence wouldn’t help; it would just be a burden.
Moreover, Sister Xiao Han evidently had her own tasks, or she wouldn’t have ushered her away with such insistence.
She needed to return quickly and prepare for many things.
In wanting to establish a force that could take root within the Witch Academy, the absolute pillar of strength for this current force, namely Sister Xiao Han, was already in place.
As for personnel… that needed careful consideration; at least in the early stages, it was better to be selective, with each person needing to have their own value.
She heard that when Sister Xiao Han returned to Ninglan New City, she brought along a group, and several of them were teaching assistants. While she didn’t expect to bring such individuals over, she could use Sister Xiao Han’s name to befriend them, while figuring out why Sister Xiao Han valued them so highly.
Then she planned to inquire about those who had received business cards from Sister Xiao Han; this matter was no longer a secret, and it wouldn’t take much effort to dig as those people would surely be quite proactive in their investigation.
As for funding, although it was currently all about allocated shares, the sheer amount was substantial, and many clubs were still awaiting Sister Xiao Han’s urgent assistance.
However, all these needed to be handled in the shadows, at least not openly; otherwise, the major factions of the Witch Academy could easily crush this still-undeveloped force, which would truly become a farce as Sister Xiao Han mentioned.
Before executing these plans, she also had to cross a significant hurdle—that was needing to provide an explanation to the All-purpose Association.
Many matters seem stable, but they need to be navigated systematically, which would certainly test her abilities.
She did not consider her capabilities lacking; after all, what club wasn’t built from humble beginnings?
Moreover, the major clubs today had become almost as stagnant as the external societal families after years of passing down.
Otherwise, why were they all so alarmed when news of the academy restructuring external societal affairs was simply leaked by themselves?
Because they knew that the current families lacked the roots to endure.
At that moment.
I remained in the same place.
Looking at the large creature I had confined, I couldn’t help but sigh; indeed, the mutated beasts outside were endless.
The reason I didn’t instantly k*ll this creature was that a spark of inspiration flashed in my mind: what would happen if I used the Grand Wisdom Enlightenment Spell on a mutated beast?
I had too few opportunities to use this spell, so much so that I regarded it mostly theoretically, and there wasn’t a corresponding series derived—not beyond transforming its original form into the Grand Wisdom Enlightenment Tree.
The only derived technique from this great spellbook was the Mimetic Soul skill, alongside the meditation technique I learned from Sister Mei, which I improved to the Enlightenment Meditation Technique.
Logically speaking, the main function of the Grand Wisdom Enlightenment Spell is to enlighten wisdom.
However, for beings that already possessed wisdom, its effects might not be particularly evident, though it cannot be denied that it has an effect.
Thus, I wanted to see how this spell would work on mutated beasts that had become so muscular in their brains.
I personally predicted it would have a noticeable effect, perhaps even more so than Fool Dream, because Fool Dream itself is also a dream creature that has undergone a breakthrough in wisdom, and after using the Grand Wisdom Enlightenment Spell on it, it has already changed a great deal.
And it had already acquired recognition and wisdom comparable to that of an average girl, or at least it was much smarter than when it was in Fool Village.
After I used the Grand Wisdom Enlightenment Spell on it, it shifted from instinctual struggles to a state of “calm.”
I removed the simple confinement spell it was under, and it didn’t flee; instead, it stared at me with wide eyes.
Eventually, it lay down and exposed its belly; this behavior is common among many animals. Exposing the belly represents revealing the most vulnerable part of the body, and it similarly conveys “surrender” and “cease resistance.”
At that moment, aside from its enormous size, it was entirely like a big dog rolling around, but I had no interest in petting it.
Just as I was about to continue observing what other reactions it might have, it suddenly seized the best chance and transitioned from rolling into a swift run, darting out in front of me.
“Hmm? Showing weakness… then escaping?” I chuckled lightly at its reaction; since that was the case, I respected its choice.
So… in the next moment, it became a corpse.
Since it didn’t cooperate with my test, it skipped directly to becoming a test subject.
However, this time I chose not to contest the mutated beast’s soul material with the Earth Vein, but to let it return to the Earth Vein, then I used the Earth Vein Identification Technique to acquire valuable information from its “memories.”
Looking at such a large mutated beast corpse, an idea struck me… perhaps I could try reincarnation rebirth to acquire information from this mutated beast’s body.
My next clone… why should it even look like me?
However… looking at the rancid smell from its mouth, I ultimately decided to refine my external incarnation technique; I certainly need not wholly experience the daily life of a mutated beast.
Moreover, I discovered from this mutated beast’s memory that it belonged to a migratory group.
Perhaps I could use the external incarnation technique as an observational perspective, using the large quantity of the group to test the inspiration of the Grand Wisdom Enlightenment Tree on the group’s wisdom.
