Chapter 729: Going to Split the Spoils… No, Going to Claim Mental Damages
With someone taking the lead and making a profit from such things, it naturally made many matters much more convenient.
In the following days, we remained in a busy state, primarily spending time guiding new students through the processes.
If we encountered those who resisted fiercely, it was easier; we could simply use Sleep Magic to take them away and dump them in the dormitory, leaving behind a message with their basic information.
However, as my actions became more frequent, my figure also appeared in the eyes of more people.
After all, sometimes “abducting” people didn’t mean one was just grabbing a single person but rather snatching them from others in different academies.
As of now, the volunteer application process had not yet ended and would continue for several days. In truth, the peak time for snatching would only come once the various academies had acquired the information they needed.
However, in this phase, the people being snatched were all high-quality students already reserved by other academies.
But clearly, compared to those students, other academies were more concerned about… my survival.
A person who had already died in the past was now alive, right in front of them, competing for new students.
This was obviously quite strange!
And the high-level extraordinary beings from each academy who learned that I was not dead and was doing well had begun preparing to cover this matter up, actively cooperating during this time to minimize the impact, offering compensations and apologies, making various concessions and acting like subordinates… only to end up with this?
How could that not take them off guard?!
They had given benefits, offered everything, and now you say that person was still alive? Why were they so eager to compensate then?
As a result, upon hearing this news, the various academies were eager for an explanation; after all, those compensations were something they would begrudge under normal circumstances!
Now these resources were just given away for free, and no one was willing to accept that.
But for the witches… once something had fallen into their hands, those people had no qualification to take it back, and no amount of commotion would change that.
In terms of reasoning… they were not in the right to begin with.
So this bitter loss was something they were resigned to; at most, they would make some noise for a while now.
This sort of self-inflicted trouble, leading to others turning the tables on them while still jumping around, could only be regarded as clownish behavior.
However, this round of negotiations at the academy level had nothing to do with me.
As I and Yi Rui gathered enough information, we also gained some understanding and conjectures about the “initial witch transformation” characteristic of the Magic Source.
What mattered was not the value of this technique itself, but what kind of inspiration it could bring us.
We were not going to tread the old path of witch transformation body cultivation but rather forge a completely new path. Borrowing is indeed necessary, but we could not copy it.
In the laboratory.
I held the current experimental plan for the Magic Source Body Cultivation Method, observing several young girls who were trying it out.
They were using the Rebirth Incubation spell as a basis to create a synergy with a Magic Source.
Currently, Instructor Belika and the others had produced five Rebirth Incubation spellbooks for us, meaning we could conduct five experiments at once.
The Rebirth Incubation spellbook had already incorporated inspiration obtained from the Magic Source, along with insights I had derived from the Self-Awakened Body Cultivation totem, expressed through the original rune ritual framework.
It was already on the edge of an unconventional sequence derivative, and the effects of this resurrection spell could clearly be distinguished from the path my reincarnation and rebirth had taken.
This incubation was not the same as flesh-and-bl**d incubation and did not resemble the flesh-based incubation of Abyss Demons.
Combining the thought of the initial witch transformation from the Magic Source, the current incubation was leaning towards a kind of spell cocoon incubation.
It was a continuous “resurrection state.”
In this state, one could intervene in the essence of life itself.
This was known as soul material.
The soul and soul material are, in fact, the essence of life; one is a transformed state, while the other is a form born from the world.
But being able to intervene in the essence of life also meant that the Magic Source Body Cultivation Method was almost halfway to success.
All that was needed was to use the Rebirth Incubation to rewrite a person’s essence of life, or to transform a person’s essence of life, turning their external body into a physique adapted to the Magic Source. This would mark the success of the first threshold of the Magic Source Body Cultivation Method.
However, this adaptation still could not reach the level of self-generated magic that relies entirely on one’s own bearing of the Magic Source.
It could still only rely on the Earth Vein Shackles to fulfill the bearing, so the limit of 10,000 Magic Source could not be eliminated.
The final achievement this Rebirth Incubation needed to modify was… establishing a complete pathway connecting the Magic Source with one’s essence of life.
Only with this connection could it rely on the Magic Source as a base and incorporate the original rune ritual parsed from my self-generated magic talent.
This would allow a person’s essence of life to be transformed into a form of self-generated magic.
So, essentially, it was about finding a method to subtly influence the essence of life, constructing self-generated magic atop the essence of life through external and controllable means, and then this construction’s ability on the essence of life could reflect back onto the body’s talents.
Self-generated magic is a physique, a talent physique that generates magic.
Its essence is the “essence of life,” which is a capability concerning “soul material.” Therefore, to possess it, no matter how one changes the body, such efforts would only be superficial; transforming the essence of life is the fundamental solution.
The capability of self-generated magic is constructed upon the Self-Awakened Body Cultivation, deriving from body cultivation itself, so a completely new body cultivation model is the root of generating self-generated magic.
At least for now, I have not discovered a second path; even if I did, I wouldn’t attempt it. At least, until I’ve succeeded on the path of body cultivation, I won’t deviate, focusing on one thing is the shortcut to success.
With such a clarification, many matters became quite transparent, and the tasks at hand became straightforward.
As for why no extraordinary witches had accomplished this?
It was because the most crucial step in finding a way to give birth to self-generated magic had yet to be achieved by any witch.
To accomplish this, those extraordinary witches would need to abandon the self-generated magic they “automatically” obtained through upgrading to extraordinary. They would have to rely on their own abilities to generate self-generated magic talent; without accomplishing this, they couldn’t understand how to give birth to it.
Another reason I was more suited to study it than any witch was that… I had the totem!
This totem was not just of self-generated magic; it was a combined totem of Self-Awakened Body Cultivation and self-generated magic.
With a complete system of “origin” and “structure,” who could be more suited than me to study it?
I can confidently say, aside from those great beings from the truth witches who originally created self-generated magic, there was basically no one else.
And just as I was preparing to write new inspirations and thoughts for the derived book of Rebirth Incubation based on the current stage of the experiment, my Great Knowledge Tree received a message, forcing me to stop my actions.
As a spell image illuminated, Principal Mei’s communication image appeared in the laboratory.
With the commotion on my side, many turned their curious gazes toward me, but upon seeing the Principal’s figure, they instinctively halted their movements.
After all… this was the Principal!
“Sister Mei, is there something you need?”
“Oh~ still in the laboratory?”
Principal Mei glanced around; in her communication view, she could see my surroundings. I could too, but due to being in the lab, it was set up to show only the communicative party’s view and the part of the real environment nearby, roughly the size of a person, moving accordingly.
“Have you achieved any results?”
“Ah~ as for results, not yet; after all, this is not like the previous research, the difficulty has jumped significantly.”
“Not unexpected; however, don’t be anxious about this,” Principal Mei comforted, being well aware that the current research indeed differed greatly from previous ones.
The hardest work previously done by Xiao Han was merely the Great Spellbook, something witches could manage to produce over several hundred to a thousand years. What Xiao Han was doing now was in a field no witch had produced before; it was certainly an enormous leap…
“No worries, I’m not anxious; being impatient won’t yield results.”
“I’m glad you can maintain that mentality,” Principal Mei said with a smile.
She was just afraid Xiao Han would claim she already had results. If Xiao Han had results that quickly… then the witches in the experimental area should just give up their own projects and topics and assist Xiao Han instead, as that would be too promising!
“So, what’s the matter with you contacting me this time? Or has my revelation that I’m not dead generated some big issue?” I inquired, worried it would cause trouble; that would not be good.
However, the mastermind behind this incident seemed not to be me… Principal Mei and the others were involved too.
“These are all trivial matters; don’t worry, Xiao Han, just treat it like you’re listening to barking dogs,” Principal Mei casually stated; those so-called protests were meaningless. All truths are written atop absolute strength, and if they had the absolute strength plus reasoning on their side, being reasoned with would be a light matter.
“That’s good; I’m not fond of the current atmosphere of the academy network, so I generally don’t pay much attention to the hot events above, and I still have many proper matters to handle.”
“You just keep your own pace. However, my sudden contact with you shouldn’t be considered a disturbance, right? Do you have some free time?”
“Of course!” I replied.
Unless it were a critical moment, like when I was perfecting the spellbook, I always had free time otherwise.
If I didn’t have time, it would genuinely be impossible to contact me by any means; that’s not an exaggeration.
I’m not afraid of interruptions of inspiration because I have the Great Knowledge Tree; the synchronization of memory and knowledge allows me to quickly reenter that feeling. Plus, the power of body cultivation enables me to enter an optimal bodily state anytime, such as unity of knowledge and action, or a tranquil heart, etc. I previously had a spellbook on unity of knowledge and action, but that spellbook has been nearly integrated into the instinct of body cultivation.
But as for inspiration, if it can go uninterrupted, that’s naturally the best; that state of spontaneous inspiration arising from oneself and consciousness is far superior to what can be achieved through self-regulation.
“Just curious, is there something you need, Sister Mei?”
“Of course, I’m here to collect the benefits I extorted from other academies,” Principal Mei replied with a smile.
“Oh! Splitting the spoils!” I instantly understood.
“Splitting the spoils sounds bad! This is the compensation they provided, your mental damages fee!” Principal Mei corrected, “Come to my office for a moment; the items are quite good, but I’ll keep you in suspense for now.”
“Eh? Alright, then…”
I didn’t press further; after all, people understood that keeping finances private is essential. Although everyone in the laboratory were friends, no one wanted things to get awkward because of some items.
After hanging up with Principal Mei, several people in the lab approached me. This was their first time seeing the Principal in this light, so it was quite an eye-opener.
“Um, as you all saw, I have to excuse myself for a bit. Please keep an eye on the Rebirth Incubation experiment and contact me immediately if anything unexpected occurs.” I quickly handed over my tasks, “Also, regarding the path derived from the Rebirth Incubation spellbook, I’ve proposed some ideas for you to take a look at or try.”
“Don’t worry, Sister Xiao Han, we’ll handle it here!”
“Right, right, Sister Xiao Han, go get your mental damages fee!”
“I’m leaving now!” I smiled and briefly said goodbye to everyone before departing.
Once I left, the young girls in the laboratory finally began to discuss the topic they had been hesitant to address earlier.
“Wow… I said this must be a trap designed by the Principal, and I was right!”
“Of course~ how could Sister Xiao Han easily d*e? But looking back now, Principal really has excellent acting skills.”
“I didn’t expect that Principal Mei had such a good relationship with Sister Xiao Han. If I encountered the Principal, I wouldn’t even dare to speak.”
“See~ That’s the difference! The moment you speak, it’s ‘the Principal’; Sister Xiao Han calls her ‘Sister Mei’! Sweeten your tongue a bit!”
After an energetic round of gossip and chat, they resumed their research.
After all, they were not people who couldn’t tell the occasion; within the atmosphere of the laboratory, serious matters took precedence. Moreover, their instructor was conducting her own research on projects and subjects, which meant being overly unserious could lead to lectures.
“Can you give me a copy of that note left by Xiao Han?”
“I want a copy too.”
“Whatever, I’ll go print a few copies together.”
“No… you could just upload the Great Knowledge Seed and share it with us, couldn’t you?”
“Right! Sorry… I got a little lost…”
