Chapter 741: Breakthrough of the First Stage of the Magic Source Body Cultivation Method
Several days passed.
The topic of the expansion and renovation of the outdoor arena within the academy gradually got overshadowed by another topic.
That was the sudden appearance of over a hundred “Teaching Assistants Xiao Han” in the Witch Academy!
At the beginning, people treated this topic with a light-hearted attitude, and many doubted the authenticity of the photos circulating online.
Once they saw those figures from the internet appearing in the Witch Academy, all dressed in matching uniforms and guiding new students through the enrollment process…
Those doubts were finally quelled, sparking a craze among students in the academy to “check in.” Those who stayed on campus during the holiday were truly fortunate.
Gradually, after repeated check-ins and close observations, many discovered that these “Teaching Assistants Xiao Han” were not the real Xiao Han herself, but rather a clone of that legendary assistant.
Many online claimed that these clones were likely “byproducts” of the Witch Academy’s attempt to revive this legendary little witch.
Some even went as far as to say the real Xiao Han was dead, and these Xiao Hans were not clones, suggesting that even the first one to present herself was just a substitute!
A clone of that little witch!
Though this theory had many flaws, considering it came from the academy’s online community instead of reality, those who brought up such claims, and even supported them, could be somewhat understood.
While many suggested that these clones might have existed since last semester, the encounters they had with this Teaching Assistant Xiao Han while exploring the Expanding Realm seemed to provide evidence.
However, posts from those analyzing the situation seriously didn’t garner much traction.
Students surfing the academy’s website preferred more thrilling and sensational “crisis” titles, as this atmosphere better suited the fun-seeking vibe typical of the Witch Academy.
Some individuals may get a bit out of hand, but that’s alright; the Witch Academy is a remarkably “inclusive” extraordinary academy. Even organizations as contradictory as the “Witch Club” can exist, so what is there that they wouldn’t dare to say?
Would that assistant really confront them in reality over the posts and comments they made online and give them a slap?
No, at least that’s what they believed.
They would merely get scolded by the online support squad for Xiao Han to the point of wanting to log off.
After all, many still remembered one thing: the academy’s online forum requires real-name registration. You could hide out off-campus during the break, but once it ends, if you have the guts, don’t come back to school…
This online brawl in the academy also saw interference from Millien. Although she claimed to be low-key for personal refinement, that didn’t mean she didn’t have a temper.
Moreover, there was already a large number of people spontaneously defending Xiao Han without even her instruction, and with her guidance, those naysayers couldn’t utter a single word.
However, the matter of these clones repeatedly “wandering” around the academy continued.
Thanks to such a professional presence, many seniors found they could enjoy the thrill of filling their Magic Source after one round, passing the rest of the cumbersome tasks to those self-proclaimed clones of Teaching Assistant Xiao Han, facing at most a scolding while skipping all those troublesome procedures.
Of course, not just the seniors still in the academy discussed these topics; the new students who had just arrived at the Witch Academy were equally curious about this rumored “senior.” Although they were told that the one leading them was merely a clone, they were unable to tell; she seemed just like an ordinary senior.
She could converse, communicate, and had her own emotions and thoughts.
Except for the figures that looked exactly like this senior, there was nothing to prove that this was indeed a clone.
This undoubtedly delivered a significant shock to the new students who were just getting acquainted with the extraordinary.
An organization emerged on the academy’s forum that specifically “educates” those who arrived early or were coaxed into school.
They shared the stories about the “legendary Xiao Han” to inspire the new students.
Even more remarkably, the “Teaching Assistant Xiao Han” who received them was just one year older than them, now a genuine teaching assistant.
She was undoubtedly an unparalleled genius since the founding of the Witch Academy!
Moreover, they continually tempted the new students to surpass this legendary prodigy; the academy’s online community was relentless in seeking entertainment.
The new students were left in a state of confusion.
However, what those new students didn’t expect was that their yet-to-be-met grade director was already planning their new student competition, which would likely involve this “legendary senior” they had been discussing.
But these rumors circulating on the academy’s online community did not affect me.
After all, I rarely visited the academy’s website and had no need to vent any negative emotions.
The Witch Academy consisted entirely of girls; although most students were quite normal, there would inevitably be some bad apples.
Faced with such individuals, it was best to minimize contact.
Spending more time with worthwhile people and purifying one’s social circle revealed that there is indeed much beauty in life; the negativity of life is ultimately just a part of one’s experiences, not the entirety.
I was currently in the laboratory.
Beside me were seven or eight clones, like me, who had been helping in the laboratory lately, to some extent boosting the experimental efficiency for Yi Rui and the others.
I was present here because of one thing.
That was, the Magic Source Body Cultivation Method had achieved its first successful case!
However, this instance was not Yi Rui; in fact, the success of this experiment was entirely coincidental.
The successful one was called Cen Tan.
I was quite familiar with her, as she had revealed her identity as a biological alchemist from the very beginning and demonstrated remarkable professionalism.
Now that she had succeeded, while her luck accounted for much of it, her own ability should not be overlooked; the success of this instance relied on all factors being indispensable, and luck was merely a seasoning to this success.
Everyone truly congratulated her from the bottom of their hearts.
Even I couldn’t help but applaud in cheer.
However, the joy in the laboratory was short-lived; Cen Tan even voluntarily relinquished the honor, as this was everyone’s joint effort, and she couldn’t just take all the credit for being the first to succeed.
Despite this, I still decided that Millien would help book a hotel to celebrate the occasion properly that night.
It was a toast to this stage of success in the experiment.
During this gathering, we also brought along the instructors, including Instructor Belika; Sister Bai was also present.
Besides Sister Bai, although other instructors were nominally there to observe the laboratory, they had been significantly helpful during this time.
I remembered their contributions and care.
That night, everyone indulgently let loose for a rare evening.
They weren’t like me, who preferred to suppress myself for long periods; constantly engaging in experiments and data collection, whether in data analysis or practical experiments, was indeed a taxing and exhausting endeavor.
Tomorrow, we even took a day off, although many weren’t keen on having a break at this time, I ultimately settled this matter.
The topics we were discussing were not compulsory nor time-limited. We strived together only for a shared goal.
But proper rest was equally important.
I even thought about whether to take this opportunity to invite everyone for some relaxation during the holiday.
“Whew~” I went to the window, blowing in the cool night breeze, trying to clear my mind.
When I opened my eyes again, a figure had appeared beside me.
“Hope I didn’t interrupt you?” Yi Rui held a wine glass, and upon seeing me open my eyes, she showed a slight smile.
“Of course not. Is there something you need?”
“In this atmosphere… I should have no trouble to impose on you, I just wanted to check your stress; it must be rather high, right?”
“It’s fine; I’m different from them. I’m not good at socializing or speaking; in any situation, when I chat, it often leads to serious matters. You must have something you want to ask me, right? Something about self-generated magic?”
“Actually, I’ve noticed it for quite a while, yes, it’s indeed that matter.” Yi Rui was taken aback by my words for a moment, eventually giving a helpless smile as if wanting to brush over the current atmosphere.
“Do you want to ask if I have any clues about it?”
“Actually, I hadn’t planned to ask so directly.”
“Then you still want to know, right?” I shrugged nonchalantly, as I had not been idle during this time.
I admitted that the experiment on self-generated magic was indeed more challenging than I had anticipated. Initially, with my Self-Awakened Body Cultivation and self-generated magic, along with the Reincarnation Rebirth Spell, I naively opened this topic and brought them along.
Looking back now… although the difficulty hadn’t diminished, it adhered to the saying that merely thinking about many matters is useless; only by putting them into action, maximizing your limits, do you earn the right to say, “I can’t accomplish this,” and any other excuses are mere fluff.
“Yes, since you’ve brought it up, I’ll follow up with some questions; even if you say this is something we can’t achieve with our power…”
“Lately, I’ve been trying traditional body cultivation routes with Sister Bai, the normal path of body cultivation.” I interrupted Yi Rui, as well as the faint sense of hesitance in her heart.
She wasn’t the leader of this experiment, so such thoughts weren’t merely her own uncertainties; they were also a way to provide me an escape route.
But I didn’t need an escape route.
As of now, I had not failed.
Just as Yi Rui and the others had reached the first phase of success, so had I!
“Normal body cultivation, practicing body techniques is the only way for most individuals to embark on the path of body cultivation. Completing body technique training resonates with something called Martial Arts Runes, runes; for you, this concept mainly appears in spell ceremonies, yet, its traces are far broader than anticipated.”
“Martial Arts… Runes?!” Yi Rui was drawn in by my words, instinctively ignoring what I’d just said.
In fact, she had also hesitated whether to voice her earlier thoughts; after all, giving up sometimes only requires a single word to trigger everything to collapse.
But now Yi Rui realized that Xiao Han seemed more resolute than she had expected!
“Body techniques are a means to influence the physical body, which also serves as a mutual communication channel reflecting the essence of life. Systematized martial arts body cultivation runes can help me better understand what body cultivation is; it aids in comprehending the deeper layers of self-awakening body cultivation, and this feedback of understanding can be derived from totems in a more indescribable form.”
“So… you actually have a line of thought now?”
“Right. I’m continually deepening my understanding of self-awakening body cultivation. Perhaps you don’t realize this, but those so-called totems aren’t singularly connected to self-awakening body cultivation or self-generated magic; rather, they are viewed as two nodes, thus creating a symbiotic totem.”
“Roughly analogous to a composite spell ceremony as a whole, structuring a higher-level spell?” Yi Rui strained to comprehend this metaphor.
“Hmm… although I don’t wish to dampen your spirits, you can understand it this way; just know, the deeper my understanding of self-awakening body cultivation becomes, the more I can grasp the composition of self-generated magic, and when I have fully understood its composition and method of emergence, the Magic Source Body Cultivation Method becomes the carrier of this approach.”
“Listening to you, it seems that your progress is actually faster than ours, right?” Yi Rui fell silent for a long while, seemingly considering my words or attempting to grasp the metaphor I was making.
But they did not continue this topic, as she didn’t understand it, so it was unnecessary to carry on.
Yi Rui didn’t particularly enjoy conversing with those who feigned knowledge; those individuals’ minds were filled with what I thought with no basis, hence she felt Xiao Han was the same.
“You seem surprised about this?” I asked, smiling with a teasing undertone, “I’ve noticed you seem to care more about the research on self-generated magic than I do, at least your concern and urgency are quite apparent.”
“This…”
“Sorry, it seems I made a joke that didn’t make you smile. What I intended to express was that it’s better to maintain some equanimity in research.” Seeing Yi Rui’s conflicted expression, I had to explain.
“Is that so?” Yi Rui was unsure how to respond.
However, the questions she initially wished to pose had already received answers; although she struggled to keep pace with the flow of her counterpart’s thoughts, she bore no negative feelings whatsoever.
“So this is the confidence that comes from mastering everything?”
“Of course, you should be more confident too.” I joked lightly, though I told a fib; I hadn’t yet reached the level of mastering everything, but if a lie could inspire Yi Rui, I wouldn’t mind saying another.
“The spellbook for hatching rebirth derived from your efforts has successfully broken through to the first stage of the Magic Source Body Cultivation Method. Have you considered giving it an appropriate name?”
“Me? Am I to name it? But you just…”
“If you think it’s a hassle, then go ask your friends; do you intend to deny that their efforts alongside yours don’t even compare to mine?”
“No…” Yi Rui instinctively shook her head; she was all too aware of how much they had sacrificed for this trial, from being experimental white mice to sharing the burden of research branches… hence she reflexively wanted to acknowledge everyone’s contributions.
But soon she smiled, as if realizing something, “You’re shifting the concept here; I did indeed work together with them, but… don’t you also have a part? Why separate it so distinctly? You must be one of the critical participants in naming this brand-new resurrection spell, and one who cannot be overlooked!”
“Oh, it’s because I’m not good at naming. Personally, I suggest not to consider my input.” I explained with a laugh.
