Chapter 756: The Most Honorable Guest of Wanlian Arena
“Yeah, this holiday is very busy because that huge arena is under reconstruction. Tan Han has also been challenged, and it seems she will face a teaching assistant on the first day of the new students’ semester.”
“Is it that troublesome? Does she really have to accept such a challenge?” I asked, a bit confused. If it were me, I wouldn’t care at all if someone wanted to challenge me during this holiday or any other time…
“There’s no choice! Being publicly challenged at the Witch Academy means if Tan Han doesn’t accept it, people will talk behind her back. Moreover, Tan Han’s credibility, reputation, and fame are all very important… how could she possibly not accept?”
“But she’s facing a teaching assistant, right? That means… it’s kind of a bigger fish bullying a smaller one. Wouldn’t it be okay to refuse?” I continued to inquire.
“Well, at the beginning, Tan Han’s opponents were just class leaders from her own grade. But as her strength became more evident, the strength of her opponents decided to upgrade their game.” Ying Shiqian reminisced and couldn’t help but sigh.
“Then what about the teaching assistant? This progression seems logical, but the teaching assistant must have a reason to come down, right?” I followed Ying Shiqian’s thoughts.
“The teaching assistant… was actually challenged by Tan Han at first.” Ying Shiqian felt somewhat helpless recalling this, resting her left hand on her forehead. “This was a blatant scheme; the teaching assistant was abusing her power to trouble Tan Han’s friends. If Tan Han doesn’t retaliate, all her friends will be treated differently because of the teaching assistant’s targeting. Xiao Han, you’re also a teaching assistant; you should know the power a teaching assistant wields, right?”
“That kind of trick?”
After hearing Ying Shiqian say this, I realized I initially thought about how others might target Tan Han. However, if the teaching assistant personally got involved and went after her friends, it was indeed a cowardly act.
Being targeted and isolated at the Witch Academy is a terrifying thing; although it doesn’t matter much to me, it’s like the sky would fall down for others…
Even for me, my indifference comes from having adapted.
Moreover, Tan Han’s friends are inherently more than mine; she is a person good at making friends.
However… Ying Shiqian did get one thing wrong; even though I am already a teaching assistant, I actually don’t know much about the powers a teaching assistant possesses.
Mainly because I haven’t had much teaching experience with Sister Bai and haven’t taken the time to understand the academy’s boundaries, but I assume the things a teaching assistant can do are much more than imagined.
Finding ways to collaborate with others can open up even more possibilities.
“Um… I’m not saying all this to complain; if you, Xiao Han, don’t want to get involved in this, then…”
“It’s fine~” I smiled and waved my hand.
This topic was brought up by me first, and Ying Shiqian was simply following up on my question. Even though there’s a hint of hoping I could help, I didn’t mind that.
“Speaking of which, how about we go to the arena to check out Tan Han’s battle? Is she challenging today?” I suddenly suggested.
“Ah? Yes! The challenges are indeed set for these first few days of the semester, and there’s one today; otherwise, I wouldn’t be here alone for the club…”
“Then please take me to see them, okay?”
“Me? Um… I can’t; I still need to watch this…”
“Ying Shiqian, isn’t it pointless for you to stay here if no new students are joining? It’s meaningless to just guard here; why not accompany me to see Tan Han’s battle?” I smiled at Ying Shiqian, realizing the new student registration booth here was just pointless formalism.
There’s no rule stating attendance is mandatory, and this place is merely a spontaneously formed recruitment area for clubs, passed down through tradition.
“Ah? But… what if the store manager…”
“Then you can say you had to leave your post to accompany me, making a sacrifice for my sake~” I smiled and added, “Don’t forget, Tan Han’s opponent is a teaching assistant! If the opponent plays tricks, Tan Han’s side won’t have anyone to match their status; it’d be difficult.”
“That… seems to be the case… Oh well! I’ll just accept the punishment if the manager docks my wages!” Ying Shiqian suddenly stood up and slapped the table, startling those next door who were sleeping.
Soon the bystanders in the “Baking House” club noticed their leader had fled.
Leaving only an empty booth behind.
“Let’s go~ Xiao Han, I’ll take you there.” Ying Shiqian took out her broom, shaking it like a companion, some dust and debris falling from the somewhat disheveled flying broom, giving it a well-worn warrior vibe.
“Ying Shiqian’s flying broom has a battle-worn style,” I joked, pulling out my broom as well.
I hadn’t used my broom for a while during the holiday, either teleporting or strolling around, almost forgetting I was a little witch on a broom.
“Oh, don’t worry! I know a lot about flying brooms. As long as the alchemical core magic circuit isn’t broken, it can still be used. When I bought this, it was advertised as a two-in-one functional broom; very durable!”
“Is that so?” I fiddled with my broom and followed Ying Shiqian.
It turns out, even though Ying Shiqian’s broom looked battle-worn, it flew surprisingly fast.
“Are we heading to that arena?”
Flying through the air, I kept a certain distance from Ying Shiqian and casually asked.
The wind speed up in the sky was considerable, the rushing wind sound brushing past my protective spells, making everything sound somewhat muffled.
“Where else would it be… of course, it’s the largest open arena at the academy!” Ying Shiqian pointed forward.
High above, I could see there stood a giant tree.
Its branches spread out, overshadowing the entire open arena.
And it has been redesigned and modified.
The entire outdoor arena seemed to exist for this enormous Wanlian Main Network Tree, and all the mid-air equipment were replaced, replaced with a giant light projection generated by the root network of the Wanlian Main Network Tree.
Surrounding buildings and roads were also different from before, having to give way for the expansion of this massive arena.
Such a large-scale project completed in just one holiday is truly miraculous.
It was evident the whole area around the open arena was dominated by the arena’s events.
From afar, one could see exaggerated and impactful patterns, floating like giant advertisements around the arena and in the sky.
Constantly changing confrontational events ignited the primitive enthusiasm in everyone.
“Oh~ I didn’t expect the changes in this open arena to be this significant?” I said, somewhat surprised.
Although the techniques used to build this Wanlian Main Network Tree originated from my Great Spellbook’s derived techniques, and the power network architecture utilized my Field Order, seeing such a scene in person still made me marvel.
“Yes, it’s indeed very big. I was shocked when I first came after this open arena was built, but it seems this arena has been renamed to Wanlian Arena, probably related to that Wanlian Main Network Tree.”
“Ying Shiqian knows quite a bit, to even know this tree is called Wanlian Main Network Tree?”
“Of course! I’m very well informed! When I have time, I like to surf intensively on the academy’s online platforms, and I’ve heard… it seems this tree has some connection with you, Xiao Han, right?” At this moment, Ying Shiqian’s curiosity suddenly surfaced.
“Sort of; the connection is indeed quite significant. Do you want to know?”
“Is it insider information? Whatever, it’s not urgent~ Let’s go to Wanlian Arena first.” Ying Shiqian showed a hint of curiosity but didn’t ask right away, instead leading me down.
“Xiao Han, it seems you rarely come here. Don’t worry, even though I haven’t been here much since the reconstruction, I’m still familiar with the process.” Ying Shiqian noticed my curious expression and started to take on the role of a guide.
There are many different areas in the arena, like the viewing area and the challenger reception area, etc.
Not just the big main battle areas of the open arena, which are used for fighting, but there are also many closed competition areas below.
These are generally used for private battles without an audience, since not everyone is accustomed to having others watch them fight.
Of course, these areas can also be live-streamed, and if not, it’s just a private challenge.
These private challenges that have no gimmicks or profit nature are costly, as there aren’t any spectators, and one cannot set up betting, so the arena needs to make money to maintain these places.
In such an intensely contested environment, there are many costs involved, as every match can damage a lot of things, including the ground, barriers, and energy consumption of protective spells… even if there are professionals to maintain the spell grounds, don’t part-time workers need to be paid?
“Phew! Thankfully, Xiao Tan’s match hasn’t started yet; we arrived early. Luckily, it’s tickets for the main battle area, which usually aren’t fully seated. I got front-row seats!”
At this moment, Ying Shiqian ran over to me with two tickets for the viewing area.
Meanwhile, I was observing the flow arrangement in the main battle area.
It clearly indicated the main battle area divisions in the open venue, which had the most spectators, and the matches scheduled here are the most noteworthy.
I saw Tan Han’s name on it.
The arena had even designed a character frame for Tan Han, styled like an illustration, with the “half-body” and “portrait” taken from this overall illustration.
On Tan Han’s right hand was a long staff, the tip adorned with a crown-like “accessory” sealed by a sealing spell, which is the shard of “Extraordinary Knowledge” known as Absolute Zero.
I don’t know if it’s just an illusion, but this illustration of Tan Han made the long staff stand out, as if this object was silently proclaiming its status as the subject of the whole picture.
Perhaps… it wasn’t a coincidence?
“Tan Han’s code name… is called the Absolute Cold Wand? To use the weapon she possesses as her code name and title, that…” At this point, I stopped, realizing weapons carrying more renown than people isn’t something to be proud of.
Ying Shiqian, being wise to such matters, naturally picked up on my unspoken words. “There’s no way; Xiao Tan should have her own pride, but she encountered an unwarranted enemy at an unsuitable stage. She has to find a way to utilize any means she can.”
“I understand Tan Han’s predicament; thank you.” I took the ticket Ying Shiqian handed over. “By the way, do we have to wait only in the viewing area for Tan Han to go on stage?”
“Well, we can’t help that; there’s no way to let us into the contestant waiting area. If everyone could go there, contestants would be overwhelmed before their matches.” Ying Shiqian said with a hint of helplessness.
“I understand now.” I nodded.
“How about I contact the store manager directly? If she knows we’re here, she should let us through…” Ying Shiqian suggested.
“Forget it; let it be this way.” I shook my head, declining the proposal.
Then, as I held the tickets and prepared to go to the ticket-checking area to enter the viewing venue, I was stopped.
“Excuse me… Are you the teaching assistant Yang Yuelan?” The girl in charge of ticketing asked after repeatedly comparing my appearance.
“Yes, what’s the matter?” I looked at her inquiringly.
If I remember correctly, the arena’s operations seem to be overseen by an organization similar to the academy’s joint clubs.
But this background is a little more official; they often need to coordinate with the academy for various activities, such as confrontation events, strength rankings, etc. These data are available on the academy’s official website.
“Um… it’s like this; you are listed as our special guest at Wanlian Arena, and someone will be specially assigned to attend to you…”
“I just want to go in and watch a match; there’s no need to make it that complicated, right?” I inquired.
Upon learning that I wasn’t causing trouble, I sighed in relief, otherwise, I would think the arena wasn’t just undergoing a reformation.
“Well… I’m sorry… If you insist, I naturally have no authority to stop you, but if you’re willing to spare some time, the arena can provide you with higher-quality services…”
“Hey hey~ Xiao Han, your identity is so useful? You even have special services? I haven’t seen anyone get such a special treatment.”
“I didn’t expect the arena to have such arrangements.” I shrugged, not quite understanding.
But it soon crossed my mind about the things Millien had sent me, which were supposedly gifts from clubs and groups within the academy. Millien encouraged me to accept them to make things easier when navigating through the academy.
At that time, I had to stuff all those things into my storage equipment.
So, under Ying Shiqian’s gaze, I pulled out a heap of items, eventually finding a card from Wanlian Arena.
I opened the unopened thick letter and pulled out a bunch of things, including a membership card for Wanlian Arena, made of pure Aoqin, which felt quite heavy in my hand.
“Um… this should be the one.” I toyed with the Aoqin card, not expecting the arena to have such tacky color schemes.
“No, Xiao Han… you, these things… oh my god, this is a special commission letter from the All-Purpose Association… a restricted area qualification for the Witch Secret Realm… wait, Xiao Han, do you treat these things as garbage?” Ying Shiqian was about to collapse onto the ground, looking at the already accumulated sealed bags and invitations.
The two on top are just the most representative; the others… Ying Shiqian thought Xiao Han hadn’t even glanced at these things…
