Chapter 884: Shi Ruizhi: Can I also be a Little Witch?
My words once again left Shi Ruizhi in silence, but it wasn’t that my words had any magical power that awakened her understanding.
A person cannot grow simply by relying on the motivational quotes they hear or the doctrines from others.
In my past, I understood many things, but I still couldn’t change a lot. Those so-called resonating motivational words, in the end, were just phrases meant to comfort oneself.
These were used to soothe one’s emotions, rather than guiding someone to think.
“Alright~ The motivation time is over. Regardless of whether you’ve thought about it or not, you are already here, right?” I clapped my hands, the crisp sound breaking the quiet atmosphere.
“Now, even if you want to regret it, it’s already too late. Oh~ you even brought your roommate with you,” I said, looking at Shi Ruizhi and the other person with a somewhat firm and playful tone.
“Eh? Me? Do I count?” Fang Zhi blinked, pointing a finger at herself.
“Of course, Shi Ruizhi has already stepped onto the seesaw; do you think you can run away too? You just count as an additional guest; the focus… naturally should be on Shi Ruizhi.”
“Me?” Shi Ruizhi pointed at herself in confusion.
“Yes, weren’t you very curious earlier why I was so concerned about you? I don’t know much about others; maybe I simply value your powers, like your self-generated magic power, but I’m not like that. To be precise, it’s not just that.” I said, intending to lay my cards on the table with her.
It’s like the principle of suspicion. She had already made this decision; in fact, there was no turning back now. This was an inner recognition, with no looking back.
Otherwise, why do some people in the world know they are wrong but still choose to—continue being wrong?
Perhaps this is the meaning of choice for a person.
“So you are…” Shi Ruizhi asked curiously.
She had asked this question before, but at that time, she didn’t get a clear answer. She didn’t expect the other party would bring it up at this time.
“Of course it’s for another reason.” I shifted my position to look at Shi Ruizhi, this time she did not shy away, “Are you curious about what actually happened during that incident in the experiment? You should only know that the injury reached the essence of life, but you might not know how it was inflicted, and to what extent it affected your life.”
“I am indeed curious; a lot of what’s uploaded on the academy’s site is censored, but even so, I still feel it was bloody…” Shi Ruizhi began.
Regarding her injuries, she had indeed thought about it; after all, this was a major matter concerning herself. How could she not care?
“It was indeed very bloody because in that incident, your essence of life was completely deconstructed, meaning that from the level of soul material, you were no longer yourself, but a mass of indistinguishable soul material. Your consciousness was distorted into an indescribable state due to the chaotic perceptions and powers of the soul material, which triggered your high-intensity physical undying state to go out of control, leading to those bloody scenes you witnessed in a human form.”
Hearing my description, Shi Ruizhi’s consciousness trembled. That fear emanating from the deepest part of her soul made her instinctively want to avoid delving further into it.
“The principle of undying relies on the life level of soul material. As long as you identify yourself as human, with consciousness, information, self, etc., regardless of the severity of your injuries, you can use undying to complete the repair of your body. However, once you are no longer yourself, your flesh will go out of control. In fact, at that point, you could be considered… completely dead.”
“Your only way out is to wait until the soul material enters the earth vein cycle, becoming the material for new life.”
“But I’m still alive… it was the Academy Head, right? The Academy Head intervened?” Shi Ruizhi asked. No matter how terrifying my words were, the fact was… she was still alive.
“Well… you can think that way if you like. I was also on-site and witnessed the entire process of you going from being declared dead to coming back to life.” I slowly explained to her, and I didn’t correct her for what she got wrong; after all, I indeed… you think I can be certain
I was actually there and saw the whole process.
“One could say your resurrection counts as an unverified miracle, and fortunately, this miracle succeeded. Do you know about the Soul’s Great Topic?”
“The Soul’s Great Topic? I know about that!” Fang Zhi interjected unexpectedly, “The Soul Witch’s Great Topic refers to the transformation and elevation of the essence of life from soul material after being promoted to an Extraordinary Witch!”
“That is also correct,” I nodded and affirmed her strong statement.
It’s like the Witch’s Great Topic is for promoting to an Extraordinary Witch, and the Soul’s Great Topic aims to elevate the soul. This pragmatic interpretation isn’t a problem, as it represents the minimum requirements and goals of the Witch Academy.
However, this is merely the most fundamental pursuit of becoming a witch, which I had long ago overlooked.
“The miracle on Shi Ruizhi is also related to the Soul’s Great Topic; it was to save her life…” At this point, I turned to look at Shi Ruizhi, “Without the prerequisite of being promoted to an Extraordinary Witch, you forcibly transformed your own soul material, elevating it to soul essence, so… now you can be considered a soul life.”
“What?” Upon hearing this, Shi Ruizhi was taken aback, as even she did not expect to have inadvertently become… a soul life?
“Do you know what this represents?”
“What does it represent?” At this moment, those present were already following the train of thought that I laid out, all waiting for me to reveal the answer.
“A simple example, an Extraordinary Witch is a group of extraordinary beings that possess self-generated magic power and are also of soul essence. So… do you understand why I value you so much now?”
As I said this, Tan Jun and the others reacted immediately!
Self-generated magic power!
Soul essence!
Does that mean Shi Ruizhi is just a step away from being a real Extraordinary Witch?!
Suddenly, Fang Zhi next to Shi Ruizhi gasped!
“Coincidentally… I am also a soul life with self-generated magic power, so… many Witch Sisters like to call me a Little Witch because I haven’t been promoted to Extraordinary yet.”
“Then am I also a Little Witch? Wait… no! You are also of soul essence? You also died?!” Shi Ruizhi wanted to ask something else but suddenly realized, blurted it out!
“Principally speaking… I am an honorary Little Witch not recognized by the Witch Race. I signed a Little Witch contract. However, with your current state… it can barely be called a Little Witch, but I wouldn’t recommend you refer to yourself that way since other Extraordinary Witches may not recognize you.”
“As for me having died… heh heh~ Of course, I’ve died, and not just once.”
“Eh… I remembered… that time uploaded on the academy’s site!” Ying Shiqian suddenly thought of that incident during the last hunting mission.
“Mhm~ I didn’t deny it, just smiled in response. As for the truth, it’s actually not that important.”
“This isn’t the point; the point has always been Ruizhi. The Witch Academy has once again seen a student with a configuration similar to mine. This will frighten them.”
“But… I’m already in ninth grade…” Shi Ruizhi spoke weakly.
“Ninth grade? What does that mean? There’s still over a year and a half left until graduation! Even after graduating, this won’t be the end. Don’t forget, I’ve been here since enrollment, and it hasn’t been that long.”
“That… that is different…”
“Of course it’s different. I could say this is the upper limit of an individual’s growth efficiency, but you have to believe in yourself. At least this will ensure you won’t fall too far behind me.”
“Then… I’ll do my best…” Shi Ruizhi said with a somewhat teary expression, her tone full of forced determination.
She had learned a lot over these past few days. Though she hadn’t made much progress academically, she had caught up on quite a bit in recent matters.
This also included the rise of the teaching assistant before her.
Now, many perceptive people no longer described this teaching assistant merely as a “genius.”
Instead, it was “incomprehensible, no comment.”
Because they had never witnessed the full power of Xiaoyuan.
They knew that the defeat they witnessed under this instructor, Tan Jun, is now capable of overpowering most people in the Witch Academy, so how could she herself be weak?
Moreover, this teaching assistant had clones left in the arena. Yes, she had learned for the first time that the girl before her actually had so many clones!
And those clones functioning in “standby mode” were sufficient to act as gatekeepers in the rankings of the arena ladder… This was not a mere display of combat strength, but a manifestation of battle awareness!
Those who failed to rush to the top ranks in the strength network competition had no right to confront this instructor.
Otherwise, one simple phrase from the other party, “You can’t even defeat my clones, what worth do you hold?” would break a multitude of people’s confidence.
“Um… I have a question I’d like to ask…”
“Mhm~ Ask away. Is there any other question?” I smiled and prompted.
“If… I mean if I hadn’t chosen to find you, would you not have told me about this matter?”
“Naturally! Since you don’t intend to take this path, knowing more will only make you unhappier, and it will complicate your daily life. It’s a simple reasoning.”
Isn’t it?
Also…
Honestly, even if that’s the case, upon returning to a normal life, if you show qualities that are different from others, you will never go unnoticed. Perhaps you will even experience some of the suppression I’ve faced since enrollment.
“Okay… then never mind…” Shi Ruizhi sighed with a wry smile, as she did not hope for a legendary rise like that of the teaching assistant before her.
Sometimes, self-doubt comes from within, even if one achieves something, they instinctively avoid it.
In this regard, Shi Ruizhi and I were quite similar back then.
Even in my current state, I haven’t changed this bad habit; and now this bad habit has taken on another term, called “humility.”
After finishing discussing the topic of the soul, this heavy subject seemed to pass, and then we chatted about other matters, making the atmosphere a bit more harmonious.
In the midst of it all, the store manager brought a few new employees to the front of the baking house.
These few club members were precisely those from the support group, and they immediately recognized Millien, the big sister in their hearts.
Only then did they realize my clone’s identity upon introduction.
I must say, I won’t deal with people who have a fanaticism for faith really well.
One thing worth praising is that… they truly are willing to listen to me, even if they are overly excited, they can still take it in.
So this meeting quickly turned into a meet-up for the support group… the scene became somewhat uncontrolled as more and more people showed up.
However, with the passage of time, they gradually calmed down from their initial frenzy.
And our conversation thus turned to the secret Tan Jun was about to enter.
Tan Jun had already agreed to collaborate with the All-purpose Workshop and the Witch Secret Realm Association, establishing a preliminary alliance for the Witch Academy.
Naturally, she obtained firsthand material regarding this secret.
As for whether the club was withholding information… that remains uncertain.
But judging by the intelligence mentioned in some of this information, this secret certainly isn’t something comparable to those easily accessible college secrets.
This secret involves extremely dangerous conditions, and even… has a rescue mission!
Yes, that’s right, a rescue mission!
A small team exploring has lost contact in this secret snowstorm. If no one rescues them, even resurrection is impossible!
They had also applied for rescue from the academy’s mentors, but all they received was a ruthless rebuke letting them know to handle it themselves.
After all… dying in the secret realm is still their own result. Rescuing them would only lead to revival, which poses no “danger,” so naturally, it is left for the students to handle.
What Tan Jing and I talked about was yet another matter.
That is, this secret realm; the Witch Secret Realm Association and the All-purpose Workshop seem to intend to abandon the previous shard ticket system.
In other words, the club plans to lower the entry barrier to allow more people inside, but these individuals still need to undergo a review.
“So why do you think they are doing this?” I curiously asked.
“Cannon fodder… they need a large number of people to quickly expand the map of early exploration, and they are also buying back useful information discovered by those people at high prices while updating exploration equipment positioning. If lost in the snowstorm, they can offer rescue services, but it’s not free.”
“That’s good~ Aren’t the buybacks still mandatory and bound by a Witch contract? And the rescue fees are likely not low?”
“Yes, I think so too. This spreads out the risk, allowing more people to participate and work for them; if unlucky, even the rescue fees can offset their purchases.”
“Good calculations~ So why are you entering this secret realm?” I curiously inquired.
“Of course, it’s for other shards. It’s a closed beast fighting arena.”
,,, As long as the secret realm isn’t harmed, a corpse hidden beneath the snow will never be found.” Unexpectedly, Tan Jun suddenly said this.
Because she actually saw through the risks faced this time; let alone revival, or that students cannot harm each other.
Mentors mentioned they wouldn’t manage those areas, even if there is a death, they would not get involved.
Perhaps… this is the first script guided by the academy, with 【Extraordinary Knowledge】 shards linked through fortune leading to their gathering… I didn’t want to think any deeper; since this might be the first node of the script, it is wiser for me not to take guesses.
I remember that the intelligence materials I read back then mentioned that many of those shards were indeed in the hands of those Child of Fortune, you know.
