Chapter 460: Separating Fortune and the Broken Extraordinary Knowledge
“Some unfamiliar faces; are you new sisters who have just rotated into the academy?” At this moment, one of the two instructors beside me looked up at Bai Yu with a slightly surprised expression. After all, most of the Extraordinary Witches in the Witch Academy have some impression of each other, and Witches have sharp memories, so some of the more sociable Witches often end up recognizing all the Witches from the Main World.
Of course, certain reclusive scholarly Witches might not recognize her either.
However, the person before me, although looking young, had a hint of fresh “naivety” that comes with newly becoming a Witch. Therefore, she speculated that this might be a newly rotated Witch come to the Main World for some fun.
“Yes, I’m Bai Yu, I used to be one of the locals from the Main World.”
Bai Yu smiled and responded a few words. After all, as fellow instructors from the Witch Academy in the Main World, there was no need to put on a cold face and give anyone attitude.
After exchanging a few simple words, Bai Yu approached the young girl, Qiu Ruxin, as if she had just noticed her.
“Your name is Qiu Ruxin, right? I’ve heard Xiao Han mention you.”
“Um…” Qiu Ruxin looked at Bai Yu with a somewhat complicated expression, unsure of what to say. Should she thank Sister Xiao Han for remembering her after she returned and even mentioned her to her girlfriend?
Although Sister Xiao Han had repeatedly mentioned that she had a girlfriend, facing her girlfriend now was a different kind of pressure.
Moreover, there was a strange sense of being targeted, and it didn’t seem like a mere illusion…
Bai Yu and Qiu Ruxin didn’t chat for long before it ended, as they had no common topics. Instead, Bai Yu engaged in conversation with the two instructors for a while to understand the current situation better.
Just as the enjoyable conversation was happening, another Witch arrived.
“Principal, what brings you here?” One of the instructors spoke with some surprise.
“Oh? A newcomer? Seeing you all chatting happily, I had to come check on your progress, hmm? Xiao Han is here too?” Principal Beif Alanna scanned around before spotting the unfamiliar witch, Bai Yu, as well as me.
“Yes, Principal,” I said from the side.
“Quite a coincidence.” Beif didn’t seem too surprised by my presence; she was more concerned about the Fortune Seed project. “How’s the progress?”
“It’s theoretically feasible now. If you hadn’t come, we would have started gathering experimental data soon. The current risk is manageable; we might be able to try now.”
“A bit rushed. Are you saying we can try it now?”
“Of course, we’re not newcomers to research on Fortune.” This exchange between the two instructors and the principal lacked a sense of distance; indeed, Witches who actually get things done speak with confidence.
“Since the key individuals are all here, let’s start trying. I heard Xiao Han has other matters to attend to; we should resolve this quickly,” Principal Beif said, turning her gaze to Bai Yu, her smile carrying some deeper meaning. Did she realize that Bai Yu had a relationship with Xiao Han? Had Xiao Han chased her down shortly after arriving?
“No, Principal, are you including yourself in the key individuals? Are you sure you aren’t just here to watch the show?”
“What’s wrong with that? I’m responsible for emergency handling of anomalies and unexpected situations; that’s also a pretty important position, right?” Principal Beif openly admitted that she was merely there to announce the start, with nothing else to do, labeling herself as a “safety officer,” and began to watch the action.
After all, no matter how this went, the worst-case scenario was simply that the Extraordinary Knowledge dissipated. Had she not witnessed the dissipation of Extraordinary Knowledge before?
She was already used to it; not all Extraordinary Knowledge can be turned into Great Spellbooks by Witches. Especially in the final phase of creation, when facing trials of Void Rifts, numerous Great Spellbooks would be swallowed by the void, returning the Extraordinary Knowledge in an unknown manner.
Did she really think that Mei Linde simply placed the Extraordinary Knowledge on Xiao Han to help her? She just didn’t have the confidence to recreate the Great Weakening Spell, and the same piece of Extraordinary Knowledge might create something other than the Great Weakening Spell, perhaps a Great Amplification Spell? Or even a Great Curse might be possible.
Thus, she prepared meticulously to ensure everything was foolproof. Of course, based on Principal Beif Alanna’s understanding of Mei Linde’s character, she guessed that Mei wouldn’t actually mind whether it ended up being the Great Weakening Spell; as long as she ensured the Great Spellbook she created could withstand the trial of Void Rifts, that would be enough.
Moreover, had she experimented with the Grand Wisdom Enlightenment Spell during this time?
Accumulating quite good experience from sending that Great Spellbook to a student, Principal Beif Alanna could probably conclude that she didn’t have high regard for this Great Spellbook. Exchanging it to fetch back a couple of Primordial Spell sequences was still a small profit for her.
Even if the recipient died utterly, the Great Spellbook returned to the Grand Library of the Witch World, and she could still receive some benefits from the Primordial Witches.
Of course, the primary reason she was giving away that Great Spellbook was that she hadn’t delved too deeply into research and understanding of life. The only method she had related to life was her Metamorphosis Rebirth Spellbook, which she used as a Resurrection Spell, so she didn’t want to take on the troubles associated with the Great Spellbook along with it, specifically Fool Dream.
“Ruxin, don’t be afraid. Just like earlier, if you sleep for a bit, everything will pass.”
Since the Principal had already said to start.
One of the instructors stepped forward and performed a spellcasting sign rite in front of Qiu Ruxin. Qiu Ruxin appeared drowsy, and with the gradual guidance, her consciousness fell into a deep slumber.
This was not ordinary consciousness hypnosis but designed to take Qiu Ruxin into a special state, facilitating the subsequent separation of the Fortune Seed.
If the next developments proceeded as they hoped, it would be best to separate it naturally. Although there was currently no way to specifically graft the Fortune Seed, it was an extremely rare “material.”
Indeed, in the extraordinary world, anything could become experimental material, and the existence of Fortune Seeds was no exception. Even if it was not a physical seed, it was precisely due to this that it was difficult to separate and equally challenging to store.
After all, this was the domain of a Small World, and they were not scholars in earth veins research. To be safe, they naturally couldn’t use the earth veins as a carrier, and even if they wanted to intercept the earth veins, no Witch here would know how to do that.
At this moment, I was standing beside Sister Bai, just observing the proceedings. After all, I was merely a “carrier,” and Sister Bai had come purely for me. If you asked Sister Bai about this line of research, she knew nothing at all.
After all, the Main World had always kept information related to fortune, scripts, and so on under wraps, only publicly releasing it before her graduation. She had woefully encountered it once and was tightly bound by contracts thereafter.
I nudged Sister Bai, pulling her a little closer, and she instinctively wrapped her arm around my shoulder.
Both Sister Bai and I were watching everything happening in front of us, similarly increasing our insights. After all, at this level, observing is a form of learning that is no joke.
At this moment, the threads of fortune had already appeared, resembling chains extending between heaven and earth, binding the Fortune Seed.
Even without using Spirit Vision, I could see the faint golden threads nearby. However, what my eyes perceived was not the fortune itself but the interference of reality as the fortune was being tightened through artificial intervention, forming a visible energy encapsulating the trajectory of fortune.
This fluctuation was pulsing, so these visible golden threads would temporarily freeze into place and then rapidly dissipate, only to reemerge and dissolve in the next moment, much like frames of a movie flipping by.
Yet, from the perspective of Real Time, the pulling of the threads of fortune was continuous.
Previously, I understood that fortune did not belong to any extraordinary energy, but it appeared that fortune could interfere with extraordinary energy. So, could I interpret fortune as… the world’s will or perhaps the consciousness of the world… mental power?
However, this hypothesis and analogy lacked any evidence to support my fanciful thoughts.
For everything happening now, I just needed to watch.
The process continued for a long time; the instructors were extremely meticulous and dared not make a single mistake. This was a trial that demanded more focus than a fine surgery, and the experiment to separate the Fortune Seed was even more arduous than they had imagined; after all, theory is theory and practice is practice.
Although I couldn’t see or understand the current progress of the experiment, I could sense the state of the fortune at this moment. These fortunes were fluctuating violently, snapping at times. The instructors seemed to be engaged in a mysterious competition with some existence, and from Qiu Ruxin’s ugly expression, it was clear that her condition was not good.
“Ugh… Ah!”
This was already the umpteenth time Qiu Ruxin had emitted such an involuntary lament. Her body had become the main battlefield between the Witches and the world’s will, but this scream was particularly intense.
It sounded as if it came from the depths of her heart, and the wailing noise resonated outward, causing a surge of fortune that shook the threads of fortune, breaking the majority of them in that instant…
However, Qiu Ruxin’s consciousness was still awake; she widened her eyes as if her awareness had returned to reality. It was like she had just had a nightmare, remaining apprehensive, as though experiencing it firsthand. Eventually, she could only gasp for breath. As her chest heaved, she noticed her throat felt slightly hoarse.
“Alright…”
With that single word, the last thread of fortune in my view was completely severed.
And I wondered, if the excavators had still been present earlier, wouldn’t it have been easier to separate the fortune seed then? But I quickly discarded that thought.
Because at that time, Qiu Ruxin indeed had very little fortune in her Fortune Seed, but had the instructors just severed the threads of fortune?
No, I felt it was more appropriate to call them the shackles of fortune. This truly… everything had its shackles…
The world’s desire for control over its children was truly… overwhelming.
At that moment, the emerald-green “Tears of the Wild Plant” she wore around her neck emitted a crisp cracking sound.
“Attention! The seed has separated from the body; the item has shattered!” At the instructor’s warning, another instructor prepared to assist.
And I realized that this was my time to step in. I could just stand by and observe; the only thing I needed to do when the extraordinary item shattered was to function as a container. I didn’t need to take any action, just follow the instructors’ orders.
When the instructors saw me step forward, they pulled my arm to move along.
At this moment, the emerald-green Tears of the Wild Plant was covered in fine cracks, visible from this distance.
Bang!
With a light sound, the pendant exploded into countless fine dust, refracting delicate brilliance under the beams of light, reflecting numerous illusory runes.
“Wait! The Extraordinary Knowledge is also shattering!” The instructors, now realizing, expressed surprise. Although they had prepared for the inability to contain the Extraordinary Knowledge, they hadn’t expected the world’s will to have such a contingency, setting the stage for a last-ditch effort!
They didn’t realize that the relationship between fortune, Extraordinary Knowledge, and the ritual of extraordinary items within this extraordinary object was like this. When the fortune shattered in the extraordinary item, the item was destroyed, along with the deconstruction of the Extraordinary Knowledge, preparing to return to the void…
“I’ll handle it!”
The principal, who had been waiting for the right moment, looked serious. She could accept failure, but not the results of direct failure without any effort. This was a mistake! A careless mistake!
They hadn’t thought that a small world, just one already invaded by other worlds, just one that relied on Extraordinary Knowledge to develop, could play so many tricks against them…
They were indeed underestimating it, or rather, they had never regarded this small world as an enemy but rather a piece of easy pickings. They had been in the Main World for so long, lived so comfortably for so long, that they had forgotten the variability of the void itself…
This made her more determined to let chaos reign in the Main World; the Main World had been too comfortable for far too long. When she returned, she would make sure those conservative Witches cloaked as radicals understood what real radicalism was!
At this moment, as I realized that the dazzling brilliance was the essence of the Extraordinary Knowledge, my vision was suddenly covered by a blurry mosaic.
Countless ritual runes surged toward me at a frantic speed.
“What is this…” At the moment my consciousness cleared, I only had time to realize that my perception was leaving me. This was the absolute control over my body granted to me by Body Cultivation.
Losing my perception of the five senses meant my consciousness was detaching from my body—ordinarily put… it was like fainting.
As my five senses faded, my vision turned to darkness—no, it was void; the concept of even darkness did not exist here. I seemed to be trapped in the depths of consciousness, continually moving forward until… “sight” was blocked by a giant tree, not just blocking the path but… this was the destination my consciousness needed to reach.
“How did you get here?”
This was a familiar voice. It was my own voice…
……
At this moment, in the outside world.
“Indeed… the Extraordinary Knowledge has not directly returned to the void because of the world’s will… Wait! Something’s not right!” Upon seeing that the Extraordinary Knowledge did not immediately feedback to the void due to the world’s will, Beif Alanna didn’t have time to rejoice.
Before she could celebrate for long, a wave of energy caused her expression to change dramatically!
“Everyone, move! Bai Yu, you too! Don’t go near!” Principal Beif shouted, but she dashed forward herself.
At that moment, a distortion rippled through the space above me, and in the next moment, a deep rift opened up in the fragile space.
“Damn it, is it really a Void Rift? What has the world’s will done to call forth a Void Rift to reclaim the Extraordinary Knowledge?” Beif Alanna’s expression turned grim, but she soon realized this Void Rift was formed after the Extraordinary Knowledge itself had opened its way, leading to a sigh…
It seemed unrelated to the world’s will, but this also indicated that this Extraordinary Knowledge had not recognized this container and had autonomously deconstructed itself to return to the void…
As for Xiao Han using the Extraordinary Knowledge to construct a Great Spellbook?
She immediately dismissed that theory. Not to mention that Xiao Han was incapable of such a feat, but… which Great Spellbook would open just one Void Rift?
Even the act of creating this one Void Rift was exceedingly difficult, let alone producing a second one.
However, precautions should still be taken; after all, this area was already within the range of the Main World’s void. It was said that the last time Mei created a Great Spellbook, a certain individual had managed to slip into the Main World.
“Someone, go check the void; let’s not allow any wandering entities from the nearby void to catch scent of the Void Rift and seize our bounty. If there’s any, just deal with them violently. I’ll smooth out the Void Rift.”
