Chapter 695: If You Find Yourself in a Dilemma…
At this moment, on the other side.
“Wow… then this… Sister Xiao Han, are you sure that even that field can’t be used? If nothing can be used, then why did you sign the contract so quickly back then?”
At this time, Li Feiya, after hearing my account, confirmed in shock.
“I thought it was just the Magic Source and Spellbook that were sealed. If that field isn’t sealed, wouldn’t it be like snapping your fingers and taking out a bunch of people?”
“Exactly, any extraordinary power that exceeds the game rules will be sealed. Is there a problem?” I shrugged and continued speaking to Li Feiya, “And don’t forget, if one’s own abilities aren’t sealed, then what can the other academies seal? Would it be the same as the Witch Academy sealing the Magic Source and Spellbook? Definitely not, right～”
“That makes sense… Then, doesn’t it mean those orc guys are taking advantage of this?” Li Feiya suddenly realized, “Even if they don’t have extraordinary powers, that terrifying physical quality surely wouldn’t be restricted, right?”
“That’s indeed true… But who told them to train their muscles? The body is one’s own capital, but the physical quality of witches is not too shabby either.” After all, I clearly know that Witch Transformation essentially serves as an alternative “passive body cultivation pathway,” but its effectiveness is much weaker compared to a dedicated body cultivation system focused on physical strength.
“True, we who can be teaching assistants do have impressive physical attributes, and even if we lose our original powers, relying solely on our undying nature should be sufficient to keep us undefeated, right?”
“Undying…” Hearing Li Feiya say this, I quickly thought of this point.
Indeed, undying is a powerful trump card of a teaching assistant, but I have studied the essence of life. Although I haven’t researched the levels of life in detail, I at least have a rough understanding of it.
Undying is also excellent evidence proving that the body is merely a derivative of the essence of life.
And the “level” of the essence of life determines the various properties of this derivative body’s “self-healing capacity,” such as healing speed, efficiency, and so on.
Even the “aura” that comes from the essence of life is also a simple “attacking method” of the essence of life.
No wonder I could withstand the pressure of this life-level aura using the power of Self-Awakened Body Cultivation; in essence, it is a clash of powers of the same nature.
“Sorry, but Xiao Han, are you not at the level of undying yet?” At this moment, Li Feiya suddenly thought of something and quickly lowered her voice to ask me.
“It’s fine, I’m indeed not at the level of possessing undying.” I waved my hand casually.
Because to achieve that level, I just need to use Soul Material.
Perhaps others can directly enhance their life level of Soul Material through special methods, but I, being a soul, cannot use those methods directly.
However… I possess the Mimetic Soul technique, and I use the Mimetic Soul not to “rewrite” my own soul but to additionally “enhance” it. In that case, I can immediately approach a pseudo-extraordinary life level!
The level of life is merely about accumulation, and my Mimetic Soul can temporarily accumulate a portion that belongs to me. But that is only temporary; for me, aside from being difficult to harm and kill in battle, it serves little other purpose.
My current state is actually the best.
I can feel my life essence steadily improving bit by bit, and I don’t want to use immature methods to rush growth.
Unless I perfect the Soul Drawing, but by that time, I might have already ascended to extraordinary.
“Um… Xiao Han, is it okay for you to say this out loud? Teacher Lina didn’t mention that teaching assistants can’t interact with each other…”
“Are you worried that I’ll get into trouble with those teaching assistants in this special state?” I turned to look at Li Feiya and asked with a smile.
“Yeah, you don’t know how high your reputation was when you were in the Expanding Realm. This time the restrictions of this Power Network have indeed weakened them, but essentially, it weakens you. You originally had the Great Spellbook; many people criticized this matter, saying you got strong solely relying on that. Now that it’s sealed, and even the means to deal with them are gone, wouldn’t they want to reclaim their glory right now?”
“If they truly think like that, then they are just showing their limited ambition.” I chuckled softly as my gaze wandered to the people walking alongside us.
They seemed to be leaving, but coincidentally, many of them were heading the same way as me, actually trying to gather information about me.
“Moreover, I’m still a Body Cultivator. Even though extraordinary powers are sealed, don’t forget, I can still punch out Chi with just my fists.”
“Wow… I almost forgot! Xiao Han, you’re still a Body Cultivator! Doesn’t that mean you can still crush them?”
“Crushing them really isn’t the right term～” I waved my hand, modestly.
“Then are you planning to choose a melee profession to fully utilize your advantages? Didn’t you demonstrate many professions earlier?” Li Feiya continued to ask.
“Why? Just choose to be a witch mage. We are witches, and using magic is the path we excel in, okay?”
“Huh?”
“If you don’t understand, just assume I like using spells. How about you? What will you choose?”
“Me? Of course, I’m a witch mage too～”
“Then it’s settled! This is just a choice based on your circumstances, preferences, and will. It’s merely a decision.”
As I chatted with Li Feiya, we walked toward the Expanding Realm to familiarize ourselves with the current situation.
After all, the official start time is tomorrow morning.
At this time today, it’s actually just after the theory exam.
And while we were chatting cheerfully, a figure joined our conversation.
“This witch sister… um, you haven’t introduced yourself yet?” I looked at this somewhat familiar “young girl.” If I hadn’t felt that terrifying life level directly reaching extraordinary at that moment, I might have thought she was a senior.
“Sheril, you can call me Sister Sheril. I’ve heard of you, Xiao Han. I’ve been hearing your name almost every day recently.” This person, claiming to be Sheril, continued our conversation in a very natural tone.
“You! You’re actually a tutor? Hello! I’m Li Feiya～”
“Oh, Li Feiya.” Sheril’s interest in Li Feiya was evidently lacking; her attitude towards me was like two extremes, even to the point where saying her name seemed to convey a disinterest in attending to her.
“Um, tutor, if I’m disturbing you, you can act like I’m not here… should I leave?”
“That’s not necessary. I came over mainly to see Xiao Han.” Sheril didn’t ruthlessly send Li Feiya away but indirectly acknowledged her lack of desire to engage with her.
“I wonder what brought Sister Sheril here to find me?” I asked curiously, as she gave me a pretty good impression, although… it was simply a good impression towards me.
Looking back at my memories, I absolutely had no impression of her, nor could I recall where I’d seen her before, so her coming over this time must have been a coincidence.
However, I hesitated to use the Earth Vein Identification Technique on her, as she is an extraordinary witch; otherwise, many things would have become quite clear.
“I just saw you, so I came over to chat. Anything is fine, such as… will you feel scared participating in this coming joint exam? It’s almost the same as facing enemies worldwide～”
“Scared? Actually, not really. Just take on whatever comes.”
“So you’re not afraid of being surrounded? If you find yourself in a dilemma, how will you respond then?”
“Then I just won’t put myself in a disadvantageous position from the start. It’s unwise to act in ways that are known to be disadvantageous.” I continued to respond.
“What if you unexpectedly fall into a trap and get surrounded by others? That’s something you can’t avoid just by wanting to.” Sheril continued to probe.
“Um… just fight my way out.” After contemplating for a moment, I replied.
“Fight your way out? You’re quite confident, huh?” Sheril seemed taken aback by my answer.
She was very clear that when faced with a dead-end question, if one had to give this question an answer, then there wasn’t a correct answer. Any answer holds meaning, representing the respondent’s personal thoughts, beliefs, and attitude toward adverse situations.
“Of course, since they’ve used such malicious means against me, I’ll naturally retaliate. Sheril, your next question won’t be about how to respond if they can crush me with their strength, will it?”
“Originally, I wasn’t planning to ask this meaningless question further, but since you mentioned it, I’m curious about your answer.” Sheril smiled and said, “Of course, you can also choose not to answer.”
“My answer is… what could I possibly do to get surrounded by so many stronger people～”
“Oh? That doesn’t sound like a method of response. What if you’re of great value?” Sheril said.
“If I’m too valuable, then the situation definitely won’t be as simple as being surrounded by a group of strong opponents. There will definitely be another group of people wanting to protect me, right?”
“That seems to be the case; I can hardly refute it?” Sheril revealed a faint smile, though it was hard to discern whether she was pleased or displeased with that answer.
“Then, is Sister Sheril satisfied with this answer?”
“Sort of～” Sheril didn’t give a very clear answer, “But I hope you enjoy this hunting test. Answering one question may only require moving your lips, but when you truly face a choice, that’s when you’ll really provide an answer.”
“That’s true～”
“Let’s end the topic here; I’ll be leaving now.”
“Huh? Are you leaving just like that?” I asked unexpectedly, as she initially said she wanted to chat but left after only a few questions, which seemed very strange.
“Yes, I’m preparing to leave. Until we meet again, if fate allows.”
After Sheril said this, her figure vanished from the spot.
“Wow… that teacher felt pretty fierce.” At that moment, Li Feiya quickly moved closer from the slight distance she had maintained earlier.
“Fierce? I thought she was quite easy to talk to.”
“That’s for you! Look at her attitude towards me; wow… it’s just ridiculous!” Li Feiya directly started to complain, as if she had just suffered a great grievance.
The pair of cat ears on her head twitched.
“Were you targeted just now?” I looked at her, thinking it unlikely she’d be upset to the point of bursting out.
“Not really. I actually think I shouldn’t be that bad, right? I meet unfamiliar tutors every day too. Even if there’s no relationship, I shouldn’t be treated so… ah, it’s hard to explain. Furthermore, the questions she asked you just now felt odd.”
In the end, Li Feiya sighed, a kind of indescribable feeling ultimately turned into annoyance.
She quickly dropped the topic.
But Li Feiya, being herself, soon moved on from the incident.
On the way to the Expanding Realm, she chatted with me about a lot of other things.
Until we reached the square of Ninglan New City in the Expanding Realm.
“We’re back in the Expanding Realm, how nice～”
“Back? By the way, I don’t think I’ve seen you around in the Expanding Realm.” I looked at Li Feiya and said.
“Well～ I don’t have your abilities. Your name is enough to echo throughout the Expanding Realm, but me? I’m just a little transparent.”
“Really? Your identity as a teaching assistant makes you a little transparent? That’s a kind of skill too. However, from my shallow understanding of you, why didn’t you blow up the Third Refuge?”
The Third Refuge is the refuge of those elves from Ah Fu He Mi. I heard Li Feiya blew up the elves’ tree during the last final exam.
“I wanted to, but at that time, the correct contracts were all the rage… But can you guess why it was so difficult for those guys to build the refuge in the early stages?”
“Got it, no need to say more.”
Recalling the information I had received back then, I learned that other academies wanted to use the Witch Academy as a springboard to quickly establish a stable passage for their own academy.
After a long period of effort, while I built the Disaster Refuge and the second refuge, theirs was still an embryonic form at that time.
I heard it was due to various reasons that they had to keep changing. It seemed that it wasn’t merely a matter of location choice.
“Sister Xiao Han, you understand, so are you going to team up with me for some big event this time?” Li Feiya took the opportunity to invite me to team up.
This joint exam did not impose any restrictions on teaming for the candidates, and the special hunting targets played by teaching assistants also had no restrictions.
“Are you sure? Teaming up with me, be careful of collective attacks, okay? I’m not just referring to the candidates, but also the teaching assistants.”
“What’s there to be afraid of? I’ll accompany you～ How about we look for Lin Yi? Or Aidalin is fine too. By the way, do you remember Aidalin? The one we teamed up with during the last final exam.”
“Of course I remember, but I think I’d rather go solo. I want to try it out on my own.”
“Um… okay then～ I respect your choice. If you change your mind, feel free to look for me. I will occasionally return to the safe zone in Ninglan New City. Maybe you’ll run into me; at that point, you are welcome to team up anytime～”
“Thanks, leaving me a way out intentionally, but I probably won’t choose. If you want to team up, you should still go find Lin Yi.”
“Okay, okay～ I’ll go give it a try. Actually, after you said that, I want to try soloing too, since that’s a cat’s trait, right～ meow～” As Li Feiya said this, she struck a cat-like pose.
“Hey～ don’t do that, act normal; I can’t bear to look.”
“Alright～ I won’t do that anymore, but the official exam only starts tomorrow, so how about… we first familiarize ourselves with that Power Network and the resource procurement points?”
“And Sister Xiao Han～ I heard that the Power Network seems to have something to do with you. You must be quite familiar with it, right? Come on～ let’s strategize～”
“Hey～ can you speak normally?”
