Chapter 284: Meeting the Academy Head

“Mm, okay.”

After hanging up the phone, the leisurely look in my eyes completely disappeared.

I packed my things and prepared to slip out of here.

“Little Han, what’s wrong?”

Bai Yu, who was beside me, asked.

“I have to go, the Academy Head is looking for me.”

I sighed, looked at the Transcendent mentor explaining alchemy knowledge at the front, then looked at Big Sis Bai with a bit of helplessness.

I wasn’t attending a regular course right now, but a lecture given by a Transcendent Witch.

I knew very well that I couldn't learn anything well by just working in isolation, especially in the field of alchemy, so I came here accompanied by Big Sis Bai.

Because this wasn’t a scheduled academy course, there was a threshold to attend the lecture, and the threshold was naturally a fee.

The cheap courses started from Red Copper, while the expensive ones started directly from Arcanite Gold.

These earnings would go directly into the pockets of the Transcendent Witch giving the lecture.

And this also meant that transcendent materials like Arcanite Gold still held great value, even for those who had reached the level of a Transcendent Witch.

“Then hurry up and go. I’ll help you take notes on the rest of the content, and I’ll give you a copy of the notes later.”

Big Sis Bai didn’t mind at all, she was just a little surprised that Little Han was so highly regarded by the Academy Head that she had to go in person.

“Thank you, Big Sis Bai. I’ll be leaving then. By the way… if the content covers the part about the transmutation ritual… please help me record a video. I’m very interested in this aspect.”

“Mm.”

Bai Yu nodded without refusing.

My departure didn’t attract anyone’s attention, and the same went for the teacher lecturing at the front.

Leaving early was being irresponsible to oneself, and the fee would not be refunded.

After leaving here, I directly took out my broom and headed towards Teacher Ji Niang’s office.

At the same time, my heart was also pounding a bit.

After all, the one I was going to meet was the real Academy Head.

The one I had met before was just a clone of the Academy Head.

I hoped that the Academy Head herself would be as kind and amiable as her clone.

“Little Han, you’re finally here. You’ve been dawdling for so long.”

Pushing open the door to Teacher Ji Niang’s office, Ji Niang began to lecture me.

It seemed that even Teacher Ji Niang had many concerns when facing the Academy Head.

“Um… Teacher, I was just in an alchemy lecture. The moment you called, I rushed over here at top speed. I’ve already lost several pieces of Arcanite Gold.”

“Alchemy? Why are you learning alchemy again?”

“Uh… mastering another skill isn’t a bad thing… right?”

“Whatever you want. If you’re interested in alchemy, you can learn it. In the Witch Academy, you can learn whatever you want, no one will stop you. Just don’t bite off more than you can chew.”

Teacher Ji Niang waved her hand and stood up, looking like she was about to take me away immediately.

However, she didn’t take out a flying broom, but directly grabbed me.

In the next moment, my vision spun, and my whole body felt as if it were floating and unable to stand firm.

It wasn’t until the next moment when my feet touched solid ground that I felt a little relieved.

“This… this is spatial teleportation?!”

I was a bit shocked at this moment.

With this ability, who would need a flying broom?

“Just a means of teleportation. Space is a synonym for fragility. There are too many ways to break space. Even forces or skills without the space attribute can easily do such a thing. So don’t be too surprised, just follow me.”

“Mm, oh… okay.”

I followed Teacher Ji Niang closely, my eyes constantly sizing up the place.

This was the most distinctive corridor I had seen in the Witch Academy, with retro patterns, decorative reliefs of unknown plants, and a strong characteristic of the old era.

The corridor led to a hall at the end.

Even before I got there, I saw the most conspicuous huge stone statue in the center.

The statue held a long staff, as if gently tapping out, its motion frozen here.

From the flowing and elegant skirt and the exquisitely carved face, it was, without a doubt, Academy Head Mei Linde.

“I’ve brought you to Academy Head Mei Linde’s office. You should have met this Academy Head before, right?”

At this moment, Ji Niang suddenly asked.

“Mm… barely? I’ve only met this Academy Head’s clone.”

I explained.

“Is that so? Then since it was a clone, she should have communicated with you, right? What did the Academy Head say to you?”

“Uh… this, did the Academy Head allow me to say?”

“It’s nothing more than the matter of the Grand Spellbook. This kind of thing is naturally not a secret at our teacher level. Just say it boldly. You must have helped the Academy Head solve some kind of problem, right? Otherwise, the Academy Head wouldn’t deliberately have a student come to see her.”

“Uh… it seems about right…”

“About right is good enough.”

Ji Niang was slightly relieved to get this answer, but she didn’t show it. “By the way, if you had two choices in front of you, one is a reward you can’t refuse, and the other is to help you escape from the script, which one would you choose?”

“Escape the script.”

I said without hesitation.

“Good! Just do that when the time comes.”

Ji Niang also nodded in relief, feeling that her efforts had not been in vain.

“Uh… but the Academy Head has already promised to help me escape the script… I think…”

Although this required me to pay the price of accepting a trial mission.

“What! She agreed directly?”

Hearing this answer, even Teacher Ji Niang was a little surprised, but she quickly reacted.

It seems that for this meeting requested by the Academy Head, the matter of escaping the script was no longer the main point…

At this moment, I and Teacher Ji Niang had walked to the final hall, standing under the huge stone statue, as if an inexplicable force was cleansing my soul.

There was no corridor leading anywhere else from here, only a tall bookshelf on one side of the hall connecting the floor and the ceiling, with densely packed books placed here.

The inside of the books here seemed to have a strange transcendent energy faintly visible, while some books gave me an extreme sense of danger.

It seems that the books here cannot be flipped through casually.

“Um, Teacher Ji Niang, where do we go next?”

I asked curiously.

“Wait for the elevator.”

“Huh? Wait for the elevator?”

Hearing such a simple and unadorned answer from Teacher Ji Niang, my eyes were also searching for the entrance to the elevator, but I couldn’t find it.

Until… a platform slowly descended from the top.

I watched as Teacher Ji Niang walked directly onto it, and I followed suit.

This is the so-called elevator?

A platform?

I looked at Teacher Ji Niang, but she didn't seem to have any intention of explaining it to me.

After all, no one stipulated that an elevator must be a box pulled by a rope, right?

I looked at the platform under my feet.

The simple and clear runes were exactly the kind I recognized, which meant that this level of effect could be achieved with the simplest of runes.

The platform slowly rose, taking me to the top floor.

Before I even reached the Academy Head's office, I smelled a scent that instantly invigorated my consciousness.

The smell felt somewhat similar to incense.

Is this the kind of incense used at the level of the Academy Head?

I wonder how expensive this is.

As we emerged, I finally got to see what the Academy Head's office was like.

If this was an office, I would be more willing to believe that this was a… laboratory that matched my perception of a witch.

In the center, there was a huge experimental table, with Earth Vein Energy surging, carrying many familiar yet strange spell structures.

On one side of the office, there were also many materials and items sealed in special ways.

Some looked like the bones of a dragon's head, hanging from the ceiling like a decoration.

There was also a feather burning with crimson flames, sealed within a translucent crystal.

There were also many windows here, like decorative paintings hanging on the wall, but the inside seemed to be sealing a small piece of time.

The floor of the office was flashing with runes in various arrangements and combinations.

As I looked at it, it became more and more familiar.

This really looked like some kind of transmutation ritual in alchemy.

The entire office had been solidified into a transmutation ritual!

It seems the Academy Head was also conducting some kind of alchemy here.

The crystals embedded in the nodes of the ritual on the floor were surging with energy, that was the unique magic power of a witch.

“Academy Head, I’ve brought Little Han to you.”

At this moment, Teacher Ji Niang’s voice pulled me back from my state of curiosity about everything here.

And I immediately composed myself, my gaze turning to the busy figure in front of me.

This was the Academy Head, and it was her true self, not a clone.

“Oh? Little Han is here? Come, come over here.”

Hearing Ji Niang’s words, Mei Linde also stopped what she was doing and looked over at us.

Then, with a warm smile, she beckoned for me to come over.

“Go on.”

Teacher Ji Niang gave me a push from behind, “Academy Head, if there’s nothing else for me, then I’ll be leaving.”

“Alright, Xi Lan, I know you’re very curious. Don’t reveal what I’m about to say. You can stay and listen.”

Mei Linde looked at Ji Niang and also spoke with a smile.

“I understand.”

Ji Niang also nodded, having no intention of leaving.

She was indeed very curious at this moment.

After all, watching a good show was a top priority for witches.

What could be more interesting than gossip?

At this moment, with a push from Teacher Ji Niang, I also slowly walked towards the Academy Head.

Today, the Academy Head was no longer wearing the same clothes as before, but a deep purple robe that was like the starry sky.

The thin, form-fitting clothes on her upper body wrapped around her chest, which was about to burst out.

“How about it? Have you decided what kind of shell you want to customize for those Fool's Dream?”

Mei Linde said, walking to a wall on one side.

On it hung a beautifully framed painting, but after a closer look, the scene inside shocked me.

Not to mention that the painting was alive and moving, the painting gave me the feeling of a small world!

And those floating, formless things, weren’t they the Fool’s Dream?

“I… I’ve pretty much decided…”

“You’ve decided? What is it? If you haven’t decided, I can give you a little more time. It’s just a shell, you don’t have to care what it is. It doesn’t even have to be a material shell. After all, they aren’t life forms themselves, they just want a vessel to exist in reality.”

Academy Head Mei Linde said as she brought the “painting” in front of me to show me.

“Look… isn’t it amazing? This is a dream creature, and also the one you know as… the Fool’s Dream.”

I looked at these things.

At this moment, they were no longer the Fool’s Dream I knew.

The Nightmare and the Fool’s Dream had merged together.

At this moment, they were naturally dream creatures.

“After you’ve decided, I will strip away their Nightmare part, and you, you understand what you need to do, right?”

“Mm… but after that, what will happen to the Fool’s Dream’s Nightmare?”

“The Nightmare is a part of the Fool’s Dream. It is indeed troublesome to deal with, but where there’s a will, there’s a way. You might be able to use something.”

“Huh?”

I looked at the Academy Head in a bit of confusion, my thoughts not quite keeping up with hers.

What could I possibly have that could be of use?

“The script. The script is a very unreasonable driving force. If you weren’t involved in the creation of this Grand Spellbook, according to the normal process, I might have used the power of the script to directly brute-force the creation of the Grand Spellbook.”

“The script… can separate the Fool’s Dream and the Nightmare?”

I looked at the Academy Head with some surprise, still feeling a bit incredulous.

But I still didn’t know how to do it… the script was not something I could play with.

Besides, I was still cannon fodder in the script… oh no, maybe if things continue to develop, I might become the final boss?

“That depends on how it’s done. This involves the deeper principles of the script’s operation. You only need to understand two words, and that is to split.”

“Split, that is, to conceptually divide one existence that was originally the same into two different existences and sever the connection between them. The development of the script is like a rolling giant wheel. This requires a two-pronged approach.”

“What kind of preparation?”

I continued to ask.

Although it sounded very troublesome at the moment, I would still do my best to accomplish it.

“First, you strongly associate the Nightmare part that you don’t want with the script, while the Fool’s Dream part is completely separated from the script. As for how to separate it, that will depend on you. Don’t you want to separate from the script? There is a way to sever your connection with the script once and for all, and even let you experience it in advance…”

“Wait, Academy Head, you’re going to let Little Han sever it in advance…”

“Xi Lan.”

At this moment, the Academy Head directly called out Teacher Ji Niang’s Transcendent Witch name, directly interrupting what Ji Niang wanted to say.

“It seems your teacher is very concerned about you. Let me finish what she was about to say. You should understand the power of the Earth Veins, right?”

“I only know the name of this power and a very superficial application of Earth Vein Energy…”

“It doesn’t matter. You only need to know that the Earth Veins are the foundation of a world. The Earth Veins record all the information in this world, and they also control the rise and fall of a world. Their existence has long been more than just the superficial phenomena of Earth Vein Energy and its tributaries. It has already become a more abstract existence, and within this abstract existence, there is a branch… the Earth Vein Chains.”

“Earth Vein Chains?”

I looked at the Academy Head in confusion, waiting for her to enlighten me.

“You just need to understand that you are also a part of the Main World. Do you know why the Witch Academy has promotion to Transcendent as a graduation requirement? Because after graduation, most people choose to leave this world, and the reason why our Witch Academy has a strict rule that one must reach the Transcendent level to leave this world is because only after they reach the Transcendent level do they have the ability to break the Earth Vein Chains themselves, so that they can leave this world.”

“Leave… the world?”

I widened my eyes, yearning for the stars and the sea, and the so-called void described by Teacher Ji Niang.

Isn’t that what I’m pursuing?

I didn't expect that even leaving this world… also had conditions.

“Yes, after severing the Earth Vein Chains, strictly speaking, you will no longer be recognized by the Main World. The Main World will naturally remove you from the script, unless you insist on getting involved in the script, otherwise the world consciousness won’t even bother with you.”

“World consciousness?”

I caught another key phrase.

But I also noticed the phrase "not a person of this world."

I don't know what the consequences of not being a person of this world are, but there must be a difference.

This reminded me of Yisha Yuan.

She chose not to advance to the Transcendent level, but… that doesn’t make sense either.

It doesn’t say that one must leave or break the Earth Vein Chains after advancing to the Transcendent level.

“Mm, but I won’t explain these things to you. They are not very relevant to you at the moment. You will be able to easily learn about them in the future if you want to.”

“So you will separate from the script in this way, and you will enlighten the Fool’s Dream with wisdom. The effect of the spell will permanently remain on the Fool’s Dream, allowing them to take the first step towards becoming life. The world will also disassociate itself from you and the Fool’s Dream. But before that, you need to strongly associate the Nightmare with the script.”

“Then what should I do?”

“Very simple. Don’t you have a massive amount of destiny from the exchange competition? We will operate to transfer that destiny to the Nightmare, and it will be a deep-level association. Then we will push a being like the Nightmare into the script and let it develop on its own. However… the method of operation… will require your cooperation. This can be considered a kind of ritual for transferring destiny. You should know how to act, right?”

“Ac… acting?”

“Yes, script, script, what needs a script? Acting needs a script. The script itself is a massive screening ritual. As long as you understand that. The method has been roughly explained to you. We’ll talk about the details later. Do you have any other questions?”

“Uh… just for these Fool’s Dreams… to cause such a big commotion… is it worth it?”

I looked up and met the Academy Head’s gaze.

“Of course it’s worth it. You care too much about the opinions of others. You are already standing in front of me, why do you still look at this matter with the eyes of a small fry from before?”

“This… I understand…”

I thought for a while.

It wasn’t that I couldn’t figure it out, but that I had thought it through very clearly.

I was just thinking about how to do it.

Thinking and doing are not the same.

I can’t reach the spiritual realm of the unity of knowledge and action, even if I have a spell called Unity of Knowledge and Action, I might not be able to do it.

“It’s good that you understand. Perhaps you can try the Unity of Knowledge and Action spellbook. It’s not as simple as you see on the surface.”

“Mm.”

I quickly reacted and nodded heavily.

This was already a clear hint from the Academy Head.

“Any other questions? If there are, I’ll allow one last one. After you’ve asked, we’ll move on to the next topic.”

“Um… I… I want to know why dream creatures are not considered life? The definition of life… what is it?”