Chapter 621
During this time, Dean Lex came to speak with Lei Mei Dai Si once, and the two had a private conversation.
Afterward, Lei Mei Dai Si shared the details of their discussion with Xia Er.
In their previous talks, Lex usually encouraged Lei Mei Dai Si to finish her studies early, promising her a position in the upper echelons, while casually inquiring about her progress in potion research.
However, this time, the conversation revolved almost entirely around Xia Er. It was clear that Lex had realized Xia Er's presence might bring significant changes, and he was seeking answers and truths about the "Time Binder."
Lei Mei Dai Si understood that this secret must not spread, so she didn’t reveal that the witch came from the future; instead, she played dumb and brushed it off.
Lex didn’t dwell on the matter for too long, as he had returned for another reason.
His earlier departure from the academy was to find usable "seeds" to bring back.
However, due to the "Blood Source Heart" that Lei Mei Dai Si had brought back, the higher-ups had ordered that no more "seeds" were to be returned. So, Lex came back prepared to use his influence in the Dark School to pressure the higher-ups into lifting the ban.
In recent days, various protests and slogans had spread among the students, reigniting debates between the Storm School and the Dark School.
But none of this affected Xia Er.
After several days of observation from Lei Mei Dai Si and He Ka Te, confirming that there were no abnormalities, the plan moved forward once again.
This time, it was even simpler. Since Xia Er had already perfectly integrated the fragment of the "seed," there was no need to create an additional life imbued with the fragment as a faith receptor using life alchemy.
Xia Er only needed to directly merge the fragment of "Light Cocoon" from Sa Da Na, and then let He Ka Te separate it to create a fragment marked with Xia Er's imprint.
Although this marked fragment would lose Xia Er's imprint upon further merging, with the protection of Lei Mei Dai Si and Sa Da Na, as long as they remained safe, the imprint would persist, and the faith of the followers would be correctly directed toward Xia Er.
The merging and separating of faith proceeded smoothly.
When the second fragment was successfully separated by He Ka Te, it marked the most critical moment of the plan.
Sa Da Na, carrying the fragment marked with Xia Er's imprint, left the tower and headed to its outskirts to find the previously identified suffering victims to spread the faith.
At least in the initial target of faith dissemination, Sa Da Na's choice was very similar to that of the future Savior Goddess, both aiming to reach out to those in pain first.
Lei Mei Dai Si accompanied Sa Da Na, serving as a protector and establishing the initial order for her.
Meanwhile, He Ka Te stayed in the laboratory with Xia Er, observing whether the faith could be correctly transmitted to Xia Er.
After nearly three days of waiting, while Xia Er was in the lab adjusting potion formulas with He Ka Te, she sensed a slight anomaly.
For these past few days, Xia Er had been using the "Judicator" save file, even while researching potions, without switching to "Physician."
Just as He Ka Te had completed one of the potion formulas, Xia Er, who had been sitting with her eyes closed, slowly opened them.
She was stunned, feeling a flicker of shadowy flames igniting in her mind, listening to the whispers and pleas within.
These black flames were slightly stronger than those of the "Omniscient," but far weaker than those of the "Altar."
However, like the others, even though Xia Er didn’t understand the language of the supplicants, she grasped their meaning.
Then, one flicker, two flickers... a multitude of shadowy flames ignited in Xia Er's mind, and countless low murmurs began to echo within her.
Amidst some of the shadowy flames, there were also hints of bright yellow flames.
*He took my child's life; I hate him...*
*Lord... grant me the power for revenge...*
*I am willing to exchange my suffering for my beloved's relief from pain...*
Countless prayers echoed in Xia Er's mind. Fortunately, after the intense "telegraph" disturbances from Tara and Xiao Zuo, Xia Er had developed a significant resistance to these pleas.
She could even manage to divert her attention, allowing her to somewhat ignore the voices.
Beep beep—
A faint alarm sounded from the direction of the lab door. He Ka Te interrupted the experiment and quickly walked to the door, standing in front of a precise instrument.
The device was spitting out a blank sheet of paper, its internal mechanisms printing something. When the paper was fully ejected, He Ka Te saw several brief printed symbols on it.
After quickly deciphering it in her mind, He Ka Te turned to Xia Er, who was still resting her eyes, and said, "Miss Witch, Lei Mei Dai Si says they succeeded over there. How do you feel right now?"
"I can hear the voices of the supplicants in my mind... though they’re a bit faint," Xia Er replied, opening her eyes to look at He Ka Te.
"It's just a fragment; it's normal for it to be a bit weak," He Ka Te nodded and said. "You don’t need to respond. Just follow the original plan and leave it to Sa Da Na. Through the fragment, she should also be able to hear those pleas."
"Mm..." Xia Er nodded and asked, "Can she handle the mental strain?"
This was a concern for Xia Er.
Her mental strength was different; not only had it been reinforced multiple times, but she had also endured several deep contaminations. She had even begun to "rehearse" listening to the voices of faith and had experienced two long, maddening dark sleeps from reality to the Old Days...
At least in terms of contamination resistance, even Ascenders might not match Xia Er now.
If Sa Da Na couldn’t withstand the whispers of this faith power, the plan to purify her would fail.
"He and Lei Mei Dai Si will handle it," He Ka Te assured her. "You don’t need to worry. The Dark School has plenty of solutions for this."
At this point, He Ka Te paused slightly, looking at Xia Er and asking, "Are you planning to leave?"
Xia Er's accelerated arrangements during this time made it hard not to suspect she was preparing to depart.
After all, the entire tower had been moving at a slow pace, especially now that the Storm School held the majority. The whole tower felt somewhat detached from the world, as if floating on a gentle breeze.
However, recently, academic debates had been reignited by Lex, creating a sense of impending storm within the tower, though it remained relatively peaceful overall.
"Yes," Xia Er nodded and said, "I can’t stay any longer."
In the Old Days, the flow of time in reality was not constant but slowly passing.
Since she was ready and had integrated a piece of "uniqueness"... Xia Er no longer intended to make further changes to the Old Days.
Too many changes would make it difficult to discern which influencing factors led to which alterations, and correcting them would seem daunting.
During this time, Xia Er had also acquired a wealth of knowledge about the Old Days from the library. She had been either contemplating or studying, and her spirit felt deeply fatigued.
The Witch Academy was now temporarily overseen by Sa Le Si, while Sa Da Na and He Ka Te acted as supervisors. If Sa Le Si made any wrong decisions, they could help correct them.
As for Lei Mei Dai Si, she would continue to assist Xia Er in perfecting potions to hand over to the Witch Academy, which was also beneficial for her own research. The Witch Academy was clearly a great testing ground.
"When are you thinking of leaving?" He Ka Te asked, looking at Xia Er.
"Let’s wait for them to return," Xia Er shook her head.
After all, Lei Mei Dai Si and Sa Da Na were helping her, and it would be better to see them before she left.
A few days later, the black and yellow flames in Xia Er's mind had nearly doubled. It was at this moment that Lei Mei Dai Si and Sa Da Na returned to the tower.
Upon hearing the news of Xia Er's departure, Lei Mei Dai Si showed no surprise. She looked at Xia Er and said, "Don’t worry, I’ll follow through with your arrangements."
Xia Er and Lei Mei Dai Si had a private agreement.
With the bond of the Dark Worm between them, their mutual trust was higher than with anyone else, and there were some things Xia Er had only shared with Lei Mei Dai Si.
For instance, how to leave behind items and how to convey messages.
Together, Xia Er and Lei Mei Dai Si compiled a codebook using Chinese symbols. These codes would be disseminated in symbolic form through various historical records of the Witch Academy.
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