Chapter 657: Return to Ninglan New City and the Celebration Ceremony

“Ninglan New City has now become the symbolic city of the Ninglan Territory. Its radiation area covers not only Ninglan New City itself, but also the surrounding regions, as well as the three Shelters and three Sanctuaries, together forming the joint area of the Ninglan Territory.”

“I heard that due to the rapid development of Plant Technology, the development speed within Ninglan New City is comparable to Modu, where our Witch Academy is located in the outside world.”

“Also, also… with the realization of the manned airship, the resource flow between the major Shelters and Sanctuaries has also accelerated. And we have begun to attempt communication and resource exchange with the shelters outside the Ninglan Territory…”

“Um… Big Sis Xiao Han, I heard that many of the shelters in the Expansion Realm were built with your help. Is that true?”

“Kind of. I only helped them plant one Myriad Connection Main Network Tree.”

I explained.

“Only… how is that possible? The Plant Network is now full of stories about your deeds. That is a greatness that cannot be summarized by planting one tree… Um… Could it be that someone is using Big Sis Xiao Han's name…”

“No, it's not clear to explain to you. If you absolutely need to understand, you can think of them all as my Clones.”

“Clones? How could there be such a terrifying Clone Spell! Spreading across the entire Expansion Realm… Wait a minute? Does that mean those people who went out to explore and said they encountered Big Sis Xiao Han encountered your Clones?”

Luo Yun asked, immediately feeling incredulous as she connected the dots.

“Perhaps. My Clones have indeed been discovered by quite a few people.”

I nodded and said.

“But that's not the point. Are there any other new things in Ninglan New City?”

“Oh! There is…”

Seeing that I didn't want to waste time on the topic, Luo Yun immediately changed the subject.

“Big Sis Xiao Han, you don't know about the development of your support group in Ninglan New City. Actually, many people admire your deeds very much.”

“Of course… because of your power and constant creation of miracles, your support group is now a huge organization in the Ninglan Territory, capable of rivaling clubs like Wan Shi Wu. If you are willing to return and lead everyone, I think everyone would be willing… Of course, Big Sis Xiao Han, you also understand… some things cannot be rushed…”

“What, you are telling me not to rush… is the support group being severely suppressed now?”

“No, it's not like that… The support group, although established in your name, is essentially not a formal club organization, but a loose association.”

“However, due to Big Sis Millian's leadership, the support group has established deep cooperation with many clubs. If you suddenly decide to take full control, it might cause discomfort among the support group's internal members. After all, most of them are merchants using your reputation to conduct business, and their bottom lines are flexible and ever-changing…”

“I don't plan to return and take full control of these matters, nor am I interested.”

I interrupted what Luo Yun was about to say next, and my words revealed a tone of complete indifference.

“Really? Thank you for your understanding, Big Sis Xiao Han.”

Luo Yun looked a little surprised.

“Regarding the support group using your name, the rumor is that you agreed, but we have never had direct proof… do you mind…”

“I don't mind. As long as they don't do anything foolish, I naturally won't interfere.”

I looked at Luo Yun, feeling that she seemed overly concerned about the future of this group, even to the point of directly wanting to know my thoughts.

“Ah? Is that so… I, did I make it too obvious?”

Luo Yun realized her lapse in composure.

“I'm sorry, I just really hope the support group can continue, and at the same time, I'm worried it will cause you trouble. As a member of it, I'm also afraid that everyone's efforts will go to waste…”

“If you are afraid, it means you haven't done well enough.”

“Big Sis Xiao Han is right, but… actually, another reason the support group's development has been relatively slow until now is that it hasn't received your acknowledgement. Although someone spread the rumor privately that you acknowledged the support group's existence, such a rumor, no matter how widespread, will never compare to your verbal acknowledgement.”

“You hope that I will return to Ninglan New City and publicly acknowledge it, is that right?”

“Yes! Our support group has been waiting for this day for a long time! If… if Big Sis Xiao Han is willing!”

“I'm fine with it, if you don't let down my expectations.”

I said.

With my casual conversation with Luo Yun, a scene in the distance quickly came into my sight.

Looking down from above, the area had already evolved from a sparsely vegetated region into a connected urban area.

The construction of roads also reflected the progress of civilization reconstruction.

The closer we got, the more we could see manned airships taking to the sky in orderly formations.

They traveled to distant shelters and established cities outside the Ninglan Territory to facilitate resource circulation.

And during the time I hadn't been paying attention, the news of my presence in the Ninglan Territory quickly spread on the Plant Network.

So, when I appeared in Ninglan New City, I was met with the most grand welcome.

I was greeted by members of the support group, and of course, upon hearing the news of my return, various clubs also sent members to appear as welcoming personnel.

After all, my reputation was now such that they couldn't ignore it.

Spreading the Myriad Connection Main Network Tree across the entire Expansion Realm, interconnecting almost all human settlements with the Plant Network, provided an undeniable impetus for the reconstruction of the Expansion Realm's civilization!

No one in their right mind would go against the general trend at this moment.

Before long, Ninglan New City's City Lord, Ninglan Qiuyue, also held a grand welcome ceremony for my return.

Such a solemn event truly shocked me, and it also made me realize how important the things I had done were.

In fact, at the beginning, I was only thinking of myself.

Controlling the information flow of the entire Expansion Realm was exciting just to think about, let alone the kind of knowledge and nourishment this could bring to the Great Tree of Knowledge; it was self-evident.

Furthermore, I had spread the order of my own Domain throughout the entire Expansion Realm.

Even saying that I completely dominated the Expansion Realm was only a slight exaggeration.

But the many deeds I performed also brought convenience to everyone, which was an undeniable contribution, so I deserved their praise.

However… these tedious and solemn ceremonies were indeed troublesome, but just my presence was considered giving enough face.

Of course, the host of this welcome ceremony was not only Ninglan New City but also various clubs, all parties of the Academies, and my support group.

They reached a rare consensus at this moment: to use this opportunity to build a platform and opportunity for all parties to gather and exchange.

Whether they were large clubs wanting to establish a relationship with me, student groups from other Academies, or small groups or individuals only wanting to broaden their social network through this platform, they leveraged my personality of hating trouble to complete this welcome ceremony. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

I only showed my face for the entire process, not even saying a word, yet no one dared to say I was being disrespectful.

They were practically begging me not to say anything.

With the conclusion of this widely known welcome ceremony, several extremely explosive pieces of news also began to circulate.

First was Teaching Assistant Xiao Han formally acknowledging the name of the Little Han Support Group.

There were no guarantees, and no subsequent actions.

Some people might find it confusing, but those who understood knew that this was the biggest promise Teaching Assistant Xiao Han could give!

Giving a formal name meant the support group had Teaching Assistant Xiao Han's protection.

Even though nothing was promised, no one was foolish enough to think she wouldn't back them up.

However, the moment the support group truly degenerated to the point of needing Teaching Assistant Xiao Han to back them up alone would also be the final moment of the group's collapse, because Teaching Assistant Xiao Han did not need an organization that only brought burdens.

And Teaching Assistant Xiao Han's failure to issue any subsequent arrangements for the support group also equated to giving them the greatest autonomy.

And this was also why many within the support group were relieved.

Everyone was an adult; profit was the eternal cooperative relationship.

Teaching Assistant Xiao Han was notoriously unconcerned with profit distribution, so it was normal for some within the support group to have this worry.

After all, no one wanted to be a scapegoat.

Of course, if this was merely about the support group, then the next matters were related to the deeper development of the Expansion Realm.

They concerned the maintenance permission of the Myriad Connection Main Network Tree… and the inheritance of civilizational information.

Actually, a fixed team had always been in charge of the maintenance of the Myriad Connection Main Network Tree during this period, but these people were only temporarily authorized.

But when this matter was formally proposed, it required a formal and professional team.

One of the two Myriad Connection Main Network Trees in the Ninglan Territory was currently under the study of a group of mentors, and the other was the one that needed maintenance.

But with the development of manned airship technology, it wouldn't be long before Myriad Connection Main Network Tree maintenance personnel would need to travel everywhere in the Expansion Realm.

No one would think this was a chore.

The title of the first batch of Plant Network maintenance personnel in the Expansion Realm was formidable enough, and with the opening and development of the Plant Network, the Plant Network workers and their related industries contained enormous profits in the future.

Although many people questioned what right Teaching Assistant Xiao Han had to authorize the maintenance permission of the Myriad Connection Main Network Tree—she was only a tree planter—no one dared to say it to her face.

They only dared to post anonymous short essays on the Plant Network.

Then these people were exposed, and various satirical emojis and popular memes about these individuals were created.

For example: Xiao Han is only a tree planter.

Furthermore, they did not receive the mentor's declaration they were expecting.

After all, in the eyes of those who didn't know the truth, the Myriad Connection Main Network Tree was the product jointly created by the mentors, and only the mentors had the right to authorize it.

While I believed that, to a certain extent, this was true, the framework of the Myriad Connection Main Network Tree was built by me, and the basic system and order were also built by me, but the subsequent content and functions in different domains were continuously perfected by those mentors.

But regardless, the matter continued to unfold amidst this wave after wave of hype.

And I was still inquiring about some matters regarding this year's College Entrance Examination.

After all, it was time to resolve some things.

The College Entrance Examination was the most important period of the year in the Main World, without exception.

This was a worldwide unified examination.

Massive examination venues would be planned in the territories radiated by every Transcendent Academy, and professional high-grade students would be sent over in advance to set up the examination hall.

Furthermore, during the examination period, anti-cheating methods were not simply limited to proctoring and signal jammers but a multi-layered anti-cheating method using Transcendent means.

The most basic measure was to have the Mental Power of a guaranteed high-grade student cover the entire examination hall.

The subsequent proctoring methods depended on the means of the respective Transcendent Academy.

For example, the Witch Academy would provide a Domain Spellbook sufficient to cover the entire examination hall for monitoring, and the Earth Vein Operating System would record Earth Vein Information in real-time to ensure no cheating.

And these methods would not be made public.

Ordinary People taking the College Entrance Examination had no idea how to defend against them, and even if they knew the methods, they had no means to cheat.

The Transcendent students responsible for proctoring also needed to sign a Witch's Contract to completely cut off even the slightest possibility.

“Big Sis Xiao Han, why are you suddenly interested in the College Entrance Examination?”

The members of the support group were very confused about my desire to learn about the College Entrance Examination, as this was a thankless task.

Although… this was an official task issued by the Academy, and the rewards were quite generous, it was really not worth it for top-tier students.

In fact, many Teaching Assistants disdained taking these tasks.

“There is someone I care about in this batch, and I plan to go and see.”

My response was somewhat vague.

However, I was very satisfied with the information they collected for me.

If I searched for this information on the Academy Network, I would only get the official procedures, but many of the minor details were not described and there was no experience to go by.

Even the Earth Vein Appraisal Spell would be quite troublesome if searching broadly in the Earth Vein for unanchored information.

And the person talking to me was a member of the intelligence group within my support group.

It was quite amazing that a self-organized intelligence group existed within the support group, but this function of acquiring intelligence was indeed very important for a large organization.

And they were willing to serve me alone, and even set up a separate team within this intelligence group specifically to provide me with intelligence, sealed by a Witch's Contract form of "allegiance."

And all I paid was the Seed of Great Knowledge for their small team.

“Big Sis Xiao Han… regarding the College Entrance Examination, this requires signing strict contractual rules throughout the process. If you want to use this identity to provide convenience to that person… I'm afraid it cannot be done…”

“I'm just going to look. How could I not know the seriousness of the College Entrance Examination?”

“I spoke out of turn.”

“It's fine. Your reminder is correct. There should be nothing else in Ninglan New City, right? If not, I plan to return to the Academy for a trip. Oh, by the way, which mentor is responsible for issuing the proctoring tasks? Would that mentor mind me going to see her?”

“The mentors who arrange these tasks are generally the rotating Grade Directors of the lower grades. Of course, if Big Sis Xiao Han doesn't recognize them, you can go and find your former Mentor Lina. You know, she was the Grade Director who oversaw you. She might be able to help you.”

“Thanks.”

I also got up, preparing to go and find Mentor Lina.

It had been a long time since I last saw this mentor.

I remember my deepest impression of her was when she told me about the World Script Theory back then.

At that time, I was facing a huge challenge, and Big Sis Bai was busy doing everything for me, but in the blink of an eye… none of that seemed to matter anymore.

“Wait, Big Sis Xiao Han!”

“Is there anything else?”

“There is one more thing. A Teaching Assistant came looking for you recently with one of your business cards. She hopes to invite you to meet when you have time. Her name is Fu Xinglan, and she was in the same batch of Teaching Assistants as you.”

“Fu Xinglan… oh, her.”

Hearing the name, I quickly recalled her.

We compared answers during the written test.

She was a member of the Wan Shi Wu Club, but now she should be a pillar of Wan Shi Wu, as she became a Teaching Assistant.

I wonder if Tracy from the Witch's Secret Realm Club was as lucky as her to become a Teaching Assistant?

“Since she's looking for me, I'll go and see her. Could you help arrange a meeting?”

“Of course, it's my honor.”