Chapter 706: The People Who Can't Sleep, Even Though the Night is Deep…

At this moment, in the outside world, as my and Liffia's live broadcast suddenly went black, it immediately caused a stir among the people who were following the event.

But no matter how much they debated, they couldn't make the people in the screen reappear.

In principle, live broadcasts during the joint exam should not be cut off without reason, so the concept of voluntarily pausing the live broadcast was not explicitly stated.

However, even if one figured out this function, it could quickly be discovered that the duration of this pause was only about an hour.

One hour of private time a day was one of the "hidden rules" of the joint exam.

If one looked closely, they would find that there were quite a few hidden rules in this joint exam, such as the initial discovery of the trigger rule for the Wanted location tracking, and the logic rule for disarming.

Many rules were not stated.

For instance, the personal privacy rule for exploring the Seed of Knowledge.

Many rules were either encouraged or discouraged, but all had to be discovered through one's own exploration.

Although this joint exam was said to give everyone a personal live broadcast perspective, not everyone's broadcast perspective was being watched.

The focus on the hot topics of this joint exam was the standard for whether a live broadcast perspective was popular.

And the disputes that converged on one-against-many and between teaching assistants were truly eye-catching.

Although the teaching assistant group only belonged to the "side dish" in the joint exam, they also represented the top combat power of the non-Transcendent level of various Transcendent Academies!

And this very group of people secretly plotted a plan to besiege a single person.

Although many viewers felt that this kind of bullying was not right, the audience was also curious to see if the person being besieged could completely turn the tables!

And the progression of the event fulfilled the audience's expectations as desired!

So many people attacking one person, yet she was not at a disadvantage.

This was genuinely a slap in the face to all the teaching assistants.

Especially the section where she broke out of the encirclement, which was an even more dramatic twist.

Liffia's sudden betrayal, a fierce pounce that immediately dealt with the first Holy Angel who caught up, also bought the teaching assistant Xiao Han ample time.

Then, using the momentum of the hunting party at the very end to reverse the situation and force the teaching assistant group to collapse, many people cheered enthusiastically.

Others were disappointed that they didn't see Xiao Han go on a killing spree, with blood flowing everywhere…

Just when they thought it was over and it was clearly time to review the day's events in the evening, they were about to discuss a sensitive topic, and the live broadcast was immediately cut off!

Who could bear that?

When the live broadcast was enabled again, the screen had already become an outdoor eating broadcast!

***

“If you ask me, this final joint exam is only so-so. This is the first large-scale promotion test of the power network. We don't need to speculate too much. As you pointed out earlier, the skill configuration restricts the development of each person's individuality, and the choice of class is the same…”

"Uh, is it really okay for us to sharply critique the power network like this?"

At this time, Liffia paused her eating.

Didn't she remember that the live broadcast was on?

“What are you afraid of? The power network has been updated for many versions. Perhaps you haven't seen the original version; it was truly much worse than the current one. Only by recognizing the problems can there be better progress.”

I shook my chopsticks and said with a smile, looking like I was about to direct the entire affair.

“You might be the only one in the Witch Academy who dares to say that…”

“Anyone can say it. The mentors actually welcome testers to put forward their constructive suggestions. Of course, mindless rhetoric is unnecessary, such as adding some powerful skill to increase the attack power limit. That’s completely unnecessary. Increasing the power limit is just another instance of template recursion. In fact, I think the main problem with the power network this time lies in the overly rigid configuration between the class and the skill tree.”

“The configuration between skills lacks a systematic coordination… just stacking skills from different directions… it's too monotonous, and there are very few skills.”

“Actually… I think this configuration is also a way to promote teamwork, isn't it?”

Liffia also put forward her own idea.

“That seems plausible? But teamwork isn't a required mode for everyone. There are also many lone wolves.”

Liffia and I talked about a lot of topics in this area, but occasionally, the conversation would veer off to other gossip.

I had to admit that Liffia was still Liffia; she was indeed very concerned about many gossip incidents, and she was also very adept at surfing the internet using the Seed of Knowledge.

She was also very timely in understanding real-time information.

It wasn't until we finished enjoying this camping dinner that the leisurely time temporarily ended.

Then, we started cleaning and organizing the tableware.

However, with the spellbook sealed, we couldn't even use the Cleaning Spell, so we had to go to a nearby river to wash them.

After washing.

“Are you sure you don’t need my tent? I actually brought quite a few. I haven't even used up one per day.”

“No, no. I'll sleep on a tree.”

“Are you sure?”

“How about we sleep together?”

Liffia suggested.

“Then you should sleep on a tree.”

“Eh? Wait, you're just heartlessly throwing me onto a tree?”

“Uh-huh Otherwise, I can't put you in my tent, can I? At most, I can give you some mosquito-repellent aromatherapy. Do you want some?”

“Yes, please, thank you.”

In the deep, dark night, a few brief dialogues floated by, and the time belonging to the night quietly slipped away.

And on the screen outside the live broadcast, waves of bullet comments floated by again, but unfortunately, the main characters couldn't see them.

“Seriously, going to bed so early again?”

“Isn't a witch's nightlife just starting? Am I a fake witch, or is Xiao Han a fake witch?”

“Today is another day of watching Xiao Han sleep on time. This sleep schedule… is so f***ing healthy.”

“Today's Sleeping Han, check-in successful. Stream off!”

“It's clear that Liffia the Cat-person didn't sleep. This is a great victory for the night owls!”

But such a peaceful night was not one where everyone could sleep.

Take Liffia, for example.

Today was the first time in a long time that she had revealed her experiences like this, and it also touched the most vulnerable part of her heart.

Although she acted nonchalant during the evening conversation, especially when she said that she had figured it out and that she didn't need the family's charity… she didn't expect herself to say such things.

Now that Xiao Han had fallen asleep, she was alone in the night.

The darkness of being alone once again reminded her of the family's charity.

Charity for what?

Charity for the freedom that was so close, yet so unattainable.

But she also feared freedom.

The family's chain was like an invisible collar, firmly gripping her throat.

But fundamentally… it was just that she couldn't foresee life after achieving Transcendent status.

She could only foresee that if her current life lost the family's chain… this freedom was equivalent to standing against all families.

This time's rejection of the family's charity might have been a sudden burst of courage, and a part of it also stemmed from the fear of freedom.

At this moment, she clearly felt what her mentor had told her about the influence of the Earth Vein Chains on a person.

The Earth Vein Chains were not a tangible image, but an invisible bond.

They were the rules by which the world's society and civilization operated, founded on the emotions born from a society composed of people: family affection, love, friendship—these were the most basic prototypes of the chains.

So, what are the chains?

Family values derived from the bond of family affection, parenting methods, and ideological indoctrination, ultimately forming the final form of the family unit, which was then corrupted by self-interest, replacing the bond of family affection, distorting the original concepts, and trapping people in their bloodline—this was the chain of family affection.

Instinctual desires derived from the bond of love form the family unit, based on responsibility, with economy as the pillar, and the next generation as the concept of continuation.

This, too, was ultimately distorted by the base nature of human beings, creating one tragic aftermath after another, trapping people in emotion—this was the chain of love.

Interpersonal relationships derived from the bond of friendship constitute the mode of interaction between people: trust, loyalty, betrayal, reliance, attachment, suspicion… trapping people in others—this was the chain of friendship.

But a person cannot always be trapped in the past.

Although Liffia always thought it was impossible, using various methodologies to prove that she was still too immature.

But judging by her actions, not her intentions, she did reject the family's conditions, and those words were also her impromptu thoughts.

The heart's yearning for freedom was always displayed inadvertently.

She just hadn't prepared herself for the unknown and the unexpected.

The biggest gain from this betrayal was that it made her see clearly that the deal that had previously tempted her—the opportunity to escape the family's shadow, which she desperately wanted but couldn't attain—was essentially a denial of all her efforts.

The family was not granting her freedom from her standpoint, but was bestowing charity from their own standpoint.

But having this impromptu realization also made her understand a principle: that freedom could actually be bestowed by others… but was freedom bestowed by others still truly freedom?

For a moment, Liffia couldn't figure it out… but for things she couldn't figure out, perhaps she could ask her mentor.

The mentor had always been willing to clear any obstacles in the academy for her, which was sufficient to show that she hadn't given up on her.

Since that was the case… she felt that she hadn't reached the point of giving up on herself.

***

In the deep night, Liffia was not the only one who couldn't sleep.

The teaching assistants, who were scattered by the hunting party during the day, gathered together again in the dead of night.

Only, compared to the last time, there was an added sense of dejection…

They couldn't figure out why one person could improve so quickly.

Could someone really be all-powerful?

When their power was unrestricted, they didn't dare to move against the opponent.

Now that their power was restricted, they still couldn't kill the opponent.

Their combat experience, which they took pride in, didn't give them an absolute advantage.

They thought about many problems, even questioning the rationality of the power network.

But they never considered that their dependence on their own spellbooks and the solidification of their combat styles were just as stubbornly resistant to change as the currently imperfect power network.

The "inanimate object" that was the power network would undergo iterative updates, but as beings with more active minds, they were trapped in the past due to their habitual experiences.

The night was deep, and the next day quietly arrived.

"Everyone, turn off your live broadcasts…"

At this moment, someone suggested.

There were also smart people within the teaching assistant group, and they were also very concerned about the interference of the live broadcast.

For people living in the modern era, figuring out some unknown functions was actually quite common.

So, they figured out the hidden rule that they could close the live broadcast for one hour every day.

Although they originally wanted to find a way to completely shut down the live broadcast, they could only settle for the next best thing for now.

As soon as the live broadcast was shut down, everyone knew that the upcoming conversation would be restricted to topics that couldn't be broadcast.

"This mission failed. We did not kill that Yang Yuehan."

"Our lives were saved, weren't they?"

At this moment, someone said something that instantly silenced everyone.

The mission failed… but their lives were saved.

What kind of statement was that?

"Don't talk nonsense."

Someone refuted at this time.

"Yang Yuehan is not a Transcendent Witch. Even if she died completely, it wouldn't drag all of us down to be buried with her."

"Then what about Yang Yuehan's Transcendent girlfriend? Don't avoid reality, okay?"

"People who advance to Transcendent status don't dwell on old relationships. Our families have experienced this many times. But look, after they left our world, few ever came back. Even those who came back wouldn't shelter their original families. A girlfriend… heh heh a relationship without even the bond of bloodline… why would she?"

"Stop arguing. The failure of the mission to kill Yang Yuehan this time is an irresistible danger, and it counts as a… not-quite-explained explanation…"

"That… did we really completely kill…"

"Ahem! I don't know, and you don't know, so that means we didn't."

At this moment, someone quickly interrupted the person who was speaking.

"Alright…"

And in fact, they truly did not possess the artifacts or means to completely kill a person in a way that the Resurrection Spell couldn't revive them.

After all, the efficacy of the Witch's Contract was not to be taken lightly.

But this didn't mean that the contract couldn't be exploited.

However, in the face of such a complete contract, even exploiting a loophole would require very extreme measures.

The joint exam hunt was already in its later stages.

These people were clearly waiting for something.

If it were merely to kill one person, they certainly wouldn't be this united.

As for the face and pride of the teaching assistants, when they resorted to using numbers to bully the weak, these things were no longer worthy of mention.

So, there was a deeper reason behind this.

"There are only two days left until the end of the hunt, right? This siege was proposed by you. We originally thought you were prepared. Are you going to tell us now… that you actually weren't prepared?"

The teaching assistant from the Witch Academy side questioned.

"There is a method, of course… but we have to abide by the contract, and you can't blame us entirely, can you? Who knew they would be so inefficient…"

"Who? Can you stop speaking in such a cryptic way? If it weren't for the family… who would be willing to participate in a mission where they are kept in the dark?"

The Beast Academy person spoke loudly from the side.

"Shut up if you don't understand. Listen more, ask less!"

"It's always like this. Then at least give us something to look forward to! What are we waiting for?"

"I can only say that this joint exam hunt is not that simple. There is a high possibility of an accident. It's as simple as that. Do you understand?"

"An accident? What accident?"

"How would I know? Maybe… some academy is unhappy with us and is creating some trouble for us."

"Some academy is unhappy with us? Who dares to be unhappy with the alliance of so many top academies?"

"…Abyssal Demon…?"

At this moment, someone said this, and everyone instantly fell silent.