Under Melina’s watchful gaze and Sellen’s teasing commentary, Bai Shi struggled to dress his teacher’s physical body in an academy robe. Truthfully, clothing a completely unconscious body was an incredibly difficult task. In his past life, Bai Shi had seen people online complain about how much of a pain it was to maintain and change outfits for life-sized dolls. But being broke, he had never experienced this “pain” for himself and had always dismissed it as a humblebrag. Only now, as he got his hands on the problem himself, did he realize they weren’t exaggerating in the slightest. It really was difficult. Bai Shi had no experience dressing other people to begin with, and this body was, for all intents and purposes, a life-sized doll. It wouldn’t cooperate with him in the least, making the task all the more challenging. And unlike a doll with an internal skeleton, a body without a soul was completely limp. He couldn’t even set her in a sitting position on the table to pull the clothes on; the slightest touch would cause her to slump over. This meant Bai Shi had to brace Teacher Sellen’s body against his own just to free his hands to lift her arms and slip the robe on. Teacher Sellen’s body leaned against Bai Shi without reaction, and he had to fight his own physical instincts with sheer willpower. Gazing at Sellen’s exquisite yet lifeless face, Bai Shi suddenly understood a little of why Seluvis was so obsessed with creating puppets. Of course, Bai Shi still felt that Seluvis was an extremist and a sicko. He strongly condemned Seluvis’s actions—cruelly harming other living beings to satisfy his own perverted desires. But a life-sized doll... it really was something else. Especially the sight of one being posed at will. The feeling was truly unique. However, Bai Shi didn’t dare entertain any other thoughts. Though it seemed he was the only one in the room, both Melina and Teacher Sellen were watching him in their spiritual forms. It was just that Sellen’s soul transference relied on a ritual, not her own power, so she couldn’t perceive Melina the way Ranni could. Thus, Sellen was still unaware that a certain young woman was currently observing from the sidelines. Once the primeval glintstone was removed, all of Sellen’s bodily functions had ceased. Even the bleeding had stopped, though he wasn’t sure by what method. But the blood that had already flowed from the incision on her chest had soaked a large patch of her thin, white undergarment. Just moments ago, Teacher Sellen had been teasing Bai Shi, asking if he wanted to take off the blood-stained undergarment completely. Bai Shi had, of course, righteously refused. If he had actually done it, Melina would surely have been heartbroken. Finally, under Teacher Sellen’s direction, Bai Shi frantically managed to get the robe back onto her physical body. Once the clothes were more or less on, Bai Shi let out a long sigh of relief. He had to admit, the pressure had been immense. This was somehow even more nerve-wracking than facing a powerful enemy on the battlefield. But just then, Bai Shi realized something. “Teacher, I suddenly have a question...” ‘Hm? Go ahead and ask.’ “You’ll have to put the primeval glintstone back in when we get to the academy.” “So why did you have me put your clothes back on now?” “Besides, the blood from the undergarment has soaked through the outer robe.” Sellen’s spirit retorted: ‘That’s why I told you to take it off. You were the one who refused to remove the undergarment, weren’t you?’ ‘Besides, of course it was necessary.’ ‘Were you planning to carry my body out of here just like that? Dressed only in that thin little thing?’ ‘I wouldn’t mind, of course. It’s just a mortal shell.’ ‘But I imagine the tales of the Lord of Stormveil would gain a rather interesting new chapter, wouldn’t they? Heh heh heh.’ Bai Shi was stunned. What was that supposed to mean? Oh, right. Teacher Sellen didn’t seem to know he had a spatial disc. As Bai Shi placed her body into the disc’s space, Teacher Sellen’s laughter came to an abrupt halt. ‘...Heh heh, so that’s how you can carry it out.’ ‘Well, just consider it a little joke, then.’ ‘In any case, you’ll still have to go through the trouble of taking it all off again when we get there~’ Bai Shi covered his face. Teacher, was this really necessary? But he supposed this meant she had now completely opened up to him—both physically and emotionally. Although Teacher Sellen was incredibly stern, meticulous, and even a bit terrifying during lessons... ...outside of teaching, she was remarkably kind, deeply cared for her students, and had the feel of a cool big sister. Though it seemed the current Teacher Sellen was letting herself go a little. Perhaps it had been too long since she’d found someone who could understand her. Now, facing her apprentice, she was acting a bit overly affectionate. ...Then again, this contrast was rather nice. He preferred this to her deliberately maintaining her distance as the Graven Witch and his teacher. This felt much better. Bai Shi glanced around the cellar and suddenly asked Sellen another question: “Teacher, shouldn’t you bring your staff?” From within the primeval glintstone, Sellen thought for a moment. Bai Shi had a space to store items, so he could indeed take it. But her current staff wasn’t anything special; just something she had found lying around. ‘Forget it. The academy is full of staves.’ ‘Once we get there, I’ll just grab a high-quality one.’ Bai Shi could hear the disdain Sellen had for her current staff. He considered it, then decided not to reveal Lusat’s Glintstone Staff just yet. With her power, Teacher Sellen should be perfectly capable of wielding it. But it would be better to bring up the two masters after he had slain an adult Astel and brought her the golden amber from its body. He had to prevent Teacher Sellen from creating another Graven-School of sorcerers in her quest to study the Primeval Current, which would only lead to her turning herself into a sphere again. A life that imitates the stars is, after all, inferior to a life born among them. But right now, he had no proof to show her, which made things awkward. Even if Sellen doted on him, she wasn’t likely to change her entire approach to studying the Primeval Current based on his word alone. Melina watched from the side as Bai Shi interacted with Sellen’s body, an inexplicable sense of crisis rising within her. Why did it feel like so many “peerless experts” were suddenly popping up around Bai Shi? Was it always ? First, there was Senessax, who, after being rescued, had signed a contract that was tantamount to pledging her life to him. Then came the “Lunar Princess,” Ranni, whom Bai Shi clearly cared for deeply. And now, Teacher Sellen, who had never shown any odd tendencies before, seemed to be acting strangely. It had started as a deep bond between teacher and student, but wasn’t this a bit too close now? Although she could tell Sellen was probably just teasing Bai Shi for fun, Melina couldn’t treat it as a trivial matter. ‘Damn it, I was here first!’ Melina felt her emotions were becoming strange. The desire to have him all to herself seemed to have grown stronger than before. In her own self-reflection, Melina knew she shouldn’t be , yet she couldn’t stop such thoughts from surfacing. She didn’t understand where this possessive emotion came from. Before, just seeing Bai Shi made her happy. Just being by his side brought her bliss. But after everything that had happened recently, that was no longer enough. Now that he had Teacher Sellen, his living map, with him, Bai Shi decided to head for the academy immediately. But before setting off, he made a special trip back to Stormveil. If, after he conquered the academy, the Cuckoos refused to submit, then the army of Stormveil would march into Liurnia and take it by force. Recently, Stormveil had raised another massive army. This time, Bai Shi didn’t form an elite knightly order composed entirely of powerful warriors like the Dragonblood Knights or the Silver Knights. Instead, he followed the standard military configuration of the Lands Between: a host of soldiers led by a core of knights. It consisted of over three thousand skilled soldiers, commanded by several hundred knights. These soldiers were all Tarnished, possessing combat prowess far exceeding that of ordinary soldiers in the Lands Between. Once the Dragonblood Knights returned from Caelid, escorting the mages, they would be ready to unify the region of Liurnia. An army of this size would have no problem at all fighting the Cuckoos. A victory would be easy to achieve. Using a site of grace, Bai Shi teleported to the Academy Gate Town in Liurnia. From here, the path led directly to the south gate of Raya Lucaria, where he could use the academy’s Glintstone Key to enter. The moment he emerged from the grace, Bai Shi habitually cast Unseen Form on himself. He didn’t want to alert the enemy prematurely. It would be a shame if his presence was discovered early and led to some unforeseen complication. Once he used the Glintstone Key and was inside the academy, there would be no more need for stealth. At worst, he would just smash his way through. Bai Shi began searching the vicinity of the Academy Gate Town for the main road to the academy. The town itself was deserted, now serving as a garrison for Cuckoo soldiers. He could see quite a few second-generation Albinaurics wandering about the area. Every so often, he would see clashes break out between the Albinaurics and the Cuckoo soldiers. Ever since Raya Lucaria sealed itself off, the Albinaurics had all been driven out. These second-generation Albinaurics were no longer of any use to the sorcerers. Thus, the numerous Albinaurics could only wander the vast lakes of Liurnia, searching for a new home. The most update n0vels are published on 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭⟡𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦⟡𝘯𝘦𝘵 The vast majority of them had already left, moving far away from the academy and the Cuckoo Knights. But a small portion of them, with nowhere to go and possessing relatively low intelligence, could only linger among the nearby ruins, unwilling to leave. The Gate Town was too large, and Bai Shi couldn't immediately find the road that led to the academy’s main entrance. He didn’t find the road, but in a secluded spot, he did see two people locked in a fierce battle.