Chapter 404: Not Found

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

After bidding farewell with Tisdale, who was in a hurry to run some errands, Baiyi left as well; he also had things to do. At the top of his to-do list was to attend a wine party hosted by the Southern Duke. The only reason he wanted to attend was to keep up the friendship he had with the Duke. Next on the list was a trip to the Sorcerers’ Association, which he had to make the following day. He was their High-Level Consultant, who was in charge of their annual Peer Review and Evaluation of Papers. Only after this could he return to Da Xue.

A wine party could not be attended alone; attendees needed to come with their partners. For Baiyi, coming with a partner would help fend off the advances of female suitors, ranging from ages eight to eighty. Even though these suitors would come to him whilst carrying different emotional baggage, Baiyi was sure he would find them all annoying. The surge in the number of females eyeing Baiyi was not surprising; after all, he was much more popular now than he was in the past.

Had Baiyi’s reputation not turned into a pile of crap because of the stubborn conviction he had towards an unpopular cause? Why would someone like him get invited to a wine party hosted for nobles? Well, the reason was simple: whilst there were people who loathed Baiyi, there were others who supported him. Amongst those that loathed Baiyi, some wanted to defend the status quo; some dreamed of controlling him, and others were suicidal enough to think that they could utilize physical means to contain the Voidwalker.

All these had no effect on Da Xue’s reputation, though. Although some saw its Principal as a mad heretic, they knew that the quality of Da Xue’s courses was unrivaled. Da Xue’s reputation for excellence was unquestionable. The academy’s laureates, after graduation, had gone to provide stellar performances at their respective places of employment. This was no better method to promote an academy.

Baiyi began to advocate for the studying of Voidwalkers and Void Energy after Da Xue shot to fame. As Da Xue — which belonged to the ‘mad heretic’, Baiyi — had many students from noble families, Baiyi’s enemies were unable to act openly hostile towards him; hence, they could only resort to using dirty tricks to spite him.

As for the Treasury Secretary, despite being one of the most vocal opposers of Baiyi’s proposals, he had always maintained, in public, how happy he was with his choice to send his granddaughter to Da Xue, even though his relationship with her had become worse for wear. He had to admit that Da Xue had made great strides in its provision of quality education, thus contributing immensely to the empire.

There were many other nobles that liked Da Xue but opposed Baiyi’s proposition. These nobles had made generous donations to the academy, just so that their kids would obtain admission into Da Xue.

Most knew better than to subscribe to the either-or dichotomy that young people often fall for. After all, if something is good, people praise it; if it is bad, people speak out against it.

Unlike the ruling class, who had deduced Baiyi’s plan, the public greatly admired Da Xue, calling it the paragon of quality education. Whenever they looked at the words carved on the academy’s emblem, which they could not read, they felt hope and reverence.

However, Baiyi was annoyed that he now had a mountain of tasks to deal with; unlike the past, when he was able to focus on teaching his students. Today, Baiyi had to run a school and attend to a ton of external affairs; this left him so stressed that he occasionally felt like stomping the ground. He was no longer able to get away from events, which left him unable to help his ex-students who have had to go through a lot to bring his plan to fruition. Nothing could justify the fact that he, the Principal, was not doing as much as his ex-students.

After the conference, Baiyi went to the transporter portal within the Imperial City.

His partner for the wine party was already waiting for him by the stairs at the door of the Sorcerers’ Association.

She was a mysterious belle. So beautiful was she that passengers who stared at her could not help lose their footing. Her raven-black hair, which cascaded down her book, resembled the finest fabric — straight and lustrous, with edges that were leveled perfectly. Below her Hime-styled hair was a delicately face that had a somber expression on it. This beauty wore the staff uniform of Da Xue’s female instructors. However, she had worn a large cloak to cover her bodacious figure from lust-filled gazes.

This steely belle, as beautiful as a fey, leaned on a panther with jet-black fur. She was engrossed in a book she was holding up, probably as a way to distract herself from the wave of attention and gazes rushing her way. She stood still, aloof and unresponsive to all and sundry, as though she was the ice statue of a noble.

The steely belle flipped pages with a finger, but suddenly, she snapped the book shut as though she had just sensed something in the air. Her eyes glowed with anticipation that, based on the aloof expression she had on only moments ago, seemed uncharacteristic of her. Her beautiful eyes were fixed on a certain location close by.

With a strange gait, a strange looking Soul Armature strode towards her. When she saw it, her divine-like lips curled into a heart-warming smile.

As though pre-planned, bystanders lost their footing and crashed into each other. If one wanted to what effect a smile from a heavenly-defying beauty had on others, that person could ask these bystanders.

As Baiyi approached, the blank panther, which had been lying down on the ground, opened its eyes and looked at him. It raised its paws in an attempt to pat his face, but Baiyi slapped it back down, causing the furry beast to whimper like an innocent kitty.

“Is this a bad habit you had as a cub? Why must you pat a person’s face with your claws drawn, huh?” Baiyi rubbed the panther’s head as he chided it softly.

“It has done this since it was young,” the steely beauty replied.

“I knew it; the girls did not teach their pet right. Those girls! Normal felines would greet their human companion with a friendly rub or lick,” Baiyi said, making sure to put emphasis on the word ‘girls’, lest someone blames the panther’s bad habits on him. His gaze shifted to the steely beauty, and he said, “I thought you would wear a mask. Is all this not enough trouble for you?”

The beauty pursed her lips and let out a very familiar snort, “Hmph!”. This steely beauty was none other than one of the Huffing Piggies, the Warrior Walker.

“Fine, whatever. How did things go?” Baiyi said, changing the subject.

“Success,” the Warrior Walker replied.

“Really? I mean, I remember those ungrateful scumbags being really difficult. Wait… You didn’t…?” Baiyi’s eyes narrowed.

“I had my mask on when I saw them,” the Warrior Walker said. The book in her hand was swiftly replaced by a mask, which she waved at Baiyi.

“That wasn’t the point! I asked, indirectly, if you were violent! Were you?” Baiyi probed, looking concerned.

She looked at him coldly and did not reply. Her cold eyes seemed to convey a chilling message: ‘So, is this the sort of person I am to you? A harpy that is eager to dish out b**tch slaps the instant things don’t go my way, eh?’

Baiyi knew when to surrender. “Okay, okay, okay!”

He had enlisted the Warrior’s help because he was too busy, which was the norm at this time of the year. She had been tasked with resolving disputes that arose between Da Xue and its suppliers because of surprise price hikes, and she seemed to have done her task very well.

“They didn’t say who ordered them to introduce price hikes; they may not know,” the Warrior Walker replied in a monotone.

“Oh, please. As if I need some pawns to tell me who their backers are! It’s that bunch of wretched scumbags again; I’m sure,” Baiyi scoffed, waving his hand dismissively. “Alright. Let’s go.”

The Warrior Walker’s face relaxed, and she smiled. The uniform she had on began to distort, transforming its shape, and soon, it had become a baby-blue evening gown, complete with a headdress. Akin to the climax of a magic show, she had transformed from a respectable lecturer to a stunning lady.

The abrupt transformation, naturally, made the onlookers gawk in astonishment, including females. A number of them approached the Warrior Walker and asked her how she had transformed. However, she ignored every one of them and locked her arms around Baiyi’s, then they walked up the stairs towards the Sorcerers’ Association, with the black panther in tow.

“Ah-hem! Sorry for using you to advertise,” Baiyi whispered, with a look of embarrassment on his face.

“I don’t mind. I like it,” the Warrior Walker calmly replied, leaning even closer to him.

The Warrior Walker had descended into the Divine Leathersuit that Baiyi had obtained years ago, which allowed one to change their appearance. Over the years, Baiyi had conducted tons of research and experimentation on it, and he had made significant breakthroughs. Now, the Divine Leathersuit was powered by Void Energy, not Holy Energy. However, it had lost its abilities to self-repair and mimic one’s powers. It only allowed its users to alter their appearance.

Although the Divine Leathersuit was only a piece of clothing, it could transform into whatever form its user desired. The clothing on its user could also be transformed at will. Although the male Voidwalkers did not like it, the female Voidwalkers were elated whenever they got to use it. They took turns using the Divine Leathersuit, paying no mind to the armor sets that Baiyi had prepared for them.

Voidwalker or not, people feel happy when they look really good, don’t they?

There was a reason why the Warrior Walker transformed in public. It was connected to Da Xue’s plans to commercialize a magical material it had created that allowed one to instantly change their appearance at will. There were two versions of this spell on sale; one was for assassins, and the other was for the public.

This spell was first advertised when Baiyi’s fame began to skyrocket. Back then, Umbra, the association of assassins, had approached Baiyi to help them create a magical tool or technique that would help their assassins seamlessly blend into any environment. Before approaching Baiyi, Umbra had visited several academies and research facilities for the same reason, but they were rejected. The facilities strongly refused to invest their time into what they called a ‘lowly tool for Ninth-graders’. Hence, Umbra came to Baiyi, hoping that he, someone who was famed for being open-minded, would take on their request.

Baiyi mulled over their request for a while before he agreed, and in exchange, Umbra was to carrying five assassinations for him free of charge, whenever he wanted them. For Baiyi, this exchange had netted him a huge harvest. He had gained more from the exchange than Umbra had. Umbra had agreed because they wished to get on Baiyi’s and Da Xue’s good sides.

However, as it was wasteful to invent something this good and not make actual money from it, the Bard Walker persuaded Baiyi to make a watered-down version of the magical clothing he made for Umbra; this one would be unable to change one’s physical appearance, but it would have a number of outfits that the wearer could change their clothing into. This inferior version was to be sold to the nobles, and the revenue would serve as Baiyi’s side income. Male nobles who bought it for their wives could be lured into supporting Baiyi’s cause; after all, requests a woman made in bed were easily adhered to.

Thus, the Warrior Walker’s publicity became an advertisement for the product that the Voidwalkers had named ‘the Instagrand Frock’.

Baiyi was thinking of making some for Mia and the others, and there was no doubt that the outfit options in this version would conform to what he considered ‘proper clothing’.

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