Miss Witch Doesn't Want to be a Diva

A third-year senior, distinguished by a hanging nameplate, led the way in front of us and then introduced the venue to Hexia and rest of the first-year freshmen.

"Each year, the 'Frozen Green Festival' takes place in rotation among three locations, and this is one of them, as well as the site for Huilong Temple Academy," she explained.

"The predecessor of Huilong Temple Academy was an ancient temple located within these mountain caves. It was dedicated to cultivating the Primordial Sequence, and one of its 'Pan Fist Masters' was quite famous locally. To keep up with the changing times, a school was also established within the temple grounds to attract students and carry on the teachings of the Sect. However, they only enroll about 100 students each year, so this place functions more as a part of the temple," she continued.

"With its vast grounds and ample space, it was chosen as one of the venues for the tournament. Huilong Temple also wholeheartedly approves, as the event brings popularity and boosts tourism for the area," the upperclassman mentioned as she led the students out of the station towards the stands.

"Here we are, from here you can look over some parts of the venue," she said, pointing to the neatly arranged 'venues' down below.

Calling them simple tents would be an understatement. These 'venues' were well-organized, square structures with high-strength metal frames that could accommodate thousands of people. The sturdy fabric stretched tight on the outside showcased various shapes and patterns, with students from different academies continuously entering and leaving, making it a bustling scene.

"Our Yuanting Academy's 'venue' is located inside the eastern stone caves. The events and items inside are probably very familiar to all of you, so I suggest you visit the 'venues' of other academies for a more interesting experience," the senior with burgundy hair running down her shoulders cheerfully suggested, before informing everyone about the time to regroup and then letting the freshmen roam freely.

"Wow, it looks so cool," some students immediately rushed to the railing of the stands to look down eagerly after dispersing.

"This is my first time at the 'Frozen Green Festival'; before, I had only occasionally heard about it from upperclassmen," one student said.

"You did not attend school in the Northern First District before, so that makes sense. In fact, in the Northern First District, many students, even if not from one of the top ten schools, will attend the 'Frozen Green Festival.' The organizers encourage this as well. There are around forty or fifty different venues here, built by various schools, even though most are not part of the top ten school tournament," a few students discussed the venue's details.

"Hexia, where is your friend at? Do we want to meet up with her first?" Mel, clad in a fitting dark red winter dress with a crossed grey scarf over her shoulders and holding her favorite grey lunar cat in her arms, inquired. Since school started, the grey lunar cat had grown significantly, its fur mainly grey with white fur only on its paws and belly.

"I'll check where she is," Hexia responded with a nod and took out her personal terminal to get in touch. Underneath her shadow, a large spider watched curiously about. It didn't go out much, but if Hexia went somewhere fun, it always followed.

Hiss, hiss. The large spider, upon seeing a verdant-feathered immortal crane flying above the cave dome, hid itself, taking cover behind Hexia.

Natural Sequence 5·Verdant-Feathered Immortal Crane, a transcendent creature found in forests and mountains, enjoys feeding on poisonous insects, snakes, and frogs. Its beak and feathers are as sharp as swords, with a high resistance to poison. Its down, ground into a powder, makes a fine anti-poison medicament ingredient.

"You also have your fears, huh," the girl said, bending down to pat the large spider before picking it up.

When the invisibility of the large blue-black spider suddenly lifted, an alarmed Mel's face turned pale, and she jumped back hastily, nearly dropping her grey lunar cat. Once Hexia had calmed the large spider down, Mel sighed with relief, realizing that it was not a wild creature but rather tame and kept by the girl.

Phew, I had no idea Hexia had such a frightening companion. I never knew before," she said, still patting her chest, wary to get too close.

"I ended up with it by accident. Actually, it wasn't mine to begin with, but it started following me around after I got to know it while working at that shop and gradually grew familiar," the girl explained, placing the large spider on a railing post. She softly stroked its fuzzy back and habitually tapped its head.

Seeing that the large spider seemed tame, Mel relaxed a bit and slowly approached, crouching in front to take a closer look.

"Is this a Withering Sequence 4 Wolf Spider? It's so obedient~"

"My family also has a very powerful companion, but grandma won't let me bring it out. She says I'm still too young and too weak. If I can't control it and something happens, that would be bad," Mel said regretfully, rubbing her cheek with the ash moon cat in her hand.

"I still like cats the most, even though it's not powerful now, it will grow up with me," Mel said as she lifted the ash moon cat up high.

"Meow~"

Under the high dome's light, the tiny ash moon cat became grand in the camera's view, blocking the light overhead like it was bathed in holy light, and then a slight click imprinted this moment in time.

"Got it, Mel." Hexia held her personal terminal and waved her hand.

"You took a picture just now, huh." Mel was a bit surprised, but also very happy, and asked Hexia for the photo to look at.

Afterwards, the two of them, one carrying the cat, the other followed by an invisible large spider, toured the venue.

First, they walked down from the stands to the ground inside the cave, then passed by various lively 'venues.'

"This is the Lianhong Porcelain Academy's venue; their academy is famous for its expertise in porcelain~" Mel grew up in the Northern First District and was very familiar with these academies.

"Let's go in and take a look first; Yilin will be arriving soon," Hexia nodded, so the two of them walked into the grand venue.

What first caught their eyes were the high-hanging red fish wind chimes. These koi-like ceramic pieces were strung together like lanterns, hanging at different heights within the venue, occasionally clinking against each other, producing a crisp and pleasant sound.

Below was a large and clear pool with various exquisite porcelain pieces placed at different depths. A path of lotus leaves wound through the pool. The glaze on these ceramic pieces, some in pure and clean colors, some painted with intricate patterns, some depicting scenes ranging from ancient court life, industrial-era dense smoke, star-studded celestial constellations, various animated characters, to impressionist-style oil paintings, semi-transparent technological styles, and others as immaculate as white jade incense burners, were especially beautiful.

Some of the porcelain was positioned at the bottom of the pool, with water constantly gushing out of the bottles; some created fountains, while others were held in the hands of statues, tilted so that clear water kept flowing.

At the center of the pool, on a red-patterned white porcelain Lotus Platform, a beautiful girl dressed as a shrine maiden was dancing gracefully. Her white garments, embroidered with crimson birds and emerald branches, fluttered and swayed with her movements, capturing the attention of everyone in the venue.

As she lowered her snow-white sleeves, her pale-pink made-up eyes beneath them became visible, and then another hand slowly emerged from behind the sleeve, holding a small fire-lotus porcelain bottle. The base of the bottle was in clean colors, while the mouth appeared translucent, like red jade.

The pair of white jade hands gently held the porcelain bottle, and as the body turned slowly, the water's surface began to ripple in the same rotating motion, forming six swirling water streams.

As the magnificent dance proceeded, the shrine maiden came to a standstill, and the porcelain bottle she was holding was raised high. The six streams of water then continuously flowed into it, being drawn into the small bottle.

Suddenly, a few seconds later, as the girl's dance steps turned once more, the water streams also rotated, circling around her body, with droplets falling and twinkling in the light, creating a timeless and incredibly beautiful scene.

Finally, the girl's performance ended. She stood poised on the Lotus Platform, one hand holding the bottle, the other outstretched, still in her shrine maiden outfit with crimson birds and jade branches, remaining clean and unstained by a single drop of water. Enjoy new chapters from empire