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Chapter 429: Being A Teacher

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

Although it was already winter time and the freezing wind was blowing outside, Lucien's garden was still warm and cozy, with lots of blooming flowers spreading a sweet aroma.

With his hands in his suit pockets, Lucien did not start asking the students about their studies right away. Instead, he asked about their progress in promotion, "I've heard it from Lazar that you're all very confident in becoming real sorcerers soon, and maybe a few months later, you will be able to do so with the help of the magic potion, Silver Moon… Is that right?"

Annick, Heidi, Layria, and Katrina exchanged a look between each other, having no idea whether their teacher's true intention was to praise their fast advancement or to criticize their arrogance. They got a bit nervous and did not reply.

Yet Sprint, the apprentice who was always the most confident one among them all, nodded confidently. "Under your teaching, our math and magic analysis level is no inferior to that of the low-rank sorcerers now, Sir. The requirement for our spiritual power level is thus lowered. We'll try advancing in a few months. We've talked to a few low-rank sorcerers and they all agreed."

When mentioning Lucien's way of teaching, Sprint's heart twitched a bit. Memories of the high piles of test papers and exercise books still lingered around in his brain.

Lucien paced leisurely and said casually, "In the Ancient Magic Empire, barely one out of a hundred apprentices could become a real sorcerer. Ever since the establishment of the Congress, in spite of the multiple developments and perfection of arcana and teaching methods, we still only have three to four students in a senior apprentice class who can finally make it."

Annick and Layria's face flushed, and the words of apologies almost burst out from their mouths. While Sprint, Heidi, and Katrina felt that they were wronged and were about to explain.

Lucien waved his hands and continued. "But you all are different. You're relatively talented, and plus my strict teaching, you have a relatively solid foundation for further studying math and magic. Ha, this is how a large amount of exercise and practice can help you. Also, you guys have been working in the most advanced institution, and all the studies you have been exposed to in every single day are only available on the journals to most people, and those are studies that most low-rank arcanists find very challenging to understand. In this case, if any of you fail to promote, it is surely because of your own inattention and carelessness, not because you are not ready. Am I clear?"

"Yes, Sir!" the apprentices all grinned. They realized that their teacher was encouraging them!

During the long journey of studying magic, to become a real sorcerer was the first biggest challenge to these cubs. Although they were quite confident, there must still be worries and anxiety deep in their hearts. These apprentices had seen their peers failed promotion, and this must have left negative impacts on their young mind, further strengthening their worries.

Now that Lucien had analyzed their strengths for them, he relieved their fear and gave them lots of hope to succeed.

After encouraging his students, Lucien smiled and said, "so, what about the studies you guys are working on recently?"

Sprint answered first, as always. He said in frustration, "Sir, you asked us to study gas discharge to figure out its causes. But as soon as we discovered cathode ray and electron, Mr. Brook found the answer from lightning between clouds: It is the free electrons that caused gas discharge. So we lost our direction and have to go back to study cathode ray and electron to see what we can find here in this new field."

Brook's experiment was very simple but extremely risky. Only a legendary arcanist could manage to do so. Even he himself would have to resurrect from prepared methods if anything went wrong. Therefore, the apprentices lost their precious opportunity and could only watch Brook publish the paper.

"Cathode ray and electron are related to the inner structure of an electron. Studying them will help you guys step into the real microworld. Even if Mr. Brook hadn't found the answer, I would still suggest you go for this direction. This is a brand new realm, a vault full of treasures. Within reaches, you can find things that are totally inconceivable in the past." Lucien spoke seriously, like a real teacher.

Heidi and Sprint nodded enthusiastically. For countless times in the past, it had been proved that it was the bold pioneers who got the biggest gains when a new field was discovered, while the cowards were left with nothing but regret.

"Sir, can we also study cathode ray and electron, apart from the low-temperature studies?" Katrina asked anxiously.

In the experiment of charcoal's absorption of air under low temperatures, Katrina and Layria helped Jerome a lot as his main assistants. However, because it was a project assigned by Lucien, Lucien was unquestionably the first author, followed by Jerome who conducted the experiment. As apprentices, they could not even have their names put on it. At that time, they could only watch their teachers gaining lots of citation credits and patent use income, as they were not yet formal arcanists.

But Lucien was quite generous to the apprentices. Although he could not give any arcana credits to them, since it was the rule of the Congress, Lucien gave them a proportion of arcana points from selling the patent of creating vacuum using low-temperature charcoal. Although it was not a lot for Lucien who, after all, had a dragon as "pet", Katrina and Layria quickly saved up enough points for buying the magic potion they needed and could now afford their own experiment materials.

Therefore, Katrina was full of passion facing the brand new realm of atom. She hoped that she could win the highest award in this certain field like Mr. Evans and Ms. Isabella, and fulfill her dreams.

"Of course. In your spare time, you all can do whatever experiments you're interested in. You can use the magic circles and alchemical circles in the institution as well." Lucien nodded.

"Awesome! Thank you, Mr. Evans!" Layria cheered. "In the past two to three months, we haven't made any substantial progress in studying cryogenic materials, only collected some more data. It can be boring sometimes…"

"Studies on alchemical materials require repeated experiments and extensive collections of data. Thus, it is one of the most time-consuming projects and requires lots of patience. Don't think about making a huge achievement right away, but don't underestimate your work either. Every single experiment can be vital for your future finding. In the future. Your finding can be significant in popularizing level one and two alchemical items and lowering the price of high-rank items. You may win the Holm Crown prize because of it," said Lucien.

After chatting with most of his students, Lucien looked at Annick, the young man who was always quiet and shy. "What are you working on recently? You've got a direction?"

Annick's face slightly flushed. "Mr. Evans, I've been studying electron as well. Since free electrons are the cause of gas discharge, I wonder if the electric current is caused by electrons as well."

"Interesting. Go on." Lucien slowed down his pace and walked with Annick side by side. The other apprentices were also looking at Annick curiously.

It was a rare experience for Annick to attract so much attention, so he got a bit nervous. "I've been trying to design an experiment to prove it, but my knowledge in Electromagnetics is too shallow, so I could not find a way out. I-I then turned to some of the books by Mr. Brook, including Electromagnetics and his most recent papers, and his paper discussing the surprising result of the photoelectric effect experiment inspired me."

"So you've figured this out?" Asked Lucien, feeling a bit amused. Obviously, Brook had great faith in his quantum theory, which had been forgotten by most arcanists. Right now most arcanists were directly using the thermal radiance equation without giving any thoughts to why it works.

Annick hurriedly shook his head. "No, no… There's no way that I can figure out something that has been able to bother Mr. Brook for so long. I was inspired because the paper showed that, when casting a certain frequency of light on a piece of metal, there were electric currents. As a piece of metal itself does not carry any electricity, and light cannot be converted into electric currents, then what created the currents?

"If it's like what I assumed… that an electric current is related to electrons, does it mean that the projection of light makes the piece of metal carry electrons? If the answer is yes, does it prove, from the other way around, that an electron is part of the inner structure of an atom?" Explained Annick.

"Good, very good. A very daring hypothesis…" Lucien was generous with his compliments, "So the next step is to prove it. You will need a carefully-designed experiment to show that the photoelectric effect produces electrons."

Hearing the encouraging words, Annick's face turned into a red, ripe apple. He nodded hard. "I… I'll try my best."

Annick was not afraid of Mr. Evans stealing his idea, as Mr. Evans was always surrounded by the highest awards in different fields: He had won Holm Crown prize and Immortal Throne, and he was going to win Arcana Scepter.

There was no way that a teacher like Mr. Evans would steal his student's idea.

Also, as Mr. Evans was present, the rest of the apprentices would not dare to put their hands upon it, unless Annick invited them, or he gave up upon the project on his own.

The rest of the apprentices more or less envied and had some dark thoughts flashing past. But seeing Mr. Evans's warm smile, they quickly drove the dark thoughts away.

"Soon you'll all be real sorcerers…" Lucien paused a bit on purpose, and continued when the apprentices' face lit up, "… but don't think that you do not need to study hard anymore after that. On the contrary, more profound knowledge is waiting for you. To get you all more prepared for the future study after becoming sorcerers, I've prepared many sets of calculus and math analysis exercises."

The lovely smile on the apprentices' face suddenly disappeared.

"Also, I will turn the contents from the school of Electromagnetics, Light-darkness, Force Field, Thermodynamics, Element, Alchemy, Illusion, Astrology, Transformation, Necromancy into basic modules and exercises. So you guys can learn better," said Lucien.

Summoning was not Lucien's strength, and he was not planning on delving into it any sooner.

The apprentices were now very dispirited. Heidi murmured to herself,

"May I'm not in a hurry to promote…"

...

After the apprentices left, Lucien's villa had a new visitor.

"Mr. Evans, my teacher, Mr. Douglas, wants to invite you to his demiplane to talk about artificial planets," said the young man not even in his thirties.

He had the typical black hair and blue eyes of Holms and was wearing a monocle. The young man with fine features looked gracious and gentle, but the badges in front of his chest clearly showed that he was a level-six arcanist and eighth circle sorcerer, as well as the member of the Affair Committee.

Is it about to begin?

Lucien has some unreal feeling in his mind.

Chapter 430: The Intense Argument

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

Douglas's demiplane was very different from Thanatos's The Resting Place, Fernando's Thunder Hell, and Hathaway's Element Paradise. When Lucien first stepped in the demiplane with Norman, a member from the Affair Committee who was here to guide Lucien, he did not even realize that they had arrived in a demiplane. Douglas's demiplane looked just like an extension of the real material world. Everything in here functioned following the same rules. Although they all looked plain and normal, fascinating secrets were hiding behind.

Although the demiplanes all looked different because the legendary sorcerers had different understandings of the world and different preferences, they all represent unique features. Yet in Douglas's demiplane, there were lush black forests, and mirror-like lakes, connecting to tall green mountains at the other end of the sky. The magic tower was surrounded by a green lawn that was like a fuzzy carpet. This place had no difference from the real material world.

"My teacher's dream is to understand the world. So his demiplane resembles the real world the most." Norman smiled and explained.

Lucien nodded slightly and looked around. "No wonder Mr. President chose to name this place Linsorde."

In the language of the ancient Sylvanas Magic Empire, Linsorde meant the truth of the world. Therefore, Douglas's demiplane was also called the Land of Truth, and the World in Mirror.

Entering through the magic gate guarded by two mythril golems, Norman led Lucien into a small living room. Two guests, one male and one female, were already sitting there.

The living room was decorated with scarlet carpets, scattered armchairs, tea tables, and several rows of bookshelves. The arrangement was rather casual and cozy. This place looked like Douglas's private meeting room for seeing his friends and the juniors.

"Mr. Douglas, His Excellency the Lord of Storm, and His Excellency the Prophet are still doing the last test. Let's wait here for a moment." Norman explained, and then he introduced the two guests to Lucien. "They are Mr. Douglas's students as well. They happened to be in town right now and are thus here to witness the historic moment: If the planet created by Mr. Douglas can revolve around this world, and be observed by the astrology towers on the ground, it will be a powerful proof for his celestial bodies motion system. There'd be no more queries or suspicions."

Norman was, obviously, so excited that he almost forgot to continue the introduction. Thankfully he realized in time and, pointing to the middle-aged man with grizzled hair, hurriedly said to Lucien, "This is Artil, the student who has followed Mr. Douglas for the longest time. He specializes in Astrology, Force Field, Transformation, and Light-darkness."

Artil had a thin face and protruding cheekbones. His eyes were narrow, and so were his lips. The badges he wore showed that he was a level-eight arcanist and ninth circle archmage, but was not a member of any board or committee, nor of the Highest Council.

He nodded and said in a plain but slightly biting tone, "I'm not the student who has followed Mr. Douglas for the longest time. There is one who's elder than me and has been the student of Mr. Douglas for even longer."

Hearing that, Norman and the female were quite embarrassed, having no idea how to respond. Lucien realized who Artil was talking about: He was referring to the Emperor of Control, the Poem of the Goddess — Mr. Brook. It was said that now Brook and Douglas had become strangers because of their divergence over the particle or wave nature of light.

Norman and the female arcanist were still relatively young, and they never experienced this with their own eyes. To them, the past between Brook and Douglas were written legends and, without experiencing it by themselves, it is difficult to hold extreme disgust and hate towards Brook. Artil, however, had been following Douglas for a long time and probably had also been classmates with Brook for a long time. In his eyes, Brook's behavior was a filthy betrayal. No wonder Artil was showing no respect to Brook at all.

Seeing that Lucien did not try to dig further into the topic, Norman hurriedly turned to introduce the young lady to Lucien. "This is Luciana, also a student of Mr. Douglas. She specializes in Element, Astrology, Force Field, Summoning, and Transformation. Also, she has an in-depth study in math. She should share many topics with you, Evans."

"I've just finished reading Nature, and I'm very interested in the new geometry systems put forward by you and Mr. Levski. I'm planning on further developing them." said the young lady with red, flame-like hair. It seemed that she was not even twenty-five, but her badges showed that she was a level-seven arcanist and an eighth circle sorcerer, as well as a member of the Arcana Review Board.

Before Lucien could reply, Artil smiled and said, "Luciana, why waste your time on math? It's useless for practical arcana and magic. Time is precious to everyone. Although we live quite long, we need to spend hundreds of years to get an inch closer to the truth of the world. So, we can't afford wasting time at all. If our teacher's experiment on artificial planets works, it's going to be a huge breakthrough in both Astrology and Force Field. You'll be overwhelmed by the new research projects."

The new geometry systems were nothing important to him, obviously.

Norman, standing beside, nodded imperceptibly. He seemed to agree with Artil, but he could not speak it out right in front of Luciana like Artil, especially when Lucien was present.

"It's my habit. It's what I like to do to relax," refuted Luciana coldly. She loved studying the beauty of math, but, in fact, she also had not seen the practical value of the two new geometry systems for arcana and magic.

"… So, this is Mr. Lucien Evans… I believe I don't have to say much here. Mr. Evans is the most well-known genius arcanist, and has a special talent in Element, Thermodynamics, and Math." Norman quickly changed the topic.

Artil pointed at the couch and said, "take a sit, Evans. Before our teachers come back, we can have a talk. Although I don't know much about elements, I do know that what you recently found – electron – is the cause of lightning. Interesting, I thought the school of electromagnetics was based on the wave theory."

When Artil was not expressing his contempt, he was okay.

"In fact, the school of Electromagnetics always believes that electric current is the external expression of the motion of electric charge. Before, the only problem was that it was never connected to microscopic particles," said Lucien justifiably as he took a sip of the lemon black tea brought by the servants.

"Anyways, particles form the essence and foundation of the world!" Artil said in a frenetic way, "as long as the experiment works and artificial planets are created, Brook will never be able to attack our teacher's theory anymore! There must be other reasons why we haven't found any planet yet! In this case, our teacher's experiment on light speed will strongly prove that the medium Ether does not exist, and without medium, the wave theory of light will collapse like a tall building that has lost its foundation!

"Light and spiritual power come in the form of particles! They must be particles!"

Norman frowned and interrupted Artil. "Mr. Douglas's experiment has not succeeded yet. Even if it does, it will only be a powerful proof, not a complete proof. Maybe there will be other explanations of this experiment based on theories containing Ether. So far, we cannot use the particle theory of light to explain the diffraction of light and the spot discovered in Brook's experiment. We can't get too optimistic."

"Okay, Norman, I get it. You're in fact an advocate of wave theory, right?!" Artil flew into a rage. "Why isn't it the other way around? Why don't you say that the diffraction of light is only a powerful proof, not a complete proof, and there may be other explanations based on the particle theory? "

Offended by Artil, Norman became a bit irritated. "Open your eyes, Artil. In the past decades, all the theories trying to explain the particle theory have been proved wrong. How many arcanists in the Congress are still supporting particle theory? If you want to overthrow wave theory, you first explain the diffraction of light! Your eyes have been blinded by jealousy!"

"Jealousy?!" Artil pointed to himself angrily and unbelievably. "I'm jealous of Brook, that jerk?! I'm merely believing in my own judgment!"

Luciana also joined the argument. "Unfortunately, Norman, sorry to let you down, but I'm also one of the few arcanists who still support particle theory. You don't possess truth simply because you've got more people on your side!"

"It's true that sometimes the truth may be held in the minority's hands, but particle theory cannot even explain the experiment phenomena! How could you make the arcanists believe in it!" Norman unconsciously revealed his true inclination.

"You betrayed us!" Artil's narrow eyes widened because of anger.

"I'm simply adhering to the truth!" Norman refuted tersely.

The three students of Douglas were involved in a fierce quarrel because of the wave theory and particle theory, and Lucien was left aside by them, forgotten.

Lucien wiped off the few beads of cold sweat on his forehead, worried that they might start fighting at any time. Obviously, any debate over the wave theory and particle theory in the Congress could be very dangerous…

"Norman, are you still working on the first driving force? Such arrogance! Even our teacher cannot solve the problem! Who do you think you are!?" Shouted Artil.

"It's none of your business. Mr. Douglas also put much emphasis on it, as it has something to do with the ultimate destination of his theoretical system. Artil, I know you've been working on it secretly as well! Look at yourself first!" Norman yelled.

Their argument became more and more intense, and suddenly, the three of them turned and looked at Lucien simultaneously.

"Evans, what do you think? Is it the wave theory or particle theory?"

"Evans, I was told that you are the one who proposed the experiment on artificial planets to help Mr. Douglas prove that Ether does not exist?"

"I believe every arcanist specializing in Element should be a firm supporter of the particle theory."

Lucien was suddenly forced into the argument. When he was still weighing his words, Douglas, Fernando, and the Prophet from Tower walked down the stairs.

Chapter 431: The Launching

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

The formal evening dress that Douglas used to wore had been replaced by a flowing grey magic robe of fine texture, on which countless dots and lines formed various mysterious patterns. He was also wearing an ancient Magic Empire top hat of the same color, surrounded by many colorful crystal stones that resembled a tiny celestial system.

The way how Douglas was dressed reminded people that Douglas was not only the establisher of the Congress of Magic, but also a survivor of the ancient Magic Empire after its downfall. The aesthetics that had been fostered when he was young are still imprinted in his brain.

"Lucien, thank you for your suggestion. With strict calculation and complex alchemy procedures, I have made an artificial planet. The next step will be sending it to the preset orbit." Douglas greeted Lucien genially.

Meanwhile, Douglas put his right hand on the magic pouch, and a silver-grey sphere instantly rose up in the air in front of him.

As the product of a first-time experiment, the size of this artificial planet was quite small, only half the size of a human body. The tiny, mysterious planet was covered with silver-grey metal gloss and inlaid with all kinds of gems and sophisticated magic lines. The whole sphere seemed to be completely wrapped in layers of magic circles.

"It looks very sophisticated…" Lucien murmured. According to Lucien, the purpose of the experiment would be achieved as long as Douglas could prove that a satellite was able to revolve around this world. Other further functions were factors that could be considered later, such as communication, investigation, location, as well as being used as a weapon, or it would be a waste of time.

Douglas grinned. "Not really, not really… This universe is full of hazards: this magic circle is designed to resist low temperature…"

Very patiently, Douglas started introducing every magic circles on the surface of the metal ball to Lucien.

Lucien could not agree with him in his mind, yet he still listened to Douglas carefully to learn more about the magic circles and asked questions from time to time. In the end, Lucien asked on purpose,

"Mr. President, why don't you add the magic circles for receiving and sending signals? So we can locate it from here and keep a closer track of it."

"I've put the similar permanent magic circles in it," Douglas was not disturbed by Lucien's many questions at all, but answered him with patience, "… also, the function of its main magic circle goes beyond your imagination. It's a magic circle that could almost rival legendary magic."

"What is it?" Asked Luciana curiously.

"I'll keep it as a secret for now. You'll see when it works." Douglas smiled at his students.

Artil's narrow eyes stared at the metal ball frenetically. "I can't wait to see it… I can't wait to show those idiots that our teacher's theory is correct, to show them that their dream about Ether is just an illusion!"

Fernando snorted. "Claiming victory before the experiment even started. You're the most stupid idiot I've ever seen."

Fernando's words lashed out as usual, even though Douglas was just beside him. If it had been Douglas who said those words, Fernando would have given the same response as well.

Artil dared not to debate with Fernando. He lowered his head, feeling quite humiliated.

Bergner, the Prophet from Tower, looked at Douglas with slight concern. "The reason why no planet has been found yet is complicated. Maybe we can't observe an artificial planet in the universe neither. Mr. President, you have to be prepared for the possible failure. The failure can't completely deny your theory."

Bergner was wearing Tower's unique grey, pointy hat. His brows and beard had all turned white. Except for his eyes, which were as deep as the starry sky, he looked like an ordinary old man.

Since it was a reminder from the Prophet, the look on the students' face slightly changed. They wondered if Mr. Bergner had already seen the result by casting Horoscope…

But their concern was wiped out by Douglas immediately. Douglas smiled casually and said, "I have failed many times trying to find a planet. One more failure isn't something that can defeat me. It only means my theory is not yet perfect. Maybe I missed something, and all the failures will lead me to find the answer. A throne of success is always made by failures. Don't be dazzled by my current reputation and status so that you forget that I have also already been through countless failures."

Douglas looked up and stared at the virtual starry sky of the demiplane above. "The world is so vast and broad. The further you explore, the smaller you feel about yourself. What did this world look like at the very beginning? Where will the many questions lead to in the very end? We have no idea. Anything that is unknown deserves our reverence. We can't keep ourselves away from them because of fear and uncertainty.

"If today our experiment works, we will prove that human beings can also create planets and create a world. We are taking the first step!"

Douglas' smiling eyes turned to look at Lucien, "And this is all thanks to Lucien. His unrestrained thoughts and reversed way of thinking have freed me from my past experience."

Hearing the praise, Lucien thought to himself that the president's small step probably meant one giant leap for mankind.

Fernando noticed that Lucien was being absent-minded. He gave Lucien a threatening stare and then turned to Douglas. "No more lecturing. An award-winning speech should be saved until success, or it would turn into a joke."

Bergner also smiled and explained, "What I just said was not a prophecy. I was simply showing my care to an old friend. If I want to do a fortune telling for Douglas, I would have to prepare for at least a month for the result to not be too ridiculously wrong."

Artil, Luciana, and Norman gradually cheered up.

Douglas did not say anything. He nodded slightly and put the artificial planet back into his pouch and turned on the magic tower.

The stars in the virtual night sky suddenly went out. The mountains, forest, lake, prairie, and the magic tower itself were completely encased by the darkness.

Then the white lines on the magic tower lit up one by one and formed a very complex magic circle.

As soon as the magic circle became complete, the magic tower started trembling fiercely with a loud buzzing noise. A great power, like a roaring ocean, gathered in front of Douglas and formed a mysterious gate inlaid with countless constellation symbols.

"All of you, go back to Allyn, and watch the sky carefully," said Douglas.

Meanwhile, his formidable spiritual power spread out. The power was like a burning sun, and it made Lucien and the others unable to open their eyes or spread out their spiritual power.

Finishing his words, Douglas pushed his spiritual power fiercely toward the stargate and opened a gap. Then he stepped in and disappeared in the darkness and void.

This was how a satellite was launched in this world. Lucien stared at the gradually vanishing gate, speechless. No expensive fuels, no giant rocket, no ignition device. All Douglas needed to do was to take the satellite with him and do a space jump.

Lucien truly realized that, in this world of magic, there were still many aspects that were more advanced than that of the Earth. It's just he still had no clue how they worked.

In this world, a grand arcanist himself was a rocket, a satellite, an intercontinental missile, a combination of power and glory!

"To explore the planets far away from us, it will take two to three years to prepare a space jump. The longest might take several decades. As for a short-distance jump like this, it only takes a few days of preparation," explained Fernando.

Bergner, the Prophet, looked at the crystal ball in his hand. "Let's go back to Allyn. We cannot miss this great moment. Three to five minutes later, Douglas will be able to enter the preset orbit."

Douglas will be able to enter the preset orbit… Lucien thought this sentence sounded a bit weird, and had a deeper understanding of the grand arcanists' non-human nature.

Then he went back to Allyn with rest of the people in the demiplane.

Standing on the thirty-third floor of the headquarter's tower, they stared at the night sky. Time went by, but nothing happened.

Luciana asked nervously, "is there a problem?"

It sounded like she was asking other people, but also like she was murmuring to herself.

"No, there will be no problem. It is just somehow delayed," said Artil decisively.

Norman remained as calm as the two legendary sorcerers. He said in a low voice, "Mr. Douglas's theory should be correct…"

Lucien stared at the sky, feeling both excited and worried. This was another exploration of the truth of the world.

Would it work?

Would a new star be born?

The stars in the sky were like countless eyes. Following the tracks that they had been obeying for millions of years, the stars were always the same silent.

...

Watching the stars on her own platform at home, Samantha was trying to improve a magic spell for interfering in destiny.

During her short break, she was still looking at the night sky with pure appreciation.

"A starry sky is the most gorgeous scenic beauty in this world. It is deep and boundless. It is charming, and also formidable…" Samantha murmured to herself as if reciting a poem.

All of a sudden, her beautiful eyes opened extremely wide! So wide that her eyeballs could probably fall out from her eye sockets.

In the starry sky, a new star appeared without any prior signs!

It was so close, so bright, and its track was so special!

"The birth of a star?"

Samantha could not close her mouth.

...

Lance, the Holy City.

The pope was leafing through a book. Suddenly, he felt something and looked out of the window. He saw that, in the sky, there was that dazzling bright star that had never been seen before. The star was so bright that it had lit up half the sky. Even the sunset glow could not hide the light of the star!

The book dropped to the ground from Benedict II's hand. Totally shocked, he murmured subconsciously,

"A new star…?"

"Who did it?!"

...

In Allyn, when the star lit up in the sky, Artil burst out a low roaring, giving a full vent to his feelings.

"It worked! Mr. Douglas is correct!" Luciana hailed, with tears in her eyes.

Fernando slightly shook his head, "So bright… like he's afraid the others won't see it."

Lucien rubbed his forehead, feeling a bit speechless. So that was the function of the main magic circle? … To burst out bright light like the sun? Was Douglas worried that the Church might miss this historic moment?

But Lucien thought that since this satellite would soon be shot down within several hours because of the main magic circle installed in it, the launching of other satellites with different functions could be put on their agendas.

It actually worked…

It really is a planet…

...

In Rentato, in Antiffler, in Tria, in Aalto, and in countless other cities, no matter it was day or night, those with extraordinary power and the ordinary people were all staring at the sky, totally stunned.

They had never seen the birth of a new star!

Chapter 432: Reactions of Different Parties

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

The stars in the sky all dimmed under the dazzlingly bright light from the new star, as if a new sun had appeared. Radiating a glaring light without any constraint, the new star orbits along its own track unaffected.

Feeling that something was going on, Brook walked out from his demiplane. Standing on the thirty-fourth floor of the Allyn magic tower, he stared vacantly at the starry sky,

"This isn't the birth of a new star…"

"Its orbit is too close. If it's a real star, it will crush into this world, destroying everything…"

"What is it?"

"The power is beyond mighty…"

As a grand arcanist and legendary sorcerer, as well as the student of Douglas, Brook had figured out in his head the range of the orbit based on only observing the size of the star, its brightness, and some other parameters. Although it was not accurate, it was enough for him to tell how far the star was from this world.

For this very reason, Brook was a bit shocked. To him, if it had actually been the birth of a new star, he would not have been so surprised and confused, but would have rather taken it as something worthy of in-depth study and prepared the relevant spells for research.

But this one was an artificial star!

…

In the Kingdom of Brianne, in a tall magic tower reaching the sky.

Staring at the stars in his crystal ball, a senior-rank astrologer who was supposed to be doing his fortune-telling was, however, now gazing at the night sky with his mouth slightly open. He had never seen such a bright star before, and the birth of the star just happened like that without any signs!

This was even more bizarre than the scarlet moon!

"What star is it?" The astrologer murmured after quite a while.

Then, he hurriedly looked down at the crystal ball in his hand. When a new star was born, the track of destiny would surely be affected. He was somewhat annoyed and frustrated, as the birth of a star will bring great changes in the River of Destiny and he would have to restart his divination.

Half an hour later, he suddenly raised his head and looked into the sky, stunned.

"Why is there no reflection of fate?"

"Is it a real star?"

…

In the Dark Mountain Range, at the campsite of adventurers.

Stanis, the King of Nightmare, who enjoyed living among ordinary people and observing their dreams, was appreciating his afternoon tea in a small cabin. Suddenly, the white porcelain cup fell from his hand to the ground and broke into countless pieces.

Stanis did not care about it at all. Instead, he flashed to the window, raised his head and looked to the East.

Across the sky, a brilliant star suddenly emerged and lit up half of the sky. It was as bright as the sun!

Stanis wondered if his cognition world had gone wrong and he had been affected by his own dream or illusionary spell.

After a glance at the sinking sun in the west, Stanis turned back to the newly-born star, which was moving unaffectedly following its own track.

"If this is a dream, what does this horribly bright star stand for?"

"If it is not a dream, who did this?"

"Such a miracle can never be performed by a mundane…"

…

In Rentato, at the avenue which had not been equipped with arc lamps, it was dark and cold. Only several stars in the sky slightly lit up the way.

Because of the increasing number of alchemical workshops, the spinners had been improved by the alchemists. More and more commoners in Rentato had to work extra hours for higher productivity. Now, a few clusters of them were walking on the street. Feeling the harsh winter wind whipping, they all picked up the pace to return home as quickly as possible.

As they were walking, they saw the road in the front was strangely bathed in bright light as if it had been daytime.

Astounded, they looked up and then lost all their words. There was a bright star hanging in the sky, moving slowly in its own track. It was completely different than the silver moon, but was equally outstanding.

They wondered if this was a miracle from God.

"The almighty God of Truth…"

"Only Truth lives forever…"

Out of great astonishment, they thought that it was the God of Truth that created this miracle. They kneeled down on the ground regardless of the mud from the melted snow, and they prayed with passion and devotion.

…

In Aalto, Natasha, who was wearing a full set of hunting suit, was riding a horse through the thin forest.

Suddenly, she put an arrow to her bow and shot it out fiercely. With great power and momentum, and twined with illusional space gaps, the arrow showed up in front of a big tree several hundred meters away in a blink of eye. It then penetrated dozens of thick trees one by one like a hot knife through butter. Finally, the arrow nailed a grey hare to the ground which had just jumped out of the bush.

The scene was like a sketch, and as if someone had made a hole in the middle of the trees using an eraser, everything in this picture was safe and sound except the trees.

Natasha, however, was not paying attention to the perfect shoot she just made. Instead, she looked eastward and saw the new, bright star.

She instantly recalled the scarlet moon incident a while ago.

"Is it because of him, again?" Murmured Natasha.

…

In the Holy City of Lance, the pope, Benedict II, was standing beside a window, holding the staff. The new star was under his close scrutiny.

"It's not vanishing…"

"The track doesn't make sense…"

"Based on the position… Is it from the Congress of Magic?"

Soon the pope calmed down. He gazed at the new star indifferently and observed its orbit. when he believed that he had understood and remembered all the information about it, the pope raised the staff, his body bending slightly backward. Benedict II half closed his eyes and said to the sky in a low voice,

"Almighty God of Truth, you are one and everyone."

"You are the instant and the forever."

"You are the creator and the master."

As he was praying, a layer of white holy light covered him. The divine powers started collecting from above, and slowly spread out and covered the entire city and its surrounding areas.

Feeling the power, the Grand Cardinals, Divine Knights, the Cardinals, and the common followers all calmed down from the great shock of seeing the new star. The look on their face softened as they were deeply touched.

It was the air and power of the Lord!

"You are one and everyone."

"You are the instant and the forever."

…

Hundreds of thousands of people started praying. Under the dominating power, their voice joined together and an astonishing resonance was created.

The scene was beyond magnificent.

When the praying became louder and louder, the pope pointed at the sky with his staff!

In the sky, a white light spot emerged from nowhere. It grew bigger and bigger. Soon, its light became as bright as the artificial star and the sun.

From inside of the light ball, a beautiful and refreshing hymn came out. The entire sky became holy and clean.

In Lucien and the rest of the sorcerers' eyes, the entire night sky had been lit up by the light ball. They could also faintly hear the hymn.

Lucien had expected that the Church would not keep the artificial star in the air for too long, since it was a great provocation to the authority of the Gold of Truth.

If sorcerers could create stars, then what was the God of Truth who was said to have created the world? Just a sorcerer who is a bit more powerful than the grand arcanists?

But what Lucien did not expect was that the Church would react in such an exaggerated manner.

The light ball became clearer and clearer. It seems that its inside was divided into seven layers. In the first layer, beautiful angels with a pair of wings and pure white souls were playing the wonderful hymn praising the true God on the pianos, harps, clarinets, and horns.

From the second layer to the fifth, the convivial scenes were similar. The angles and souls had nothing but pleasure and happiness to enjoy. The only difference was that the angels had more wings – there were Virtues, Principalities, and Cherubim.

In the sixth layer, there were the illusional figures of six Seraphim. They each stood in one direction, as if they were escorting the seventh layer.

In the seventh layer, besides the endless holy light spreading out, there was a Seraph holding canon. Lying prostrate beneath the light, the seraph was serving the God of Truth.

Lucien knew exactly what it was!

This was the real divine spell, which killed the last consul of the Magic Empire!

This was the real divine spell of great cost to the caster!

This was the real divine spell that only the pope could cast!

God's Arrival!

While observing the divine spell very carefully, Lucien turned on the monocle permanently enchanted with electromagnetism messaging to test how the artificial planet responded to signals.

In the light ball, all the angels burst out pure divine light, and the light joined with that of the seventh layer. Like ocean waves, the light spread out and covered the entire sky.

"This is the response from Antiffler No. 1…"

Then the sound of electrical noise took over.

Staring at the sky which had turned milky white from the holy light, hearing the electrical noise, Lucien subconsciously compared the power to that of the God of Silver Moon and concluded that, although the two powers were within the same level, Alterna was slightly weaker.

Then again, this was just a vague conclusion drawn by a senior-rank sorcerer. Maybe it was far from being accurate. Even for a legendary like Douglas or Dracula, evaluating these kinds of power could be very difficult.

The reason why the artificial planet was named Antiffler No. 1 was that Antiffler was the capital city of the ancient Sylvanas Magic Empire, where Douglas was born and grew up.

A mysterious gate drawn with countless constellation symbols suddenly showed up in front of Fernando, Lucien, and the other sorcerers. Douglas in his grey magic robe staggered out of it. The colorful gems circling above his head had mostly disappeared.

However, Douglas was in a high spirit. His excitement could not be hidden on his genial face.

"Finally, I've experienced God's Arrival…

"Unless he wants to fall early, the pope won't be able to use God's Arrival in the next five years!"

Lucien finally realized why the president made the artificial planet so bright. It was not simply for showing off his achievement.

Chapter 433: The Change and The Plan

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

In the Radiance Church in Holm.

Awoken from their prayers, Philibell, Vaharall, and Stone were staring at the night sky, which was dominated by the holy light and the projection of Mountain Paradise, with a blank expression.

"God's Arrival… The pope used God's Arrival!"

"The new star was made by the heresies? … No, it was made by the vicious sorcerers!"

"But the made star could move around this world like a real one… No wonder the pope had to use God's Arrival…"

The looks on their face were complicated. There was awe, admiration, joy, confusion, and anger.

Ever since the scarlet moon incident, the focus of the South Church shifted again. Now, they were focused on exploring the unknown dimension and the solidified shadows of black, white, and grey. Therefore, Varantine, the leader of the Ascetics, had returned to Lance, and soon Vaharall would be back as well. Only Stone would be left to lead the Knights of Grail in Rentato to help Philibell and the four parishes in Brianne, the Duchy of Calais, Colette, and the North Coast to guard against the Congress of Magic.

The great war plan against the Congress of Magic that they had been preparing for almost two years was thus halted. Now the Church was taking a strategic defence position.

To the Saint Truth Church, nothing was more important than finding the fallen Alterna and the mysterious existence.

Besides, they believed that the Congress of Magic had shifted their focus as well and would not have much time to work against them either.

"The glory of God is everywhere. Please show mercy to the mundane, and save them." prayed Philibell in low voice.

Vaharall drew a cross in front of his chest and said sincerely, "The pope is the true spokesman of God. He is beyond decisive. If it had been me, I would have spent hours hesitating. In that case, more people would have seen the vicious symbol in the sky, and their faith would have been affected."

Although the pope could not use God's Arrival anymore within five years, he was still the most powerful man in this world, surpassing all the legendaries, and his presence was threatening enough for all the enemies. However, the fact that the most powerful divine spell could no longer be used again in five years would definitely be a temptation for many, which would have a very negative impact on their search of Alterna. Therefore, in Vaharall's eyes, this was a tough decision.

However, now, under the frightening holy power, the vicious symbol had turned into ashes. Even if the Congress tried to show off their achievement, it would only become a joke. Any attempt into the realm of God would face the fury from God. Only the Gold of Truth could create this world and the other planets, and even if others could make similar things, they would not exist for long.

"That thing's dangerous. The sooner it is destroyed, the better it is." Stone, the divine knight, nodded. He felt extremely uncomfortable when he thought of the fact that an artificial planet made by sorcerers was looking down upon them from the sky.

Although, there was no such concept called air supremacy in this world yet, anyone who could fly understood how important this ability was to a fight. Except when fighting indoors, based on the ability to fly, a radiant knight could easily attrit more than ten grand knights to death even if he was seriously injured, as the grand knights had no methods to strike long-range.

Therefore, a planet made by sorcerers would be a nightmare to the Church if it had been equipped with all the methods for surveillance and striking.

After the prayers, Philibell looked as if he had aged a bit. With a slightly exhausted blank expression, he said, "the Congress of Magic chose to reveal the artificial planet on purpose, or we wouldn't be able to find it out this soon. If the artificial planets become more advanced in the future… say, if they will be equipped with Invisibility, Deflect, or even Space Jump magic circles, we would be in great trouble.

"We have to improve some of the divine spells. Besides God's Arrival, we have to have other powerful spells for extra long distance attack.

"… Also, we have to have new divine spells and items that can detect artificial planets, so we can turn on the defense divine circles in time.

"If possible, we need to steal the information from the Congress of Magic to see what are their plans for the artificial planets, so that we can make similar products. An artificial planet will be the best self-defense weapon against other artificial planet… That's for sure.

"We have to set up space jump circles near-orbit, through which the saint cardinals and divine knights can reach the target in the shortest period of time without extra preparation.

"… Find the leading sorcerer of the artificial planet plan. If we can, we cleanse them. I don't think it's very possible though… Only a legendary sorcerer could carry out such a plan."

Philibell's many suggestions made Stone slightly frown. Obviously, the strategies they were taking now were completely different from those adopted before.

...

Under the pure divine light, Duke Paphos' villa was as bright as a crystal palace. Inside it behind the big windows stood James and Russel, the Duke of Wolfburg.

"The power of God is so broad and vast that it's impossible to resist." The bareheaded James released a long sigh as he watched the holy sea of light slowly retreating.

Holding a glass of wine, Russel slightly lowered his head and gazed at the red liquid inside, as if he dared not to directly look at the projection of Mountain Paradise,

"Since the establishment of the Church, God's Arrival have been used for only eight times. Among the eight times, six witnessed the falling of one of the most powerful existences in this world:

"The Light of Stars – the last consul of the Magic Empire; the Lord of Death; Abel – the vampire prince; Aflora – the ancient dragon of Time; the fiend of the Church of Sun; and the "goddess" Mother Earth. Only Alterna and Maltimus, the Lord of Hell, survived so far.

"It's hard to believe that the pope just used it, facing this new star…"

"Maybe it's not a real star…" As the leader of the Liberals, James knew more about the Congress of Magic than Russel. Although he was not certain about it, he was told that Douglas was working on something big.

Ross was very surprised, "What do you mean?"

"Maybe… Just maybe… It is an artificial planet made by Douglas. I hope he was not killed by God's Arrival…" said James, slightly excited and worried at the same time.

If the president had fallen, it would have been a fatal strike to the Congress of Magic. Although the many powerful grand arcanists would not let the Congress collapse, the inner conflicts between the grand arcanists and legendary sorcerers would be very hard for the Lord of Storm and the Hand of Annihilation to control. Thus, the Congress would start falling into decay day by day without a doubt, which was, of course, no good news to the Liberals.

"Ar-Artificial planet?" Russel was startled. Unlike building a demiplane, making a planet meant a new world had been built! — According to Douglas, the main material world was just a larger planet.

The shades on James's face fluctuated under the candlelight. "That's true. The Congress of Magic is even more powerful than we expected, and also more dangerous. Maybe in the future we'll be collaborating with a 'God'…"

"Only Truth lives forever…" Russel, who still had a small amount of faith remaining, drew a cross in front of his chest.

...

On the thirty-third floor of the Allyn magic tower.

"Sir… the pope used … God's Arrival?!" Luciana exclaimed unbelievably. Every sorcerer knew how horrible the power of God's Arrival was. Luciana wondered if her teacher Douglas had reached the level of Alterna, the God of Silver Moon?

Douglas grinned and waved his hand. "The pope's target was Antiffler No. 1. He had no idea that it was me who launched it and brought the initial velocity, so I was out of the range and only experienced it from nearby, or I would not be able to come back."

Mentioning this, Douglas did not feel depressed or scared at all. Now he knew the power of God's Arrival and saw how it worked by observing it from a close distance, it would benefit him a lot in the future.

"I'll write to you all to share this experience when I've finished digesting it," said Douglas to Fernando, Lucien, Artil, and the others.

Except for teaching and sharing his experience, he also planned to write the letters to express his appreciation — Without the help of the Lord of Storm and the Prophet, Douglas would not have been able to make the artificial planet within such a short period of time; without Lucien, the plan would have never even existed.

Lucien thanked Douglas, while feeling a bit melancholy in his mind. Was this the end of the first artificial planet project? It started so fast and ended so fast. Several hours earlier, Lucien, who was very excited and in the spirit of acting, was about to name this project the Star Wars Project.

"Sir, the project is a success! Your theory has been proved! No one can doubt you anymore!" said Artil very excitedly, his lips slightly trembling.

Although Douglas's theoretical system had been planted into every arcanist's heart, there was still criticism. The criticism had become particularly loud when Douglas' experiments based on this system proved that the velocity of light did not change in different directions, that ether did not exist, and that the wave theory of light was rather problematic.

Norman and Luciana were the same excited. The artificial planet had strongly backed Douglas's theoretical system.

"It's just the first step. Antiffler No. 1 was destroyed by God's Arrival before it could finish a complete revolution around the world. Next, we'll have Antiffler No. 2… Of course, it's gonna be done in a very secretive way." Douglas answered smiling. Although he was being very humble, his tone now contained more confidence.

Mentioning this, he became a bit emotional. "My theoretical system has been proved, but this has brought me more questions and make me feel even more in awe of the unknown truth: How did the gravity system come into shape at the very beginning? Why did it happen?"

Here he goes again… Fernando's mouth twitched a bit.

Seizing the chance, Lucien hurriedly said to the grand arcanists, "Mr. President, teacher, Mr. Prophet, I've tested the signal from Antiffler No. 1, and it was very clear! If we put a magic circle for transmitting signals in an artificial planet, we could significantly enlarge the coverage range of Electromagnetic Message. After all, signal transmission is much easier in the sky than on the ground. If that's the case, we will be talk to the Dark Mountain Range when we are still in Allyn. That's even more convenient than Space Jump!

"Also, we have to consider the functions of surveillance, locating, and attacking. We need different kinds of artificial planets!"

Douglas smiled and nodded. "Very interesting suggestion. Better communication will for sure bring a great revolution to society. However, the cost is still too high. The alchemical products needed should be of at least the fifth circle. Only senior-rank sorcerers could possibly be able to use them. I'm afraid that we cannot popularize it so far."

Under the influence of Jinkela, the word, popularization, was being mentioned more and more often by sorcerers.

"I do have a package plan for this!" Lucien was already prepared.

Lucien was not able to launch a satellite himself, so he had to try his best to cooperate with the president and Fernando.

Fernando chuckled briefly. He knew that his student was already preparing for this when he proposed the artificial planet project.

Chapter 434: Lucien's Package Plan

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

Douglas looked around. All the people here were either the members of the Highest Council or his student, and they could all be trusted.

So Douglas smiled and asked, "a package plan? You've been thinking about this for a long time?"

Douglas worked all the way through and finally established the Congress of Magic. His theoretical system had influenced not only sorcerers generation after generation, but also even his enemies including the Church and the vampires. Whether speaking of intelligence or wisdom, he ranked top three in this world. Therefore, although he did not know Lucien as well as Fernando did, he could still find some clues to Lucien's real intention in this single sentence.

Cheeky as he was, Lucien did not mind that his true intention was detected by the two grand arcanists. He said with a smile, "firstly, as for satellite communication… I've read your article, Sir. If we want to build a communication domain that covers the entire continent and the oceans, we have two choices. Option A: The satellites' orbital planes need to be above the Northland and the South Ice-ocean, so we need at least two artificial planets. Option B: we put a synchronous orbit satellite above the right ascension…"

The arcanists present were all experts in Astrology, so Lucien did not explain in details, but only presented the outline of his plan.

"… But the best way would be to combine the two options together. And to guarantee the quality of communication, the more satellites we have, the better it is. Of course, because of the high cost of producing an artificial planet and space jumping, we have to do it step by step and turn it into a long-term plan. I propose that we name it Constellation Plan — The plan of making constellations around the world using artificial planets.

"… Also, we better set up a company for this and charge every sorcerer who needs to use the satellites to compensate for the costs. The company will sell special products for satellite communication. If anyone wants to make one on their own, they still have to buy a license for it."

As an authority in Electromagnetics, Fernando slightly frowned after he heard Lucien's speech. "The problem still hasn't been solved. To ensure the clarity of the signals, a higher standard of Electromagnetism Messaging will have to be adopted when the satellites cover the entire continent. Then again, only sorcerers above the fifth circle would be able to use it, which only accounts for a very small proportion of the entire sorcerer population, since few middle-rank or low-rank sorcerers could afford it."

"So we should charge a bit more, and open some unimportant satellites to the rich nobles. Presumably, they should welcome the convenience and they can certainly afford it," said Lucien.

He had not mentioned the next steps yet: to build magic base stations. He would wait until there were enough satellites.

Planets up in the sky were hard to strike, but base stations on the ground were easy targets. Only when the nobles started relying on the convenient communication method would they willingly defend the base stations.

Lucien continued. "As for the need of the low-rank and middle-rank sorcerers, I have come up with a new second-circle spell called Electromagnetic File Transfer by simplifying Mr. Fernando's Electromagnetism Messaging. Although it can only work in a limited range, and cannot support real-time calls, it can still serve the function of transferring documents similar to the magic circles inside a tower. I think it should be enough for them right now."

This so-called Electromagnetic File Transfer was in fact radiotelegraphy. As for the invention of intercom, it was only of very limited value because of the existence of Secondary Telepathic Bond, so Lucien had not spent time to invent the spell.

"A second-circle spell… Then most nobles with titles and manors should be able to use it." Norman nodded slightly.

"Yes, it is going to be one of our products for popularization," said Lucien in a businessman tone like that of Arthur. "Also, inspired by the power lines that have been installed recently, I've got a new idea. The high requirements of Electromagnetism Messaging are from the fact that this spell relies on electromagnetic waves transmitting in the air. During the process, the waves can encounter all kinds of environments and landforms, and they are thus weakened. To make up for this loss, we have to enhance the signals by using more complicated magic circles.

"… Using satellites as relay stations can be one solution. And there's also another one: To set up exclusive pathways for the transmission of electromagnetic waves just like the power lines. So the transmission will be limited within the wires, and we could avoid the complex environments when installing the lines. Where the wires join, we set up magic circles for selecting and forwarding signals.

"… If the wires can extend to every city, every manor, and every house, it will be a great benefit to the ordinary people. The only problems are that the popularization requires a huge amount of investment in the beginning, and the Church can easily destroy the wires."

His fingers showing numbers, Douglas said, "to make this come true in Holm, the first step of establishing the wires itself would be a long-term plan… something that has to be measured in decades, not to mention other countries like Brianne and those across the strait.

"… But in the many decades to come, based on the current speed at which we are developing, we should be able to suppress the power of the Church within the Kingdom of Holm. In this case, maybe your plan can be partly carried out first in the prosperous places like Rentato and Paphos. An ordinary person can talk to her friend through an alchemical item."

Then Douglas smiled warmly. "There are multiple layers in your plan, Lucien. The artificial planets for communication cover sorcerers above the fifth circle, major nobles, leading businessmen; Electromagnetic File Transfer targets at low- and middle-rank sorcerers, smaller nobles, rich business people; and there is also the establishment of wires aiming at serving apprentices, dilapidated nobles, and common citizens. You've taken all of them into consideration."

"In fact, the plan for setting up wires can still be further divided into two parts: one is to enable users to talk through wires directly, and the other is like using Electromagnetic File Transfer. The latter has an even lower requirement for the terminal magic circle. Also, we can first open up service branches in some smaller cities for now. When people are in need, they come to us to use the products. In this way, we won't need to wait until the wires are popularized to most of the families to begin our plan." Lucien pictured the image according to the images of earth in his mind.

The feeling that he was able to change this world gave him a thrilling feeling.

"Good. When most commoners start to benefit from magic, their belief in the Church will be shaken as never before. We need to be prepared for counterattacks from the Church." Douglas nodded in satisfaction.

Obviously, the president and Lucien's teacher were also aware of the fact that the popularization of magic items would greatly challenge the foundation of the Church. Lucien realized once again that he was definitely not the only smart guy in this world, so he hurriedly put forward another plan.

"I've been working on producing a new, affordable alchemical item. It can receive electromagnetic signals within a certain range and turn it into voice. Although it cannot accommodate point-to-point communications, it can still change ordinary people's life!"

What Lucien was saying was a magic version of the Crystal Radio that belongs to level-one alchemical items. Through mass production, the technique requirement could be lowered to the apprentice level. A common citizen could afford it with several years of saving.

"Life-changing?" Fernando directly got to the point, even though Lucien was not being very specific.

Lucien put on a mischievous smile. "We can form a radio program and send message to the countries across Storm Strait at a specific frequency. We can play symphonies, pianos pieces, operas, stories, and legends. We can even introduce some basic knowledge of arcana and magic to people, as well as the dark history facts of the Church…"

Hearing Lucien's words, Luciana slightly opened her mouth and exclaimed in a great shock, "It's tearing down the foundation of the Church. They will go crazy!"

"Therefore we gotta be careful with the time and the frequency band. The programs should also be interesting so that once people start liking the programs, they will keep them as a secret and gradually be converted. Of course, at first, we have to protect our listeners by choosing the areas where we are able to exert our power. We have to make sure that they won't be put on the gallows even if anyone inform against them." Lucien answered seriously.

Douglas released a sigh. "Very good. You shall name the program then."

All of them present were aware of the value of the plan.

"Um… Let's name it Arcana Voice." Lucien would not tell anyone that he had decided the name a long time ago.

"Let's set up a company for turning all the alchemical items and communication plans that you just mentioned into real. The shares are divided according to our own contribution and investment. As the initiator and the inventor of the alchemical items, Lucien, you will get 25 percent." Fernando made the final decision. It looked like a fair decision, but in fact, favored Lucien a lot.

Fernando was the one who created Electromagnetism Messaging. Douglas, Fernando, and the Prophet would be responsible for launching the satellites. Luciana and Norman would be the ones to carry out the specific plans and make investments. All of them, including the sorcerers that were going to join them in the future, only owned 75 percent of the company.

Douglas agreed as he was grateful to Lucien who suggested the artificial planet project. He smiled and asked, "what about the name for the company?"

"Allyn Telephone and Telegram Company…" Lucien responded subconsciously, then he hurriedly explained. "… It means using electromagnetic waves to communicate and transmit messages."

After drawing the basic plan, Douglas looked at Lucien. "So for the applications of artificial planets, you got any other suggestions?"

He was sure that this young man's ambition was far more than this.

"First of all, we shall conduct more in-depth studies in the ionosphere to look for a better plan for transmitting electromagnetic waves. Secondly, we have to put more defensive magic circles to protect the planets, including Invisibility and Orbital Transfer," replied Lucien without hesitation. "Thirdly, since the planets are high above, most attacks from them will be weakened greatly before they reach the ground, so we have to come up with super-range attack magic spells with much more concentrated energy… hopefully the spells will be lower than legendary level."

Or the cost for producing a legendary-level artificial planet would be too high.

"Fourthly, we can use artificial planets to monitor our targets on the ground…"

Lucien indeed had a complete package plan. Many of his suggestions made the grand arcanists present feel deeply refreshing.

"You have too many suggestions. We have to go back and digest them first. We'll set up Allyn Telephone and Telegram Company first; forming Arcana Voice will be our current priority." Douglas was affected by God's Arrival, and he sounded a bit tired after the initial spirit-lifting buffering expired.

However, standing beside Douglas, Artil was rather excited. "I'm going to write papers and challenge all the arcanists who ever doubted your theories and experiments on the velocity of light, Sir!"

Chapter 435: Start of the Debate War

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

In the next half month, besides the birth of the new star and God's Arrival that everyone was talking about, everything else was quiet and peaceful in Allyn, Rentato, Lance, and the other cities.

The strange peacefulness continued as year 820 of the Saint Calendar came. It felt like the new star was a normal celestial phenomenon and nothing was going on.

After short vocation, Lucien entered the gate of the Atom Institution with the Sun Staff, which was transformed into a gentleman's cane. He was thinking about the initiation of Allyn Telephone and Telegraph company and the promotion of the alchemical items.

Before Lucien could take off his hat and put it on the rack, he heard Lazar's voice. "An… An artificial planet?" Lazar's voice was trembling uncontrollably.

"The star that brightened up half of the sky that night was created and launched by President Douglas!" Heidi still had a crisp voice like a girl, but it was extremely sharp at the moment. It seemed like she was shocked by some unimaginable power.

Lucien realized that Douglas had published the experiment on Arcana. He then smiled and greeted Lazar and Heidi who were still in shock.

"Hey, Lazar. Hey, Heidi. Happy New Year. You're so early."

After reaching the third circle, Lazar already knew what he should do now as a middle-rank mage. He would read every issue of Arcana and Magic as soon as they were released. Before, Lazar could barely understand any articles that were published on Arcana and Magic, so he had no interest in buying them. Most of the time, he simply borrowed them from the arcana library. He was more interested in Element and Common Arcana . Now, Lazar would arrive early only on the release days of the two journals every month and Lucien was thus not surprised.

What surprised Lucien was that Heidi, who usually woke up late, could get up so early.

"Mr. Evans, Annick has become a formal sorcerer!" Heidi turned her head around and answered Lucien's question without thinking too much. "I'm motivated! I'm going to get up early and meditate. I am going to get up early and study!" She tightened her fist.

Lucien did not know that Annick had become a formal sorcerer. Although the communication satellite had not been launched yet and no long-distance calls could be made, Lucien still spent most of his spare time on the initiation of Allyn Telephone and Telegraph Company and its subordinate Arcana Voice. He only had time to chat with his apprentices during the New Year's party and did not know that Annick was already very close to advancing.

This made Lucien consider handing the matters over to professionals or sorcerers who enjoyed running businesses after setting everything up. He could just sit there and get his share. The most important thing for him was to advance his arcana and magic level. He also needed to improve the alchemical items.

"When did he rank up?" Lucien asked delightedly.

Heidi tightened her fists.

"Yesterday! He has been working on his private research recently and he didn't even rest during the New Year holiday. He suddenly had some breakthrough yesterday. Then, he successfully advanced without the help of potions, before he had enough spiritual power! If I hadn't gone to ask him on a difficult problem I encountered, I wouldn't be able to find it out!"

"Advancing just several months after his adult ceremony, Annick is not bad at all when compared to the other apprentices at his age." Lucien nodded, satisfied. It seemed like Annick made quite some progress on the verification of the photoelectric effect, proving that it was electrons that were emitted.

It suddenly occurred to Lucien that he might have trained a bunch of future Holm Crown Award (or Silver Moon Medal, etc.) winners. In the future, there might be a sentence like this in the History of Magic: "Atom Institution, a small place with a lot of honorable names and forerunners that are respected by the later generations".

Although with Lucien's paper on his discovery of the natural radiation ahead, Annick would probably not be able to get the Holm Crown Award this time. It was highly likely that he would be able to get the award later if he could keep exploring at the frontline of elemental research.

Heidi tightened her fists again. "I'm certain that I could do better than them!"

At this moment, the other apprentices arrived, all appearing energetic and excited.

"Congratulations, Annick, you're a formal sorcerer now," Lucien smiled and greeted.

"What? You became a formal sorcerer?" Sprint burst out. He thought he would be the first one to advance among the apprentices.

Layria and Katrina also stared at Annick with surprise, joy, admire, and depress. They could not believe that the always reserved Annick could become a formal sorcerer so fast.

Annick blushed under the attention of the others. "I made some progress with my experiment yesterday; my meditation environment then changed, so I consumed the potion and tried to construct a first-circle spell. I only tried it once and I somehow succeeded." He sounded a bit shy.

Annick had never been stared at like this and he felt a bit uncomfortable. He lowered his head as if he wanted to bury himself into the ground.

"You've verified that it's the electron?" Lucien asked. He was happy with Annick's achievement.

Annick nodded. "Yeah."

"It's a result that might get you the Holm Crown," Lucien said half-jokingly.

Heidi, Layria, Katrina, and even Lazar suddenly gasped deeply. They thought for a while and realized that there was indeed a chance for Annick to be awarded the Holm Crown prize.

Yesterday, he was still a sorcerer apprentice, but now there was a chance that he could be awarded the Holm Crown. It sounded more like a legend than an actual legend. Even Lucien, who got the most honorable reward when he was not yet 19, had already become a formal sorcerer for almost a year by then.

Annick felt even more uncomfortable after he heard the gaspings.

"It's impossible. I can only prove that the electrons come from the metal, but no practical evidence shows that it comes from inside the metal atom. There's a chance the atoms absorbed the free electron when binding together." Annick shook his head.

Then, Annick sounded as if he was talking to himself. "I don't want the reward even if I have the chance to get it."

"Why?" Lucien was not the only who was curious here. It's surprising that someone would decline an honor like the Holm Crown prize.

Annick responded, "I don't like standing in the center of the stage. I can just study, do my experiment, and improve quietly, right?"

"If you're qualified for the award one day but decline it, you'll draw even more attention. It's something that has never happened before." Lucien smiled and explained why Annick's plan was impossible.

"That's right…" Annick belatedly understood the reason.

At the same time, Lazar finally realized what was happening. He raised theArcana he was reading and exclaimed, "everyone, do you remember the newborn star that was destroyed by God's Arrival about half a month ago?"

"Yeah, why?" Sprint's attention quickly shifted to Lazar. The incident that night had left a deep impression in his mind.

Layria and Katrina also turned to look at Lazar curiously. They beautiful bright star was still clear in their memories.

As the other apprentices' sight shifted away from him, Annick was relieved and his expression loosened. Then, he also turned to look at Lazar in the same way.

In Allyn, every sorcerer who knew about the background are shocked by or, at least, interested in the Newborn Star.

When Lazar was going to show off the big news he found and tell everyone how shocked and respectful he was, Heidi took his chance and spoke first. "The star was created and launched by Mr. President!"

"What?!"

"That's impossible!"

"It's artificial? Seriously?"

The exclamations expressed how surprised everyone was.

"It's true! The first paper on this issue, Summaries of Simulating the Astronomical System

with an Artificial Planet, is from the President!" Lazar quickly waved the Arcanain his hand.

"The experimental data, the actual data, the comparison between the two, and the descriptions of the trajectory. It must be true!"

With the idea of the artificial planet, it would not be hard for people who had studied Douglas' theoretical system and achieved some results to create the whole model with the previous data, so Douglas did not try to hide his experiment. For people who could understand the experiment, it would not take them too long to figure everything out, and for people who could not understand it, they would never be able to figure out the truth.

Though obviously, he hid some of the actual situations and Lucien's plan was only mentioned in a small discussion, so the enemy would not be enlightened by the published materials.

"H-How is this even possible?" Layria muttered. To the sorcerers specializing in Astrology, the stars in the sky represented the fate of all creatures with intelligence. No one believed that "fate" could be man-made.

Sprint, Annick, and Katrina were all in a state of absence. Their pride from their recent improvement of skills and knowledge was destroyed by the shocking truth.

Lazar noticed that Lucien was simply smiling silently, as if he was not surprised at all. Suddenly, Lazar had a flash of intuition.

"Lucien, don't tell me you participated in the experiment?"

Everyone's sight instantly fell upon Lucien's face.

"I provided some suggestions." Lucien smiled and nodded. He had nothing to hide as long as no one knew who initiated the experiment. After all, the Church's attention was on the one who completed the experiment.

Lazar clicked his tongue twice. "I don't why, but I was not surprised at all when I heard you were part of it."

Heidi quickly turned the pages and, not surprisingly, she saw Douglas's words at the end.

She started reading in a clear silvery voice. "Special thanks to those who helped me during the experiment, Fernando, Bergner, Lucien, Artil, Luciana, Norman… Teacher's name is really here…"

Once again, they realized how talented Lucien was.

"Let me what else is published on this issue." Lucien raised his hand and took over the journal. His own issue was probably in his office of the Arcana Review Board.

Lucien checked the titles and suddenly saw an article published by Artil by the end. The title was Does Ether Really Exist . It was an article for pure discussion purposes and could not earn any reference credits.

Lucien inhaled slightly and slightly read the short article, which sounds like a declaration of war.

"… The artificial planet experiment strongly proved the President's theories, and the lightspeed experiment based on the theory has proved that Ether does not exist."

"… I will offer a reward of 50,000 arcana points for other theoretical explanations of the experiment, explanations including Ether!"

"The arcanists who question the experiment and believe in the existence of Ether, please use your wisdom and 'imagination'!"

Lazar was reading the article by the side and he abruptly shouted in excitement, "that's it! It's time to make the ones who believe in the wave theory face their mistake!"

Elemental sorcerers like Lazar and Rock always believed in the particle theory.

After hearing Lazar's words, Lucien felt like that a debate war was coming.

Chapter 436: Progression

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

Douglas School, in a mansion for the teachers.

Rock, who went to drink at his friend's home during the New Year holiday, was shouting with Arcana in his hand.

"How's that even possible?!""Great job!" Surprised and excited, he exclaimed from time to time.

"Damn, I'm gonna be late!" Rock saw the time on the clock in the living room while cheering, and he suddenly bounced up. He realized that he just made a big mistake and quickly put on his soft hat. He said goodbye to his friend and opened the door in a hurry.

On the street in the school, the falling autumn leaves created a peculiar romantic atmosphere. But Rock had no time to enjoy the beautiful view as he was rushing towards the carriage rental center.

"Isn't this Rock? An important member of the Atom Institution just returned to the school?" A mocking voice came from the side.

As heard the deep and hoarse voice, Rock paused abruptly. He turned his head to the other side of the street and noticed that Beate and several other people with innocent looks were standing under the tree.

"Beate?" Rock's expression became excited. He did not mind Beate's hostility and said with a laugh, "have you read today's Arcana?"

Beate was stunned. He and Rock would argue every time they met. He wondered why the situation changed this time.

"No, what's up?" A teacher from the Electromagnetics Faculty asked curiously.

Rock tried his best not to just tell Beate everything. Instead, he smiled mischievously and asked, "do you remember the bright star from around half a month ago? The star was created and launched by the President! The first paper is about the details of the experiment!"

"What? H-how's that even possible?" Beate did not connect this news with other things. He was just surprised as he did not know that it was something that human beings could accomplish.

The other teachers around him had the same surprised look on their faces.

Rock patiently guided them. "It proves that the President's theory is correct, and it has successfully answered the questions of the past several hundred years."

"You're right." Beate agreed. Douglas's theory system left a deep impression in people's mind and he nodded without thinking much.

Rock suddenly laughed. "Do you remember the last time we talked about the President's lightspeed experiment? You didn't agree because you thought the President's theory system was wrong, right? What about now? Do you believe it or have you found another reason?"

"Rock!" Beate raised his right hand and pointed at Rock, his fingers shaking violently.

He was just a level-two arcanist and he could not think of another theory to argue back.

"Wait, one more thing, the two theories that were proposed in the last issue of Arcana and Magic have been rejected by the Lord of Storm. The first theory was rejected based on the errors in it; the other one required experimental proof. However, I'm certain that the one who suggested the theory would have attached the result of the experiment if he had it. If he didn't, it means that the result his experiment was against the theory." Rock was not giving Beate any chance.

The furious and threatened Beate had a hard time accepting this, and he yelled, "Then you explain the Double-Slit lines and Brook Spot with the particle theory!"

"This is not the point that we are discussing right now. Come on, give me another explanation regarding the President's lightspeed experiment so you can prove that Ether exists! If Ether doesn't exist, the wave theory will be pointless. Also, in Arcana, Artil offered 50000 arcana points for similar theories. He wants the Arcanists who support the wave theory like you to use their imagination! IMAGINATION!" Rock dodged Beate's question and emphasized on the term "imagination".

Beate's mind would have already changed without the support from the classic light image theory and he now kept his end.

"Even if we can't come up with any theories now, it doesn't mean we can't in the future! Why don't you explain the experiments like the double-split diffraction experiment with the particle theory first! It's been over 100 years!"

"Stubborn. You should just accept the reality!" Rock mocked in a loud voice.

"You too. You should take the classic experiments more seriously!" Beate raged.

The long debate between Rock and the teachers started like this. But they were just talking about what they considered correct and no one was trying to answer the opponent's questions. It seemed like they could not reach an agreement even until the end of the world.

"Damn, I'm late!" Rock finally panicked when he felt the warmth of the winter sun. His heart ached at the thought of his arcana points that were about to be deducted.

Rock stared at Beate and the others after realizing he was getting late. "Stop playing around. You can go and claim the reward if you can refute the President's lightspeed experiment! I'm waiting for you to claim the 50000 arcana points, exchange them for bronze coins, and throw them all over my body!"

"Don't promote the wave theory if you can't do this!"

He turned around and left after finishing the sentence, leaving no chance for Beate to reply. Obviously, he knew very well how to end an argument with an advantage.

Beate wanted to argue back with the classic experiments but he noticed that Rock was already gone. The anger of unable to vent was like a flame burning his mind. "That damn fool! Dumbass! Stupid!"

Similar events were happening all over Allyn. However, it was only a small group of arcanists who support the particle theory that was arguing with the many supporters of the wave theory. Yet with the evidence from the lightspeed experiment, they somehow gained the advantage over the wave theory supporters, who were furious but had no way to argue back.

The only good news was that the arcanists whose cognitive world was based on the wave theory did not endure any serious injuries, thanks to the existence of the classic light experiments. They believed there will be other theories that included the Ether to explain Douglas's lightspeed experiment.

…

In the Electromagnetic Kingdom, Brook was reading the latest issue of Arcana.

Rubbing his wig, Brook sighed slightly, "I didn't expect teacher to prove it in this way… He's incredible…"

He turned the magazine to the last page and read Artil's "War Declaration" carefully. He shook his head, then stood up and walked to the window. Staring at the twisted magnetic filed, running electrical current, jumping electrical arcs, and the invisible electrical waves, he muttered,

"What is the problem with the lightspeed experiment?"

"The result is correct, but Ether might still exist. Maybe Ether is all over the sky in a way that we can't imagine.

"We should thank teacher for the experiment. It helped us filter out many thoughts we had about Ether. We are getting closer to the truth.

"In what way will the existence of Ether fit in the result of this experiment?" Brook immersed himself in thoughts.

Unless faced with irrefutable evidence, every Grand Arcanist extremely persistent in their theories.

…

In the Theatre of Destruction.

Oliver Constantine was lying leisurely in a chair in his pajamas. His wife, Florencia, was feeding him grapes while he read Arcana.

"Heh, Artil is challenging us?" Oliver smiled and looked at Florencia.

Only about a dozen years after Brook became Douglas's student, Artil also became Douglas' student. He thus had a deep background and was familiar with every Grand Arcanist and legendary archmage.

Florencia raised her brow. "Challenge? What challenge?" Her magazine was taken away by her husband after she just finished reading the first article by Douglas.

Oliver spoke after murmuring two lines of opera, "he offered a reward for a theory that could explain the lightspeed experiment, but the theory must include the Ether."

"Hehe, it's a good thing, isn't it?" Florencia had a charming smile on her face. As a high-level arcanist, she quickly understood the relationship between Douglas' artificial star and the lightspeed experiment. As a sorcerer specializing in Element, she supported the particle theory, which contradicted the wave theory that Oliver supported.

Oliver smiled. He raised his hand and squeezed Florencia's nose tip.

"Why? Are you going to argue with me again? Regarding the wave theory and the particle theory?"

"Of course, I think you can't explain the lightspeed experiment." Florencia was very firm when it came to arcana theories.

"If I can explain it, you'll have to do one thing for me." Oliver chuckled.

"No problem, if you can't explain it, you must do one thing for me too." Florencia helped Oliver turn the theory argument into some fun bet between a couple. That was how they stayed peaceful when they had different opinions on various theories.

Olive straightened his back and smiled. "I think I'm filled with motivation now!"

…

Lauren, the winner of the Silver Moon Medal and authority in the Electromagnetics, stared at the journal in front of him gloomily.

"Damn Artil!" He shouted in a low voice.

He did not only support the Energy Essentialism but also promoted the wave theory. The two theories had no contradiction as the energy theory was about the materials, while the other one was about light and spiritual power. He even believed that wave was the only way to represent energy other than the materials.

"Damn Norman, damn Luciana, damn Lucien!" He dare not to say anything bad to Douglas and Fernando, but he cursed everyone else that was on Douglas' appreciation list.

He finished swearing and started to focus on the paper again. He paced around in the room and tried to find a way to explain everything.

Every arcanist who believed in the wave theory and who was above the mid-level was doing everything they could to find a way to explain the experiment after they calmed down.

…

However, Lucien remained silent this time, which was rare as in everyone's eyes he loved to cause arguments and solve difficult problems. He did not make any valuable comment on the wave theory and the particle theory.

When the Congress of Magic was once again lost in a debate war between the wave theory supporters and the particle theory supporters, the second artificial star successfully revolved once around the world, and the third communication star entered its track secretly. The Allyn Telephone and Telegraph company was founded.

The theory war became more and more intense as the end of January approached, when Lucien received an invitation from Tower. Levski and Lucien would be awarded the Arcana Staff at the Tower's headquarter in Allyn.

The carriage carrying Lucien, Lazar, and several other people from the Atoms Laboratory stopped at the entrance, encountering Levski, who arrived at almost the same time.

"Good evening, Levski." Lucien greeted Levski as he got off the carriage.

Levski had a bitter smile on his face.

"Not good at all. The new geometric system was hard to analyze and my friends were always arguing about the wave theory and the particle theory. I'm in dire need of some peaceful time."

Lucien was also a bit speechless as he did not expect to hear about the debate war here.