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Chapter 598: New Mode of Teaching

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

"Indeed. The courses at magic school today can give the apprentices enough fundamental knowledge for them to become official sorcerers, but the arcana and magic knowledge needed for low-rank sorcerers to rise higher is now getting too enormous and complicated for them to learn and grasp on their own. That's the reason why the population of middle-rank sorcerers hasn't increased much in the past ten years, despite the sharp increase in senior-rank sorcerers." Brook nodded and agreed with Douglas' proposal.

It indicated that the new arcana theories and achievements did not lower the difficulties between the low rank and the middle rank, and the ratio of advancement was the same as before. However, for part of the distinguished low-rank sorcerers, their advancement was much easier after they picked up the new arcana theories, like Annick, Heidi and the other studies who had been taught by Lucien with cutting-edge knowledge.

Oliver, on the other hand, was slightly worried. "Graduated apprentices and low-rank sorcerers are the foundation of Congress. If all of them study in the advanced school, the Congress as a whole will inevitably be paralyzed."

While the senior-rank sorcerers, archmages, and legendary sorcerers were capable of various spells, they certainly wouldn't waste their time on chores. The daily operation of Congress was based on tasks that were mostly carried out by the apprentices and the low-rank sorcerers. They allowed Congress to run smoothly.

"Therefore, we are establishing a school with a capacity of no more than a thousand students. We will select the talents in certain ways and consider expanding the school if everything goes well, but it must now affect the operation of Congress. After all, the arcanists of higher levels have their own business, too. Too many advanced schools will be a burden for them." Douglas spoke of his plan. He had already evaluated the number of possible teachers.

"Select them in certain ways? Like the apprentice test?" Fernando was rather concerned about that. Hellen, on the other hand, was dedicated to her own research again.

Amused, Lucien said, "The College Entrance Exam of Advanced Magic? Subdivided into mathematics, language, magic analysis, and theoretical and application of magic of the eleven schools?"

He only joked when he remembered his 'past' experience.

"The College Entrance Exam of Advanced Magic? Huh, that will be the fairest way. At least, it will be fairer than the recommendation from the middle-rank sorcerers." Douglas rather agreed with exams.

Cheating would certainly be rare under the supervision of magic. Fairness could be ensured to the largest degree. In comparison, when the candidates were recommended, the middle-rank sorcerers and the administration of schools were often inclined to recommend the students they knew, appreciate or were associated with. The abilities in arcana and magic often came last.

Therefore, Douglas nodded and said, "Let's set up the College Entrance Exam of Advanced Magic. The Affair Committee will decide what specific knowledge and practical abilities are to be tested."

Lucien rubbed his eyebrow and covered his eyes, while he said to himself in amusement, I was just kidding… However, it was likely that the tests and quizzes that he compiled would become popular very soon.

"There's no need to test everybody with the knowledge of the eleven schools, is there?" Vicente asked, "Mathematics, different magic vernaculars, magic analysis, preliminary alchemical abilities, and practical research and battle abilities are mandatory. Then, the test-takers can choose three schools to be tested on their own. After all, everybody has their specialties and interests."

Fernando argued loudly and vehemently, "The trend is that the schools are more and more closely connected. The wave-particle duality is combining electromagnetism and elements in the microscopic realm. Those without a broad view of knowledge cannot participate in deeper studies in the future."

"They can consider it after they are admitted. After all, they will be kicked out of school if their scores are terrible. It will give them enough 'momentum' to make up for their foundation." Oliver smiled.

"But that's in violation of the original purpose to set up the advanced school. If they can learn well by themselves, there will be no need to establish advanced magic schools," said Hathaway slowly, her shock gone moments ago.

Lucien had always respected Hathaway. He added, "We can slightly change the mode of teaching. We can ask the Arcana Review Board to list the dependencies of knowledge that is required to dig deeper in a certain domain of a certain school for the students so that they will know what is needed for their future."

"Also, the curriculum of the advanced school can't be like the school of apprentices. The students will not be organized into different classes but given enough freedom. For example, the knowledge I mentioned can be combined into different courses and taught by different teachers. Then, the students can choose the teacher according to their progress and their foundation. Those who have spare time and who are more capable can also take more courses to broaden their knowledge."

"In such a way, they will no longer be restricted by their initial choice. After all, they are not little kids but distinguished apprentices and low-rank sorcerers. Our goal is to let the talented students finish learning as soon as possible, let the students who are not talented but hard-working take their time to learn, and let the lazy and undevoted students have a chance to make up for their mistakes by broadly choosing courses."

Lucien did not say anything about their test. It would be the best answer if they could advance into middle-rank sorcerers and arcanists after education in the advanced magic school.

After that, Lucien noticed that all the members of the Highest Council were looking at him. He asked subconsciously, "What's up?"

"I didn't know that you were good at teaching. No wonder Katrina, Layria and Annick are so excellent," said Douglas in a smile.

Fernando also chuckled. "He was already best known for his unique teaching style when he was a teacher in Douglas Magic School, although he was blamed for being unorthodox."

Lucien's teaching pattern was now popular in every magic school. After all, he was already a grand arcanist. Mimicking the successors was a fashion in every society.

Douglas nodded. "This plan is excellent. Also, it makes the release of tasks less difficult. Lucien, why don't you work as the principal of the advanced magic school? I hope you can establish a successful new teaching pattern."

Lucien looked around, only to discover that they all avoided his eyes. He immediately realized that they were not interested in it at all. That was why they remained silent when they talked. He nodded and said, "I'll only be responsible for the new pattern. The daily operation should be supervised by another senior-rank arcanist, and the specific affairs can be completed by hired middle-rank sorcerers."

After that, Lucien began to complain. Manager of the Atom Institution, leader of the Sky Radio Station, and principal of an advanced magic school.. . His part-time jobs were truly weird in an unusual manner.

"What should this advanced magic school be named?" Douglas looked at Oliver.

Lucien interjected again. "Since it is different from regular magic schools, why don't we name it using the word 'college'?"

"Let's call it Holt College." Oliver liked giving names best.

'Holt' was the ancient Asso word for 'arcana'.

The other people were not interested in names, and Lucien was too lazy to propose a name like 'Hogwarts'.

After the name was settled, the discussion went on. Since there was no more argument, the meeting was over very soon.

"When will Evans' experiment be published?" In the end, Hellen was back to herself and simply asked without caring whether or not it had been discussed.

Douglas said solemnly, "I believe that 'arcana' should sort out the debate in the meeting and publish it as a heuristic article. Lucien's narration will help them accept the wonders of the microworld. There shouldn't be a massive collapse of cognitive worlds again. After all, it has only been several years since electrons were discovered."

"However, people who are stunned after their world is shaken will probably be all over Congress. The most extreme of them will probably be very suspicious about themselves and unconfident in arcana and magic, which will also make their strength halt.

Day was night, and particles were waves. Such ideas made people question the reality of the world and the effectiveness of their exploration. It only left them convinced that the universe was dominated by mysteries!

"Alright, we will publish Evans' experience in the April issue." Hellen nodded.

Klaus chuckled. "Evans, it will be the time of your wedding."

Lucien rubbed his lips. Was his wedding going to be inaugurated with blood and brains?

However, it was not exactly his fault. That was all because of Dieppe's paper, and he had only completed the experiment! It's like nobody blamed Brook for the head explosions caused by the light quantum hypothesis!

Of course, Lucien believed that few people, if any, would really suffer such an accident. After all, the debate about the model of the new alchemy still remained unabated.

"I'm going to return and study the wavefunction of electrons." Oliver left in a hurry. Despite his marriage failure that inspired him with a series of poignant works, his dedication and passion in arcana studies were not affected at all.

Brook and the rest of them also left. After the wavefunction of electrons was figured out, they would probably be able to truly establish the model of the new alchemy and describe the mysteries of material changes.

Fernando, who left last, asked Lucien to follow him. After they reached his library, he finally looked at Lucien and said, "You must've already resolved the problems in the new alchemy to a certain extent, haven't you?"

Chapter 599: Furnace of Souls

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

Lucien replied rather innocently. "I was inspired by the amazing result that electrons had the features of waves. So, I modified and abandoned some thoughts I had in the past."

"You resolved the orbit problem by regarding them as waves?" Fernando knew that quantized orbits would be inferred naturally if so.

Lucien shook his head. "The problem might be resolved in such a way, but I have some other thoughts. If they don't walk out, I'll reconsider from the perspective of waves."

"You are not comparing electrons to waves?" Fernando had always been serious in arcana discussions. He wondered what Lucien could have possibly come up with from the experiment.

Lucien said rather cautiously, "It's the epistemology behind the phenomenon. Like I said before, the problems within the atom should only be handled based on the phenomena and results that can be observed. We cannot consider the previous concepts that are not directly observable, such as orbit, as our basis, as we can only describe electrons as matter with the features of waves and particles."

"Then you inferred it with mathematical tools?" asked Fernando rather interestedly.

Lucien nodded. "Yes. I ignored the arcana significance of certain things and associated problems within the atom with the problems in reality through mathematical tools."

"Didn't you say that the microscopic realm could not be associated with the real world?" Fernando was puzzled.

Lucien smiled. "That's why I used mathematical approaches. The microworld and the real world indeed abide by different laws, but when the laws of the microworld are extended to the real world, our observation will agree with the classical laws. Otherwise, it will be inexplicable why we exist in reality instead of turning into waves. Therefore, we should not consider the arcana significance of the laws but focus on constructing a model that is similar to classic theories with pure mathematical tools, making the solution identical to the experiment, before we discuss the actual significance of the model."

"This is the most primitive and classic approach, but we have long forgotten it," Fernando remarked with mixed feelings. In the beginning, before the concepts took shape, many theories had been constructed based on the explorations and experiments via such means. There were functions first before the actual significance of functions was discussed. However, as there were more and more theories and concepts, while it was easier for the arcanists to explore the world with previous concepts and definitions, they were also restrained by such ideas in the meantime. "Where do you plan to begin?"

Lucien did not hide. "From the sum of the information in the atomic system that we can observe or the general status of the system—if you will—I will introduce a state function and use the observable arcana concepts as operators. By operating and changing the state function with it, I will have corresponding results, which must be a match with the experiment results."

Fernando was silent for a while as if he were considering what Lucien meant. In the end, he could only compliment, "A very amazing idea. Introducing the state function in thermodynamics into the atomic system, and regarding the observable arcana concepts as the operator, those are inspirations that only the avid lovers of mathematics can come up with. However, cold and complicated math models will never be generally accepted until they reveal their arcana significance."

He did not ask for more details since Lucien didn't ask him, because it was Lucien's work. "You've found a new approach. You should be able to construct a theoretical system soon. I look forward to your bringing good news to my studies."

"Master, what are you working on?" asked Lucien curiously.

Fernando said gravely, "Two directions. The first is the abnormal splitting experiment. I discovered that it could only be resolved by introducing a half quantum number, which doesn't agree with our understanding that quantum numbers can only be integers. The second is that I was inspired by my previous studies and believed that there can't be two identical electrons in an atom. That is to say, at least one of their quantum numbers is different."

So far, three quantum states regarding electrons had been discovered.

"That seems able to resolve the problem of the distribution of electrons, as well as the electronic exchange in the old alchemical reactions. Mr. Gaston's studies in life synthesis will have certain theoretical support." Lucien did not expect that his teacher could find out the Pauli exclusion principle 1 so quickly.

Not too delighted, Fernando nodded his head. "There's still a long way ahead. As you said, this is a realm that was unimaginable in the past. Also, it will be my turn to supervise the advance base in the World of Souls next year."

Ever since the Lord of the Undead betrayed the World of Souls, the Congress had established bases near the gaps of the World of Souls in Heidler city to explore the World of Souls. Because they were suspicious that the disappearance of Maskelyne, Viken and some other legendary sorcerers was related to the World of Souls, their exploration had been very prudent. It took them several years before they finally reached the depths of the World of Souls. Also, one legendary sorcerer, usually a grand arcanist, guarded the base all the time, except for special occasions like the time when war was waged against the Church.

"You must be careful, master," said Lucien in concern. The World of Souls was as dangerous as hell. When he checked Adol's memories with his permissions in the Highest Council, he saw the most unimaginable and astounding picture.

In Adol's memories, black, white and grey covered everything in the world of silence that was devoid of any sound. At the center of this world was a magnificent, splendid palace that was half the size of Holm. The high steeple pierced into the sky and extended into the void, connecting the sky and the earth of the World of Souls.

In the areas that Adol could reach, terrifying specters were everywhere. There were primeval vampires and mummies, there were Wraith Lords, and there were 'Servants of Death', which was the name of a specter and was not about the real God of Death. There were also skeleton kings, dragon liches and 'demigod-liches'. The number of legends was almost close to the sum of all the three biggest groups. Thankfully, most of the specters were unintelligent and acted according to instinct. They could barely be manipulated by the intelligence specters, either. So, they were not as strong as Congress as a whole.

Of course, Congress couldn't devote all the legends to the exploration, which would give the South Church and the North Church an opportunity. Also, nobody knew what kind of monsters were hiding in the areas deep inside the 'Temple of Spirits'.

Among them, what shocked Lucien most of all was the 'Furnace of Souls' inside the Temple of Spirits. Located in the deepest parts that Adol could reach, it was a gray curtain that dangled from the intangible heights of the Temple of Spirits like a wall. Inside it was the frozen faces of souls, which were sometimes peaceful and sometimes twisted. Some of them were even swirling around the white fire of soul.

Those souls were so dense that Lucien suspected that their number surpassed the population of all the intelligent creatures in the world.

Also, except for part of the intelligent, legendary creatures who could touch the Furnace of Souls by the bliss of the mysterious existence of the World of Souls, embed their subordinates into it, and burn them with the white fire, the senior-rank specters including Adol could only see it but could not touch it, just like when the sorcerers saw the tantalizing ball of divinity during their advancement. It was high above somewhere that they could never reach.

Adol had scrutinized the Furnace of Souls, only to discover his face somewhere high above. He had already been caged inside the Furnace of Souls!

Even though he was a specter that had few feelings, his spiritual power still shook violently, making it difficult for him to carry on his exploration.

Perhaps, the mysteries of souls are hidden behind that. That was the only idea Lucien had after retrieving and reading the files.

Fernando glared at Lucien rather impatiently. "Up to this point, few of the legendary specters in the periphery are at the third level of legendary. We have also set up communication methods. The mysterious existence in the World of Souls has fallen asleep again. What dangers can I possibly run into? Just focus on the model of your new alchemy!"

After he left his teacher's place, Lucien went directly to the Affair Committee, and the record of the discussion in the meeting began to spread among a few arcanists.

Chapter 600:

Darkness Before Dawn

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

When he arrived at the Affair Committee, Lucien happened upon Norman, Douglas' student, who was one of the members.

"Your Excellency Evans, you are the truth of elements…" Norman greeted him according to the rules of the Congress.

Lucien smiled. "Such trouble is unnecessary. It's too much a waste of time. When I met the Excellencies before, I only paid tribute to them the first time we encountered."

"Mr. Evans, is there anything you want the Committee to do?" Norman asked, "In fact, you don't have to come in person. You could've contacted any member in the office or asked us to go to your library."

Lucien pointed at the conference room. "Certain things can be better explained with a face-to-face conversation."

Describing the arrangement regarding the Holt Magic College, Lucien looked at Norman and asked, "Is there anything unclear?"

"Your Excellency, this is a wonderful thought. I have never seen such a teaching method before. As a graduate from the magic school myself, I could've saved one year of my time if I had the chance to choose courses and teachers on my own." Norman praised the new pattern. He certainly had astonishing gifts to be picked by Douglas.

Lucien thought to himself. If he proposed the method to anybody else, they might be thinking that it would ruin the atmosphere in schools and sabotage the traditional teacher-student relationship, like the dilemma he encountered when he was in Douglas Magic School. However, Norman gave it a very high remark based on his personal impression almost without any analysis.

"The apprentices are mostly very young. Making choices on their own only means self-indulgence. Different age groups require different ways. It's certainly not the best solution to just let them do whatever they want." Lucien rose. "The studying period of the college will be two years. They can graduate in advance or apply to delay one year. You will draft the details."

"Alright. I'll summon the members and discuss it with them soon." Norman had already recorded Lucien's instruction in the magic circle.

When Lucien was about to leave, a middle-rank arcanist walked in, "Mr. Norman, Her Excellency the Witch of Iceland has sent over a confidential recording stone. She asks the Committee to sort it out into a paper."

"A recording stone?" Norman looked at Lucien strangely. Was there anything else that the Highest Council wanted them to do?

After Gaston invented magic gramophone, many other arcanists developed similar products. The recording stone was one of them. It was much simpler and more convenient than in the past.

"It's some of the discussion during the meeting." Lucien stopped leaving and decided to observe Norman. Although he was certain that the discussion would not result in an earthquake in the sorcerers' cognitive worlds according to logic and prophecies, he still needed to infer other people's possible acceptable based on the reaction that Norman had after hearing the recording, so that he would know how to publish his papers.

Seeing that Lucien sat down again, Norman thought that he had other instructions regarding the content in the recording stone. So, he hinted for the middle-rank arcanist to leave first, and he activated the recording stone after turning on the sound-blocking magic circle in the conference room.

"There are no experiments that confirm the wave nature of electrons yet…" Hathaway's clear and cold voice came over.

Norman immediately realized what it was about. They must be discussing Dieppe's paper and Mr. Evans' remark.

As the argument went on, Norman became more and more focused. Quite a few arcanists expressed their opinions. For example, if the particles were waves, why were humans not waves when they were made of particles? He also agreed with Hathaway's theory that particles' special vibrations showed the feature of waves.

By the time Oliver asked Lucien's opinion, Norman glanced at Lucien who was seated on the chair comfortably, finding it hard to believe that he just asked 'what are waves' and 'what are particles'.

However, after Lucien explained his idea with the motto of 'the blind feeling the dragon', Norman became more solemn than ever, as if he were considering the most complicated problem. He mumbled to himself, "Bats, lizards, waves and particles… This is truly an unprecedented perspective…"

The recording came to a halt before Fernando talked. Norman was still deep in thought, as if he were trying to understand Lucien's opinion.

After a long time, he finally remarked half in delight and half in bitterness. "Mr. Evans, thanks to your perspective and your easy-to-understand metaphor, even if the electrons are proved to be waves in the future, I wouldn't need to worry that my cognitive world would collapse."

Then, he spoke of his own understanding, seeking Lucien's approval. "…We can consider it as something that we haven't completely recognized. We cannot define it with part of its features but can only describe it in a certain range. Day is not night, but the sky can behave in two statuses that are day and night. The different time of observation results in its different appearance."

It was much easier than directly accepting that particles were waves. Sorcerers were always reverential about the unknown. They described it only according to their experiments.

Naturally, Lucien could not say that the 'sky' was actually a superposition state of 'day' and 'night.' Seeing that Norman accepted it rather well, he rose and said, "This is the discussion about certain problems at present. The main purpose is to ask the arcanists to keep an open mind about the unknown. They must not introduce the previous concepts blindly, or they will never see the big picture."

"Arcana studies are important, but the methodology of arcana studies seem equally important!" Said Norman with mixed feelings.

Lucien nodded his head with a smile. That was exactly the methodology, to wit, the ways and the attitude with which one observed and processed problems.

Seeing that Lucien was about to leave, Norman led him to the door and remarked somewhat gloomily, "Can the problems in the new alchemy only be resolved if electrons are regarded as waves? It makes me feel that the new alchemy has reached the most difficult moment. There's barely any hope. The only dawn that can be seen is unacceptable under the system."

The existence of materials was real. Even Norman, an arcanist who was more inclined to the wave theory, found it more or less unacceptable to introduce the concept of waves to matter. He felt helpless and frustrated about the dilemma surrounding new alchemy.

"You forgot again. It is just a mysterious material that shows the features of waves." Lucien bid him farewell. It was impossible to change one's mindset overnight.

After seeing Lucien off, Norman rubbed his cheeks. "They feel so real. I find it hard to believe that they are waves…"

…

As the chairman of 'Will of Elements', Morris soon got the heuristic paper after it was published. Browsing through it, he put on a self-mocking smile. "The new alchemy on one side, and electrons as waves on the other side. This is really a tough choice."

"Master, this is the third time that you have made the same remark, during the one hour that I discussed questions with you." Florencia said, more or less complaining. "Why are you so concerned about the problem? Just because it can be explained from the perspective of waves doesn't mean that it can't be explained from the perspective of particles. Instead of worrying about that, you should devote more of your attention to your research. However, you sound less hesitant than the previous two times."

She was a member of the Affair Committee who was better at doing things than research.

Morris smiled. "You are very keen. Lucien explained electrons from a new perspective. It's not unacceptable even if they behave as waves."

"Is that so?" Florencia asked for the paper and read it carefully. In the end, she smiled and said, "The early discussion was truly intense, but Lucien does have a special way of thinking. That must be the reason why he has presented so many revolutionary achievements… I rarely see anybody simplifying the question with only one metaphor."

"Perhaps, this is the true nature of the wave-particle duality." Morris heaved a sigh. "However, judging from Lucien's meaning between the lines, he is more inclined to resolve the problems in the new alchemy with waves, too."

"The cornerstone of elements and the fundamental code to describe particles have to address its problem with waves. What irony." Florencia chuckled but looked rather gloomy.

Morris rose and walked to the window. Looking at the grey sky and the depressing, overwhelming snow that blocked his vision, he remarked, "The new alchemy is exactly experiencing such weather right now. There are huge snowflakes in every direction, and nobody can see a way out. We can only grope while we step forward. Even the unacceptable and nonnegotiable things in the past must be clutched as long as they indicate the way out."

"This is a dilemma for Lucien as well as all the other elements in the field of elements and alchemy. We are like trapped beasts that have to resort to all means possible in order to break out of the siege and see the dawn again."

Florencia also walked to the window and sighed. "I hope that such confusion, depression, coldness and loss end as soon as possible, so that we can pass through the infinite dark night and reach the dawn where everything is dyed red by the sun."

"The darkness before the dawn is the deepest and thickest." Morris observed. It was also the last obstacle before the half-solidification of his cognitive world.

…

Raventi, Gaston, LockLynn, Marcus and other senior-rank arcanists felt more or less the same when they read the heuristic paper. On one hand, Lucien's example made them more open-minded towards particles, allowing for a shift of their mindset; on the other hand, they were all frustrated by the bottleneck of new alchemy.

Were they going to ask for the wave theory's reinforcement after their endeavors in particles proved in vain?

If even waves could not address all the problems, would the model of new alchemy be completely wrong since the very beginning?

In the unknown world of pure darkness, the new alchemy seemed to have reached an intersection that would decide its own fate!

"Perhaps, we are already approaching success, except that there is only one correct way in the darkness around us. If we walk on the correct way, we will ascend to the throne of magic and arcana after one step and master the mysteries of matter, but if we go the wrong way, we will fall into a bottomless abyss and crash into pieces." Looking at the depressing blizzard out of the window, Raventi suddenly had a feeling: The most critical moment for the new alchemy has come. Would it rise and illuminate everything like the sun, or would it fall like the moon and let the darkness re-embrace the world?

…

At night, having replied to plenty of letters, Lucien re-entered his library and sat on his chair. Then, he brought out the tremendous experiment data.

Plans could never keep up with changes. Lucien shook his head and picked up his quill, starting to write: On Quantum Mechanics.

Outside of the window, snowflakes were dancing in the coldness and darkness.

Chapter 601: Another Hallucination

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

Lucien had only just learnt the matrix mechanics. Also, he intentionally did not refer to the files in his spirit library but inferred it with his memories and understanding. Therefore, it was not as fluent and natural as the papers he wrote before, when he could write more than ten pages without any stop under the assistance of magic. It was quite troublesome this time.

Lucien could've picked Dirac's version of quantum mechanics that was more concise, beautiful and easier for the arcanists to understand, and he could've handled it with the mathematical tools in the previous arcana system. However, the matrix could be applied to a variety of fields in the future. This was the best opportunity to come up with it. After all, he would throw out Dirac's paper in two months and free the arcanists from the maze of matrix.

In the first part of the paper, Lucien spent plenty of time constructing the matrix as a mathematical tool, explaining its definition, rules of calculation, etc. Before he really began the content of quantum mechanics.

Starting from the equations of electron movement, Lucien expanded it mathematically and, through the enormous and intricate calculations of the matrix, based on the observed arcana values, he constructed the whole model into what seemed to be the classic Douglas-Oliver system, except that the means of calculation in the new system was the matrix.

While he wrote with difficulty, Lucien gradually grasped the knowledge about the matrix and had a deeper understanding about the unfriendly, complicated mathematical tool. In the meantime, he had a deeper interest in its arcana significance in quantum mechanics.

Time went by, and the night out of the window was darker and darker. The ground was covered in a thick layer of snow.

After a long time, the paper before Lucien was already a thick pile, and he wrote faster and faster.

Finally, Lucien raised his hand after drawing to a heavy full stop, which marked the end of the main body of the paper and the establishment of the real quantum mechanics, unlike the half-classic and half-quantum amalgamation in the model of the new alchemy!

Lucien did not stop there. Instead, he continued his deduction with the new theory that was matrix mechanics. The quantization conditions that were imposed on electrons were inferred after the complicated but clear calculation!

Soundlessly, Lucien's cognitive world surfaced. Already half-solidified, it was no longer satisfied by the illusionary changes in the soul but filled up the whole library. The stars high above were like lamps illuminating the floor. The spots of elements were displayed as models of atoms. The electrons which moved around neutrons and protons were like an unreal, unpredictable cloud that now behaved as waves and as particles.

The floating light and shadow in the show was like the most hideous and peculiar hell, in which a lot of devils seemed to be roaring crazily. "Stop! Stop! It's going to be the deepest level of hell if you go down any further!"

"Go on! Just go on! You will release the most terrible and unimaginable monster!" The falling snowflakes were like pure angels.

"It will destroy the entire world! And you, vicious sorcerer, your heart will be dug out and air-dried on the volcano!"

The hallucinatory sounds entered Lucien's ears, but he did not stop. He continued his deduction with the matrix and compared it with the data of the spectral experiments, the empirical equations and the many experiments regarding the new alchemy.

After his cognitive world surfaced, the model of the atom was kept the same. Until the data was perfectly matched, Lucien was not going to change his cognitive world recklessly.

…

Results were accomplished. They matched the experiment results perfectly!

The equations were deduced naturally and fit the empirical equations!

The dark night reached the deepest and most intense moment. Snowflakes were flying like the paper flowers at a funeral, bringing forth desperation, grief, silence and death.

The roars of the devil were more and more ghastly. "You are peeping at the truth of the world! You will be torn apart!"

"I curse you to eternal pain and suffering!"

Angels also threatened him. "You are not opening the gate to Mountain Paradise but the cage of destruction! Sinner! The world will be the opposite of your imagination!"

"Die now! The truth of the world must not be desecrated and approached! Damn arcanist, you will never find anything you want! I will pluck your soul and burn it in fire for ten thousand years!"

Lucien heard the hallucinatory sounds again. Not knowing whether it was because of the unsteadiness of his mind, or the feedback of the real world, or perhaps both, he shook his head, took a deep breath, and came up with the most pivotal equations in matrix mechanics that were most in violation of general mathematical rules: The multiplication of the momentum and the location was not equal to the multiplication of the location and the momentum!

The moment the equation that did not agree with the commutative property was inferred, the roars of devils and the threatenings of angels all became begging:

"End it! Please tear it apart! This is the key to the gate of destruction!"

"If you stop, you will be the savior of the world that will be remembered forever."

"As long as you stop, I will satisfy all of your requirements."

In his cognitive world, the model of the orbit of electrons changed again. The electrons in the form of clouds were separated naturally according to three quantum numbers. After moving randomly for years, they finally had their own distribution patterns. Protons and neutrons had similar changes, too, which immediately condensed Lucien's soul and cognitive world that were not very solid yet. The early version of the meditation method based on the wave-particle duality was finally upgraded!

The boundless, intangible, illusionary starry sky appeared again. Attracted by the strange and yet familiar force, the complicated and esoteric cubic symbols of magic appeared in Lucien's cognitive world and constructed into a weird, unimaginable magic model.

Since his cognitive world had half-solidified, Lucien controlled the range of his influence, making it barely possible for outsiders to notice anything wrong. If they looked at Lucien's 'Babel' from the blizzard, they would only see the weirdly shaking light in one of the windows, as if countless devils were dancing.

"Consider the values that do not agree with the commutative property of multiplication as non-commutation values…" Lucien did not stop at all but went on. "…In the meantime, a pair of non-commutation values cannot be determined at the same time. If you know one of them accurately, the other will definitely be uncertain. For example, if you completely understand the speed and mass of an electron, you will lose track of it and can never discover it again…"

"…After deduction, time and energy are also similar. When time is shortened to a single accurate moment, energy will expand and plummet uncannily, and huge fluctuations of energy will appear in the vacuum… Perhaps, such 'vacuum fluctuations' happens around us all the time."

"Ahh!" Miserable screams echoed.

"Wu!" Grievous moans echoed.

After the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle was written by Lucien, the 'devils' and 'angels' became desperate and then vanished into thin air!

The darkness and the snowy land were the same as before, but the snowflakes that had been flying like paper flowers stopped!

In Lucien's cognitive world, the weird magic model had been successfully constructed. It turned out to be a new legendary magic. Based on his intuition, Lucien could tell that the spell that was based on quantum mechanics and the uncertainty principle was a very weird one that seemed able to sabotage determinism, or the law of causality, which the arcanists of this world believed in.

Looking at the result of his deduction that matched the experiment data and empirical equations perfectly, Lucien closed his eyes. What exactly was the difference between the two worlds?

Why was there spirits and magic in one of them and not in the other one?

He had heard hallucinatory sounds twice. The first time, it was when he came up with the Planck constant, which marked the beginning of quantum mechanics, and the second time, he established quantum mechanics. Was it the reason behind everything? His mood might've been unsteady the first time, but he was certainly calm this time.

Lucien had read the introduction to the development of quantum mechanics in the spirit library. After learning a thing or two about the theories that were more magical than magic, more mythic than myths, and more fantastic than fantasies, he believed that he could find an explanation from the path.

"I have to pay a visit to the Furnace of Souls sometime. Perhaps, I can discover the secrets of souls from there and understand why the two worlds are different." Lucien took a deep breath and made up his mind to visit the World of Souls. He would never be reassured if he couldn't unravel the secret. He would suspect the reality of this world and that somebody was manipulating everything. Other people might be satisfied as it was, but he would rather die than to accept it willingly!

Of course, Lucien was not a reckless man. He would never go to the Temple of Spirits unless he became level-two legendary and was led by the grand arcanists such as President Douglas.

Calming himself down, Lucien drew out the part about the uncertainty principle and kept it in the internal pocket of the Robe of Grand Arcanists. Then, he eliminated the proof that matched the experiment data and the empirical formulas in the remaining part, planning to let the arcanists finish them. It would be easier for them to accept the theory if the results of their deduction based on the theory matched the experiment results.

After he sorted out the paper and kept it in his storage bag, Lucien realized that it was already six o'clock in the morning, and it was still the most intense darkness outside.

"The night has passed without me knowing it…" His hands in his pockets, Lucien walked to the window and looked at the cold, gloomy night and the snow that was reflecting shimmers. He observed in a low voice, "The darkness before dawn is truly the deepest and heaviest."

Hardly had he concluded his sentence when an orange light broke the heavy darkness and drove away the coldness from far away.

The sun rose slowly, spraying brilliance that dyed the snow red, making it look like a furious fire that was burning in dreamy and glamorous colors.

The overwhelming snow began to melt, unfreezing the world, as if the 'fire' burnt up the obsolete stuff and brought a new order.

The splendid fire spread from before Lucien's eyes all the way to the infinite horizon. He couldn't help but narrow and eyes and said to himself: "Dawn is here."

Yes, the dawn of the new alchemy had come!

Just like the sun, it would never be stopped again. It would illuminate the era with its light and heat!

Chapter 602: Hand of Uncertainties

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

After completing 'On Quantum Mechanics', Lucien did not submit it right away. Instead, he studied its applications and analyzed the new legendary spell that was formulated inside his soul. Having received the feedback of the real world, his soul and his cognitive world were both much more steady, and he could already construct the fourth legendary model.

After a month of analysis, Lucien had basically grasped the weird, unpredictable legendary spell. It was an ancillary spell that could map certain features of the microworld to the macroscopic domain. For example, no matter how tough, marvelous or mysterious the enemy's defense was, there would definitely be uncertainties, and it was possible that the attack and weakening spells enhanced by this magic would pierce through it directly.

To be more exact, in that moment, determinism would collapse. No matter how many life-preserving spells the enemy prepared, how many phylacteries they made in advance, and how their life was absolutely ensured by such preparations, there were still odds that they would perish abruptly because of the influence of the magic.

Of course, for Lucien, the stronger the enemy was, the lower the odds would be. There was a 20% possibility that he could destroy determinism when faced with opponents of the same level, but the odds would be lower than one percent if he were faced with Douglas. If he ever encountered Silver Moon Alterna, the chances would be below 1/10000.

"No wonder it gave me such a weird feeling. This legendary spell is truly a marvelous weapon." After the analysis, Lucien scratched his chin with mixed feelings, "But what's the mechanism? Why can part of the features of the microworld be reflected to the macroscopic domain? The interference is ruled out? Why can the interference be ruled out?"

Vaguely, Lucien seemed to have grasped something that concerned the nature of spirits and magic. Also, it was the opposite of his left hand's ability to nullify magic and divine powers.

However, his inspiration disappeared very quickly. Lucien could only shake his head and reconsider the names that Natasha came up for the legendary spell. In the end, he decided to go with 'Evans' Hand of Uncertainties'. The name might be too long, but it didn't matter. This spell did not need to be cast by chanting but could be added to other spells when he cast them. No extra preparations were needed.

But of course, as a result, it would take one more second to cast the original spell, and the consumption would increase exponentially. Supposedly, Lucien could perform forty legendary spells in a battle, but if those legendary spells were attached with the effect of 'Hand of Uncertainties', his spiritual power would run dry after a couple of casts.

After finishing the analysis of the spell, Lucien decided to devote much of his attention in the next month to its construction. Then, he cleaned his paper and went to the Allyn magic tower, ready to submit it to his teacher.

In the past month, the members of the Highest Council were all studying the wave function of electrons. Because of the deficiencies in mathematics and the lack of the notion of spin, little progress had been made. However, Douglas, Hathaway and Brook, as experts of mathematics, already had ideas and began to modify certain mathematical tools. As for the other arcanists, besides their own studies, they were mostly devoted to the design of the magic circles about electron interference and diffraction. It was a pity that they made little progress, either.

Hathaway, Hellen and Klaus all visited Lucien in the meantime. They were curious about the studies in crystals. Lucien, on the other hand, subtly hinted that he suffered setbacks when he tried to deepen his studies due to the lack of mathematical tools and prerequisite knowledge.

After hearing that, although Hathaway and Hellen did not say anything, it was obvious that they intended to research the mathematical knowledge in that aspect.

Perhaps, they would be remembered by future generations for their enormous contribution to mathematics. Lucien was quite optimistic about them, because they were actually much more talented in mathematics than him. Hathaway was among the top three of all the specialists in mathematics in the whole Congress.

In the meantime, Lucien and Natasha's life was just like before. The pressure from the experts of the Church and Kritonia was gradually forgotten as time went by, which made Lucien's life rather comfortable. Apart from his arcana and magic studies, there was music, love, interesting trivia because of their personalities, the fun when he tortured the students such as Annick and Heidi, and the bad jokes he added during the preparation of the magic tower college, the Lanxiang and the generic schools.

…

Instead of jumping directly to his office, Lucien roamed to the Allyn magic tower with his hands in the pockets of his tuxedo for no other reason other than to watch the red banner hanging outside of the magic tower in person. In the meantime, he considered the things he should work on in March. "Other than constructing 'Hand of Uncertainties', I need to start preparing the craft of legendary items. To pick up the skill, I've wasted quite a few items in the past half year."

Although he was an authority in the field of alchemy, Lucien had always been a theorist and barely crafted any legendary items. He was better at mixing drugs than he was at crafting items. But nobody else could replace him to craft a unique legendary item. Therefore, he spent most of the arcana points he earned through new alchemy and the general theory of relativity to materials, increasing his deftness and confidence by repetitive alchemical experiments.

Over the past half year, Lucien had broken too many items and wasted too many materials. Even though he had sold the items that he successfully crafted, his arcana points had been disappearing quickly with few left right now. However, he was more or less confident to craft a legendary item now.

"It's true that you can only increase your proficiency by devoting money to it…" Recalling the games he played in the past, Lucien thought in amusement. At this moment, he had already arrived at the Allyn magic tower and saw the cheesy red banner hanging on the gate, which was the polar opposite of the body of the tower that was dreamy and exquisite.

"Designated Fields for the College Entrance Exam of Advanced Magic."

Lucien felt like smiling the moment he saw it. It was too warm and familiar!

Below the banner, a lot of sorcerers had gathered. They were reading the introductory board at the gate excitedly:

"The Holt Magic College has a capable faculty. Many of our teachers work for the Arcana Review Board part time…" The sorcerers were rather excited after they understood what it meant. "Is this a college that targets the low-rank arcanists? Wonderful! It's such a pain to learn without a teacher. I can't understand most of the papers on the journals at all."

"Yes. It was better in the past, but the arcana theories today are drastically changing after every year. I can't keep up with it no matter how hard I work."

"The deadline for applications is the end of March. The exam period is from April 1 to April 6… Do we have to pass this 'College Entrance Exam of Advanced Magic'?"

"This is great! We are no longer scared that the sorcerers with backgrounds and connections will steal our spots. It will be abilities that matter. Let's see what will be tested!"

"Yes, that's right! This is the fairest way!"

Hearing their complements of delight, Lucien felt that his lips were twitching. He only hoped that they could retain the thought and did not curse him or 'College Entrance Exam of Advanced Magic' in the future.

…

Passing the arcanists at the gate without catching anyone's attention, Lucien reached his teacher's library, only to discover that he was sorting out his paper.

"Master, you've completed your research?" Asked Lucien with a smile.

Fernando looked at him. "Yes, the exclusion principle, but I don't quite understand what the fourth quantum number represents yet. Have you accomplished something in your research, too?"

Lucien took out 'On Quantum Mechanics' and handed it over to Fernando. "It's mathematically resolved, but its actual arcana significance still needs exploring."

Taking over the paper, Fernando asked prudently, "Is it disruptive?"

"No, it is based on the features of particles and the discontinuity." Lucien thought to himself that the most disruptive thing was already hidden inside, but nobody would notice them until its significance was figured out. Also, he had already excised the part regarding the uncertainty principle.

"Particles, non-continuity?" Fernando smiled. "You confirmed the wave feature of electrons, prompting Brook, Oliver and Hathaway to consider from the perspective of waves, but you resolved the problem from the perspective of particles. How interesting."

He opened the paper but frowned at the definition and calculation rules of matrix. The strange and opaque mathematical tool was truly cold and unfriendly. After he read that the multiplication in matrix was not commutative, he suddenly raised his head and looked at the bookshelf on his opposite side. Deep in thought, he said, "The mathematical tool that is not commutative… There seems to be some of those in mathematics in the past, and they were applied to the analysis in the classic system a long time ago. Also, the idea behind your matrix can be traced back to certain things in the past a long time ago, too…"

"Yes." Lucien did not deny it. There were certain mathematical tools in it which he planned to use to deduce the mathematical tools in Dirac's paper. The arcanists today were more familiar with them. After all, the magic world had their own unique achievements, but there was something wrong with all of them, which was the reason why the theories about sets and groups developed rather slowly. So, he was perfecting the mathematical foundation.

Since he was unclear of Lucien's methodology yet, Fernando did not pursue further why he constructed a new mathematical tool instead of using the older ones. He continued reading.

The rest of the paper was extremely difficult to understand. Fernando read it for a long time, calculating and confirming its correctness.

When it was already sunset, Fernando finally raised his head after naturally coming up with the quantization conditions that matched the experiment results based on the new theory. He frowned and asked in confusion, "Everything is good. I'm feeling much better myself, too, but what is the arcana significance in your matrix? What's the meaning of its calculation? Why is there not a concrete model or image?"

Thinking for a moment, Lucien reiterated what he said in the past:

"Experience is untrustworthy, imagination is untrustworthy, and nor are the models and images we imagine; math reveals everything."

Chapter 603: Urgency

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

"Math reveals everything, but eventually it boils down to their actual significance in arcana. We need to learn what the process is and why through mathematics, and what results we can expect according to similar patterns, instead of purely discussing mathematical questions. That's why we explore the world and seek after the truth." Fernando confirmed Lucien's thought but also expressed his own opinion. "For example, until your Evans Geometry became the space-time model of the general theory of relativity, nobody had ever paid much attention to it except for the arcanists of the Tower."

Lucien had similar opinions on the matter. "Yes, mathematics is our best tool. It is a replacement for our imagination, but in any case, it's true that we need an explanation about the new alchemy, the internal structure of atoms and the arcana significance of quantum mechanics. While we can boldly make assumptions when we try to explain them, we must confirm them very carefully. So, I can't give any answer yet."

Fernando nodded slightly. "Since your mathematical approach has resolved the problem successfully, they must contain the intrinsic significance that you haven't discovered yet."

Then, he rubbed his eyebrow and complained. "I can finally be freed from the problems in the new alchemy such as imposed quantization conditions. They have been flying next to my ears like ten thousand flies, making me want to destroy this world. I can finally calm down and focus on the distribution of electrons. There is so much more to explore behind the exclusion principle and the principle of minimum energy.

Although he did not compliment Lucien's research explicitly, his attitude showed that he was quite happy about it.

Lucien didn't quite agreed with his teacher, because his teacher obviously enjoyed the arguments with other people about those questions."

"Submit your paper now. The arcanists in the field of elements and alchemy are desperately looking forward to it." Fernando brought it up. "As a matter of fact, you can totally use the previous mathematical tools, which would be more reader-friendly. If you weren't my student, I would've torn off the first half of your paper and asked you to rewrite them."

In fact, your student is the one who is barraged by you the most… Lucien thought to himself and smiled, "I remembered that there were similar tools in the previous arcana system after I constructed them, but since I already made them, I decided to submit them at the same time. After the wedding is done, I'll modify them with the previous mathematical tools."

Fernando had been quite used to Lucien's weird habit. "Give it to your students. There's no need for you to waste your time on such things. Right. How is the preparation for your 'wedding' going? That's very important."

Lucien nodded solemnly. "I only need to craft the legendary items now."

"Generally speaking, even if everything is prepared, it will take at least one week to craft a legendary item. If you fail once, there won't be enough time left for you. Remember to borrow 'Thorny Crown' in such a case." Fernando reminded him. This was certainly not a time to be petty. 'Thorny Crown' was not as good as a unique legendary item he made himself, but it would also work.

"Even if I successfully craft one, I will still borrow it." While Lucien could be money-mad, he knew when he should be generous. Also, Natasha's safety was at stake.

"Alright. I need to get back to my research. Your paper reignited my passion." Fernando praised Lucien in the end.

Master, you have always been full of passion and momentum. Every member of the Highest Council and every arcanist you have barraged can prove that… Lucien copied the paper and left the library.

Pressing his forehead, Fernando said to himself in confusion, "The multiplication of the momentum and the location is not equal to the multiplication of the location and the momentum. What's the arcana significance in that?"

…

Forwarded by the alchemical life, Lucien's paper soon went to Raventi and Gaston.

Raventi, whose legendary advancement had been delayed because of the difficulties in the new alchemy, was considering the wave function of electrons, when he got the paper from the 'messenger'.

As one of the pragmatists who only acknowledged truth and experiment results, he had accepted Lucien's idea that electrons were a matter they did not know yet, instead of particles or waves.

Of course, he hadn't fully accepted it yet. All the experiment images in the past made him strongly resist the notion of electron waves. He felt that the new alchemy had reached a critical stage, and it could be declared wrong at any moment. His research progress was very slow.

Drawing the thickest paper, Raventi was suddenly shocked. "'On Quantum Mechanics? By Lucien Evans X?"

Raventi did not associate the title with the new alchemy but thought that Lucien was studying the force field and the theory of relativity. "Quantum mechanics? A quantized theory of relativity?"

However, whatever the paper was about, Lucien's research product was always worth learning. Raventi began to read carefully. The matrixes at the beginning made him highly uncomfortable, not because they were difficult but because they were very confusing for him who had been used to other mathematical tools. He frowned.

But Raventi's eyebrow was stretched as he read on. He was deep in thought. The matrix was not peculiar, but the idea that Lucien showed in the paper was quite amazing!

As he read, veins bulged on his hands, and his face became rather hollow, because all the brilliance was focused in his eyes.

Suddenly, he put down the paper and calculated according to the content on the paper with his quill.

The white feather shook nonstop, and time flew by. Raventi did not remember how long he had been reading; he only knew that his heart was palpitating in excitement.

Complicated equations were calculated. The moon fell and the sun rose outside of the window.

The conditions and empirical equations of quantization were naturally inferred through the calculation and matched the experiment data perfectly! Crack. Raventi's quill broke in half.

He leaned to the back of his chair, his eyes closed and his face full of excitement and satisfaction.

After a long while, when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that the sunlight of the afternoon was bright and warm, exactly the same as his mood. He picked up his quill and wrote another letter to Morris.

"…At the beginning of this month I remarked that the new alchemy had reached the the most critical moment. It was very close to success, but it was the most dark and dangerous moment. We had to make compromises to a hypothesis that lacked actual proof. Little did I expect that the darkness would fade and the splendid throne of magic and arcana would show up. Lucien is the guy who led us through the dangerous night with mathematics. Like he once said, when we explore the unknown, we can only count on mathematics, which are like lighthouses on the sea…"

The letter that contained his excitement and the copy of the paper were delivered to Morris' magic tower.

Morris was enjoying his dinner when he received the latter. He praised the medium rare steak and opened Raventi's letter casually.

After a few quick glances, his face suddenly became rigid. Then, he blinked to his library, starting to read, calculate and consider with all of his attention.

His servants were all dumbfounded. As a thrifty person, Mr. Morris never wasted any food. What was wrong today?

It was not until the second day that Morris was liberated from the complicated confirmation. He remarked in a low voice, "After I figure out the arcana significance entailed in Lucien's theory, my cognitive world will half-solidify."

His eyes moved randomly, suddenly catching the growing grass and the spring sunlight out of the window, which made him felt exuberant vigor.

"The winter is over."

…

On April 1, Onore, a low-rank sorcerer, came to the examination field prepared by the Sorcerer Administrative Department early. Because the two invigilators were young and beautiful, he couldn't help but steal a glance at them. Then, he heard their discussion:

"Heidi, you want to apply to be a teacher at the Holt Magic College? Are you not afraid that your work in the institution will be delayed?" The lady with a black ponytail asked in confusion.

Heidi replied with a smile, "I've read the requirements. I only need to teach three classes every week. There will be enough free time. Also, our teacher is the principal. We have to support him one way or another. Layria, you're not coming?"

They were now each doing their own research. Lucien barely gave them any specific tasks now after only offering them a general direction.

"You want to promote things like 'Collection of Evans' Mathematical Quizzes', right?" Layria saw through Heidi's scheme easily.

Heidi smiled joyfully and did not reply to the question. She changed the subject. "All in all, I will teach the foundation of the new alchemy."

"The original model?" Layria was slightly stunned.

"Well, I will more or less mention the amendments."

Well, the college will issue the textbooks about the new alchemy, right? Onore was utterly confused about the discussion in the recent half year.

After he finished the magic analysis test in the morning, he encountered Heidi and Layria again when he left. At this moment, they were full of ecstasy and excitement.

"Haha. Our teacher always has astounding achievements if he doesn't publish papers for a long time. Now, most of the issues have been resolved." Said Heidi delightedly and proudly.

Layria also said happily, "Although I don't understand the specific arcana significance of the paper, it at least means that the path works. Heidi, I fear that your textbook of 'elementary new alchemy' has to change now. Can you teach it well? Or rather, have you completely understood the paper?"

"Well…" Heidi was lost for words.

Onore was dumbfounded, too. There were major theoretical changes again?

On his way home, he met a lot of excited arcanists and learnt what happened from them. Then, he wrote in his notebook with quite a lot of mixed feelings:

"…The development of arcanists is like a sweeping torrent that nobody can keep up with. Before the exam this morning, the invigilators, the inspectors and the sorcerers who took the test had been talking about the classic model of the new alchemy. Even the textbook was prepared as such. However, everything became different when the exam was over at noon. Everybody discussed quantum mechanics, the reconstruction of the classic model in the new alchemy, and the changes in the textbook…"

"…After only one afternoon, such great changes have happened. The original textbook has to be rewritten even before it is handed to the students. This is truly an age of myths. We have to run to keep up with the demanding pace. Thankfully, there's a magic college that teaches us everything…"

Chapter 604: Stellar Core

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

Inside the Land of Truth…

Douglas deduced with Lucien's paper in his hands and compared the results with known experiment data. In the end, he put down the paper and pulled his bow-tie, before he asked in confusion, "What do those equations indicate?"

He had read the paper too many times throughout the previous days. He quite appreciated Lucien's ideas that were based on the particle nature and the discontinuity, and he was delighted that the many problems in the new alchemy were resolved. However, as time went by, his delight did not grow into satisfaction and happiness. He was not even as excited as he expected.

That was because for sorcerers, fixing one problem often meant a deeper understanding about a certain arcana field, and more specific models or patterns had been found. Lucien's quantum mechanics, on the other hand, was not so. It was true that results that agreed with actual circumstances could be achieved, and the problems and the quantum numbers recently could be included. However, there was nothing beyond that. It could neither describe the internal structure of atoms accurately nor offer the patterns within. Everybody could only be at a loss after reading it. They knew the results, but they did not know where the results came from.

The matrix was like a gate that guarded the truth of the world. It was mysterious and cold and blocked everybody outside. Although the arcanists in the field of elements and alchemy were overjoyed, nobody else was as excited as they should've been after the many problems in the new alchemy were resolved.

"The matrix is not difficult by itself. There are similar mathematical tools in the past, but the calculation can be quite a headache when it is melted into the complicated system of the new alchemy." Douglas shook his head in amusement. "Everybody has been locked into the maze of matrix by Lucien. He cannot explain the arcana significance behind it even though he modifies it with the existing mathematical tools."

"However, in any case, we cannot deny the importance of Lucien's quantum mechanics. We just need time to figure out what is hidden below."

Instead of continuing the studies on quantum mechanics, he resumed his effort to get a precise solution to Evans equations of gravitational field. He believed that the solution must contain the mysteries of the sky and the celestial bodies.

Even the grand arcanists of his level needed to be focused on arcana. He probably would spare some of their time to study the new alchemy or the electromagnetic field, but he was still mostly dedicated to the force field and astrology, especially after the general theory of relativity gave him the hope of becoming a demigod.

Same as Douglas, most of the arcanists recognized the complexity and 'unfriendliness' of the new system after the initial excitement. It was like the most celibate lady that coldly rejected all the men who approached her, not letting them know what she thought.

More and more arcanists began to have a headache when they tried to imagine the internal model of atoms and give actual significance to Lucien's quantum mechanics.

However, they would one day regret their attempt to search for the actual significance. They would wish that Lucien had never come up with such a thing, because the truth of the world was also a 'destructive beast'!

In that regard, only several people were different.

After reading the paper, Hathaway calculated for she didn't know how long in the clean, tidy library. The red tea and cookies before her did not change at all. Then, she was deep in thought, her eyebrows furrowed, as she looked for the arcana significance of the system and why the two values did not comply with the commutative property .

After she failed to find anything for now, she immediately gave up random thinking and decided to resolve the problem of two-electron atoms based on the new system, partly to confirm the correctness of the new system and partly to find the arcana significance from real practice.

Fernando accepted Lucien's idea and abandoned the attempt to look for a model for the internal structure of atoms. He focused on the exploration of the arcana significance and combined it with his study on the distribution of electrons.

Vicente and Hellen, on the other hand, began their study by exploring the arcana significance of Lucien's quantum mechanics and the feature that electrons behave as waves.

Inside the Kingdom of Electromagnetism…

After confirming Lucien's paper, Brook nodded in approval first and then devoted himself to his work, trying to give electrons a wave function. If the problems in new alchemy could be resolved from the perspective of particles, why couldn't they be resolved from the perspective of waves?

"Did I miss something? Brook asked himself in confusion. The initial wave function was full of problems.

The more he inferred the wave function, the more he felt that Lucien was right that mathematics should be studied first.

In the Theater of Destruction, Oliver was caught in a similar situation.

...

Because he had to wait for Douglas, Fernando, Hathaway and Raventi to give the proof on the matrix, Lucien's quantum mechanics was in fact published one month late. As a result, the experiment on electron diffraction to be published in April was postponed to May. Otherwise, the arcanists who could not understand the complicated calculations wouldn't be able to tell the value of quantum mechanics at all.

The issue of March prompted the sorcerers to contemplate on the unknown. Amazed by Lucien's amazing creation, they barely had any difficulty in accepting the idea. In the meantime, Fernando's exclusion principle made the sorcerers who were adept at elements and alchemy overjoyed. Lucien, on the other hand, was making preparations to craft a legendary item. He had also constructed 'Evans' Hand of Uncertainties' into his soul.

On April 1, when the College Entrance Exam of Advanced Magic started, Lucien arrived at the Nekso Palace and was led to the treasury of the royal family by Nekso Palace.

"I almost let Alferris know that I was coming to the treasury." Lucien said to Natasha in amusement. The guy had 'borrowed' his silver moon medal 'Superconductivity' for 'appreciation'.

Natasha had seen Alferris once and learnt of its greediness herself. "Hehe. He definitely wouldn't leave the treasury again! When it saw the Holm Crown Ring on my hand, it asked me whether or not only ladies could receive such a beautiful and precious ring and men like you could only get broken 'iron ring'. I suspect that it would've been married to the wealthy dragons for their wealth if it weren't a male dragon.'

After teasing the little crystal dragon, Natasha smiled, "Which legendary material do you need?"

Natasha had told Lucien what was inside the treasury and asked him to talk to other legendary experts. Regarding that, Grand Duke of Orvarit could only shake his head with a smile. Such secrets were usually kept confidential by the king or the queen, who would not even tell their spouse.

Looking at Natasha who was wearing a white long dress, Lucien nodded his head. "The Dragon Marrow Stone. Mr. Oliver wants it in preparation for his life extension ritual in the future. He has a stellar core that is perfect to accommodate the special abilities of 'Observer of Time and Space'."

The Dragon Marrow Stone was from the graveyard of dragons. The essence of their decayed bodies were congregated into brown, translucent crystals. Together with the scent of death in the graveyard, the stone was given the features of both life and death. It was one of the most precious materials in the school of necromancy.

If the Dragon Marrow Stone came from a primordial dragon, it would be a legendary material and could prolong one's life by around a thousand years. Of course, those below legendary couldn't bear it and would die on the spot.

The Stellar Core was the 'belonging' of certain collapsed planets. They seemed to be of zero mass, but they could unleash powerful gravity under special circumstances. In the entire Congress of Magic, only Oliver had one of them. Douglas had gotten one, but he had already used it for his unique legendary item.

"Alright." Natasha opened the treasury and led Lucien to the Dragon Marrow Stone without any hesitation. Although it was an extremely precious material that could extend life, she did not stop at all.

Playing with the half transparent crystal in his hand, Lucien said jokingly, "Are you not afraid that you can't find a material to extend your longevity?"

Lucien intended to be gentle, but his words somehow became banter when he spoke them out. But of course, Lucien had already grabbed Natasha's right hand to let her know what he felt.

Natasha declared like a knight, "I believe that I will definitely advance into legendary!"

Then, she added in a low voice, "I will definitely be a legend that is better than you!"

The determination in her last sentence somehow carried the air of grief.

Lucien immediately smiled.

...

On April 8, two days before the wedding…

Inside the Atomic Universe, on the weird planet made of iron, Lucien was crafting his unique legendary inside the magic laboratory that was moved over.

The glittering Stellar Core was placed at the center of the magic circle. It was a clear polyhedron the size of a fist, reflecting dreamy rays on every facet.

At this moment, the Stellar Core had been melted into weird liquids. Magic materials were embedded into it from Lucien's pushing, making it writhe hard as if it were giving birth to something.

Lucien understood that the most critical moment had come. Therefore, he closed his right hand and illuminated the magic circles at the periphery according to the advancement ritual of 'Observer of Time and Space' with his spiritual power.

Everything was enshrouded in vague light. Ripples that emitted the air of time seemed to be spreading out.

Then, the light seemed to be attracted by something and collapsed by the Stellar Core all of a sudden. There was nothing but darkness and depression around.

The complicated structure and the indescribable stripes were fed back to Lucien's brain, which caught him rather unprepared since it was the first time he had crafted any legendary item. Thankfully, he had the complete model of 'Observer of Time and Space' inside his cognitive world, and he could still do something.

With a mechanized mind, Lucien calmly powered the model of his legendary class with his spiritual power, allowing it to influence the process of melting.

After the difficult star was passed, Lucien got the hang of it. The spells, the gesture and the connection of spiritual power were completed one procedure after another. In the end, a cluster of silver brilliance burst out from the center of the magic circle, driving away the collapsed darkness!

After the light calmed down again, a 'silver pocket watch' appeared inside the broken magic circle. It was the perfect size to be grabbed by ones hand!

Chapter 605: Wedding Gift

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

Just like what Lucien had in mind, the silver pocket watch was in the most rigorous and mechanical style. At the center was the white dial, where mysterious symbols made of different gems represented different times. The black second hand ticked, making the sound that was echoing in everybody's hearts. Other than that, there was also one thing special about the pocket watch, which was that there was a button on each side of the dial where it was connected to the band. The buttons were emitting metal brilliance.

It also had the cover and the decorations that other pocket watches had.

After he waved his hands, the silver pocket watch flew into Lucien's hands, and the silver chain was clipped to the buttonhole on his waistcoat automatically.

Lucien pressed and closed the cover of the pocket watch. The tick immediately stopped. He raised his thumb and opened the cover again, immediately sensing that he had been surrounded by something mysterious.

Holding the pocket watch with his right hand, Lucien noticed that the black second hand was bouncing merrily inside. He pressed the right side of the button.

After a click, the second hand immediately stopped. The colors around quickly faded away, leaving nothing but monochrome, as if everything had been slowed down except for himself. Nothing could move normally.

It was the legendary spell, 'Advanced Time Stop'!

Crack. Lucien pressed again, and all the vivid colors returned. The world became normal as the second hand moved on.

As Lucien's thumb slid up and down the edge of the pocket watch, the second hand moved faster and then slower, and the speed of the items around followed accordingly.

"This truly fits the characteristics of 'Observer of Time and Space'." Lucien then tried the button on the left side. Immediately, he saw the features of 'black' on the steady planet made of iron. Space was curved, and the gravity within several thousand meters was extremely chaotic. Other than the spells that directly worked on the body, everything else's track had been twisted.

'Gravity Collapse' could not only deal direct damage to the target but also could be used as a crowd-control spell.

After testing his unique legendary item, Lucien was very satisfied with it. Then, according to the tradition of this world, he engraved the information of the pocket watch into its pivotal magic circle and named it.

"The Moon Timer is a level-one legendary item. Other than the sorcerers who have a deep understanding about time and space, its users must have a half-solidified cognitive world. Even the sorcerers who understand time and space very well must at least have a substantiated cognitive world. Otherwise, their body and their soul would be washed away by time, and they would age and die soon."

"The Moon Timer is a landmark of 'Observer of Time and Space'. Whoever wears it will be immune to the extraordinary abilities related to time and space below legendary. Similarly the spells they cast themselves would not be affected. Instead, such spells will be enhanced and more accurate. The users will also gain a certain amount of resistance against the time control above legendary."

"It is also the lord of time. The aging of its master would be slowed, granting another 520 years of longevity."

"The buttons on the left and the right side can replace spells. By pressing them, it is possible to perform 'Gravity Collapse' (twice every day) and 'Advanced Time Stop' (twice every day)."

"Touching the body of the pocket watch will grant the effect that is partly equal to the abilities of 'Space Staff' in accelerating and decelerating the time in a certain range. The number of maximal times of such an ability depends solely on the spiritual power of the user."

"Twelve ninth-circle spells could be stored inside its dial in advance. They can be activated instantly without consuming any spiritual power."

"Mysterious of time and space are among the deepest truths of this world. Only wisdom can see through them!"

"From: Lucien Evans."

After a click, Lucien curled his finger and closed the cover of 'Moon Timer'. Then, he put it inside the pocket of the brown waistcoat inside his double-breasted suit. The narrow, silver chain extended from it and connected with the buttonhole.

"Thankfully, I had the assistance of the model of my legendary class, or my first craft would've failed." Lucien concluded the lessons just now and understood why the legendary sorcerers' first legendary item often overlapped their own abilities.

After clearing the residue on the ground, Lucien heaved a sigh in relief.

"Hu. Everything is ready. All we need is to wait for the 'guest' to arrive now."

…

Inside a manor at the suburb of Rentato…

A young man, in clean clothes and a top hat, got off the wagon with his companion who had a mustache. Led by the servant, they entered the living room.

There was no fire in the furnace, because it was no longer needed in the flourishing season of spring. The blue-haired and blue-eyed young man, who looked just like any other native of Holm, opened the magic refrigerator on the wall with a smile and took out a bottle of champagne that had the mark of the royal family of Tria, pouring two cups of wine.

"I have to say that the simplification and popularization of alchemical items that Lucien Evans promoted has indeed made things easier and more convenient. One can enjoy a luxurious and casual life even without magic." Handsome and warm, he shook the champagne and relished the coolness.

The mustached guy, who was gloomy and solemn, said after a sip of the champagne. "The cabinet is already making plans to work with sorcerers to develop alchemical wagons for short-distance public transportation, which will be complementary with the magic steam train. It will be much simpler to go to most places in the future. The cabinet. Hehe. Prime Minister Russell."

Many years ago, the sorcerers already had products similar to cement during their alchemy studies. That was why the streets of Allyn were so flat. The roads in major cities in Holm had been gradually replaced with cement ones, too.

"James and his lot are mainly pursuing the advancement on the path of knighthood. They are only interested in returns and do not want to work as a busy Prime Minister… I'm told that Russell is planning to establish a certain mail system based on such a public transportation system, transforming messengers into a department of the kingdom… I can imagine how prosperous and civilized Holm will be. Kritonia, had you foreseen such changes, would you have been inclined to the Congress of Magic in the beginning?" The handsome young man tore Kritonia's scars unconcernedly.

The mustached young man turned out to be Kritonia, 'Heart of Time'! He seemed to be under perfect disguise!

Kritonia was not infuriated. He looked at the black-haired young man and said, "It's pointless to regret what you have done. Banham, I didn't know that you had a private manor in this place."

"As a night watcher, I have my own life, too." Banham, 'Original Fire', chuckled.

The name was made up by him so that it would be easier for Kritonia to call him.

After the remarks, the room fell into silence. It was not until a long time later that Kritonia said, "Are we really going to take action during Lucien Evans' wedding? Even when they are the most heavily guarded, there will still be Hathaway who is at the peak of legendary. Neither of us can stop Hathaway. Why don't we wait a while longer?"

"The most heavily guarded moment is also the moment when people are most likely to be careless. In other words, we don't have to worry about any other legendary sorcerers except Hathaway. Also, I have finished my 'preparations'." Banham looked rather at ease. "In fact, I almost took action when Lucien intentionally lured us to attack him the last couple of times, but I had to wait before my preparations were accomplished. After they were finally done two months ago, he simply stopped coming out."

"Preparations?" Kritonia frowned. He had been contacting Banham remotely and did not meet the guy in person until a couple of days ago.

The Original Fire chuckled. "I'll tell you the details before our operation. Hehe. They will be wary of you, me and the other legendary experts of the Church, but they don't know that somebody else is coming…"

"Who is it?" Asked Kritonia solemnly. He had to ensure his own safety first. Unexpected forces or experts were always worrisome.

"Why do you think I joined the Church?" Instead of giving an answer, the Original Fire asked back.

Kritonia snorted. "Are you going to tell me?"

"No, so you can stop asking." The Original Fire shook the cup in his hands. "Rest assured. They will definitely be separated from the legendary sorcerers of the Congress of Magic briefly. We will have enough time to take action and retreat."

Kritonia nodded. "Have you eliminated the insidious dangers with prophecy?"

"Lucien and Natasha have been looked after by Fernando and Hathaway. My astrology only tells me that they do not pose a threat to us. As for the rest, we can only make conclusions based on intelligence and other traces. His Holiness has also asked with prayer. The result is more or less the same. There's no need to worry. We will be able to escape even if there are accidents." The Original Fire was rather confident, although he was only level-one legendary and the best legendary items he had were only level two.

Kritonia looked at Banham in confusion, wondering why he was so confident in his 'preparations'. He secretly made up his mind that if the 'preparations' were not satisfactory enough for him, he would immediately withdraw. So, he was more or less relaxed and said, "It still can be dangerous. Although neither of them is legendary, they have the Congus Ring, the legendary items awarded by the Congress of Magic, the Shield of Truth, and the Sword of Truth. Those can also pose a threat to us. We cannot be careless."

When Grand Duke of Orvarit left Aalto, he took away the Shield of Truth 'by the way'. Although he could not lift it, it was possible for him to put it into a storage bag.

"Yes. Lucien and Natasha always create miracles. They escaped from the pursuit of the Demigod-lich when they were only in the senior rank. We cannot be careless." Banham nodded in approval, his smile gone. "We cannot waste time talking to them, we cannot hesitate, we cannot think about capturing them alive, and we must give a fatal blow to them as soon as possible. Alright, Kritonia, go to take a rest now. I'm going to study arcana."

"You? You study arcana?" Kritonia was more or less stunned.

The Original Fire shook his head with a smile. "My cognitive world was broken and solidified back in the age of the ancient Magic Empire. That's why my strength never grew over the past thousand years. I thought decades ago that the situation couldn't be any worse even if I tried learning arcana, and that I could possibly find a way to reshape my cognitive world. Look, even His Holiness can learn arcana to modify his divine powers. Why can't I?"

Then, Kritonia finally understood why the Original Fire's strength hadn't grown for almost a thousand years. He should've already advanced into level two after such a long time, considering that the Demigod-lich was also a sorcerer with ancient heritage but it only took him three hundred years to become legendary.

The Original Fire looked out of the window, smiling: "I hope that our 'wedding gift' will satisfy them."

Chapter 606: Wedding

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

On April 10, the sky was blue and everything was basked in the warm sunlight under the gentle breeze, which made them feel slightly lazy.

The square outside of the Nekso Palace had been surrounded by the Sword of Truth's Knights, who were covered in full silver armor. They blocked the citizens that had swarmed over.

"They're here! They're here!" There was no telling who shouted first, but the crowd suddenly fell quiet and focused their eyes on the central avenue that was defended by the Verdict Knights.

Many black wagons that had been painted with the emblem of fire of arcana, pulled by the selected silver Dragon Scale horses, moved onto the outer square of the Nekso Palace.

Tall gentlemen and ladies got off the wagons, wearing the most popular clothes of Holm. Had it not been for the arcana and magic badges on their chest, they would've convinced anybody that they were mystery sorcerers, but they only left the impression that they were the upper society who led the trend of fashion.

"They're gorgeous. The sorceresses are not nearly as pale and slim as the Church described. They are just like any other lady." A young man was dazzled.

Although there were plenty of sorcerers and apprentices in Rentato, they never revealed their identity in public, so most of the citizens did not know what sorcerers actually looked like at all. Their stereotype that was imbued by the Church had gradually been twisted by Arcana Voice.

A girl nearby, as her eyes widened, also said. "That's right. I always thought that sorcerers were supposed to be pale, dry, stinky, and liked dissecting bodies at night… Now I realize I was wrong."

The intelligence workers of the Congress of Magic chuckled in the crowd. Their reaction was exactly what the Highest Council wanted to achieve. Evans' wedding had been considered a great occasion to display the new image of sorcerers. That was why the most attractive arcanists had been selected as Evans' guards, and most of the necromancers of the Hand of Paleness had been asked to stay in Heidler city. It was expected that all the ordinary people learn that sorcerers represented civilization.

"But I'm told that the sorceresses in the past are particularly good at alluring people…" Some other men said regretfully.

In the meantime, some girls were feeling pitiful, too. "Don't you think it's very cool that a pale, handsome gentleman dissects a corpse attentively? Like Mr. Felipe…"

Regarding that, the intelligence could only shake their heads. It was true that everybody had a different taste. After they were adapted to the sorcerers' new image, the mysteriousness of sorcerers had to be invoked again.

After the sorcerers all stood on the two sides of the red carpet, the crowd realized that they hadn't seen Lucien Evans, the star of the show today.

When they were confused, roars echoed in the sky, so terrifyingly that everybody shivered in front of the top creature.

Then, the blue sky became dark because a pair of gigantic wings appeared and a translucent shadow fell and landed at the center of the square.

"A dragon!" Somebody shouted.

Living in the capital of the kingdom that was heavily guarded they only knew dragons from tales and news programs.

The dragon held its hideous head high proudly, reflecting the sunlight with its crystal-like scales. Everybody somehow felt that it was beautiful, too!

After the brief shock, somebody pointed at the back of the dragon. "Is there somebody over there?"

"Oh, has Mr. Evans arrived on a dragon? So cool!"

While they uttered their admiration, a kind girl said in a low voice, "Dragons are intelligent creatures. Will they feel humiliated if they are mounted?"

Alferris looked at her and decided that such humiliation should come as often as possible. It drooled when it thought of the glittering gold that it 'borrowed', considering whether it should start the business of 'dragon knight' in the spare time.

On the back of the crystal dragon, a young man in a black tailcoat flew down and stopped at the front of the red carpet. His face was handsome, and his eyes were deep and dark like a lake that attracted the soul.

"As expected of a great musician!"

"He's exactly like what the tales described!"

…

The gentlemen and ladies complimented in satisfaction. It was more splendid than they imagined.

Unhurriedly, Lucien walked into the Nekso Palace on the carpet.

The Original Fire, who was hiding in the crowd, nodded at Kritonia. "Hathaway, Winston, and a few other legends are here. We will wait for the opportunity when they are only protected by Hathaway."

After that, he exited the crowd and vanished.

Kritonia was grim. He had known the Original Fire's preparations and knew that the odds of success were high, but how did the guy get the connections? Through himself or the Church?

Taking a deep breath, he suppressed his doubts and stared at the Nekso Palace, because there was no turning back now.

…

After passing through the palaces, Lucien reached the queen's bedroom. He was amazed by Natasha who was in a white wedding dress.

She had often worn white dresses or knight suits before, but those clothes were too simple. The hazy laces, the fluffy hemline and the pure gloves made her look like a purple-haired angel that was glowing.

"Am I beautiful?" Natasha chuckled. When she spoke, the sacred feeling was gone, and she was still the resolute knight.

Seeing that Grand Duke of Orvarit, Granny Hathaway and Aunt Camil were eyeing him, Lucien found it impossible to be as casual as usual. He blushed and said, "You are beautiful."

Natasha raised her eyebrow in satisfaction and looked at Grand Duke of Orvarit giving mixed feelings. "Father, you will finally see me married."

Greatly relieved, Grand Duke of Orvarit patted Natasha's hands. "I've finally seen you in a wedding dress. You are as gorgeous as your mother. From today on, you will have your own family. Great, very great."

"I will always be your daughter." Natasha blinked and said in a smile.

Grand Duke of Orvarit turned to Lucien. "You are a warrior who removed my worries. I hope that you will always love and look after her in the future."

Since Natasha was the queen, there was a ritual similar to a wedding inside the Nekso Palace, except that the role of the priest had been replaced by Grand Duke of Orvarit. It would've been too hilarious if the Highest Council let the clerics of the Saint Truth host the wedding.

"I will, in the name of arcana and magic." Lucien said sincerely.

Grand Duke of Orvarit spoke to Natasha again. "You will become his wife. I hope you will always understand and accompany him."

"I will, in the name of the Lord and knighthood." Natasha nodded heavily, declaring as a knight.

Grand Duke of Orvarit smiled and put Natasha's left hand in Lucien's hands. "In the name of her father, I bring her to you. Bless your new family."

Holding Natasha's hand, Lucien paid respect to her father, Granny Hathaway and Aunt Camil, and then went out of the Nekso Palace with her.

Passing through the palaces and the garden, they reached the gate of the Nekso Palace.

The man was handsome and steady, and the lady was sacred and glorious. The beautiful couple stunned the two groups of knights and the crowd, who fell quiet to appreciate the view.

Lucien and Natasha raised their crossed hands together!

Exclamations immediately rose:

"Long live the queen!"

"Long live His Excellency Evans!"

The area around the Nekso Palace was immediately roiling with cheers.

…

In the next instant, for safety reasons, Lucien and Natasha went to a platform for the magic steam train instead of riding on the crystal dragon again under the protection of Hathaway. Winston and the rest of them stayed in the company of Grand Duke of Orvarit and other nobles for their security.

Wu! 'Klaus' moved. In the most heavily guarded carriage, Lucien, Natasha, Hathaway, Grand Duke of Orvarit and Camil were left alone. Winston and other nobles were in other carriages.

"Very powerful defense circles have been deployed here." Natasha was very excited; both for the wedding and for the upcoming battle.

Hathaway preferred to stay quiet whenever possible. She looked at Lucien.

Lucien smiled. "It's only equal to the ninth circle and not nearly as good as the defense of the City in the Sky."

"Is that so?" Natasha looked around and asked curiously when she had questions.

Rentato was not far away from Allyn. The magic steam train finished half of the journey very soon.

Natasha looked at Lucien in confusion. They were already close to Allyn. Had the enemy given up?

After they reached Allyn, Lucien couldn't be killed even if the pope arrived in person.

Lucien was about to respond when a crack appeared inside the carriage. The frozen black, white and grey spread out, blasting Hathaway, Grand Duke of Orvarit, Camil, Lucien and Natasha!

A crack of the World of Souls?

The deadly colors raged like a surging river, expanding the crack quickly, which consumed Lucien and Natasha without giving them any time to react.

Hathaway transferred Grand Duke of Orvarit and Camil to a different carriage without any hesitation. Because she had no time to dodge, and the attack did not contain any damage, she was consumed by the crack, too.

After only one moment, the carriage became empty, and the monochrome crack quickly disappeared.

Inside the World of Souls, a complicated magic circle had been deployed next to the rail. On top of the magic circle were three terrifying experts.

One of them was a tall mummy that was enshrouded in yellowish cloth with a gold crown on the head, and one was a skeleton in a magic robe, whose head was surrounded by spinning stones.

Lucien recognized them the moment he saw them:

"The Primordial Mummy! The Lich King!"

"Is the World of Souls taking part in this, too?"

The third of them was a brilliantly smiling young man. It was exactly the Original Fire!

Looking at Lucien, Natasha, and Hathaway, he sneered, "Have you forgotten that the World of Souls overlaps the main material world? We can bridge them with magic easily!"

Natasha felt that everything around her was slowed down. No. She felt that the Primordial Mummy, the Lich King, and the Original Fire were so fast that she couldn't capture them at all. In the meantime, a glittering river fell from the sky and slashed at her.

It was Kritonia, Heart of Time!

Seeing that the Primordial Mummy and the Lich King stopped Hathaway, the Original Fire cast spells on Lucien who had been slowed.

Right then, his eyes slightly constricted as he saw that Lucien, who was wearing a black tailcoat and a bow-tie of the same color, had brought out a silver pocket watch at some point. The black second hand was ticking, and the gems in different colors were glittering. The tiny chain of the watch emitted vague, silver brilliance.

It was still colorful? A legendary expert? A legendary item?

In the World of Souls, only legends could retain their original colors! Also, he had never heard of such a legendary item before.

When did Lucien advance into legendary?

Greatly shocked, Banham, 'Original Fire', cast the spell:

"Fire of Soul!"

Inside his pupils, Lucien smiled like the most courteous gentleman, before his right thumb pressed the silver pocket watch in his hand.

Crack!