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Chapter 646: The High-End, Sophisticated New Project

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

Lowi, who was listening nearby as an assistant, repeated curiously, "Reconstructing the ancillary computation circles according to the logic of regular thinking and calculation? Mr. Evans, thinking can be a really complicated process, which does not meet the demand of popularization, either."

During the regular meetings, Lucien allowed everyone to speak freely as long as they raised their hands. This was meant to build an atmosphere of brainstorming where everybody could be inspired. It was also a way to improve himself. After all, Lucien knew very well what research achievements really belonged to himself so far. He could not slack off about improving his arcana expertise. As for the improvement on spells and alchemical items, Lucien believed that he had done quite an excellent job.

"Complicated procedures can be simplified. We finish every calculation by subdividing it into many steps. The thinking process is also the same. Here's my idea. We can break down the processes of our daily thinking, control and calculation and look for the simplest procedures they have in common. Then, we can store them inside the ancillary computation circles as instructions. When we need to use them, they will be invoked and reassembled into a whole process. In such a way, most of the situations can be simulated." Lucien did not direct his students but proposed the idea himself, because the idea was rather ahead of the current knowledge and trends.

Chelly was rather interested. "It sounds interesting. If the ancillary computation circles can simulate most scenarios, will they be able to mimic intelligent life in a rather convincing way? Is it possible that we cannot tell that it is a machine if we talk to it without being informed?"

"Mimicking an intelligent life without a soul? Sprint felt that Chelly was overthinking.

Heidi glared at him and defended her research partner. "What's impossible? It's just a simulation. As long as enough reactions are stored in advance, it will be barely possible to tell the difference."

Layria frowned. "However, many complicated factors decide how someone will react to a certain issue. I don't think it can be simulated."

At this moment, Lucien nodded his head. "That's an interesting thought. If you are interested in it, you can work on it later. If the ancillary computation circles are improved to the point of artificial intelligence, what will happen if the alchemical life is melted into it?"

As he spoke, passion flashed in Lucien's black pupils under the monocle. Would it be Skynet?

Listening quietly nearby, Katrina raised a question. "Master, isn't it too troublesome to break down a complicated process into many procedures and reassemble them according to a specific order? We could've done the same thing many times when the ancillary computation circles finished it once."

As for the phrase 'artificial intelligence', they could understand its meaning literally and were not confused.

"This will be the research project for you." Lucien smiled. "I have a preliminary idea. Since we can control the lights by designing different circuits, can we also apply them to the improvement of magic circles? The circuits have two states: on and off. Can we represent information with only the two states, like the esoteric passwords that many sorcerers made before?"

Ever since the school of electromagnetics was separated from the school of elements, circuit design was no longer new to everybody. Many sorcerers had applied them to improve the electric channels in their magic circles. Also, as more and more magic circles that could transform hydroenergy into electricity were established, the infrastructure of electric wires began on a large scale. The invention of magic circle lamps as well as electricity-powered alchemical items even informed the common civilians of what they were. Many new professions that based on the new inventions had been born, like 'circuit maintainer'.

The rapid development of electromagnetism messaging also allowed for more and more encryption methods.

Heidi said in delight. "Electricity is much faster. It's possible that a complicated process can be finished very quickly. However, how are we going to turn on and off the circuits?"

"Represent all the information with on-or-off states…" Chelly began to consider the binary system.

Heidi shook his head at Heidi's question. "How can we control them? That's what you need to work on. I think you can start from two aspects, namely magic and alchemical materials. Some elements we discovered recently show special conducting features. You can find them and see if they are helpful. Katrina and Layria are the authorities in that regard."

The two girls had been working on superconducting materials and material changes in the extremely low temperature. They had also discovered many new features of elements by the way.

Hearing their teacher's compliment, both Katrina and Layria shook their head, blushing. "We are no authorities yet. It was only because we had plenty of experiment materials…"

"Modesty is good, but you also need to be confident about yourself. Who's willing to participate in this project of artificial intelligence?" Asked Lucien with a smile.

After the study on the improvement of ancillary computation circles was changed into the study on artificial intelligence, it immediately sounded high-end and sophisticated. That was exactly the ultimate skill that every specialist who was good at tricking funding must grasp.

Heidi and Chelly had been working on the direction besides the field of elements and atoms. Interested by the sound of 'artificial intelligence', they raised their hands. Katrina and Layria also wanted to join, but the projects in their hands all required abundant, repetitive experiments in order to yield results. Also, they had to study the new alchemy and the theory of relativity. They simply did not have the energy for a new project.

Sprint and Annick were uninterested. They had been completely enthralled by the microscopic new alchemy and the macroscopic theory of relatively, which were closest to the truth of the world. What could be more fun than exploring the mysteries of the world?

"Mr. Evans, I am interested. Can I participate in the project other than working as an assistant?" Lowi summoned his courage and asked.

Lucien nodded his head, giving his approval.

Alfalia had been Heidi's assistant in the first place and was close to the delightful innocent girl. So, she also applied to join the project. Blake naturally followed her.

The meeting went on, and the subject returned to the new alchemy, on which the Atom Institution was founded. Everybody reported their experiment data and conclusions.

...

'Mecantron', the 'Angel King', walked inside the Realm of Gates gloomily. Suddenly, greyness gathered before him into a white-haired old man, who smiled at him. "You're back from the Holy City?"

'Mecantron' looked at 'Monster Viken' and said, "How could anyone have barged into Mountain Paradise? Have you picked a good candidate, instead of knocking them out, transforming them, projecting into them and throwing them to me like you did to Sard?"

"Sard couldn't infer the whole thing from the clues. Naturally, I could only throw him to you for you to 'guide' him. This time, it's different. Lucien Evans has the Sun's Corona. He could easily connect the clues after I directed Maskelyne to meet him. He didn't disappoint me, either." 'Monster Viken' grimaced. "Isn't it good? This partner is much more promising than Sard. The force behind him is also much more powerful."

"That's why I am concerned. Will the Congress of Magic retain the Saint Truth and allow us to spread faith after they remove Viken? I fear that they will covet Mountain Paradise, too…" 'Mecantron' was also gloomy. "Why didn't you project into his body to control him in secret?"

'Monster Viken' kept the mysterious smile. "I cannot see through Lucien Evans. There's something in him that scared me. That's why I didn't dare to project. Also, he has the Silver Moon's air. My projection would be removed when she arrives."

"The Silver Moon?" Asked 'Mecantron' in surprise.

The monster nodded his head. "How could the Silver Moon not peep at the mysteries of immortality when there was a chance to? The guy from hell was behind, too! It was because I hoped that as many people could see the mysteries of immortality as possible that I didn't bother them."

'Mecantron' was even more surprised. "The Lord of Hell was here, too?"

"Mecantron, do you think Lucien Evans came here on his own? Do you think that the legendary sorcerers of the Congress of Magic were so unlucky? Even Maskelyne managed to reach the Furnace of Souls in secret, but they ran into the Room of the Holy Spirit 'by accident'… Too many coincidences always suggest inevitability." The monster sneered. He knew a thing or two about what happened in the Temple of Spirits although he could not leave the Realm of Gates.

After a brief silence, Mecantron said coldly, "It seems that the legendary spectres in the World of Souls are not only related to the North Church but also conspiring with the Lord of Hell…"

"They have too many partners. 'My' student the Original Fire, the Hand of Paleness in the Congress of Magic, the Dark Congress, the Vladimir family in the Schachran Empire, the Mother God of the Earth Cult…" The monster said unconcernedly. "There's no need to worry about the Congress of Magic. When Viken is weakened, I'll be stronger!"

"Let's wait and see. I'll heal my wounds in Mountain Paradise first." 'Mecantron' nodded and passed through the grey halls, pushing open the gate of Mountain Paradise.

Looking at the world of overwhelming holy light, and thinking about the monster out there, 'Mecantron' put on a vague smile of mockery.

Then, his thirty-six white wings were unfolded, and he flew back to the seventh floor under the welcome of the angels and the holy spirits. Kneeling next to the foot of the 'God of Truth', he fell asleep peacefully.

In his palace in Antiffler, Rudolf II opened his eyes, and the air around him changed. He remarked with mixed feelings, "I'm finally back to the peak of legendary now."

Inside the Temple of Spirits, 'Ivan', the northern pontiff returned to the Room of the Holy Spirit in frustration, even more impressed by the horror of the monster. He walked into the coffin while he asked in confusion, "What exactly is it protecting? Mountain Paradise, like the Lich King said?"

The cover of the coffin was moved back, and the Room of the Holy Spirit resumed peacefulness. However, nobody discovered that the coffin of 'Geno' was empty.

After a while, a cluster of smoke snuck in without a sound and crawled into the coffin of 'Geno' without alarming anyone.

In the Holy City, after confirming that the Angel King would not return for now, Benedict III spoke to the red robe who was waiting inside his library. "Inform the Grand Cardinals that we are going to have an emergency meeting."

Chapter 647: A Corner of the Age

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

At the end of the Month of Scorch (August), in the civilian district of Rentato…

After his parents went to work in a seafood company and a workshop of lamps respectively, Longman read the books that he bought recently alone at home, while he thanked the God of Truth and the arcanists from the bottom of his heart.

Ever since the wicked, radical clerics were banished by the Congress of Magic and the moderates came into power, the previously expensive books were much cheaper. Even the boy of a common household like himself could afford one or two books every couple of months. That was an unimaginable luxury in the past. As a lover of books, he felt that even the sun was brilliant and warm nowadays.

From Arcana Voice, Longman learnt that paper had been invented hundreds of years ago. After a long time of modifications, their price had been significantly lowered, and so was the printing technology. However, to monopolize knowledge and the channel of communication with the Lord, the radical clerics blocked the printing technology and encouraged hand-written copies, thereby keeping books at an extremely high price. Apart from the nobles and the great merchants, it was terribly difficult for the common civilians to learn words and knowledge. It was thanks to the secret dissemination of the Congress of Magic that the average knowledge level of Rentato reached this standard.

Now, times had changed. While knowledge was precious, it was not entirely unaffordable anymore, because the workshops and the major nobles are in dire need of laborers who had basic knowledge.

He browsed his books. It was a book that described the common creatures in nature with life-like illustrations. Longman, who had learnt to read from his father, was quite interested. His father had been promoted to be a middle-level manager of his company from a common worker. After that, his father had been taught how to read as well as the knowledge about the fishing industry.

"Werewolves, kobolds, goblins, giants, barbarians, Dudu birds…" Reading the book, Longman felt that he was now in the great outdoors appreciating different creatures who shared similar parts but had their own fascinating idiosyncrasies. "It's totally worth it to buy this book with my months of savings!"

Dum, dum, dum. Somebody knocked on the door, waking Longman up from the ocean of knowledge.

"Who is it?" He asked loudly, sitting straight and feeling rather anxious. I'm a boy alone at home. If it was a burglar, a thief, or a brutal 'night watcher' as described by 'Arcana Voice'…

Dum, dum, dum. A male voice echoed as he continued knocking the door. "Open the door. I'm a mailman of the kingdom. You have a letter!"

Longman was immediately relieved, laughing at himself for listening to so many horror stories from Arcana Voice that he was apprehensive even during the day. Didn't burglars, thieves and night watchers only appear at night?

Opening the gate, Longman saw a young man who was smiling gently. He was wearing a dark green suit and carrying a heavy bag. There were two letters in his hands.

"Your letters." The mailman said with a smile.

Longman took the letters. He saw the delicate stamp on the envelope first. Those were among the first batch of stamps that the kingdom issued, on which the images of Her Majesty and Mr. Evans, as well as the amount, were painted.

"This stamp is beautiful. I need to cut it out for collection…" Thought Longman subconsciously. Then, he saw the sender, realizing that the letter was written by his aunt who was married in Paphos County. He immediately felt very happy. His aunt had always been closest to him before she was married. However, her husband worked in Paphos County. Although it was not very far away from Rentato, correspondence hadn't been easy because they had few trustworthy friends who were willing to carry the letters for them. They often communicated on a yearly basis.

Now, everything was different. Longman saw the amount on the stamp on the envelope and discovered that he could afford one letter every month with his allowance.

Thank the Lord, thank Her Majesty, thank Mr. Evans, thank Prime Minister Russell, and thank the postal department of the kingdom… He drew crosses on his chest and read the second letter. His eyes were immediately widened. "Admission notification? The First Generic School of Rentato?"

Ah? Ah! I've been admitted!

Longman felt such enormous ecstasy that something seemed to have exploded inside his heart. He kept saying thank you to the mailman, his eyes turning blurry.

Since it was only experimental, the royal family and the Congress of Magic had established merely two generic schools in Rentato, which were named as 'First' and 'Second'. Therefore, since the tuition fees were affordable for civilians, too many people were dreaming to go to the two schools. The rate of enrollment was probably less than one percent!

Thankfully, Her Majesty had set up the fairest way of admission: the College Entrance Exam. That was how he could distinguish himself.

"I can finally study the real knowledge and learn the real arcana and magic…" Stunned, Longman found it impossible to calm himself down. Too many thoughts were rolling inside his head.

"Please sign here as confirmation. Leave your fingerprint if you can't write." Having delivered many admission letters today, the mailman had already been used to the situation.

Longman was finally back to himself. He took over the fountain pen, which was said to have been invented for the general public, from the mailman's hands and signed his name on the receipt solemnly.

"Thank you, uncle, for bringing such a great surprise today." Longman thanked the mailman sincerely when he returned the fountain pen.

The mailman smiled. "I feel happy that you are happy. After I have enough savings, I would like to go to the general schools, too. Chances are that we will be schoolmates in the future."

His face flushing in excitement, Longman asked, "May the Lord grant your wish. Uncle, is it a tiresome job to be a mailman? You need to carry many letters and packages every day."

The mailman replied with a smile, "It is a bit exhausting, but things will be better soon. We're told that we will be given a vehicle named bicycle."

"Bicycle?" Longman frowned in confusion.

After seeing the mailman off, he opened the admission letter eagerly and read it while referring to his father's dictionary.

"The common tongue, basic mathematics, introduction to history, introduction to nature, common sense of magic, logic basics, emblem identification, body exercise… Those are the most elemental courses and are mandatory. Music, fencing, painting, documentation, introduction to electromagnetism, introduction to elements, psychological common sense, medical basics, semiotics, ancient magic languages, politics, economy… Those courses are for selection. I can choose the elemental knowledge of different directions according to my own situation in the third year of my generic education…" Longman read the contents of the courses and read their introductions carefully, envisioning his future.

"Am I going to be a secretary, a politician, a musician, a painter, a squire, a doctor, or an arcanist…?" Longman knew that he did not have the best magic talents. So, he considered arcanist as his last choice.

Without him knowing it, the day was already over. His parents came home and saw the admission letter.

After reading the admission letter, Longman's father nodded slightly. "It's still too early for you to consider. You will only know what you are good at and what you are not after you start learning for real. Of course, I suggest you start learning riding, fencing, music, economy and fishing knowledge in the fourth year. After you join my company in the future, you will be able to become a manager very quickly with such knowledge and make friends with the nobles and big merchants. As for magic, you should know your talents very well."

He naturally hoped that his son could grow under his protection.

Longman's mother, however, didn't quite agree with him. "Alchemical workshops are the trend. Even though Longman is not talented in magic, he should learn more about magic and alchemy. It will be much more rewarding to be a manager of an alchemical workshop than to be one of a seafood company."

The two of them had a heated debate on the issue until Arcana Voice began.

Longman, who had been silent the whole time, sat in the square and listened to the program of 'Church Revelation', both excited and somewhat at a loss…"

"…After the exploration in the World of Souls, the legendary sorcerers have confirmed the existence of Mountain Paradise. They have reasons to believe that the God of Truth has fallen asleep, and that His power has been stolen by the pope!"

"…Speaking of the pope, we have to say something about his real identity. He is in fact Viken, the bloody, brutal legendary sorcerer from the ancient Magic Empire. He blended into the Saint of Truth and stole the God of Truth's power…"

"…Viken once trapped a city and cut the food supply so that the people inside would brutalize each other in one of his experiments. It is said that the cries and screams did not die out until half a month later. To this day, many ghosts are still lingering there…"

In a daze, Longman thought to himself, "Is the pope really an ancient sorcerer? There seemed to be similar theories in the past, but there are also other rumors…"

As more and more programs were broadcast, Longman gradually got rid of his concerns and focused on his favorite shows.

"…The Holt Magic College held the first 'Flight Contest' today. It's a competition of speed and style. Some of the contestants are experts who count on their strength, and some are low-rank sorcerers who are good at controlling their staffs…"

A flight contest? Longman listened to the new program with great interest. It was a news channel that introduced the fun incidents in the Congress of Magic.

Hearing those interesting events, Longman was suddenly stunned. A voice seemed to be roaring inside his heart.

It's true that I'm not talented in magic, but it does not mean that I'm not gifted at arcana! Mr. Evans said that one is capable of studying arcana as long as his spiritual power is enough to control the simplified alchemical items! The field that studies the truth of the world is just like mathematics. Magic talents are not a threshold!

The voice in his heart gradually became clear:

"My dream is to be an arcanist!"

...

Inside the Kingdom of Electromagnetism, Brook had a paper in his hands. It was the paper on electron spin, which was submitted by Sprint and Annick. He was greatly inspired. When he constructed the wave function of the electron, he seemed to have overlooked the problems.

The quill in his hands moving nonstop, he found the correct path to build a new function.

The silver electric currents and dark magnetic field seemed to be simmering impatiently.

Inside the Theater of Destruction, the collapse and destruction of the stars were suddenly frozen. Inside his magic tower, Oliver couldn't help but show untamable excitement, because he seemed to have found the correct wave function of the electron through mathematical approach.

The 'real world' surfaced, resulting in the changes in his cognitive world…

Lucien, on the other hand, was working on the integration of quantum mechanics and the special theory of relativity in his library.

Chapter 648: Problem

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

Inside the Kingdom of Electromagnetism, Brook had already stopped writing. Looking at the wave function on the paper attentively, he found it so elegant and concise, as if all the mysteries in the microworld were contained in it.

He did not suspect that his deduction was wrong, because the wave function, if solved, would yield a series of discontinuous solutions, or quantized solutions, which matched the data of a few experiments. Besides, he had the feedback from the real world. His broken and solidified cognitive world was rejuvenated, as if it would sprout and grow again very soon.

"Matrix mechanics, based on the perspective of particles and discontinuity, can solve many problems in the new alchemy. The wave function that is based on the perspective of waves and continuity looks promising, too. Are particles and waves unified on a higher level, like Lucien said? The microscopic particles such as electrons and photons are objects whose specific image we cannot construct accurately yet. We can only describe them with their qualities that can be determined, even though the qualities are so self-contradictory."

Looking at the formulas on his paper, Brook thought about the question that was of paramount importance for him. To really grasp the wave-particle duality and resolve the nature of electromagnetic waves with it was his hope to reshape his cognitive world or even make one step further.

After the twists and turns and the mind-boggling experiment of electron diffraction, he more or less agreed Lucien's explanation on the nature of the electron from a higher level, not sticking to the wave theory anymore.

Ding. The bell rang from his desk. Brook was suddenly back to himself. After a flash of light in his eyes, he heard Oliver's voice. "Brook, you have finished the construction of the wave function of the electron, too?"

"Yes. Have you?" Brook guessed Oliver's achievement from his tone of excitement and confusion.

Hearing Brook's reply, Oliver smiled, "So, we completed it almost at the same time. That explains why the feedback of the real world was not as much as I imagined. A classic equation that definitely ranks on the top in the microworld did not help me break the current obstacles and touch the gate of top legendary. How is it possible?"

He sounded apparently relieved. The feedback from the real world almost made him suspicious of the importance, or completeness, of the equation.

Generally speaking, it was hard to decide if a theory was absolutely correct based on the feedback of the real world, because there would be feedback as long as it was closer to the truth than previously. Also, when confirming the correctness of a theory with the feedback of the real world, the cognitive world would also change accordingly. Therefore, when one tried a few contradictory theories, their head might be blown up if their attempt was closest to the truth the first time.

Oliver was suspicious this time because the feedback was much less than what he experienced in the past.

"Perhaps it is weakened for other reasons, too… We both have made an analogy based on the classic theories, before we simply construct an equation of electron waves without bothering the arcana significance and logic. It's not until then that we turn back to confirm the correctness and look for the specific arcana significance. Therefore, before we give a full arcana explanation on the wave function, the feedback of the real world is probably reduced accordingly." Brook analyzed the reason. He was rather satisfied about the wave function, but he was also very calm.

Oliver chuckled. "What more arcana significance can it have? Electrons are waves. Orbits and energy levels are just changes of vibrations. But of course, we cannot rush into any conclusion when we do not have any proof. We have to resolve the problems in the new alchemy as well as those about the hydrogen model with the wave function, and we have to find out what quality of the electron wave function represents."

He was very excited, but he did not immediately claim that his wave equation was more correct and closer to the truth than Lucien's matrix mechanics.

"Since we inferred it independently almost at the same time, should we call the equation the Oliver-Brook equation?" Oliver proposed.

Brook frowned but then replied, "That's not a problem."

It was mainly because he remembered what 'News of the World' teased about such a way of naming: your name is my first name, and my name is your last name. He somehow felt that it was weird.

After the conversation was over, Brook tapped the table. "Matrix mechanics from the perspective of particles can also solve the problems in the new alchemy. It has also been extrapolated to a broader domain… Does it mean that the arcana significance of the wave function is different from that of regular waves?…"

"Regarding the wave function, I should write a letter to Fernando, Hathaway, Hellen, Vicente and, well, Lucien."

He did not mention Douglas because he believed that Oliver would definitely write to him. He also believed that Lucien, who had proposed 'wave-particle duality', wouldn't find the wave function unacceptable.

...

Even though he had seen the picture of the cosmos, Lucien stuck to his original attitude in arcana studies and based everything on experiment data and observations. Since he had a broader vision than the other arcanists did, why should he take risks recklessly? Also, more importantly, such studies were also a process of learning and grasping. Lucien did not want to be at a loss if he did not have any references in the future.

His pocket watch ticked, reminding him that the dinner time had come. Natasha looked very vigorous now that her concerns were gone. She walked in with two letters. "Lucien, letters from Mr. Brook and Mr. Oliver. It seems that they have made new progress."

After her job as a queen was over, Natasha often worked as Lucien's 'secretary' by helping him deliver letters and fetch experiment materials. Therefore, she could conclude many things based on the thickness of the envelope. However, Lucien often forbade her from entering the laboratory when he did the exacting experiments, because the accidents she caused were still fresh to him!

After opening the letter, Lucien smiled when he read the beginning.

"What's up? Is there something wrong with Mr. Brook's achievement?" Natasha scratched her chin and asked curiously. She hadn't reached the level to understand the paper on the wave function yet and merely made the deduction based on Lucien's countenance.

Lucien leaned back against the chair. Natasha put her hands on his forehead and massaged him, helping him to relax.

"Gold knights are truly strong." Lucien made fun of her.

Natasha raised her eyebrow. "I'm not using my full strength yet, or your brain would've been crumbled, spraying red blood and white brains everywhere."

"…Can we not talk about such a tasty subject in such a warm moment?" Lucien's lips twitched.

Natasha laughed. "As the wife of the Headcrusher, I believe that it is a regular subject. Right, you didn't answer my question. Is there something wrong with Mr. Brook's result?"

"No. It's a real great achievement." Said Lucien sincerely.

...

A while after the exploration in the World of Souls, Douglas summoned the Highest Council for a meeting, ready to discuss the relevant issues.

Earlier, the reports that Fernando, Lucien and he submitted all intentionally left out the specific way that Thanos and Viken became a demigod. They merely said that Thanos and Viken turned into demigods by gathering faith and transforming into primeval devils through special magic circles without describing the details that they knew.

It was because they were worried that somebody in the Highest Council would walk on the disastrous path of primeval devils again. Therefore, the secret was kept to the three of them and would not be publicized to the Highest Council until Douglas or somebody else became a demigod on the path of arcana. By then, a bright road would be ahead of everyone. It was believed that few people would choose such a problematic approach. Even if they did, a demigod would be able to suppress them easily.

Lucien came early out of his habit, but the conference was empty and Klaus was nowhere to be seen. Generally speaking, he was the one who came earliest.

Watching that, Lucien sighed and felt gloomy.

After he sat for a while, grey-haired Raventi walked in. After Lucien proposed matrix mechanics and resolved many problems in the new alchemy, he finally became the new Lord of Elements through a ritual without any delay. Since the legendary class overlapped Hathaway's, he had a similar legendary title, 'Element Tide'.

"Congratulates, Mr. Raventi." Lucien rose and said.

Raventi nodded in greetings. "Without the changes you brought forth, I couldn't have become a legend so soon."

"Nobody can help a sorcerer who is unwilling to work and study to become legendary." Lucien subtly expressed his admiration.

Raventi shook his head. "I'm more glad at the microscopic world and the mysteries of matter that you bring than my own advancement."

As the members of the Highest Council came, the focus of the discussion was moved on to the Oliver-Brook Wave Equation.

At this moment, Brook and Oliver, who had been talking on their way, walked in.

Douglas rose with a smile. "Congratulations on your groundbreaking achievement."

Brook said as calmly as before. "There's still a lot of work to do. Until we construct with the wave equation a new alchemy system that is different from what matrix mechanics presents, it is not exactly groundbreaking."

"In any case, it is a landmark in the studies of the microworld." Chelsea, the Moon Scholar, said excitedly. Having been tortured by the monstrous matrix mechanics for months, she couldn't have been more excited to get an answer from the wave equation that she was familiar with. "I've been studying the equation for days, hoping to figure out its everything."

Fernando also murmured. "Your research results are not half bad."

"Hehe. I also believe that it will provide a familiar, classic, concise and easy-to-understand system of new alchemy for the arcanists, as opposed to the complicated, enormous and abstruse matrix mechanics." Said Oliver with a smile. "Lucien, I'm not saying that your matrix mechanics is wrong, but it is too close to pure mathematics. It lacks real arcana significance and cannot let people learn it easily. It is said that 99% of the sorcerers in the Holt Magic College are cursing matrix mechanics."

"Also, the nature of everything is waves."

After the wave function appeared, the wave theory and the particle theory seemed to be at loggerheads again, but thanks to the idea that Lucien proposed earlier, the debate did not immediately begin. Hathaway and the rest of them did not say anything.

Sensing the look from a lot of people, Lucien smiled. "I have one question about the wave function. What exactly is its arcana significance?"

"It is the distribution function of electrons, as waves, in space. As for why electrons behave as particles, I have an idea and I will illustrate it with a paper later." Said Oliver confidently and optimistically. "Lucien, do you have any other questions?"

Lucien smiled and said, "Not for now."

Chapter 649: Premonition

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

Inside the conference room of the Highest Council…

After Lucien stopped, Vicente said, "Arcana has to be founded on the basis of comprehensible images. The things that are unimaginable and not understandable will only be complicated mathematics. So, Brook and Oliver, congratulations. This is the real foundation of the new alchemy and the best theory in the microscopic domain. Your work has let us return to the concrete ground again from the maze of matrix that wanders in midair without a foundation."

"Nonsense. The real foundation of arcana is observability. The things that cannot be observed are pointless for us. Naturally, it is unnecessary to impose an image on them." Fernando spoke of his new opinion with the dominance of a storm.

Lucien also added, "Applying the images in the macroscopic world to the microscopic domain recklessly violates the fundamental logic. Something seriously wrong may happen."

"But in any case, electrons do behave as waves." Oliver joined the debate.

The unusual view of many arriving demiplanes was about to happen again, when Douglas knocked the table slightly. "Let's discuss the wave equation when the meeting is over and have a five-minute silence for Klaus first. We are going to let the Lord of Hell pay."

Lucien closed his eyes and began to mourn in silence, hoping that his speculation on the nature of soul was correct. In that case…

Later, the Highest Council discussed the issues about the Saint Truth, Thanos and Viken and agreed with Douglas, Fernando and Lucien's proposal to shake the foundation of faith and mislead Viken into thinking that the Congress of Magic hadn't found his secrets by broadcasting the half-real and half-false stories. In the meantime, the central intelligence would be kept a secret in order to persuade part of the Grand Cardinals, who might play a critical role at the right moment.

Because few issues could be submitted to the Highest Council, the meeting was over after less than one hour. Hellen, who had been studying all the time, suddenly raised her head. "If the new alchemy system based on the Oliver-Brook Wave Equation matches all the experiments we have so far and can address the problems we had, what will it indicate?"

It was rare for her to ask questions during the meeting. When they discussed Viken, she had unusually spared part of her attention to listen to it.

"If different theories can explain the same thing, it means that they should be equivalent on a certain level." Hathaway seemed to have considered it for a long time. "Since waves and particles are both the features and qualities of electrons, matrix mechanics and wave mechanics may be equivalent."

Douglas, Fernando, Chelsea and Erica all nodded. "We can try to prove it."

"I think mathematical approaches will be enough." Brook thought for a moment and also nodded.

Although Oliver thought it was possible, he was not very enthusiastic about it. In his eyes, matrix mechanics should be a special case of the particle nature in wave mechanics.

After a while, the members of the Highest Council left one another. Lucien and Fernando were the last.

"I think that Oliver's explanation on the arcana significance of the wave function has certain issues. There will be self-contradictions when he tries to address the atom model. Let's see how Oliver is going to explain the details." Said Fernando solemnly and thoughtfully.

Lucien nodded his head. "The explanation on the arcana significance of the wave function has to be based on experiment phenomena."

...

At the beginning of the Month of Harvest (September), inside a classroom in the Holt Magic College…

Onore, Clark and their classmates waited for Mr. Ernesto to distribute the journals such as Arcana, Magic and Nature. On the podium stood Ms. Heidi, who taught 'Basics of the New Alchemy'. She did not look very well, and she looked down at her feet that were moving all the time, as if she were about to step on a bunch of ants.

"Ms. Heidi doesn't look very happy?" Clark said to Onore carefully. It was not because his eyes were keen but because Heidi was too obvious.

Onore shook his head. "How do I know? Perhaps she was criticized by Mr. Evans in the Atom Institution, or perhaps she had a fight with a friend. It's hard to say. It's not like we are changing new textbooks again, right?"

"Hehe. How is it possible? We should all be careful not to piss of Ms. Heidi." Clark reminded Onore.

Although Heidi had been trying to copy Lucien's teaching style, everybody had their unique characteristics. Gradually, she became known as the 'Smiling Devil'.

At this moment, Ernesto walked with a magic pouch of journals. Looking unusually weird, he said rigidly, "Claim your journals in order."

Having been familiarized with Ernesto after the electron diffraction experiment last time, Onore immediately guessed something after seeing his face. "Is there another disruptive theory or experiment?"

After taking over the journals, Oliver began to browse through them before he returned to his seat, and the very first paper on 'Arcana' gave him the answer. It was 'The Wave Equation of Microscopic Particles and the Nature of Quantum Mechanics', written by Edwyn Brook and Oliver Constantine.

"The wave equation and the wave function…" Onore had no doubt that the wave function of electrons would appear after confirming the electron diffraction experiment, but he was still shocked when he really saw it. The concrete microscopic particles had a wave function! That was unbelievable!

No wonder Ms. Heidi doesn't look well! He suddenly understood the reason.

After he was seated again, Onore sensed that the atmosphere was filled with quietness and vague depression, exactly like what he felt himself. The development in the past months was truly full of twists and turns. Everybody had been stumbling and could barely keep up with the changes.

Reading the paper in silence, Onore was gradually fascinated by it. The familiar, classic wave equation, the readily understandable calculations and concepts… They were so much simpler than the stunning matrix mechanics!

As he read on, Onore was so greatly touched that he almost shed tears. This is arcana! This is the foundation of the new alchemy! Mr. Brook and Mr. Oliver are so great! They have genius brains!

"What a classic and great wave equation! It's much more vivid and easy to learn than matrix mechanics!" Somebody exclaimed subconsciously.

"Is it?" Heidi's gloomy voice echoed in the spacious classroom.

The sorcerer who talked hurried to shut up, but he still said to himself, "Of course it is!"

...

In the Moonsong League, in the Hand of Paleness, and in all the other places where sorcerers gathered, the atmosphere of being touched was spreading.

"Arcana is finally back to what it should be!" Having been savaged by the general theory of relativity and matrix mechanics, the sorcerers of the Moonsong League almost thought to throw a party to celebrate it.

"Mr. Brook and Mr. Oliver have made time-changing contributions!"

"I hate that I cannot devote all my time to understanding it!"

Joaquin, their chairman, rubbed his eyebrow and said in mixed feelings, "Waves are exactly the basis of existence."

Before, they were merely arguing whether or not light and electromagnetic waves were waves, but out of their expectation, even the fundamental particles that constitute matter were now waves. They had secured an unanticipated triumph.

"However, the particle nature of electrons and photons is also very obvious…" Jurisian poured a bucket of cold water on the chairman. "Also, it requires confirmations and deductions to see if a new alchemy system can be established based on the wave equation."

Joaquin and the other sorcerers also knew it very well, because most arcanists who did not bear such an attitude had withdrawn from the stage of arcana, if not the stage of life, during the past ten years.

"In particular, Lucien Evans hasn't offered any opinion on it." Said Joaquin in a low voice.

His words immediately raised approval. Many sorcerer sorcerers mumbled in vague fear, "That head-crushing monster…"

Jurisian could only shook his head with a bitter smile at their trauma that was almost a conditional reflex now. "Let's confirm whether or not the wave equation can explain the model of the new alchemy first."

...

Inside the Tower…

Bergner, the Prophet, was explaining certain questions about the general theory of relativity to Neeshka and Samantha.

Among the famous geniuses in Lucien's generation, Jurisian, Larry and Ulysses advanced into the senior rank after the special theory of relativity, Rachel made a breakthrough with her accumulations in the field of astrology and illusion, and Samantha also secured an advancement after applying the general theory of relativity to certain questions that she had in astrology.

Therefore, she attached great importance to the general theory of relativity. However, she had to consult her teacher a lot since she did not understand it very well. Neeshka, her teacher, hadn't understood the general theory of relativity fully, either. So, they often had to ask the help of Douglas and the Prophet or even write letters to Lucien.

"The Oliver-Brook Equation… Recently, a major change is happening in the microscopic domain every three months." The Prophet remarked in mixed feelings.

After the meeting of the Highest Council, the advance base for the exploration in the World of Souls had been moved back to Heidler city. It was now 'Absolute Defense' Ataman's turn to supervise the base.

Neeshka smiled. "The school of astrology should be focused on the general theory of relativity. Their heated argument has little to do with us."

"How so? Planets are made of microscopic particles, too." Samantha didn't quite agree with her teacher.

Bergner smiled and said, "I agree with Lucien's perspective of consideration. We cannot say that electrons are waves, and we can only say that they have the features of waves. Also, in the transition from the microscope to the macroscope, some weird factors seem to be preventing the uncanny status in the microscopic domain from being mapped to the macroscopic world. Therefore, the debate cannot affect the foundation of the school of astrology yet."

As he spoke, he was suddenly stunned. Something heavy seemed to have blocked the starry sky of destiny. It was certainly a premonition!

Could the debate in the microscopic domain really affect the macroscopic cosmos?

Why was his feeling even stronger than that?

Was something important going to be 'destroyed'?

Chapter 650: Popularity

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

After Neeshka and Samantha left, Bergner, after a long preparation, began to perform divination on the matter.

Crack. The crystal ball in his hands fell to the ground with a crisp sound. Thankfully, as an item forged with magic, it was not destroyed.

Frowning hard, he looked at the crystal ball on the ground in disbelief, while he murmured to himself, "Why is this happening? Why is this happening?"

For the first time ever, he did not see any result from his prophecy. There was nothing but a mist, as if the future cannot be decided at all.

"What disrupted my prophecy?" After he calmed down, he began to consider other possibilities.

According to the theory of the school of astrology, the future was decided by all the statuses at present, and the inaccuracy of prophecies was because the prophets were limited and not as all-knowing as 'Thanos Demon'. As a result, their prophecy could be blurry. However, in any case, as long as they were not giving a prophecy when they did not know anything at all, they would more or less see a corner of the future. He had never seen nothing but an obscure mist before!

Bergner believed that he had enough understanding about the debate in the microscopic realm to get certain fuzzy hints. However, things turned out to be out of his expectation. He couldn't help but begin to consider other reasons.

...

The Month of Gold (October) came as the hot weather faded away. The sorcerers in the Holt Magic College began to wait for the new issues of Arcana, Magic, Nature and other journals. After the few months, the magic apprentices who passed the College Entrance Exam of Advanced Magic had mostly become sorcerers successfully. The ratio of advancement had reached a remarkable 2/3.

It also increased the temptation of the Holt Magic College for the magic apprentices and the mysteriousness of the 'College Entrance Exam', as if it had become a standard to test if an apprentice could become a sorcerer.

Therefore, in the Douglas Magic School, in the magic schools of the branches, and among the magic apprentices, the books such as 'Simulated College Entrance Exams of Advanced Magic' and 'Evans' Secret Tests' became popular. Heidi, Layria, Alfalia and the girls made a huge fortune out of it.

Before the class of the special theory of relativity, Ernesto went into the classroom again and distributed the journals to the sorcerers. This time, he looked quite normal, if not vaguely delighted, because he finally did not have to study the painstaking matrix mechanics anymore!

His attitude of easiness informed the students that there was no disruptive content on the journals. Therefore, they opened them and began to read randomly. However, as they read on, Onore, Clark and the other students became excited and learnt what was on them greedily.

Two of the first three papers on this issue of 'Arcana' were Brook's, and the last one was written by Oliver. From the perspective of the wave equation, they resolved the problem of the hydrogen model, and their results matched various experiment data. They had established a new alchemy system that seemed entirely different than matrix mechanics. It was more simple, straightforward and easy to understand. Arcana was filled with charm again!

"This is real arcana…" Onore observed in a low voice. "Even in the entire realm of elements and electromagnetism, the Oliver-Brook Wave Equation will still be one of the top three classic equations. That's a really great accomplishment!"

Clark followed him. "I feel like crying when I see the wave equation. This is arcana, instead of a complicated mathematical monster! In the past months, I only managed to preliminarily apply matrix mechanics but could not understand it at all. However, after studying the wave equation for only one month, I seem to have understood the internal structure of atoms and learnt that everything in the microscopic domain could be so fascinating!"

"Also, the wave mechanics that they established are based on the classic arcana theories instead of completely abandoning them. Math is only used as a way of thinking. Mr. Evans' achievement is brilliant, but it is too brilliant for us the 'normal people' to imagine and understand." His classmate next to him agreed.

Onore kept reading the paper while he said sincerely, "I'll devote myself to that in the next year. I will study its mysteries every day. Huh. Mr. Oliver has proposed a theory to explain why electrons behave as particles. It's called a 'wave packet'?"

The theory was not very complicated. It claimed that many lines (waves) were jumbled in a certain way into a ball. Since those lines decayed fast when they spread out, they looked like balls in general. The bulging packets made the waves behave as particles.

Accepting such an explanation, Clark, as a supporter of the wave theory, was even more cheered up. He believed that it was the real truth of the microscopic domain that revealed the deepest law of the quantum world.

He was about to exclaim that the particle nature was included in waves, when he saw the papers of Douglas, Fernando, Hathaway and Hellen. They roughly proved that wave mechanics was mathematically equivalent with matrix mechanics, and they offered certain arcana changes that did not agree with the commutative law.

"…The two new alchemy systems are equivalent…" Clark couldn't help but blurt out.

Onore had reached the part, too. "Douglas' proof is the easiest to understand, but I don't think it is very strict mathematically… If they are equivalent, are the wave feature and the particle feature also equivalent? Are the microscopic particles really a new object that we haven't really recognized yet like Mr. Evans said, and we have to describe them based on the actual results instead of applying the previous concepts?"

It was not because he had understood the few papers, but because they all admitted that they were short of a strict mathematical method to prove the equivalence.

"Maybe." Clark said, somewhat in frustration. However, after the electron diffraction experiment, he was already okay with such an explanation, so he exclaimed cheerfully again, "Since they are equivalent, we only need to learn wave mechanics in the future and don't have to bother with the wretched mathematical monster anymore, right?"

"Of course!" The sorcerers around replied at the same time.

Clark smiled at Onore. "Last month, you said that the textbooks for the new alchemy would be changed, and I said that it was impossible. I need to apologize to you now. I was wrong, but I'm also very happy that I was wrong!"

"How many times have the textbooks changed?" Although delighted, Onore had the sense of suffocation when the changes were coming like a storm. In such an age, not working hard would mean being abandoned. They would never have a chance to catch up again.

Seizing the time before the class, they browsed through the journals, their eyes widened again. "The hypothetical model of electron spin?"

"Well, it explains the unusual splitting phenomenon very well, but the speed of spin on the surface is ten times the speed of light. That's in violation of the special theory of relativity!" Clark skipped the content and focused on the conclusion.

Exclamations echoed in the classroom. They found it hard to imagine that such a paper was published on 'Arcana' which was best known for its rigorousness. However, as they read on, they found another paper from Annick and Sprint. It handled the spin problem with matrix mechanics, and the result was unquestionable. In the meantime, they saw Mr. Evans' paper on matrix mechanics regarding the spin problem. He predicted that a certain calculated value in an experiment was wrong based on the model and confirmed the correctness of spin by the way.

Of course, he also managed to explain the spin speed on the surface, so that people wouldn't be so against the spin theory.

Annick and Sprint's spin model was not lambasted partly because they only submitted it for review until it was handled with matrix mechanics, and it was supported by Lucien's paper; and partly because the focus of the arcanists' attention was wave mechanics that was glowing brilliantly immediately after it was born!

"In such a case, the four quantum numbers in Fernando's theory of incompatibility have all been found." Onore discovered that every paper in the journals in the past months could've ranked top in Arcana a decade ago. However, they were either behind or could only go to Magic or Nature right now.

Clark, however, thought of something else. "Mr. Evans has two papers. One of them is about spin, and the other is a complementation to Chloe statistics. Neither of them is about wave mechanics. Does it mean…"

They recalled what happened again and again in the past. Such silence seemed to be foretelling a horrible storm. When Mr. Evans published a paper on wave mechanics, would there be a torrential red-and-white rain again?

"Now that the two new alchemy systems have proved equivalent, I don't think it's a big deal…" Onore comforted himself optimistically, before he took a deep breath. "The correctness of wave mechanics is without a doubt right now, and the explanation of the wave function has been proposed by Mr. Oliver. It seems that the second Evans Prize in Arcana will go to them."

"They will also win the Silver Moon Medal and the Holm Crown Ring." Said Clark in admiration. "But why do you sound so jealousy, Onore? That's an achievement that only the grand arcanists can accomplish!"

Onore shook his head. "I'm jealous of Mr. Annick and Sprint. Their hypothesis of electron spin has improved the current model of new alchemy. Even though they cannot get Evans Prize in Arcana, they will surely win a Silver Moon Medal and a Holm Crown Ring. To think that they are of similar ages to us…"

"That's true…" Clark was at a loss for words. They were about the same age, but the students were still working hard to become middle-rank sorcerers in the Holt Magic College, whereas they already had hope to claim the highest honor of their field, not to mention that they had become middle-rank arcanists and sorcerers a long time ago.

If only I had a great teacher like theirs… He couldn't help but thought to himself.

After the day of classes was over, Onore returned to his dormitory and picked up his journal, writing down what he felt after the day:

"…I'm getting a deeper and deeper feeling about the urgency and fast pace of the development of arcana. It's like the mysteries of the world are suddenly surging out like a tide, dying the whole world of arcana and magic a glorious gold. One can never see enough of it… In such a gold and insane age, even a second-rate arcanist can achieve first-rate accomplishments!"

"…Wave mechanics is the most sparkling gem of the year, and the preliminary proof of the equivalence of the two systems of new alchemy seems to suggest that this year is going to end in peace."

Chapter 651: The Open Stratagem

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

In the Golden Cathedral in Aalto, Violet.

It was close to early evening. Led by Philibell, Gossett and the rest of the priests finished their Sunday pray. Without saying a word, Philibell stood up and went back to his living room. In the past, he would stay to preach or guide the priests.

"What happened?" asked a red robe confusedly.

Gossett shook his head, "No idea. It's been a month that His Excellency's been acting weird."

"A month? Does this have anything to do with Arcana Voice? They say that His Holiness is Viken, the disaster sorcerer…" the red robe was rather apprehensive.

The low and middle-rank priests were already callous to the repeatedly playing rumor, as there was no solid evidence for support and the story even seemed a bit lame to them. However, for those senior-ranks who knew some of the hidden history and secrets of the Church, they had found that a series of details in this rumor in fact conformed to the history. Maybe there was truth to it.

Of course, there were all kinds of possibilities in history, and it was not difficult to make up a seemingly sensible story. Therefore, they did not treat it very seriously. However, when it was mentioned again, the red robe still felt quite concerned.

Gossett looked up and said seriously, "Yes… I remember that this has started after His Excellency attending the emergency meeting held by His Holiness…"

"I don't see the relation…" said the red robe with the gloomy look on his face. It seemed that there were some bad associations going through his mind.

Gossett forced a smile, "Me neither. I mean… Any devout believer would feel upset hearing such slander."

In Philibell's living room.

Philibell, the Bright Angel, was sitting behind his desk lost in his thoughts while staring at the flickering candle. As the day was getting darker, his beard had been lit up by the candlelight.

Suddenly, the burning candle made a slight noise and then violently grew taller, reflecting the redlight onto Philibell's face.

"Are you ready, Philibell?" The candle started "talking" in a hoarse voice, "This can help you recover the faith you've lost and send you a further step closer to the God of Truth. We don't need you to do much, but just give us the key information when the key moment has arrived."

Philibell looked gloomy. He slightly squinted his eyes and said to the candle, "There's no way that you can ascend to Mountain Paradise. How can you know he's the ultimate Lord just because of Sun King's notes? I won't believe you. And I will neither do what the Northern Extremist once did! This is unforgiven betrayal to Lord's blessing!

The candle giggled, the candlelight flickering, "You called him his title, not his name, Philibell. You can't lie in front of me. No matter what kind of past His Excellency once had and no matter where he came from, after he integrated himself into Mountain Paradise, he has become the true god, the ultimate existence that transcends all the demigods, the 'Lord' as you priests call him. Now he's just in a temporary sleep, and the more followers he has, the quicker he'll wake up. Philibell, are you going to betray the God of Truth like Benedict III?"

"Atlant, I know you play with people's minds. But it won't work on me. You shall go now, or I'll turn on the divine circles here." After a while of silence, Philibell said with deterimination.

The candle insisted, "Philibell, I can feel what you're truly thinking. If you will, we'll always wait for you to join. You will see. The priests, including Richard, in Holmish Church will grow very fast in a short period of time, as our discovery in the Realm of Gates is beyond your imagination. We're now even a step further than those in the north. They haven't even approached Mountain Paradise."

Then the candle flickered, and the voice disappeared.

Philibell turned on the defensive divine circles in the Golden Cathedral silently, and his face looked rather gloomy. After the divine circles had all been activated and after he cast Blessed Realm, Philibell finally put on a mysterious smile. His pupils had pure light shining in them.

"Our bright future comes from the prosperity of the Church. His Holiness has made his generous offer, and we're not idiots to split on our own. Atlant, you have underestimated His Holiness so much…"

In a manor outside of Aalto.

Atlant closed his eyes. In front of him, there was a silver candlestick. At this time, the candlelight suddenly twisted and projected an unidentifiable figure on the wall.

"Who is it?!" Atlant suddenly opened his eyes and stared at the figure on the wall with great alert.

The candlelight flickered, twisting the figure, and the old voice came from it, "It doesn't matter who I am. What matters is the information that I am bringing to you."

"What?" Atlant was rather cautious, trying to figure out the intention of the unexpected "visitor".

The flame said, "I have a lot. I can tell you how to become a demigod, including how to ascend the legendary ranks, how to agglomerate the power of emotions, how to transform a body, what the specific magic circle is, and the secrets of forging the special divine items…"

"You're Benedict III… No, you're Viken…" Atlant's voice rose up. Fortunately, Atlant wasn't really here. In this room there was only his golem clone.

The flame laughed, "I said it already that it doesn't matter. What matters is if you want to ascend to top legendary and become a demigod!"

Atlant sneered, "So you think I'm an idiot? I will use the method given by my enemy?"

The flame twitched, "It's okay if you don't trust it, but I think you wouldn't mind reading the complete material in this regard. You can always verify the method on your own, and I don't need you to do anything for me."

"What do you mean by you don't need anything from me?" Atlant was a bit surprised.

The flame was a bit amused by Atlant's reaction, "What do you have, Atlant? I'm just showing my mercy to you. Douglas, Fernando and Lucien Evans have found most of the secrets to become demigods, but they never decided to share them with you. I am different. I'll tell you all."

"So an internal conflict is what you want…" Atlant finally realized what Viken was doing, but he did not resist. It was just a golem clone here, so any conspiracy would not hurt him.

A fine string of flame reached Atlant's head and started sending him the knowledge.

After a while, when Atlant finished reading the material, the fine flame string appeared. The candle also went off after leaving Atlant a low giggle. As it said, the candle never asked Atlant to make a promise to do anything!

"King of Calamities is indeed very generous…" Atlant finally released a long sigh. Benedict III had directly shared the secret of becoming a demigod with him completely without charge! It was supposed to be a great lure that could easily trigger legendary wars. However, now the secret had been dumped onto him like free potatoes in the field!

Although Atlant had known the secret, the chance for him to become a demigod was still very slim as there were still countless difficulties and dangers waiting for him in the front. But at least for now, he knows the only way to ascend to a demigod level!

Atlant had a rough idea what Benedict III wanted to do. Closing his eyes, Atlant could not help but read the secret over and over again, although he was well aware of the fact that what it meant. The secret was just too captivating for him to say no.

Just like Evans once said, this was an open stratagem, so no promise or contract was needed.

…

In the Month of Winter, the theory of wave mechanics had been added into Basics of the New Alchemy despite Heidi's great reluctance.

Mr. Ernesto from the dean's office walked in and announced two things: One was that the academy was going to take all the students to the northland for a practicum course to improve their adventure skills and comprehensive competency, and the other was that the latest issue of Arcana had been available.

The look on his face was rather cheerful. He had just got rid of the heavy rock bearing in his mind for a long time.

"Quite a thick one, isn't it?" Onore said to his colleagues. He had been obsessed with studying wave mechanics recently, and thus he believed that he had gained a deeper understanding of new alchemy.

Leafing through the journal, Onore realized why this month's Arcana had added extra volume. His Excellency Mr. Evans published a paper on it, which demonstrated the relationship between wave mechanics and matrix mechanics using strict math. The demonstration had proved that they were two different presentations of the same theory. Since the mathematical tool he used in this paper was quite rare in the previous studies, Mr. Lucien Evans further explained it. The method was from applying Tower Geometry in three-dimension situation to more dimensions and even infinite dimensions. To differentiate it from Evans Geometric Space, it was called Evans-Levski Geometric Space.

In fact, if it had not been the effort made by Levski and other Tower arcanists in the previous years after Nature was established on Evans Geometry, Lucien's paper would have been much, much thicker. Because of their earlier stage studies, Lucien could use a good number of references instead of explaining everything.

But still, called Hilbert space on the earth, it was still this paper which officially established the status of it.

In the past years, the general theory of relativity had confirmed the value of Evans Geometry which was earlier deemed "totally useless", and Lucien's ideas had freed the Tower arcanists from the limitations from their own imagination and knowledge. Therefore, the development of mathematics had been rapid, and many arcanists had made their great contribution. They had stopped seeking for the practical significance of a mathematical model, as they were not able to and also they did not want to bother, instead, they were pursuing mathematics for its own sake.

Meanwhile, the progress in mathematics also helped them better understand the cutting-edge arcana theories. Their progress in magic was much faster than they had expected. Now, Levski had come close to the senior-rank!

"Mr. Evans's paper makes me dizzy." Clark rubbed his eyes.

Onore grinned, "Yeah, I know. But this paper had finally confirmed wave mechanics. We have nothing to worry about now."

He was in a very cheerful mood.

This cheerfulness was shared by most arcanists who had read this paper. Even those who preferred matrix mechanics and the feature of discontinuity had to admit the success of wave mechanics.

Chapter 652: Atlant's Struggle

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

At Cocus, the capital of the Duchy of Calais.

In the demiplane called Mind Garden connecting to the headquarters of Family of Sorcerers, daylight was constantly changing in a mysterious pattern, as sophisticated as the human mind.

Atlant, the Eye of Curse, walked on the path through the garden, in which the flowers were half blooming and half dying. His eyes closed tight, and the look on his face constantly changed just like the light in this space.

He kept asking himself the question: Whether he should go and find Douglas to ask him directly why they were hiding the secret of ascending from him.

Atlant knew that Viken was the master of fiddling with human mind, and he knew what Viken was trying to do. The most powerful toxin in this whole thing was not anything superficial, but hiding in the secret itself. As long as Atlant chose to follow the secret, sooner or later, he would stray away from the Congress of Magic because of the difference in their beliefs and paths. At that time, Viken, with his powerful resource of faith, would be the only one who Atlant could turn to.

After all, the Congress of Magic believed in the power of arcana and using arcana they would overthrow the Church. There was no chance that they would support a powerful religion. The moderators that had been split multiple times and were retained as state religions were the most they could stand.

Viken had sent Atlant poison, and directly told him so, but Atlant could not say no. Through the countless years that he had been living, Viken had the vicious wisdom which had made many legendaries fall and produced the Saint Truth.

In fact, from the conversation once he had with them, Atlant knew why Douglas, Fernando, and Lucien Evans chose to hide the secret. The path was full of unpredictable dangers and potential risks, and could very easily turn one into a demon whose emotions were totally out of control. Also, the secret would encourage the development of a new religion or even many religions, which would be a great harm to the spirit of arcana.

Broad-minded and visionary as Douglas, he would not hide this secret for his own interest, especially when the general theory of relativity had brought him hope to ascend to the demigod level.

Fernando was known for his short temper, but also for his passion for arcana and for the truth of the world. Even though Fernando had known the way, he probably would not want to try it at all.

As for Lucien Evans, it was only a matter of time for him to reach the level of demigod, and his general theory of relativity had given him a great boost. He was now already a level-two legendary in his late twenties, and he was the one who had put forward a series of subversive theories which had formed the two major pillars of the current arcana system – the theory of relativity and new alchemy. A promising young man like him would not care about using this method.

A few weeks after Lucien came back from his adventure, Lucien had reached level-two legendary. The status that Viken had once put him in and the thoughts triggered by the Mysteries of Immortality had been a great help to him. This had also set a new record in the history of the congress – Before Lucien, it only took Lucien a year to reach this level.

Lucien was not planning on reporting this to the congress. However, since this time their findings in the World of Souls were incredible, they had all been awarded with the different legendary magic rituals. According to their wish, Erica and Vicente could pick two, Fernando and Douglas five, and Lucien ten. When he was there to choose the legendary rituals he wanted, Lucien on the way told Hellen his progress.

Atlant had run through his analysis of Douglas, Fernando, and Lucien Evans's intention. He released a sigh as he had decided not to ask. The answers would be the same just as what he expected, but in turn, they would ask him where he got the information and suspect his betrayal.

He could not help thinking that greed was indeed the origin of all the sins.

If it had not been his greed, if he had not been controlled by his desire, he would have confessed in front of Douglas and suggested them to make the access requirement clear among the Highest Council. But now…

At this time, Erica, the Master of Transformation, came to visit him to ask how things had been going with Philibell.

"It's a bit complicated. It seems that Viken has told him something or made a good offer to him, so he refused me." said Atlant honestly. As the authority in illusion and mentality, he was always the leader in these kinds of tasks.

Erica said seriously, "Such an old monster… We didn't expect this."

"You can't kill such a monster, so his vision is much, much longer than ours. He sees through time." said Atlant, a bit absent-minded.

So far, the secret had brought him so many concerns and worries, so Atlant dared not to hurry. He had decided to do some secret experiments first to get some more information for this.

...

On the seventeenth floor of the magic tower of Allyn, in Heredity Laboratory, Felipe, wearing his long, black coat, was reading the latest issue of Arcana with a cup of hot water in his hand. His face still had the same sick look as usual.

Felipe took a sip of the hot water. It seemed that Lucien-Levski geometric space had been confirmed in the microscopic domain, and the two alchemical systems were the different aspects of the same model. He had been closely watching the development of the micro-world, as many of the research topics related were electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic fields, and special elements. These all had to do with the constitution of the human body. Therefore, he had also been working hard on it.

However, after matrix mechanics was born, the microscopic domain seemed to be getting more and more unfriendly. Although the arrival of wave mechanics more or less helped, but the great challenge from mathematics would still bring bad headaches to those arcanists who weren't as good at it. Felipe had to admit that the paper was even a bit tough to him.

Among necromancers, Felipe was known for being good at mathematics, and this was why he was making progress so fast. However, in the recent two years, his pride had been through a bad setback. The papers published on Nature talking about the general theory of relativity, matrix mechanics, and Lucien-Levski geometric space started appearing to be so abstruse.

"I can't stop here. Mathematics and the microscopic domains are of great importance to cell and heredity study in the future… or I'd fall behind." Felipe murmured with a concerned look on his face, reminding himself.

He once thought that once a good magnification spell became available, the secret in cells and heredity would reveal themselves in front of him. However, it had been a long time but Felipe was not making much progress. He indeed had found chromosomes and guessed that they were related to heredity, but that was it.

He knew it clearly that without the support from mathematics and other arcana findings in the school of element and electromagnetism, his study was not going anywhere. To find what he had been seeking for, he had to either wait for other people to do the preliminary studies, or do them on his own.

Therefore, while his cell research was not bringing him much, the other two studies on the integration of spirits and undead creatures had improved his magic level by one circle to the eighth.

After reading Lucien's paper, Felipe turned to read the studies done by Hathaway and Hellen on crystals, which had more or less inspired him before.

A while later, he stood up and walked in his own exclusive lab. He saw the many plants, red-eyed rats, and the moth boxes.

Magnification spells not working, Felipe had to work more on the observation of plants, animals, and insects. However, observation took a long time.

Sensing the noise, the rats in the lab started screaming, and the moths flying up and down in the boxes. Only the plants remained silent.

Felipe rubbed his forehead, trying his best to stop himself from destroying them all. The anger burnt his guts.

Why he had to deal with them all day long?

He was neither a farmer nor a butcher!

...

In Atomic Universe, after the everyday practice, Natasha went back home and saw Lucien in the chair, just sitting there.

"Not working on your spells?" Natasha asked.

She knew that after reaching level-two legendary, Lucien had been working on constructing the three legendary spells in his soul: Luxury Cracking, Abrupt Magic Reverse, and Mental Fulmination.

Lucien smiled, "Nope, just thinking."

"So what is it? You seem to be struggling." Natasha pulled a chair and sat down. Her eyes looked into Lucien's eyes.

Lucien paused a second and then said, "I was trying to figure out the arcana theory supporting Thanos' and Viken's demigod power, how their power could be explained. If I can figure this out, their weaknesses will be exposed, and then we can truly kill them!"

"When they became demigods, there was no arcana, so the only clues might be the magic circles and rituals…" said Natasha hesitantly. She wanted to help, but she did not understand the theories in the world of arcana. "Can demigods be truly killed though?"

Lucien shook his head, "They have their own limits. Nothing is truly eternal. So I'm thinking. If we cannot find the way, even if we kill Viken, he will always be able to come back from the river of fate. At that time, such a shameless demigod will become a great threat to the congress, to the kingdom, and to those we love and care about. It'll be a sheer disaster."

"This is indeed a problem, but the South Church is still going to last for a while… a long, long time, I should say." Natasha comforted him. After knowing that their Lord was in fact Thanos, her belief had become totally abstract. She had the respect to the ultimate existence in the universe, but not to a specific god.

Lucien suddenly said, "Maybe one day, my 'theory' will turn my friends into enemies and disappoint my teacher and students…"

Although Natasha did not understand why Lucien would say so, she still grinned, "It's okay. I'll be there with you, as long as you're okay that I don't even understand your theory."

Lucien smiled. His hand was on Natasha's hand, fingers crossed.

...

Holding his paper, in the early morning, Lucien was walking along the corridor in the magic tower of Allyn. It was still a bit dark when he pushed open the door of Fernando's study.

It was bright in the study. In comparison, the study and the corridor seemed to be two different worlds.

Chapter 653: Determinism

Dum, dum, dum. In his library, Fernando heard the slow door knocks.

"You've come so early?" Fernando gazed at Lucien with his slightly dirty, red eyes, with subconscious vigilance about his abnormality.

Lucien lowered his head and smiled. "When I finished the paper, it happened to be sunrise, so I went here straight away."

"What paper?" Fernando had an even stronger sense of danger, which did not come from his Host Star of Destiny but from the multiple lessons in the past. "Is it disruptive?"

Lucien thought for a moment and nodded his head. "Yes. However, it is only based on the observation of tremendous experiment results and not strictly proved. The possibility can't be ruled out that it will be disapproved or included by other theories that include those phenomena in the future."

"Bring it here." Fernando was relieved. In such a case, until decisive proofs appeared, even the most revolutionary theory could not blow up his head.

Lucien presented his paper, and Fernando looked awful after merely reading the title.

"'A Probabilistic Explanation of the Wave Function'." He read the title of the paper aloud one word after another and vaguely guessed what it was about. He somehow understood what the electron diffusion and diffraction experiments he worked on recently indicated, and why Oliver's explanation of the wave function did not match certain experiment results.

Opening the paper, Fernando read on without a word. The atmosphere around was more and more depressing, as if a real storm was about to arrive.

Suddenly, he raised his head when he hadn't finished the paper yet. With electricity flashing in his red eyes, he said dangerously, "Are you suggesting that the wave function is not a wave in the regular sense, but a wave of probabilities probability wave?"

Lucien looked back at his teacher's dangerous eyes fearlessly. "Yes. By observing tremendous experiment results and introducing Chloe statistics in molecular movement, we can describe the wave function in such a way: it is an indication of the probability that the electron appears in a certain location."

Fernando seemed to be holding his fury back. "But its location is fixed on the receiving screen. The probability is 100%!"

That was without a doubt. Every arcanist had seen the fluorescent points on the screen that were stimulated by the electrons. The undeniable experiment phenomenon suggested that the location of the electrons was absolutely certain.

Understanding his teacher's mood very well, Lucien said solemnly, "It's like when we toss a coin without knowing any external circumstances. During the whole process, we can say that the result may be heads and tails. However, by the time it hit the ground, the result will be determined, never to change anymore. Naturally, the probability is 100%. What we are discussing is the electron before observation, not the electron whose result has been determined after observation."

Fernando found it easier to understand now. More or less eased, he grasped the key point. "Before observation? After observation? Then, according to your explanation, until we observe them, the electrons may appear in any location in space, except that the probability that it appears in some locations is higher than in others?"

He couldn't imagine the electron's form of existence at all now!

Fernando could accept the coin without any resistance, because it rolled in midair all the time, which entailed the different results when it hit the ground, but what about the electron? If the wave function described probabilities of location, the electron might appear anywhere. Did it mean that the electron might be in two places, or even all the places, at the same time?

That was more preposterous and unbelievable than any magic!

Up until so far, except for the demigods that he was unaware of, nobody could create such magic and let themselves exist in a similar form!

Lucien made an analogy. "Until we observe it, the electron is like an illusionary cloud that does not have any entity. It spreads throughout space and exists everywhere as a superposition of all possibilities. The thicker part of the cloud is the location where it is more likely to appear, but it doesn't mean that the electron will surely appear there after observation."

"Until we observe it, the electron is something we cannot imagine. It is a self-contradictory but unified monster with the wave-particle duality. Therefore, we cannot imagine its status with our original concepts, which is utterly meaningless. We can only describe it with the experiments that can be strictly verified."

Fernando kept his mouth shut, as if he wouldn't stop himself from roaring if he were to open it.

Lucien went further. "As a matter of fact, master, you must've observed that, after we modified the magic circles and reduced the number of electrons launched at one time, the first thing we would see was not the image of diffraction, but an assortment of messy fluorescent points. The image of diffraction only came into being when the number of electrons grew. Why was that?"

"It was because the destination of a single electron after it was diffracted was absolutely undeterminable; it was only a probability. Therefore, when electrons were too few, they would be disordered, but when there were enough of them, they would show the probabilistic distribution in general. There would be more electrons in some places and fewer in others. That's how the image of diffraction was formed."

"It's like when we toss coins ten times, it's impossible for us to predict how many times they are going to show heads, but if we toss coins hundreds and thousands of times, the times that they show heads should be half of the whole!"

"If one day we can modify the magic circle to the point that it can shoot only one electron at a time, the result will be even clearer."

"Probability, probability!" Fernando's face was so twisted as if he were going to eat probability.

He did not need Lucien to lecture him on the common sense of probability, which was one of the fields he was best at as an authority of thermodynamics. He remembered the electron diffraction experiments he did recently. It was true that the spots of light were messy until there were enough electrons.

Such a clear picture shivered his hands. A wind blew around him, turning the pages in the library with multiple loud noises. "Until they are observed, electrons are a cloud of probabilities spreading throughout space? After they are observed, they are matter with a fixed location? What happened during the observation?"

Lucien ignored the wind and spoke as calmly as if he were giving a death sentence. "The wave function collapsed. The overwhelming cloud of probabilities collapsed into a tiny spot with a fixed location. Observation caused the collapse of the wave function. As to what form the electron existed before the observation, it has nothing to do with us and is pointless!"

"Observation caused the collapse of the wave function?" Crack. A lightning struck the library and destroyed a statue. Fernando rose abruptly and glared at Lucien. "Our observation made the electrons change their form?"

Lucien nodded his head. "Master, what is our observation based on? We see things because of the reflected light, and we hear things because of the vibrations in the air. In the microscopic realm, even the slightest means of observation, like photons, will interfere with the electrons. That is to say, our observations on the microscopic particles will inevitably cause them to change."

"The interaction of microscopic particles?" Fernando looked better and basically understood why observation caused the collapse of the wave function. As for the incomprehensible and unimaginable 'cloud of probabilities', he decided to leave it alone and focused on the key of Lucien's explanation. "When we toss coins, we can predict the result correctly after learning all the external conditions, so it is not the real probability but a false probability. When there's a cause, there's a consequence. All the initial statues strictly and solely determine the final outcome. This is the foundation of the school of astrology and the foundation of magic!"

"Is the probability of the electrons also a false probability, because they are under the influence of the external conditions that we haven't discovered yet?"

His voice was somewhat trembly, and more and more signs of a storm appeared in the library.

Lucien shook his head firmly. "At least so far, there are no phenomena that indicate the influence of external conditions. We can only say that probability wave is an intrinsic nature and quality of electrons!"

"Say again!" Fernando finally roared with a thunderstorm that created what appeared to be doomsday in the library.

Arcana and magic were so fascinating, and so many generations of sorcerers and arcanists devoted their talents and life to the exploration of the truth of the world, because they believed in the fundamental law of this world, under which everything operated strictly, like how the sun rose and set, how the celestial bodies moved, how it rained, and how elements reacted with each other. As long as they figured out the fundamental law, they would be able to grasp all the phenomena!

However, Lucien's probabilistic explanation seemed to be laughing at their exploration, because the nature of the law of the world was 'probabilities'? No matter how many rules and patterns they found, they could only predict that the odds that electrons appeared in this place were greatest but could not accurately describe where they would appear.

It had denied the foundation of the prophecy in the school of astrology, as well as the foundation of arcana and magic that explored the law of the world!

Pointing at the paper, Lucien looked at his roaring teacher solemnly. His Elemental Skin had been automatically triggered by the lightnings. "I have already put the conclusion in my paper."

Fernando lowered his head and saw one part of the paper:

"In the past, everybody believed that, as long as all the factors at present were known, it would be able to rigorously infer, or determine, the result of an event. When there's a cause, there will be a corresponding consequence, and vice versa. The arcanists respected the rule as determinism, or the law of causality."

"I prefer a more strict definition. The real law of causality is the law of causality on the timeline. The cause must be before the consequence. Therefore, the previous law of causality should only be called determinism."

"Now, what I want to say is that something may be wrong with determinism, because certain processes are probabilistic and irreversible…"

"Something is wrong with determinism and the law of causality?" Fernando glared at Lucien with his stormy eyes and roared amidst the thunders. "Are you telling me that the trajectory of the sun is probabilistic?"

BOOM!

"Are you telling me that our very existence is probabilistic?"

BOOM!

"Are you telling me that, even though we have constructed a magic model inside our soul and grasps its every detail, it will still be a probabilistic process when we perform magic?"

"Absurd! Ludicrous!"

BOOM!

In the rumbling thunderstorm, a vast universe appeared behind Lucien, in which the planets were made of protons and neutrons in different colors. The satellites around them, on the other hand, spread throughout the cosmos and existed everywhere, but when observed closely, they were fixed in one point.

BOOM!

The Thunder Hell mixed with the Atomic Universe, Lucien looked back at Fernando without wavering, before he said gravely:

"At the very least, determinism must die when it comes to the microscope!"

Crack. A thick bolt of lightning pierced out of the window and spread to the sky outside.