819 - 825

Chapter 819: Return

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

Suddenly, the light of the whole world was gone. Allyn, Rentato, hell, and abyss were all caught in the deepest and heaviest darkness. The weird squeaking noises had vanished too. Every sorcerer, every knight, every noble, every civilian, every demon, and every devil sensed unprecedented peace. They could even hear their own heartbeats or blood flows.

Dum! Dum! Dum! Dum!

Their hearts beat faster and faster and more and more intensely. Right when they could not stand the extreme peace and were about to shout, darkness suddenly faded, and brightness was back again!

Nothing seemed to have changed. In the high sky, the Will of Abyss, who had been summoned by Maltimus at a great price, smelled the air of hell, which he hated most, and the air of Maltimus, which he was the next thing he hated most. He abandoned his old nemesis and charged at Viken, and the other demigods and the top legends cooperated with him, "helping" him dissolve Viken's defense.

In the primeval hell, it was already barely possible to distinguish the two Luciens, although their faces were still changing, as if they were seeking the most fundamental similarities.

In the cosmos that had an enormous fireball, the picture zoomed in, and the blue planet grew larger and larger. The picture of the cosmos with the misty planet also zoomed in.

As the two planets grew larger and larger, the devils and lost souls in the primeval hell burst out their final and loudest screams.

Bang!

In the crack that echoed at the bottom of every intelligent creature's heart, the primeval hell fell apart!

The primeval devils and lost souls were reduced into negative feelings in different colors, loosening and ebbing.

At the same time, the two cosmoses and Luciens vanished!

"Where is our teacher…" Heidi was at a loss. Such a situation did not happen when Mr. President became a demigod.

Suddenly, her eyes froze because she saw a lot more people in the Atom Institution! There was also an enormous tunnel that was similar to the super large collider that her teacher designed!

The dreamy tunnel of the collider overlapped the many magic circles of the Atom Institution, but they did not affect each other at all, as if somebody had created an illusion here.

"This is…" Heidi and Annick forgot about the battle in the sky. They looked at the enormous tunnel in shock. Many people in white suits walked before them anxiously as if they were preparing an important experiment.

In shock, Heidi subconsciously extended her right hand, trying to touch a man.

Her fingers slowly reached the man's face, but it penetrated through it as if it were made of air. The man showed no reaction either.

Katrina looked at that in shock. "Is this phenomenon caused by our teacher's advancement?"

Taking a deep breath, Heidi looked at the street out of the window, only to discover that not only sorcerers and wagons but many iron monsters were crammed and moving forward slowly on the broad road before the Allyn magic tower!

Far away, many skyscrapers that looked like magic towers overlapped the original buildings. Thanks to their glass windows, they were like palaces made of gold under the sunlight.

In the high sky, a bird-like monster flew by quietly and looked down on the ground.

Everything was so real but so quiet. There was not the slightest sound or anything that could be touched!

Compared to the sorcerers who could still observe the environment, the nobles and civilians were completely lost. Their mouths were open and their eyes were hollowed as they stared at the additional world that was not the same as theirs but had certain weird similarities. They felt that they were in a dream!

"Is this a mirage…" somebody murmured subconsciously, but their eyes were frozen. It was obvious that they could not think anymore.

Gradually, the skyscrapers, the iron torrents, the tunnel, and the crowd on the street blurred.

Soon, they completely vanished, as if everything just now was really a dream!

"Is this the phenomenon caused by our teacher's advancement…" Heidi repeated what Katrina said.

BOOM!

The explosion in the high sky woke them up, reminding them that there was still a battle that concerned their own fate over theirs. Therefore, they raised their heads and looked over again while wondering what happened just now and if Mr. Evans had become a demigod.

After Lucien and the two cosmoses disappeared, Viken seized the opportunity to swallow and absorb the broken primeval hell, not bothering that it would cause his imbalance, because he did not really have a choice. The primeval hell would be gone in a few more seconds!

Perhaps decades or hundreds of years later, the primeval hell would be gathered again, but it would be pointless for Viken.

This time, without Lucien's blockage and the resistance of the primeval devils, Viken's melting was very smooth, but at the same time, he was rejected by Mountain Paradise.

Thanks to the help of Douglas, the Silver Moon, the Lord of Hell, Fernando, and Vicente, the Will of Abyss broke the strange state that Viken was in and created explosions, slaughter, and blood, hoping to kill Viken who was focused on melting the primeval hell.

Viken's body became illusionary and more and more dim under the Will of Abyss' attacks.

At this moment, Viken suddenly chuckled mysteriously.

In his eyes, darkness and light replaced each other, and the remainder of the primeval hell and the still powerful Mountain Paradise swapped places. As a result, the Will of Abyss was placed in the range of Mountain Paradise.

The Will of Abyss was even angrier. For some reason, he suddenly roared and expanded. All his limbs were falling off, and the eyes were protruding out!

"Back off! He's going to self-explode!" Maltimus roared and retreated quickly.

He paid a great price to summon the Will of Abyss exactly to get an attacker who was not scared of death, but the Will of Abyss turned out to be even more hardworking than he expected. In order to perform the attack, he had chosen to self-explode!

Of course, Maltimus could easily tell that the guy was definitely befuddled just now.

Boom!

An explosion that was multiple times more powerful than all the attacks previously burst out. The sky was colored by the boundless brilliance of blood. The defense of Mountain Paradise was broken as angels perished. Only the seraphs managed to retreat to the Realm of Gates in time and survive the disaster.

Light and energy surged out, and the demigods including Douglas were pushed to the edge of the marvelous domain.

The sorcerers who observed the battle were surprised and delighted. The self-explosion of a demigod could certainly stop Viken, if it didn't kill him!

"Sometimes, the Will of Abyss can be quite lovely even though he is a wild card…" Many arcanists "thanked" the Will of Abyss in their hearts.

...

Above the ninth level of hell, Lucien slowly appeared from the void, turning from the status of dispersion to collapse. He was still wearing the black double-breasted suit, the top hat, the bow-tie, and the monocle, and he was still holding the staff. However, he had an additional feeling that he did not belong to this world. It was exactly the transcendental, changing, and intangible feeling of demigods!

"What I saw in the end… It's exactly like what I suspected…" Lucien woke up from the uncanny state.

...

The bloodiness and the energy storm were gone, and the center of the marvelous domain was blank, as if it had been wiped off by an eraser.

"Has Viken died with the Will of Abyss?" Aglaea asked delightedly.

Although Viken wouldn't really perish, he wouldn't return from the river of fate until millions of years later, and his fatal threat, Mountain Paradise, was already gone.

The Silver Moon was still in the sky, and Maltimus looked at the center solemnly and confusedly. After a brief daze, Douglas shouted, "Keep attacking! The domain is not gone! Viken is not dead yet!"

The marvelous domain appeared because of Viken's advancement. Its existence suggested that Viken was not dead, and his attempt was not entirely disrupted yet!

Hardly had Douglas given a warning when an invisible window blew from the marvelous domain and water secreted from the void, giving the feeling of both light and darkness. It was completely in violation of common sense!

The water gathered into a tide and surged at the center, drowning the demigods and the top legends.

At the center, an illusionary heart that was both dark and bright showed up and beat nonstop. In the left atrium was the dark, evil, and corrupt Desperate World, and in the right atrium was the sacred, bright, and vast Mountain Paradise.

"We're close to success, but so is Viken. As long as we destroy this 'heart' and prevent it from absorbing the water, we will really stop him!" Douglas was ready to cast an "Eternal Blaze".

However, he found that he was unable to cast any spell in the tide that was both dark and bright.

Similarly, the Lord of Hell and the Silver Moon could not make use of their supernatural powers either.

Thinking for a moment, Douglas dispersed into a world with mountains, lakes, forests, and grasslands. It was exactly his demigod image.

This world tied the tide nearby, slowing it down. Viken's "heart" beat more slowly too.

Seeing that, the Lord of Hell also dispersed his body, presenting the view of the hell and dragging the tide around.

A cold and dreamy silver moon fell, freezing the tide, and the shadow of the elven tree showed up, extending its roots to grab the water.

The projections of the Thunder Hell, the Element Paradise, and the Resting Place came too, but the force of boundary was much smaller than that of demigods.

Under their joint attacks, the tide almost stagnated. Viken and his enemies were in an impasse, but he was still absorbing the water one drop after another.

Looking at that, the legendary experts down below could not hold it anymore. Natasha was the first to flash to the sky and slash Viken's heart with the Sword of Truth.

The aura of the silver sword broke the sky and entered the marvelous domain, but it soon disappeared.

Here, without the power of top legendary, one could not even raise ripples!

The attacks of the other legendary experts were the same. The sorcerers, nobles, and civilians down below couldn't be more anxious.

Damn it. A few more top legends would be able to turn the balance!

Damn it. Why are all the top legends except Mr. Brook and the devil dukes who cannot come to the main material world all up there?

They almost couldn't stop themselves from joining the battle, but the effort of Natasha and the other legendary experts let them drop the idea.

...

After Lucien recovered from the uncanny state, he jumped into his own Atomic Universe without any delay. Then, instead of entering Babel, he teleported himself to the thirty-third floor of the Allyn magic tower.

"Turn off the blockage," Lucien said in a low voice.

Oliver and Bergner were looking at the sky anxiously. Hearing Lucien's calm and steady voice, they were surprised and relieved. Turning off the blockage in the city defense, they allowed Lucien to go to the sky and said in a hurry, "It's great that you're back!"

The sorcerers who looked at the sky so nervously that their hearts almost stopped beating suddenly discovered that the vague mist before them was disappearing, and a person appeared at the edge.

The familiar black hair, the handsome face, and the dreamy ring… They all held their breath.

"Master!"

"Mr. Evans!"

Exclamations followed. The sorcerers' anxieties were immediately more or less eased. The man who had always created miracles was back!

Suddenly, a sorcerer bowed in confidence and gratitude.

"Your Excellency, it's great that you're back!"

Influenced by him, more and more sorcerers paid respect to him.

"Your Excellency, it's great that you're back!"

In their greetings, the blockage was completely gone. Lucien nodded at them and blinked to the high sky.

Chapter 820: The Boundary Between God and Men (2 in 1)

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

In a half-empty marvelous domain, Viken's heart that was both bright and dark beat nonstop, but it could only struggle to absorb the sap from the boundary of the demigods and top legends, including Douglas, the Silver Moon, the Lord of Hell, and the elven queen.

At this moment, the change in the blockage of Allyn was reflected in his mind that seemed to be everywhere.

There couldn't be a better opportunity! He wouldn't stand a chance after Lucien joined the battle!

A dark and illusionary vein suddenly extended from Viken's heart, which passed through the tide made of the water as if there were no resistance and pierced into Aglaea, the elven queen.

Aglaea did not pay much attention to it. With the protection of the elven tree, Viken's attempt that only carried one percent of his power could not penetrate through nature at all.

However, at this moment, a shadow mixed with strong hate and pain suddenly emerged out of her body, which stretched out beyond her control and grabbed that "vein"!

No!

Aglaea exclaimed in her heart when she realized that the "container" with which she completed the status transformation had gone out of control. As her primeval-devil half went out of control, she could not control herself anymore!

Did Viken hold such a powerful control over all primeval devils?

At this moment, she felt that the Viken before her was so lofty and sacred that she only wanted to worship him!

In the meantime, quite a few black veins extended out of Viken's heart and penetrated into the bodies of top legends including Belkovsky, crazily absorbing their primeval-devil halves. Only Fernando, Hathaway, and a few other exceptions managed to avoid it.

For a moment, negative feelings and pieces of black shadows flowed into Viken's heart along the veins. Douglas, the Silver Moon, and the Lord of Hell intended to assist them, but they were mired in the tide and couldn't do anything except to watch it happen.

The way to become a demigod that Viken released before had such severe deficiencies!

It was the complete way to become a demigod without any traps, and its deficiencies and flaws were inevitable even for Viken himself. That was probably why other people believed him. However, at this moment, he was the most powerful primeval devil, and that was why he was fearless. He was reluctant to reveal the secret to the North Church, because Belkovsky, who had the accumulation of the power of faith and godhood, could very likely break into the demigod level soon and be on par with him. In such a case, he wouldn't be able to control other people like he could right now.

As his power rose, the tide was propelled and moved to Viken's heart, allowing him to absorb crazily. After every drop he absorbed, he would be more powerful than before. After only a few moments, the "heart" already lengthened and changed, vaguely showing Viken's appearance. At this moment, Lucien had just flashed to the sky and was about to go into the marvelous domain to stop Viken.

At this moment, Viken suddenly laughed crazily. "You should come too!"

Glittering veins stretched out of the heart and pierced into the body of Rudolf II who was also working hard at the edge.

Rudolf II watched Viken in shock as lofty, bright, and golden shadows flashed in his body nonstop with the obvious air of Mountain Paradise!

"Thanos, I did not expect you to revive and return, but you can only serve as my nutrition now!" Viken's crazy voice echoed in the clouds. "You hid rather well, but I got suspicious during Mecantron's resurrection! I did not point it out exactly because I was waiting for this moment!"

Thanos? The sorcerers down below were shocked.

Rudolf II could not say anything anymore. His body quickly dimmed, and his hair grew white. The golden shadows broke into pieces and flowed into Viken's body through the veins.

Boom!

A soundless explosion and infinite brightness burst out. Lucien, who had just reached the marvelous domain and was about to attack, was forced to step back. In the perception of his spiritual power, Viken had vanished!

As the light gradually dispersed, the elven queen, Belkovsky, Rudolf II, and some other top legends could not maintain themselves anymore. They fell out of the marvelous domain to the ground. For a moment, they had even lost the basic ability to fly themselves.

Thankfully, there were plenty of other legendary experts outside. Some were elves, some were from the North Church, and some were from the Holy Heilz Empire. Those legendary experts prevented their leaders from becoming the first top legends who were killed in a crash, because their leaders were not legendary knights and their bodies could not stand the collision.

As the light faded, the center of the marvelous domain could be sensed by Lucien, Douglas, the Silver Moon, and other demigods. Viken's hair had turned black, and his wrinkles were gone. His eyes were profound and dark, as if he were only in his thirties. However, his nose was slightly protruded, making him look rather scary.

Lucien, Douglas, and the other experts had all seen him in such a form before. It was the image of the King of Calamities on many magic classics.

Next to Viken, the holy angels and the evil devils entangled each other, worshiping and praising him. A realm where heaven and hell coexisted in peace was created.

The realm did not seem to be in this world. Although Lucien, Douglas, and the other demigods could see the view and hear the songs and praises, they could not perceive it or the air of Viken inside. It seemed that they were facing a hologram, and the angels and devils were far away in a different world.

Viken adapted himself to his new status and smiled. "Evans, what a shame. You're one step late. Are you very surprised?"

He sounded gentle and calm, but it was as astounding as a clap of thunder when the legendary experts and the sorcerers, nobles, and civilians down below heard it. Their bodies were trembling in shock!

One step late?

Had he become a true god?

Done. Everything was done…

Desperation spread out, but people still had hope, because there were four demigods on their side. Even if they could not defeat Viken, they should be able to hold the situation and stop him from doing whatever he wanted.

Douglas, Alterna, and Maltimus, as demigods, were much more grave, because they found that they could not even tell how strong Viken was. Of course, they did not give up and simply kept attacking Viken.

The bright and dreamy moon, the corrupt and evil hell, and the flashing fateful meteor ran toward Viken at the same time.

Lucien, on the other hand, seemed too shocked to perform any attack. He merely nodded his head and said, "I'm quite surprised that your way of demigod has such severe deficiencies. That's why I'm one step late."

"This step is exactly the boundary between life and death. Now, I am already a true god. You cannot defeat me at all. No, it is impossible for you to even reach me!" Viken smiled kindly as the light of the silver moon, the outburst of the hell, and the fateful meteor passed through him as if he did not exist at all.

The songs and praises of angels and devils went on without being disrupted. The sorcerers were even more desperate. They could not even reach the enemy? Such a capability gap was almost the distance between heaven and abyss!

"Do you see? This is the true god. I can appear at any place at any time and attack anyone, but you cannot break the boundary between god and mortals. You cannot touch my real body at all." Viken turned his head, as if he had finally got the status under control. "Even if I stand here and let you attack me, you cannot hit me at all. Your attacks will have no effects."

True god. He's really a true god… The sorcerers, nobles, and civilians felt that their bodies turned soft as they looked at that. It seemed that their feet could no longer bear the weight of their bodies. That was truly a devastating opponent!

How is he going to deal with us?

Will he kill us or domesticate us into lambs?

Viken smiled and said, "I don't need you anymore. You can disappear altogether…"

When Viken finished his declaration and was about to attack, the muscles on his face suddenly bounced, as if something down below was trying to crawl out.

Such protrusions were so dense that all his skin that was exposed to the air was occupied. Then, lumps were jumping even on the long robe that was transformed by his strength. They couldn't be more hideous and disgusting.

"This is…" In shock, Viken tried harder to control himself. Douglas, the Silver Moon, and the Lord of Hell did not know what was going on exactly, but they did know that it was a rarely-seen opportunity and immediately began their attacks.

However, their attacks still could not break the boundary between god and mortals!

Viken's body gradually became transparent, both bright and dark. The faces of intelligent creatures emerged from it.

The faces, some pious and some in pain, surged out nonstop and created the protrusions!

"Why is this happening? Why is this happening?" Viken roared crazily, shocked and infuriated. The legendary experts and the sorcerers down below were all astounded. What happened to the true god?

Viken gazed at Lucien, who had been quiet and did not attack, as he murmured to himself, "I have already turned into a strong observer and a true god by gathering everyone's power! Why is this still happening? Why is this still happening?"

Annick and Heidi became pale. Had the Congress' "observer hypothesis" raised such an invincible opponent for them?

Looking at Viken, Lucien repeated expressionlessly but with a higher voice, "The observer effect?"

Then, his lips curled, and he smiled somewhat mischievously.

"It was a trick!"

It was a trick? Annick and the other sorcerers opened their mouths, completely unable to close them.

It was a trick? Douglas, the Silver Moon, Fernando, and the rest of them couldn't help but look at Lucien.

It was a trick? Viken's body trembled so hard that the faces seemed to be tearing apart his skin and running out. His eyes were filled with confusion first, before infinite fury surged out.

Keeping the smile, Lucien said, "The truth of the world and the nature of magic is…"

His face suddenly became solemn, and the void behind him began to tremble, manifesting a boundless cosmos. The cosmos zoomed in, with a lower and lower perspective, allowing everybody to see the gigantic fireball and the blue planet that they had seen previously.

"This is the secret of immortality, the truth of the world, and the essence of magic!" Lucien announced solemnly.

Then, he extended his right hand and waved it in the air. A series of complicated equations were immediately displayed, as if there was a cubic stream screen around. Even Douglas felt that his head was dizzy as he read it.

"This is a math model that describes space." Instead of seizing the opportunity that Viken could not control himself to attack him, Lucien began to introduce the equations, making the arcanists of the Congress of Magic feel extremely weird. Why is Mr. Evans doing this in the middle of such an intense battle? Is he trying to blow up Viken's head when he saw that the boundary of god and men was unbreakable? If his plan works out, it will probably be an unprecedented and unrepeatable battle case…

"The previous theory of relativity describes a '3+1' dimension, and this is a model that describes more dimensions." Lucien did not give more details because the premises and hypotheses of the math model alone could've taken him half a day to illustrate, and few people on the battlefield could understand it.

In the sky, Lucien slowly and casually walked toward Viken who was trying to control himself with the boundary of god and men.

"In this model, we can assume that the universe we live in is a high-dimensional universe, whose projections in different three-dimensional spaces form many parallel universes," Lucien spoke lucidly as if he were teaching Heidi and the students a class. "Math tells us that in the three-dimensional state or four-dimensional state, parallel universes can barely meet each other. In that case, we may overlap, but we cannot touch or sense each other.

"However, just as two random straight lines on a piece of paper have much higher chances to intersect than to parallel, in lower dimensions, our microscopic particles and our fundamental world incessantly entangle with their counterparts in other universes. That is exactly superimposition and entanglement. However, as we, the real world, and the macroscopic universe kick in and the dimension increases to a higher level, the entanglement and intersection are gone, and only one state is fixed. That's why the mysteries of the microscopic domain cannot be reflected in the macroscopic world!"

Lucien spoke very slowly as if he were teaching a class or engaged in small talk, but the sky suddenly turned dark, and a crazy wind blew out from the ground into the marvelous domain.

Douglas and the rest of them kept attacking Viken while they listened to Lucien's words, which seemed to have really explained a lot of experiment phenomena as well as the transition between the microscopic domain and the macroscopic world.

The world next to Viken where angels and devils mixed and sang together was unaffected, allowing him to focus on self-control. He tried to get rid of the embarrassment as countless faces were conflicting and squeezing out of him. He did not entirely understand what Lucien was saying, but he did not stop glaring at Lucien's eyes at all. Even if I have been tricked, I still have the strength of a true god. After I get control of myself, I will kill you!

Lucien's voice grew louder and louder. "This model explains the transition between the microscopic domain and the macroscopic world, but we will easily discover that there is no place for magic and supernatural abilities.

"Therefore, in this model, we have to add two premises. The first is that the soul does exist. It is essentially a high-dimensional object that can spread out special electromagnetic waves…"

BOOM!

A thunder rumbled in the sky, but no lightning struck down, as if the world was stopping Lucien from talking.

"As high-dimensional objects, souls are projected into different parallel universes, except that the projections are different due to the different coordinates of the dimensions. For example, in some universes, the souls are so weak that they are barely detectable, and in some universes, souls can directly walk on the earth. The electromagnetic waves they emit are very powerful."

BOOM!

Another thunder rumbled, and the sky was completely dark, as if a storm was coming. But still, no bolts of lightning occurred!

Lucien turned a deaf ear to the thunder and simply kept on walking to Viken. "Of course, if that is the only premise, the best we can expect is that certain creatures with powerful souls will have simple abilities such as setting fire, moving objects, or telecommunication. There will only be the most unattractive extraordinary powers, and there won't be the weird yet brilliant magic, or any of the unusual animals.

"Therefore, my other premise is that, for reasons that we haven't quite figured out, another universe has some sort of entanglement or intersection with our universe!"

Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!

Bolts of lightning danced like clusters of silver snakes and illuminated the sky and the world. The angels and devils around Viken that praised and sang for him lowered their voices, and Viken appeared to be stunned again.

In the middle of the bursting bolts of lightning, a universe that was very similar to the one behind Lucien was displayed. The strange feeling that everybody sensed during Lucien's advancement just now spread out again.

Lucien suddenly raised his voice and announced magnificently, "Therefore, the entanglement of the microscopic particles and the fundamental world is much more powerful than usual!

"Therefore, in the quantum eraser experiment and the delayed choice experiment, the state of entanglement is more difficult to destroy than expected!"

In the sky that was brimming with bolts of lightning, a torrential storm poured down. The whole world seemed to be drowned!

"The stronger coherence belongs to the microscopic domain. It is insignificant compared to the macroscopic world. When macroscopic factors are involved, it will be destroyed easily.

"Therefore, the macroscopic world is real and material, without any dispersion or illusion. However, the foundation at the bottom level of the macroscopic world is not so steady!" Lucien moved another step forward as his voice got louder and louder.

COMMENT

The angels and devils next to Viken had all fallen into silence. There were no more songs or praises!

"Under normal circumstances, such unsteadiness will not cause any consequences, but on special occasions, say, during the reproduction of creatures, it will lead to many more mutations. That's why we have so many species and so many tricky monsters!"

In the pouring rain, the glittering lightning, and the rumbling thunders, the universe Lucien displayed zoomed in, allowing everybody to see the familiar fireball and the blue planet again!

Lucien said aloud as he stepped forward, "That's why the 'spiritual power' of our souls can develop an assortment of strange spells beyond the monotonous abilities! That's why reshaping and the elemental changes on the material level are relatively easy!"

The angels and devils around Viken looked afraid. Douglas, on the other hand, abandoned the futile attacks and focused on listening to Lucien's narration. In the meantime, Viken seemed more and more desperate and crazy.

"It's true that the source of our energy is the fluctuation of the ocean of energy in our void, but the ocean is not in our universe because we cannot grasp its momentary rise at all!

"Since the two parallel universes intersect and have different space-time changes, it gives us a chance to make use of their ocean of energy and the bottom-level matter like virtual particles!

"The conservation of energy is that of two universes, not just our own!"

As Lucien talked on, the ordinary people and the nobles on the ground were completely confused. They had absolutely no idea what he was talking about. Even the legendary experts in the sky were also mostly in such a state. Only the arcanists were listening to him half confused and half enlightened. Some were ecstatic, and some were trembling!

"Our souls exist in a high dimension and are projected to all the parallel dimensions. Our own souls are only part of the essence. Therefore, our meditation is actually to perceive another universe through the connection between the two soul projections. The environment of meditation that we establish—or our cognitive world—is the instrument of our communication. Therefore, the more similar and the more entangled it is to another universe, the more powerful it will be. That's exactly the feedback of the real world!

"Therefore, most of our magic models are essentially the different variants of such a math model of space-time communication. Naturally, the more accurate they are, the more powerful they will be!"

BOOM!

A noise that could almost be compared to the self-explosion of the Will of Abyss just now echoed. The darkness in the sky co-existed with the gigantic fireball!

The boundary of god and mortals around Viken seemed to be under enormous pressure and was squeaking!

"In this model, gravity is quantized and exists as a relatively low-dimensional notion. When two universes intersect, it will entangle the gravity of our world, hence the mist that covers the planets and the sun, the star graves where there is no gravity, and the many alternate dimensions. Therefore, we cannot locate any planet at all without considering the influence of other universes!

"That's the reason why planets were never found before!"

When he said that, Lucien suddenly thought of the moment when he read "Arcana" for the first time. At that time, Oliver and Mr. President were deeply upset that planets could not be discovered!

Quantized gravity… Douglas calmed down and thought hard!

"Wu! Wu! Wu! Wu!"

Miserable cries burst out. The angels and devils around Viken shed bright or dark tears in fear. The boundary of god and men trembled more and more violently, and it was squeaking louder and louder.

Inside Viken's body, faces flew out and vaporized into dust, and he looked more and more crazy and hateful.

"The soul is in a high dimension. So, our death only means the elimination of a soul's projection and the loss of current memories and special waves. However, our actual soul is never gone, and the projection will reappear after a while!"

As Lucien made the statement, faces of souls appeared in the storm, crying, cursing, and threatening. The ordinary people down below all shivered as they looked at them.

"Therefore, part of our spells and supernatural powers actually carry the features of high dimensions too. We can be resurrected through methods like the phylactery immediately after the death, we can perform space jump, the Sword of Truth can eliminate all traces of existence, and the Elimination blood power can destroy the source of the supernatural powers by blocking the connection of two universes!

"Therefore, our real path to the demigod level is the arcana approach: to let the projection of the soul reach the nature of the soul in the high dimension!

"Therefore, after the two universes have a slight intersection, there will be creatures that are closer to the high dimension but not perfect, like the Silver Moon and the Lord of Hell! That's why the Furnace of Souls and the Styx that represent the essence of the high-dimensional souls show up! That's why there are the primeval hell and the World of Souls where souls and feelings gather!

"Therefore, the mysteries of immortality that we saw in the Chamber of Immortality were actually another universe! It represents our other self!"

His magnificent voice put an end to the cries, curses, and beg for mercy. The storm stopped, the lightning and thunder were gone, and the angels and devils dispersed into the light. Viken's body began to quiver, and after his every movement, some faces of souls were flying out!

Lucien had already reached before Viken. He looked down at him pitifully. "Your path to reach the high dimension by gathering many souls seems correct, but it is actually wrong. Those are not the projection of the same soul, and you cannot get the essence of your own soul in the high dimension. Therefore, while nothing wrong happened before your success, you will lose your undead quality after your success because it is impossible for you to be revived through somebody else's soul.

"Of course, it was exactly because of the correctness of your path on the surface that I was able to fool you with the 'observer effect'. Otherwise, I wouldn't know how I can 'really' kill you at all."

In his black double-breasted suit, Lucien put on his gentle smile again. He pressed his chest with his right hand and bowed slightly. "Now, I would like to repeat that, in the microscopic domain, where our experience in the past is no longer applicable and where the methodology we are used to errs, all the explanations and theoretical models must be strictly built on mathematics. Otherwise, explanations and hypotheses would only be illusions and fantasies!

"To put it simply, any hypothesis that is not based on math models is pure nonsense!"

Pa!

In Viken's shock and devastation, the boundary of god and men next to him was broken even though Lucien did not perform any attack at all!

In the sky, the darkness and the gigantic fireball faded, and the clear blueness was restored!

Chapter 821: Level and Power

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

The sky was blue and cloudless. The bright sunlight sprayed on Allyn whose blockage had been activated again, adding a golden layer out of the pale mist.

The legendary sorcerers like Oliver and Bergner and the common arcanists like Heidi, Annick, and Sprint were all so shocked that they could barely close their mouths. Lucien Evans' solemn description just now outlined a clear, meticulous, and self-consistent system and answered the problems that had bothered the sorcerers for tens of thousands of years, including the essence of magic, the essence of the soul, and the feedback of the real world.

Although he only proposed concepts and hypotheses and reached a logical conclusion based on them without any detailed research, its agreement with the phenomena and experiments had suggested its correctness. It was a brainstorm that gave them an unprecedented shock. The nature of the world seemed to have been vaguely presented before them!

That was the eternal pursuit of every arcanist!

Multiverse, high-dimension space, indestructible soul, and other notions that were as unbelievable as dream talk refreshed their view on the world again.

So, the "space" that represented the real world was actually another parallel universe!

So, one's death was only the dispersion of the projection of the soul's nature!

So, some posthumous customs were not entirely wrong when they stated that one would be judged by the God of Death after death, and some of the souls would turn into intelligent creatures like humans, dragons, and elves, some would turn into common animals, and some would be confined in hell for good.

However, if they did not have current memories and personalities, and if they lost their unique waves and air, would they still be themselves?

"As expected of the Worldview Destroyer…" Other than the ordinary people and the nobles who couldn't follow him, all the intelligent creatures who had a slight understanding of the world repeated the nickname subconsciously in their mind. The skyscrapers, the iron torrents, and the intelligent creatures with human faces and features that were right before their eyes but could not be touched forced them to treat the theoretical model fairly despite their subconscious resistance. At the very least, it was easier to accept than the observer effect was.

On the other hand, Lucien had triggered the feedback of the real world and broken Viken's boundary between god and men only by the interpretation of his arcana system that was closer to the nature of the world. It was even more astounding and made them barely able to believe their eyes!

It was possible to blow up a sorcerer's head with arcana theories, as could be seen from many examples. However, Viken hadn't been a sorcerer since a long time ago. He did not have a cognitive world, and his heart of faith was absolutely under his control. Despite that, his defense had been broken when Mr. Evans did nothing but elaborate on the new arcana system with his mouth. They couldn't help but feel that they were in a dream.

Of course, if we are not in a dream, then…

For some reason, they looked at Viken now with slight pity instead of fear and desperation. Such a fact was too brutal and merciless!

Watching the boundary next to him where light and darkness coexisted collapse inch by inch, Viken seemed to have been stunned. He wasn't doing anything for a moment.

Lucien stopped further approaching. He put down his right hand and said with mixed feelings, "Therefore, I always believe in 'god'; every one of us is our own god!

"Instead of pursuing the nature of your soul, you try to melt other people's soul waves, hoping to find the path toward the high dimension with a number. That's the opposite approach. It's like in mathematics. We are trying to increase equations and solve the unknowns, whereas you are increasing the equations and the unknowns at the same time. How can you get an answer in such a way?

"Sometimes, the changes in quantity do not necessarily lead to a change in quality, or rather, the change in quality is not necessarily what you desired."

When he said that, Lucien thought of himself. He couldn't have reached the demigod level as fast if he hadn't been transmigrated for a certain reason and carried the soul features of both universes, which allowed him to find things in common through comparison and research. Lucien's soul had already dispersed, but the remaining pieces still gave Xiafeng the language ability.

The transmigration when Xiafeng died resulted in the amazing changes in the burning library and formed something that connected the two universes like the cognitive world. It was Xiafeng's cognitive world and connected his original universe. That was why Lucien succeeded so easily when he tried to sense the real world through meditation for the first time.

At that time, Lucien thought that it was because of his breakthrough in spiritual power in the crisis. Now, he finally realized that although it was part of the reason, that was not all of it. It must be noted that there had been many geniuses whose spiritual power was much greater than Lucien at his age in the history of magic, but their first attempt at meditation was never so easy and fast!

Therefore, it was impossible for other people to detect the spiritual library no matter how they tried, just like how they could not destroy the cognitive world directly. It was already the sophisticated knowledge that involved the changes in the intersection of universes. Even Lucien did not know much about it right now except for the basic concepts and the few formulas.

The content preservation of the spiritual library was obviously the protection of his instincts. Otherwise, the feedback of the real world would be too strong, and the connection with the original universe would be intensified. It was possible that the transmigrator couldn't take it and would be pulled back to the original universe.

As for the reason for his transmigration, Lucien did not waste his time thinking about it, because it was very likely to be a coincidence. For example, Lucien lost his soul on this side, and Xiafeng lost his body on the other side, so they had weird synchronizations now that the two universes had preliminarily entangled. There were also many other guesses. Their odds were all extremely low.

However, Lucien wasn't too astonished. Even the events with the lowest odds could happen when there were infinite repetitions. From that point of view, everybody could be a lucky dog!

Hearing Lucien's words, Viken burst into fury, and the faces of souls in his body cried. After most of the powers of negative feelings and faith dispersed, it seemed that he could basically control his body right now.

"In any case, I have melted the powers of Mountain Paradise and the primeval hell. Even though I have not reached the level of a true god, I still have the power of true gods. Let's see if you can handle that!" Viken suddenly raised his right hand. Although he did not have his platinum staff with him, illusionary angels surfaced around him and prayed on the ground.

"Almighty Lord, you are one, and everyone."

…

Viken's vibe soon became high, unpredictable, and sacred. Ivory holy light was gathered in his hands. Then, centered at his body, infinite brilliance burst out and locked onto Lucien!

He was now able to cast "God's Arrival" instantly!

His God's Arrival did not carry any sequelae now!

Obviously, he was the power source of God's Arrival himself right now!

The ivory and holy light seemed to have frozen the time far away. The top legends further away showed no reaction. Only a silver moon, a nine-floored hell, and a lifelike world appeared and floated in the ocean of holy light, but they couldn't stop much.

God's Arrival hit Lucien who was not far away before Viken. The ivory light glittered and drowned everything.

"Is he dead?" Viken thought in delight and confusion. He had performed "God's Arrival" with the power of the true god. No demigods could withstand a head-on clash without dodging!

The brilliance of God's Arrival faded, and the frozen time melted and pressed forward. Before Viken, a man wearing a black double-breasted suit slowly surfaced, as handsome, gentle, and graceful as before. He even had a delicate silver watch in his hands, and he snapped the cover to watch the time.

How was it possible? How could he remain intact without being damaged at all after being hit by God's Arrival with the power of the true god?

Not just Viken, but Douglas, Maltimus, and the legendary experts around them, as well as the sorcerers and knights on the ground, had the same thought.

Lucien's body turned concrete very soon. He said with a peaceful smile, "The nature of 'God's Arrival' is to find the connection between the high-dimensional soul and its projection and destroy everything along the connection. That's why it can lock onto the soul and cannot be avoided. That's why it can attack a target from a long distance away. That's why it can prevent the experts other than demigods from being resurrected."

As he spoke, he smiled again. "Now that I have learned its nature and mechanism clearly, and now that I am also a demigod who can perceive the 'connection', I can leave this 'dimension' temporarily through the connection, before I come back by reestablishing a projection. Naturally, you cannot hit me."

"No, it's impossible!" God's Arrival was the source of Viken's confidence, and God's Arrival at the level of the true god was even more so. How could he not get mad? His eyes were bloodshot as holy light continued to gather in his hands!

"You are one, and everyone."

…

"You are the moment, and forever."

…

"You are the creator, and master."

…

God's Arrival was blown out again and again, but Lucien's body flashed through the infinite light and reached Viken's side.

"I know who I am, what status I am in, what God's Arrival is, and how I should evade it, so I am a real demigod. You, on the other hand, only have the power of the true god, and you do not have the knowledge of the true god and the demigod. You do not know anything at all. What makes you think that you can hit me?"

Lucien looked solemn and pitiful. He extended his right hand and said solemnly, "Under normal circumstances, a similar spell in the level of the true god can attack the nature of the soul in the high dimension, which will completely kill the soul."

The vast cosmos appeared behind his back as the gigantic fireball and the blue planet revolved slowly.

Chapter 822: The Poorest Villain in History

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

The moment he finished his sentence, spots of peaceful light popped up like a lake that was reflecting the moon at night. Under the gentle breeze, tiny ripples were spreading out.

The spots of light were instantly gathered in Lucien's hands into a glistening staff.

Douglas, Maltimus, and the other demigods were all more or less stunned. Was Lucien capable of casting Space Staff, a legendary spell, without chanting just like Viken who broke into the level of true gods?

However, they soon thought it through. Now that Lucien had basically figured out the essence of magic, chanting or not chanting did not really have any difference!

The Space Staff in Lucien's hands was waved, and the spacious area up ahead was suddenly caught in an extremely slow state that was similar to the effect of Advanced Time Stop. Even another "God's Arrival" in Viken's hands had been frozen in the ivory light.

Viken, who claimed to be the only one who grasped the mysteries of time and space except for the God of Truth, had brilliant spots rising inside his body, exactly like the light of the legendary river of time. It helped Viken to get rid of the slowed state.

Maltimus became grave when he watched Lucien's "Space Staff" to be gathered, because he discovered that even though he was immune to Time Stop effects, he did not seem capable of resisting such slowness. Such a state was not directly cast upon the recipient but changed the environment in a certain unusual way. Naturally, it was impossible for him to be immune to that!

Was it Lucien's real demigod attack after he advanced into the demigod level? Like Douglas' "Fateful Meteor"?

Douglas frowned slightly. He realized that the Space Staff had not just "slowed" the environment around Viken but also placed it in a demigod state that both belonged to and did not belong to this world. It was similar to the condition of the "cognitive world".

Viken's overwhelming power of the true god was unleashed, allowing him to get rid of the influence of Lucien's Space Staff. At this moment, the perspective of the vast cosmos behind Lucien's back rose, and the gigantic fireball and the blue planet were gone. A cluster of darkness where there was not the slightest light appeared.

Boom!

From the darkness, the unimaginably horrible energy surged and quickly died down. Rising and ebbing, it was truly an unpredictable ocean of energy. This was too fast a change to be observed for the other universe, but when it was viewed from this side, due to the different speeds of time, the demigod experts could manage to sense the fluctuations!

Boom!

The terrifying energy that surged out leaned outward and ran into the slowed world next to Viken!

It became another channel that connected to the other universe like the cognitive world! Also, because it was slow, it had "borrowed" the fluctuations of energy!

Boom!

Energy ran out as if it had been generated out of nothing, drowning Viken who was emanating dazzling brilliance immediately!

Particles appeared and disappeared in pairs. The slowed world was nullified very soon. At the center of the energy tide's rampage, a cluster of fluids where light and darkness entangled twisted and grew larger, turning back into Viken. However, he seemed much dimmer and weaker than before!

After suffering the heavy wounds, Viken was finally recovered and refreshed from the madness caused by the blast of negative feelings and the sacred faith. He gnashed his teeth and said, "Just because my 'God's Arrival' cannot hit you does not mean that it cannot hit other people. I don't believe that you will watch them be killed without doing anything!"

Lucien was amused. "Why don't you take a look around yourself first?"

Viken's senses, which had been suppressed by the energy tide, spread out. He felt that he was in midair and the Holy City was below him. As for Allyn and Rentato, as well as the legendary experts around him, they were nowhere to be seen.

"Previously, you were connected to every corner of the world and could even directly influence them only because of the marvelous domain when you broke into the true god level.

"It's a high-dimensional state, in which the long distance in the lower dimensions is much shorter. However, after you failed to break into the true god state, and the boundary between god and men was broken, the marvelous domain naturally started to disappear. Your usage of God's Arrival further accelerated the process and made it disappear fast. Right now, you can only affect the Holy City and attack us who are in the marvelous domain."

Lucien said with a smile. On the other side, Douglas, the Silver Moon, and the Lord of Hell gathered and defended Fernando, Hathaway, and the rest of them. Although they could not resist God's Arrival in the true god level individually, they were still able to resist the attack after joining their hands.

Their communication was purely conducted through spiritual power. The long talk actually only took a brief moment. His body trembling violently, Viken cast another God's Arrival, and the projection of the parallel universe behind Lucien had perspective changes again!

...

After Viken attacked Lucien with God's Arrival for the first time only to miss the target, the legendary experts who attacked outside of the marvelous domain, as well as the sorcerers, nobles, and ordinary people on the ground, watched them turn vague and quickly disappear in the bright and blue sky.

"Why have they disappeared?"

It was their subconscious question, but very soon, every intelligent creature with the slightest knowledge came up with the reason. Viken's attempt at advancement was over. Naturally, the unusual phenomenon that the whole world could see and reach came to an end.

"I wonder how it will end on the other side…" Heidi looked at the sky in concern.

Sprint snorted. "Viken has only the power but not the knowledge. I don't see how he can win the battle when he cannot hit our teacher. Let's drop the question and remember the equations and models that our teacher just gave to study them."

"Yes, that's what matters!" Annick shivered and returned from his shock, agreeing with Sprint's suggestion.

Heidi thought for a moment and nodded very carefully. "That's right. Our teacher is a cunning person—no, clever grand arcanist—who has both the knowledge and the power. He will only let Viken reach the end in desperation. There won't be any hope for him. The arcana system and the essence of magic and soul that our teacher just gave are of greater significance."

Therefore, the arcanists of the Atom Institution were gathered, trying to recall and study the equations that Lucien gave earlier.

Such a scene happened in every corner of Allyn. Everybody was diligent and hardworking. That was exactly what stimulated minds needed!

As for who Viken was exactly?

Well, he would be killed by Mr. Evans soon. There was no need to waste time on him. Learning and studying were more important!

Natasha, who was descending from the sky, said to Hellen next to her with a smile after realizing the situation, "I've seen plenty of plays and operas, but Viken is probably the first regretful and desperate supervillain who has been forgotten even before the final battle."

Hellen's eyes lost the focus. She turned a deaf ear to Natasha's words and murmured to herself, "It was a trick… It was a trick…"

Rendered speechless, Natasha raised her head and looked at the sky. Even the Witch of Iceland had forgotten Viken, too.

As a matter of fact, the fact that she was talking and laughing here instead of going to the Holy City in a hurry to help her husband had suggested her own attitude toward the final battle.

...

"You are one, and everyone…"

In the distant and holy prayers, infinite ivory holy light burst out and surged at Lucien, but Viken did not check the result of this "God's Arrival" at all. He simply turned around and left the range of God's Arrival, tearing apart the space.

He could not hit the enemy, and he no longer had any hostages. How could he win the battle?

After coming back to himself, Viken naturally chose to strategically relocate, or in other words, to run!

Boom!

An enormous and terrifying explosion echoed, and a world-destroying energy storm broke out!

Boom!

The energy storm collided with the light of God's Arrival and resulted in another astonishing explosion.

The sky was filled by the brightness that the sun could not be seen until a long time later.

The sweeping energy storm disrupted Viken's attempt to escape, making his body even dimmer.

Lucien has directly resisted God's Arrival? Viken thought in shock.

"Your God's Arrival is exactly your 'true god'. It has only the power but not the corresponding level. It's easy to resist it as long as there is enough energy." Lucien slowly appeared up above.

Just now, he extracted and created anti-protons and other matters, transforming "Positron Cannon" into an authentic "Antimatter Cannon". Through the energy storm caused by its obliteration with common matters, it offset the ocean of light caused by God's Arrival.

Although God's Arrival had other special effects, such as slowing time and locking the soul, they could barely work on Lucien who was in the demigod level right now.

"Also, have you sensed that your power is weaker and weaker every time you use God's Arrival?" Lucien smiled and gathered Space Staff again. "It's because the source of your power of faith and your negative feelings has been ruined by yourself and cannot be restored anytime soon. Therefore, your power cannot be refilled after it is used up."

As he spoke, Lucien pointed the Space Staff and locked the space around, slowing the changes and sabotaging Viken's efforts to escape.

Another energy time surged over, and Viken's body was already on the verge of collapse.

At this moment, a bright and beautiful moon descended from the sky. Life Deprivation was cast out, and a shooting star with a long tail of light fell without a sound.

After the beautiful view emerged, Viken struggled with madness beaming out of his eyes. He appeared to be transcendental and dispersive again.

"You will die with me even if I must die!"

After suffering consecutive attacks, he was already on the verge of death. Having been a brutal man all the time, he naturally had the idea of self-explosion. So, he transformed his status and lunged at Lucien.

Seeing that, Lucien smiled, and his body grew illusionary again, as if he were about to disappear from this world.

Chapter 823: Path of Immortality (End of the Main Storyline)

1

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

Seeing that, Viken grinned hideously in his heart. His body that was flashing and twisting erratically suddenly collapsed, turning into two worlds where light and darkness overlapped. One of the worlds was evil and corrupt, brimming with pain and desperation, and the other was lofty and sacred, with singing angels everywhere.

The remainders of the primeval hell and Mountain Paradise reappeared, forming the previous balance again. Viken was briefly given the feeling that he belonged to and did not belong to this world again.

Such a transformation suggested that Viken had completely abandoned himself. He would rather retrograde and perish in order to find an opportunity to deal a critical blow on Lucien so that he could only "return" millions of years later like the mysterious existence of the World of Souls!

Such a feeling was already close to the vibe that Lucien gave other people. The two of them seemed to be in the same world!

Gotcha!

Viken grasped Lucien's air instantly!

However, at this moment, he realized that the space around him became dark and deep, with brilliant stars scattered everywhere. The edge of the space far away vaguely constricted, and the power of the wind that represented electromagnetism was divided into parts, as if it was exchanging something. Below him were elements in different colors that were similar to planets. Electrons surrounded the atomic nucleus and dispersed into a cloud. Above his head, there was an enormous fireball.

It was Lucien's "cognitive world"?

I could actually break into his "cognitive world"?

No, it's because our current state is similar to the status of the cognitive world, which does not entirely belong to this world but is connected to it in a certain way.

Viken thought quickly and basically understood what was going on.

Of course, he also knew that there was still a major difference between their state and the cognitive world. He was able to break in obviously because Lucien intentionally adjusted the status of his cognitive world.

Why is he doing this?

In any case, now that he dares to let me in, I will completely ruin his cognitive world. It will be even more difficult for him to recover and return!

When countless thoughts flashed in Viken's heart in the blink of an eye, he made a decision quickly. The primeval hell and Mountain Paradise began to expand.

Suddenly, he saw the Lucien who was in the "cosmos" far away putting on a gentle and graceful smile again. In the meantime, the enormous fireball above his head was turned to the back of a cluster of intense darkness.

The darkness that even rays of light could not leak out of released an unimaginable and most horrifying attraction force. Immediately, Viken, including his primeval hell and Mountain Paradise, was attracted to it!

In the normal space, any of Lucien's Host Stars of Destiny couldn't have influenced the material world effectively. However, Viken's status was synchronized with the cognitive world at this moment.

Under the all-absorbing attraction force, the expansion of the primeval hell and Mountain Paradise was stopped, and Viken was devoured by the darkness before he was able to let out a scream.

Lucien, however, was not relaxed. He was even more solemn than before. His cognitive world quickly faded. The perspective of the shadow universe behind his back changed, displaying indescribable darkness instead of the gigantic fireball and the blue planet.

The darkness was even more intimidating than that inside Lucien's cognitive world. Even though it was in a different universe, the demigods like Douglas and Maltimus still realized that it was powerful enough to tear them apart easily.

Then, the darkness in the cognitive world had minor "communication" with the darkness!

Crack! Crack! Crack!

The stars in Lucien's cognitive world were absorbed into the darkness. Everything was trembling. However, the items inside the darkness also flowed into the other darkness through the channel of communication.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!"

A soundless scream burst out. Lucien hurried to abort the connection and turn the darkness backward, redisplaying the gigantic fireball. However, even though he had done everything perfectly, his cognitive world was already an utter mess. His body slightly dimmed. It was obvious that he had been badly hurt.

Viken had been completely done for!

Maltimus was feeling rather sympathetic after witnessing the scene. Lucien was too strong right now!

At first, he thought of helping Viken flee in order to maintain the balance of the situation. However, neither Douglas nor the Silver Moon loosened their wariness of him. Therefore, he could only choose to submit in the future…

The shadow universe and the projection of the cognitive world were slowly gone. Lucien's body quickly turned concrete. He slightly nodded at Douglas, Silver Moon Alterna, Fernando, and the rest of them.

The darkness in the sky was gone, and the bright sunlight sprayed on his body, covering him in gold.

In Allyn and Rentato, although nobody cared about the battle any longer, many people were still mumbling to themselves, "It was a trick… It was a trick…"

...

One day later, in Babel in the Atomic Universe…

Hardly had Lucien come out of his laboratory when he saw Natasha appreciating the cosmos outside of the window, which was entirely different from that in the main material world, with a glass of red wine in her hands.

"Have you found a way to recover Mr. Maskelyne?" Natasha asked in concern.

Lucien nodded but shook his head. "I've found something, but more research is still necessary. Even though I am a demigod, I am not omnipotent."

When Viken melted Mountain Paradise, the seraphs who were capable of fleeing like Maskelyne hid in the Realm of Gates. After all, unlike the primeval devils, they were not deeply connected to the primeval hell.

"A demigod…" Natasha grimaced, indicating that she would work hard herself. "What exactly is the high-dimensional soul you talked about? Do they have self-consciousness? Can they control their respective projections?"

She was quite interested in Lucien's model. Although most of it was too confusing, she finally understood the key to her advancement. However, she had her concerns, fearing that the soul essence in the high dimension could control her. She did not feel quite comfortable when she thought that something mysterious could control her and wanted to slay it, even though it was another "her".

"I don't know. If I could completely understand the nature and status of the high-dimensional souls, I would already be a 'true god'. For now, I can only make speculations based on the phenomena as well as the things that I've felt after I became a demigod. For example, it is possible that the high-dimensional souls are in chaos, and only after they are projected to different parallel universes and combined with matters will the unique self-consciousness be generated. That's why one's memories and ways of thinking will be gone after death. They do not belong to the soul essence in the high dimension." Lucien spoke of his thoughts which he wasn't quite confident about.

"There won't be any self-consciousness until it is combined with matters? But there are a lot of souls that are separated from their physical forms, like ghosts, aren't there?" Natasha said like a curious arcanist.

Lucien thought for a moment and said, "The souls that I often talk about are more like shells that are made of electromagnetic fields and the special isotopes of certain elements. They're matters, too. At least, I think that the projection of high-dimensional souls has to be based on matter in our universe."

Natasha scratched her chin. "What about the starry sky of destiny? There isn't any matter in that. Also, why do the stars that exist in reality indicate our fate?"

"You've answered your own question." Lucien was amused and took over the champagne that Natasha poured for him. "Through the connection between the high-dimensional souls and their projections in a material world, we can grasp all the traces of the souls in the material world. The mechanism is the same as that of God's Arrival, except that God's Arrival is used for destruction purposes. In the high-dimensional state, all the traces of all lives must be overlapping or entangling. That's the real appearance of the starry sky of destiny. So, when there are changes on one side, the other side will sense it.

"When there are all the traces, we will be able to infer some of the future changes. It's like all questions can be answered when there are enough equations. However, since the 'future' involves too many factors and unknowns, there can only be rough, indefinite predictions.

"Such overlapping or entanglement in the high-dimensional state can only be seen when we meditate through the cognitive world or when we perform astrology. Its projection is also based on matters. So, it is manifested through the stars, and the information is hidden in the law and status of different Host Stars of Destiny.

"Therefore, the starry sky of destiny shares the same law as the starry sky in reality, but it runs in very different ways. Mr. President successfully advanced into the demigod level mainly by grasping his Host Star of Destiny, or the traces of his own soul."

Hearing Lucien's brief description, Natasha nodded thoughtfully. "Therefore, the starry sky of destiny reflects most of the laws of the stars in reality, but the stars in reality have barely anything to do with fate?"

"Yes." Lucien did not think that Natasha could understand any further interpretations right now. So, he nodded his head in approval.

Natasha seemed to be in a better mood. "You've touched the essence of high-dimensional souls through the connection of two souls. How are you going to become a true god and realize immortality?"

She had already learned from Lucien that he melted a soul of his own from another universe. That was why he could advance into the demigod level so quickly. However, Natasha did not have many complaints. After all, she did not even know Lucien back then. The Lucien she knew had always been the one after the melting.

Thinking for a moment, Lucien said, "It is impossible to calculate the essence of the original soul in reverse with the answer and part of the laws of projection because equations are not enough and there are too many unknowns. Therefore, in order to realize immortality, we can only find ways to go to other parallel universes to search for our other 'selves' and learn more answers and laws. Then, we will be able to solve the simultaneous equation and find out the math model about the essence of the soul.

"So, find more 'selves', obtain more information, and advance through meticulous math models. That's an arcanist's path of immortality!"

Natasha said enviously, "The direction is very clear… What about knights?"

"The further you go down on the path of immortality, the more similar things you will see. After all, it is already close to the essence of the world. Therefore, the path of knights and the path of arcanists should be basically the same except for some of the details." Lucien chuckled. "The advancement cannot be made based on natural instincts anymore. You have to figure out the corresponding things and compare yourself with more of yourselves."

Natasha's lips twitched and decided not to consider such a troublesome question for now. "Why do you think there is magic on our side but there isn't on the other universe?"

"The power of soul projections has different influences on fundamental matters. Also, time flows faster on our side and more slowly on their side. So, we can make use of the rising and ebbing ocean of energy on their side, but they cannot use ours." Lucien's voice became low.

"However, since there is an intersection, there should be corresponding changes on that side too, shouldn't there?" Natasha asked in confusion.

Lucien put down the cup and walked to the window before he replied with a smile, "Perhaps there are like macro electrons1 and ball lightning…"

"What?"

"I was just kidding."

(End of Volume VIII and the main storyline)

Chapter 824: 61 Days to Go (Side Story: Year 24 of the Arcana Calendar)

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

The lights on the Triumph Avenue of Rentato were just on. The wind at the late spring was still somewhat chilly as the night fell, forcing the passersby on the street to cover themselves more tightly.

Donnie pressed his black top hat and got off from the bright yellow bus. Roaming on the street that was as bright as day, he walked toward the "Knowledge Bookstore" near the Triumph Square.

"Has Herald of Arcana and Magic for this week come?" Donnie asked the bearded boss.

The boss, who had deep yellow hair, replied without raising his head, "No, and it will never come again."

"Is that so…" Donnie did not sound surprised. He simply heaved a sigh, as if he had seen it coming, with complicated feelings.

The boss finally raised his head and observed him with a pair of owl eyes. "What's to be sorry about? After the magic stream screens were popularized into home televisions, and Ms. Heidi made major breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, it was only a matter of time for such a poorly-poised newspaper to disappear."

His weird pupils reflected a handsome young man who was no more than twenty years old. It was supposed to be the most vigorous years of his life, but his blue eyes were full of exhaustion and depression.

Donnie said with a bitter smile, "I grew up reading the Herald of Arcana and Magic. It guided me to embark on the arcana path and pursue the truth of the world. For me, it is a beautiful memory and a part of my life that I will never forget."

Thanks to the popularization of magic radios and TVs and the application of artificial intelligence, the citizens now had plenty more sources of information. They were much less dependent on the newspaper. Now that the basic knowledge of arcana had been disseminated, most ordinary people were not interested in the more sophisticated arcana theories anymore because they seemed unrelated to life. After all, they could learn the introductions from the mainstream newspapers, the radios, and the home TVs. Therefore, Herald of Arcana and Magic, as a newspaper that introduced arcana and magic, was no longer necessary, and the circulation had plummeted.

The magic apprentices and arcanists were not likely to buy the newspaper either, because they had more professional academic journals such as "Allyn Impression" that better met their appetites and News of the World. So, since three years ago, or year 21 of the arcana calendar, a lot of such newspapers had gone bankrupt. Finally, it was Herald of Arcana and Magic's turn despite its fame and the fact that it represented the golden years of arcana.

The boss of the bookstore pointed at the bookshelves. "If you want to learn the basics of arcana, there are many professional books here. If you want to learn the latest trend of arcana studies, you can subscribe to Allyn Impression or watch the News of the World TV Channel every day. There really isn't any need to read Herald of Arcana and Magic."

Under the bright magic lamps, the rows of blue or black books emitted weird colors and made Donnie felt dizzy. His veins bulging, he said, "That will be unnecessary. I haven't grasped my own books yet."

He had come to the Triumph Square on the bus because Herald of Arcana and Magic was already unavailable near his school, but the Knowledge Bookstore still had it. Little did he expect that Herald of Arcana and Magic could not sustain any longer after only one month.

The boss chuckled. He looked at the badges of magic apprentice and intern arcanist on the chest of Donnie's black robe, as well as an emblem that was seven bright leaves on a black background, before he remarked, "You're a fifth-grader of 'Nature's Heart School', aren't you? There are only 61 days to go until the College Entrance Exam of Advanced Magic, and you're still buying Herald of Arcana and Magic? You should focus on your studies."

The moment he heard the "College Entrance Exam of Advanced Magic", Donnie's facial muscles cramped, and he looked confused, agitated, and depressed. "It's the weekend today. There are no classes until eight at night…"

He explained subconsciously before he smiled in self-mockery. Why do I bother to explain that to him?

After twenty years of evolution, under the lead of the Congress of Magic, a three-tier school system, namely generic schools, alchemical and vocational schools, and advanced magic colleges, had been established on the whole continent.

The generic schools were mainly open to children and adults who did not know how to read. The education would take five years. Then, after passing the exams that included measurement of spiritual power and tests of basic arcana theories, the graduates would go to the preliminary magic schools, where they would become magic apprentices, professional alchemy workers, or take part in other occupations.

The preliminary magic schools had a five-year curriculum too. Through the real basic education of magic and arcana, qualified magic apprentices and intern arcanists were raised. Eventually, they would take the College Entrance Exam of Advanced Magic and be admitted to the major magic colleges.

In the College Entrance Exam, those who had already become official sorcerers would receive bonus scores.

Donnie was about to leave when the boss smiled and said, "I can see that you have no magic items with you except for the three badges that the school gave you. I don't think you're from a rich family. You'd better focus on your studies."

Under such a school system, the magic items and potions that could relieve fatigue, keep the mind sharp, and increase memory abilities were favored by most students.

Although such accessories and potions were forbidden in the real College Entrance Exam, they were of great help for the students to improve their learning efficiency. So, nobody would refuse them, unless they couldn't afford them.

Donnie blushed immediately. Shy and awkward, he was about to flee from the embarrassing bookstore.

"I have a 'Lucidity Necklace' here that I can rent you for two months…" The boss' unemotional voice came into Donnie's ears and made him stop.

Then, he turned around abruptly and looked at the boss. "Why?"

He was both excited and suspicious. However, his eyes caught a book named "Recognizing Different Deceptive Magic Contracts", which was written by Lucien Evans, on the bookshelf. He thought to himself, Do I have to pay my soul as the price?

The boss chuckled. "I am a loyal reader of the Herald of Arcana and Magic too. Otherwise, I wouldn't have bought it in the end. So, when I see you, I feel that I see myself from a long time ago… Why, are you scared that I have other purposes? You are free to bring the contract to the city hall for assessment."

"I… Do I need to pay anything?" More or less relaxed, Donnie asked earnestly.

The boss thought for a moment. "A down payment of ten coins, and working for me for two months after your College Entrance Exam."

Donnie nodded quickly after he heard the terms. "Alright! No problem! Sir, when are we going to sign the contract?"

One "Lucidity Necklace" was worth two to five queen gold coins. Having rented one at such a low price, Donnie was naturally excited.

"The necklace is not with me. You can come again tomorrow at this time." The boss nodded.

Donnie thanked him and left the bookstore for the bus station. All he could think of was the amazing experience and the College Entrance Exam of Advanced Magic that was to come in 61 days.

As he waited for the bus, Donnie looked at the Triumph Square, where a bronze statue that was wearing a double-breasted suit and a top hat with a staff in his left hand and a pocket watch in his right hand, stood.

"Mr. Evans…" Donnie mumbled with both admiration and certain "hate".

"Bus No. 36, bound for 'Land of Thousand Lakes'…" As a cold, mechanical female voice echoed, a dim red bus stopped before Donnie.

Donnie woke up from his thoughts and stepped on the bus, placing his school badge in the sensor area.

"From the No. 7 Magic School of Rentato. Eight free rides left…" The mechanical voice echoed again without any feelings.

"Nature's Heart" was a magic school co-established by the Congress of Magic, the Elven Court, and the Kingdom of Holm. It was the seventh preliminary magic school in Rentato.

"Artificial intelligence is truly convenient…" Donnie thought subconsciously. "It's a shame that I don't have a chance to witness the combination of artificial intelligence and alchemical life as what Ms. Heidi described…"

Thinking about random things, Donnie returned to his school, which was outside the city, right on time for the evening class.

"Today, I'll introduce to you the special theory of relativity." Mr. Slington, who had a long white beard, said hoarsely, "This is Mr. Evans' profound description of space and time. With your current expertise, it is impossible for you to understand it. All you need to do is to grasp the key points."

Donnie's facial muscles were cramped again. He looked at the banner of "61 Days Left Until the College Entrance Exam of Advanced Magic" at the back of the classroom and became focused.

After the evening class, Donnie returned to his dormitory dizzily. He lit the small magic lamp and prepared for exercises.

"'Evans Instructions', 'Lucien's Guidance', 'Detailed Explanations of the Questions in the College Entrance Exam of Advanced Magic by Lucien Evans'…" Donnie read the collection of tests one word after another, feeling a stronger and stronger headache. "Evans, Lucien, Lucien, Evans…"

Although he knew that those books were published by other people under Mr. Evans' name, he still gnashed his teeth at the two words that frequently showed up.

Calming himself down, he opened one of the books and decided to review and consolidate "History of Arcana and Magic" first.

"… In which year did Mr. Lucien Evans propose matrix mechanics? What's the significance?"

"… How many times has Mr. Evans won the highest honors including the Arcana Prize and the Holm Crown Prize?"

…

"Lucien, Evans, Evans, Lucien…" Donnie rubbed his forehead and closed the book in agitation, opening another collection of tests.

"… Please recite in full the periodic table that Mr. Evans proposed and perfected."

"… What is the Lucien Constant? What equations are related to it?"

Pa.

Donnie closed the book quickly and drank water to calm himself down. He decided to go for another one.

"… What is the Evans Field Equation about? What's your understanding of it?"

"… Could the Lucien Equation describe all the microscopic particles?"

"Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!"

A miserable, painful, and furious scream burst out of Donnie's mouth and spread far away in the night, echoed by similar sounds in other dormitories.

Chapter 825: Shadow

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

"You're screaming as if you've run into a ghost." As a low and unpredictable voice echoed, the door of his dormitory was opened, and a young man with messy hair walked in. His eyelids were bloated, and his blue eyes were bloodshot, as if he hadn't slept for a long time.

On his back, a pale and fuzzy shadow was stuck to him and floated forward with the feet away from the ground. After it showed up, the whole dormitory suddenly became cold, as if the night of spring turned into a dawn in winter.

Donnie quivered and hurried to put on the long coat that he just took off. "Sammy, I see the ghost on your back every day. Why would I be scared of ghosts? Besides, if there are really any evil spirits, those teachers of the school of necromancy would be capturing them with great delight."

Such was the disadvantage of the magic schools, where there was no place for ghost stories. Things were different in the generic schools. For example, after a girl hanged herself in a laboratory, the other students often found that their experiment materials would go missing, or that the materials they badly in need of would appear right next to their hands when they worked alone in the place at night.

Of course, there were other stories in magic schools. For example, rumors had it that the grim old sorcerer who watched over the autopsy room often dissected living people for studies, and it was why he barely came out and always refused everyone who approached his room.

Sammy yawned. "In that case, why were you screaming so miserably? You are a top twenty apprentice of our grade."

The ghost hands behind him suddenly stretched like it was made of elastic material. Then, they grabbed the kettle and the cup, poured water, and fed it to Sammy's mouth.

"Even the best apprentices would feel that their brains are exploding when they are faced with all those equations, conceptions, mechanisms, and magic models, even though we're only working on the basics," Donnie rubbed his temples and complained. It was particularly so when so many theories and equations had Lucien or Evans in them. He only hoped that somebody could travel back in time and kill that guy so that those torturing things wouldn't have been invented.

Thinking about that, Donnie sighed. "Also, I do not have a Lucidity Necklace or a Stamina Ring. I'm not like you. You have a natural-born Back Spirit, and you have been admitted by the Heidler Magic College in advance for your excellent necromancy skills. For me, I can only count myself, and I cannot fail. It's only natural that I get exhausted and anxious as time goes on."

He knew his mental status rather well.

Sammy drank a mouthful of water and yawned again. "Your psychoanalysis is pretty good. It will be better after you unleash your depression."

Then, he lay on his bed lazily and closed his eyes. "The Back Spirit can be quite tricky. It absorbs your vitality, affects your status, and… prevents girls from getting close to you. I would've been burnt if I were born during the reign of the Saint Truth…"

As he spoke, he fell asleep, and his breath was barely audible. His Back Spirit lay below him and hugged him tightly.

Donnie looked at his roommate and sighed. What you despise is what I envy and cannot get. After all, if he could become an official sorcerer, none of the female sorcerers would be scared of his Back Spirit.

Sammy mentioned it before that he had a twin brother. However, since his mother's body was damaged near a gap of the World of Souls, one of her babies was already dead before being born.

Calming himself down, Donnie threw aside "Introduction to Arcana" and "History of Arcana and Magic" and focused on the exercises to analyze magic models.

Tomorrow, I will have my own Lucidity Necklace!

…

As the intricate and weird spell echoed and the clusters of cold powder slid off, a transparent ray mixed with freezing air was shot out, resulting in thick frost on the throat of the target.

Donnie looked at his work in satisfaction and appreciated Mr. Evans in his heart. After he basically figured out the essence of magic, the functions of many spells had been analyzed and simplified. Otherwise, it would've been impossible for him to shoot out a freezing ray so easily.

"Alright, that's all for today's magic exercise." The teacher responsible for real-battle magic guidance clapped his hands and dismissed the students.

Donnie hurried to stop and pack his materials. After saying goodbye to Sammy who seemed to be half asleep all the time, he hurried to go to the station outside of the school.

Today was Sunday. There were no classes in the afternoon.

After forty minutes, Bus No. 36 reached Triumph Avenue, and Donnie walked into the Knowledge Bookstore quickly.

"Good afternoon, sir." Donnie greeted and was too shy to say anything else.

The boss, who had a pair of owl eyes and a deep yellow beard, laughed. "Good afternoon. You're right on time. I've already had the Lucidity Necklace and the contract prepared."

As he spoke, he brought out a bright gold necklace. On the necklace were five bright blue gems the size of grit. They emitted vague coolness as if a spring was hidden in them. Together, they constituted a strangely-shaped star.

"It's a 'Lucidity Necklace' that is in the level of official magic items…" Donnie had taken basic appraisal classes in school, so he could tell the real level of the necklace easily from the obvious wave features. He was both excited and confused. As Mr. Evans said before, inexplicable gifts often contained schemes, no matter the schemes were good or bad.

The boss touched his beard and smiled. "It's rented to you, not given to you.

"Actually, I am a very materialistic man. I do things for returns. Although I'm renting it to you very cheaply, will you turn down my request for help after you become an official sorcerer? This is essentially a long-term investment that does not jeopardize my own interests at all."

As the infrastructure such as roads and rails was perfected, and after the magic cars, magic steam trains, steamships, aircraft, and other vehicles were popularized, the communication among places was more and more convenient. The banking industry had made a lot of innovations too.

Donnie was more relaxed after hearing the boss' answer. Although he was still puzzled why the guy had high hopes in him, he was not too bothered by it. After all, it was his investment. So, Donnie picked up the contract and read it carefully.

Donnie reviewed every clause on the contract according to what he learned in school. The contract was very simple and did not have any ambiguities. So, Donnie reached a conclusion very quickly. Gritting his teeth, he signed his real name with his quill.

A bright fire popped up, burning up the contract and yielding two copies at the same time.

"The contract is now in effect. You can take away the necklace now." The boss gave the necklace back to Donnie.

After seizing the necklace according to the standard procedure, Donnie put it on his neck and immediately sensed coolness circulating in his body. His days of anxiety and depression were gone. He was never more refreshed and comfortable.

"Donnie." The boss suddenly asked, "Which school are you going to apply for in the College Entrance Exam of Advanced Magic? Holt? The Tower? Heidler? Or any others?"

There were nine advanced magic colleges in the Congress of Magic today. Among them, the Holt Magic College was best at the microscopic domain and elements, the Tower College was best at astrology and cosmology, and the Heidler College was best at necromancy, genes, and medics. Every college had additional tests for the applicants. Therefore, a month before the College Entrance Exam of Advanced Magic, each student would choose the college of their choice.

Subconsciously, Donnie was about to say Holt Magic College, because it was the first college of the Congress. The faculty was strong and knowledgeable, and they were best at the microscopic domain that involved the nature of the world and magic. Who wouldn't be attracted by that?

However, when he saw the boss' owl eyes, he suddenly remembered the pain from last night. The equations and formulas whose rough interpretations were already complicated enough, the dizzying math models, and the "curses" that had Lucien or Evans as the prefix made him feel agitated from the bottom of his heart.

The moment he thought that he would step deeper into the Evans domain, he felt that his life was dark and sunless.

"I… I haven't made up my mind yet. I was thinking of applying for the Holt Magic College, but the other colleges seem quite good too. I'm good at most of my classes," Donnie said ambiguously.

The boss smiled and then sighed. "Actually, I am a sorcerer, and I entered the world of magic under the influence of the Herald of Arcana and Magic.

"I once had the ambition to make huge achievements that I could be proud of in the microscopic domain. After all, Mr. Evans only established the framework, and many details and foundations still required studying. Alas, after deeper studies, I realized that only the real talented arcanists could press forward in this domain and that a mediocre man like me could barely keep up with them.

"To make things worse, to dedicate myself to theoretical studies, I completely ignored the magic application, which led to the stagnation of my capabilities. I was left out from the team that was aiming for the tip of the pyramid. I could only kill my time by opening such a bookstore."

Donnie was stunned. "Sir, why didn't you try to switch to a different field of studies?"

"I am trying to study necromancy, but my foundations are not good and my mind is already shaped. Everything is difficult." The boss did not say anything more and simply hinted Donnie to leave.

Donnie walked on the street ignorantly. His head was filled with the boss' words and his previous thoughts. Gradually, they gathered into the same idea. I will not be covered in Mr. Evans' halo. I will not be haunted by the complicated equations and formulas for the rest of my life. I will not talk about Lucien blah blah blah and Evans blah blah blah in my dream every night…

But… which field did not have the shadow of Mr. Evans?