Chapter 430: Subversion
Bruce and Eva’s expressions were very solemn. They were both wizard apprentices of the Elemental School. The foundational theory of this school was the unproven Four Elements Hypothesis. Although it was a hypothesis, it could grant power, so the vast majority of people felt it was the truth. They had created a large number of applied spells based on this, as well as relationships of generation and restriction. Now telling them that some of it was fallacy was something they simply couldn’t accept.
Eva couldn’t help but say, “I believe you, and I also believe that the terrifying head explosion incident announced by the higher-ups is real. But I still can’t imagine that the Four Elements Hypothesis is actually false. What exactly is the reality of this world?”
Allen said comfortingly:
“We don’t know the reality of this world. Even Bayen and Logan, they only proved some problems through experiments, drew some conclusions, and deduced some hypotheses. They might not be without errors either!
“But in any case, you need to be mentally prepared. This concerns lives. Those without lives have no chance to explore what the reality of the world is!”
The two nodded solemnly, as if facing a formidable enemy. In fact, this was also the true formidable enemy of all Elemental School wizards.
On the other side, Ace was also researching intensely. Through capturing the True Spirits of the deceased, reproducing dreams, and comparing them with his own situation at that time, he obtained staged results.
“First, once a subversive theory closer to the reality of the world appears, it will receive the favor and feedback of the Great Source. This seems to be a reward for cognition of the world, though the specific reason is unknown.
“Second, subversive theories will have a direct impact on wizards possessing a Soul Sanctuary. If their foundation is based on the subverted theory, the impact will be the most severe.
“Third, if a severely impacted wizard quickly agrees with the viewpoint, it will lead to the disintegration of their foundational spell model, and the related runes will dissipate, never to be constructed again; if they absolutely disagree with the viewpoint, their spell model can be preserved, and the related path can still continue, but they lose the possibility of obtaining stronger power; if they fall into cognitive confusion, it is the most dangerous. Being unable to quickly agree with the new theory while doubting the old theory, the worst result is a head explosion and complete death. A slightly better result is the damage and solidification of the Soul Sanctuary, basically losing the possibility of advancement.”
Ace announced these three research conclusions to all wizards through his Grimoire and put forward targeted suggestions.
“To prevent the tragedy of head explosions as much as possible, I hope all wizards cast Mechanized Mind on themselves before reading the new theory, trying to maintain rational thinking. For Elemental School wizards closely related to the new theory, it is recommended to understand the new theory with a critical attitude. If necessary, you can disintegrate the related spell model structure in advance.”
The Grimoires of the High Tower wizards became hot one after another. They received Ace’s prompt and at the same time received a notification from the Review Committee of the Magic Council. Logan and Bayen’s masterpiece “Elements, Mixtures, and Compounds” and Bayen’s separate paper “Atomic Hypothesis” would be published in the latest issue of the Magic journal!
Bayen and Logan’s papers were personally reviewed by Ace. Bayen’s separate paper was originally titled “Theory of Indivisible Particles”. Ace gave his opinion on the manuscript, suggesting calling the indivisible particles “Atoms,” taking the prefix for ‘primordial’ and the suffix for ‘particle,’ meaning the initial particle. This hypothesis was also called the “Atomic Hypothesis”.
Bruce held the newly bought latest edition of Magic and gently opened it. The title page read, “You may be experiencing a drastic change. Casting a Mechanized Mind on yourself might be a good choice.” Bruce took a deep breath. Cherishing his life, he hesitated for a while, gritted his teeth hard, and entered a meditative state.
Inside the Soul Sanctuary, a spell model like burning flames was floating in the center of the space. This was the Fire Element Meditation Spell Model developed based on the Mimicry Celestial Body Hypothesis. Meditating using this model could obtain stronger Fire Element mana and transform one’s Soul Sanctuary.
If he followed this path, perhaps one day after advancing to an Official Wizard, Bruce could completely turn his Soul Sanctuary into a fire attribute one, which also meant his path would be irreversible.
“My path… it’s time to temporarily give it up. I can’t risk my life. If this path can still advance, I can reconstruct the spell model!”
Having thought it through, Bruce dismantled the Fire Element Meditation Spell Model bit by bit. His Soul Sanctuary shook violently. The partially fire-attributed Soul Sanctuary, having its foundational spell model forcibly disintegrated, flickered and became extremely unstable.
With eyes tightly closed, Bruce’s chubby body broke out in a large amount of cold sweat. Fire attribute mana ceaselessly leaked from his Soul Sanctuary, causing the surrounding temperature to rise continuously.
Crack! Crack!
Wisps of cracks appeared in the semi-fire-attributed Soul Sanctuary. Bruce finally disintegrated the foundational spell model. He opened his eyes, and a large amount of fire attribute mana escaped from his Soul Sanctuary. Bruce opened his eyes, gnashing his teeth in pain.
“I can’t rush. First use the ordinary Celestial Body Meditation Method to repair the Soul Sanctuary, then look at this damn new theory!”
Just then, a loud noise made Bruce shudder. He stumbled out of his house. A headless corpse lay quietly on the ground. Not far away was a scroll of Magic. Where the head should have been, only a ground full of bloody red remained.
“Is this Tortis, the advanced wizard apprentice next door?”
Bruce stared at the figure and posture, murmuring.
His face was pale. The power of the new theory was displayed in front of him, making him shudder.
A woman and a five-year-old child rushed out of the villa next door, hugging the headless corpse and crying bitterly. The child was almost scared silly, pushing the headless corpse with tender hands, hoping his father could stand up and grow a head, telling him everything was a trick.
Bruce took a deep breath, turned around, and returned to the villa. This was the life of a wizard. Everything was not as beautiful as imagined. Power far exceeding ordinary supernatural beings also brought excessive danger.
He meditated calmly on his natal star. It was a small star in the southwest corner. Its power wasn’t strong, but it excelled in being gentle. In the current situation, stability was paramount.
Late at night, Bruce finally adjusted his state. With trembling hands, he opened Magic. The first article was “Atomic Hypothesis”.
“This is just a hypothesis. We have no evidence to prove that atoms truly exist, but based on the assumption that atoms exist, many experiments can be easily solved. We believe there should exist several kinds of such particles. They are indivisible smallest units of matter. They are atoms, also known as elements…”
After reading “Atomic Hypothesis” and “Elements, Mixtures, and Compounds”, Bruce looked trance-like and fearful. His Soul Sanctuary vibrated slightly, but fortunately, the problem wasn’t big.
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