It's Him!

The Internet had caught fire!

When the Empire's mandatory dissemination decree was issued, Guardian Mages and Magistrates across every administrative district had been wracking their brains over how to spread the Internet Divine Art throughout the land within a month.

Yet who would have thought that after they casually sent out a few night watchmen to shout about it through the streets, the Internet Divine Art would spread on its own?!

Now, throughout the Kevil Empire, people discussed the Internet on nearly every street and alley.

Those who did not know what the Internet was were too embarrassed even to greet others, much less make conversation.

This unexpectedly smooth spread left many Magistrates deeply frustrated. The countless contingency plans they had painstakingly devised had died before they could even be implemented.

The Internet Divine Art had spread so smoothly for two key reasons.

First, there was no barrier to using the Internet Divine Art.

If the Internet Divine Art had still required a medium, as its first generation had, it would never have spread so easily.

Even the cheapest magical items containing a small amount of Mithril were beyond the means of impoverished commoners who did not know where their next meal would come from.

Now that no medium was needed, even illiterate rural Farmers with no experience in cultivation could log onto the Internet by praying to the God of the Internet, thanks to a single imperial decree.

With such convenience, how could it possibly fail to spread?

Second, it was driven by the Empire's people's thirst for Magic and power.

In a land where Magic meant status, authority, power, wealth... who did not want to learn Magic?

Unfortunately, Magic had long been monopolized by the middle and upper classes.

Now that the Internet Divine Art had created a path to learning, who would still be willing to remain mired in the mud, a peasant for life?

For a time, a fever for Magic, Battle Qi, and literacy swept across the Empire!

A sweeping transformation, visible to the naked eye, had begun in grand fashion.

While the Kevil Empire was caught up in tremendous upheaval, Felix Magic Academy remained far calmer.

As one of the earliest birthplaces of the Internet Divine Art, and home to one of the most educated populations, the nationwide spread of the Internet Divine Art only meant that Forum posts had suddenly increased by several thousand times.

For Magic Apprentices, their studies remained their greatest concern.

Especially since Felix Magic Academy had suddenly issued an order two days ago, mobilizing every Magic Apprentice taking the Wood Spirit Elective to participate in a magical experiment. It immediately caused a huge stir throughout Felix!

In the world of Magic, Magic was divided into two broad categories: the Regular System and the Special System.

The Regular System consisted of seven elements: water, fire, earth, wind, light, darkness, and lightning.

These were the foundational spells every Magic Apprentice had to master. Missing even one would prevent them from passing the Apprentice Mage examination, leaving them with the title of Magic Apprentice for life.

Only after successfully becoming a Mage would one be qualified to choose one or more systems for specialized study.

As one of the Kevil Empire's three great Magic Academies, Felix imposed even stricter requirements on its Magic Apprentices!

In addition to the Seven Conventional Magic Systems, the academy required every Magic Apprentice to take an elective in one Special System.

At present, the Special Systems offered by Felix were time, space, Wood Spirit, Necromancy, Gravity, Psychic, Curse, Illusion Art, and Summoning—nine in total.

Special System Magic generally meant it was easy to begin, difficult to master, unsystematic, and impossible to advance.

Of course, in exchange, its power was often strange and unpredictable, making it impossible to guard against.

Thus, Felix's elective system carried more value as an inheritance than as a practical discipline.

For many Magic Apprentices, their understanding of Special System Magic barely increased after graduation.

Only a tiny number of gifted individuals could expand their knowledge a little further.

That little further was progress toward turning a Special System into a Regular System.

Among these nine major Special Systems, the Wood Spirit system was particularly unique.

It was one of the few branches of Magic that could bring profits to Magic Mentors.

Basically, Magic Apprentices taking the Wood Spirit Elective would become unpaid labor for their mentors while studying wood Magic, helping cultivate magical plants.

It was gloriously called: practicing Magic.

Thus, Felix Magic Academy's mobilization of all wood-element Magic Apprentices had invisibly offended many Magic Mentors.

However, since the order had been issued by Magic God Dendall, no matter how unwilling they were, they could only swallow their displeasure.

For a time, everyone became curious. Just what kind of "magical experiment" required so many Magic Apprentices?

November 4th, 1078 of the Kevil Calendar.

Following the academy's instructions, 374 Magic Apprentices taking the Wood Spirit Elective arrived at the great hall in the eastern part of the Magic Academy, within the Magic Forest.

Dorothy was among them.

However, she no longer had her usual vitality today.

She stood gloomily amid the crowd, turning a blind eye to the classmates eagerly currying favor with her.

She had been like this for more than half a month.

Or rather, ever since that night when she had tried to dissuade Desova, then attacked a mysterious young man in a fit of rage, she had never been happy again. She had even fallen into a state of panicked nervous exhaustion.

Because that night, her Grandpa Doman had summoned her to his study and questioned her for a long time.

Especially regarding the mysterious young man's details, he had tirelessly pressed her about every word he had said and every expression he had made.

Her Grandpa's attitude made Dorothy realize that she had caused trouble.

No one knew that Dorothy, who feared neither Heaven nor Earth, was actually quite afraid of her Grandpa.

Even though her Grandpa bore the title Son of the Forest, had been gentle and refined throughout his life, kind and approachable, and rarely lost his temper with anyone, she still feared him.

When she was seven, she had received a staff personally made by her Grandpa, and she still used that staff to this day.

But no one knew that through a crack in the door that day, she had seen her Grandpa standing upside down in his study, his hair turning into countless tree roots that burrowed into the earth, his body becoming a trunk, and his limbs transforming into branches.

The staff her Grandpa had given her had been a branch stripped from that very tree.

Its magic-conducting effect rivaled a dragon horn.

"Hey, hey, Dorothy, look! Grand Archmage Lucian is here!" A classmate's hushed cry startled Dorothy awake.

She slowly drew a breath, forcefully suppressing the gloom in her heart as she raised her head.

The instant her gaze swept over, she felt as though she had been struck by lightning. Her scalp went numb, and her hands and feet turned ice-cold!

Because behind Grand Archmage Lucian stood that mysterious young man.

"Silence!"

Lucian was over forty, though his actual appearance made him look only thirty.

However, when he sternly shouted, even without using any Magic, the enormous hall fell silent in an instant.

Because he was the Empire's youngest Grand Archmage!

He was also the Empire's brightest hope for stepping into the realm of a Magic God!

"This time, you will participate in an exceedingly great magical experiment. Mr. Asheff will be responsible for this experiment. Remember, whether you can graduate from your Wood Spirit Elective depends on it, so treat it seriously."

Lucian's words caused a slight commotion in the great hall.

"Mr. Asheff, I'll leave the rest to you. I won't disturb you any longer!" Lucian respectfully inclined his head toward Yu Sheng'an.

Yu Sheng'an nodded.

His gaze swept across the densely packed Magic Apprentices in the hall. He took a soft breath and said, "From now on, your afternoon elective hours belong to me. I hope you will all cooperate properly."

"Alright, enough nonsense. Let me announce the purpose of this magical experiment—to select and cultivate crops with high yields, drought resistance, salt and alkali resistance, and suitability for sandy soil. When you return, think carefully about which crops might be suitable for magical modification. If you have any ideas, write me a report. There will be rewards!"

The instant his words fell, the hall erupted into an uproar!

The Magic Apprentices could hardly believe their ears:

This young man named Asheff actually wanted them, noble Wood Spirit Mages, to cultivate crops?

This was simply absurd!