A Great Being from Azure Star

"See that? From now on, the Internet has a Magic Academy too!" Desova pointed at the Phantom Scroll and shouted excitedly.

As soon as he spoke, the Second-Year Magic Rune Classroom erupted.

"The Internet has a Magic Academy too? Where is it? How do we attend classes?"

"Damn it, my Mithril Ring was confiscated. Whoever hid one, hurry up and see what's going on!"

"My god, the Young Mentor actually became an instructor at Internet Magic Academy?"

"What? The Young Mentor?"

"She's not the only one. There are several other instructors too, and according to the introductions, they're all Grand Archmages!"

"Holy shit, all the basic courses are free. You only need to pay Points to audit advanced courses, and it doesn't even seem expensive. A second-year course only costs fifty Points per class. The introduction says you can even use Points to apply for one-on-one consultations with instructors!"

"Fifty Points isn't expensive? How many people would you have to recruit for that? Getting a featured post isn't easy."

"You don't know, do you? They just added a check-in feature that gives Points. One Point on the first day, two on the second, and so on. Check in for seven consecutive days, and you get seven Points that day! That means twenty-eight Points after seven straight days. You can save up fifty Points in half a month."

The classroom completely exploded.

Countless students began whispering and discussing among themselves, practically disregarding the ban.

Brad's expression changed drastically. He hurriedly activated Internet Divine Art and checked for himself.

The next second, his body swayed and his face went deathly pale. No longer caring to reprimand the students, he rushed out of the classroom like the wind to report to the Dean.

Why had Felix Magic Academy banned Internet Divine Art?

Because it seriously challenged the Magic Academy's authority to define Magic and its dominance over it! Before the Internet appeared, there were basically only two ways to cultivate Magic: either inherit it through one's family, or study at an academy.

The former was, in a sense, merely a branch of the latter. Those families were simply the descendants of outstanding students.

That was why even Magic Aristocrat Families sent their disciples to Magic Academies for further study.

They apprenticed themselves to good teachers, made close friends, forged connections, and after graduation entered the center of power in the Kevil Empire to divide up magical resources.

The Kevil Empire controlled mages through Magic Academies of all sizes, and thus controlled the Empire itself! The Internet's challenge to the Magic Academies' authority over Magic had already enraged them enough to impose a ban. Who could have expected it to directly establish an online Magic Academy? This was far more than shaking the foundations of Magic Academies.

It was practically digging up the Empire's ancestral graves!

God of the Internet! What a scheme!

Before Brad could reach the circular Magic Tower, a vast, invisible yet piercing magical shockwave rippled outward and swept across the entire Magic Academy.

This was the Magic Tower's alarm for an emergency meeting! It seems Lord Dendall already knows about this. Brad sighed, but did not slow his pace.

When he passed through a short-range Teleportation Array and arrived at the God-Sealing Magic Meeting Room on the seventh floor, the place was already as noisy as a marketplace.

Countless mages had gathered together, their expressions fearful, furious, or livid as they discussed the matter heatedly.

Some had even forgotten their dignity and were jumping about as they cursed.

The elemental storm stirred up by their turbulent emotions swept through the meeting room.

Fortunately, no weaklings were present, or anyone with lower cultivation might have been injured by the elemental storm!

"Silence! Take your seats!"

Not long afterward, Dendall arrived.

The mages reluctantly suppressed the chaos in their hearts and took their seats.

Humanoid projections rose from several empty chairs as countless Archmages far away also joined the meeting.

Among the four seats at the head of the round table, aside from Dendall, two Phantoms had appeared today as well.

They were none other than two of the Four Pillars of the Kevil Empire—Magic God Zimor and Magic God Bethany.

"Gentlemen, I assume you all know what has happened. What are your thoughts?" Dendall went straight to the point.

The purpose of convening this meeting was to gather everyone's wisdom.

In an instant, the meeting room exploded into uproar.

"Lord Dendall, the God of the Internet is provoking the Kevil Empire! We must issue a nationwide decree to completely ban Internet Divine Art, expel the Internet's followers, join forces with the gods, and suppress or even kill the God of the Internet!"

Those with hot tempers immediately began shouting for blood.

"That's right. The God of the Internet is spreading his faith! He's using Magic to preach. If Internet Magic Academy is allowed to spread, he will become the God of Magic, and magical freedom in the Kevil Empire will cease to exist! We must strangle this in the cradle."

The mages clamored, their killing intent boiling over.

It was no wonder they were so agitated.

There were quite a few Magic Academies in the Kevil Empire, but they all had fixed locations, were restrained by the Empire, and had annual limits on the number of apprentices they could admit.

Though they competed with and even hated one another,

those were ultimately internal conflicts caused by differing magical philosophies and differing shares of resources.

But what about Internet Magic Academy?

It did not belong to the Empire and was not bound by the Empire, yet it could recruit magical talent within the Empire. It was shaking the very foundation of the Empire's rule! One could imagine that commoners unable to enter Magic Academies would inevitably join Internet Magic Academy and learn Magic, driven by their instinctive pursuit of power.

The key was that Internet Magic Academy had no geographical restrictions. One teacher could instruct thousands upon thousands of Magic Apprentices. This was fucking cheating—who could compete with that?

Once those people grew up, they would only resent the Magic Academies of the Kevil Empire and be grateful to Internet Magic Academy for giving them the chance to learn Magic! If this continued, the Empire would inevitably collapse! "Too late. No one can ban the Internet now."

A faint sigh fell like a basin of cold water, extinguishing the boiling meeting room.

Everyone turned in shock toward the voice and saw Lucian, the youngest Grand Archmage, looking toward the Three Magic Gods. "My lords, I suggest we contact the God of the Internet as soon as possible and begin negotiations to discuss this matter."

"That shitty Evil God is already at our doorstep, and you still want to negotiate?"

"Lucian, you traitor! Beg forgiveness!" someone cursed.

"Lucian, why do you say that?" Magic God Dendall ignored the crowd's angry shouting.

Lucian swept his gaze across the room and raised his right hand. An exquisite Mithril Ring sat on his little finger, engraved with Internet Divine Art.

Before everyone's eyes, he removed the ring and crushed it. Then he began to pray in a low voice, "Great being from Azure Star, you are the Overlord of language and writing. You are the creator of the Internet. Under your protection, I shall connect with all living beings and all things."

As his voice fell, a Phantom Scroll slowly unfurled.

In an instant, the meeting room sank into a terrifying silence. Countless pupils dilated, and only the thudding of hearts remained.

Lucian had recited a prayer.

Prayers were incantations that only gods possessing the authority of a unique Godhead could create and use.

They pointed toward one unique god.

For most believers, they were the only means of communicating with a god.

Of course, whether the god answered was another matter.

But no one had expected the God of the Internet to actively answer prayers, much less that his method of answering would be so bizarre and... efficient.

Lucian slowly swept his gaze over his colleagues and asked, "How can we ban it now?"

The meeting room fell silent.

If Internet Divine Art required magical devices, then although it could not be banned completely, at least most of it could be suppressed.

As those who controlled the Empire's violence, they could forcibly enforce decrees. Under a system of collective punishment for reporting violations, Internet Divine Art would have an extremely difficult time surviving.

At that point, only a small number of magical devices would circulate on the black market.

Most commoners would not even know Internet Divine Art existed. Under their propaganda, they might even regard it as evil magic! But now?

The Internet could be summoned through a prayer. How could they ban that?

Internet Divine Art itself did not grant its users power. On the contrary, using Internet Divine Art continuously consumed Soul Power.

But it could indirectly allow its users to gain legitimate power, power they could use openly in the light.

No one could resist such temptation!

One could imagine that countless people would secretly log in and learn Magic.

If they failed, then so be it. If they succeeded, they could casually make up an excuse—finding a magic book, meeting a wandering mage... There were simply too many possibilities. Could the Empire really raise the Butcher's Knife over this?

If the Empire truly did so, it would fall apart in no time.

"We can send people to keep watch on the Forum..." An Archmage instinctively roared, but before he could finish, he shut his own mouth.

Lucian sighed. "Sending people to watch it would only stop commoners from posting! In fact, the God of the Internet has already closed off that loophole."

Amid everyone's stunned gazes, Lucian opened his Soul Mark. Under the "Settings" option, they could clearly see a choice labeled "Anonymous."

That final blow completely shattered the psychological defenses of every mage in the meeting room!

"How could this happen?"

"Is the Empire supposed to just let him do whatever he wants?"

"Kill him! We must kill him! Only by killing him can we solve all these problems!"

Some shouted wildly, but even more people instinctively looked toward three of the Four Pillars of the Empire—Dendall, Zimor, and Bethany.

They knew that slaying a god was no easy matter! Not to mention whether they could even find the God of the Internet;

even if they found him, the Empire would pay an unimaginably heavy price.

Losing any one of the Four Pillars would be an unbearable loss. The Empire might even collapse because of it.

The Five Great Gods would not spare a crumbling Empire either!

The three pillars clearly understood this as well, and they fell silent.

Magic God Zimor's white beard trembled. "Such inconceivable methods and power are simply unprecedented. I am deeply concerned... Is the God of the Internet truly a god of our world?"

As his words fell, everyone's expressions changed abruptly!

Could it be... a planar invasion?