The "Invincible Path" of Deng, Ge, and Tang

"I don't have any money!" Because Dumbledore's "pay-to-win" vibe was far too strong, Isaac instinctively clutched his wallet, eyeing the old man before him with suspicion.

"It won't cost you a penny."

Dumbledore stared at Isaac for a long time, genuinely baffled by the boy's train of thought.

Dumbledore had made many predictions about how Isaac might respond; he had guessed the boy might be like Grindelwald, or perhaps like himself.

He even considered he might be like Tom...

The only thing he hadn't expected was that Isaac's first reaction would be the fear of being scammed.

You see, this is the limitation of the era.

Dumbledore, who had never downloaded the National Anti-Fraud App, could never imagine how vigilant the youth of the future were against scams and "free lunches."

Noticing the twitching at the corner of Dumbledore's mouth, Isaac realized his reaction had been a bit too intense.

It couldn't be helped; this was a caution etched into his very bones, especially since Isaac was currently just a child with very few ways to make money.

However, Dumbledore was the greatest wizard in contemporary Britain; even if he were a scammer, he would be targeting the wealth of pure-blood families.

Isaac was a bona fide pauper—how much money could he possibly have on him?

Thinking of this, Isaac blinked, and his hand, which had been clutching his wallet, dropped naturally.

He cleared his throat and said to Dumbledore, "Ahem, I still trust you, Professor. So, what do I need to do to become stronger?"

"I won't repeat the conventional methods; this time, I'll tell you something different."

Isaac nodded silently to show he was listening.

The so-called conventional methods were nothing more than studying—learning through books and seeking guidance from famous teachers to improve oneself.

By studying the works of other masters and the cutting-edge papers in various magical fields, one could accumulate knowledge to become more powerful.

In the wizarding world, knowledge is power.

The four heads of the houses at Hogwarts represented the four major categories of magic.

Transfiguration, Potions, Charms, and Herbology.

As long as a wizard could achieve mastery in any field of magic, their combat prowess would never be weak.

The conventional methods Dumbledore spoke of were standard studies, and in terms of learning, Isaac, as a prophet, truly had every advantage.

He could listen to master-level lectures that ordinary people could only dream of, and he could even selectively seek answers based on the problems he encountered during his own studies.

But what Dumbledore wanted to say now was clearly not about conventional study methods.

"Isaac, since you are a prophet, do you know what the common ground is between me... Gellert, and Tom?"

The common ground between Dumbledore, Grindelwald, and Voldemort?

Were they all Dark Lords?

What, was the White Wizard not a Dark Lord?

These words circled in Isaac's mind over and over, but he ultimately swallowed them back down.

Since he already knew that Dumbledore was never some kind-hearted, easily bullied old wizard.

The man was the self-styled White Wizard of Hogwarts, so it was best not to push his luck while Dumbledore was acting amiable.

If he really forced Dumbledore into his "Dark Lord" form, how many in the entire wizarding world could pat their chests and claim they could block a single high-powered spell?

Even the current, incomplete Voldemort didn't dare to provoke Dumbledore, choosing instead to hide and skulk in the shadows.

Was Isaac crazy to go digging up Dumbledore's dark history?

But what did these three have in common besides being Dark Lords?

If it were just Dumbledore and Grindelwald, Isaac could say they shared the same sexual orientation—they both liked men.

But adding Voldemort, Tom, to the mix... Tom just didn't have a nose, but his sexual orientation shouldn't have changed, right?

Right?

As Isaac racked his brains, he actually thought of a commonality between the three.

"The Professor and those two... do they all belong to the type of wizards who achieved fame at a young age?"

Yes, these three were undisputed geniuses in their respective eras.

Dumbledore was hailed as the most brilliant student in the history of Hogwarts during his time at school.

He swept up every honor in the school, serving as a prefect and Head Boy;

In his youth, he corresponded with the alchemist Nicole and the magical historian Bathilda Bagshot.

In the East, that would be equivalent to a high school student frequently engaging in academic exchanges with more than one academician.

Grindelwald's brilliance was similar to Dumbledore's.

Born into a European magical family, he displayed shocking magical talent at a young age and was known as a once-in-a-century magical prodigy.

At sixteen, Grindelwald was expelled from Durmstrang for his experiments with Dark Magic.

It is worth noting that Durmstrang does not actually prohibit the teaching of Dark Magic.

Later, Grindelwald was expelled for conducting extremely dangerous Dark Magic experiments that caused severe harm to his fellow students.

From this, one can see just how high Grindelwald's talent and attainments in the field of Dark Magic truly were.

The third one is Tom Riddle, also known as Voldemort.

If not for Dumbledore suppressing him from above, he would have been the most outstanding student in the history of Hogwarts.

Unfortunately, he ran into Dumbledore.

That title was destined to remain out of his reach.

Even so, Tom's performance at school was stunning enough.

He did not just stun the professors at Hogwarts; he also stunned his fellow students, especially the heirs of those pure-blood families in Slytherin.

It is worth mentioning that Tom was a genuinely handsome young man during his school days.

He possessed top-tier magical talent, top-tier dueling talent, the bloodline of Slytherin, and the ability to speak Parseltongue.

At the same time, he stood firmly on the side of the pure-blood families, making him the natural representative of the pure-blood class.

These heirs of pure-blood families naturally rallied closely around him—who could have guessed that this guy would end up playing with Dark Magic until he broke his own brain?

Setting aside the period when Voldemort's mind had deteriorated, he, like Dumbledore and Grindelwald, was a young wizard who achieved fame early in life.

"Yes, Isaac, your summary is quite correct; we all displayed excellence in our youth that set us apart from other young wizards."

"Excellence that even far exceeded what is typical for that age group."

"This excellence ensured that we were already far ahead of our peers when we started out in the field of magic."

"Likewise, it is the cornerstone of our power."

Isaac pondered Dumbledore's words carefully.

If he were just an ordinary young wizard, he would never have been able to figure out what Dumbledore meant.

This was the old Hogwarts riddle-master himself, who simply never spoke plainly.

Saying three parts while hiding seven had already become a habit for Dumbledore.

Yet, Isaac was a transmigrator with a broad, eclectic knowledge base. As he chewed over Dumbledore's words, he felt a certain sense of déjà vu growing stronger and stronger.

Dumbledore, Grindelwald, Voldemort... why did the paths of these three, who achieved fame in their youth, feel so similar to the "invincible path" found in xianxia novels?