Arcane Calendar 40, early summer.
This day is destined to be recorded in the history of the Arcane Empire.
The first ray of sunshine in the morning had just shined on the earth, and the entire Empire communication network - Skynet, boiled without warning.
A golden push with the highest authority of the Imperial Family, accompanied by the solemn bells, also appeared on the retinal projections of billions of citizens:
[Announcement: Arcane Grand Library system upgrade completed. Version number: 2.0.] [New modules: Higher-Dimensional Arcana, Gate Alchemy, Core Engineering, Life Encoding...] [Unlock the highest authority: Fourth Tier (Archmage) and Fifth Tier (Legend/Demigod) promotion paths.]
At this moment, the world fell into a brief silence, and then burst into cheers that could shake the sky.
London, inside a certain ancient Mage Tower.
A gray-haired old wizard opened the file named <Fourth Tier: Mana Liquefaction and Soul Ascension> with trembling hands.
He has been stuck at the peak of Third Tier for twenty years. The despair of watching his life force slip away little by little with no way out has made him want to give up on Self countless times.
But now, the road is open.
"I saw it... I saw it!"
The old wizard burst into tears, knelt on the ground like a child, and kissed the virtual screen, "It turns out that this is Fourth Tier... It turns out that magic can still be used in this way! Thank you, Your Majesty! Thank you for the magic!"
Cairo, No-Magic Zone In the apartment on the edge.
The young "Mage" John looked at the magic monitor on his wrist. Just now, he downloaded the latest "Artificial Core Stability and Expansion Technology Guide".
As long as he performs a minimally invasive surgery on his core according to the rune array above, the core overload problem that has troubled him for many years will be completely eradicated, and his upper limit of magic power will no longer be limited by talent, and can increase like Pure-blood wizard Infinity.
"We are no longer defective..."
John held his girlfriend's hand tightly, his eyes burning with unprecedented light, "We are Arcanist. Arcanist who are as noble as them."
Academy of Sciences, biological laboratory.
A group of scientists in white coats are frantically recording data around the holographic dissection table.
"Incredible! Is this Life Code of Truth?"
The chief scientist pushed up his glasses, his voice hoarse with excitement, "This four-dimensional structure of DNA... if it can be analyzed, we will completely solve the mystery of life's immortality! Where did your majesty get these divine data?"
Not only them, but every corner of the Empire is undergoing drastic changes.
The magic mechanics are studying the new blueprints for combining Alchemy with machinery as if they have obtained the treasure; the enchanters are staying up all night for those advanced runes that can change the properties of matter; the knights of the martial arts faction are practicing Battle Aura crazily, dreaming that one day they can physically resist the forbidden curse like the legend.
For a time, "Arcane Merit" became a hard currency more precious than gold and magic stones.
In order to redeem the knowledge of even one S-level rune, countless scholars who originally cherished their knowledge were forced to disclose their exclusive research in exchange for merit points. This forced "open source" has instead contributed to explosive exchanges and Fusion throughout the Empire academic community.
However, in this national carnival, a piece of "bad news" is like a bucket of cold water poured on the heads of those who are trying to reach the sky in one step.
When people try to click on the most tempting [Fifth-Tier Advancement Method], a red lock box pops up:
[Restricted access] [Unlocking conditions: Pass the "First Arcane Symposium" assessment.]
[Explanation: Fifth Tier Arcanist possesses the strategic power to destroy the continent. For the safety and order of the Empire, this knowledge is only open to elites who have passed strict screening.]
[Seminar time: three months later.] [Assessment content: Arcane Runes application, Gate Alchemy practical operation, and an original arcane theoretical achievement.]
"Three months?!"
Some people wailed, some cursed, but more people turned around with stern eyes and devoted themselves to more crazy studies.
This is a conspiracy.
His Majesty the Archon used that supreme power as bait to force the smartest brains in the entire Empire to thoroughly understand this new arcane system within three months.
This is not only a screening, but also a mandatory civilization upgrade.
Academy City, Bones High School of Magic.
Principal Flitwick stood on the top of the tower, overlooking the city below that was brightly lit even in the middle of the night. The Library, laboratories, training grounds... everywhere were full of students and instructors who forgot to eat and sleep.
"I'm also worried that His Majesty will seal off knowledge in favor of a dictatorship."
Professor Flitwick sighed happily, "It seems that I judge a gentleman with a villain's heart. This mechanism of selecting elites through competition not only ensures that power is not abused, but also stimulates the vitality of the entire civilization. It is brilliant, it is indeed brilliant."
He picked up the communicator and connected the channels of several old friends. "Hello? Old guys, don't sleep. In the seminar in three months, our old bones can't lose to the young people."
Private demiplane, Potter Family Mage Tower.
The flow rate of time here has been adjusted to ten times that of the outside world.
Harry Potter stood sweating profusely in the middle of the training ground, his wand had been thrown aside. He was trying to use his trembling hands to construct a complex attack spell model directly in Void.
"Too slow! Hurry up!"
Lily·Potter's stern voice echoed in the empty hall, "The 37th failure! If this was a battlefield, you would have died ten times!"
"But mom..."
Harry panted and wiped his sweat, "I don't understand. Since we can pre-burn the spell model in Soul Space, just like we used to use a wand to cast spells instantly, why do we have to practice manual spell casting so hard? Isn't this a step backwards?"
Lily stopped and his eyes became extremely serious.
"Harry, do you think 'Soul Inscription' is omnipotent?"
She walked up to her son and explained earnestly:
"Yes, for ordinary Arcanist, burning several commonly used spells into the soul can indeed achieve instant casting. But this has a fatal flaw."
"First, the capacity limit. Your Soul Space is limited. Even if it reaches Fourth Tier, you can only burn dozens of spells at most. Once you encounter a complex and changeable battle situation, what should you do if these dozens of spells are not enough?"
"Second, the cooling time. The burned spell model will be temporarily stiff after use. If you encounter a targeted crack, you will instantly become Squib."
"Third and most important - creativity."
Lily stretched out a finger, and the fingertips instantly transformed into more than a dozen different forms of magical brilliance.
"The true elite Arcanist never relies on fixed templates. What we master is the essence of runes, which is the arrangement and combination of rules. We can construct new spells that are most suitable for the moment anytime and anywhere as needed during battle."
"This is the difference between a craftsman and a master."
"In future interstellar wars, only those who have mastered this ability are qualified to be called 'strong'. Others are just infantry with advanced weapons."
Harry was dumbfounded.
He finally understood why his mother gave him this kind of special training that was almost Hell.
"I understand."
Harry took a deep breath, his eyes became firm again, "Come again!"
Just when the mother and son were about to start a new round of special training, a fierce quarrel suddenly came from outside the door.
"Snivellus! Don't go too far!"
"Potter, has your brain been stepped on by Troll? How dare you write such a low-level mistake into your paper?"
Harry helplessly held his forehead.
He turned to look at the door, and sure enough, his father James·Potter, who had come back from the dead, and Professor Snape were staring at each other like two fighting cocks.
Obviously, during this tense moment when everyone was preparing for the seminar, the two enemies were not idle, and even escalated the academic dispute into a personal feud.
"It seems... the 'war' at home is about to begin."
Harry sighed, raised his hands resignedly, and prepared to continue struggling under his mother's devilish training.