Chapter 776: Guidance, Auction

The spell "Arcane Fire Blueprint" involves over a thousand elements just on the first layer of the Magic Net, not to mention that it is a 5th Circle Spell, requiring one to delve into the fifth layer of the Magic Net.

The sheer number of elements involved makes it the most complex spell Xia Duo has ever seen, bar none.

Setting aside the difficulty of casting, the casting time alone is enough to drive one to despair, and it requires maintaining focus throughout; the desire to simplify the casting is understandable.

Through the equivalent transformation of Magic Net Strings, multiple low-circle elements can be converted into a single high-circle element, which can greatly simplify spellcasting.

Many spells are simplified in this way.

But when it comes to creating Arcane Fire, doing this is wrong!

The "Arcane Principles" of the Tower of Time clearly states that simplifying spellcasting leads to the loss of low-circle elements and an unstable spell structure, which very easily leads to spell failure.

If one does not have absolute control, it is best not to make such attempts.

Of course, if one succeeds, there is no significant difference from Arcane Fire created without simplified casting.

After all, whether simplified or not, the spell itself is equivalent.

But this kind of simplified spellcasting is just a gamble, and for something like creating Arcane Fire, an ordinary person might only do it once in their life; if one isn't seeking stability, what else is there to seek!

For a moment, Xia Duo could not tell if Beilaila was too arrogant, insisting on using a simplified spell to advance, or if her family had never taught her these things.

One must know that Beilaila's father, the current Lord of Siboden, is a Senior Arcanist who has personally experienced advancement; there is no reason he would not understand this.

After thinking for a moment, Xia Duo tentatively asked, "Does the Xibodeng Family use this spell for advancement?"

"Yes, but it wasn't originally; it was only from my grandfather's generation that the advancement spell was simplified."

Hmm—

Xia Duo pondered; according to Beilaila, her father must have succeeded in his advancement using this simplified spell, which is why Beilaila is unwilling to give up after trying several times.

Perhaps there were other possibilities, but Xia Duo did not want to guess anymore; he already knew the crux of Beilaila's problem, so he offered his own advice.

"Creating Arcane Fire requires a more secure spell structure. The simplified spell you are using is not as stable as the original spell in this regard. I suggest you either switch to the original spell or strengthen your Spellcasting Training and Focus Training, and do not blindly attempt it again until there is significant improvement."

"Ah?!"

Beilaila was surprised at first, then her expression gradually became complex, and she murmured, "No wonder Father said that before; I thought—"

The rest of her words were barely audible.

Seeing that Beilaila already understood the problem, Xia Duo did not continue; it is best to figure these things out for oneself, and no matter how much others say, it is secondary.

A moment later, Beilaila cheered up again and said to Xia Duo, "Thank you for your guidance, Mage Xia Duo!"

Unlike her previous polite formalities, this sentence was much more sincere; besides letting her know the reason for her advancement failure, Xia Duo's guidance also cleared up her misunderstanding of her father.

Compared to the former, she valued the latter more.

……

With this little interlude, the relationship between the two seemed to have grown closer. When they talked about the theme of this exchange meeting, Beilaila asked, "Does Mage Xia Duo want to develop as a Plane Scholar?"

"Yes." Xia Duo nodded.

"Then Lord Xia Duo should not miss the Qingteng Auction in a while. Giles Tower will be auctioning a Plane Crystal at the auction. This is a core component of the Plane Exploration Array. If Mage Xia Duo wants to develop as a Plane Scholar, it would be more convenient to have your own Plane Exploration Array."

Beilaila did not say anything about Xia Duo joining Giles Tower, because she knew that besides being an Arcanist, Xia Duo was also a lord of a territory.

Even for herself, if it weren't to temporarily escape the responsibility of becoming a lord, she would not have joined Giles Tower.

But even so, once she returns to her territory, she must inevitably detach from Giles Tower. The territory belongs to the Seven Towers Council, perhaps leaning towards Giles Tower, but it is not a subordinate.

At least in name, the two sides are equal and have no subordinate relationship; the only superior is the loose Seven Cities Council.

"Plane Crystal? Auction?"

Xia Duo's eyes lit up, but then dimmed again. He realized that since Giles Tower is auctioning such a rare treasure as a Plane Crystal, they must not be lacking in them themselves.

Combined with the fact that Plane Crystals originate from the destruction of a plane, then—

Could the worst-case scenario have already happened?

"Mage Xia Duo, Mage Xia Duo?"

Beilaila's words pulled Xia Duo back to reality. He had indeed lost his composure. In fact, thinking about it carefully, perhaps Giles Tower had already discovered many sub-planes and was already able to stably obtain Plane Crystals, but planes could never be fully occupied by anyone.

This is like space exploration on Earth; some pioneering forces forcibly occupied some easily accessible planets, but the universe is so vast, how could it be possible to occupy them all!

He did not believe that in this world, or rather this new universe, there were so few planes that a single force within a country on the Main Plane could occupy them all.

The so-called Main Plane is just the name the Netherese use for the plane they are in.

All exist in the Ether Interlayer; the size of a sub-plane might exceed the Main Plane. This is a perfectly normal speculation, and as long as the number of planes is large enough, this is almost certainly a true speculation.

The key is still to look at their respective means.

Even if the Seven Towers possesses Plane Sealing technology, who is to say that new technology will not emerge that can discover those sealed planes?

Or perhaps, there are countless new planes waiting to be discovered, and it only looks like there are so few because the current technology of the Tower of Time is insufficient.

"Mage Beilaila, thank you for the information, I will keep an eye on it!"

Of course, even if he kept an eye on it, he couldn't afford it, but Xia Duo still wanted to go and see how much this Plane Crystal was actually worth!

This could also give him more motivation to make money, or motivation to improve new exploration technologies.

"By the way, Mage Beilaila, do you know the reason for the recent anomaly of the King-Slaying Star?" Xia Duo asked again.

The King-Slaying Star has now returned to its original state, but the scene of the star appearing in broad daylight that day, like a scarlet eyeball overlooking the earth, still lingers in his mind.

Speaking of this question, a look of deep worry appeared on Beilaila's face, and she said in a slightly heavy tone:

"I don't know the reason for that, but I heard that there might be changes over in Keman, and it might be related to the anomaly of the King-Slaying Star. As for whether it is good or bad—it is indeed very worrying. I hope it is not the bad kind of situation!"

"……"

Xia Duo was silent for a moment and said nothing more. Niya went to see the Princess today; perhaps she would bring back relevant information in a while.

……

As both fell into silence, the flow of time seemed to accelerate, as if impatient to pass through this boring time.

Before long, the High Mages attending the exchange meeting arrived one after another!