Chapter 375

In Professor Heketuo Lei'en's laboratory, the atmosphere was as rigorous and quiet as ever, and the teaching assistants and apprentices wearing mage robes were busy at their respective workstations.

Professor Heketuo was the same.

Although his work had not been very busy recently, today he didn't know which nerve was wrong, and on a whim, he decided to grade the students' papers himself to see if there were any talents worth discovering under his command... just like Prince Kelin.

However, unfortunately, he had just opened one of the papers when he was frowned upon by the outdated viewpoints and lack of imaginative arguments.

Casually marking a fail on the paper, he shook his head and threw the remaining papers to a teaching assistant who looked very idle on the side.

And just at this moment, his assistant walked up quickly and respectfully delivered the latest issue of the "Sage's Report" to his desk.

"Professor, your newspaper."

The "Sage's Report" was one of the most authoritative official newspapers within the Academy. In addition to publishing daily affairs and important news within the Academy, it also served as an academic journal, so almost every laboratory and mage tower subscribed to it.

Regardless of whether they belonged to the Source Magic school or the Tower of the Great Sage.

Professor Heketuo was naturally no exception. The first thing he did when he came to the office or laboratory every day was to see what new discoveries his peers had through the "Sage's Report," but he was a little surprised why today's newspaper was delivered until noon.

If it had been delivered earlier, he wouldn't have had to look at those papers that polluted his eyes.

"Why is it so late today?"

Looking at Professor Heketuo, who was opening the newspaper, the assistant standing in front of the desk smiled apologetically and said.

"It is said that it was because a paper that had just passed the review was added, so the golem delivering the newspaper came later than usual."

Professor Heketuo's index finger holding the newspaper paused slightly, and his eyebrows raised an unexpected arc.

"Added?"

Although journals issued by other mage towers often had additions, such things were extremely rare in the "Sage's Report" issued by the Tower of the Great Sage.

After all, the Tower of the Great Sage had the most mages, and the dozens of pages of the "Sage's Report" were not enough to share. Many research results had been in a long queue, and only truly excellent academic achievements or scholars with absolute authority could receive this honor.

"Yes," the assistant nodded hurriedly, looking at Professor Heketuo, who was full of surprise, and continued. "And it is said that this paper was published by the Kelin Tower... The three professors responsible for reviewing the manuscript unanimously agreed that this research result was worth their adjustment in the schedule. On the one hand, because the research involved the Void, and on the other hand, because they believed that this might help the research of some mage towers."

Kelin?!

The surprise on Heketuo's face was even greater.

Before, when the 440 Void channel was restored and Prince Kelin left his office in a hurry, he just thought that the Prince had good luck. As a result, he didn't expect that he not only had good luck, but actually researched something.

"... It's actually Prince Kelin's paper, then I have to take a good look."

Heketuo gave a dry laugh while hurriedly opening the newspaper, following the directory to quickly find the paper that suspected to have shocked the reviewers of the "Sage's Report."

Soon, a glaring title caught his eyes.

"On the Brand-New Mode of Void Interference: From 'Ingestion' to 'Guidance' of Source Power—Observation Report on Void No. 440"

Brand-new mode?

Heh, quite a tone!

Heketuo grinned, his gaze quickly passing over the title and signature part, and continued to look down along the content of the main text.

As a result, this look was extraordinary; he was stunned on the seat as if struck by lightning, opening his mouth wide in surprise.

Especially when he saw the subversive arguments and the detailed observation data that could not be doubted, he stood up from the desk in surprise with a "swoosh."

"This works too?!"

Using Source Power to promote the evolution of civilization to accelerate the accumulation of Source Power behind the Void?!

Are you kidding me!!

What about the theoretical basis?

He originally thought that Prince Kelin would share some experience on "restarting the Void channel," but he didn't expect this Prince to throw out such a shocking violent argument!

What's even more incredible is—

The reviewer was actually convinced!?

The busy teaching assistants were all startled by Professor Heketuo's movement, and they all cast their eyes to investigate the situation.

The air in the laboratory was as if it had stopped.

Heketuo soon realized his gaffe, then coughed heavily, drove away the eyes focused on him like driving away flies, and sat back with a majestic face.

The air in the laboratory began to flow again, but the stormy waves in his heart were far from subsiding.

Picking up the paper again, Heketuo suppressed his restless emotions and read it seriously.

Theoretical basis...

It seems that it is not without it.

Just now, he was too excited, and he accidentally missed it.

Not only that, in addition to the discussion on the Void interference method, the paper also put forward an argument that made his eyes shine.

That is, when the spiritual frequency of a group of conscious individuals reaches an approximation or even the same, the formed spiritual force field can make the Source Power wandering in the Void spontaneously gather.

This theory is a further explanation of "prayer behavior can make Source Power accumulate near the Void channel," and the term spiritual force field seems to be created by Kelin himself.

Heketuo also heard the concept of "field" for the first time, and this concept seems to originate from the discussion of force in the "Science" school created by Kelin.

In the paper, this Prince cited the concept of "force" to explain this phenomenon, and its general meaning is that a force field is a special mechanical medium responsible for transmitting the interaction between objects.

And the spiritual force field is something similar, transmitting the interaction between spiritual power and spiritual power!

To be honest, this description is extremely abstract, especially for those who know nothing about the theories of the "Science" school.

Heketuo read the argument almost word by word for three times before he vaguely understood what Prince Kelin was talking about.

It was also in this process that the more he looked, the more shocked he was, and the more he looked, the more he admired!

From "bestowing harvest" to "civilization leap," and then to "faith reshaping," what this paper shows is not just simple Void exploration, but a terrifying ability that is close to "creation" and macro-regulation of civilization!

He always thought that the young Prince was just messing around, but he didn't expect that the other party had such a far-reaching layout and insight behind his seemingly reckless behavior!

This is too incredible!

"Didn't expect... Prince Kelin's research on the Void has such a realm." Heketuo put down the newspaper, leaned on the back of the chair, and muttered to himself, "It's me... I underestimated him."

Actually, he should have expected it long ago.

Being able to write such an article in the apprentice assessment, he is definitely not an ordinary person. It's just because of the things that happened later, he forgot the full-score answer sheet for a while.

Undoubtedly, this paper will open a brand-new door for the Void exploration that has been stagnant in the Academy for hundreds of years!

Even not just the Void, his research will also bring huge inspiration to the Source Magic school's theory of "Source Power"!

If this Prince can find some useful treasures from the Void he "transformed"... then the "Magical Science" he created will probably really become a prominent study!

Thinking of this, half of Heketuo's heart is relief and joy, and the other half is uncontrollable tension and anxiety.

On the one hand, this talent was discovered by him and recommended to the Sage Council. Prince Kelin's achievements just proved Heketuo's vision. However, on the other hand, according to this Prince's knowledge, Void No. 440 will probably be squeezed dry before long, and it will not be his turn to share a piece of the pie at all.

"... Careless." Heketuo sighed secretly with complicated feelings and put the newspaper he had read again and again back on the table.

Just when he was tangled in his heart, the door of the laboratory was suddenly pushed open, and he saw his old acquaintance—Professor Hobo, who was also of the Source Magic school, walked in with a happy face.

"Haha! Heketuo! You old guy hide really deep! You silently dug up such an incredible talent for the Council!"

Professor Hobo's voice arrived before he did. He saw him walking quickly to Heketuo's desk, praising with a happy face.

"You received the latest issue of the Sage's Report, right? I just finished reading the paper he published, it's simply enlightening! I declare in advance, I have to apologize to you. I complained to you before, saying that you pushing him to the Council as the researcher of Void No. 440 was simply old and confused! Now it seems that it is me who is old and confused. There is no mentor more suitable for studying Void No. 440 than that Prince!"

This heartfelt compliment made Heketuo's old face blush.

Especially when he thought that he had just expressed his lack of optimism about Kelin in private not long ago, and even put forward the suggestion of "cooperation and dividend," it made him feel as itchy as if he were pricked by needles on his back.

However, due to face, he was not easy to admit that he had actually misread it, so he could only cough twice while pretending to be calm.

"Cough cough! Low-key, low-key... To tell you the truth, I saw it long ago, this Prince is not an ordinary person..."

"More than not an ordinary person!"

Professor Hobo excitedly supported his hands on the wooden table, and the spit was almost stuck to Professor Heketuo's lenses, but he didn't notice the stiffness of the latter's expression at all, only kept praising.

"That Prince's thinking is simply unconstrained! Especially his groundbreaking progress on Void No. 440, I heard that even the Sage Council was shocked! Saint Xisi is above, Heketuo, for the sake of our acquaintance for many years, can you introduce me to that young scholar? Regarding that paper, I have many things I want to talk to him about! Help me!"

"This is easy to say, easy to say..."

Facing the old friend's eager gaze, Heketuo was perfunctory while pondering secretly in his heart.

This old thing reminded him.

Perhaps—

It's time for him to apologize to Prince Kelin.

At the same time, in Alistair Thorne's private meditation room, the air was as quiet as solidified amber.

At this moment, this high-ranking old professor was sitting cross-legged in front of a dark green crystal with his eyes closed, sucking the pure Source Power greedily through the method of breathing and exhaling.

Just at this moment, a burst of urgent knocking on the door broke this tranquility.

"Professor, it's me..." An urgent voice of a mentor under his command came from outside the door.

Professor Alistair slowly opened his eyes, and a trace of displeasure flashed in his deep eyes.

He didn't like being disturbed while meditating.

However, considering that his servant might have important matters to report, he ended his meditation and said calmly: "Come in."

The mentor waiting outside the meditation room pushed the door and entered, holding a newly issued "Sage's Report" in his hand, with an unbelievable expression on his face.

"Professor, look at this! It's Prince Kelin... He published a paper on Void No. 440!"

"Oh?" Alistair's tone carried a trace of understated arrogance, "That guy who plays to the gallery, can he have any shocking insights?"

The mentor didn't dare to answer, just silently handed over the newspaper.

Alistair stretched out his withered hand, took the "Sage's Report" casually, and his gaze fell on the paper with "Kelin" as the first author.

However, just a few seconds later, his calm expression completely stiffened.

Especially when he saw the observation data cited in the discussion part, he was so surprised that he almost dropped his chin.

He almost immediately realized that he had made a stupid mistake—he had seriously misjudged Kelin's true level!

This guy is not a straw bag who loves to show off at all; all his previous behaviors were "playing the pig to eat the tiger"!

Alistair's face was terribly gloomy.

Especially when he thought that he had deliberately pushed the waves in the Council to help this guy get the undeveloped Void No. 440, he regretted it so much that his intestines were blue!

Now it's good!

Meat pie hitting a dog, no return!

Void No. 440 will undoubtedly be eaten clean by this Prince, whether it is himself or Professor Heketuo, don't even think about taking over!

Forcibly suppressing the anger and regret surging in his chest, the wrinkled face returned to unfathomable calmness.

After thinking for a while, he handed the newspaper back to his subordinate and ordered calmly in a tone without any emotion.

"Since Prince Kelin has provided us with a brand-new idea, we cannot fall behind. You go back immediately and try to learn from the experimental strategy mentioned in this paper in the 'Void No. 178' you are responsible for, and see if it can be reproduced."

The mentor quickly took the paper and said respectfully.

"Yes, Professor."

Alistair waved his hand.

"Go down."

Watching the mage who bowed and retired, Alistair slowly closed his eyes, wanting to re-enter meditation, but he was extremely irritable and couldn't calm down at all.

He had no grudge against Kelin, but as soon as he thought that he had misread it, a nameless fire sprang up in his heart.

That fire didn't know where it came from.

Just when he felt manic, the flashing crystal also moved slightly.

Alistair took a deep breath, pointed his index finger forward, and the stone sparrow stopped at the window suddenly moved its wings and circled toward the bottom of the tower.

Not long after, there was another knock on the door outside the meditation room.

And along with it, there was also Skain's respectful voice.

"Professor, are you looking for me?"

Alistair said with a cold face.

"Come in."

Hearing this cold tone, Skain's heart suddenly thumped, but he still bit the bullet and walked into Professor Alistair's meditation room.

Sure enough.

The moment he stepped into the meditation room, he immediately felt a huge pressure covering his head, pressing him so that he could hardly breathe.

"Skain."

Alistair turned around, his cold eyes like a poisonous snake spitting letters, licking the apprentice's whole body with dangerous eyes.

"Do you know why I called you over?"

Skain knelt down immediately, lowering his head tremblingly.

"Please forgive the student for being dull..."

Regardless of whether he knew or not, he could only answer that he didn't know at this time.

Otherwise, it would be even worse.

Alistair sneered and said slowly.

"The information you provided is seriously insufficient, and even misleading. This directly led to my major misjudgment of Roxay Kelin's strength, for which I lost a precious Void resource."

Facing this pot falling from the sky, Skain also smiled bitterly in his heart.

But fortunately, Professor Alistair should just be angry and dizzy, not enough to kill him because of this little thing.

"It's the student's dereliction of duty! Please punish me, Professor!"

Skain lowered his head humbly, and after sincerely admitting his mistake, he whispered a reminder in a respectful and earnest tone.

"But Professor, please allow me to defend myself. I am just an apprentice, and the information I can get is really limited. And... it was you who told me personally that there is no need to report the 'little things' about that Prince to you."

Alistair's face stiffened slightly, but he remembered this matter, and he felt in his heart that his anger was a bit unreasonable.

It just so happened that the anger in his heart had dissipated almost, and he pondered that this matter should be turned over, after all, continuing to embarrass an apprentice would not help.

He pondered for a moment, turned around with a gloomy face, and muttered in a low voice, as if talking to himself.

"... It seems that I still have to contact this Prince Kelin personally."

He judged that the storm caused by that paper would reach the ears of the "Sage Council" before long.

That is the true highest level of the Academy.

Perhaps he should establish a relationship better than "friendly" with him before that guy climbs to a higher position.

Although they have a little bit of unhappiness, it is far from being an enemy, and he doesn't have to stand on the opposite side of him.

Just when Alistair was thinking this way, the whispers from the mysterious void were constantly repeating one sentence in his mind—

'Why tolerate that guy.'

'Can you really accept it? An outsider, climbing to the same position as you without any effort, and even very likely... replacing you.'

Shut up!

Alistair's expression distorted for a moment, and he roared in his heart, scaring the whispering voice away for a while.

Skain lowered his head tremblingly, not daring to look at the professor's expression, just asked respectfully: "Professor, do you need me to create some opportunities for you?"

Alistair waved his hand impatiently.

"No need. You just continue to act as the eyes I planted beside him."

While saying this, his eyes became incomparably sharp, and he continued to order in a cold and unquestionable tone.

"... But I want you to remember, from now on, anything about Prince Kelin, no matter how big or small, I want you to report to me one by one! Even if he eats an extra piece of bread in the cafeteria and drinks an extra cup of water, I want to know!"

Skain's heart tightened.

He understood that this professor who had been hiding behind the scenes was finally going to take the field himself.

But the problem is...

That Prince hasn't eaten in the cafeteria either?

Feeling the irresistible pressure, Skain finally didn't dare to sing against the professor who was in anger, so he could only bite the bullet and answer.

"Yes... Professor."

Alistair waved his hand impatiently.

"Get out."

Skain retired hurriedly.

When the door of the meditation room closed, his back was already soaked with cold sweat, as if he had just crawled out of a cage holding a beast.

For some reason, he felt that Professor Alistair today seemed to be more terrifying than ever, and those tiger-watching eyes seemed to want to eat him.

And what made him even more afraid was that there seemed to be more than one pair of eyes staring at him in the dark, but he didn't know where the other pair was hidden...

A few days after the paper was published, the excellent academic achievements of "Void No. 440" were like a storm, not only shocking a group of professors who studied the Void, but also completely reversing the reputation of Mentor Kelin in the Academy.

In the corridor outside the classroom, the magic apprentices walking together whispered excitedly.

"I knew it! That Prince must have been fully prepared to do that!"

"As expected of a Prince from the Empire, this courage is indeed not simple!"

"But I heard he came from the Janna Continent..."

"Not important! That must also be the territory of the Empire!"

"By the way, did you see the conclusion of the paper? Guiding the evolution of civilization to promote the accumulation of Source Power! This is simply a divine stroke!"

"I said long ago that he is not an ordinary person, you still don't believe it..."

It was not only the famous Prince who reversed his reputation, but also the unknown Kuersi.

He, who had publicly mocked the Prince in the library earlier, became a clown in the mouths of other mages overnight.

No way, who told him that his voice was too loud at that time?

It happened to be in a quiet library, and this kid was commenting on the Prince who was out of his reach...

However, he was not a very famous guy after all. After everyone laughed twice, they forgot about this clown.

However, Kuersi couldn't get over this hurdle.

He began to become sensitive and suspicious, always feeling that all the whispers around him were mocking his ignorance and shallowness, although in fact no one remembered who he was at all.

In this continuous internal friction, he was suffering from self-torture every day, and regretting his slip of the tongue at that time.

Especially when he found that the girl he loved was not angry, but completely ignored him!

The continuous blows made him completely lose his footing. For a moment, his heart felt like ten thousand ants were crawling, itching and scratching!

Can't wait like this anymore—

Finally, Kuersi couldn't sit still and decided to take action before that demon attacked his goddess!

Although just a few days ago, his plan was to wait until the Prince was tired of playing in the Academy and wait until his goddess was heartbroken before taking action...

Kuersi mustered all his courage, bought a bunch of red roses that were extremely rare in the northern wilderness from a merchant on Craftsman Street, blocked Ilana, who was preparing to leave the classroom, the moment Mentor Kelin announced the end of class, and said loudly in front of everyone.

"Ilana, please forgive me!"

Without any accident, a burst of exclamations spread around, many young boys and girls blushed, and then whispered to each other with interest while looking here.

What's the situation?

Is there a story?

The rollers of the Academy are not without any interest. On the contrary, living in the ice and snow, they are far more suppressed than the young people of the Holy City Royal Academy of Arts.

This boring life really needs some gossip to adjust. After all, people always want what they lack.

Kuersi felt proud in his heart, feeling that he was simply extremely smart. Everyone around was watching, and at this moment, Ilana should be shy.

He only needed to show his thick-skinned side, and then pursue the victory—

However, when he raised his head, he saw a face he didn't expect. There was no human emotion on that cold face, as cold as the howling wind and snow outside the mage tower.

Although this girl didn't have many expressions usually, it seemed that she had never been so indifferent.

Facing the whispers of the crowd, Ilana didn't say a word, turned around silently, and left from the other door of the classroom.

Unlike the gossiping apprentices, she didn't even have the interest to know the follow-up of the story.

Holding the bunch of expensive roses, Kuersi stood stiffly in place, feeling that all his dignity had been crushed, and his heart was gray.

The people around looked at each other, seemingly realizing that all this was just his wishful thinking, so they walked away awkwardly.

Not long after, only Kuersi was left in the classroom.

He couldn't even remember how he left the classroom, like a ghost wandering on the snowfield.

Just at this moment, he heard the discussion of several passing apprentices, and the protagonist of the discussion was Ilana who had just left.

"Was that Ilana who just passed by? I heard the senior sister mention her. It is said that she is now Prince Kelin's most capable assistant!"

"Hey, really envious..."

"Don't envy, that guy really has some skills. It is said that she is the only apprentice in Prince Kelin's laboratory who has mastered the mentor's true biography! It's that micro-something integral..."

"Incredible... How on earth did she learn that thing? I can't even understand it..."

The whispering voice was like a poisonous thorn, piercing Kuersi's heart fiercely.

His jealousy exploded completely, and he couldn't bear it anymore. He couldn't help but interject sourly at the classmates who were discussing.

"What's so great about it... Do you think Prince Kelin taught her that thing because he took a fancy to her ability?"

The corridor was quiet for a while.

Several apprentices looked at this senior who suddenly interjected in surprise, not knowing what temper he was having, and even less understanding why he had a jealous expression on his face.

"... What are you talking about?"

A young apprentice looked at him in confusion, and another apprentice standing next to him said directly.

"'Calculus' isn't something Prince Kelin publicly talked about in his science class? We all know it."

Kuersi was stunned.

Publicly... talked about?

But he was clearly in that class too, why didn't he have any impression at all?!

When was it talked about?!

Several magic apprentices looked at each other, didn't care about this inexplicable guy anymore, and walked away in a hurry.