The Demon King is unfathomable

Chapter 371 Unexpected Twists and Turns

The moment Luo Yan finished speaking, Miller and the other researchers panicked and their faces turned pale.

Using the "source power" residing on the stone tablet, bestow a bountiful harvest upon the indigenous people in the virtual realm.
This……

What kind of joke is His Highness making?!

"Your Highness... no, Mentor!"

Miller hurriedly stepped forward, his voice trembling with nervousness, "Wouldn't you like to reconsider? Source energy isn't used like that..."

Miller and his teaching assistants were not the only ones surprised.

Even Tafu, who was wrapped around Luo Yan's neck, and Youyou, who was secretly floating beside him, showed expressions of surprise.

Whenever he did something unconventional, only Sarah would stand firmly by his side, supporting every decision he made, right or wrong.

Looking at the teaching assistant whose face was full of anxiety, Luo Yan simply smiled faintly and asked in a gentle tone.

"Oh, then please tell me, how is this so-called 'source power' used?"

Miller swallowed hard and continued speaking nervously.

"As I just explained to you... we can first extract a small piece of matter from behind the virtual realm, or wait for the prophets among the native inhabitants behind the virtual realm to take the initiative to understand our existence and establish a stable communication mechanism with us... These are all more prudent approaches. Only gradual contact can ensure the stability of the virtual realm and maximize our benefits within it."

Seemingly worried that the prince might not realize the seriousness of the problem, he quickly added another sentence.

"Professor Hector must have warned you, right? There are limits to our interference with the illusory realm. Excessive interference could not only lead to negative consequences, but could also cause the passage that we've worked so hard to open to collapse! Even for the sake of the future of the magical world, please... be more cautious!"

That's actually quite true; being cautious in everything you do is never a bad thing.

However, since this was "someone else's treasure," Luo Yan certainly wouldn't treat it with the same tenderness as his own.

Of course.

That being said, he didn't come here intentionally to cause trouble; on the contrary, he made this decision after careful consideration.

These magicians from the academy were completely unaware of the role they were playing on the other side of the virtual realm.

as well as--

The energy attached to the stone tablet was not "source power" at all, but a source that transcends all extraordinary power - the "thoughts of the masses" with the power to change the world!
That is the power of the gods!
"Miller, I agree with you. We should indeed be more cautious."

Seeing that His Highness Colin had finally listened to their advice, Miller and the other teaching assistants all breathed a sigh of relief.

However, before the expression on his face could relax, Luo Yan changed the subject, and a "but" made their hearts, which had finally settled down, jump back into their throats.

"...But! This doesn't mean we should stop exploring!"

Looking at the group of panicked teaching assistants, Luo Yan changed his usual gentle tone and suddenly raised his voice, speaking in a calm but firm voice.

"If no one dares to make sacrifices to explore the boundaries of the Void Realm, and everyone hesitates and shrinks back for their own petty gains, let alone a hundred Void Realms, even if there are ten thousand more—our understanding of the Void Realm will forever remain superficial!"

"Since none of you dare to make a change, then let me be the one at the forefront. If I lose the key to exploring the virtual world because of this, I will feel honored and proud of my failure! Even if I cannot be the pioneer on this path of progress, I can still use my bones to forge the bricks that pave this path—"

"It's all for science!"

For Luo Yan, impassioned speeches came almost effortlessly.

Although he didn't deliberately try to convince the teaching assistants, his words unexpectedly touched some of those who were wavering.

For example, Miller.

Even though this experienced teaching assistant believed from the bottom of his heart that it was unwise to start with such a radical experimental strategy, he couldn't help but admire the prince's pioneering courage!

Other professors at Xuebang would never dare to make such a bold attempt using the virtual resources at their disposal.

All along, their research on the virtual realm has been nothing more than playing the role of thieves, stealing things from otherworldly beings or learning their knowledge from behind the virtual realm.

Theories about the virtual realm are almost all built around this core goal, and the first priority of all professors is to seek a breakthrough in the level of the soul.

While it cannot be said that their research on the virtual realm itself was entirely without merit, to say that it was anything remarkable would be utterly laughable.

For a fleeting moment, Miller felt an overwhelming sense of shame and embarrassment.

He asked himself honestly, and realized he wasn't exactly a noble person. His reason for advising Prince Colin wasn't for the benefit of the academy or the future of the magical world; it was simply because he was worried about his own future.

Although he wasn't held responsible for the failed exploration of the virtual realm, the opportunity to explore it was one he had fought hard for.

Selfishness is not inherently wrong; people should prioritize their own interests before considering others.

However, when this selfishness was placed before a noble soul, he almost immediately felt his own insignificance and pitifulness.

Undoubtedly, the risks he took were insignificant compared to those of Prince Colin.

After all, even if this exploration of the Void Realm fails, he can still enter other mage towers based on his past experience in exploring the Void Realm, while Prince Colin probably won't have a second chance to explore the Void Realm.

Suddenly, he understood what the scientific theory that Prince Colin had been explaining in class really was.

As His Highness said, science is not theory.

It's not a concept, but an idea!

With an unprecedented seriousness on his face, Miller took a deep breath and looked solemnly at Prince Colin.

“Mentor. Not long ago, I was often confused about what you meant by science, but now... I think I might understand what it is.”

"Go ahead and do it! I'll support you!"

Oh?
Luo Yan glanced at Miller in surprise, wondering how the conversation had turned to science, and even more confused as to how he had gained another loyal subordinate.

But this is undoubtedly a good thing, he said with a hearty laugh.

"Excellent! This is the spirit I want to see! Miller, let's go for it!"

"Yes, mentor!" Miller nodded excitedly and returned to his seat.

Those standing here are all teaching assistants from the Source Law School; they are not skilled in life-based spells that accelerate plant growth. Moreover, generally speaking, simply accelerating plant growth can actually have a negative impact on farmland.

However, this is not important.

Leading them in exploring the virtual realm is His Highness Colin, who possesses Platinum-level strength!

Although they didn't know what to do, they were sure that His Highness Colin knew!
Coincidentally, Luo Yan actually knew how to do it; the players in the Great Tomb and the Night Elves had already solved this problem long ago.

Professor Hector might not have been able to handle this, but for him, it was just a matter of a word.

He didn't need to immediately bring down a miracle from the other side of the virtual realm; he only needed to ensure that the poor but devout "Solipssi" people had a better harvest in their barren fields than last year.

"Youyou, can you sense the power of faith on the boulder?" The wand slid into his hand, and Luo Yan silently communicated with his own divine essence in his mind.

"No problem!" A spirited voice came from beside Luo Yan, a voice that came from the deepest part of his soul and could only be heard by him.

Luo Yan nodded slightly as he raised his wand.

"very good--"

"give it to you!"

As they watched Prince Colin point the tip of his staff at the Void Realm, all the teaching assistants held their breath, watching his every move with bated breath.

Most of the virtual realms explored by the Source Law School are based on "Source Power".

Logically speaking, the Source Law School does not have incantations to induce the growth of animals, and they are all very curious about how this prince intends to activate the Source Power attached to the boulder.

Just when everyone thought that His Highness would chant some earth-shattering incantation, Prince Colin, standing in front of the illusory realm, remained completely still.

Miller was puzzled, not understanding what the prince was doing, but he was too embarrassed to ask, and even more afraid to disturb his "spellcasting".

It's normal that he can't understand it; only Luo Yan can see Youyou's movements.

From his perspective, the milky white mist had completely enveloped the illusory realm, and the tendrils of his spiritual power were penetrating behind the mirror like countless fine threads.

Interference with the virtual realm has begun!

Luo Yan's expression hardened slightly.

He felt his spiritual tendrils, like invisible roots, penetrate the barrier of the illusory realm, pass over the bustling pilgrims, and gently touch the soft, barren land beneath their feet.

He didn't try to force the sparse crops to grow faster, as that would only be counterproductive.

What he wants to do is change that land itself, and through the subtle and silent nourishment, reveal his miracles to the world behind the virtual realm!
The pure power of faith began to undergo subtle changes under the intervention of his divine status, guiding the nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium salts and other substances floating in the minerals and air to slowly deposit on the barren land beneath the feet of the Solipus people!
It was like an invisible rain that, on an afternoon when no one knew it, brought about a dramatic change to the world of the Solipusi.

This power does not originate from behind the virtual realm—

It comes from themselves!
On the other hand, in the eyes of the teaching assistants, the world behind the virtual realm had not changed at all.

The connection remained as stable as ever, and the Solipus people on the other side seemed completely unaware, still devoutly bowing their heads in prayer again and again.

Time passed by minute by minute.

Everything was calm and peaceful.

Miller and the others finally relaxed a little. They looked at each other, feeling a sense of relief despite their regret.

It seems that His Highness ultimately adopted a cautious approach and did not actually intervene on a large scale.

Perhaps what I just said was just to test their resolve...

Miller sighed softly to himself.

For some reason, he felt a sense of loss at this moment when he should have been celebrating.

He had thought that Prince Colin was different from the other professors, but now it seemed that the prince was just a mediocre person, and those impassioned speeches were just a test of their loyalty.

However, Miller admitted that for a moment when Miller spoke, he was indeed awakened to a hidden desire within him—a desire to explore the unknown.

They are scholars, not like tyrants in a castle, guarding their heaven-sent treasures without making progress, scheming against each other, and thinking all day about how to extract more resources from those who are far weaker than them to fill their insatiable greed.

However, just as Miller composed himself and was about to ask Prince Colin about his next plan, a sudden change occurred—

The virtual scene at the very center of the magic circle began to tremble violently, as if countless pebbles had been thrown into the lake.

Looking at the gradually blurring mirror, Miller was stunned at first, then his expression suddenly changed!

"This is……"

The source power gathered on the boulder—

It's all used up?!
In just a moment, the azure mirror, like a television set suddenly losing power, beeped and returned to deathly silence.

The mage tower was deathly silent. The teaching assistants standing on the magic circle looked at each other, and then whispers broke out.

"Good heavens, what have you done?"

Taff, nestled on Luo Yan's shoulder, stared in surprise at his handsome profile. She seemed to realize the seriousness of the situation and this time didn't dare to gloat.

Luo Yan ignored her and instead turned his gaze to Youyou, who was floating to the side.

"You used up all the faith power on the other side?"

"How could this be, Lord Demon King? I... I did use some, but there's clearly still quite a bit left." Youyou's voice was filled with confusion and bewilderment, like a child who had made a mistake, burying her head and not knowing what had happened.

Luo Yan didn't blame Youyou. He just thought for a moment and then calmly looked at Miller, who looked like he had no will to live.

"Don't be nervous, the virtual passage is still there, our exploration has not failed. Perhaps it's just a lack of energy, or something has happened behind the virtual realm that we don't know about."

After a pause, he continued.

"Exploring the future is never always smooth sailing; all sorts of twists and turns are inevitable."

"In short, let's keep observing for now."

……

Although Miller looked utterly dejected, his mentor Luo Yan was much more optimistic.

Doesn't the fact that an unexpected situation occurred prove that his research strategy was effective?
Otherwise, what is the purpose of the research?
Is it just to repeat what has already been done over and over again, and incidentally steal some tributes from the otherworldly beings?

He doesn't care about that little bit of junk.

Of course, Luo Yan also understood that for these mages struggling at the bottom of the Great Sage's Tower, the actual significance of the Void Realm was far more than just research material; it was more of a ladder for these mages to climb the tower.

Even though in most cases, the idea that "a little bit of soup from your respected mentor would be enough to fill your stomach" is just a beautiful fantasy.

They completely forgot that their respected mentor and they were all fruits from the same vine, so how could there be any reason for a single drop of soup to leak out?
That means you'll definitely lick the plate clean after you've finished the soup.

After giving the order to continue observation, Luo Yan placed a crystal ball near the magic circle, then got into Professor Hector's carriage and left Corinth Tower, which stood in the ice and snow, like a gust of wind.

Shortly after he left Corin Tower, news spread like wildfire that "Prince Corin had exhausted the source power of the 440th Void Realm in one fell swoop."

Whether or not someone was stirring things up behind the scenes, this news was like a boulder thrown into a calm lake, causing a huge uproar throughout the Great Sage's Tower!

As is widely known, the virtual realm is the most valuable strategic resource of Xuebang.

Such a precious "sacred object" was squandered by a newly arrived "outsider," which is hard not to make countless mentors and teaching assistants who had high expectations for it sigh with regret.

"I don't know what the council is thinking... They'd rather give it to an outsider from the Holy City than share it with one of their own."

"Hehe, isn't that normal? Your friendship is nothing compared to the friendship of the Holy City. Who knows, you might be the 'outsider'."

"If that virtual realm is truly destroyed, Professor Hector is likely to be in trouble."

"That's not necessarily true. Professor Hector wasn't the only one pushing this forward; Professor Aristotle was also involved. Professor Hector was a bit lacking, but that gentleman can hardly be considered an 'outsider.' The Tower of Great Sages is quite kind to its 'true insiders.'"

"By Saint Sith... I beg your grace, please take this prince back quickly!"

Inside the Tower of the Great Sage, from the dining hall to the corridors, and from the corridors to the classrooms, whispers and discussions could be heard everywhere.

Only in public libraries, where absolute silence is required, can one avoid hearing those discussions that are either regretful or gloating.

Of course, not being able to hear doesn't mean there's nothing there; it might just mean the voice is very soft.

For example, Kurs, who was studying, was clearly one of the gloating types.

People without a sense of self are mostly like this; extreme love and extreme hate are like two sides of a coin, which can be flipped seventeen or eighteen times with a simple toss.

Although he initially admired that prince, not only because the prince not only entered the Tower of Great Sages through his own abilities but also because he protected the interests of the examinees, after the "60-point incident" and the "99-point incident," he felt neglected and immediately turned from a fan to a hater.

He stole a glance at Ilana sitting opposite him, and, driven by jealousy and schadenfreude, he lowered his voice and complained to Finn beside him.

"...I knew that prince was just a show-off! Now look what happened, he really messed things up!"

Finn looked up blankly, not understanding his senior's expression, especially his "See, I'm so damn smart" look.

You didn't say that before...

Unable to decipher the confusion in his junior's eyes, Kuers felt his criticism wasn't sharp enough and hadn't caught Ilana's attention, so he added another sentence.

"And what about his platinum-level strength? I don't know if it's true or not. Anyway, no one dares to test the strength of a prince, right? Has anyone ever seen him use magic above bronze level in class? Talking about science is a waste of time!"

His baseless speculation did, however, successfully attract Ilana's attention.

She gently put down the book in her hand and said in an unquestionable tone.

“Senior Kuhls, I believe Professor Colin must have his reasons for doing this. As for your criticism of his theories… if you think it’s a waste of time, why not use your time on more valuable things?”

Kuers's face stiffened.

He was too embarrassed to admit that he didn't want to listen to that boring science class at all, and that he only went because someone else was in that class.

However, what angered him even more than the unspeakable reason was that a mere prospective student dared to contradict him, a mage.

"Heh, so you've already started taking his side. Looks like things are progressing pretty quickly," Kurs said, his anger rising, and blurted out a sarcastic remark. "But it's understandable, considering how many benefits he's given you. Am I right, Assistant Instructor Ilana? Or... should I consider changing how I address you?"

He regretted saying it as soon as it left his mouth, but it was too late to take it back now, and it would only make him lose face.

Ilana looked at Kurs in surprise, her eyes first filled with shock, then turning into a hint of pity. "How did you become like this?"

Seeing that the atmosphere was getting tense, Finn quickly tried to smooth things over.

"Everyone, calm down... Colin's actions were indeed a bit... uh, not quite appropriate? But I think Ilana is right, he has no obligation to disclose research details to irrelevant people, does he? It's his research... As for the benefits, I believe Ilana wasn't defending him for that reason—"

"enough!"

Driven by jealousy, Kurs rudely interrupted Finn, straightening his back and striking a pose as if defending the truth.

“I’ve always been this way! I’m glad you’ve come to know me again. Besides, this is a school, not a holy city! Nor is it the castle of the Kingdom of Rhodes! Whether you’re a prince or a duke, you’re just a scholar to me. There’s no one you can’t criticize!”

The noise drew disapproving glances.

Although Kurs kept his voice down, it still reached the ears of the apprentices who were studying nearby.

That's actually true. In Xuebang, you don't have to care about status, at least not in name. But that doesn't mean they're obligated to listen to an incompetent, furious guy rambling on.

Ilana was amused by Kurs's hypocritical remarks.

He was completely unaware that he had offended not only His Highness Colin, but also those who were interested in his doctrines.

She retorted sharply.

"Then at least criticize specific problems, or do you have any better ideas, such as how exactly to study the virtual realm, instead of using unfounded speculation to deny everything about it."

She paused, her gaze growing even colder, like the howling wind outside the Great Sage's Tower.

"Also, don't think you're so noble. You only dare to say that because Prince Colin is a very good person. Even if you talk badly about him behind his back, he won't make things difficult for you. Saying the harshest things in the safest place is not heroic. I hope you can be just as tough when you're facing Professor Hector. He's not a duke or a prince. You can criticize him without worry."

"I……"

Kurs' face flushed red instantly, and he stubbornly retorted, though his words betrayed his inner weakness.

“How would I know how the Void Realm is researched? I’m just an apprentice, I don’t even have the chance to come into contact with that stuff! And… why would I criticize Professor Hector? I think everything he does is right! I should be praising him!”

This time, Finn didn't dare to smooth things over again.

Ilana is right. Prince Colin is indeed a good person and never makes things difficult for his students, but Professor Hector is a different story.

The old man's pettiness was a well-known fact even among the freshmen.

I heard that last month, a young man was punished by having to clean an entire potions lab just for privately complaining about having too many tasks.

Furthermore, the use of golems is forbidden, and the use of magical power is also prohibited.

Seeing Kurs' cowardly yet stubborn appearance, Ilana's eyes flashed with a final hint of disdain, and she threw down a sarcastic remark.

"Really? Even if he makes you lie in the snow and freeze like a dog, he still calls it 'training your will'? And then hypocritically says at the end that it's for your own good? Winter recruitment isn't a new thing. Don't tell me you came in three years ago with a recommendation letter and didn't have to experience Professor Hector's care."

Her voice wasn't loud, but it reached Kurs's ears clearly.

"At least... His Highness Colin thinks this is wrong!"

That was something he said in the very first lesson, though many apprentices either don't remember it or have long forgotten it.

After saying that, Ilana stopped looking at Kurs's face, which had instantly turned deathly pale, neatly put away her book, and walked away without looking back.

(End of this chapter)