The Demon King is unfathomable

Chapter 380 The Great Sage Who Smooths Things Over

In the second week after the publication of the Corinthian paper, a closed-door meeting of the Sage Council was held at the top of the Great Sage's Tower in a solemn and respectful atmosphere.

Thirteen high-backed chairs made of white oak, symbolizing Xuebang's undisputed authority and purity in the field of knowledge, surround a round table carved with a star pattern.

The sages who sit here to discuss matters are all scholars who have reached the pinnacle of their respective fields. Whether in terms of scholarship or reputation, they are undisputed the strongest, and even the weakest among them are at the Amethyst level. The Great Sage, as the head of all the sages, is even a demigod!
and--

This demigod did not achieve this through the grace of Saint Sith, but rather through his exploration of the Void Realm, breaking through from the Grandmaster level!
The original illusory realm was opened by him personally fifty years ago!

At this very moment, these undisputed powerful figures are seated around a wide round table, looking down upon the issues on the table like gods.

"Everyone."

The great sage Adorulk, seated in the main seat, spoke first. His calm, still voice echoed in the hall like a deep, ancient bell.

"I'm sure everyone has already seen the report submitted by Corinta. Let's share our thoughts on the research on Virtual Realm 440 and the 'guidance' mode mentioned therein."

The first to speak was a sage from the protective school, an elderly man with a gaunt face and an ever-tense expression, who stood up.

His pupils gleamed with wisdom, but the voice that came from his throat was hoarse and dull, like armor and shields ready for battle.

"I believe Prince Colin's actions were extremely reckless and set a dangerous precedent!"

He glanced at the sages behind the round table and slowly continued, "Every time we interfere with the Void Realm, we are announcing our existence to an unknown world. Gentlemen, please do not forget the ancient warning—when we gaze at the Void Realm, the Void Realm is also gazing at us."

"I agree with the Protector Sage's point of view!"

At the same moment the sage of the Protective School sat down, a tall, thin middle-aged man stood up and tapped the table with his withered fingers.

Unlike the mild-mannered Protector, this Sage from the Summoning School spoke more forcefully and specifically.

"What I'm worried about isn't the physical retaliation, but the deeper 'spiritual pollution' from another world! Such a drastic change to the course of a civilization will inevitably attract the attention of some kind of 'restraining force' in the void, and may even cause us to suffer its backlash! Professor Keynes's loss is a lesson from the past! We cannot bring unknown disasters to the entire academic community because of a seemingly successful 'miracle'!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than the sage of the Elementalist School stood up and immediately retorted.

"Worries are unnecessary! Not to mention that the existence of 'restraint force' in the void is just our conjecture, not a conclusion! The Academy's research over the past half-century has proven countless times that there is an upper limit to the exchange of matter and energy that can take place in the void passage! The worst case scenario is that the people on the other side throw a bomb that can't explode at us."

He was an old man with a fiery temper, which was perhaps related to his skill in fire magic and his experience serving in a frontline mage corps.

Although the Elementalists were not necessarily radical and could be conservative at times, they had a natural affinity for the Empire.

As for his last point, it is certainly not without precedent.

The virtual realm channel also has its limits for the transmission of matter, and all material exchanges are based on a shared understanding.

In other words, they can guide the natives to create wands and learn the magic of the continent of Os, but they cannot throw the wands to the other side or steal things from the other side that they do not understand.

Once, a creature from the Void Realm threw a "big iron lump" at them. It was later confirmed by the Artillery Engineering College of the Imperial Royal Naval Academy that the thing was designed to be a bomb, but for some reason the warhead was replaced and the launching principle was also a mystery.

After refuting the Summoner's point of view, the Elemental Sage paused, then continued in an invigorated tone.

"Gentlemen, I believe Prince Colin has pioneered an unparalleled research model! Instead of playing the role of a timid thief, merely trying to steal a pitiful amount of information from the pockets of foolish otherworldly beings, why not simply keep them under our control and guide their development according to our own wishes? I've figured it out; isn't this precisely the process of establishing shared understanding?"

"Moreover, we have already proven that a civilization built by spiritualists brings far more benefits than a civilization built by materialists! Both in an academic and practical sense!"

This statement resonated with many wise men.

The "flying boat" they painstakingly devised from behind the illusion was ultimately proven to have originated from materialists.

However, the reality is that this seemingly impressive magical device is actually not very useful.

They need to consume a lot of magic crystals to make it fly, but in reality, it's just a large mule.

The Empire's sailing ships are faster and cheaper, and only in the swampy northern wastelands can they be of any use.

Instead, they learned more from the civilization of spiritualists.

Today, there are hundreds of schools of thought in the academic community, and many of their theories have been perfected through exchanges with the virtual realm, with the Source Law School being the most prominent among them.

As the two groups of wise men debated, the council was effectively divided into two camps: radical and conservative.

Just then, the sages of the enchanting school raised a new issue.

"Compared to the debate about the Void Realm itself, I'm actually more interested in the 'Magic Science Laboratory' mentioned in the paper. And the 'science' that Prince Colin mentioned, I think it's a very novel perspective, and it has inspired many of the mages under my command... even though they are not engaged in Void Realm research."

He paused, looked at everyone, his eyes gleaming with wisdom, and continued to explain his findings after a deeper understanding.

“I have read some of His Highness Colin’s lecture notes. Although what he teaches has nothing to do with magic, the positivist spirit and so-called mortal wisdom he imparts to his students can be used to assist or even optimize our magical research.”

"For example, using his mathematical tools—that is, calculus—to calculate the optimal structure of enchanted runes can easily reduce unnecessary losses of magic power during the flow process. Another example is his theory on force fields, which has been quite enlightening for my personal research into the nature of mental power. Perhaps our mental power can actually be explained as a special kind of 'force field'."

"Force field? I think it's better to call it a playground."

A disdainful voice rang out, coming from a sage of the legal school.

His hair was neatly combed, like a judge's, and his arrogant expression only reinforced the stereotypes he gave to others.

"This guy invented some new terms just to create an air of mystery and attract attention, hoping to enjoy the adoration of the crowd. Otherwise, why would he lecture to those prospective students instead of those who actually understand magic? What do a bunch of apprentices know!"

"Forgive my bluntness, but he's merely transplanted the tricks of the Holy City's Royal Academy of Arts, designed to please mortals, to our northern wastelands. A mage's precious and finite life should be devoted to pursuing the mysteries of the soul and the source of power, not wasted on these trivial skills!"

He had studied the calculus that Colin had come up with, but so far, its only use was to give him a headache.

The heated debate lasted for the entire morning.

Few mentors have caused such controversy that the top management of Xuebang held a meeting for an entire morning about it.

Finally, all eyes were on the great sage Adorulk, awaiting his final judgment.

The great sage remained silent for a long time before finally speaking slowly. Every word he uttered was as solemn and authoritative as the Great Sage's Tower.

"...Prince Colin's research in the 440th Virtual Realm was groundbreaking, that much is undeniable. The Council should acknowledge the academic standing of the 'Magic Science Laboratory' and the achievements of Colin Tower, and affirm their accomplishments."

The radical sages immediately showed joy, while the conservative sages mostly looked rather grim.

However, the joy on their faces did not last long, and it soon froze because of the great sage's next words.

"...However, it is a well-known fact that no mage tower has yet replicated the achievements of the Corin Tower. Furthermore, the Corin Tower itself has not proven that their proactive intervention strategy yields greater benefits. The prosperity behind the Void Realm does not mean that we can gain more from it... What do you think, Elemental Sage?"

Seeing Adoruluk looking at him, the Elemental Sage felt a slight chill run down his spine, his face tense, and he nodded slightly.

"That's the truth... The mage tower under the Elementalist School hasn't successfully replicated the experiment yet, but we should be able to make new progress soon."

"Let's wait until we make progress," Adorulk said casually, silencing the Elemental Sage who was about to utter the rest of his sentence.

Facts speak louder than words.

The great sage's meaning is clear: he needs to see more results before deciding whether Xuebang holds a positive or negative attitude towards the "radical intervention strategy."

The conservative sages present breathed a slight sigh of relief, at least it showed that the Great Sage had not been blinded by Corinta's temporary success and had not relaxed his vigilance against the Void Realm.

On the surface, it may seem that others adopting radical research strategies does not hinder their own research, but in fact, it is impossible.

This is not just an academic issue, but also a political one.

If Xuebang supports the achievements of Kolinta, many mentors and professors engaged in virtual realm research will adopt more radical strategies to encourage the development of the civilization behind the virtual realm, even forcing growth and neglecting the output of the virtual realm itself.

Since achieving results will yield more virtual resources, sacrificing one or two worthless resources seems acceptable.

If this continues, resources in the virtual realm will become even more scarce, and the limited resources will be concentrated in the hands of those radical scholars.

Therefore, sometimes they must curb this trend. This is not only for the sake of Xuebang as a whole, but also for their own sake.

Of course, this is just the conservative viewpoint; radicals, including the Elemental Sage, certainly have their own opinions.

While Corinta's research strategy may indeed weaken the output of the Void Realm in the short term, it will allow them to gain more in the long run.

For example, the Elementalists, although they are one of the three major factions, have far less influence in the Academy than they do in the Empire. Therefore, the resources they control in the Void Realm are not particularly high-quality resources, and most of them are leftovers from other mages.

Similar situations exist with the Enchanting School, the Astral School, and so on.

In that case, why not take a gamble with the trash you have?

Like the conservative sages, they also stood on the side of serving the collective interests of the academic community, and thus put forward views that benefited their own faction.

Even if their views are completely opposite.

Besides the radicals and conservatives, there are also sages who hold a neutral position, such as the sages of the Sacred Power School, who have not reacted much.

They weren't particularly close to the Empire, but they were closely related to the Empire's Papacy, and they weren't very interested in the Void Realm.

In contrast, they are more interested in the soul, which Prince Colin's research does not seem to touch upon.

The meeting is drawing to a close.

Just then, footsteps were heard outside the meeting room.

A scholar dressed in a mage's robe hurried up to the great sage Adorulk and whispered something in his ear.

Adorul listened patiently to the scholar's report, his brow furrowing slightly.

The sages seated at the round table did not speak, but waited patiently.

After about two minutes, Adorulk waved his hand, signaling the scholars beside him to step back, and then looked at the sages sitting at the table.

Seeing the Great Sage's serious expression, the Elemental Sage suddenly had a bad feeling.

"...Just now, a serious accident occurred in Virtual Realm No. 178. During the reproduction of the Corinta experiment, the mentor in charge of the Virtual Realm, Merck, turned the world behind the Virtual Realm into a desolate wasteland."

The Elemental Sage was slightly taken aback, and almost subconsciously said...

But that doesn't mean—

"This does not mean that active intervention experimental strategies are useless; I know what you're trying to say."

The great sage looked at him calmly, waiting for the excitement to subside before slowly continuing to speak.

"But this is still enough to show that the research strategy of active intervention is risky, and we should control the risks."

This is an impeccable reason.

The conservative sages were delighted, but this time it was the radical sages who were nervous.

After a pause, the venerable Great Sage Adoryluk glanced around the round table and announced the council's final decision in an unquestionable tone. "Until sufficient results are achieved at Corinth, we should issue a risk warning and freeze this research strategy within a limited scope... such as within Corinth."

"Until the Corinthian Tower achieves more research results, the Council will restrict the various schools of mage towers from adopting radical research strategies on the Virtual Realm."

"This is to protect our limited virtual resources."

……

While the sages listened to the wisdom of the great sage, the "Magic Science" laboratory was as lively as ever.

Nearly a hundred young apprentices are busy working on their respective projects.

Some were arguing heatedly about the theoretical model of the "thermobaric explosive bomb," while others, under Jamie's guidance, were carefully assembling the increasingly complex "reflective observation instrument," or tinkering with other strange and unusual things.

Unlike the somber atmosphere of the Sages Council.

The entire laboratory was filled with a positive and academic atmosphere, a stark contrast to the other laboratories in the same mage tower.

At this very moment, in a corner of the laboratory, Ilana, sitting at an oak table, is explaining her latest discovery to her mentor, Colin.

Her inspiration came from the basic mechanics that her tutor, Colin, had taught in a science class not long ago.

"...In the framework of mechanics you taught us, the core concern is 'force'. An object moves because a force acts on it. This statement is very intuitive and can be represented by a very simple formula 'F=ma'."

"However, when I want to use it to analyze complex systems... such as a double pendulum, or a bead sliding on a curved track, the force analysis becomes extremely complex."

Ilana raised her head and looked at Luo Yan with a questioning and expectant gaze, carefully uttering her guess.

"In that case, could we change our perspective? Instead of starting with 'force,' let's start with 'energy' to describe the entire system?"

Upon hearing this question, a hint of surprise flashed in Luo Yan's eyes, which then turned into a genuinely pleased smile as he praised her.

“Of course, that’s a great idea. When I talked about the concept of conservation of energy in class before, I was thinking about who among you would be the first to connect the two core concepts of ‘force’ and ‘energy’... So far, you are the first person to see this shortcut.”

For someone who has received nine years of compulsory education, it is not difficult to realize this.

However, for someone living in the pre-industrial era, it would be extremely difficult to grasp this point with limited knowledge and perspective.

Encouraged by her mentor's affirmation, Ilana's cheeks flushed slightly as she lowered her head and continued looking at Mr. James Wally's manuscript spread out on the table.

She took a deep breath, calmed herself down, and continued speaking.

“You mentioned earlier that we can use the ‘path optimization equation’ to verify Mr. James’s conjecture. That is, when an object moves from one point to another, it will choose a path that minimizes a certain ‘action’.”

"At first, I couldn't understand what this 'action' was or how to describe it in mathematical terms. But in your class, I gained inspiration from your explanation of the law of conservation of energy."

She picked up a quill pen and quickly wrote a line of scribbled calculations on the manuscript paper, her bright eyes sparkling with confidence.

"In order to quantify and calculate the idea of ​​'least effort,' we need a mathematical tool to define the 'total cost' of a path. I define it as S, which is equal to the system's kinetic energy T at any instant, minus its potential energy V."

"Therefore, the 'total cost' S of a system from time t1 to t2 is the accumulation of its 'cost' at every instant during this time period—that is, the integral!"

"In this way, the 'principle of least action' becomes an incredibly concise description—the actual path of motion of the system is the path that minimizes this S value!"

"And the method for solving this 'function of a function' is the variational method you taught me!"

【S=∫t1t2(TV)dt】

Luo Yan looked at the formula on the manuscript paper, then at the girl beside him whose eyes were sparkling, and was deeply shocked.

cow.

Don't be fooled by the simplicity of this formula; one step further and you've got the Euler-Lagrange equation!
Although he had already discovered that this girl was a genius, he never expected her to be this genius.

“…This is an incredibly brilliant idea, Ilana,” Luo Yan exclaimed sincerely. “I encourage you to continue exploring this path. My intuition tells me…you are not far from the end.”

"It was mainly your inspiration..." Ilana smiled shyly and said with her head down, "I definitely couldn't have come up with so many ideas on my own."

To be honest, she had always suspected that her respected mentor actually knew the answer all along. He just deliberately didn't say it, giving her the chance to uncover the truth herself.

As for why he did it, she had no idea.

Luo Yan smiled faintly and remained silent.

Ophia, holding a copy of "Advanced Mathematics" in her arms, waited silently to the side, wanting to interject but not knowing where to begin.

She had come to ask Prince Colin a question about calculus, but she waited for a long time without getting a chance to speak.

That purely academic atmosphere made her feel like an outsider.

A faint pang of jealousy welled up inside her, and she finally couldn't help but speak, muttering something under her breath.

"By Saint Sith, this is clearly a mage tower... What do you mean by this 'magic'?"

"Of course it does."

Luo Yan turned his head, looked at the Duchess's confused eyes, and patiently explained with a smile.

"Magic can also be understood as a kind of 'force' or a kind of 'force'... it's just that we don't understand its nature enough yet."

Ilana's eyes widened slightly, a surge of excitement welling up within her. What Prince Colin had said was exactly what she had been pondering!

really--

She was now increasingly certain of her suspicions!

Prince Colin knows!

Hearing this baseless explanation, Ophia pouted, somewhat unconvinced.

However, since it was His Highness Colin, whom she admired, who said these words, she couldn't help but believe him a little more.

Just then, a series of hurried footsteps approached from afar, and the Corgi teaching assistant rushed into the laboratory like a gust of wind.

Ignoring the other apprentices around him, he rushed up to Luo Yan and said breathlessly.

"Your Highness...Master! Professor Hector urgently needs to see you and wants you to come to his office immediately!"

Luo Yan raised an eyebrow in surprise. Seeing that Corgi's anxious expression didn't seem like he was joking, he asked, "Is he in a hurry?"

Corgi nodded repeatedly, his face full of seriousness.

"Yes! The professor sounded very anxious! I asked him what was wrong, but he wouldn't tell me!"

Luo Yan nodded and was about to follow Corgi away.

However, at that moment, he suddenly noticed the book "Advanced Mathematics" in Ophia's hands, and the pitiful expression on her face as she looked at him.

A thought flickered in his mind, and he looked at Ilana beside him with a smile, giving her instructions.

"Ilana, I have some things to take care of. During my absence, I'll be entrusting you with the task of guiding Miss Ophia."

“You are her senior, I believe this little thing is not difficult for you.”

After he finished speaking, he looked at Ophia again.

"You'll study hard, right?"

This sudden order struck like lightning, leaving both Ilana and Ophia stunned in place, their expressions differing.

Ilana's eyes were filled with a flattered yet apprehensive expression, and she was momentarily at a loss for what to do.

She felt immensely honored to have earned her mentor's trust, yet also felt unprecedented pressure to be a "teacher" to a duke's daughter.

This……

Wouldn't that be overstepping my bounds?

Ophia felt just as helpless.

However, she wasn't thinking about whether it was overstepping her bounds or not; she just hadn't expected that His Highness would actually let his rival guide her.

Admittedly, Ilana's abilities are evident to all the apprentices in the entire laboratory, but is there no one else here who knows calculus?

He knew perfectly well how he felt!

not only that--

He must understand Ilana's feelings!

Ophia blushed, glanced hastily at Ilana beside her, and finally nodded, swallowing her anger.

"Yes... Your Highness, if it is your order."

Before leaving the Holy City, she silently made a vow in her heart that no matter what hardships and efforts she had to make Prince Colin recognize her charm.

If this is Saint Sis testing himself, then let the storm rage on!

Incidentally, this quote is from Chapter Two of "The Adventures of Baron Corsia"—"The Baron Who Survived a Great Disaster."

Seeing Miss Ophia blushing repeatedly for some reason, Ilana nodded cautiously and whispered.

  “I will try my best… mentor, and the Duchess.”

"Just call me Ophia!"

"Yes... Miss Ophia."

Looking at the two who seemed to have a "harmonious (and somewhat eccentric) relationship," Luo Yan nodded in satisfaction, a smile of approval on his face.

well.

Although the plan to "make Miss Castellion back down" was a step further away, the plan to "trap Miss Castellion in the Great Sage's Tower" took a big step towards success.

"Corgi, let's go, don't keep Professor Hector waiting." Luo Yan, having resolved a troublesome matter, turned around and said to Corgi with a smile.

"Ah...yes, mentor." The stunned Corgi snapped out of his daze and hurried ahead to lead the way.

(End of this chapter)