Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 526: Hearing the Truth in Order

The Stone of Life could not control the catalytic effect and process, which was something Harvey had never expected.

He asked with a somewhat amused look, "So, until now, the magic world has rarely heard of your two tribes collaborating to create the Stone of Life. Is it not because your relationship is hostile and you repel each other, but because the effect of this stone is so useless?"

The Windtalker nodded, his demeanor still elegant and dignified, but he didn't glance at the dwarf across from him. "Indeed, there's no true blood feud between my people and the dwarves. It's just that our respective paths diverge somewhat, and we don't communicate much..."

Lava rolled his eyes and replied bluntly, "We do have differences. We simply dislike closed-minded, conservative, and arrogant people more than humans."

The "international student," Steel Bristle, nudged him subtly, prompting Lava to immediately realize his slip of the tongue. He quickly added, "Of course, Your Majesty is different. Whether it's accepting our people to study magic in Spark City or opening up new trade routes for mutual benefit... the forum alone has provided us with considerable assistance. We have the utmost respect and friendship for you."

"The elves have the same attitude..." The Wind Speaker and the group of handsome elves behind him bowed in greeting.

Harvey waved his hand and said with a wry smile, "Your sincerity and help are unquestionable, but the difficulty now is... how can I effectively use the Life Stone after it's created? If it's really as you say... I'm afraid the hopes Spark City has placed on it will be in vain."

Upon hearing this, the dwarves and elves all lowered their heads with serious expressions - if the result Harvey expected was not achieved, not only would they lose their seats in the new federation, but even the subsequent preferential treatment of the two races in the forum, as well as communication and trade in the real world would be hindered... This was difficult for them to accept.

Before Harvey could open his mouth to comfort her, the door of the laboratory was suddenly pushed open.

Egno led a team of hybrid elves in white lab robes and walked straight into the laboratory. He came before Harvey and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, I... I may have a way to control the Stone of Life and successfully control the catalytic process of plant seeds!"

Harvey was stunned for a moment, but then he heard Chris beside him exclaim in surprise: "Why did you come back again? You..."

"Bastard! Blood-tainted! This..." Windtalker was shocked and angry. He stared with wide eyes and barely maintained his remaining composure. He turned to Harvey and said, "Your Majesty, what does this mean?"

Harvey sighed and said calmly, "The Golden Forest tacitly approved Spark City's acceptance of hybrid elves. You may not be aware of this personally, but the international students who were sent here before must have had a lot of dealings with them over this long period of time."

Acquiescence? The earliest elven apprentices who came to the North had already dealt with these hybrids?
Windtalker gasped, turned to look at the "international students" standing nearby with their necks hunched, and asked with suppressed anger, "Is what Your Majesty said true? Are you really on good terms with these hybrids?"

Seeing that the other party ignored him and turned around to embarrass his students, Egno was furious and said mercilessly, "The Golden Forest has been self-enclosed and clung to tradition for too long, completely unaware of the changes in the outside world. If it weren't for your insistence on the old-fashioned rules of blood purity, the elves would never have declined to this point."

He raised his hand and pointed at the frightened elven students standing in the corner. "They strictly abide by the confidentiality agreement of Spark City and don't casually spread what they learned or saw here. If Your Majesty allows... I can prove that even as hybrids, we are probably far superior to you in the study and practice of the Way of Nature!"

As soon as he said this, there was a lot of whispering. Not only did the elves boo, but even the dwarves couldn't help but prick up their ears and put on an expression of watching the fun on their faces.

The Wind Whisperer suddenly felt embarrassed and shouted angrily, "You are worthy enough to discuss the Way of Nature with me? Just relying on the few natural techniques you learned from human spellcasters? Techniques are techniques, and the Way is the Way! Don't mess with me here!"

It turns out that when the elves deal with internal conflicts, they follow the "verbal debate" style of truth debate, instead of choosing to use magic duels to physically convince the opponent like the Federation!
Harvey suddenly felt that this tradition of theirs bore a strong resemblance to the ancient sages' pursuit of "discussing the truth while sitting" philosophy. With such a disconnect from reality and a focus on empty talk, it was no wonder that the elves, despite their longevity, were still confined to the eastern reaches of the Southern Territory. But Egno was clearly not one for empty talk. Under Harvey's influence, the research-oriented spellcasters of Spark City all took a pragmatic approach, their motto always being "practice makes perfect." Perhaps their theoretical knowledge was inferior to that of the pure-blooded elves from the Eastern Territory.

Moreover, Harvey himself knew nothing about natural spellcasting, and had no suitable way to help Egno improve. Most of the time, he could only provide sufficient funds and resources, allowing him to work in the potion garden and fields with a group of mixed-race elf students, and gradually learn and grow through trial and error.

Moreover, since the Windtalker has a place in the forum, he must be a high-level spellcaster. Although he obviously looks like a weak research type, he is much stronger than Egno, a mid-level spellcaster.

Harvey, a man known for his ruthlessness in defending his own shortcomings, quickly stepped in to defuse the tense situation. "Alright, alright, everyone, exercise restraint. Since there's a clash of ideologies... let's just verify each other's abilities through facts."

He paused, then looked at Egno with trust and said, "Since Egno says he has a way to control the Stone of Life, something that even the pure-blooded elves of the Golden Forest can't do, why don't we let him try and prove it?"

Ostensibly soliciting opinions from all parties, his power was such that the elves and dwarves would not tolerate any refusal. Windtalker took a deep breath, nodded decisively, and said, "Very well, since Your Majesty and my elders have reached a tacit agreement to accommodate hybrids, I will not pursue this matter any further. Let this hybrid prove his claimed abilities to us and see how far he surpasses us in the study of the ways of nature!"

Harvey wasn't entirely sure, so he instinctively decided to stall for time. He smiled and said, "Let's leave it at that for today. After all, you've come a long way, so why not return to the hotel and rest up? Tomorrow we'll officially begin the experiment. Once we've successfully created the Stone of Life, we can then talk about manipulating and using it."

The pure-blooded elves suppressed their anger and saluted Harvey again. Then, without even looking at Egno and the others, they left the laboratory arrogantly with the receptionist. Seeing this, the dwarves also followed Harvey and said goodbye.

Harvey sighed deeply, looking at Egno, whose eyes were reddening as he stood there, and said soothingly, "Regarding the issue of the Stone of Life... even if your idea doesn't succeed, they won't be able to cause any trouble. Compared to the Golden Tree Heart... they are the ones who truly need our help."

Egno, however, showed no sign of humiliation or injustice. He said seriously, "Your Majesty, please rest assured. We still rely on them for our grain catalysis and crop cultivation. Turning against them directly would be even more disastrous for us... Therefore, I must succeed, not only for myself, but also for the other students and our Spark City."

Chris scratched his head and said angrily, "Stop being sentimental. What exactly are you planning to do? How confident are you?"

The hybrid elf pondered for a moment and slowly said, "I'm more than 80% sure it will succeed. I've tried other methods before, and the magical method His Majesty taught me... should be effective."

Harwich said, "The method I taught you? What do you mean? Soul stitching?"

Egno shook his head and answered honestly, "It's not about soul refinement, it's about you...your programming technique."

Harvey and Chris' eyes widened at the same time, looking at him in disbelief.

This guy actually planned to apply the programming technology developed by Harvey himself to control magic mayflies and directly apply it to the manipulation of natural elements!
Wow! Isn’t this a completely metaphysical version of “gene editing”?

(End of this chapter)