Hogwarts: From Luna's House to Godhood Through Intense Competition

The old man's tone exuded composure, and the years had etched many wrinkles on his face, each one seemingly telling a legendary story.

He slowly stood up, his medieval dark green robe trailing to the ground, the silver embroidery along the hem faintly visible, radiating a dignified luster.

The old man's silver-white hair moved on its own without wind, flying wildly behind him, exuding a sense of unruliness.

"So you are the new Guardian? What's your name? You seem to be new to Hogwarts. Which house are you in?"

……

"Ravenclaw? His name is Vizette Lovegood... He seems like a diligent student and knows how to apply his knowledge flexibly, not bad!"

These few words, seemingly just the old man talking to himself, sent a chill down Vizette's spine.

Without a doubt, from the moment Vizette and the old man locked eyes, the old man had already cast Legilimency.

The passage just now was simply the old man asking a question, and Vizet thinking of the answer in his mind, which was then read aloud.

Vizet's soul labyrinth had achieved some success, even managing to hold off Voldemort for a moment, but he never expected the old man to see through it at a glance...

Who exactly is this old man?

Is this old man a ghost or a spirit?

“You may have heard of me.” A smile curved the old man’s lips. “Salazar Slytherin, the founder of Slytherin House.”

Vizette murmured. Since the old man was Salazar Slytherin, it didn't seem so surprising that he could see through him.

The library contains a lot of information about the history of Hogwarts, including a mention of the Sorting Hat, a key magical artifact.

It is said that the four founders endowed the Sorting Hat with different abilities, with Salazar granting it Legilimency, which is the fundamental reason why the Sorting Hat was able to split into houses.

The fact that the Sorting Hat's Legilimency has been maintained to this day suggests that Salazar's mastery of this magic has reached its pinnacle.

Salazar stroked his beard. "The method of constructing a soul labyrinth is indeed interesting... but that's all it is."

"But I am standing above the maze, so the maze's twists and turns are naturally ineffective against me. I can freely see what you are thinking."

"Furthermore... you are still fixated on the soul, but you don't realize that it, like the body, is merely a deeper shell... there is something even more important within that shell."

Wizette's eyes lit up. "Headmaster Slytherin, may I ask if it's... appropriate for me to address you like this?"

“I know what you’re thinking… As a Ravenclaw, I naturally wouldn’t hide my thirst for knowledge,” Salazar said in a deep voice.

"Since you are the new guardian, you will surely cross the threshold of the soul and understand those more profound secrets, so why rush things?"

"As long as you make more use of ancient magic and collect more ancient magical power, you will understand all of this sooner or later. As for the name... you can call me whatever you like."

Vizette touched her nose sheepishly. "In that case, I'll call you 'Headmaster Slytherin'!"

"Actually, I have a question. You keep mentioning the term 'Guardian,' including the 'Guardian Meditation Method' that I know..."

"What exactly is this so-called 'Guardian'? Do I need to shoulder some kind of responsibility?"

"Oh? You've only just become a Guardian, and you're already thinking about taking on responsibilities?" Salazar raised an eyebrow. "That's not something you need to worry about right now."

"There is only one thing you need to do now—study and strengthen yourself! So-called responsibility is nothing but an illusion. Every action of the guardian will eventually have an impact on the magical world."

Salazar's eyelids were lowered, and he spoke seemingly casually, yet he naturally exuded a calm and confident demeanor.

His last sentence, in particular, filled Wizette with an indescribable sense of arrogance.

"Is it enough to just study and strengthen yourself?" Vizet stretched out his palm and then clenched his fist.

He suddenly thought of the history of Hogwarts. Could it be that the four founders... were all guardians?

If we bring this hypothesis into history, it perfectly explains what Salazar said—that the effects would eventually reach the magical world.

“This is also understandable,” Salazar said, standing with his hands behind his back. “Just like the people who guided us in the first place…”

"He didn't tell us what responsibilities we would have to shoulder. We just went with the flow, did what we wanted, and worked together to build Hogwarts."

Vizette looked into Salazar's eyes, his grey eyes revealing an extremely complex light.

This may be related to the history of Hogwarts. Salazar disagreed with the other three founders due to differences in teaching philosophy, and subsequently chose to leave the school.

This disagreement is related to the current "pure bloodline theory".

Salazar believed that children from pure wizarding families were more reliable, while Muggle-born children might betray Hogwarts because of their blood ties.

“I still believe this idea is correct.” Salazar narrowed his eyes slightly. “This is the wizard, Vizette!”

"If a wizard cannot uphold his beliefs, then he is not worthy to be called a wizard! Perhaps you could call it fanaticism, and that description... is quite accurate!"

"So-called belief is the path to the top of magic. If the belief wavers, it means that the path has diverged, and it will take more time to climb to the top."

"Therefore, sticking to your beliefs and walking the path you believe is right is more important than so-called objective 'correctness'..."

Chapter 124 Salazar's Second Test

Vizette nodded repeatedly and picked up her notebook to write furiously.

Salazar's words were very insightful and instructive.

Even if Wizette cannot understand or practice it now, it can still serve as important material for future in-depth interpretation.

However, one question lingered in his mind: would four like-minded friends really choose to leave each other decisively because of their differences?

“Those are things of the past, so do they still matter?” Salazar, who was skilled in Legilimency, asked. “Hogwarts still exists, which means I did the right thing!”

Vizette looked up, smiled, and asked, "Excuse me... Headmaster Slytherin, what state are you in right now?"

"Want to know what else is in the soul?" Salazar smiled as well. "What a cunning little eagle... but you'll have to figure that out for yourself!"

Vizette nodded. "Sorry, I am indeed a little curious."

"You passed the first round of tests unscathed, that's a pretty good result..." Salazar murmured. "Since that's the case... I'll still give you a reward!"

Wizette's eyes lit up. Holding a notebook and a pen in one hand, she adopted a humble and eager-to-learn posture and thanked him repeatedly: "Headmaster Slytherin, thank you so much!"

“Hogwarts!” Salazar whispered, “It’s been a very, very long time since I’ve heard anyone call me Headmaster!”

"It seems the new guardian is indeed extraordinary... I sense something truly unique about you, beyond your mere soul..."

"It seems that anyone who is willing to get close to you and accept you will easily open their heart to you... You must be very popular at school, right?"

Vizette shook her head. "I guess I was just lucky. The professors took good care of me, and most of my classmates were very nice to me too."

“Is that so?” Salazar cleared his throat, displaying the demeanor of a professor. “Let me ask you a small question. If I had a box right now…”

He snapped his fingers, and a wooden box with an exquisite snake carving appeared, complete with a small padlock.

"The lock on this box can only be opened by me; no one else can! So... can you be sure there's a Billywig bug inside?"

“Billiwig bug?” Vizette frowned in thought. “Headmaster Slytherin, do you want me to get stuck on this? I have to figure this out.”

“Of course.” Salazar nodded slightly, a hint of appreciation in his eyes. “It’s so convenient talking to Ravenclaw; you can figure things out as much as you want.”

“If that’s the case…” Vizette murmured, “Unless you open the box, I will never believe that there is a Billywig bug in this box of yours.”

"Oh?" Salazar's admiration became even more evident. He waved his hand, and the lock clicked open.

He opened the box, glanced inside, and then locked it again. "What if I told you that the Billie Wigg bug inside is beautiful, with a jade-like sheen?"

“I still don’t believe it!” Vizet shook his head firmly.

Salazar stroked his beard. "What if I told you... that this Billywig bug flies incredibly fast, almost like a golden-haired hero?"

Vizette still shook her head, "I don't believe it!"

“What if I described more detailed features, such as… this Billywig beetle is about a foot long and has a small notch on its left wing?”

"Even so... I still don't believe it! I will stick to my beliefs!"

“This doesn’t count as upholding your beliefs, you cunning little eagle!” Salazar said with a smile. “This is just Ravenclaw-style trickery, I’ve seen it all before!”

"Tell me! I described the Billie Wiggler bug so clearly, why don't you still believe... there's a Billie Wiggler bug in my box?"

"Because you've only told me, you haven't actually shown me. I need to see it with my own eyes... wait!" Wizette said.

He felt a flash of inspiration, as if he had grasped the key to the problem.

"Headmaster Slytherin, can I understand it like this... that each of us has a box containing a Billy Wigglyt bug?"

"Like what we call the soul... or what you call something deeper than the soul... these are unique to us... and truly one of a kind..."

Vizette stammered as he tried to organize his thoughts and make his words as coherent as possible.

“The soul cannot be opened… it can only be understood by oneself! The Billiewig worm you described is just what you see from inside your own box…” he spoke fluently.

"And the Billywig worm I see is necessarily different from the one you see. In other words, no matter how you describe the soul, I can't truly understand it, right?"

After saying these words, he felt as if he had suddenly seen the light, and vaguely seemed to have glimpsed the threshold of his soul.

"To be able to think of that so quickly... it seems the new Guardian has a lot of potential." Salazar smiled and nodded slightly. "That's right, that's exactly it!"

"I can never tell you definitively about my inner self. If I go too deep into it, things might even get worse..."

"You might believe my description and then feel that your understanding is flawed, thus disbelieving the spirits you see or even denying your own understanding."

"In this way, you will become extremely mediocre, because you cannot even trust yourself, let alone uphold your beliefs."

“I have truly benefited greatly…” Vizette wrote down the last few words, then let out a long sigh. “Headmaster Slytherin, I have learned so much! I don’t know how to thank you enough!”

"Want to thank me?" Salazar started walking, climbing the serpentine staircase step by step.

He returned to his throne. "Then let's complete the next test!"