I reign supreme in the Western fantasy world for eternity.

Hermann's handwriting was neat and meticulous, and each paragraph was followed by detailed magical formulas and experimental data.

Ji Tian quickly browsed through the information and discovered that this fifth dean had proposed a bold hypothesis when he was young:

"Human magic circuits do not contain natural spatial nodes similar to the dragon's reverse scale; nor can they imitate the demon prince's forbidden technique to open up space within the body. This may be a limitation of the magic circuits themselves."

"So, is it possible for us to create an external space that everyone can use?"

The manuscript records Hermann's exploration over the past thirty years: from the initial theoretical derivation to small-scale experiments, and then to the birth of the first space ring.

Of course, the specific production process, being a secret of the academy, was not written in this manuscript.

Ji Tian turned to the last chapter. The paper was obviously older than the previous ones, and the ink was of varying shades, suggesting that Hermann had written it intermittently in his later years.

"For many years, I have been pondering the nature of spatial nodes. Today, I suddenly had a thought: since space can be folded, compressed, and anchored, does another 'space' exist? Is the world we live in just one of countless parallel spaces? I call this the 'alternate world hypothesis.' Unfortunately, with my current level of understanding, I am no longer able to verify it."

Ji Tian's gaze lingered on the words "other world hypothesis" for a moment.

"What's wrong?" Elena leaned closer, her gaze falling on the line of text.

"It's nothing." Ji Tian closed the manuscript and put it back on the bookshelf. "I just feel that this dean and I are kindred spirits."

"You mean spatial magic?"

"No, I mean I believe there are other worlds."

Elena nodded as if she understood, but didn't ask any further questions.

Ji Tian pulled out the second manuscript from the bookshelf. The cover read: "Rachel von Habsburg, Time-Space Magic Manuscript, Volume 3".

Rachel's handwriting was more illegible than Herman's, with many corrections and a more disjointed train of thought.

Ji Tian flipped through a few pages and discovered that she had not only significantly improved the stability of the space ring based on Herman's design, but also added a "time slowing" spell to it.

"Spatial anchoring is not difficult; what truly troubles me is the unidirectional nature of time. If a difference in the flow of time can be created within storage space, the efficiency of wartime material reserves will increase exponentially—this requires a profound understanding of the laws of time."

In her manuscript, she proposed a hypothesis that has since become known as the "Rachel Paradox":

"If a magician could travel back in time using time magic, tell his past self all his experiences and lessons, and then, once that 'self' had the ability to use time magic, travel back again... and so on, wouldn't that make this magician a kind of 'omniscient and omnipotent'?"

"So here's the question: if he's omniscient and omnipotent, does his past actually exist?"

Upon seeing this, Ji Tian couldn't help but recall the "grandfather paradox" from his previous life.

Seeing him browsing so quickly, Elena couldn't help but ask, "Can you understand it?"

Ji Tian put the manuscript back. "I can roughly understand it. I've seen a similar discussion in an ancient book about the question raised by this dean."

Elena didn't ask any more questions. In fact, she didn't really know how many ancient books Ji Tian had read that she didn't know about.

The third manuscript was the most crudely bound, and the cover didn't even have a title, only the words: "Lancelot, Miscellaneous Notes".

Ji Tian opened the first page. The handwriting was crooked and messy, like a child who had just learned to write tracing characters. But the further he turned the page, the more fluent the handwriting became, and the more profound the content became.

The guide had previously mentioned that the manuscript of the sixteenth dean, Lancelot, "has not been fully understood by anyone to this day." Ji Tian read a few pages and deeply agreed.

Unlike the previous two, this dean did not deduce from basic theory. Instead, he directly introduced a series of concepts: "magical superposition state," "observation collapse," "magical entanglement," and so on. Every word seemed familiar to him.

Isn't this just a magical version of quantum mechanics?!

Lancelot combined these concepts with time magic, compiled a long list of formulas, and ultimately put forward a shocking idea:

"Time is not an arrow; time is a vast wilderness. The past, present, and future exist simultaneously, but are forcibly 'fixed' as linear by the consciousness of the observer. If the method of observation can be changed, the past can be modified."

Ji Tian gasped.

Could this dean also be an extraterrestrial demon?

He turned to the end of the manuscript, where a separate sheet of paper was tucked in. The handwriting was different from the previous pages, more vigorous and powerful, seemingly an annotation made by a senior member of the academy while organizing the manuscript.

"Dean Lancelot, whose original name is unknown, came from a commoner background. He was originally an ordinary student in the outer academy, and entered the inner academy through the monthly challenge. His talent was not outstanding. However, he had an almost obsessive love for time magic. After he destroyed the laboratory for the third time, the academy locked him in the solitary confinement room to reflect on his actions."

On the seventh day of his confinement, the guard found him sitting cross-legged in the center of the room, surrounded by a faint silver-white aura. His magical energy surged from that of a Grand Mage to that of a Legendary Archmage.

When asked what happened, he simply said, "I saw myself in my later years, sitting in a room filled with crystals, waiting for me."

"After personally examining him, the then-dean confirmed that he had not achieved a breakthrough in strength through any forbidden techniques that could harm others, and thus selected him as his successor. Unfortunately, his strength remained stagnant thereafter, and his lifespan was much shorter than that of ordinary legendary magicians."

Dean Lancelot died in 1407 in the Imperial Calendar at the age of seventy-one. Before his death, he left his last words: "Every gift of fate has a price, but if it is for the truth, it is all worth it."

Okay, this dean is probably not a time traveler.

Ji Tian closed the manuscript and remained silent for a long time.

Elena asked softly, "What's wrong?"

"This dean... is worthy of respect."

"Did you figure it out?"

Ji Tian shook his head, put the manuscript back on the bookshelf, but his mind was in turmoil:

Lancelot's "enlightenment" in the confinement room is remarkably similar to the "sudden enlightenment" in the cultivation world.

His "seeing his future self" also hints at a time cycle: he attained enlightenment by seeing his future self, and his future self exists because of his past enlightenment. Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

Ji Tian did not say these words aloud.

The two lingered in the library for a while longer. Elena borrowed a copy of "Advanced Elvish Language Tutorial," while Ji Tian took a copy of the section on the "Otherworld Hypothesis" from Herman's manuscript—the library allowed borrowing copies of manuscripts, but the originals could not be taken out.

When I went downstairs, it was already dark. The setting sun streamed in through the windows, turning the corridor into a warm orange hue.

Seeing Ji Tian lost in thought, Elena said softly, "Why don't you go back first, and I'll go buy some food to bring back?"

Ji Tian then remembered that Elena hadn't even eaten lunch because she was with him, and he felt a little guilty. He reached out his hand as if to invite her, "Sorry, it was my oversight. Let's go eat first."

Elena smiled. "I just love being around you~ And you don't have to apologize to me no matter what you do."

After saying that, she grabbed Ji Tian's hand and pulled him along as they ran in the sunset.

"Hurry up! Otherwise, the cafeteria will run out of food."