Chapter 238: The Stubbornness of the Old Guard

The opening ceremony concluded amidst the unending applause.

As Lia stepped off the podium, she was immediately shielded by an invisible barrier from Klein, isolating her from the fanatical crowd that was nearly surging forward.

“We need to leave this place quickly,” Klein said in a low voice.

His mental power had already detected at least dozens of upperclassmen and three professors attempting to push through the crowd to reach them.

“Agreed,” Lia said, glancing at those eyes sparkling with fanatical light.

“I feel like they want to slice me up for research.”

The “Spacetime Ripples” she had just demonstrated clearly exceeded everyone’s scope of understanding and ignited an unplaceable curiosity.

Klein said nothing, merely taking her hand as their figures blurred.

In the next instant, they appeared at the top of the tower of the academy’s Grand Auditorium.

***

The sound of the crowd boiled beneath them, while the silhouette of the capital stretched out in the distance.

The autumn wind carried a hint of chill, causing Lia’s long golden hair to flutter slightly.

“I take back my previous words,” Lia sighed, looking at the chaotic scene below.

“They don’t want to slice me up for research; they want to treat me like a divine statue in a wishing well.”

“You are indeed a pillar of faith for many people now,” Klein handed her a bottle of juice—something he had conveniently grabbed from the VIP table.

“Don’t. That word is too heavy,” Lia unscrewed the cap and took a sip.

“I just want to live a quiet and comfortable life, not be treated like some goddess.”

“I’m afraid that won’t be possible,” Klein’s tone carried a hint of teasing.

“Your office has already been prepared.”

Lia’s face fell.

“There’s an office too? Since when did I agree to that?”

“When you received that invitation you couldn’t refuse, this was included in Principal Augustus’s benefits package.”

***

The two stood on the tower for a while until the crowd below gradually dispersed, then they leisurely made their way deep into the academy.

According to Augustus’s “mandatory requirements,” although Lia had no fixed teaching duties as an honorary professor, she had to have an office to “occasionally” receive students who came to seek advice.

To compensate for the previous lack of an office, Augustus had arranged a very eye-catching one for her.

It was located on the third floor of the Faculty of Theory, in a prime location with a view of a serene lake outside the window.

The room was spacious and bright, the bookshelves filled with various brand-new texts, and a massive oak desk stood in the center, looking quite grand.

“This is simply a waste,” Lia touched the spotless desktop.

“I might not even come here once a year.”

“Perhaps not,” Klein’s gaze swept toward the door.

A petite figure was peeking inside, cradling a book taller than herself, appearing to hesitate about whether to enter.

It was a freshman who looked only fourteen or fifteen years old, wearing a brand-new apprentice robe. Her face still held a bit of baby fat, and her large eyes were filled with curiosity and nervousness.

Seeing Lia and Klein’s gaze, she jumped in fright, and the book in her arms fell to the floor with a loud clatter.

“S-sorry! Professor Farrien!” The girl hurriedly crouched down to pick up the book, her face flushing red.

Lia sighed and waved her hand; the books scattered on the floor flew up automatically, stacked themselves neatly, and landed back in the girl’s arms.

“Looking for me for something?” Lia asked.

“I… my name is Ella, I’m a freshman this year,” the girl said, clutching her book and giving a deep bow.

“Professor, I saw your magic at the opening ceremony… those Spacetime Ripples. I have many questions I can’t figure out!”

“Let’s hear them,” Lia leaned against the desk, adopting an expression of listening tentatively.

“You created an invisible singularity at your fingertip, right? Does that mean you created a miniature black hole?”

Ella’s eyes were sparkling, and her speech was rapid.

“Since space can be warped, does that also mean time can be changed? Can we travel back to the past or to the future this way?”

“Also, the two ethereal images beside you were caused by the bending of light—does that mean the positions of the stars and galaxies we observe in the universe are also false? Is what we see merely images of their past?”

The string of questions left even Lia stunned for a moment.

She looked at the little girl before her with some surprise.

Although these questions were filled with the naivety and fantasy of a beginner, every single one of them struck the heart of the matter.

This child’s talent was impressively good.

Beside her, Klein also watched with interest; he could feel that this girl named Ella possessed an exceptionally pure and active mental power—she was a natural-born talent.

“Good questions,” Lia dropped her lazy posture and stood up a bit straighter.

“But your foundational knowledge is insufficient to understand the answers.”

“I can learn!” Ella said immediately, her eyes incredibly determined.

“Please tell me what I need to study!”

“Hmm…” Lia rubbed her chin, revealing a somewhat profound smile.

“First, you need to master Basic Magical Mana Geometry, Principles of Higher Algebra, and Theory of Runic Functions—these are the basics.”

“Then go to the library and read all the works written by Master Pra regarding the use of differential and integral calculus in magical arrays.”

Ella’s face turned a bit pale; just hearing the titles of these books made her feel the pressure.

“Once you’ve done that, you can come find me. I’ll give you the reading list for the second stage,” Lia added.

“Of course, you can also choose to give up and go to the Evocation Department to learn how to set off fireworks, or to the Battle Mage Academy to learn how to smash rocks. That would be much easier.”

These words did not deter Ella; on the contrary, they made her even more excited.

“I understand! Thank you, Professor!” She bowed deeply again, then hugged her pile of books and ran off, as if she were going to conquer a new continent.

Watching her energetic back, Lia couldn’t help but remark, “Am I committing child abuse?”

“You gave her the key to truth,” Klein said. “Though the process will likely be quite painful.”

“Let’s hope there are enough beds at St. Mungo’s,” Lia murmured softly.

Just then, an untimely voice came from the doorway.

“Hmph, using some pretentious mathematical games to court popularity—is this our academy’s newly appointed honorary professor?”

Lia and Klein turned simultaneously to see an old man in a deep red robe standing at the door.

His hair was gray and his expression arrogant, with a badge representing a Seventh-Circle mage of the Evocation Department pinned to his chest.

“Master Albin,” Klein spoke calmly, identifying the man.

This was the very Seventh-Circle mage who had publicly attacked Heisenberg in “The Truth,” calling matrix mechanics “dangerous witchcraft.”

Albin clearly hadn’t expected Klein to be here; his expression stiffened for a moment, but he steeled himself and walked in.

His gaze landed on Lia, full of scrutiny.

“Professor Farrien, your performance at the opening ceremony was truly ‘brilliant’,” he said, emphasizing the word.

“But if I may be so bold, magic should be the pure mastery of elements, the resonance of spirit and energy, not these grotesque and incomprehensible mathematical acrobatics.”

“Master Albin,” Lia’s expression was calm. “Can you use your pure mastery of elements to explain why the sun shines?”

Albin was choked up.

“The sun… is naturally an aggregate of the ultimate light and fire elements!”

“Then why can this aggregate burn steadily for billions of years without going out? From where does its energy originate? According to your theory, it should have burned out long ago.”

“This…”

Albin’s face began to flush red. “This is a mystery of nature, a creation of the Gods!”

“To me, it is not a mystery,” Lia said flatly. “It follows a very simple law.”

She extended a finger and used her mental power to write that formula in the air—the one that now made countless mages both respect and fear it.

“There is no such thing as a ‘creation of the Gods’ in the universe; everything can be understood and calculated.”

Lia looked at Albin. “The reason you think my theory is ‘mathematical acrobatics’ is simply because your mathematical knowledge has remained at the level of counting how many apples there are.”

“You… you are insulting your senior!” Albin trembled with rage.

“I am merely stating a fact,” Lia did not back down an inch.

“Enough, Albin.” Klein took a step forward, the pressure of an Eighth-Circle mage instantly enveloping the room.

The mana fluctuations on Albin were immediately suppressed. He looked at Klein with a pale face, his lips quivering, ultimately not daring to say anything more.

“If you are here to discuss academics, Lia welcomes you at any time. If you are here to pull rank based on age, you are not welcome here,” Klein’s tone was icy.

Albin knew he was in the wrong and feared Klein’s strength; he could only give a cold snort and storm off.

“What a stubborn old man,” Lia shook her head, watching his back.

“You’ll get used to it,” Klein withdrew the pressure. “Every change encounters resistance. You will meet more people like him in the future.”

“I know,” Lia stretched. “Still, I feel much better after that argument. Let’s go, let’s head back to the tower. Senior Adèle might be making cookies already.”

“Alright.”

The two left the office and walked through the quiet paths of the academy.

The afterglow of the setting sun spilled over them, casting long shadows of the two.

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