Chapter 436: Chapter 379: Destiny
Holding in his hand the seemingly simple Death Replacement Doll, Jeming resisted the urge to study and play with it immediately.
The Nolun Wizard stood right in front of him, and he couldn’t be disrespectful.
The Nolun Wizard watched as Jeming carefully put away the Death Replacement Doll, a look of approval growing stronger in his eyes.
He slowly spoke, "Everyone’s chosen path is different, and sometimes a seemingly remote path may hide unexpected scenery. Since you’ve chosen this path, be firm and resolute in walking it. Even the ’Fictional Law,’ when studied to its extreme, possesses unfathomable potential."
These words carried encouragement and expectation, warming Jeming’s heart slightly, and he responded with a respectful bow, "I will remember your teachings, and I understand."
The Nolun Wizard said no more and turned back to his seat of honor.
Once he left, the previously oppressive atmosphere in the hall relaxed considerably, and fragmented discussions arose once more.
However, the gazes directed at Jeming still carried an undiminished curiosity, occasionally sweeping over his location.
Jeming was just about to find a corner to continue delving into his spatial knowledge when a silver-gray figure swiftly darted to his side—it was Viola.
Her beautiful eyes sparkled with brilliance, impatiently asking, "Jeming! Quickly, tell me, what special properties does your ’Imaginary Element’ have? Energy transmission efficiency? Elemental inertia? Affinity with living organisms? Or does it have some peculiar phase attributes?"
Jeming was taken aback by her series of specialized questions and instinctively replied, "Senior, why are you asking this?"
Viola gave a look as if to say, "Isn’t it obvious?" and said matter-of-factly, "Of course, it’s to see if it can be used to create new types of magic potions! Different imaginary element properties can be so strange—some can greatly enhance the stability of the potion’s effects, some can induce unknown beneficial mutations, and some even grant temporary law characteristics to magic potions! This is the new material we alchemists dream of!"
As she spoke, she gestured with her eyes to the surroundings, "And it’s not just me thinking this way, look at them."
Jeming followed her gaze, and sure enough, the surrounding wizards, regardless of rank, would occasionally glance his way.
Their gazes lacked the previous surprise and scrutiny, replaced by a mix of unease, anticipation, and even commercial consideration, with no trace of the contempt or disdain he had expected.
Jeming immediately understood.
To these wizards who transform knowledge into power, a brand new "Imaginary Element" with unique properties first proves its value through its practicality as a "rare material."
They didn’t care whether the law was "fictional" or whether its combat power was "average"; they were concerned with what experiments this new "thing" could be used for, what witchcraft artifacts could be refined, and what magic potions could be concocted!
A supplier that could consistently produce special imaginary elements might be more valuable in the eyes of these research enthusiasts than a simple combat genius.
Having figured this out, Jeming felt a bit at a loss for words but also relaxed quite a bit.
He thought for a moment and said to Viola, "Senior, to be honest, my ’Fictional Law’ just recently took shape. The ’Imaginary Element’ it currently produces... isn’t very stable yet, and its properties are rather... plain, perhaps not as miraculous as you were hoping."
This wasn’t entirely an evasion.
Although Spiritual Qi was wondrous, its basic "Nourishing All Things" and "Energy Transformation" characteristics were indeed considered "unremarkable" by the knowledgeable wizards, lacking the impact compared to some extremely characteristic imaginary elements.
Upon hearing this, Viola blinked, seemingly unconvinced, but still insisted, "That’s alright! Whether unstable or plain, we have to get a sample and research it first! I’ll reserve a batch; the price is negotiable!"
When she said this, it was like flipping a switch; the wizards who had been observing immediately gathered round, enthusiastically expressing their desire to purchase:
"Wizard Jeming, I also hope to purchase some for Rune base testing..."
"I’m very interested in energy compatibility, please be sure to sell me some!"
"From previous observations, this thing might have miraculous effects in the aspect of alchemy catalysts, count me in!"
Their reasons were similar: even if the specific use was unclear for now, a brand new imaginary element "fabricated" by a rising star inherently contained enormous research value.
For wizards with an intense thirst for knowledge, having an unknown new material in front of them without researching it was more unbearable than death.
High above, Anton Buchanan watched as the scene below turned into a "material procurement meeting" and couldn’t help but stroke the non-existent beard (since he looked like a child).
He smiled amiably and said to the Nolun Wizard, "Mentor, I didn’t expect that in this day and age, there are still people researching the ’Fictional Law,’ causing such a commotion. I remember, the last time this was all the rage was in your time, wasn’t it?"
Several other High Tier Wizards also showed expressions of recollection or curiosity, looking towards the Nolun Wizard.
The Nolun Wizard slowly shook his head, calmly correcting him, "Strictly speaking, it reached its peak during my mentor’s era. By my time, the research craze for the ’Fictional Law’ had already begun to decline and was nearly phased out."
Anton Buchanan looked at Jeming surrounded by the crowd, a trace of pity flashing in his eyes, and sighed:
"Alas, what a pity for such promising talent. With his gift and temperament, if he focused on one of the strong existing laws, his future potential would surely be higher. Walking the path of the ’Fictional Law’ ultimately seems... like expending extra effort to little avail."
The other High Tier Wizards slightly nodded, evidently quite agreeing with this perspective.
After all, throughout history, those who exhibited extraordinary brilliance in mastering Fictional Laws seemed to ultimately not reach the heights their original talent promised.
However, the Nolun Wizard simply smiled, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
His attitude immediately piqued everyone’s curiosity. The Augusta Wizard couldn’t help but ask, "Master Nolun, do you think... there is more to the ’Fictional Law’?"
The Nolun Wizard glanced at Jeming below, who, although surrounded, remained calm and was not overwhelmed by the accolades.
Scanning the surroundings at the eager younger generation who had temporarily paused their "procurement," he couldn’t help but laugh:
"Indeed, up to now, no wizard has purely relied on the ’Fictional Law’ to ascend to Ninth Level— but then, reaching Ninth Level is exceedingly rare, so one cannot completely dismiss a path because of this. Actually, the upper limit of ’Fictional Law’ may not be as low as you think."
He paused for a moment, then continued under the focused gaze of the crowd: "If one has enough ability and luck, continuing down this path may yield higher rewards; who knows?"
"Oh?" Anton Buchanan’s clerk showed interest, "Master, why do you say that? Is there other potential in the ’Fictional Law’ besides helping us discover unknown real laws and produce special materials?"
"Naturally." The Nolun Wizard nodded affirmatively, "Apart from those laws ultimately proven to be ’real discoveries’, historically, there indeed have been some genuinely ’fictionally’ created laws, which, due to their extreme utility and irreplaceability, were eventually passed down and even widely promoted and applied."
His gaze swept across the room, watching the astonished faces: "In fact, precisely because of such successful, high-value ’Fictional Laws’, the ’Fictional Law’ path was once very popular back then."
"Are there really such laws?" Dionysius Spencer couldn’t help but ask, being a Destiny Mage, he was particularly sensitive to this.
The Nolun Wizard nodded, his tone carrying a hint of profundity: "Not only do such laws exist, but quite a few branches in the current Wizard System are actually using and relying on them."
He did not leave them hanging, but directly revealed the answer:
"For example — Destiny."
"What?!"
"Hiss!!!"
At this statement, not only did the Mid and Low Tier Wizards beneath but even the present Seventh Level Wizards couldn’t help but gasp!
Destiny! It’s actually Destiny!
The eerie, powerful, and inscrutable nature of Destiny Mages was known to everyone present.
Their methods often involved causality, probability, prophecy, and other levels, making them unpreventable, infamous for being one of the most troublesome factions.
Who would have thought that such a powerful and mysterious "Law of Destiny" could possibly originate from being "fictionally" created by some genius wizard or group of wizards?!
Upon careful reflection, Destiny knowledge does indeed seem to match some characteristics of the "Fictional Law"— it’s not a directly tangible element like fire, water, earth, or wind in the material world, but more like a conceptually enacted law based on complex calculations, logical deductions, and highly abstracted world operation principles!
Viola’s eyes lit up instantly, sharply turning to look at Jeming, her gaze so intense it almost ignited him: "Could your Fantasy Element also be related to Destiny?!"
Jeming, under her gaze, felt a chill on his scalp and immediately shook his head frantically, quickly clarifying: "Senior! Calm down! I think you’re overestimating me a bit! My Fantasy Element has nothing to do with Destiny! It’s just... just a bit ’jack-of-all-trades’!"
Although Spiritual Qi does expand into destiny aspects, Jeming certainly couldn’t expose it so soon.
After all, according to the "setting," at this stage, he had just begun researching and designing Fictional Laws.
Seeing his straightforward denial, Viola’s excited expression instantly collapsed, uttering a somewhat disappointed "Oh," and withdrew from the circle dejectedly.
However, after the Nolun Wizard’s shocking explanation, the surrounding wizards’ gaze at Jeming became even more fervent.
The desire to purchase the "Fantasy Element" from him for research surged to its peak instantly!
Indeed!
Jeming is a genius who showed such astonishing potential at the Third Level Wizard stage!
What if... what if the "Fantasy Element" he tinkered with is proved to be the embryonic form of a Law with endless potential like "Destiny" in the future?
Investing a bit now for research is practically a buy-low-sell-high deal!
Even if it’s eventually not proven, the research value of a new type of Fantasy Element itself is enough to return the investment!
In an instant, the "procurement" atmosphere around Jeming became even more enthusiastic.
