Chapter 1 Professor Landry, As He Said

Professor Landry was as good as his word.

His first lecture after taking over didn't have any real teaching content, but was mostly an introduction to the changes in the course.

"This class won't last the full two hours. We'll probably finish more than an hour early today."

Lan Qi turned his head to look at the window. The formulas and symbols he had written on the glass were like a sundial, allowing him to roughly tell the time.

"Every Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday, from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM, I will be in office 812 on the 8th floor of the Sperber Building in the Great Abbey. I am available for talks with any school staff. If you want to see me for questions, please make an appointment in advance."

He stood in the center of the podium, with his back to the blackboard.

Dozens of pairs of eyes were fixed on him.

Clearly, his earlier display and his highly inflammatory speech had already captured the hearts of many students.

However, some students still seemed largely unaffected. As Talia observed through Lan Qi's eyes, those students who were either lazily slumped in their seats or listening intently were all exceptionally gifted youths.

Their faces were full of youthful arrogance, as if victory was assured, because each of them was the cream of the crop, the "chosen ones" of the South Continent's magical engineering world.

Whether Lan Qi's words had convinced them or not, they had at least filled them with curiosity and a desire to explore him.

Even competitiveness.

Which proved that Lan Qi had succeeded.

Talia couldn't figure it out.

She remembered that Lan Qi didn't used to have this ability back at the Ikelite Academy.

Ever since this kid came back from the North Continent, he seemed to have more and more strange skills. It was as if someone had fine-tuned him, and he was no longer the disciple she knew so well.

Maybe it was just her imagination. Lan Qi had no luck with women. He couldn't possibly turn into someone else.

Talia thought about it and felt relieved.

Just like she taught Miss Zhu Zhu, when interacting with boys, prioritize eating together; it's a surefire win.

"Everyone, you are very fortunate to be here at the Saint Creit Abbey, studying magical engineering with the best. Looking at you, I feel like I'm looking at my former self."

Lan Qi spoke slowly, his voice echoing in the auditorium-like classroom.

"For scholars, the greatest temptation is not fame or fortune, but complacency. Magical engineering is a profound field. Finding any unsolved problem can keep you busy for the rest of your lives. However, simply studying the achievements of predecessors will not make you masters. To reach the level of being remembered for generations, you must have the courage and vision to surpass your predecessors."

He paused, his gaze sweeping across the faces of the Abbey's imperial students.

As he thought, today's lecture would be mostly about inspiring the students, and then it would be over.

The principles written on the wall in demonic magic runes were enough to keep these students occupied for a long time. Each student had different strengths and understanding speeds, so they needed time to digest and absorb the information.

As for those proud students who were not so easily convinced, there was no need to rush them, because Lan Qi knew that he had a lot of work to do in the Creit Empire, and work would constantly find him. Teaching was just one aspect of it.

Lan Qi allowed the students to ponder his earlier words and began to gather the books on the desk.

"Professor Landry."

A student on the noble side raised their hand.

"Please speak."

Lan Qi politely extended his hand, palm up, indicating that the student could ask a question.

"Thank you, Professor."

The noble girl with the upturned eyes, bright eyes, and purple hair smiled, with a rather boyish air.

"First of all, I may be offending you, but my honest feeling is that the pie in the sky you're painting right now may fill some students with anticipation. After all, as long as this one-month probationary period goes smoothly, regardless of whether this project is successful at the end of the semester, you will be officially hired by the Saint Creit Abbey, and no one can guarantee the rights of us students."

She said to the professor on the podium.

The other students in the classroom began to look at her.

Even though most of the students here were upperclassmen, they had mostly heard of Ursula, the Griffin Heiress of the Roland Marquis family.

She had never been peaceful at school. Whether it was students who wanted to provoke her or teachers who were targeted by her, they would all become extremely troubled.

"This long-term teaching plan can be arranged by you, allowing us to gradually see your strength, but it can also become a sophisticated deception, to cover up your flashy but impractical teaching level. If you really have such ability, why haven't you been noticed by the Imperial military?"

The Griffin Heiress, Ursula, spread her hands and raised her most fundamental question.

"In my opinion, every word you say is very persuasive, but your performance is more like a politician than a magical engineer, a politician who is good at bewitching and inciting people, trying to drive us."

After she finished speaking, the students in the classroom once again showed hesitant expressions.

They were not surprised by what Ursula would say, because speaking directly was her style, and she was not afraid of offending any professor in the Saint Creit Abbey.

The problem was that her doubts were not without reason.

None of the students currently present could easily prove the practical value of the principles on the glass.

Or whether they could really turn it into a magical engineering creation that could be successfully used.

Professor Landry observed that it could split into several smaller fragments of magical power and release a large amount of energy when bombarding magic cards. Although Professor Landry has not yet provided a theoretical explanation, the experiment and measurement are not difficult, because the failure of magical devices and magic cards is often accompanied by energy bursts of varying sizes.

The key lies in the latter principle described in the text on the wall, the theory of magic card chain reactions, that the fission event of a magic card can trigger a chain reaction, with each fission releasing more fragments of magical power, which in turn can cause more magic card fission.

Although Professor Landry merely proposed a basic principle of mankind stealing fire from the gods.

But it was too crazy. The theory was limited, and no one could guarantee success.

Its value was either immeasurable or zero.

"Professor, have you considered that if you are opening a door to a 'hidden world' at this moment, and we are witnessing history, how do you ensure that you won't be targeted by extremist forces within the Empire, or avoid assassination by Allied spies?"

"Professor, do you currently have any achievements with 'certainty,' other than this project with 'uncertainty'?"

More and more questions were raised.

The more the students thought about Ursula's words, the more practical they felt she was, as if she had awakened them.

Come to think of it, if this new professor were a famous academic giant, then his words might be convincing and full of hope, but the problem was that he had almost no achievements before, which made him seem more like an ivory tower overly obsessed with his own theories.

"Ursula...!"

Landry's sister, Elsa, bit her lip and looked at Ursula on the right side of the classroom, not knowing what to do with her.

Her brother's first class was about to end smoothly, but Ursula had stirred things up, and it might lead to unpleasantness next.

Elsa believed that her brother definitely had outstanding talent, but he needed time to complete his goals step by step.

Once he fell into Ursula's rhythm of questioning before believing, he would face increasing resistance in his scientific research in a state of doubt.

"..."

Ursula, who was being stared at by Elsa, not only showed no apology, but also gave her a flippant flying kiss with her index and middle fingers, as if telling Elsa that she was deliberately messing with Professor Landry for fun.

"!"

Elsa immediately felt that there was no way to communicate with Ursula and turned her head away from the woman.

Now, she didn't know if her brother was thinking about how to solve the problem, or simply felt that the classroom was too noisy and was waiting for them to quiet down before he spoke.

All she could be sure of was that Professor Landry still looked calm.

Not only the students on the noble side, but even the geniuses on the commoner side had to agree with Ursula's views.

For some students, whether Professor Landry's bold words were merely arrogance from a newcomer or were indeed true, it was too early to draw a conclusion.

After all, his true level had not been tested, and they also had doubts in their hearts.

"What is your brother's level?"

Just as Elsa was worried about her brother, a young man in front of her turned around and asked.

This young man seemed to be the center of the commoner students, or perhaps he was admired by the students around him. He had thick brown curly hair, a handsome face with strong lines, and dark blue eyes under slender eyebrows.

He dressed simply and neatly, seemed to have little interest in showing off, and preferred to focus on inner qualities, wearing only a plain white shirt with casual pants, looking like a refined scholar.

"Senior Nathaniel..."

Elsa was slightly stunned, not expecting this magic craftsman to suddenly ask her.

Nathaniel, as the student most favored by the professors at Saint Creit Abbey, and also considered the most likely to win the Grant Award, the highest honor in magical engineering in the Creit Empire, in the next few decades, had become the youngest current Royal Magic Craftsman of the Empire, and could graduate from Saint Creit Abbey at any time, or continue his studies and serve as a part-time tutor.

It could also be said that he was the most skilled student in this classroom.

After Nathaniel asked, more commoner students looked at Elsa.

"It's been many years since I saw him, and I don't know."

Elsa shook her head, pursing her lips.

"But my brother is really amazing."

She added.

Elsa was also very curious about her brother's level now, and she only hoped to talk to her brother after class.

She had missed her brother so much over the years, and felt that he was both strange and familiar.

So she sincerely hoped that this class could end smoothly.

"If you say he's amazing, then he must have some ability."

Nathaniel said to Elsa and then looked back at the podium.

When he was focused on thinking, he would furrow his brow slightly and press his lips into a straight line.

Although Nathaniel felt that the correct thing for the professor to do was to ignore Ursula, or to deal with her with his sophisticated rhetoric.

But Nathaniel, on the contrary, hoped to see Landry show something more.

Unlike Ursula, who was adding fuel to the fire, they would sincerely hate teachers who were flashy but impractical. Correspondingly, they would maintain the politeness that should be there on the surface.

"..."

Talia silently observed everything in Lan Qi's mental world.

She felt that Lan Qi's hypnosis and incitement sometimes didn't work.

For example, in Pariieu, the city of flowers, Countess Christina of the Baptiste family was immune to Lan Qi. Some people, with some special quality, were difficult for Lan Qi to easily arouse desires in.

As long as there was one sober individual, the entire group could be awakened.

Lan Qi had no way to prove that his theory was correct now.

The Empire might still be preparing to study the process from 0 to 1, while Lan Qi actually had a finished product of 10 in his hands. The problem was precisely that his progress was too high, so he couldn't take it out.

He didn't even have what was called fission, but an even more powerful fusion. The problem was that he couldn't just take out something like [Nuclear Fusion Wolf], because the obsidian-like divine-era special effects would expose his identity as the holder of the sealed stone tablet.

No matter what, it was too much for Landry Washington, a sixth-order professor from a remote area, to take out something like that.

The undercurrents in the classroom began to surge.

The person at the center of the icy vortex turned a blind eye and clapped his hands lightly, looking relaxed.

"Power only happens in the shadows. That is the rule of the game of politics. What we are discussing now is obviously still within the scope of magical engineering."

On the podium, Professor Landry responded to Ursula's question of "he seems like a politician rather than a magical engineer."

His opening made the classroom gradually quiet down.

"So you want to see knowledge that any student in the classroom can master and use as long as they are willing to put in the effort?"

He asked.

As the academy's new professor, he sensed that some of the students below had an unshakeable doubt about his previous remarks.

"Of course."

Many students replied.

Others followed suit, chattering, and the atmosphere suddenly became lively.

Professor Landry's words completely ignited their curiosity for the first time.

Ursula's rhetoric of "questioning first, regardless of whether it's true or false" was essentially a rogue's way of asking questions. After learning this skill, she became extremely good at it, and many professors at the school now knew how to avoid it.

Although Professor Landry didn't need to fall into the trap of self-proving at this moment, it was a different matter if he had genuine strength.

"Then I'll teach you some simple and easy-to-understand things. I hope it will be helpful to you."

Professor Landry looked around the large classroom.

As he spoke, he walked to the far left of the whiteboard, gently picked up a paint pen, and slowly wrote on the whiteboard.

At first.

They were just some basic concepts and axioms.

But soon it evolved into a complex deduction process.

Symbols and incantations flowed and derived continuously on the whiteboard, and Professor Landry's skilled figure was immersed in it as if there was no one else around.

"Isn't this the original text and interpretation of the *Genesis Records*?"

"He seems to be writing the *Chapter of Sealing and Imprisonment* and the *Chapter of Flame and Fury* from it in demonic characters."

There was still a murmur of noise below, and no one could see what the professor's purpose was.

This time, it was easy for them to understand.

You should know that the interpretation of *Genesis Records* was only a level 1 and 2 course, and the students sitting here had already learned the contents of those thirty-three chapters.

"He doesn't think he can fool us with such basic things, does he?"

"Over the years, in addition to the uncracked divine arts, the help of interpreting *Genesis Records* to magical engineering has already reached a thorough level."

Listening to these voices, Elsa gradually lowered her head and became embarrassed.

Even she could understand what her brother was writing, which meant that what her brother was writing this time was too basic and could not convince these magical engineers of Saint Creit Abbey.

"Wait."

"This interpretation..."

But as the deduction intensity increased, the scene gradually quieted down, leaving only the rustling sound of the paint pen rubbing quickly.

Everyone looked at the increasingly dense text on the whiteboard, unconsciously sat up straight, and showed a puzzled expression.

When Professor Landry wrote that epoch-making ending symbol on the last line.

The whole place was silent.

Everyone stared at the documents with their mouths agape.

Then someone exclaimed in surprise.

For a time, the classroom was in chaos, and the students argued endlessly.

"Why do I feel a kind of epiphany of inspiration?"

"Especially for the [Fire] and [Seal] attributes."

"I don't understand. What is this? What did you understand? Teach me."

Pointing, grabbing the people next to them and shaking them, praising or slandering, but no one could explain the mystery.

In an instant, the conventions of the entire seal attribute and fire attribute seemed to be broken and reshaped.

The more they looked at it, the more they felt that something was wrong.

The interpretation written by the professor was simple and easy to understand, and extremely profound, as if he had dissected the two original stone tablets cleanly and placed them in front of them!

Even Ursula's initial disdainful expression began to disappear.

Compared to the students whose eyes were already attracted by the whiteboard, her surprised and confused eyes were more on Elsa's brother.

"Professor, hasn't he seen the original stone tablet [Fire] and the original stone tablet [Seal]..."

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

Although some students murmured, they also knew very well that jokes were just jokes after all.

The original stone tablet [Fire] was almost impossible for contemporary magical engineers to observe in their lifetime.

There was only one reason, and that was its current holder.

To go to the Destruction Bishop Iwanos and ask to observe the stone tablet was tantamount to becoming sworn brothers with the King of Hell.

The original stone tablet [Seal] was even more of a stone tablet that the people of the South Continent had no chance to see.

Only a madman would plot to observe the stone tablet of Askr Sand in the North Continent.

"..."

Talia was a little speechless.

No one really suspected that this guy had two stone tablets in his hands.

After all, rather than believing that this professor had the original stone tablet, it was better to believe that Loren would be resurrected.

Talia, as Lan Qi's co-researcher, knew better than anyone else that Lan Qi had only written a part of the magical engineering mysteries contained in the original stone tablet [Seal] and the original stone tablet [Fire] into his interpretation of these two chapters of *Genesis Records*, so it looked like it had nothing to do with the original stone tablet at all.

This almost allowed the students to initially observe the superficial knowledge of the original stone tablet [Seal] and the original stone tablet [Fire]. Of course, it was a relatively easy-to-understand part that had been decomposed by Lan Qi and his great love interpretation.

Correspondingly, today's class was no longer just the first class of a general professor.

But an academic conference. Tomorrow, the entire imperial academic community might focus on him, Landry Washington.

Next, countless imperial bigwigs would come to him.

That's not right...

Talia suddenly felt like she couldn't stop.

Was this kid really going to move up step by step in the Empire?!

"I hope it's helpful to you."

Professor Landry seemed to have expected such a reaction.

He picked up the books on the desk again, and his voice woke up the students staring at the whiteboard behind him, pulling their eager eyes from the text back to him.

"Each of you may shine brightly in the next few years and become a leader in a certain field of magical engineering in the Creit Empire."

He turned sideways, and rarely knocked hard on the shiny whiteboard behind the podium.

"I don't want to teach you some useless textbook knowledge. If it can't be turned into your actual skills after learning it, then it's just wasting both sides' time. So this process will be quite difficult, and you may have to make the determination to survive by placing yourself in a dangerous place and revive from the dead!"

These words were sonorous and powerful, and every word weighed a thousand pounds, as if he was going to impart his lifelong knowledge to this group of students.

The students were stunned at first.

Then, one by one, they became excited, their eyes erupting with fighting spirit and excitement.

Compared to using avoidance to solve the self-proving trap, dispelling doubts head-on was the most trustworthy method.

And this professor did it indeed.

Leaving aside what the professor wrote on the window earlier, the gift the professor gave them at this moment was enough for them to occupy this classroom for a whole day today.

They might be witnessing history!

Next, whether it was other teachers or students, don't even think about using this classroom today. Those words on the whiteboard must not be erased.

Ursula looked unusually calm. She stared at the new professor, thinking carefully about something.

Gradually, the corners of her pursed lips turned up slightly.

"Your brother is a little interesting, Elsa."

She murmured silently.

Apart from her, at this moment in the classroom, there were many young imperial people who seemed to be born to be the protagonists, all changing their views on this new and mysterious professor to varying degrees.

Whether it was any prominent genius face, they all became thoughtful.

"Before this battle, Saint Creit Abbey can be called the limit of academics in the South Continent. Because of Owen Grant, Leonardo Wilson, and Mila Tarinsky, these famous imperial magical engineers, Saint Creit Abbey's throne has not been shaken in these four hundred years, and you may be the next magical engineer to continue to push Saint Creit Abbey to glory—"

Lan Qi put on his gray coat, walked on the podium, raised his hands and waved his arms to put on his clothes, like a performer who had completed a passionate and high-spirited performance.

"The world is turning rapidly, and your time has come."

After putting down these words, the classroom was silent for dozens of seconds.

Suddenly, warm applause broke out.

Whether it was the students of the aristocratic faction or the students of the commoner faction, they couldn't help but stand up and pay their respects to the departing professor.

"Long live Creit!"

"Long live the Imperial magical engineering system!"

"The next one to contribute to the Empire will be me, definitely."

The applause and cheers lasted for a long time.

The students raised their arms and shouted, their fanatical gazes following the professor's departing figure.