Chapter Fifty-Seven: The Sea of Chaotic Consciousness

As the vice dean of Azure Cloud Academy and concurrently the dean of the Fire Magic Branch, Harman was especially busy at the start of the academic year. Naturally, he could not linger for long, and after conversing with Xu Wen for half a day, he soared away from the high tower.

Harman disliked resting in such lofty places; it was inconvenient for both himself and others. If not for Xu Wen’s particular circumstances, he seldom visited this landmark dean’s tower more than a few times a year. His office was located among the faculty of the Fire Magic Branch—this symbolic tower was merely an honor.

Xu Wen did not immediately retire to bed as Harman had instructed. He still had several questions to clarify.

He took out the crystal ball Harman had given him and placed it on the table, taking a deep breath. Gathering his mental energy, he cupped his hands over it.

He had never used such a crystal ball in the Hortonklin family, but had read about its operation in books on magical theory.

It was quite simple.

The base of the crystal ball bore nine dim stars. As he slowly infused his mental energy, the crystal ball would brighten according to the amount infused, illuminating the stars to indicate the tester’s magical rank.

The stronger the mental energy, the more stars would shine.

For testers of the same star rank, the brightness of the crystal was used to judge their relative strength.

In just an instant, the crystal ball in Xu Wen’s hands radiated a dazzling grey light, swirling in a misty, chaotic flow. One star lit up.

Anyone possessing mental energy would at least illuminate one star.

Xu Wen remained unmoved, staring fixedly at the crystal ball as he continued to inject his mental power until the second star lit up at an astonishing speed.

Two stars...

What stage was he at?

Xu Wen felt a slight tension.

He hoped Harman’s earlier remarks were mistaken. If his rank had truly dropped, the only possible culprit was the “Devil’s Eye”—the one unpredictable factor.

Yet as the crystal ball’s glow rapidly filled, nearing its peak, Xu Wen’s confidence returned.

Inside the crystal ball, the two-star capacity was almost full, a sign of the peak of the second star, ninth stage. A little more effort and he could break through to the third star.

At this moment, Xu Wen could still sense reserves of mental energy within himself.

Delighted, he pressed on, injecting more, and without suspense, illuminated the third star at the base of the crystal ball.

Ha!

Xu Wen exclaimed inwardly in triumph.

Dean Harman truly was mistaken—a victim of failing eyesight. The statue’s enlightenment not only lacked negative side effects, it had helped him break through to the third star.

“Wonderful.”

Xu Wen cared little now for Harman’s reasoning; since he was unharmed, it was better to seize this opportunity to gauge his true strength, then use the remaining twenty-eight days to thoroughly explore the library of Azure Cloud Academy.

With a clear mind and no distractions, Xu Wen closed his eyes and concentrated, pouring all his remaining mental energy into the crystal ball until it was nearly depleted.

Opening his eyes, Xu Wen breathed a gentle sigh of relief, a smile appearing on his face.

The crystal ball’s color had become a pale blue, not yet the pure blue of full maturity. This was the sign of the early third star; his current mental energy should be at the second stage of the third star. The statue’s enlightenment had elevated him two levels, formally qualifying him as an intermediate mage.

Xu Wen swallowed a rejuvenation pill and settled into meditation. Yet he felt a touch of puzzlement...

How could Harman, an eight-star grand mage, misjudge his strength? It was as absurd as a biologist confusing male and female.

No, something else was amiss.

Xu Wen calmed himself, reflecting thoroughly. Memories surged through his mind, filtering one after another. Suddenly, with a thoughtful gaze, he looked down at his hands.

He swiftly withdrew the “Introduction to Elementary Magic” from his ring space, flipping directly to the page detailing the crystal ball’s usage.

“Just as I thought!”

Xu Wen inhaled deeply, his eyes lingering on a commonplace note about the crystal ball.

“From one star to two stars, mid-to-low level mages require about fifteen seconds to fill the crystal ball. From two stars to three stars, it takes forty-five seconds...”

It was the timing that was off!

His magic output rate seemed much faster than what was documented.

From one star to the second stage of three stars, he spent less than half a minute in total!

For a standard mage at the second stage of three stars, mental energy could not be exhausted so quickly.

Heart tightening, Xu Wen’s gaze moved to the line just above...

“Mages of five stars or higher, whose mental energy has liquefied, form a chaotic sea of consciousness within, purifying their mental power and doubling their output speed!”

Chaotic sea of consciousness?

For some reason, Xu Wen recalled the chaotic world of his dream.

“Impossible...”

Xu Wen’s eyes widened, staring incredulously at his raised hands. The chaotic sea of consciousness was only formed when one’s mental strength reached the level of a high mage (five stars), a phenomenon offering faster magical concentration and regeneration than elemental cyclones.

He was clearly only at the third star!

His mental energy was nowhere near sufficient to form a chaotic sea of consciousness.

Yet there was one point matching the book’s description.

If he had truly formed a chaotic sea of consciousness, his mental energy would have liquefied. Thus, measuring his mental capacity by conventional means for mages below five stars could indeed result in a conclusion of lowered magical rank.

At this thought, Xu Wen drew a sharp breath.

He did not know how this had happened, but if it was true, he had prematurely acquired a chaotic sea of consciousness. In the eyes of others, he might maintain the appearance of a low-level mage with slow progress for some time.

In other words!

The rapid advancement he had always displayed in the Hortonklin family would vanish, replaced by the image of a “mediocre talent”—perhaps even inferior to the ordinary elites of the family—unless he revealed his true strength publicly.

Xu Wen could not imagine what might happen when he left Azure Cloud Academy and returned to the Hortonklin family as a mid-level, two-star fire mage.

Or three years hence, when those who once hoped he would dazzle Azure Cloud Academy and win the highest honors for the Hortonklin family—patriarch and elders alike—learned he had become the lowest-ranked student in the academy, what expressions would they wear?

Xu Wen shivered involuntarily. After pondering for a long time, he closed the book, dashed into the adjacent chamber, and carefully activated the teleportation array as Harman had instructed, leaving the high tower.