With the magical effect of the magic slate, Chen Rui entered the sealed ancient magic tower smoothly.
Just now, Leo used his privilege to enter alone. This time, it wasn’t Chen Rui alone who entered the magic tower. Coincidentally, Master Xhosa was also inside, and there were also a few masters that he didn’t know.
When Master Xhosa saw Chen Rui, he smiled and said, “It turns out to be Master Arthur. Entering the magic tower to research so soon? It should be Rummenigge right? I guess that guy gave you his time. He has a granddaughter who seems to know you. Is Rummenigge trying to build rapport with you step by step and eventually tie you up with the Asmodeus Royal Family with marriage? Unfortunately, I only have one son. You aren’t interested right?”
In fact, Master Xhosa guessed it right. Rummenigge did have that long-term plan, but he hadn’t yet revealed it.
Chen Rui was still smiling initially, but when he heard the last sentence, a chill ran down his spine inexplicably. WTF?! I don’t look like a gay, do I?!
“Stop messing around!” A mature-looking Great Demon master aside, finally said something because she couldn’t stand it, “This must be Master Arthur. I saw you at the finals in the arena last time and witnessed your greatness. It’s truly admirable. Ignore this old man, he simply likes to talk nonsense!”
Actually, Xhosa was a bit embarrassed to see Chen Rui. At that time, he wanted to recruit Chen Rui as his disciple without knowing that Chen Rui was also a master. He smiled at that moment, “Master Fimi, I heard that Master Arthur’s favorite is mature and plump women. Your body is very well maintained. If you want, your chances are pretty high. You should get closer later.”
“Old bastard! Believe or not, if you continue messing around, I’ll stuff your broken wine bottle into your ass?” The mature, plump female blushed. Her subsequent aggressive words shocked everyone present.
It seemed that the mechanic “race” was mostly abnormal. Anderson and Rummenigge were some of the rare, normal demons among the masters in the alliance.
Chen Rui had a long-lost feeling in his heart. Mars is very dangerous. I should go back to the earth soon.
Those jokes didn’t last too long as the time in the ancient magic tower was very precious after all. After they introduced each other, they went to the third or fourth floor to start their own research or record.
Chen Rui had too little time last time, so he was just touring. Although a lot of data was recorded, it wasn’t complete. Besides, the ancient magic tower was very mysterious. The data from this time was different from the last time. He wasn’t ambitious, so he stayed at the third floor and activated [Deep Analysis]. While using the results of the two analyses to compare and analyze, he was trying to understand the mystery within.
The data of the third floor was indeed far from comparable to the first and second floors. The changes of these data were complicated and mysterious. Every time, it could arrange into new combinations and ideas. It was the reason why Chen Rui was immersed in it last time. However, it was very difficult to arrange a complete array, even with the aid of [Deep Analysis].
No wonder after those masters studied for many years, it was still difficult to “decipher” a complete magic circle.
[Deep Analysis] seemed to be adding more and more algorithms. There were many arrangements added into Chen Rui’s mind, but the distance from completion seemed to be increasing too.
Chen Rui frowned and began to ponder. There was a saying in Xunzi [1], “Every change is the same. That is to say, no matter how it changes, its quality doesn’t change; no matter how it changes, it doesn’t stray from its essence.”
No matter how complicated the magic was, it was impossible to stray from the six elements of earth, water, fire, wind, light and dark. Even the necromancy derived from the dark magic or the space magic (had been lost) that derived from wind and the water magic, were the same. Therefore, the magic circle had the same logic.
What he needed to do wasn’t to increase complexity and countless changes, but to reduce complexity to simplicity and find out the most basic, also the most crucial part.
Chen Rui thought about it, stood up, walked downstairs and returned to the first floor.
When concentrating on something, time always passed quickly. In the blink of an eye, eight hours had passed.
When Chen Rui withdrew from his thoughts with some realizations, he happened to see Master Xhosa coming down from the second floor.
When Master Xhosa saw Chen Rui sitting on the first floor, he was surprised, “Why are you still here? You should at least be at the third floor with your abilities. Even for masters, the time that we can enter the tower is also limited. Don’t waste it!”
“I was about to go up.” Chen Rui knew that Master Xhosa was just being kind, so he nodded. Then, he stood up and took out a bottle of wine, “By the way, I’ve never had a chance to tank Master Xhosa for your guidance and help. This bottle of wine was given by the old chancellor, Lamar to me. Now, I’ll present the Buddha with borrowed flowers [2] and give it to you.”
Although Xhosa didn’t understand what Chen Rui meant by presenting the Buddha with borrowed flowers, when he heard the name, Lamar, his eyes suddenly lit up. He hurried over, took the drink and kept it in his space ring as if he got a precious treasure, “This is a thousand years superior fruit wine! The old prime minister is famous for his collection of alcohol in the capital. I’m glad to be in debt of your kindness.”
As Master Xhosa was about to leave happily, he suddenly turned back and said, “If you want to go out in advance, just go out from the main entrance like me. Then, the countdown on the magic slate will automatically stop and the remaining time can be accumulated until the next month. Once the time is up, the magic slate can automatically teleport you out too.”
Chen Rui thanked Master Xhosa and walked to the second floor and sat on the second floor for another eight or nine hours. Some of the masters just now, like Fimi had already teleported out and some kept some time and walked all the way to the ground floor. Other than this group of people, a few more entered. When they saw the most dazzling genius in the mechanic field stuck on the second floor unexpectedly, they were surprised. Master Fimi kindly advised one sentence, but she didn’t say much and walked toward the lower floor exit.
Chen Rui used [Deep Analysis] twice on the first floor and spent most of the time sorting and thinking. Then, he used it once on the second floor. Up till now, he had finally solved some key problems and stood up happily. Then, he felt his stomach growling. After eating something, he walked to the third floor with confidence.
Outside the Magic Tower, it was already the next morning. The president, Anderson was having breakfast with Rummenigge and several masters on the fifth floor restaurant. Master Leo walked over and said, “Have you heard? It’s been more than ten hours and the trio-specialized genius is still at the second floor. That’s such a waste of Master Rummenigge’s kindness.”
“At least Master Rummenigge has a good intention for the alliance and empire.” Master Xhosa looked at Master Leo sarcastically, “It’s better than someone who only gloats.”
Leo’s eyes widened, “Xhosa, what do you mean?”
“Every master here knows exactly what I meant!” Master Xhosa sneered, “Savice’s death is self-deserving. He was the one that kept on provoking Arthur. If it was me, I’ll take more than Savice’s hand in the contest! A hellhound’s death returned with a dragon in the alliance! Besides, this dragon has unlimited room for improvement! For you to be so biased against Master Arthur, it should be me who asks what do you mean?”
Leo had always been unpopular. Suddenly, he felt several masters around him looking at him unkindly which made him feel very uncomfortable. He sneered, “I’m just telling the truth. Even though he is a trio-specialized mechanic master, he might not be good at magic circles!”
Master Rummenigge said, “As a master, it’s his first time entering the ancient magic tower. No one can predict what will happen in the future. At the very least, I have confidence in him.”
With Rummenigge’s prestige and identity, Leo couldn’t say anything else at once. So, he left with a sentence, “The higher you hold him, the heavier he’ll fall!”
Master Anderson frowned. Out of concern for the new genius master, his movement was reported from time to time for the following time.
“Arthur went from the second floor to the third floor.”
“He seems to have taken out the magic slate, but he hasn’t recorded yet.”
“Arthur went from the third floor to the fourth floor.
“He started recording on the magic slate!”
This news also came to Master Leo’s ears. When Master Leo heard Chen Rui was using magic slate on the fourth floor, he calmed down and gave Chen Rui an evaluation of being ambitious and flashy.
If Chen Rui stays on the third floor, I’ll have to be more careful. Yet, he went to the fourth floor. Although this young man is trio-specialized. From the perspective of every specialization, he hasn’t reached the level of top master. Even for a top master, it’s quite difficult to comprehend and copy the complete magic circle on the fourth floor, let alone decipher it.
It was precisely because Leo was good at this, he had a superior position in the alliance. Even if he usually behaved badly, President Anderson would only keep an eye closed.
Just as the sky was getting darker, the masters at the Mechanical Alliance finally received the news that Chen Rui came out of the ancient magic tower. It seemed that “Arthur” went directly to the president’s room and attracted a lot of masters to go along. Hearing the “news” brought by his apprentice in the laboratory, Leo thought about it, left the laboratory and walked toward the building.
Surely, there were several masters in the president’s room, fighting to look at a magic slate; while Master Anderson had two fully written, magic scrolls.
“Isn’t this Master Leo?” It was Leo’s rival, Xhosa who spoke, “You came at the right time. You can appreciate the magic circle that Master Arthur just deciphered.”
“Deciphered?” Leo thought he had heard it wrong. Isn’t it just copying? No, it’s impossible even if it’s just copying. How long did it take? Didn’t Arthur take 16 to 17 hours on the first and second floor? Looking at the time now, he had only spent about 10 hours on the third and fourth floor, which total to less than 2 days. How could he copy a complete magic circle? Not to mention cracking it!
Leo grabbed the slate that the masters were looking in disbelief. He couldn’t bother about the dissatisfaction of several masters and quickly took a look. This… is actually a complete magic circle and it’s quasi-four stars!
No! It’s more than one! There are a quasi four-star and a four-star. Leo examined the magic circle carefully, trying to find out flaws. However, with his eyesight and accomplishments in the magic circle, he finally had to admit that both of them were absolutely complete magic circles!
“How is it possible?!” Leo said and the slate had been taken back by Master Xhosa.
“If you want to see the cracked version, go to the president! Don’t stop everyone from studying!”
Usually, when a complete magic circle was released, the masters had to study it first before comparing it with the cracked result to deepen their own insights and inspiration. Other than the president, researching the results of the cracked magic circle also required certain contribution points.
Leo came to Master Anderson’s table, then he heard Master Anderson saying to Chen Rui, “It’s indeed a perfect decipher and the narrative is very detailed. Recording a complete quasi-four-star gives you 1000 contribution points while the four star gives you 1500 contribution points. Also, deciphering quasi-four-star gives you 5000 contribution points while the four star gives you 6000 contribution points. Then, this time, your contribution point is increased by 13500. Together with your initial points upon entering the alliance, you have a total of 13600 points. To reach black star contribution level right after joining, you’re the first one.”
The president, Anderson’s positive evaluation made Leo no longer have the courage to criticize the two magic scrolls that contained deciphered data. He had already confirmed one thing. This “Arthur” was indeed a real genius that was unprecedented in the past 10,00 years in the field of mechanics. Not only did in his specializations, but he was superior in all other aspects.
Seeing Master Leo walking away dispirited, Master Anderson shook his head secretly. However, Chen Rui’s performance was too dazzling. Without considering the time during preliminary, this was his first time officially entering the ancient magic tower. In less than thirty hours, he deciphered and recorded two complete high grade magic circles. There was probably no one that could beat that record.
From now on, Leo’s monopoly on the magic circle’s contribution no longer existed. If he still didn’t control his words and behavior, he would definitely become everyone’s target.
After Chen Rui reached the black star contribution level, he wasn’t in a hurry to exchange for materials. Currently, the materials for “Thunderous Sound” had already been collected, but his aura was still a distance from the exorbitant priced blueprint. The Mechanic Alliance was rich in resources, which was equivalent to a storage of various materials. Besides, the mysteries in the ancient magic tower hadn’t yet been revealed. Moreover, there were still a large number of books and notes which were very important for Chen Rui to improve.
Certainly, being a mechanic master was an identity derived for a certain purpose, and it could be used as a way to hide or survive. However, Chen Rui’s greatest pursuit wasn’t only to be an alchemist or even a grandmaster. However, there would definitely be more artifacts in the exchange center in the future. At that time, the materials would be the biggest problem and joining the core of the Mechanic Alliance could solve that problem well.
In reality, the two magic circles that Chen Rui handed over this time were only a small part. According to the deduction of [Deep Analysis], there were absolutely more than that, but he didn’t want to reveal too much. It was good enough to reach black star in his contribution. The only regret was that he still couldn’t go up to the fifth floor.
In spite of that, Chen Rui had become a precious treasure in the eyes of the masters at the Mechanic Alliance. He is definitely worthy of being a rare genius. Not only is he proficient in three specializations, but he also has such a talent in magic circles!
Chen Rui didn’t exchange for any materials. He just used his black star’s privilege to borrow some of the notes left by the previous top masters. Then, he showed a tired look, saying that he was exhausted and wanted to return to the Custer Family to rest for a while. His preparation was considered done, and now it should be the time to start the plan.
All the masters had studied magic circles and they knew it required a lot of mental effort, so they didn’t suspect and even told Chen Rui to rest well. When he regains his energy, he must come to the alliance again.
However, the masters at the Mechanic Alliance couldn’t wait for that day as an event that shocked the entire Dark Shadow Empire and even the entire Demon Realm occurred. When Master “Arthur” was out, he was attacked by strangers and his whereabouts was still unknown.