Chapter 695: The Silver Radiance Lord of Spiral Ascent
As the sun ring wizard host recited the competition rules, the Silent Throne released a surge of magic pressure that did not belong to this world. This magic pressure was roughly at the Third Circle level, and it blanketed the entire spectator arena in an instant.
Locke looked around, sensing the changes in the world-force. "Not only is it a foreign magic pressure, the air is also permeated with special planar laws. In other words, this place has temporarily ceased to be the wizard world."
"This is the area of influence of the world laws of the medium-scale plane locked by the Silent Throne, the Silent Plane."
The sun ring wizard host said, "We extend our gratitude to the sponsorship of the Ten Major Shop Alliances of the Cloud Marsh Wetlands, to the four great academies for their sponsorship, and to the Silent Witch, Truth, for her sponsorship."
"I now declare the Twenty-First Silent Chalice Competition officially open. The four competitors and eight assistants are invited to ascend the throne."
"During the competition, the spectator arena will temporarily exist at the boundary between the wizard world and the Silent Plane, and we will be able to witness a truly spectacular Grand Magic Modeling Competition."
Twelve ascending stairways descended from the Silent Throne, one for each participant. Wizard Edgar stepped forward without any hesitation and was the first to mount his.
Then came Locke, then Wizard Smith, then Witch Georgina, followed by the remaining wizards.
All four competitors had, in preparation for this competition, pushed their magic pressure beyond its limit and forcibly entered the soul decline period, bringing their souls to the very brink of collapse.
Their intelligence, reflexes, and memory were all at their weakest point since becoming First Circle wizards.
Their minds, too, had been weakened by the extreme magic pressure. The higher the magic pressure, the greater the gap between the soul layers, and the further the soul declined.
And now, with each step the four of them climbed, their magic pressure surged a fraction higher, and their soul vitality faded a fraction further.
Witch Georgina, wearing her wooden mask, looked down at her feet and visibly hesitated. The moment she stopped, it immediately drew the attention of the other three.
Wizard Edgar let out a cold laugh, stepped forward without the slightest hesitation, and continued climbing. In the next instant, his soul vitality faded again, and his magic pressure rose again.
Wizard Smith's expression was grim, but after only a brief hesitation, he continued upward.
Locke, having observed, noticed that the world-force of the Silent Plane was pouring into him in a continuous stream. And with so many eyes watching, if any of the four had an accident, a great number of wizards who had invested money in the Silent Chalice would likely go bankrupt on the spot, and the Silent Witch would have no way to account for it either, so he continued climbing.
For a white wizard, all manner of unscrupulous things were possible. The one thing absolutely never done was anything that would cause oneself to lose money.
Witch Georgina gritted her teeth. "Climbing upward is like placing one's own soul beneath a thousand blades."
At this point the four competitors' magic pressure was approaching the Second Circle. Locke heard a cracking sound in his ears, and saw that the surface of the bronze magical furnace bound to his soul was covered in fractures, on the verge of shattering.
At the same time, Locke saw something fly down from above the Silent Throne. Four World Stones, like birds in flight, traced an arc through the sky and descended toward each of the four competitors.
Locke snatched his.
In an instant, his thoughts, magical power, personality, cognition, knowledge, and emotions poured uncontrollably into the World Stone.
In an instant, the originally colorless white World Stone took on a blue-silver hue.
In that instant, Locke felt as though heaven, earth, and time had aligned with him, as boundless force poured into him in a continuous torrent.
The Silent Plane was accumulating energy for him, helping him gather magic pressure, preparing in one breath to propel him through to the Second Circle.
The so-called Second Circle, the so-called Grand Magic, was the use of the moment when one's world and oneself became one, allowing the cycling magical source one had created to become one's second soul.
A full moon appeared behind Locke, as though descending from the heavens to crash into the earth, shaking sky and ground alike, manifesting at his back.
The World Stone and the Moon of Evolution became one.
The true, most orthodox Grand Magic was completed at this very moment.
Locke's magic pressure passed 9999 without obstruction, shot directly to 10000, and continued to soar, pressing toward 11000. After reaching 11000, it showed a trend of surging toward 12000.
His soul, which had declined to its very limit, at this moment seemed to rebound from the bottom, turning death into rebirth. The life energy he had accumulated through long cultivation erupted magnificently, and the staggering life force contained within his life magic enveloped the entire competition venue.
Locke felt as though his aged soul had been entirely reborn at once, like a newborn being brought into life anew.
It was something far better than the two times he had cobbled together a Grand Magic by borrowing a kingdom domain.
This was a true breakthrough to the Second Circle.
A rebirth of the soul.
The full moon behind Locke hung in mid-air, still slowly rotating. The Golden Palace Legacy Branch was like a divine tree within the moon, moonlight pouring down onto the earth below, its magic pressure vast and mysterious.
The Silent Chalice competition panel immediately began exchanging hushed words. "The Grand Magic from Golden Crown Mountain this time is one with no previous record."
"No previous record? That level of refinement is extraordinarily rare. It is as though an actual lunar plane has descended. Such a degree of refinement... it is hard to believe a First Circle wizard accomplished this on their own."
"The Grand Magic Modeling Competition is getting more and more interesting. Golden Crown Mountain's competitor this generation has produced a Grand Magic that bears no resemblance to any they have fielded in past competitions. This means there is no reference experience to draw from at all. We have no idea what its specific effects will be."
"I can see traces of void creature elements in it, and traces of the magical techniques of many academies. Hmm, are those not traces of the Demon Hub City's magical techniques? Am I seeing things?"
In the spectator stands, Witch Camilla covered her face. This was a disaster.
She sneaked a glance at her teacher beside her, who had a puzzled look in his eyes, seemingly trying to confirm something but unable to be sure.
Witch Camilla sneaked another glance at her teacher. Fortunately, her teacher did not seem able to fully confirm whether the Grand Magic had made use of the Demon Hub City's techniques.
Witch Camilla said quietly, "Since when has Golden Crown Mountain had such advanced witch porcelain techniques? Teacher, do you think Golden Crown Mountain has been stealing our witch porcelain techniques?"
She was deeply uneasy, but then her teacher's expression darkened. "That is very possible. And it is very likely that Golden Crown Mountain has achieved a certain lead in this area. This is absolutely theft, outright theft!"
Witch Camilla immediately let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Wonderful. She had at least managed to steer his thinking in the wrong direction from the very start. What came next might actually give her an opportunity to muddy the waters.
The people of the Demon Hub City were all opportunists. For them, as long as there was even the slightest chance of something being possible, they would try it.
An ordinary wizard might not be able to mislead others with the same natural ease as Witch Camilla, but she had an instinct for it.
Witch Camilla looked at Locke's full moon, and a strange light flickered in her eyes. 'Is our Demon Hub City's natal witch porcelain really that powerful? To think it could be used to create a Grand Magic with that level of magic pressure. At the very moment of initially completing the Grand Magic, the magic pressure has already come to 12000.'
'He has not even truly constructed the energy cycling system of the Grand Magic yet. If the construction is completed, surely the magic pressure would continue to rise even further?'
'What specific effects will this Grand Magic actually have? What exactly is it like?'
Witch Camilla's eyes sparkled with eager anticipation.
At the same time, on the ascending stairway, Witch Georgina turned her left hand over, and a spinning wheel appeared in her palm.
The spinning wheel had three seats, all currently empty.
The spinning wheel was running. Even without any raw materials, the machine continued turning, and strands of golden thread appeared.
Witch Georgina took a staff-type wand from her astral ring and struck the stairway three times with it.
The spinning wheel worked rapidly, and before long a golden magical garment had appeared on her body.
Her magic pressure also reached a level approaching 12000.
On the panel of the Grand Magic Modeling Competition, seven sun ring wizard committee members exchanged words in hushed tones.
"There are very few records of magical weavers participating in the Silent Chalice. Previously, Bonifacius University's competitors have been breeders or Evocation School wizards, with weather wizards and storm wizards also appearing. But a magical weaver is a first. Has the magical weaver resolved the problem of not excelling in direct combat?"
"If I am reading this correctly, that Grand Magic has a property that allows it to rapidly weave magical garments. I looked up the records on this competitor. She is a well-known magical garment designer, a First Circle magical garment fashion designer of some renown in the Cloud Marsh Wetlands."
"That aside, I have a question. The ability of her Grand Magic to accelerate the weaving of magical garments is impressive, but the problem is that this might mean her magic pressure burst multiplier is at a significant disadvantage. And this is our Silent Chalice Competition. In such a high-intensity combat environment, that kind of Grand Magic might be at a disadvantage."
"Let's see how it plays out first. This is the magical weaver from Bonifacius University's first battle in our Silent Chalice, in service of elevating the standing of textile studies."
"That is a fair point. Textile studies has recently produced three Third Circle Throne Wizards. Its academic standing has improved somewhat, but the current resources do not match the number of high-circle wizards they now have. So the entire discipline is pushing toward becoming a primary academic discipline."
"They are making efforts across various fields, competing for recognition in every direction."
"Without a Truth Wizard, and relying solely on having a large number of Third Circle Thrones, pushing to become a primary academic discipline will be very difficult. Of course, textile studies does currently have one Truth Wizard. It's just that the numbers are still not quite sufficient."
Witch Georgina said to the three competitors, "Everyone, this is my Grand Magic, the Fate Loom."
Locke gave her a nod and a smile. "And this is my Grand Magic, the Moon of Evolution."
Beside them, Wizard Smith's expression was not particularly good, because after initially constructing his Grand Magic, Meteor from Beyond the Heavens, his magic pressure stood at only around 10500.
It could not be helped. The Meteor from Beyond the Heavens depended heavily on construction. With only a preliminary framework in place at this stage, the boost to magic pressure was not very pronounced.
This made Wizard Smith's expression rather unpleasant.
In his view, it meant his opening presence was weak. But the issue was not his ability. It was simply that the Grand Magic Meteor from Beyond the Heavens was a late-developing Grand Magic.
So he said nothing, stating only, "Grand Magic, Meteor from Beyond the Heavens."
Wizard Smith stood with his hands clasped behind his back, supremely self-assured. 'Once we enter the Silent Plane and begin constructing the Grand Magic properly, my magic pressure will certainly surpass all of yours.'
Locke and Witch Georgina both turned their gaze toward Wizard Edgar.
Wizard Edgar frowned. He was holding a World Stone in his hand, seemingly hesitating over something.
He glanced back at the spectator stands, then made his decision. He combined the World Stone with the Temporal Shadow Fern he had brought.
In an instant, a fern five stories high appeared at his back.
The fern had seven fronds arranged in a spiral pattern, with deep purple veins, leaf flesh as thin as a cicada's wing, and small reverse-toothed serrations along the edges, which produced a faint trembling when touched.
So the moment the Temporal Shadow Fern appeared, in the light breeze stirred by the turbulent magic pressure, frond brushed against frond, producing a sound like the ticking of a clock's gears.
As though a timepiece were walking here.
Edgar seemed somewhat displeased. "This is the Grand Magic I have brought for this competition, the Temporal Shadow Fern."
Locke looked at Edgar with curiosity. "I thought it would be a Grand Magic related to treants, especially Ancient Life Trees. Is that not your area of expertise? Why have you changed course and used this magic instead?"
Wizard Edgar said, "A small competition like this does not warrant my true Grand Magic. So I am simply using a casual Grand Magic to participate in this casual competition."
Locke smiled. "You are quite casual about it."
Wizard Smith's expression became even more unpleasant, because after Edgar constructed his Grand Magic, his magic pressure came to 13000.
Surpassing everyone.
So somehow, he was the only one in the group who looked weak by comparison. There was not even a single wizard sitting at the bottom with him.
It was genuinely embarrassing.
But among the three Grand Magics the Smith Family had primarily invested in researching, only the Meteor from Beyond the Heavens placed heavy emphasis on construction, so its starting magic pressure would inevitably be the lowest, sitting at around 10500.
Wizard Smith thought with inward resentment, 'Every single one of you, do not make the mistake of taking your magic pressure at the start of the competition seriously. When the competition begins and I start constructing the Grand Magic properly, that is when the real measure of ability will show.'
...
The seven sun ring reviewers discussed among themselves.
"Among the four competitors, three of them aside from Smith have brought Grand Magics with no previous records. This is truly remarkable. A grand occasion unlike any before."
"The Demon Elevation Plan of the Star Domain Sea has had a tremendous influence, and the timing chosen is indeed well-considered. Right now is an unprecedented moment of flourishing for the Eastern Border Region. Countless geniuses are emerging across all territories, and this is the era in which the Demon Elevation Plan has the greatest chance of success."
"Actually, one need not look down on the Meteor from Beyond the Heavens quite so readily. Although the Smith Family's Meteor from Beyond the Heavens is a frequent entrant in our competition, it is quite special. It is a composite Grand Magic, and depends particularly heavily on the level of construction ability. So it is perfectly normal for its early-stage magic pressure to be somewhat low. Moreover, the Meteor from Beyond the Heavens may be an old magic, but it is very easy to produce something new from it."
In the spectator stands, the many wizards watching the four Grand Magics were all paying intense attention.
Wizard Mac and his teacher were attending the Silent Chalice for the first time, so they were simply there to enjoy the spectacle.
Also in the spectator stands were Hussein and Daniel, outsider wizards who had not detected anything unusual from the very start of the competition.
But many wizards who had watched numerous Silent Chalice Competitions before, such as those from Little Repose Mountain, the four great academies, the Tower of Transmutation, and other native wizards, had sensed something unusual from the very first moment.
Because three of this competition's four competitors had produced entirely new Grand Magics.
In past competitions, this would have been unthinkable.
Because innovation implied risk. Innovation did not guarantee progress. Many innovations were, in fact, a step backward.
Below the Silent Throne, Locke heard the calling voice of the Silent Plane. It was as though thousands upon thousands of voices were whispering in his ear at once.
'Is this... sacrificial magic?'
As a Second Circle wizard, Locke could now directly see the planar force in the air with his own eyes, and could observe the direction of its flow.
He watched as an enormous quantity of planar force converged toward him from all directions.
'Someone is performing a ritual of sacrifice for me. If I accept this planar force, I will be pulled there instantly. An ordinary Second Circle wizard could refuse, but right now I became a Second Circle wizard through the World Stone lent to me by the Silent Plane, so I cannot refuse.'
'So that is how sacrificial magic works. It gathers planar force toward a certain existence, and once that existence receives the force, it is suddenly drawn in.'
At this moment, having become a Second Circle wizard, Locke's understanding of sacrificial magic had deepened considerably.
He chose to accept.
The planar force converged upon him from all directions.
In the next instant, Locke's figure vanished.
Simultaneously, every other competitor vanished as well.
On the Silent Throne, four separate projections appeared, each showing the landing point of one competitor as they entered the Silent Plane.
...
The Silent Plane.
Beneath a layer of pale gray cloud, a heavy curtain of murk had gathered.
Occasionally, one or two beams of sunlight managed to push through, only to be stained a sickly orange-red by coal ash, as though diluted blood plasma had been splashed across the rooftops.
Throughout the city, towering steam chimneys rose in every direction. Pipes of brass and lead ran beneath the pointed rooftops of the city's buildings like the city's veins.
The river beside the city was thick with bloated brown paper, along with all manner of household refuse.
The inhabitants of the Silent Plane had already grown quiet. Only the mechanical roar of machinery continued to thunder on, ominous and oppressive.
Within this industrial city, a train cut through from one end to the other.
In the third carriage of the train, a group of women dressed in whale-bone-hooped skirts and metal corsets adorned with various metallic accessories, and men wearing stiff suits supported by steel-wire frames, were conducting a ritual of sacrifice.
The one conducting the ritual was a sixteen-year-old girl. A metal corset gave her a slender silhouette, and her skirt was extravagant and wide, with two metal earrings hanging beside her ears.
At that moment, the girl was in the midst of the sacrificial ritual.
A powerfully built man in a white vest and black work trousers had produced a pistol, whistled, and leveled it at the girl's forehead, smirking. "Saintess, stop putting on this performance here. Your god no longer exists."
"His Imperial Majesty sent me here to kill you. You said that in my presence you would show me a miracle and prove that your sect is not a cult. That you would prove His Imperial Majesty is a fraud who has deceived the world. I gave you my time. I let you make your case. But your god does not seem to be giving you face. Since he has not appeared, let me take your head and bring it to His Imperial Majesty to settle this business."
Inside the carriage, the men and women were furious at the gun-wielding man's insolence.
Yet they seemed particularly wary of him.
So even though they also had guns in their hands and outnumbered him, not a single one dared to fire.
The girl gritted her teeth. "What I said is true. Are you not curious as to why gunfighters like you are born with the art of gunfighting? Why only gunfighters possess extraordinary powers and can kill those monsters?"
"Let me tell you. Long, long ago, anyone could attain powers like yours through their own effort. Your emperor was once one of those who worked toward it. Later, when he became emperor, he broke the backbone of every other person."
"He got on the train, and then he shut the doors. He hid the true knowledge away. To preserve his eternal rule and keep himself the most powerful force forever, he prevented anyone else from learning to develop extraordinary powers. Gunfighters like you are simply born with abilities, the lowest level of abilities, and so the emperor recruited you to be his claws."
The girl's expression turned cold. "Does he truly need any of you? No, he needs no one. He is a tyrant who stands alone."
"All the monsters in our civilization, they were probably all created by the emperor."
The gunfighter whistled. "It is for this idiotic story of yours that I wasted so much time. And the miracle you spoke of has not appeared at all."
"You have wasted my time. You spread all this nonsense and stir people up. The emperor is right to want you dead. You have no grievance."
"None of what you say is credible. Because you simply do not have the access to know so much about those in power. You are just an ordinary girl who spreads falsehoods and stirs up trouble."
The girl looked at the gun barrel leveled at her forehead, then looked down at the small altar at her feet, upon which sat a ritual vessel, a chalice.
The Silent Chalice.
But in the next moment, the Silent Chalice disappeared, replaced by a moonrock in the shape of a full moon.
The girl, who had been about to invoke the name of the Silent Witch, immediately changed her invocation to that of the Moon of Evolution, without any awareness that she had done so. It was as though some part of her cognition had been permanently altered without her even realizing.
"Silver Radiance Lord of Spiral Ascent, eternal witness to all things in existence. I beseech you for your blessing. May your radiance tear open the sky, may your will reshape reality."
"I call upon your coming once more. Let your spiraling phases of the moon, in this moment, manifest as your sacred form."
The girl looked nervously around her.
This was a phrase the goddess had taught her in a dream she had once had. It was said to be capable of summoning a divine being.
The girl's brow furrowed slightly. A goddess?
She had a feeling it was a male deity.
A certain memory was being replaced by another.