Chapter 521 |
Wanxiang was still half in doubt about the validity of the contract, yet she had no better choice. At this point, the only option before her was to trust the credibility of the Mages.
The contract was prepared in triplicate. She and Adam each signed their names upon it, keeping one copy apiece, while the final copy was stored within the Source itself.
Each field had its own experts — and the smartest approach was to leave specialized tasks to those who were truly specialized. Once the contract was completed, Adam immediately contacted Nehem, asking him to help recruit a group of Alchemical Mages from the Seventh Holy Tower.
Given Nehem’s special relationship with Maxison, Adam had no intention of letting those Mages work without compensation. In only a week’s time, the Magi-Construct Factory welcomed a large number of new arrivals. Adam left behind one of his avatars to coordinate between the Mages and Wanxiang, while he himself departed for the Atomic Energy Research Institute.
He needed to resume his personal research as soon as possible so that he could smoothly advance once his energy accumulation reached completion.
The Atomic Energy Research Institute had become immensely important — every verified theory birthed there could expand the path of the Mages; every new formula could propel an Apprentice straight into the Super Dimensional realm.
Although Adam still held the nominal title of Director, he could no longer simply teleport in at will. Instead, he had to arrive through the Inner World, pass layer after layer of identification protocols, and only then reach the institute’s most secure core zone.
Now, this entire area was swept by destructive energy storms, and to the naked eye, one could see terrifying visions of worlds being born and annihilated every passing second.
“You seem… somewhat different,” Adam remarked to Super Dimensional Mage Julius, who had personally come to greet him. Even after three centuries, Julius had still not ascended to the True Spirit realm.
From Julius’s mouth, those words carried a profound meaning — it meant he had discovered his True Spirit Path, and almost every True Spirit Path was something that could be replicated. Adam felt sincerely happy for him and asked curiously, “May I ask what it is?”
“Of course,” Julius said with a smile.
“When the institute was first founded, I thought my True Spirit Path lay in energy. And indeed, under your leadership, we succeeded — from Aether chain fission to fusion magic, all these have become mature technologies. One might say our application of Aether has progressed from the primitive to the advanced.” As he smoothed out the raging energy storm, Julius continued, “However, as you can see, those achievements alone didn’t make me a True Spirit Mage.”
“And then?” Adam prompted.
“Later, I came to believe that my path lay within the microscopic world, within quantum theory. After you left the institute for the Cataclysm Zone, most of that previous batch of fools returned safely, and we began a new line of research.”
“I repeated all of our old experiments in search of inspiration, and finally, I discovered my fascination lies in the atomic nucleus. My True Spirit Path is hidden within it.”
Adam had a feeling he knew what Julius had found.
“Why do protons and neutrons bind together to form an atomic nucleus? Could there exist another, as yet undiscovered fundamental force that allows them to cluster together?”
As expected, Super Dimensional Mage Julius had uncovered traces of the strong nuclear force — the strong interaction.
“Incredible,” Adam said with genuine admiration. “Your insight and intuition are astonishing.”
Julius, clearly in good spirits, waved his hand modestly. “Researching it is still difficult. The more fundamental subatomic particles are almost impossible to detect now. Our current particle accelerators have reached their limits. Your return is timely — you can offer us new perspectives once more.”
Adam nodded. Indeed, the existing equipment could no longer detect deeper layers of matter or the mediating particles between forces. Without discovering those mediators, the strong nuclear force could be hypothesized but not verified or harnessed.
Still, this was already a major breakthrough.
After passing his final identity verification, the massive gates of the Atomic Energy Research Institute, built with the same specifications as the World Crystal Wall System, slowly opened. Inside, every researcher — whether veteran or newly joined — rose from their workstations to greet Adam. They all awaited with expectation the man who, back when he was still an ordinary Mage, had sparked a revolution of knowledge, and who, now ascended to the Super Dimensional level, would surely bring an even greater upheaval.
“Lord Adam,” they said in unison.
If it had been in the past, Adam might have felt uneasy under such attention. But after serving in the Cataclysm Zone War, commanding legions and holding high authority, he was long accustomed to such respect. He merely nodded lightly in return before entering his office alongside Julius.
Once Adam was gone, the newly joined researchers began whispering among themselves. Many were the most brilliant talents from the various Holy Towers in recent years. Each had grown up hearing tales of Adam’s exploits — the man who reshaped the Mage World’s understanding of energy — and now, seeing him in person, their curiosity only deepened.
———
In the office, Julius laughed. “I thought you might say a few words to them.”
Adam shook his head. “You know me — I never do that sort of thing.”
“Your position isn’t what it used to be,” Julius said good-naturedly. “I’ve heard you’ve decided to join Nehem’s Eighth Void Holy Tower. They’re excellent Mages — gathering them around you would be valuable.”
Adam was indeed interested in Julius himself, but it wasn’t suitable for him to personally recruit a quasi–True Spirit Mage. That would be something for Nehem to handle.
Changing the subject, Adam asked, “During your research into this new force, what’s been your greatest obstacle?”
“I’m convinced it exists. Your research into electromagnetic magic proved the existence of electromagnetic interactions between atoms. I believe that, at smaller scales, there must be another, even weaker or shorter-range force, otherwise the structure of matter would have already reached its limit. But clearly, we haven’t yet reached that boundary.” Julius’s tone grew serious. “You verified the existence of photons, even condensing a true photon entity, proving that photons are the mediators of the electromagnetic force. But now, I can’t detect any particle smaller than a proton or neutron. I know that force is there — but I can’t find it, nor the mediator that carries it.”
That indeed was a formidable problem. In the Aetheric Void, the presence of Aether made matter far more stable and resistant to division than in the physical universe of Earth.