sinovels #433 - Guo Shouhuai's plan
#433 - Guo Shouhuai's plan
Although it wasn't yet winter, Professor Zheng felt a chill in his heart. He subconsciously picked up the teacup he had placed aside.
He hurriedly took a sip, trying to calm his mind, but the tea flowed between his teeth without any taste. He finally understood why Supervisor Huang had urged him to drink it earlier.
Professor Zheng steadied himself and asked, "Does… everyone know about this?"
However, as soon as he spoke, he realized he had asked a stupid question. Supervisor Huang had dragged him out of bed in the middle of the night, and judging by Guo Shaojian's appearance, he had clearly just returned.
As for spreading the news privately, that was even more impossible. Such explosive news either came without warning or, once it spread, would be earth-shattering.
Sure enough, he then heard Guo Shouhuai say, "Currently, only the three of us and the six supervisors who went to the secret realm with me know. Oh… now only four are left. They are all trustworthy and tight-lipped."
Professor Zheng didn't know why, but he felt a slight relief upon hearing this. But then he heard Guo Shouhuai continue, "However, this matter cannot be concealed. Right now, only the secret realm deep in the East Sea has disappeared, so the impact might not be too great. But as more and more secret realms disappear, the mystic force in this world will become increasingly scarce. Eventually, all cultivators will sense it."
Guo Shouhuai paused, "I asked Supervisor Huang to invite Professor Zheng here tonight because you have been researching mystic force for years, and there are some things that only you can do."
Unknowingly, Professor Zheng's back was already soaked with sweat. He only noticed it when a draft of wind blew through, and he gave a wry smile.
"The depletion of mystic force is unheard of, probably the first time in a thousand years. I haven't done any research in this area before, but since Shaojian Guo has instructed, Zheng will certainly do his best."
Guo Shouhuai nodded. Perhaps because he had learned of the news first and had time to process it, his expression remained as usual. Without further ado, he said directly.
"Although this trip to the secret realm was dangerous, we collected a lot of information. Especially in the last small secret realm, we went particularly far, almost reaching the center of that secret realm. We stayed there for about three days, observing and recording the changes in that secret realm."
Professor Zheng's spirits lifted upon hearing this. As a researcher, no one knew better than him the value of this information. Despite Guo Shouhuai's casual tone, approaching the center of a secret realm was extremely dangerous at any time, let alone staying there for more than three days.
Apart from Guo Shouhuai's group, Professor Zheng didn't even remember anyone else who had ever done such a thing. The information they collected had immeasurable value for the study of secret realms and mystic force.
However, at the thought that mystic force was about to dry up, the excitement in Professor Zheng's heart quickly vanished again. He just listened quietly as Guo Shouhuai continued.
"Our preliminary investigation found that the rate of secret realm disappearance is not constant, but accelerates over time. However, this change is very subtle and not noticeable without careful observation."
"However, over time, it will become quite significant. Therefore, I expect that once the world's mystic force declines to the point where cultivators can sense it, the rate of disappearance will accelerate. Later, I will give you the data we collected, Professor Zheng. I hope you can calculate how long this period will last."
"Also, from now on, we need manpower to start monitoring the concentration of mystic force in various places, preferably setting a standard that is easy to understand. It would also be best to calculate how much time we spend absorbing mystic force at each stage and how much the consumption during spellcasting will increase, so that we have a good understanding."
Professor Zheng roughly calculated in his mind and found that this was a considerable project. However, thinking that Guo Shouhuai had taken the lead, running to several secret realms and losing an arm, he naturally wouldn't complain at this time. He readily agreed and then asked.
"Does Shaojian Guo have anything else for me to do?"
"We are still unclear about what is causing the depletion of mystic force within the secret realms. After finishing the first two tasks, I hope you can focus all your attention on this issue and strive to… find the reasons for the disappearance of those secret realms as soon as possible."
Although he said that, Guo Shouhuai didn't seem to have too much expectation for the last task. He had already searched through all the ancient books he could find during this time, but unfortunately, he couldn't find any similar records.
And his own understanding of mystic force was not much worse than Professor Zheng's. He had personally entered several secret realms, but still had no answers.
The disappearance of mystic force seemed to be inevitable.
Rather than saying that Guo Shouhuai placed his hope on Professor Zheng, it was more like he was finding something for Professor Zheng to do, so that he wouldn't overthink things.
Seeing that the two had said almost everything they needed to say, Supervisor Huang, who had been silent all along, finally spoke, "Then what about the academy? Will we continue to teach spells?"
Guo Shouhuai nodded, "Teach them. There is still some time before the mystic force completely disappears. Although spellcasting will become increasingly difficult in the future, it is still a way to quickly increase strength. And no one knows whether the disappearance of mystic force is temporary or permanent, but…"
"The curriculum needs to be adjusted to include more martial arts and strange objects. Once the mystic force disappears, these two things will be the greatest reliance of the supervisors. Yes, I will personally talk to Su Tixue later."
Supervisor Huang hesitated upon hearing this.
They had been classmates since they entered the academy, and Guo Shouhuai certainly knew what Supervisor Huang wanted to say at this moment. Seeing this, he said lightly, "Since you have joined the Sitian Jian, you should be prepared early. Everyone else can retreat, but we can't, because we are in the human world and have nowhere to retreat."
However, Supervisor Huang shook his head after hearing his words, "We can't hold on with just us. You are the Shaojian of the Sitian Jian, so you should know better than anyone that strange objects have been appearing frequently in various places recently, which is obviously more active than before. When there is mystic force available, we can barely maintain the situation. Once there is no mystic force, casualties will inevitably increase, and the situation will only become worse."
"Aren't there more than a hundred new students in the academy? We recruited so many people this time to use them at this time. Let them complete their cultivation in advance, leave the academy, and become supervisors. I can appropriately lower some of the standards of the supervisor assessment," Guo Shouhuai said without blinking.