Chapter 195 - 124: Skipping the Exam is Blasphemy

Chapter 195: Chapter 124: Skipping the Exam is Blasphemy

No wonder so many Wizard Apprentices scrambled for it.

Chen Shang changed locations and continued practicing.

The next day, in Hathaway’s laboratory.

Chen Shang arrived as agreed. Hathaway didn’t greet him. She was slumped over her desk, making constant revisions to a blueprint. Her rune pen tapped against the paper with a rapid TAP TAP TAP.

"You’re here?" she asked without raising her head. "Come take a look."

Chen Shang walked over. The blueprint still depicted the Rhombic Quadrupole Ring, but the details had doubled since the last time he saw it. Dense parameters were annotated next to each Magic Spring: the Rune Array density of the Flame Core, the compression ratio of the Vortex, the number of woven layers of the Spiral Meridian, and the solid diameter of the Earth Spring.

"Let’s start with the Fire Spring," Hathaway said, tapping the red dot in the upper left corner with the tip of her pen. "For the Flame Core structure, the outer shell’s toughness needs to be twice what your current Fire Spring is. What is your current toughness?"

"About... 2.3 parls?"

"Too low," Hathaway said, shaking her head. "It’s a complete waste of that flame of yours. What was it called again? Samadhi True Flame?

"Well, it’s quite a mouthful. An outer shell of 2.3 parls can only barely contain it. I need you to raise it to 5.0..."

Chen Shang frowned. "If the toughness more than doubles, wouldn’t the Rune Array need to be redesigned?"

"No need. Just add a layer of nano-level Rune weaving." She drew a circle on the blueprint. "The outer shell will be divided into two layers. The inner layer is responsible for containing the flame, while the outer layer handles structural reinforcement. Leave a gap between the two layers to allow Spiritual Power to circulate and dynamically adjust the toughness."

Chen Shang stared at the circle for a few seconds. "A double-layer structure? Is my Spiritual Power control precise enough for that?"

"Not right now, but it will be in a few months. I’m confident the Spiritual Power project team will take care of this."

"You factored that in too? You have that much confidence in them?"

Hathaway ignored the question and flipped the blueprint to the next page. "Next is the Water Spring." The Water Spring’s annotations on the blueprint were in blue.

"Vortex structure. Large inlet, small outlet, with a compression ratio of 5:1." She paused. "However, the density of your One-Element Heavy Water is far too great. An ordinary Vortex would be crushed under the weight. You’ll need to add an extra layer of Pressure-Resistant Runes to the inner wall of the Vortex, weaving twelve hundred of them per square millimeter."

Chen Shang gasped. "Twelve hundred? That’s almost three times what I had before!"

"That’s why this is an upgrade, not a patch job." Hathaway glanced up at him. "What, scared?"

"Not exactly scared. I just feel like you’re treating me as a test subject."

"Do you think a test subject gets to enjoy this kind of treatment? Count your blessings!" Hathaway scoffed and flipped to the next page. "Wind Spring. Maintain your spiral weaving, but increase the meridian density by thirty percent and adjust the weave angle from forty-five degrees to fifty-two degrees. The larger the spiral’s lead angle, the faster the output flow rate."

Chen Shang ran the numbers through his mind and said, "Fifty-two degrees? The wind pressure will increase, and the load on my Spiritual Power will increase along with it."

"Correct. But like I said, your Spiritual Power strength will be sufficient a few months from now. You’ll be able to handle it."

Hathaway flipped to the final page. "The Earth Spring is the simplest. Solid structure, double the size. No need to add any Runes; just let it act as ballast. The weight distribution among the four Magic Springs must be even. If the Earth Spring is too light, it won’t anchor things down. If it’s too heavy, it’ll drag the rhombus out of shape."

She put down her pen and leaned back in her chair. "That covers the overall framework. What questions do you have?"

Chen Shang stared at the four blueprints for half a minute. "What’s the construction order for the four Magic Springs?"

"Earth Spring first." Hathaway held up four fingers. "The Earth Spring is the ballast. It’s the largest in size and sits at the lowest position. You plant it down first, and the ones above will have a foundation."

"And then?"

"Then the Fire Spring and Water Spring are constructed simultaneously, one on the left and one on the right, to maintain symmetry. The Wind Spring comes last because it rests above the other three and requires the highest level of precision."

Chen Shang nodded and asked, "What about the Ring Core? You mentioned last time that the Spiritual Power channels between the four springs have to pass through the Ring Core."

"The Ring Core is built last, after the rest of the construction is finished." Hathaway tapped the dead center of the rhombus. "Once all four Magic Springs are running stably, you’ll use your Spiritual Power to guide their output ends to the center point and fuse them into a single hub."

She reached into a drawer and pulled out a Crystal Plate displaying a 3D model. The four Magic Springs floated in a rhombic formation. A band of light extended from each spring, converging into a bright node at the center.

The thickness, curvature, and entry angle of each light band were all annotated with precise numerical values.

Hathaway pointed at the model. "I’ve calculated these parameters. The margin of error cannot exceed one percent. Any more than that, and the Ring Core won’t be able to synchronize and coordinate the Energy of the four springs."

Chen Shang transferred the model into his own Crystal Plate and stood up. "Roughly how long will this take?"

Hathaway tossed a schedule over to him. "For the first twelve days, you’ll dismantle your current Magic Springs in the order of fire, water, wind, and earth. On the thirteenth day, you’ll start constructing the new Magic Springs. You should be able to successfully complete one about every half month. Finally, you need to leave one to two months to calibrate the circulation of the Quadrupole Ring.

"During the dismantling period, only your Main Magic Spring will be usable, but I advise against using it. It’s best to keep it stable long-term." Hathaway knocked on the desk. "So if you want to cast spells, you’ll have to rely entirely on Witch Artifacts and Potions. Your combat ability will essentially be zero."

Chen Shang frowned. "Master Yvette still needs to perform the Spiritual Power fusion experiment on me."

"The two things don’t conflict." Hathaway flipped back to the third page. "When you dismantle the springs, your Sea of Consciousness will be empty, which is the perfect time for Master Yvette to perform the surgery on you.

"Once she finishes fusing the Black Wizard’s Spiritual Power, you can rebuild the Quadrupole Ring. The new springs can directly use the fused Spiritual Power as a foundation."

Hathaway stood up from her chair and walked over to an incubator. She took out a test tube filled with a pale blue liquid. "This is the Spring Dissolving Agent, specifically used for dismantling Magic Springs. Use one drop a day, dripping it onto the core of the springs in your Sea of Consciousness. You’ll finish dismantling them in twelve days."