After the Lord of the Abyss Awakens - Chapter 39.2

But obviously, basic magic could no longer satisfy Xiu Si’s curiosity.

He wanted to try to understand more complex intermediate magic, and the first one he wanted to learn was Intermediate Movement.

Lock onto a target, then move the target. Sounds simple, right? But it had a dual structure, with one structure for “locking” and another for “moving”. Its corresponding magic array was two overlapping but non-coinciding hexagrams.

The main difficulty in drawing it was that the human brain lacked tools like compasses and triangular rulers, making it hard to imagine and construct perfect magical structure diagrams.

If lines were crooked or missing, it would fail, causing the brain to explode.

The more Xiu Si studied, the more he felt that magic was a difficult discipline.

He looked at the time, then started memorizing. After an hour, he had memorized most of it, so he tried it out in the bookstore.

He locked onto a book on the shelf, attempting to move it.

Xiu Si concentrated his mental power, circulated magic according to the structure, and the book on the shelf trembled slightly. But it wasn’t quite enough, so he imagined pulling force in his mind and slightly adjusted the structure. After trembling for a while, the book successfully detached, flying shakily into his hand.

He succeeded. He was very happy, but thinking carefully, he felt that learning magic this way was too inefficient.

Honestly, is it faster to manually draw circles in your head all day, or to use a compass in your mind to draw circles?

Xiu Si felt that he needed…to create some mental tools.

This might be a very bold idea. At least, he couldn’t find anyone who had thought of this in any magic book he’d read.

Was it that others hadn’t thought of it, or had they tried and failed, so naturally, it wasn’t recorded?

Xiu Si was someone who valued efficiency in his work. He wouldn’t want to spend two hours on something that could be done in one. The secret to slacking off at work was mastering some tricks that were above the industry’s average productivity.

For magic, he felt he could draw inferences from one instance to another, and then integrate it all.

So he decided to give it a try. Xiu Si thought of his extremely high mental power and felt he could boldly experiment. He thought for a moment, carved out an experimental space in his consciousness, and began “creating” in his mind, making the tools he wanted.

At first, he failed many times. Turning a thought into a tangible object was not a simple task; it was a great challenge to his imagination.

But he was different from otherworldly beings. He clearly possessed the knowledge that everything is energy. Invisible and intangible gases, visible but uncatchable liquids, and visible and tangible solids were essentially different compositions of energy, ultimately presenting “products” of different natures.

So what was the key?

Xiu Si thought the answer was to break out of the narrow thinking space, move towards higher levels, and consider things that were higher, more essential, and more integrated.

As long as this approach was correct, finding a method wouldn’t be a problem.

The perspective needed to be broadened.

Xiu Si’s mind was active, his mental power vigorous. Once he understood, he quickly put it into practice, losing track of time. When he looked again, the object was already in his hand.

A large compass appeared in his mental space, as long as his leg. He tried drawing on a plane and found it very convenient to use.

But after trying it, he felt it was a bit troublesome. Did he have to use mental power to move it every time?

Couldn’t it be like a robot vacuum cleaner, set a mode, remember a magic structure, and then draw it automatically with just a thought?

As a laid-back slacker, Xiu Si wouldn’t miss any opportunity to save effort. Saving mental power was also a form of saving effort.

He played with the tool, continuing to imagine in his mind.

At this moment, he didn’t know that the path he had inadvertently taken would elevate modern magic to a higher level.

Time flew by. The young man sat at the front desk as if dozing off, his eyes staring blankly at the table.

Seeing this, Inpos thought for a moment and transformed into human form in front of Xiu Si.

Passersby who saw Him all had shocked expressions.

His appearance and aura were too extraordinary; He would attract attention whenever He appeared in the human world.

Inpos casually cast a spell to solve this.

[Cognitive Control], making all passersby unable to notice the extraordinary things in this bookstore. At the same time, they would not harbor any hostility or killing intent towards the bookstore or the people inside. Violators would trigger an instant death judgment.

Then, He walked out the door. The people coming and going seemed unable to see Him, walking right past.

It was already 6 PM.

The topics discussed by passersby were surprisingly consistent.

“Do you think this ranking will be the same as last year? Haha, impossible. Not to mention other countries, our Great Empire of Oedipus will definitely move up a rank. What? You’re talking about the continental human strength ranking? I don’t know about that.”

“Anyway, I’m not optimistic. Leveling up is so difficult now. After level 95, each level is as hard as climbing to heaven. The top ten, no, the top fifty human rankings are already very hard to change.”

Inpos watched them pass by without much thought. Human rankings? He still remembered when He almost exposed himself with His human disguise.

The human powerhouse He pretended to be clearly had the strength but wasn’t in the rankings, which raised some suspicions. Later, He learned from Agares and truly created a human body, finally successfully blending in among humans.

Speaking of which… what was the ranking of His human alias, Matros?

Eighteenth? That’s right.

Mentioning this, Inpos had to admit that those human ceiling experts were indeed monsters. The first and second places were said to have possibly stepped out of the second tier, half a step into the ultimate first tier.

That is, the realm above max level.

“…..”

Inpos’s emerald eyes dimmed slightly, lost in thought.

That night, the Continental Human Alliance was very lively, with discussions everywhere.

Coincidentally, the person ranked eleventh had just returned, and many young people rushed to see him.

“Haha, don’t get too excited, everyone. Come get your autographs one by one. My signature can intimidate monsters. Wherever you go, just mention my name. Seeing my name is like seeing me in person. They wouldn’t dare to eat you.”

The red-haired young man smiled brightly as he spoke, handing out autographs.

His words sounded narcissistic, but he had the strength to back them up, so it wasn’t exaggerated at all.

Simon waited until there were fewer people before approaching him to say hello. “Wilkin, have you completed your subspace mission?”

The red-haired youth turned around, revealing a perfect smile. His eyes curved, and dimples even appeared on his cheeks when he smiled. His boyish face made it impossible to tell that he was already 39 years old.

“Mr. Simon, long time no see. Which subspace mission are you referring to?”

Simon’s expression remained unchanged as he said, “The SS-rank mission with the Blood Clan.”

Wilkin’s smile deepened. “That one was completed a year ago.”

He said it casually, revealing absolute confidence in his own abilities.

Simon knew, of course, that Wilkin appeared friendly and calm but actually had strong self-esteem and a desire to win. He didn’t like others questioning his abilities.

The higher people rise, the more out of touch they tend to become.

Simon had no intention of questioning him and was just making conversation, so he changed the subject, “Congratulations, you seem even stronger now.”

These words clearly pleased Wilkin.

Wilkin smiled and said, “Don’t be nervous, Teacher Simon. You were my former swordsmanship teacher. How could I possibly think you’re being offensive?”

Simon’s mouth twitched slightly, somewhat disbelieving.

Wilkin spoke frankly, “To be honest with you, for this ranking, I’m confident I can break into the top ten.”

“Is that so?”

Simon thought to himself that getting into the top ten wasn’t so easy. Not to mention, the strength of the gatekeeper of the top ten was enough to give all those ranked in double digits a run for their money.

“Hehe, you’ll see tomorrow.”

Wilkin’s eyes were full of confidence.

****

Xiu Si was immersed in magic practice and didn’t wake up until 10 PM.

Seeing that he hadn’t even closed the shop, he quickly tidied up and then went to sleep to prepare for tomorrow’s practice.

The next day at 10 AM, he opened for business, exploring new paths of magic when there were no customers.

He called his magic practice method – Magic Simplified.

Hmm… did that sound a bit strange?

“It’s not too bad?”

The name wasn’t important; what mattered was the magic practice. Don’t get hung up on appearances.

Xiu Si eagerly tried the new method.

Meanwhile, the moment that people from various countries were paying close attention to was about to arrive.

In the Great Empire of Oedipus, regarding the publication of this ranking, the upper echelons had gathered all the powerful figures around a round table. This was to facilitate receiving intelligence immediately, then discussing, analyzing, and exchanging ideas.

The God of Ranking’s rankings were basically facts; otherwise, He wouldn’t have become the God of Ranking.

For the God of Ranking, everything could be ranked, whether it was strength, combat power, or more abstract things like mental power or imagination, though He didn’t often rank the latter.

Sword Saint Ferrol sat at the round table, his back straight, his eyes showing authority. Even the general next to him had a weaker presence.

His attitude undoubtedly indicated one thing: he was certain his ranking would rise.

This was good news for the Great Empire of Oedipus.

So no one present dared to say anything.

The publication of this ranking was the same as before, first announcing the comprehensive strength ranking of all humans, then the rankings of countries and so on.

According to the previous public order, all rankings outside the top ten would be announced at once, then counting down one by one to the first place.

Two hours passed in a flash.

In the dining hall of the Continental Human Alliance, everyone looked at the projected image, including Wilkin, who was pretending to be calm.

Meanwhile, Xiu Si was raising his cubs and practicing magic, focused and undistracted.

The next second, the entire continent took a deep breath.

Government officials from various countries were on tenterhooks, extremely nervous.

The rankings from eleventh to hundredth place were announced all at once!

Sword Saint Ferrol quickly searched for his name, then his pupils contracted, and he angrily slammed the table prematurely.

What a lousy ranking! He was confident he could rank 71st, but why had he even retreated one place to 73rd!

Ridiculous! Absurd!

At the same time, Wilkin jumped up. As the former 11th place, his ideal situation was not seeing his name, which would mean he had entered the top 10. But the screen showed him in 12th place! Not only had he not entered the top 10, but he had also fallen back!

Who on earth had ranked above him?

Wilkin looked again and saw that the current 11th place was the previous 10th place, which meant someone had suddenly descended from the sky, forcibly pulling down the rankings!

How was this possible?

What Wilkin discovered, the entire continent discovered.

Sword Saint Ferrol quickly scanned the list of ninety people, compared it with the previous ranking, and concluded that everyone’s ranking had dropped by 1 place! Without exception!

How could they not be shocked? This meant that a powerful figure had suddenly appeared among humans.

The human top 10, this was a world-class strategic talent that all countries desperately wanted!

“Parachuting into the top 10? Who on earth could it be?”

At the round table meeting of the Continental Human Alliance, Lia couldn’t help saying, “It should just be parachuting to 10th place, right? It’s impossible to be further ahead. Last term’s 9th place was a monster among monsters, it’s impossible for them to be pushed down.”

Simon nodded, glancing at Wilkin’s complex expression, and said, “I also think the top 9 are unshakeable. It should be someone parachuting to 10th place.”

However, as the top 10 names continued to be announced, the screen changed, showing the palace of a certain great empire, with an old man standing with his back turned, his face not visible.

As everyone knew, the top 10 rankings didn’t announce “names”, but directly showed the person.

At this, everyone was shocked again, because this old man was the 9th place last term, and now he was only 10th!

“No way, even he was pushed down? What’s the deal with this parachuter?”

Lia was dumbfounded. In all these years of rankings, she had never seen such a situation.

Simon was also a bit dazed, couldn’t help but hold his forehead, and said in a low voice, “Has another monster been born?”

Meanwhile, Ferrol slammed the table excitedly and said, “At most 9th place, that parachuter can’t possibly be higher!”

However, as the rankings continued to be announced, there was another downward shift. Last term’s 8th place became this term’s 9th place!

Even the powerful individuals involved in the rankings were stunned. Although they didn’t care much about rankings, this was too sudden!

On the other side.

Xiu Si was concentrating when he suddenly heard someone shouting on the street, not knowing what had happened. They seemed to have received a shock, muttering something about rankings.

He turned his head to look and saw that their expressions were very shocked. But what did other people’s shock have to do with him? His primary task was still to raise his level as quickly as possible.

Rankings were still too far away for him. Shouldn’t one take things step by step?

As for Inpos, looking at the situation outside, He felt like He had overlooked something very important.

What could it be? Speaking of which, what if that ranking…?!

Meanwhile, the 8th, 7th, and 6th places were announced in succession, all resulting in a retreat of 1 place compared to the previous term.

What on earth did this mean?

Where exactly was this parachuter going to land?

And then, the 5th and 4th places also shifted down in ranking.

The group at the Continental Human Alliance held their breath, not daring to imagine what would happen next!!