315: Chapter 308 Want to Learn Magic?

Today was an unsettling day for everyone in America—citizens, tourists, and business travelers alike.

First, coastal residents uploaded videos to Facebook; the calamity that had recently ravaged Ying Country had appeared in the waters near the coast.

According to the uploaders, the locals were fleeing in panic. However, as a video from a couple was released, they not only stopped fleeing but also began flocking toward the sea where the calamity had appeared.

People living elsewhere were dumbfounded. Are you all crazy?

The confusion was cleared up after they saw the couple's video.

The reason lay entirely with an unremarkable-looking man.

He wasn't particularly handsome—even a bit ordinary, the kind you'd lose in a crowd. He wasn't tall either, just slightly below average.

But no one dared to ignore him, all because of where he stood.

The man stood by the guardrail of the embankment, facing the sea—or rather, facing the Mountain Rock Giant whose magnificent body had emerged from the water.

Everyone watching was wondering: isn't he afraid of being stepped on and flattened by that big guy?

As if sensing the confusion of those scrolling through the video, the couple filming spoke up to explain.

The man said he was an expelled Hogwarts student, a magician.

The couple stated that at first, they didn't believe it. After all, since Hogwarts appeared in the world, many psychiatric patients and scammers had claimed to be magicians.

But when the Mountain Rock Giant stood motionless on the sea, its massive head lowering slightly to meet his gaze, everything became self-evident.

This man wasn't lying; he really was a magician, and a very powerful one.

Otherwise, why would the Mountain Rock Giant show such solemnity?

After all, back in Ying Country, it had leveled a city with a single punch, showing no hesitation or mercy.

After the couple's video spread, locals one after another turned their cars around and rushed toward the seaside.

This was a magician!

Only two transcendent organizations had appeared on Blue Star so far. Among them, Hogwarts only recruited new students in Ying Country, while the Mountain Gate was even more aloof; aside from contact with the Chinese government, even meeting them was a pipe dream for others.

Going to these two places to study could only be described as a delusion.

The American public, like other countries on Blue Star without transcendents, longed to practice but had no way.

Now it's different; we have a transcendent too!

Although the man didn't say he was taking students, what if?

Maybe he would take a liking to one's extraordinary talent and accept them?

Everyone who saw the video harbored similar hopes and immediately scrambled to buy plane tickets to the coast.

There were only so many plane tickets; how could they be enough for tens of millions of people?

Those who couldn't get one naturally refused to miss out, driving their own cars toward their dreams, and naturally, the highways were jammed.

Neo was also excited.

Seeing the ties between China, Ying Country, and the transcendents growing closer, and the Queen returning to her youth, how could one not be anxious?

As for himself, he had lost news of Mr. Gao after their last meeting and could only wait restlessly in his luxury villa.

Now, he finally learned of Mr. Gao's whereabouts. What was there to wait for? He set off immediately.

Money makes things easy; Neo didn't need to take a car but flew directly to the destination in his private jet.

As the plane took off and he looked out the window at the clouds, his eyes shone—Mr. Gao, I'll be there soon!

...

Seaside embankment.

The young couple held each other tightly but still couldn't find a shred of safety; their bodies wouldn't stop shivering.

Fear was about to drown them, yet they still refused to turn and run, forcing themselves to stand their ground.

Mr. Gao turned his head: "Since you're so scared, why don't you leave?"

"We... we..." They were probably terrified; their lips trembled for a long time without being able to say a full sentence.

"Ha..." Mr. Gao saw more people running quickly toward them from a distance and sighed helplessly, "Suit yourselves."

Ignoring them, he turned his gaze back to the sea.

He squinted and looked out for a while: "Hey, didn't that guy come?"

The faint blue in the Mountain Rock Giant's eye sockets swayed left and right.

"Hmm... gone fishing? What a leisure." He muttered to himself, then continued, "I'm actually not interested in fighting you to the death, but I'm quite comfortable staying in this place,"

"So sorry, you can't come up. If you don't mind, I suggest landing on another coast."

By this time, local residents who had heard there was a magician at the seaside had already reached the embankment.

They ran to about a hundred meters from Mr. Gao and all stopped, hesitating to approach.

"Hey man, aren't we going over?" Seeing the key to the transcendent door right in front of them while they could only watch from afar, someone couldn't help but suggest.

"Since you brought it up, you go first," the person next to him sneered.

"Why should I?" He was very dissatisfied.

"Heh, I'm not in a hurry. If you are, you go."

The incitement failed, and with everyone around casting mocking glances, he shrank back into the crowd and went silent.

No one dared to take the first step; everyone could only huddle with the people arriving one after another, hoping Mr. Gao would glance their way.

But after waiting expectantly for a long time, the man just "gazed affectionately" at the Mountain Rock Giant.

"What should we do? Should we ask loudly?"

"He's confronting an enemy. If we shout and scream now, we'll disturb him, right?"

"Alright, you're right."

They suppressed their restless hearts and continued to wait.

After a while, someone felt the silence around was too stifling and found a topic to ease it: "We've been here for half an hour, and he seems to have only said one sentence."

"Yes, I heard it. He's advising the Mountain Rock Giant to leave."

The first speaker looked toward the sea: "It seems to have refused."

"Then what will happen?"

"Negotiations failed... obviously, only war remains."

"We can witness a transcendent battle with our own eyes?!"

"God, this is so cool! I was already fantasizing about it when I saw the Ying Country livestream!"

"Uh... it'll be dangerous, right?" An auntie in the back said hesitantly. "That city in Ying Country turned into a huge crater. If it throws a punch at us..."

"The magician is here!"

"But..."

The roar of helicopter rotors sounded overhead. They stopped chatting and all looked up.

Mr. Gao also looked over curiously, and Neo poked his head out from the helicopter cabin door.

Neo?

He's an old man in his seventies or eighties, and he's still so energetic?

With the help of bodyguards, he descended to the ground using a rope ladder.

As soon as his feet touched the ground, before even untying the nylon rope strapped to his torso, Neo trotted over at a speed inconsistent with his age.

Even though he was urgent, he didn't forget to show respect.

He bowed with his right hand over his chest and only spoke after straightening up: "Mr. Gao, I missed you very much."

"I'm not interested in men, especially an old one."

"Uh, that's not what I meant." Neo was clearly stunned, seemingly not expecting Mr. Gao to tease him.

"Hahaha... Alright, what's the rush in finding me?"

"First, I'm concerned about whether your life is going smoothly, and then... the school you mentioned, I've completed the preliminary preparations."

"Hmm, I see. Wait a moment and I'll tell you the specific operations."

"Yes." Neo was a shrewd man and knew how to handle things with propriety. No matter how impatient he was, he still obediently stepped back to the side.

Seemingly wanting to show his loyalty, he didn't retreat too far, only a single step away.

Mr. Gao didn't care and faced the sea: "If this is your answer, then there's no other way."

His right hand lifted slightly, a light flashed in his palm, and a teaching rod staff identical to the Hogwarts ones appeared in his hand.

"I shall banish you with the sun."

His voice wasn't loud, but Neo and the crowd further away all heard it clearly.

The sun?

They instinctively looked at the sky but saw no movement; the azure was as peaceful as ever.

Neo caught the crowd's reaction, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly, feeling a bit proud in his heart—it wasn't that sun.

The Mountain Rock Giant also made a move.

His mountain-like fist clenched and held high, smashing toward the sea as if to shatter everything.

"Boom—"

The stone fist kicked up a giant wave, pouncing toward the embankment with a posture that could destroy the world.

"He still hasn't come out... It seems landing here is your own decision. Hmm... you alone aren't enough."

Mr. Gao's body slowly rose into the sky until he became a black speck.

"Solar!"

A point of light lit up in the sky, expanding rapidly.

The light was dazzling; everyone on the ground instinctively squeezed their eyes shut.

Though they lost their sight, they could still perceive the changes above.

Scorching heat spread around. It was mid-winter, yet everyone was sweating profusely, quickly stripping off their down jackets which were instantly soaked.

"Storm!"

Mr. Gao's low shout rang out, and the air, which already felt like a steamer, heated up again.

"God! I feel like I'm about to be cooked!"

A man shouted in terror while stripping himself naked.

The women also found the heat unbearable and took off their clothes, but out of modesty, they only removed their coats, leaving their shorts and bras.

Time passed, and they gritted their teeth to endure.

Slowly, the high temperature seemed to show a downward trend.

It wasn't so hot anymore, and their consciousness, which had been nearing chaos, recovered a bit.

Someone noticed something unusual.

"Where's the wave the Mountain Rock Giant kicked up?"

The big guy's position wasn't too close to the embankment, but it had been over ten minutes; no matter how slow the wave was, it should have arrived by now.

As the light that almost blinded their eyes gradually dimmed, someone tentatively opened their eyes to a slit.

The sea surface was as calm as before; the giant wave from just now seemed as if it had never appeared.

"Where's the wave?" More and more people opened their eyes, staring at the sea in astonishment.

"My god, the wave was evaporated!"

Someone who had been recording since arriving at the scene screamed while holding up their Mobile Phone.

Everyone looked over; the image on the phone screen was severely overexposed due to the impact of the Solar Storm, a blank white.

Fortunately, due to the angle, they could vaguely see that the giant wave, like a curtain, was instantly evaporated, turning into steam and dissipating.

"Look, he's coming down!" someone in the crowd shouted, and they hurriedly turned around.

"Can I leave now?" Mr. Gao landed on the ground holding his teaching rod staff, his expression calm, as if the terrifyingly powerful magic just now had nothing to do with him.

The Mountain Rock Giant reached out an index finger to scratch its head, rubble rolling down its nose and creating countless ripples on the sea surface at its feet.

After a few minutes, she seemed to realize she had no chance of winning, and her body, as magnificent as the Tower of Babel, submerged bit by bit into the sea.

"Won?" a murmur came from the silent crowd.

"Of course! It fled!"

"We won!"

Even though Mr. Gao never showed that he was from America and even called himself an expelled student of Hogwarts, they felt as if the magician before them was America's own transcendent.

"Mr. Gao." Neo stepped forward. "Congratulations on your victory."

"I just forced it to leave." Mr. Gao glanced at the crowd. "Is it alright? I remember you weren't very keen on public attention."

Neo was very moved. Although it was just a casual question, this helm of the top family in America almost burst into tears: "Thank you for your concern."

Is he sick? Is it necessary?

Mr. Gao was left bewildered by this.

"Alright, if you want to cry, go home and cry." He waved his hand dismissively and continued, "Regarding the Magic Academy, we need to hurry up."

"Please give your instructions."

"That old fellow Dumbledore is supporting the Ying Country government in developing technology. Are you aware of that?"

"Our staff in Ying Country have reported it."

"Mountain Gate is making similar moves."

"Uh, I watched the training videos of the Mountain Gate disciples a few days ago, and there seemed to be no relevant information."

"Nonsense. If you could collect information on the Mountain Gate, would it still be the Mountain Gate?"

"Then..."

"I'm telling you this to remind you that if you continue at the current speed of development, America will not only be inferior to the two countries in terms of transcendents, but even the technology you pride yourselves on will be left behind."

If that were truly the case, it would undoubtedly be a heavy blow to America, but Neo didn't panic at all.

"Mr. Gao must have a countermeasure."

"I do, but you also have to work hard yourselves." Mr. Gao moved his steps and looked at the sea again. "The construction site for the Magic Academy should be chosen in a remote area, and a cordon must be set up around it."

"That's easy, but... according to your instructions, the school won't hide its specific address, so it will definitely attract crowds of people.

If they gather outside the cordon for a long time..."

"Don't worry, I'll handle it."

"Yes."

"As for the interior, I'll give you a blueprint later. Roughly follow the layout of your existing schools, just don't touch the few blank areas on the blueprint."

Nodding to show he understood, Neo asked: "Then, what about technical development?"

"Originally, I planned to sponsor you directly." Mr. Gao leaned against the guardrail, his shirt collar fluttering in the sea breeze. "But after seeing the methods of Mountain Gate and Hogwarts, I decided to learn from them."

Neo gestured to the left, and an assistant standing not far away hurried over, handed over a pen and paper, and quickly retreated to his original position.

"Please speak, Mr. Gao." He opened the notebook, his pen hovering over the first line.

"I've dabbled in modern science. One of the main obstacles hindering your progress is materials."

"Exactly. As you said, if we had suitable materials, our technology could definitely advance to a new level in a very short time."

"I have materials—materials that only exist in the magic world.

I'll pick out the practical ones, but they won't be free; you'll have to trade something for them."

"Understood."

"Since I'm only one person, my stock is limited, so you'll have to open up more channels."

Neo frowned: "I don't quite understand. How should I develop channels for materials that only exist for magicians?"

"The principle is very complicated, I won't go into detail. You just need to know that I can process things from the moon."

He suddenly realized: "So that's how it is."

"Yes. For now, these are the urgent matters. We'll talk about other things once these are done."

Want to learn magic?

Come and sign up at my school."