Chapter 241 The Principal

To conquer the Academy of Magic, absolute force alone was not enough.

Rennala had tried exactly that in the past.

However, even after she ascended the throne as Queen, the sorcerers continued to resist the rule of the Full Moon in private.

The core philosophy behind the founding of the Academy was the study and exploration of glintstone.

Whether it was the Comet-type spells of the Primeval Current or the Star-type spells, the subject matter always revolved around the stars.

The moon sorcery advocated by Rennala was seen as a heretical discipline by the Academy's mainstream, naturally facing resistance and opposition.

Even if they feigned submission on the surface, there was no shortage of underhanded schemes behind the scenes.

Thus, whether it was the Cuckoo Knights established by the sorcerers or the Caria Knights of the Full Moon Queen, they were constantly wary of each other, frequently backstabbing one another.

To suppress the restless sorcerers within the Academy, Rennala had introduced several external forces.

For instance, the Trolls.

The Queen regarded them as allies, bestowing knightly swords upon them and knighting the Trolls as regular knights of Caria.

The Full Moon Queen was capable of embracing all things.

Well, except for the Albinaurics.

But the old professors within the Academy had long viewed the stars as the essence of life, even going so far as to ignore Rennala's warnings and devote themselves to researching a taboo.

The possibility of resonance between the human body and glintstone.

The methods of verification were extremely cruel, and the resulting consequences were terrifying.

This was something Rennala could not tolerate.

Consequently, she expelled the two masters of the Primeval Current from the Academy, along with several powerful senior sorcerers who followed them—among whom was Chen Nuo's advisor, Sellen.

This intensified the conflict between the Moon and the Stars.

Just as a conflict seemed inevitable, an external war broke out first.

The forces of the Golden Dynasty, led by Radagon, launched the two Liurnian Wars.

During these two wars,

The Full Moon Queen and Radagon each became heroes to their own people. Through war, they unified their internal factions, raised their prestige, and consolidated their respective ruling powers.

Looking back now, these two wars contained a fair amount of political theater.

As for Chen Nuo, there was no war to help him rule the Academy.

Nor did he need such a hassle.

Chen Nuo wasn't a local, nor did he hail from the Academy of Magic. Even Rennala couldn't gain the recognition of those glintstone-obsessed old fogies, so he had no chance at all.

Furthermore, Chen Nuo truly wasn't good at solving political problems.

But he was good at solving the people involved.

Almost all glintstone sorcerers of teacher rank and above had been cleared out by Chen Nuo.

They were either humanely eliminated or banished from the territory.

Unlike the Full Moon Queen, who needed the internal strength of the Academy to stabilize her dynasty's rule and resist external forces, Chen Nuo had no such need.

This was only the first step of the conquest.

Chen Nuo ordered the portraits of the professors from various schools hanging in the main hall to be taken down.

"Noah..."

Tops said from the side with a somewhat apprehensive expression.

"Call me Headmaster."

Chen Nuo interrupted.

"...Headmaster, what are you planning to do?"

Tops could only change his address and continue.

"In my school, only my portrait needs to be hung. Are these people even worthy of hanging alongside me? Take them all and use them for firewood."

Chen Nuo said with a straight face.

As for when he became the Headmaster?

Just yesterday, Chen Nuo called for a vote, conducting a test of compliance.

Those who didn't vote in favor were burned to a crisp by him.

And just like that, Chen Nuo became the Headmaster.

"...Isn't this a bit improper? Even during the reign of the Full Moon Queen, such a thing was never done."

Tops continued in a low voice.

He was speaking on behalf of the other students.

Now, they suddenly remembered the kindness of the Full Moon Queen.

Chen Nuo fell silent for a moment, his thoughts unknown.

Seeing this, Tops thought his persuasion was working and was about to push further—at least to save the spiritual leaders of Glintstone Sorcery—when he heard Chen Nuo speak.

"True, it's a bit of a waste to burn them all. Keep the Full Moon Queen's portrait and hang it in my room. Also, keep that Sorceress Sellen's; I can appreciate them when I have nothing better to do."

"..."

So that's what you were thinking about?

Tops couldn't help but scratch his head.

Seeing Chen Nuo's firm attitude, he could only watch as the portraits of the Glintstone Sorcery sages were consigned to the flames.

"Then Headmaster... what about the upcoming magic curriculum? The original mentors have either been banished or burned by you. Now there's no one left to teach us Glintstone Sorcery."

A sense of despair appeared on Tops's face.

It was as if the path of magic had been completely severed by Chen Nuo.

After this upheaval, the Academy's educational system had completely collapsed.

It wasn't just him; all the students felt the same way, their spirits having been devastated by Chen Nuo to a considerable degree.

If Chen Nuo were willing to open the Academy gates now, it was estimated that more than half the students would choose to leave.

"It's just magic. I'll teach you. Gather all the students; your Headmaster is about to start a class."

Chen Nuo waved his hand grandly, deciding to take matters into his own hands.

Tops looked skeptical but didn't dare say anything. He could only withdraw and gather all the students according to Chen Nuo's instructions.

By the time Chen Nuo arrived at the Great Hall, all the students were already waiting. Although no one dared to refuse his orders, the atmosphere in the classroom was somber and deathly silent.

They didn't resist, but they weren't proactive either.

A form of non-violent protest.

This was the last bit of effort the students could muster.

Fortunately, after spending some time together, they had more or less figured out Chen Nuo's baseline. As long as they behaved, this Headmaster wouldn't burn people for no reason.

"Everyone seems a bit low on energy."

Chen Nuo stood at the podium and lightly tapped the desk.

No one responded.

Chen Nuo didn't mind the cold reception. He pulled over a chair from the side, sat down, and then raised a hand toward the students.

"If you're low on energy, then stand up for class."

Hearing this, everyone had no choice but to stand.

"Today, let me teach you what real magic is."

As Chen Nuo spoke, he raised his index finger, and an orange-red fireball suddenly condensed into being.

(Noah's Secret Small Fireball!)

The next second, the fireball abruptly expanded, hanging high above everyone's heads.

The rapidly rising temperature in the classroom baked everyone's faces red, and a scorched smell filled the air.

Feeling this extremely visceral destructive power, the students' firm belief in Glintstone Sorcery was forcibly cracked open.

This was only the beginning of the lesson.

Next, what Chen Nuo was about to explain was the true truth.

He was, after all, an outstanding student of Kamar-Taj. In terms of magic theory, no one in The Lands Between could compare to Chen Nuo.

What he needed to do was translate the cross-dimensional magic truths of Kamar-Taj into language the locals could understand.

Even just a portion of the first-year basic curriculum from Kamar-Taj was enough to push open a new door of magic for these students, allowing them to view the existence of magic from a higher dimension.

The students present could be considered geniuses in a broad sense; those without sufficient intelligence couldn't have entered the Academy.

Because of this, the effect of this enlightenment was even more pronounced.

Comparison is the thief of joy.

After listening to Chen Nuo's theoretical lecture and looking back at Glintstone Sorcery, the sense of crudeness and primitivity was simply too glaring.

There was no time to mourn the collapse of their faith in Glintstone Sorcery; the students were all immersed in this feast of intellectual enlightenment, unable to pull themselves away, completely losing their sense of time.

Until Chen Nuo tapped the desk and said,

"That's all for today. Class dismissed."

Watching Chen Nuo's departing back, the students suddenly let out a chorus of wails.

Conquering a magic culture wasn't that difficult, so to speak.

One simply had to replace it with another higher-dimensional magic culture.

How could this not be considered a dimensional strike in another sense?

"Oh right, I forgot to tell you one thing."

Chen Nuo turned back into the classroom and continued under the eager, expectant gazes of the students.

"From now on, Raya Lucaria Academy is renamed to the Kamar-Taj Academy Branch. No one has any objections, right?"

"..."

The students gave no reaction.

Their brains had long since overloaded from the lecture.

"Excellent, another unanimous vote. I truly am a paragon of democracy and freedom."

Chen Nuo nodded in satisfaction and left.

...

The next day, the Academy hung up a new plaque, replacing the original name.

The four characters for Kamar-Taj were written by Chen Nuo himself, while the two characters for 'Branch' in the bottom right were so small they were hard to see.

He believed that every student harbored a rebellious heart inclined toward 'betraying one's master and destroying the ancestors.'

Chen Nuo, of course, was no exception.

Who knew? Maybe one day he'd erase those two 'Branch' characters and become the multiversal orthodox.

Of course, if the Ancient One were a bit more handsome, Chen Nuo might have changed his way of 'betraying' her.

This time, the students' actions were much more proactive, and their faces no longer wore that original deathly expression.

Their collapsed spiritual world had been reconstructed by Chen Nuo and molded into the shape he wanted.

"Are you done yet! The Headmaster is about to start the lecture!!"

"A little more to the left, yeah, perfect."

"Time to go grab a seat!"

"..."

The students' attitude was as proactive as if they were rushing to the cafeteria for food.

Chen Nuo's teaching soon yielded results.

Tops had absorbed a vast amount of essence from his theoretical lectures and created his own barrier magic.

(Thops's Barrier.)

A special magic that could form a mana barrier to deflect spells and incantations.

After creating this theoretical result, Tops even became qualified to establish his own new classroom to teach students.

Similarly, he was the first student to master 'Noah's Secret Small Fireball'.

These two consecutive achievements directly shattered Tops's reputation as 'bluntstone' among the students.

Of course, they didn't believe this was entirely Tops's personal ability; Chen Nuo must have secretly given him extra tutoring.

In the entire Academy, who didn't know that Tops was the Headmaster's most loyal lackey? He was the one who brought the Headmaster to the Academy in the first place.

That damn guide!

How could he be so lucky to meet the Headmaster outside the school?

If it had been them leading the way, the one standing on the podium demonstrating today would be them!

The students' mindset had shifted drastically.

It was almost a full 180-degree turn.

This wasn't incomprehensible.

People always tend to go from one extreme to another.

The group of students who were once the most resistant to Chen Nuo had now become his staunchest supporters.

Not just these students, Tops himself thought so too.

His ability to complete the theory so quickly was indeed thanks to Chen Nuo.

"Then, I hereby announce that Tops will be the Prefect for the first-year freshmen."

Chen Nuo timely introduced the reform of the Academy's system.

The past teaching method based on individual classrooms essentially divided the school into different factions.

Chen Nuo naturally looked down on this decentralized power system and changed it to a grade-based system where students re-enrolled.

Starting from the first year, there would be promotion exams every year until graduation in the sixth year, upon which they would receive certificates, badges, staves, and so on, becoming true first-class sorcerers.

Each grade would elect a Prefect responsible for assisting the Headmaster's management.

Currently, Chen Nuo was the only mentor, but subsequent ones could be selected from the graduates.

The general framework was set, and he would slowly fill it in later.

Hearing Chen Nuo's arrangement, the students below had no objections, only looking at Tops with envious and jealous eyes.

Letting the former 'bluntstone' manage them?

Emotionally, it was a bit hard to accept.

"Headmaster... I..."

Tops instinctively wanted to refuse. He was still in a stage of self-doubt; even though he had created his own achievement, he hadn't yet built up his confidence. How could he talk about managing hundreds of students?

Chen Nuo ignored him and continued.

"Of course, you also have the right to challenge the Prefect. The Prefect gets one private tutoring session every month."

As the words fell, a fiery look of 'as I thought' burst forth from the eyes of all the students.

Alright, so that's how you 'bluntstone' rose to prominence!

The Headmaster really was giving you secret tutoring!

Under these gathered gazes, Tops felt immense pressure, but at this moment, he couldn't bring himself to say words of refusal.

Any student with a pursuit of magic could not refuse the Headmaster's private small classroom.

The students' jealousy was not without reason.

Because Chen Nuo indeed secretly gave Tops extra lessons.

The purpose was precisely for this lesson—to set up a target and establish a standard.

There was no need to worry about Tops being unable to hold his ground; having created Thops's Barrier, his strength had long since leaped forward, and with a hand of 'Secret Small Fireballs,' he was strong enough to contend with magic teachers.

Of course, all competition and conflict were put out in the open, within the framework of order.

It certainly couldn't be like the Academy of the past.

A school should still look like a school.

This was a place for learning.

How could one use classmates for human experimentation?

Not even in secret.

"Right, go and catch a batch of owls later."

Chen Nuo said to Tops after class.

"Owls? What are those for, Headmaster?"

"The Academy is going to reopen and recruit new students. Train them so they can be responsible for delivering letters."

Although he didn't quite understand the Headmaster's train of thought, Tops had no room to refuse.

The situation was different now.

If he, this lackey, wasn't willing to do it, there were plenty of students who wanted to be the Headmaster's dog.