Chapter 111: A Jade Seal and a High-Stakes Gamble
Ordinary Wizards only saw my glory in public, but they failed to see that the real power in my hands had long been hollowed out.
Therefore, I spent most of my time soaking in the United Academy, trying to use it to pry open a gap in the deeply rooted rule of the Five Great Families.
To be honest, the results of this matter were not bad; I taught many Wizards who no longer depended on their families. Continuing like this, the atmosphere of the Magical World could always slowly be turned around.
Of course, I threatened them twice, so it would be strange if they didn't fight back.
The first move was aimed at the high-ranking Muggles, but how could they know that during that time, to guard against sneak attacks by Japanese pirate Wizards, the contingency plans we prepared could pile up high enough to bury a person.
As a result, they failed to succeed, and conversely, the families that participated in the attack all suffered severe punishments.
Afterwards, they didn't stop either, they just changed their tactics, wanting to undermine my foundation.
At that time, there was a young Wizard with excellent talent. I valued him immensely and even had the idea of cultivating him as a successor to pass down my will. After graduating, he smoothly entered the Association.
The Five Great Families targeted him and laid bare the so-called truth. He immediately turned against me, and under their instigation, he concluded that I was the disgrace of the Guangfa Realm.
Although the facts were laid out there, I also had to defend myself for a few words. I did betray the Magical World, but I also gave the bottom-tier Wizards a chance to stand out.
At least in the United Academy, I gave them knowledge that they could acquire without paying a price.
In the past, this kind of magic knowledge had to be exchanged by working for various great families with one's life. As for the truly profound ones, even if one risked their life, people might not necessarily pass them down. Now, as long as they were willing to put in the effort to study, they could browse them in the Library.
Unfortunately, he couldn't turn this corner in his head. Finding an opportunity, he led a group of followers to make a move against me, and that posture clearly wanted my life.
This perhaps was not his original intention, but the meaning of the Five Great Families.
They didn't gain any advantage dealing with the Muggles, so they turned around and targeted me, wanting to get rid of the threat once and for all.
In the crowd following him, the shadows of quite a few families could be seen.
Among them was your father.
"One, two, three"
Speaking of this, Hope stopped talking, glanced at Hodu's expression, and seeing nothing unusual, continued to speak downward.
"However, I must make it clear, your father's death was truly an accident, for me, and the same for that person."
The matter failed, my proud disciple slipped away, and the Five Great Families seeing that the matter could not be contained, also neatly distanced themselves to prove they had no connection to this matter.
For example, removing your father's name from the genealogy record.
As for the present, my proud disciple is still wandering around the southeastern region. This time, the attack on the academy and Kyoto is also inseparable from him, and I heard he has even gotten mixed up with Wizards from Wa nation.
Hope patiently explained that Hodu's nominal father indeed died in an extremely unlucky accident, not a punishment method executed from his side.
"How did he die?"
Hodu asked, not because he cared about this never-before-met father, but purely to figure things out so he could give an account to his mother, Hannah.
"Failing to ambush me, they scattered and fled, and the people under my hand bit closely in pursuit."
During one chase and escape, your father pushed his peach wood sword to its limit, wanting to escape using the clouds and mist of a high mountain. Who knew that the speed was too fast and the clouds and mist blocked his vision, causing him to crash headfirst into the cliff face and perish on the spot.
Hope said with a straight face that this matter was indeed a tragedy, and could even serve as a typical tragedy.
Hodu's eyes couldn't help widening, feeling that this matter was absurd beyond measure, but Hope's frank gaze didn't look like he was making up lies, so he could only remain silent.
He didn't expect his nominal dad to die so... absurdly, dying in a traffic accident!
Although the root cause was to evade capture, on the other hand, it was also because he participated in the ambush that he brought about the subsequent pursuit.
"I see."
Hodu could only respond this way. He could tell that Hopehad practiced Occlumency, but beneath his magic instinct, he directly figured out a way to crack it, so he saw clearly that Hope was not lying about this matter.
Right now, he could only accept it, but perhaps Hannahhad known all along in her heart.
"Alright, let's get back to business."
Hope nodded.
"So if you take the position of the Association President, you inevitably have to deal with the Muggles. I won't hide it from you, the Secretary-General of the Wizards Federation is a liaison planted by the Muggles' side. Most likely, the Muggles already know about your affairs."
Hope's attitude was sincere, and he didn't intend to hide this from Hodu.
"I'm quite curious, why did you choose me?"
Hodu threw out his inner doubts. As for the Mugglesknowing him, he didn't care much; there was nothing to fear right now.
Although he hadn't tried it, he didn't think that missile stuff could break through his Eternal Dragon Body stacked a ten-thousand-fold.
So there really was nothing to be timid about.
Hearing this, Hope was silent for a moment before slowly opening his mouth.
"Because in you, I saw things that I couldn't accomplish. With my ability, I still cannot make magical society achieve Wizard equality, at least not able to make the Five Great Families—no! Now it's The Four Great Families—not able to make them loosen their monopoly on the entire Magical World."
"Then on what grounds do you determine that I will definitely stand on the side of ordinary Wizards, rather than the families' side?"
Hodu asked with a calm expression.
"I don't know either, but you didn't grow up in a Wizardfamily, you don't have that set of family concepts in your bones, and as soon as you popped up, you disciplined two great families, pressed the Bai family to bow its head, and forced the Yu Family to change its surname, so I want to take a gamble."
Of course, the more fundamental reason was that the power Hodu displayed was too terrifying.
Once Hodu lost control, it would be a devastating disaster for the entire magical society, so Hope had to take a risk.
Retreating as a way to advance, using the position of the Association President as a catalyst so that the other party is in a high position and will not launch any bottom-up reforms anymore. Even if it changes, it goes from top to bottom, which will have the biggest impact on the group with the greatest interests in the current magical society, namely The Four Great Families.
Conversely, bottom-tier Wizards might actually reap benefits from it.
But everything had no certainty, so this was a high-stakes gamble, exactly the same as when he first stepped into the Bai family village back then.
Except that time he won the gamble.
"Then how do you determine that I will side with the Muggles? Do you think I would tolerate a Commoner pressing down on me?"
Hodu asked expressionlessly again.
"I don't know."
Hope's response was unexpected; he shook his head, as if he truly didn't know.
"Just like I didn't know whether what I did back then was right or wrong."
I don't know how you will view the Muggles' issue after you take over as the Association President.
I can only leave it to fate.
Perhaps you will lean towards the Muggles' side and make the same choice as me.
Perhaps you will completely fall out with the Muggles, but I don't know if this path is right or wrong either; that will be your problem, since you are the president now.
Hope smiled slightly, making it clear that he was engaging in a crazy gambling game. He intended to hand the locomotive over to a young person like Hodu, and as to where he would lead the Guangfa Realm, that would be Hodu's own business.
Good and bad, neither was something he could see anymore.
But Hope knew clearly in his heart that no matter what, he couldn't stop it, so he simply went with the flow.
"So, how do you choose?"
Hope smiled slightly and then asked.
All the bottoms that needed to be explained had been explained; how to choose depended on Hodu himself.
"Then I won't stand on ceremony."
Hodu didn't hesitate at all. Coming here today, he had already made up his mind in his heart.
Although he learned some secrets, it couldn't shake him. After all, no matter what, it couldn't affect him. The situation looked complicated, but if push came to shove, he would simply break the situation with brute force.
"Very well, then from now on, you are the AssociationPresident."
Hope smiled with satisfaction. To speak from the heart, he quite looked forward to what kind of changes Hodu could bring. Following that, he pulled open a drawer and took out a square box from inside.
He gently lifted the box lid and pushed it in front of Hodu.
Inside was impressively a jade seal—of course not the kind like "shou eternal and prosperous", but a magic jade seal.
Hodu took it into his hands and examined it for a while. Four characters were engraved on the bottom.
Association Command.
According to Hope, this was a magic jade seal he meticulously crafted. The imprint could not be tampered with, and there were several verification methods.
"Just like this? No need to discuss it with others?"
Hodu couldn't help asking with curiosity; this succession ceremony was too casual, acting like child's play.
"Of course not. After all, when the Association was established back then, it wasn't really built through discussion, and this position is the same."
Hope immediately shook his head. Actually, he never thought there would be such a day; he originally thought that when he handed over this jade seal, he should already be dead.
By that time, it wouldn't make any difference whether the other Five Great Families recognized it or not. If they recognized it, it could be done without discussion, but if they didn't recognize it, no matter how correct this procedure was, it couldn't change reality.
"What about you?"
Hodu asked again.
"I'll just continue being the Dean of my United Academy, unless you want to find someone to replace me."
Hope said as a matter of course. Compared to everything else, he was more willing to be a Dean in the United Academy.
"Very well, then let's leave it at that."
Seeing this, Hodu didn't say much more, picked up the square box and left.
After leaving here, he went straight to the Old Capital Ruins.
This was the Magical World within the territory of Kyoto.
However, although he showed off all his glory yesterday, there weren't many people who truly recognized his face, so even when he walked on the main street, it didn't cause any commotion.
All the way to the front of the Association building, it looked like a quite modern building, ordinary on the outside. Placed here, surrounded by antique-style architecture, it instead appeared rather jarring.
As soon as he went inside, someone politely stopped him and interrogated him.
"What can I do for you? This is the office building of the Association. Outside of meeting periods, it is not open to the public. If you have specific affairs, you can go to some functional departments."
The person stopping him was a quite pretty Witch.
"Wait a minute."
Hodu said, then took out a square box and took out the magic jade seal inside.
"I am the newly appointed Association President, I should be able to go in, right."
Hodu asked.
The Witch's expression changed slightly, inwardly concluding that Hodu was here to mess with people, but based on professional ethics, she had to wear a smile and say.
"You must be joking, our president is Hope, and you look so young."
"That's why I said I'm newly appointed. Hope passed the position to me, and from now on I am your new president."
Hodu said indifferently, not intending to make things difficult for people.
He casually summoned a pebble from the ground, and the pebble rapidly transformed in his hand, turning into a piece of white paper in the blink of an eye.
He then stamped the magic jade seal onto the white paper. Without any stamp pad, four characters instantly appeared on the white paper, carrying a special glowing light and texture.
"Association Command?!"
The Witch blurted out in exclamation, her small hand covering her mouth, full of disbelief. As a staff member of the Association, she naturally recognized what the Association President's imprint looked like.
Right now, this imprint looked truly genuine, and she subconsciously stepped aside to clear a path.
Hodu walked past her and casually dropped a sentence: "Where is the president's office? Lead the way."
Only then did the Witch recover from her shock; regardless of whether it was true or false, she should bring the person over first.
Following that, she led Hodu all the way to an office on the third floor, which looked very spacious inside.
"Right, bring the Secretary-General of your place here, just say I have something to find him for."
Hodu ordered accordingly.
The Witch nodded repeatedly, her face still hanging with shock.
Soon a commotion sounded outside. Clearly, the people here were somewhat caught off guard by this sudden presidential replacement, and some even felt that the Witch had misread the situation—how could Hopeinexplicably hand over such an important position as president quietly to a young person?
Before the Secretary-General arrived, someone pushed the door open with full resentment and an angry face.
It was unknown whether they were dissatisfied with Hoperashly passing the presidency to someone else, or simply didn't believe it at all.
But when he pushed the door open and saw the figure sitting in the office chair, his face instantly froze, his expression changed drastically, his anger faded away in an instant, and then his body began to tremble.
"What is your business?"
Hodu leaned against the office chair and asked coldly.
"No... nothing, President Huo."
The incoming person was covered in cold sweat, and even his voice trembled. Evidently, he recognized who this newly appointed president was. He happened to be present yesterday, and right now his heart couldn't be more filled with regret; had he known it was this master, why would he stick his neck out?
"You know me? What is your surname? You wouldn't happen to be surnamed Yu, would you?"
Hodu asked casually, but it caused a flash of shock to cross the Wizard's face, and he hurriedly denied it.
"My surname is Li, not a Wizard of the Yu Family."
"Are you of the direct lineage?"
Hearing this surname, it was obviously from The Four Great Families. Hodu asked accordingly.
"No, the collateral branch of the main line."
This Wizard surnamed Li hurriedly denied it, as if feeling that if he were of the direct lineage right now, the consequences would definitely be bad.
"Humph, remember to knock next time."
Hearing the other party say this, Hodu didn't make things difficult anymore, gave a cold snort, and reprimanded.
"Yes... yes, I remember. Definitely next time. You go ahead and be busy, I won't disturb you."
The Wizard surnamed Li said with a stiff body, almost crying from anxiety. After a series of apologies, he quickly retreated, only to realize that his back was already soaked with cold sweat.
The other Wizards gathered outside saw this and repeatedly questioned him.
"How is it, is the person inside an impostor?"
But this Wizard surnamed Li gritted his teeth and shook his head straight, unwilling to utter a single word, and walked away quickly, clearly going to leak information to his own family.
The other Wizards looked dissatisfied, not expecting the other party to be so selfish without revealing a single hint of information. However, looking at his appearance, the other party's background was obviously not small, so naturally they wouldn't go in to court misfortune right now.
"What are you all gathering around here for, nothing to do?"
At this time, a cold voice sounded. Everyone turned back to look and found it was the Secretary-General, who was considered the number two figure in this place, and they hurriedly scattered.
Although he was a Commoner, he couldn't help being in a high position with great power. In fact, he could mobilize an army at any time, and even the Five Great Families had to give him face.
Following that, this Secretary-General walked up to the office door and stopped, taking a deep breath. He never expected Hope's actions to be so fast; he had just mentioned it in passing yesterday, and he had just reported upward to his superiors here, not yet waiting for approval, but as a result, this person came to take office now.
Hope really didn't say hello at all. Now without instructions from his superiors, he didn't even know how to face this newly appointed Association President.
He was truly screwed over miserably by Hope.
Of course, he understood Hope's calculation in his heart—nothing more than acting first and reporting later, knowing that the superiors definitely wouldn't agree, so taking advantage of the fact that the superiors hadn't rejected it yet, he directly resigned. It was truly absurd.
He gritted his teeth, then calmed his mood, and knocked on the office door.
"Come in."
A young voice came from inside, and he pushed the door open and entered.
"President."
The Secretary-General nodded towards the person inside and addressed him in a deep voice.
"Sit, it seems you know about me."
Hodu said casually, virtually treating this place as his own territory.
"I've heard old Hope mention it."
The Secretary-General forced a smile and responded amicably.
"Mhm, that's good. Dean Hope also told me about you."
Mhm, what I mean is, you can temporarily continue sitting in the position of Secretary-General.
As for how things will be in the future, it depends on your sincerity. If you think I'm the same as Hope, then I'm sorry.
To be honest, Hodu was not resistant to the Muggles' society, because he originally came from that so-called Muggles' society.
But if the other party wanted to issue orders to him, he certainly wouldn't take them.
"Of course."
The Secretary-General responded immediately. From yesterday's scene, it could be seen that Hodu was an overbearing master, fundamentally different from Hope.
Chapter 112: Three Fires and Two Thousand Five Hundred Crystals
A newly appointed official must always make three bold moves to establish authority.
Hodu leaned against the back of his chair, tapped his fingers twice on the desk, and said to the Secretary-General: "Draft three documents for me."
"First, let each Wizard group dismiss the Squibs in their clan. As for their stay or departure, you Muggles will arrange it. No problem, right?"
He had long found this rule unbearable.
These days, Squibs lived no differently from slaves.
Perhaps the Squibs within those clans were not willing to leave themselves.
In their view, being a slave within the family might even be considered an honor.
Or perhaps life after leaving the family would not necessarily be better than now.
But Hodu couldn't be bothered to care what they thought.
What he said went, and that was how it would be done.
"No problem."
The Secretary-General immediately agreed.
Arranging it from the Muggles' side was naturally no trouble at all.
Furthermore, given yesterday's commotion, Hodu was at the height of his prestige; no family would likely dare to reject such a small request.
He took out pen and paper and recorded the request on the spot.
"Second, all Wizards are equal."
Hodu continued.
This item had no substantive action yet, but since he was already in this position, he would naturally strip away the privileges of the families bit by bit in the future.
Rather than an order, it was his upcoming work methodology.
The Secretary-General's eyes lit up slightly.
From this single point alone, the new AssociationPresident's ambition could be seen.
If this order were truly issued, the entire Guangfa Realmwould likely be stirred into massive turbulence.
As for those families, they would probably be walking on thin ice starting from tonight.
It was just unknown whether they would be gathering strength to retaliate.
"Third, have Guanshan Yun come forward to surrender."
"At the same time, have the Magical World of Japan hand over Guanshan Yun and the evil Wizards under him."
"If there is no movement within three days, I will go over myself, and they will bear the consequences."
Hodu spoke domineeringly.
He had previously heard some stories from that side and guessed that Guanshan Yun was inextricably linked to the Magical World of Japan.
How could he possibly let go of such a good excuse?
As for whether the Magical World of Japan would hand over the person or not, it didn't matter at all.
Anyway, he was just looking for a pretext.
"This…"
A trace of astonishment surfaced on the Secretary-General's face.
The first two sounded reasonable, but how did this third one sound a bit outrageous?
"The Magical World of Japan probably won't recognize the Association's orders."
He tactfully reminded him.
What's more, there was currently no evidence to show that Guanshan Yun was related to them.
Doing this would likely provoke a conflict between the two Magical Worlds.
"It's fine, just write according to what I said."
Hodu directly interrupted.
When that day arrived, there would naturally be an explanation for that day.
Seeing this, the Secretary-General had no choice but to nod.
Seeing that Hodu had nothing else to instruct, he walked out briskly.
An hour later, the three documents were delivered before Hodu.
The phrasing was much more formal than what he had just said.
The vocabulary was quite official, obviously the work of an expert specialized in drafting documents.
Hodu glanced through them hurriedly, picked up the magical jade seal, and stamped his mark at the signature area of each document.
As soon as the seal fell, the Secretary-General held the documents to go through the publication process.
It even went through the expedited channel.
After all, Hodu had said they were the three fires, so it naturally had to be fast.
Before long, the televisions in every household lit up on their own, displaying the Guangfa Channel on the screen.
The radios in the street-side shops also began to play.
Inside the United Academy, a large loudspeaker was turned on directly.
Virtually all magic radio equipment was equipped with an emergency notification channel.
This was so that in the event of an emergency, the news could be transmitted to every Wizard's ears in the shortest possible time.
This broadcast was handled by professional announcers.
The opening procedurally announced the change of the Association President.
The news came too suddenly, and all the Wizards who heard it were stunned.
For ordinary Wizards, the weight of the old President was very heavy.
They knew in their hearts that if not for the old President, they would have long been choked by those few great families.
Want to learn advanced Guangfa? No way at all.
Unless they defected to a family and became their people, and even then, only the lowest tier.
Many people grew more and more furious the more they listened, wishing they could rush directly to the Association building to complain.
When they heard the name of the successor, they thought the families had finally made a move, squeezing out the old President and replacing him with the Huo Clan to hold power.
As a result, someone mentioned it, and everyone learned that the new President did not come from a family background at all.
He was the ruthless person who single-handedly wiped out the Yu Family yesterday.
Their anger dissipated by half on the spot.
On one hand, he was indeed formidable.
Being able to wipe out a family single-handedly? People who hadn't seen it with their own eyes didn't even know how to imagine it.
Fortunately, there were witnesses at the scene who began to describe it vividly.
Tens of thousands of Yu Family Wizards didn't even last a moment.
It was simply terrifying.
The angry crowd suddenly quieted down.
If they really rushed up, this small number of people wouldn't even be enough to feed the enemy.
The thought of impeachment should be put away for now.
However, their mouths remained stubborn: if the new President acted recklessly, they would definitely jointly demand his impeachment.
Then, everyone pricked up their ears, wanting to hear what this new President was actually going to do.
The first order: abolish the detention rights of the various great families over Squibs and let them return to the Muggles' society.
Ordinary Wizards didn't feel much about this.
It had nothing to do with them anyway.
But the Wizards within the families looked at each other in dismay.
Some people were actually quite pleasantly surprised in their hearts.
They had long been dissatisfied; biological siblings had to go and be slaves for the family just because their magicability was inadequate, with no freedom at all.
They had always found it unacceptable, but had no way around it.
They only had some doubts: would those families really follow suit?
As for the direct descendants, their complexions were livid one by one.
The new President took the families as his target as soon as he took office, which made them extremely displeased.
What made them even more annoyed was—such a matter was not considered a big deal in the eyes of the families.
The more trivial it was, the more furious they were.
Didn't this mean that even in such trivial matters that had nothing to do with the Magical World, he was going to meddle, so what would he not manage in the future?
But angry as they were, in the end they could only sigh.
Every clan head knew in their heart that this bit of face had to be given.
After all, that person was a ruthless character.
When the second order was officially released, the direct descendants' complexions became even uglier.
Someone slammed the table on the spot, cursing Hodu by name.
Although cursing was of no use.
But the clan heads all knew that the new President's three fires were pondering the future direction.
Yet this order did not directly touch upon their privileges, so they could only endure it.
They couldn't possibly jump out and oppose "all Wizards are equal."
Wasn't that plainly admitting that they were unequal to other Wizards?
The facts were naturally so, but speaking it out openly would only smash their own rule.
Thus, they could only take it with dark faces.
Ordinary Wizards wore strange expressions when they heard this item.
The former old President never shouted such slogans; they always kept their heads down and did practical things.
This one, however, started off boasting brazenly.
It was a good thing, but they were afraid it was just talk.
They were both thrilled and somewhat worried.
However, they could at least confirm one thing: the new President indeed was not in cahoots with those families.
At this, many people let go of their worries.
But the third order left people baffled.
They certainly knew Guanshan Yun.
He was a wanted criminal who had even attacked the old President back then.
Have him surrender? That was thinking too naively.
If he were truly willing to surrender, he wouldn't have eluded capture for so many years.
Many people felt that this new President probably had something wrong with his brain.
Afterwards, he actually told a Magical World to hand Guanshan Yun over.
This was even more inexplicable.
But thinking about it again, this new President's strength was solid.
They were actually looking forward to the scene of Hodupaying a visit to the Magical World of Japan.
Meanwhile, inside the Association office, the Secretary-General knocked on the door and walked in.
Holding a document in his hand, he asked: "President Hodu, shall I send someone to deliver this document to the Ministry of Magic in the Magical World of Japan right now?"
Hodu raised a hand to stop him.
"No need."
He said lazily: "Wait until the third day to send it."
After speaking, he leaned back into his chair again, propped his two legs directly on the office desk, and half-closed his eyes, looking as if he was about to fall asleep at any moment.
He had no intention of letting the Magical World of Japan hand anyone over from the start.
Anyway, they wouldn't hand anyone over either.
But what if they actually handed someone over? Wouldn't that put him in an awkward spot?
The Secretary-General was stunned for a moment, then understood.
This move was quite clever.
He himself was of Commoner origin, so he naturally knew where the grievances with those Japanese Wizards lay.
"Right, there is one more thing."
A thought suddenly flashed across Hodu's mind; his eyes opened and he sat up straight.
The Secretary-General immediately put on a solemn face and pricked up his ears.
"I want to levy taxes on The Four Great Families."
Hodu came straight to the point.
The Secretary-General was startled.
"Levy taxes?"
"Correct."
"Each family will hand over two thousand five hundred magic crystals, and I will only give three days."
"If they are not gathered within three days, I will go collect them in person."
Hodu spoke with absolute certainty.
Since he had become the Association President, the little power at hand should naturally be put to good use.
He still lacked quite a few crystals for his task of fusing the Philosopher's Stone.
As for levying taxes... it was just a nicer-sounding phrasing.
He couldn't just say outright that he was going to rob them openly.
After listening, the Secretary-General's mouth opened slightly.
This new President's style of doing things was completely different from the old President's path.
How cautious the former President was, treading carefully with every step.
Unlike the current one, who demanded taxes at the opening of his mouth, bold beyond measure.
He certainly understood that this wasn't any tax levy; it was clearly open robbery.
But the problem was that this person truly had the strength.
The Four Great Families would probably only be able to accept their fate.
To be honest, even he himself felt quite thrilled.
In the past, the old President was marginalized; wanting to issue an order required negotiating family by family, and they might not even buy it.
Now look, with a single sentence down, who dared not listen?
But the Secretary-General always felt that continuing to be so domineering was not a long-term solution.
As days passed, those Wizard families would definitely resist.
Following this thought downward, he gave a sudden shudder.
The new President's purpose... wouldn't it be to force them to resist?
Waiting until they couldn't help but make a move, and then wiping them out in one fell swoop?
A chill ran down his back.
He felt both shocked and vaguely excited.
But he quickly calmed down again.
Whether this method was good or bad for the Muggles, he couldn't say for sure.
His expression changing several times, the Secretary-General finally acknowledged and turned to walk out briskly.
He had to quickly send circulars to The Four Great Families.
When The Four Great Families received the Association's circular, they were both shocked and furious.
Hodu had just sat in the President's seat, and turning around, he reached out to them for money. It was simply preposterous.
Even the Huo Clan was complaining.
After all, they were related by blood and ties; when Hodubecame President, instead of favoring his own family, he actually set his sights on their pockets.
It was too much.
But after venting this burst of anger, they still had to obediently follow suit.
They knew Hodu's methods better than anyone else.
A great family with tens of thousands of Wizards was still not worth looking at before him.
The stone statue that the Yu Family's clan head had turned into was still standing on the old site of the Yu Family.
They couldn't afford not to take it to heart.
They even suspected that even if they gathered all the forces of the current four families together, they wouldn't necessarily be able to do anything to Hodu.
Furthermore, the person was mobile and alive.
If they really couldn't beat him and he ran away, what would they do?
Then they would just wait to live their days on tenterhooks in the future.
Judging solely by the strength Hodu had displayed so far, cleaning up their little group of people was a breeze.
If he really managed to run away, unless the four families moved to live in one place from then on, they would never think of having peace in this lifetime.
Not to mention that he was currently still the AssociationPresident.
The various great families understood the weight of this identity all too well.
Technological weapons capable of blasting a mountain peak to pieces with a single cannon shot were not things they hadn't seen.
Ever since the matter of assassinating Muggles was exposed, Commoner troops came to hold exercises near their encampment every other day.
Beautifully called routine drills, everyone knew in their hearts who they were actually aimed at.
It was intimidation.
A single shell could blow a mountain peak flat, and judging by that posture, there were far more than just one.
Relying solely on their magic, they simply couldn't stop it.
They had also thought about moving.
But after changing to several places, they were found within a few days.
Even the Muggle-Repelling Charm didn't work well.
Heaven knew what means the opponent used.
It was actually satellites.
Satellites modified by magic could directly break the effect of the Muggle-Repelling Charm.
Comparing them with photos taken by ordinary satellites, wherever the Muggle-Repelling Charm was cast could be locked onto at a glance.
Unless they were willing to hide underground.
This plan wasn't entirely unconsidered, but in the end, it was abandoned.
Some family Wizards quickly reacted that Hodu's move was probably forcing them to make a move.
As long as they dared to resist, Hodu could clean them up justifiably.
Just like the Yu Family, uprooted entirely, a millennium foundation destroyed in a single day.
When these words reached the ears of the others, a group of people shuddered in unison.
With the Yu Family as a precedent placed there, how could they dare to harbor any thoughts?
Since Hodu wanted to probe their bottom line, then let's compare who could endure more.
Although aggrieved, that was simply the fact.
Unable to beat the opponent, they could only let them manipulate them up and down.
Chapter 113: Dragon Blood Rain, A Global Wizard Mass-Production Plan
Three days passed in a flash.
By the third day, The Four Great Families finally made a move.
Box after box was carried directly into the Associationbuilding.
A full ten thousand magic crystals—although some were inferior, they looked the part, even if they were actually just ordinary magic crystals.
However, added to the ones he had already saved up, the quantity was finally enough.
Hodu couldn't wait any longer; he locked himself in his office and pried open the boxes one by one.
To put it plainly, this quest was just about collecting; once the boxes were opened, the progress bar began to skyrocket.
By the time he had pried open all the treasure chests sent by The Four Great Families, his exclusive quest immediately marked itself as complete.
He opened his panel and took a look; the Philosopher's Stone had finished fusing, granting only two traits.
The first was called magic Solidification.
The second was Vast Spiritual Source.
Hodu, without a second word, equipped these newly acquired traits and immediately stacked them ten thousand times.
In that instant, it felt as if he had been strapped to a drop tower; his soul nearly flew out of his body.
A boundless surge of magic poured into him.
Unlike any trait he had encountered before, this time he could clearly feel himself growing stronger.
The magic became a part of his body, the very root of his power.
He leapt upward and flew, crashing through the roof and landing outside the building.
Without any concealment, his body twisted violently in mid-air, instantly transforming into the form of a True Dragon.
He was no longer human.
His scales shimmered in the sunlight as his massive body spiraled upward into the heights.
Before, when he lacked the magic a True Dragon should possess, he hadn't felt much.
Now, it was different.
The power within him was expanding terrifyingly; with the ten-thousand-fold stack, even if that original True Dragoncame in person, he could easily handle it.
With Vast Spiritual Source stacked ten thousand times, many things were changing at their very roots.
On the street outside the Association building, every passing Wizard stopped in their tracks, staring at the sky in horror.
The True Dragon, which only existed in legends, was spiraling upward.
In no time at all, every Wizard in the Old Capital Ruins saw it; they stood there with mouths agape, staring at the sky, their eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.
Hodu opened his mouth and let out a roar.
The sound, imbued with magic, spread in all directions.
Everyone on this land heard it.
In the United Academy, Hope, who was leisurely practicing calligraphy, heard it too.
The Muggles on the land also heard it.
Far away in Europe, Dumbledore's expression darkened as he walked quickly to the window to look outside.
To the Muggles and Muggles, this was merely a strange roar.
But to Wizards proficient in magic, the violent magical aura within the sound could not be hidden; it drilled straight into their bones.
Even without seeing a shadow, they could feel how terrifying the magical creature that emitted this sound was.
Magical creatures lurking in various places all lowered their typically proud heads, as if in submission.
Hodu moved rapidly through the sky; after the roar, clouds surged from all directions, covering the sky and earth.
He wove through the mist, occasionally revealing a part of his body, causing the Muggles on the ground to scream in alarm.
He had no intention of hiding.
There was no need.
He was now the strongest creature in this world.
A single drop of his blood would likely be enough to make this world become just like it was when the True Dragonfirst descended, perhaps even more terrifying and overbearing.
As this thought crossed his mind, he stopped his dragon body and drew a finger across his own body.
A few drops of golden blood seeped out.
Pure dragon blood.
He had racked his brains to find this stuff before, but now it was just cheap goods he could squeeze out at will.
But after the ten-thousand-fold stack, the effect of this blood was something that original True Dragon couldn't match even if it rode a horse to catch up.
He flicked his finger, and the drops of blood flew out like cannonballs, smashing into a thick cloud.
He instinctively drove his magic, and the white cloud turned black in the blink of an eye; lightning flashed faintly within, and a rainstorm was about to pour down.
He had fused his blood into that cloud.
The blood would fall with the rain, and he wasn't sure what the final consequences would be, but he wanted to see.
Just as the storm was about to bear down, a dark shadow suddenly shot up from below.
It was a flock of birds, all magical creatures, rushing toward the powerful aura of the blood.
Hodu didn't want his blood to go to waste on these things.
He roared at the flock.
One by one, they fell like birds with broken wings, crashing down with a clatter.
The rainstorm followed immediately after.
Below was Kyoto.
The first to react wasn't a human, but the Xuanwu in the villa.
It walked out quickly with a look of astonishment, staring up at the sky, feeling it was somewhat unbelievable.
The power in the sky was very similar to its father's, but it was immeasurably stronger than its father.
As the rain drifted to its mouth, it licked a drop, and its whole body shuddered violently.
It immediately understood how terrifying this rain was.
Each drop of rain was wrapped in formidable magical power, capable of turning the body inside out.
It was like a form of nuclear contamination, but a positive one; the places drenched by the rain would surely undergo earth-shattering changes.
Such changes could even be called a leap in life.
It felt as if it were seeing the scene of its father single-handedly remaking the Earth all those years ago.
The current situation was the same as back then, only the scale was many times grander.
Its eyes widened; if it could grab more of this rainwater, it might even be able to transform into a True Dragon!
It opened its mouth and began to inhale recklessly, sweeping the surrounding rainwater into its belly.
But as it wanted to keep inhaling, its body couldn't take it anymore; the energy swallowed was too great, and any more greed would lead to its body exploding.
It could only watch the rainstorm continue to pour down with a look of regret, wondering if Hodu had grasped this opportunity.
In the United Academy, Hope walked out with a look of shock.
He didn't know what had happened, but he knew this was a massive opportunity for Wizards.
It was as if a mountain of gold had suddenly fallen from the sky, landing on everyone's head.
A blessing from the heavens, and everyone had a share.
He didn't care about anything else and quickly notified all the students to come out and get drenched, to catch this blessing that had come from nowhere.
The rain was so heavy; the magical power contained within was like an ocean to Wizards, one that no one could swallow completely.
So there was no need to exert any effort; everyone was like a basin, and how much water they could hold was already determined.
With no telling how long this rainstorm would last, was there any fear of the basins not being filled?
Unlike the Xuanwu, he didn't do much else, just stood quietly in the rain, his mind turning to other thoughts.
The changes brought by this rain were likely not so simple.
Wizards could benefit, but what about the Muggles?
The magical power in the rain was highly aggressive; even if the Muggles didn't get rained on, they probably couldn't avoid it.
But there was no difference whether they hid or not; the entire area was covered by the rain, and what could a few walls block?
A sense of emotion stirred in his heart; this was like a divine gift, and he had scoured ancient books and never seen such a celestial phenomenon.
Or perhaps, this was the source of the birth of Wizards, and the very first Wizard in heaven and earth had come about this way?
It was foreseeable that after today, how many Muggles in this area would develop magic.
Whether this was a good thing or a bad thing for the Guangfa Realm, he couldn't say for sure.
Hodu watched from the clouds, satisfied.
He felt like that original True Dragon, remaking the Earth, but his method was far less troublesome than that True Dragon's.
A few drops of worthless blood could create a batch of Wizards.
After all, his blood was ten thousand times more concentrated than that True Dragon's.
A few drops of blood had no effect on him; his dragon body was, after all, the Eternal Dragon Body.
Even if only one drop of blood remained, he could quickly restore himself to his original state; this was the terror of the ten-thousand-fold stack.
That True Dragon had this ability too, but it was far slower to recover than him.
A thought suddenly popped into Hodu's mind.
He was now the Association President, in charge of the entire home base, the Guangfa Realm.
But to put it plainly, this was a small-time official position; the home Magical World only had a little over one hundred thousand Wizards in total.
What could this few people accomplish?
Since he was the Association President, how could it be justified that he only had one hundred thousand Wizards under him?
If he could have hundreds of millions of Wizards, wouldn't the weight of his presidency skyrocket?
By then, the Wizards in his home base alone would be tens of thousands of times more than other Magical Worlds, and what meaning would Dumbledore's title as President of the International Wizards Federation have?
Hodu's eyes lit up.
As for what kind of chaos creating so many Wizards might cause, that was none of his business.
If anyone dared to cause trouble, wasn't that a slap in the face to him as President?
He would just slaughter them.
Hodu acted as soon as he thought of it.
This wasn't difficult for him; after stacking the Vast Spiritual Source ten thousand times, he felt he had thoroughly become an existence on the level of the True Dragon, and making the entire Earth rain with a single thought was no difficult task.
To put it plainly, he had already surpassed this planet by too much.
In satellite views, the entire continent was covered by dark clouds in no time, and the posture for a rainstorm was already set.
Various TV stations were urgently broadcasting weather forecasts.
Hodu began to send his blood to various places.
This was quite a big project.
He first condensed a golden blood orb, slapped it hard toward the sky, and it flew toward the high altitude.
Like a missile, it shot upward with a sonic boom.
Upon reaching high altitude, the blood orb exploded violently, scattering down toward the entire continent.
Finally, it merged into the thick clouds of various regions.
A transformation had just begun.
Chapter 114: One Hundred Percent
When Hodu returned to the Association building, his legs felt a bit weak.
He slumped into his office chair, and before he could even catch his breath, the Secretary-General burst through the door.
Seeing Hodu sitting there, the Secretary-General was visibly stunned.
"President, when did you get back? Did you see it just now? Some Wizards said a Dragon flew out of here! The Muggles are in an uproar; many people are shouting that they saw a Dragon in the sky!"
The Secretary-General's voice was frantic.
This matter would cause a huge stir anywhere; with the Secrecy Statute in place, a Dragon flying in the sky was absolutely outrageous!
His phone was practically ringing off the hook, with the higher-ups constantly demanding to know what was happening, but he had no idea.
A Dragon, not an ordinary Dragon, let alone him, even Hope probably hadn't seen one with his own eyes.
He truly had no clue where this Dragon had come from.
But no matter how wronged he felt, when the calls came, he still had to endure the scolding.
Fortunately, the higher-ups didn't yet know that some Wizards said the Dragon had flown out of the Associationbuilding; otherwise, his troubles would be even greater.
"Don't rush, first get me a glass of water."
Hodu's voice sounded a bit weak, as if something had drained his body, but he'd be fine after a short rest.
He had great confidence in his body; he would recover after a rest.
The Secretary-General wanted to say something more, but seeing Hodu hand him an empty teacup, he had no choice but to swallow his words and quickly go to pour water.
By the time he returned, his mind had already raced through several possibilities.
Handing over the water cup respectfully, the Secretary-General tentatively asked, "Do you know what this is all about?"
He had a bold suspicion forming in his mind—this Dragonmight actually have come from the Association building.
This new President exuded an inexplicable strangeness, and it didn't seem impossible for him to be raising a Dragon that had never shown itself before.
"Of course, I was that Dragon."
Hodu took a sip of hot tea, exhaled a puff of white mist, and seemed to come alive, speaking slowly.
The Secretary-General was stunned, staring at Hodu with wide eyes, unable to react for a long time.
"Haven't you heard of Transfiguration?"
Hodu looked disgusted.
"I know, but isn't Transfiguration unable to turn into magical creatures? Besides, where do Dragons come from in reality?"
The Secretary-General was on the verge of collapse, feeling that Hodu was just playing a prank on him.
"Just because others can't do it doesn't mean I can't. Who told you there are no Dragons in reality?"
Hodu had an expression that said, "You're too unworldly."
"This matter starts with the origin of Wizards. How do you think Wizards came to be?"
He was in a good mood today and didn't mind giving his Secretary-General a proper History of Magic Class.
"Could it be... related to Dragons?"
The Secretary-General became interested.
He had indeed researched such things, usually enjoying flipping through History of Magic books in his free time, but not the kind compiled by the United Academy. Instead, he read old books passed down by various great families, including handwritten copies unearthed from some fallen families.
Anyway, he couldn't use magic, so he couldn't spend all day poring over spell books.
Following Hodu's lead, he made a guess.
"Exactly. The birth of Wizards is indeed inseparable from Dragons. Legend has it that a Dragon—not a Dragon, but a Five-Clawed Divine Dragon—flew from the depths of the starry sky, caused quite a stir in this territory, and finally created a large number of magical creatures. Wizards, too, emerged for certain reasons. So, Dragons truly existed, and they are also the source of magic."
These words completely stunned the Secretary-General.
He had never heard such a theory, and it even involved the origin of magic; this was too shocking.
But then, he became full of doubt.
The person in front of him was indeed powerful, easily suppressing the entire Wizarding family, but that didn't mean what he said was true.
The source of magic comes from outer space?
That was too fantastic.
"Where did you learn all this?"
The Secretary-General didn't directly refute him but chose a more indirect way of asking.
"Looking at your uneducated appearance, I know you don't believe it. You find it absurd, but that's just how it is. I heard it from a Dragon Turtle. That fellow is a descendant of that Dragon, born earlier than the entire history of Wizards. Later, it became the guardian beast of a fallen family's treasury, and I found it."
As Hodu spoke, the Secretary-General's eyes grew brighter and brighter.
He began to waver.
If it were true, it would be a monumental discovery for the entire Magical World—the true origin of Wizards could finally be traced back to its roots.
"So where is this Dragon Turtle now?"
The Secretary-General's voice rose by an octave in excitement.
A living fossil, an ancient artifact! Following its trail might just uncover an entire, true History of Magic.
"Right in my home."
Hodu said lightly.
The Secretary-General's eyes immediately became fervent, his face practically screaming, "I want to see it."
"It's not too late to take you to see it another day. But for now, I'm afraid that's not what you should be worrying about."
Hodu looked at him with a half-smile.
This Secretary-General had strayed quite far from the topic.
"Oh! Right! You said that Dragon was you, but you were too ostentatious... I'm not criticizing you, I just want to remind you that this violates the Secrecy Statute! If the existence of Wizards becomes known to ordinary people, it could cause a huge disaster!"
The Secretary-General chose his words carefully.
How could he dare to criticize the person in front of him, nor did he have the qualifications.
"From now on, the Secrecy Statute doesn't need to be observed."
Hodu smiled slightly, leaned back in his chair, and spoke with a relaxed tone.
"What does that mean?"
The Secretary-General's expression changed.
Could this President be planning to break the Secrecy Statute and expose the existence of Wizards?
Or was he harboring a greater ambition—to bring Wizards into the light and, in turn, become the masters of the Muggles' world?
This didn't align with what he had learned a few days ago.
"At least not on this continent. Looking at you, I'm afraid you still don't know what happened. That's normal; you're just a Commoner. If Hope were here, he would have understood long ago."
Hodu found the Secretary-General's wary expression quite amusing.
"What do you mean?"
The Secretary-General looked confused, becoming more bewildered the more he listened.
"You were caught in the rain, right?" Hodu asked.
"You mean that heavy rain outside? Yes! It's strange, the protective magic of the Association building seems to have failed. Usually, no matter how abnormal the weather outside, it wouldn't affect this place."
As the Secretary-General spoke, he himself felt something was amiss.
"It's not that the magic failed."
Hodu shook his head.
"It's that the rainwater directly penetrated the protective magic. You can also understand it as, the protective magicsimply couldn't block this batch of rainwater."
"Could this heavy rain also be related to you? I heard it's raining heavily across the entire continent; this weather is too abnormal. It wasn't you who caused it, was it?"
The Secretary-General's heart tightened, and he immediately pressed for an answer.
"That's right."
Hodu admitted frankly.
This kid finally grasped the main point.
"How did you do it?"
The Secretary-General couldn't help but exclaim.
This was a heavy rain covering an entire continent! Could a Wizard do such a thing? Could magic do such a thing?
If so, wasn't the person in front of him practically a god?
"It's not difficult for me. But you're off-topic again—what you should really be asking is why I did it."
Hodu was a bit helpless, reaching out to steer the conversation back on track.
"You... why did you do it?"
The Secretary-General's mind was churning.
The methods Hodu displayed today had far exceeded his understanding of a "powerful Wizard."
But he vaguely felt that the "why" was the real explosive revelation today.
"Because I'm conducting an experiment."
Hodu casually threw it out.
"An experiment?"
The Secretary-General didn't understand.
"Yes, an experiment. You see, I am now the President of the Association, but the entire Magical World, all put together, is at most the size of a small county. I really don't care for a President of such a scale. Do you know how Wizards came to be?"
As Hodu spoke, he suddenly asked a rhetorical question.
"Didn't you say, because of that extraterrestrial Dragon?"
The Secretary-General frowned, wishing Hodu would just spill the answer.
"That's what I said, but everything has a process. Wizards didn't just pop out the moment the Dragon arrived. Ultimately, it was the Dragon's magic that affected humans. Humans originally had no distinction between Wizards and Muggles; they were all simply called people. But the magic on that Dragon was too overbearing, like a source of pollution. Its saliva, its blood, all carried extremely strong contamination. Its offspring all became powerful magical creatures, and while Wizards are not its direct descendants, they were also tainted by that magic. That's how Wizards came to be. So now you understand, right—the appearance of Wizards is essentially the result of magic pollution. It's a pity you haven't become a Wizardyet, otherwise, you should be able to feel the terrifyingly concentrated magic soaking in those raindrops outside."
By the time Hodu finished speaking, the Secretary-General's face had turned deathly pale.
When the last sentence fell into his ears, he froze as if struck by lightning.
Hodu already had the Eternal Dragon Body as a foundation, making his magic terrifyingly boundless. Coupled with the tenfold abundance characteristic, it was no longer a matter of one plus one equaling two, but a geometric surge.
Undoubtedly, the contaminating nature of his magic was also shockingly strong, and together with his blood, it created the current situation.
"Are you saying... that rain outside can contaminate Muggles... and turn them into... Wizards?"
The Secretary-General was stunned, barely able to speak coherently.
"That's right."
Hodu's lips curved into a smile.
This kid finally followed his guidance and saw the answer.
"Congratulations. Perhaps tonight, perhaps tomorrow, you will become one of the Wizards."
Hodu stared at the Secretary-General's astonished face, his smile full of profound meaning.
The Secretary-General suddenly snapped back to reality.
He had been so preoccupied with pondering the "rainwater pollution" itself that he hadn't thought about it applying to himself.
Now it dawned on him—he was also going to become a Wizard?
Did he want to?
Of course, he did.
He knew the wonders of magic better than anyone, and he had always stayed in the Magical World, feeling like an anomaly without magic.
In the past, he had more than once wondered why he wasn't a Wizard.
Now, this wish was being fulfilled in a way he never could have dreamed of.
But after a brief moment of joy, an even more terrifying thought emerged.
His face changed several times, and he stared at Hodu, his eyes filled with disbelief.
"You mean, this rainwater will turn Muggles into Wizards... so the rain across the country... does that mean...?"
The Secretary-General's eyes were wide as saucers.
The answer was already there, but he couldn't bring himself to accept it.
"That's right," Hodu nodded.
"What percentage?!"
Hodu stroked his chin thoughtfully.
His transformation wasn't just targeting Wizards; the entire area was within its scope, and even ordinary creatures had a chance to evolve into magical creatures.
Of course, a few low-level creatures resisted this influence, such as cockroaches—otherwise, they would have long since become magical creatures.
He mused that humans who could be immune to his magicpollution in this evolution would likely be very few, if any.
"One hundred percent."
The Secretary-General's mind snapped.
He rolled his eyes, slumped backward in his chair, and fell silent.
Chapter 115: New Official Takes Office
The Secretary-General slid down the back of his chair, his head hitting the corner of the table with a dull thud.
Hodu held his teacup, looking down at him for two seconds.
"Wake up."
The Secretary-General didn't move.
Hodu reached out and patted his face; the force was light, yet the Secretary-General jolted up, hands pressed against the desktop, his chest heaving violently.
"Chairman!"
"What are you shouting for? Your soul is still in your body."
"What you just said—one hundred percent?"
The Secretary-General stared at him intently, his voice dry.
"Good, your ears aren't broken."
Hodu placed the teacup back on the table and reached for a tissue to wipe the tea stains off the Secretary-General's forehead.
"Don't look at me like that. If you don't believe me, go outside and ask someone. As long as they've been rained on, they're basically not escaping it."
The Secretary-General opened his mouth, but couldn't squeeze out a sound for a long time.
The phone on the table suddenly rang.
The shrill ringing gave him a start. He grabbed the receiver, and just as he said hello, a hurried roar erupted from the other end.
"What is the Association doing? Large-scale magicfluctuations are appearing in several eastern cities simultaneously, and the magic detection stations are all flashing red! People have even seen Muggles casting magic on the streets. Why didn't you report this beforehand?"
The Secretary-General covered the receiver, his face turning pale.
Hodu gestured for him to put it on speakerphone.
"It's me."
The other end of the line went silent for a moment, then a deeper voice took over.
"Chairman Hodu? Does this rain have anything to do with you?"
"Yes."
"Do you have any idea what you're doing? The Secrecy Act stipulates that no unauthorized magic experiments can affect Commoner society, let alone cause large-scale—"
"Don't be in such a rush to recite the regulations."
Hodu interrupted him.
"The rain has already fallen. Debating whether I had approval is a waste of time and serves no other purpose."
"You!"
The voice on the other end was trembling with rage.
Hodu picked at his ear and continued, "I have a suggestion for you. Immediately seal all magic monitoring reports and tell the outside world that this is an equipment failure caused by extreme weather. As for those Muggles who suddenly possess magic, don't arrest them, don't interrogate them; just get them settled first."
"You still want to cover this up?"
"It's not covering up; it's giving them some time to adapt."
"This matter is impossible to cover up! How many Mugglesare there across the entire continent? Do you know how many people will awaken?"
"I do."
"And you still dared to—"
"Because I did it on purpose."
The other end of the line went completely silent.
The Secretary-General's hands began to tremble. Only now did he realize that Hodu had never considered this an accident, nor was it a spur-of-the-moment decision after the rain started.
This rainstorm covering the continent had been part of his plan from the very beginning.
"Chairman Hodu, you are declaring war on the entire Magical World."
"Don't make it sound so serious." Hodu leaned back into his chair. "I just felt there were too few people, and I wanted to add some new population."
"Is this a matter of population?"
"Then what kind of problem would you say it is?"
"This is about order! It's about the relationship between Wizards and Muggles for hundreds of years—"
"It hasn't been managed well for hundreds of years, so now we're trying a different way to manage it."
Hodu took the phone from the Secretary-General and hung up directly.
He couldn't be bothered to listen to whatever the other party was still yelling.
The Secretary-General stared at the dead receiver, his lips moving slightly.
"Chairman, have you thought about the consequences?"
"I have."
"Then why did you..."
"There are only two possible outcomes." Hodu held up two fingers. "First, Muggles discover they have magic, and Wizards are forced to go public. Second, the Magical World forcibly suppresses the news and is eventually overturned by the new Wizards."
The Secretary-General's face grew even paler.
"What's the difference between these two outcomes?"
"Of course there is." Hodu lowered his fingers. "The first is us leading them. The second is them walking on their own. Which one do you think is less trouble?"
The Secretary-General was completely speechless.
He had previously only thought Hodu was bold and didn't play by the rules. Only at this moment did he realize that this man never intended to patch things up within the old rules.
What Hodu wanted was to flip the whole table over and set it up again.
There was a knock at the door.
The Secretary-General looked back and hurriedly stood up.
"Who is it?"
"It's me."
The voice was aged but full of vigor.
The Secretary-General opened the door. Hope stood outside, rain still clinging to his shoulders, clutching a silver cane in his hand.
"Dean, why are you here?"
"Someone told me that there was a huge mess at the Association." Hope stepped into the room, his gaze sweeping over the desk before landing on Hodu. "Now it seems the news was an understatement."
The Secretary-General greeted him as if grabbing a life-saving straw.
"Please, you must persuade the Chairman. He has... the Muggles across the entire continent..."
"I heard."
Hope waved his hand and walked straight to the opposite side of Hodu.
"Is it all true?"
"Which part?"
"The rain you caused, Muggles turning into Wizards, and that one hundred percent."
"It's all true."
Hope's grip on his cane tightened.
The Secretary-General stood to the side, finally finding an opportunity to interject.
"Dean, what do you think should be done about this? People outside have already awakened magic; the Association can't be completely unprepared."
"You go out first."
Hope didn't look at him.
The Secretary-General froze.
"Me?"
"Unplug the phone line, notify all departments, and call back everyone who can be called back. Also, send people to count the awakened ones; don't disturb them, just record the locations and numbers first."
He paused and added another sentence.
"If anyone loses control, prioritize evacuating the Muggles; don't be in a rush to take action."
The Secretary-General nodded and turned to leave.
When he reached the door, he stopped again and looked back at Hodu.
"Chairman, and what about me?"
"You continue to be the Secretary-General."
"I mean, what about after I also become a Wizard?"
Hodu glanced at him.
"Then learn how to cast spells and don't burn down your own office with a fireball."
The Secretary-General's mouth twitched, but in the end, he closed the door and left.
Only two people were left in the room.
Hope wasn't in a rush to sit down; instead, he stared at the dense lines of rain outside the window.
"Protective magic can't block it."
"I know."
"I tried several times on the way here. It's not that the rainwater carries magic; it's that every drop of rain is like a magic crystal that burrows in on its own. Conventional barriers simply can't stop it."
"Your observation is accurate."
"Just how much magic did you stuff into it?"
"Enough is enough."
Hope turned around, the smile on his face completely gone.
"Enough? Do you know that if anything goes wrong, the entire continent will be doomed along with you?"
"I know."
"You don't know jack!"
Hope raised his hand and slammed his cane on the floor.
"You are the Chairman of the Association, not some lunatic hiding in a basement experimenting on Muggles! If you want to modify Wizard bloodlines, you can try on a small scale, find a few volunteers, observe the results first, and then expand. But you? You poured it over the entire continent with one rainstorm. You didn't even confirm if they could withstand it, and you dared to dump magic into the sky?"
"I did confirm it."
Hope was stunned.
"When?"
"When you were out in the rain just now."
Hope looked down at his own hands, then looked back up at him.
"You used me as a test subject?"
"Aren't you alive and well?"
"That's because I was already a Wizard!"
"That's why I used you for the first round of testing."
Hope's chest heaved with anger; he raised his finger to point at Hodu, unable to speak for a long time.
Hodu poured him a cup of tea.
"Don't worry, ordinary people won't have problems immediately. At first, it's just magic entering the body, and then the body will slowly adapt. Some will awaken that same day, others will have to wait a few days. As long as they don't misuse magic, they won't die."
"You make it sound so easy."
"If you were doing it, would you be more stable than me?"
Hope fell silent.
This was impossible to refute.
He had studied magic his whole life and understood what changing human physiology on a large scale meant. But precisely because he understood, he realized the difficulty of what Hodu had achieved.
It isn't something one can achieve just by having strong magic.
Once the magic was dispersed across the entire continent, the concentration had to be sufficient, yet it couldn't accumulate into a disaster in any one place. The landing spot, speed, and penetration of every drop of rain had to be controlled within an extremely narrow range.
Hodu had to cause the Muggles to change while ensuring they wouldn't drop dead on the spot.
This wasn't an experiment; this was using the world as a cauldron.
"You want to increase the number of Wizards?"
Hope sat down.
"Quantity is just the first step."
"What's the next step?"
"Let them know who they are."
Hope raised his eyelids.
"After Muggles become Wizards, no one teaches them to control their magic, and no one tells them the rules of the Magical World. They will first be targeted by the local Association branches, then sent to be registered, and then picked off by family factions."
"That's correct."
"Those families will fight over them."
"Of course."
"They will absorb the new Wizards into their own systems, arrange marriages, positions, and resources for them, and in a few decades, a new batch of families will emerge."
As Hope said this, he felt it was absurd himself.
The old powers had just been suppressed by Hodu, and new powers would grow out of this batch of new Wizards.
"That's why I want you to manage it."
"Manage what?"
"The Management Office."
Hope frowned.
"I want to establish a specialized department responsible for receiving new Wizards, teaching them magic, arranging housing and jobs for them, and then sending them to the United Academy. This department cannot belong to the Ministry of Civil Affairs, nor can it be managed by those old fogies in the Association."
"You want me to be in charge?"
"Yes."
Hope stared at Hodu and smiled.
"You really think highly of me. After something like this, aren't you afraid I'll sell you out?"
"You won't."
"On what grounds?"
"Because you have waited for this day for too long."
The smile on Hope's face faded slightly.
Hodu pushed the teacup toward him.
"What you wanted to do before was to give ordinary Wizards a chance to climb up and prevent families from monopolizing power. But back then, you had few people, not enough cards in your hand, and you had to stop after taking just two steps."
"And now the cards are enough?"
"More than enough."
Hodu looked out the window.
"After this rain stops, the entire Magical World will have a new batch of people. As long as you catch them and don't let them be swallowed by the old powers, I will handle the rest."
Hope looked down and picked up the teacup, but didn't drink.
"You trust me that much?"
"If I don't trust you, should I trust those old fogies whose family names have been passed down for hundreds of years?"
Hodu laughed.
"They will only turn new Wizards into their dogs. At least you still remember what you wanted to do when you were young."
Hope tapped his fingers on the rim of the cup.
It had been many years since he had heard anyone mention that past.
When he was young, he also thought about dismantling family monopolies and letting everyone with talent learn magic. Later, he sat in the position of Dean, learned to compromise, learned to take detours, and learned to break a single truth into several pieces when speaking.
By the time he looked back, he had already become part of the old order.
"The authority of the Management Office won't be small."
"I'll give it to you."
"What about manpower?"
"You pick them yourself."
"What if a mess happens?"
"I'll cover it."
"What about when those families cause trouble?"
"I'll handle it."
Hope put down the cup and stared at Hodu for a long time.
"You aren't asking me to do work; you're shoving a knife into my hand."
"The knife is in your hand; whether you swing it or not is up to you."
"What if I swing and miss?"
"Then swing again."
Hope lowered his head and laughed.
The laughter grew louder, and even his shoulders shook a few times.
Hodu leaned back against the chair, waiting until he had laughed enough before slowly adding another sentence.
"Dean Hope, the greatest skill of your life isn't that you protected the United Academy, but that even knowing there is nothing but trouble ahead, you still stand forward for your students. Only by giving the Management Office to you will it not turn into a watchdog for another family."