Chapter 407: The New Master of the City in the Sky

“The only constant in the universe is change. Even the immortal gods are not eternal. We mages have proposed a great theory of equivalent exchange—whether it’s magic, alchemy, or everything in this world, it all follows this principle. So I ask you: can this seemingly unchanging principle be broken?”
At this question, Donald was stunned. Both his past education and his current experiences had affirmed the validity of equivalent exchange—there is always give and take; the law of conservation of energy and the transformation of matter forms are all manifestations of this principle. Even the formation of the universe and the evolution of matter involve equivalent exchange.
Donald, who had always believed in this theory, felt his worldview completely overturned. Shocked, he was speechless, his eyes filled with confusion, bewilderment, and uncertainty.
But after that confusion, Donald began to ponder—was it possible?
As time passed, Donald closed his eyes right in front of Sera. The Archmage Lord waited patiently, intrigued by his response.
Equivalent exchange—equivalent exchange! As the exchanged items changed, wasn’t the process of equivalent exchange itself also changing?
Yet this still didn’t explain how this great, authoritative theory in both the worlds he had experienced could be broken.
Finally, Donald thought of his past life—his life’s setbacks and hardships, the pain of illness—all of those memories had faded. What remained most vivid were the bonds with his family and friends.
In his current life, the most important moments were the affectionate relationship with his old butler, the sweet love with Catherine, the friendship with Ferdinand, the kindness of his teacher Messel who had taught him wholeheartedly, his mentorship relationship with Chris and the others, and the bonds of loyalty with his subordinates and summoned creatures!
“I understand!”
Donald suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze shining like flames or stars—flames of wisdom and conviction.
“A person can love another without expecting anything in return, without seeking vanity. To outsiders, the give and take may not seem equal, but for that person, seeing the one they love happy is enough to bring them satisfaction! The emotions of intelligent beings are the most elusive in the world—they cannot be quantified, and thus cannot follow the principle of equivalent exchange!”

At this moment, Donald finally understood the true purpose of the so-called trials imposed by the Great Archmage Lord!
In Donald’s view, the first four trials were more akin to questions related to idealism in philosophy from his past life, focusing on questions such as “Who am I?” “Where do I come from?” “Where am I going?” They tested the candidates’ will through wealth, desire, power, and other means, helping them understand and recognize themselves so they wouldn’t lose themselves in the pursuit of truth and power.
The subsequent trials, on the other hand, dealt with materialism, testing whether the candidates possessed the mindset and morality necessary to become great seekers of truth.
Arcane magic, like science, studied everything in the world, including the truths behind the formation of the universe!
Archmages were essentially similar to scientists from his past life, most of whom were researchers adhering to materialism and theories of truth.
Donald understood the message Sera wanted to convey through these questions.
Pure scientific research devoid of humanity would not bring happiness to people; instead, it would only lead to destruction! Just like the disaster movies and novels he had seen in his past life—such as those about biohazards or world-ending disasters caused by nuclear wars—these were all results of the misuse of scientific power without proper human guidance.
The mistakes made by archmages had proven this point. The reason the Great Archmage Empire perished was that mortals could not control powers as mighty as those of true gods, leading to a disaster that threatened the entire main world.
Although some true gods played a role in exacerbating the situation, fundamentally, it was still the result of the archmages’ own mistakes!
After realizing this, Donald bowed deeply in reverence and gratitude to Sera’s phantom.
Now, he felt his will was stronger than ever, and his mind seemed purified and elevated, as if refined by these visions and trials. This experience was far more effective than years of self-improvement in strengthening his will. He was now 100% confident in his ability to succeed in the process of igniting the divine flame and achieving divinity!
“There’s no need to thank me. You’ve fulfilled my wish; it’s me who should be thanked!”
Sera said with emotion.
“Over the years, a total of 351 candidates have successfully entered my tomb. Of them, 127 were eligible to undergo the trials, but only you have succeeded through all seven trials. Young man, you should be proud!”
Donald, however, felt that his success in the trials was somewhat fortunate.

If one did not possess memories of two lifetimes and have experienced the cycle of life and death serta the great ups and downs of life, an ordinary human professional would likely lose control of their will and struggle to survive the first four trials. As for the subsequent philosophical questions, which are equally full of contradictions, they test a person’s beliefs; most humans from the main world, with far narrower perspectives, would likely get stuck at the first question! “Congratulations on passing my tests. Now, once all the other candidates have finished, we will know the results!” As Sera spoke, Donald felt a sudden brightness before his eyes—he had left that chaotic world and found himself in a magnificent hall. Sitting not far away was Saint Spirit Celt I, while Sera sat at the head of the hall, smiling at him. “Feel free, please sit! The other three will need some more time to finish. We can talk while we wait for them!” Without hesitation, Donald sat down across from Sera. The seating arrangement resembled that of a conference room with a rectangular table, with one seat at each end serving as the main seats. Soon, the other three appeared one after another in the hall. Aside from Carlisle, who appeared somewhat embarrassed with a flushed face, the old mage and the high-level lich both appeared calm. These two were indifferent to desires and were naturally suited to be mages; they had little longing for belonging to the Sky City! As for what Carlisle had experienced during the tests, Donald could roughly guess—it was probably him getting lost in some illusionary realm and feeling embarrassed and absurd after being awakened by Sera. In fact, these tests were also a form of training; success or failure brought its own lessons!