"I can't deny that Mo Fan is quite valuable as research material. And I'd even consider your proposal, knowing the extent of your genius, but as I said, there's one catch. Your research went off in the wrong direction from the start. What's the point of humanity losing a mage with potential to reach the peak of Super Level, who, given the number of his elements, could become a one-man army, for a doomed experiment in advance? That's just stupid. He'd be far more valuable as one of China's future pillars, or even all of humanity's," I calmly parried back Lu Nian's demand. I won't even mention the possibility of Mo Fan reaching Forbidden Curse level. That depends on whether the government splurges on a Earth Fruit for him or not. The guy himself can't do much about it.
In my past life, I already died once to a demonized Mo Fan, and I'm not repeating that experience. Sure, even if he demonized now, he couldn't touch me at all – he'd have at most the power of a senior Commander-in-Chief – but better safe than sorry. And really, I don't want to waste someone with Mo Fan's potential for nothing; otherwise, I'd have killed him long ago, morals be damned. My peace of mind is worth more than one person's life who I'm not particularly tied to in this world.
"Hmph, and how exactly is my experiment doomed, in your opinion? We've run tons of tests and trials. Mages with one element didn't survive or turned into grotesque monsters. Mages with two elements kept a humanoid form but lost their minds completely, becoming uncontrollable killing machines. Mages with three elements... well, more precisely, one mage. Test subjects of that caliber are rare, unfortunately. Anyway, the mage with three elements managed to retain his sanity for a while after transforming into a devil, though he only broke through to High level recently. Too bad he was a criminal before the experiment and tried to escape after gaining power. Though they caught him in the end, he managed to kill some people and cause significant infrastructure damage. After that, they shut down my project to create the new element, forcing me to desert to continue the research. I'm almost certain that if a mage has four elements, he'll stabilize the transformation process and keep his mind. But since I can't get to Super level mages, I have to pick from what's available. And the kid hiding behind you now is the perfect option! He has four elements but is weak enough that we could somewhat control him post-transformation. I'm almost completely sure it'll succeed! The failure rate is so negligible it can be ignored." Lu Nian got more fired up as his monologue went on, and it wasn't an act – I could feel it.
It was clear he was deeply passionate about this topic. Of course – fifteen years of research on the verge of reality. Feeling success so close, he wouldn't stop at anything. Unless I shifted his focus to something equally intriguing and proved his previous experiment truly failed. Luckily, I had something to say on that.
"I'm not denying that Mo Fan would likely survive demonization. On the contrary, I'm almost sure he could pull it off," I replied calmly. No point in pointless arguments; better speak his language of facts. Scientists love that.
"Then where exactly do you think my experiment failed?" Lu Nian clarified with a smirk.
"I've seen the experimental data on your project, so I'll ask a few leading questions. First – what converts the demonization element into that demonic power? Energy can't come from nowhere, right? Come on, I bet you know the answer," I teased him with a smile.
"Hmph, even if it was hard to pin down in subjects – they lose their minds first – I'd guess the new element consumes spiritual power," Lu Nian snorted confidently but paid more attention to our talk now. His emotions showed he was intrigued where I was going.
"Bingo! Spiritual power – right answer! Now tell me, does this guy with the first spiritual boundary have way more of it than your other subjects? Even if four elements in his spiritual world stabilize the new element's structure, where's he getting fuel to run it? Considering that, by your own words, once the experiment starts, transformation happens automatically and you can't stop it," I posed the logical question.
"... I hadn't thought of that. Fair point – I might've wasted this research material by letting emotions override logic. But that doesn't prove my experiment's a failure. Just that my approach was a bit hasty. After mulling over the flaws you pointed out, I could try again," Lu Nian replied thoughtfully.
This time, he was far friendlier – he saw I really knew my stuff and my notes were advancing his research. For him, it wasn't foes bantering before battle anymore; it was a scientific debate.
"Uh-huh, commendable that you take criticism instead of blindly charging ahead. Now, second question – how can gradual soul dissolution from the first spiritual boundary let a Medium level mage sustain Commander-in-Chief level enhancement for a good while? That's way better efficiency than artifacts, which also absorb souls for boosts. If you could get that by just burning a Servant-level soul, every Medium and High level mage would carry life-saving treasures like that. Even Super level mages wouldn't pass up such a cheap body boost for a short time," I arched a brow at Lu Nian, stunned by my question.
He'd been so fixated on creating the new element that once it worked, he jumped to tests, ignoring the prototype's mechanics. Rookie mistake, but he was so confident in his knowledge he skipped it. Now it bit him.
"... I... honestly, no clue. Now that you mention it, it's weird. The element just awakened but gives massive power boost, basically from nothing, considering the trade-off. Other elements, even man-made ones, not natural, don't act like that," He took the pipe from his mouth, scratching his chin as he pondered his project and details he'd overlooked in his success rush.
"Think about it – you'll get it soon, especially considering the magic spectrum of elements your research was based on," I nudged him toward the right answer. His reinforcements were coming; I didn't have a week or two to wait.
"Hm, on dark magic elements... Wait, you mean the demonization element directly siphons power from the Dark Plane?" The scientist perked up, struck by his guess.
"Bingo! And soul power maintains a stable channel from the mage's soul to the Dark Plane. Even then, a normal soul wouldn't suffice without limiting to short bursts. And cultivation would still drop over time, stagnating or regressing from frequent use. Higher level means more power draw – you know that. So just boosting soul power won't cut it. You'd need external spiritual power sources – costly, more like a desperate trump card when all else fails. And even that only for the resource-rich few. No talk of elevating all humanity to a new evolution step with those constraints," I shattered the poor scientist's dreams of uplifting our race via demonization.
"... Well, at least as a last-resort trump card, my idea works. Can't waste fifteen years of research," He sighed heavily, realizing it was a dead end but seeking some worthy use.
"I forgot the most important part. Did you forget the Dark Plane has owners? None friendly. No wonder dark magic users were hunted before – good reasons. Only when people proved minimal influence via those elements did they reluctantly back off. Even Holy City eyed them warily till recently. And here you want a direct channel from that nightmare realm into a mage's soul. Who knows what beast slips through – even if Plane lords ignore massive energy drain from their domain, unlikely. You've nearly created a Dark Gods cult from scratch... or a monster group wiping out humanity for their patrons," I smiled at Lu Nian's ashen face, paling more by the second. The guy just realized what he'd almost done. His emotions screamed self-reproach. Of course – he truly believed he worked for humanity's future, but it was the opposite.
"... No wonder they shut down my project. How was I so blind before," He stared blankly at his hands, as if imagining the blood staining them and how vast his personal graveyard could've grown post-"success."
"Get out of here. Run as fast and far as you can. To handle you and secure perfect experiment material, I called the Black Vatican, and they sent three blue deacons, each stronger than me. For insurance, they hired the Temple of Assassins' rising star – Master Bei, famed for killing a Super level mage while only High level himself. Don't know his magic, but doubt you'd all survive unscathed. I'll delay them as long as I can. And brother... sorry I let you down. I wasn't the humanity's hero you thought. Just a mad scientist thinking fifteen years of research could upend the world's power system." Eyes still lightless, Lu Nian urged us to flee, likely planning to atone... or die to forget his near-miss. At least he said goodbye to his "brother" – not all lost.
I already sensed four High level mage souls approaching, so time to hurry and reignite his will to live. Post-battle, I'd fan it into research fervor flames. Can't lose such a brain. Scary what he'd cook up teamed with Pin Zhoulun, fusion magic creator. Sin to kill him to prevent that – better redirect to work with Lu Nian. They'd complement perfectly.
"Don't worry about them; the blue deacon trio isn't big threat. Hold one by teaming with students and your people. My girls handle the other two, then back you up. I'll fight Master Bei," I started issuing orders, setting battle formation. But seeing his dead-fish eyes, I added:
"And yes, Lu Nian, if you still want to atone and your scientist spirit lingers, I've got an intriguing project to propose. I'll clear your desertion. Funding? No worries. Unless you ask for Earth Fruit, other resources in a month of request. Here's a demo of what you'll study." With that, I unleashed a foot stomp on the ground, shattering asphalt in a massive roar and destruction. Seemed we were over a sewer; I punched straight through. Oh well, more dramatic.
Lu Nian's eyes widened at my physical power demo, igniting not just a spark – full interest blaze! Where's the suicidal zombie from seconds ago?! Why are you licking your lips, you old creep?! Don't eye me like that!
Spotting Lu Nian dash to formation, saluting farewell, I quashed the urge to crack his skull, breathing deep to calm. Hope I didn't make a huge mistake sparing this lunatic. We'll see. He won't cause more damage than demonized Mo Fan... right?