Hogwarts: Dumbledore reigned over the wizarding world.

Chapter 216 New Mission

It is now known in many parts of the world that Josiah Parker, the Speaker of the Magical Congress of America, was murdered by Vaughn Weasley in the Alabacia Mountains of America.

The leader of American magic was murdered by foreigners on his own soil.

It is said that several hundred North American wizards were also killed at the same time.

It sounds like a joke; if it weren't for the wrong date, everyone would probably think it was April Fool's Day for Muggles.

Meanwhile, in America, the Magical Congress, still embroiled in controversy, did indeed issue a series of arrest warrants, including those for Vaughn Weasley, Donald Graves, and the North American werewolves.

The warrant did not specify the reason for the arrest, nor did the Magical Congress send Aurors to arrest him—after all, Vaughn and his group had been traveling and visiting all over the Pacific region.

This has led to a situation where some people believe the intelligence while others do not.

The magical community in the Philippines is the kind that believes in it.

However, they pretended not to believe it. When the cruise ship docked yesterday, the Philippine Ministry of Magic, having received the news, even dispatched a director in charge of foreign affairs to Cebu to receive them, in accordance with normal diplomatic protocol. This was quite normal, as the Philippines considered these murderers to be people even their North American fathers wouldn't dare send Aurors to provoke.

Even if you believe it, why force yourself to stand up for yourself?

It's better to pretend you don't know, and not believe or spread rumors—life isn't so cold after all.

The morning after the Philippine welcome banquet, as the cruise ship prepared to depart again, Vaughn, waking up and gazing north on the deck, encountered Dumbledore.

Old Deng strolled along, smiling as he surveyed the misty Cebu port. He said to Vaughn, "They really went to great lengths for us, having people monitor us all night. That Director Paley practically got me drunk at the banquet yesterday. When he heard we were just resting in Cebu and weren't planning on staying, he was so excited he almost cried—sigh, I suddenly feel like I've become the villain."

Vaughn dismissed it: "They're small countries with small populations. They're just larger island nations. They don't dare offend either us or America. They can only hope we leave as soon as possible."

Deng Xiaoping certainly understood this, but it was the first time he had encountered such a situation. In the past, he had always been warmly welcomed by various countries during his overseas visits.

Walking up to Vaughn and noticing the direction he was gazing, Dumbledore sighed, "It's a pity your trip to North America didn't work out. Otherwise, I would really like to go with you to visit that country in the north and take a look around."

To the north lies the South China Sea; beyond the South China Sea lies Vaughn's hometown from his previous life.

Vaughn naturally wanted to go back and see if his hometown in this world was the same as in his previous life. He wanted to hear the familiar accent and taste the long-lost hometown delicacies.

Unfortunately, the North American visit ended in failure, which resulted in his homeland, which was not particularly enthusiastic about the WAC to begin with, giving a rather cold and distant response to his and Dumbledore's request to visit.

They explicitly refused WAC's request to dock.

Suppressing his regret, Vaughn glanced at Dumbledore: "You never do anything without a reason. Are you eyeing that East Asian country or something again?"

Old Deng was heartbroken: "Darling, how could you assume such malicious things about me?"

His response was a mocking laugh from Vaughn: "Heh heh—"

Dumbledore stroked his beard, pretending not to hear, and gazed into the distance with Vaughn for a while before sighing and saying, "East Asia has been closed off for too long due to the influence of Muggle society. Decades ago, when they were still active, they were a force capable of influencing the international situation of the wizarding world."

"The magical world is changing more and more unsettlingly. Tom, DeSantis, Wilkinson, and Gellert—it seems like the situation has returned to what it was decades ago. I sense that beneath the surface of peace, there are undercurrents surging. At this time, the whole world urgently needs the East to return to the international stage."

Vaughn shrugged. "The lockdown is their own decision. Even if you could go there, what impact would it have?"

"It won't have any impact, but this year is the year they hold the Luo Tian Grand Ceremony. The new leadership of the East Asian magic world will be selected by Qilin. I hope to have some contact with them—at least to understand their views on rejoining the international community."

"Putting everything else aside, there are quite a few legendary wizards in the East. If things get out of control due to DeSantis, Wilkinson, and others in North America, I'll feel more at ease knowing there's such a group of legendary powers around."

Regarding his plans, Vaughn remained noncommittal: "How can you be sure the 'DeSantis's' and the East weren't involved? You even doubt Grindelwald."

Dumbledore's stance on this was firm: "I don't trust people, but I trust the Kirin!"

"————"

Vaughn was speechless. In the East, there was such an absurd and magical creature as the Qilin, and there was also a ceremony like the Luo Tian Da Jiao that used the Qilin for selection.

It does give people a strange sense of reassurance.

After thinking for a moment, Vaughn suddenly asked, "Are there magic schools in the East?"

"Of course I do, what's up, darling?"

"I was just thinking, their current closed-off approach stems from their resistance to official figures like the Ministry of Magic and WAC. If you want to communicate with them, why not try starting from the grassroots level? For example, communicating with the magic schools there in the name of Hogwarts —"

In the eyes of Westerners, the vast land of East Asia has always been shrouded in mystery.

This situation is caused by both their ancient history and their cultural ideas, which are very different from those of the West, as well as the political system that currently dominates that land.

The mystery surrounding the East has led to serious misunderstandings in the West, especially after the Eastern magical community closed itself off. For decades, the Western magical community has been unable to communicate with the East, and many of the wizards' understandings of the East are simply copied from Muggle society.

Western Muggle society has consistently and intentionally distorted and demonized the East.

The phrase "逝者如斯夫" (Time flows like this) can be interpreted by the West as "sitting quietly by the river, watching the enemy's corpses float by," which is already quite absurd.

The key issue is that this interpretation, originally intended to smear the enemy, was not only believed by many, but many also greatly admired this calm attitude of watching the enemy perish.

The atmosphere and message that spread throughout society, from Muggles to the wizarding world, had a significant impact. Even an old wizard like Dumbledore, who had come into contact with Eastern alchemists, was inevitably affected by the misconceptions.

He found Easterners difficult to deal with.

But in Vaughn's view, it was just that he hadn't chosen the right method.

Yes, the Eastern magical world implements a closed policy, but that doesn't mean they are all a group of cold-hearted ice cubes who don't want to get involved in outside affairs.

Confucius was not a pervert who would sit by the river looking at corpses when he had nothing to do.

No Easterner would consider sitting quietly and waiting for the enemy to die as a philosophical view.

Vaughn, who was an Easterner in his previous life, knew very well that his hometown was actually quite normal, no different from other parts of the world, and that it also longed to communicate with the outside world.

The prevailing doctrine of the mean and different language habits from the West make them more cautious and inclined to maintain a humble image, so much so that sometimes what they say sounds like a refusal.

The ideological and cultural barriers are indeed difficult to eliminate in a short period of time.

Vaughn was also unclear about the current political environment in the Eastern magical world, but in his view, it was not difficult to communicate with the East. There was a concept that was common to both the East and the West—education!

Westerners value education.

It is valued just as much by people from the East.

If you talk about official exchanges, people from the East might be hesitant and give you no definite answer due to various concerns. But if you talk about educational exchanges, they certainly won't refuse!

After listening to Vaughn's analysis of the commonalities in the character and cultural characteristics of Easterners, Dumbledore was somewhat taken aback.

"Honey, where did you get so much information from?"

He couldn't help but ask in surprise, but soon understood—he had always suspected that Vaughn had a mysterious source of intelligence that allowed him access to many secrets.

Maybe this time will be the same?

Suppressing his intense curiosity, Dumbledore humbly asked, "So, Vaughn, do you have any specific ideas?"

Vaughn didn't have any particular thoughts.

This isn't his business. The fact that he offered a suggestion or direction is already a favor because we have a good relationship.

Vaughn shook his head, about to say something to dissuade Old Deng from seeking his advice.

Suddenly, a system notification flashed in my field of vision.

In the blink of an eye, the system panel popped up in my field of vision:

[Host: Vaughn Weasley]

[Magic Scale: 705 (500 for a typical adult wizard)]

【天赋：魔咒学8、黑魔法6、变形术8、魔药学10、草药学6、链金术6、占卜学2（满值为10）】

【魔咒：大脑封闭术LV5（MAX）、铁甲咒LV5（MAX）、缴械咒LV5（MAX）、飞走咒LV5（MAX）、萤光咒LV5（MAX）————幻影移（显）形LV4（6/48）↑、摄神取念LV3（30/32）↑、幻身咒LV3（14/16）↑、神锋无影LV3（16/24）↑————新增：多频谱视界咒LV2（3/16）↑、次声咒LV1（1/6）↑】

【诅咒：岁月咒LV2（16/24）↑、复生咒LV1（3/4）↑、枯萎咒LV1（3/4）

↑————Awakening Spell LVO (2/3)↑————】

[Ancient Magic: Soul Stealing Charm LV0 (1/4) ↑, Vorn's Living Disintegration Ritual]

Alchemy LV0 (5/20) ↑

[Spell Development Module]

[Potions: "Vorn Beauty" series, "Vorn Hair Care" series, Wolfsbane Potion, etc.]

[Reputation Points: 4]

During his month in America, the level of various spells increased again, and even the curses improved because Vaughn had used them many times during his experiments.

Most importantly, of course, is the increase in magic power.

When Vaughn last checked, it was 694 points, and now it's 705, an increase of 11 points. This is 1 point more than the previous monthly growth trend of 10 points in the United States.

"—The faster the development, the greater the growth. Judging from this trend, my natural magic power should experience its first explosive leap in the development cycle by early next year at the latest."

The reputation points awarded monthly have also increased.

When Vaughn settled accounts recently, he noticed that he now earns 24 reputation points per month.

As his actions in America gradually spread, his reputation points will likely continue to increase in the following months.

However, in Vaughn's opinion, it was still not enough. After obtaining the [Spell Development Module], he had another major consumer of reputation points.

The [Spell Development Module] requires research and design of spells as a blueprint, as well as reputation points as energy and consumables.

He had previously spent most of his reputation points developing the "Multispectral Vision Charm" and the "Infrasound Charm."

'

Above the "Ultrasonic Curse".

The first two have been developed, but the latter is not yet perfect because it lacks reputation points.

Of course, what Vaughn mainly looked at when he opened the panel wasn't this, but rather the task prompt that popped up below his information card:

[Main Quest 3: Return to England, enroll in Hogwarts, and obtain Tom Riddle's notebook]

[Reward: 1 Talent Point, 50 Magic Scales]

[Side Quest 5: It's time to expand our influence. Use diplomacy to help Hogwarts establish friendly relations with the Central Academy of Magic in China.]

[Rewards: 50 Magic Scales, 10-Year Alchemist Experience Pack]

[Side Quest 8: It's time to get more involved in the changing international landscape. Please revive the "Three Kingdoms Tournament," Europe's premier competition, and help it expand beyond its narrow European regional focus into a global magic high school tournament. Also, recruit the eight most famous magic high schools to join the competition.]

[Progress: 0/8]

[Reward: 100 Magic Scales, One of Eight Chain Gold Items Gift Pack]

The third main quest appeared a couple of days ago, and it's one of the reasons why Vaughn was willing to "slink away" from North America and return to England.

The reward of magic scales is a minor matter; the talent points are truly amazing.

The side quests ③ and ? below are both newly refreshed quests.

Looking at the mission details, Vaughn was momentarily stunned.

Neither task is easy, and neither can be completed in a short time.

The first is side quest 5, which involves using diplomacy to facilitate a friendly relationship between Hogwarts and the Central School of Magic.

The word "diplomacy" seems simple, but it essentially eliminates many extra means and limits the way to accomplish tasks to a fixed identity and a fixed scope.

Firstly, a fixed identity means that this identity can at least represent Hogwarts, and in part, the English wizarding world.

Secondly, the fixed scope refers to the methods of carrying out foreign policy activities, such as the formal dispatch of missions,

Establishing embassies, visits by leaders, and so on.

This is all predicated on mutual trust between the two parties and their willingness to communicate.

The East at present clearly does not possess this prerequisite.

If side quest ③ is of high difficulty and difficult to complete, then there is also the factor that the Eastern policy may change after the Luo Tian Grand Ceremony re-elects the leader.

So, side quest 6 is hellish difficulty!

The three-way battle for supremacy isn't something that can be revived or expanded at will.

Many people are unaware that it is just a brutal competitive event, but in reality, from its early days, the Three Kingdoms Tournament was positioned as a political activity.

Hogwarts represents Western Europe, Beauxbatons represents Central Europe (although France is geographically part of Western Europe), and Durmstrang, the magic school, represents Northern and Eastern Europe.

The three largest magic schools in Europe at the time, representing the three major regions of Europe, brought European magic affairs under their jurisdiction. Then, through the Triwizard Tournament, an event acceptable to all three parties, the leaders of the three regions were determined in five-year terms.

This is why in 1692, early wizarding councils and other institutions introduced the Act of Secrecy, and why various countries took this opportunity to establish Ministry of Magic.

This naturally involves a power struggle.

The result was obvious: the magic schools lost the competition and, exactly 100 years after the Statute of Secrecy was introduced, in 1792, the Triwizard Tournament was completely suspended—the excuse that the competition was too dangerous was rather humorous in the 18th century when witch hunts still lingered.

"Reviving the Triwizard Tournament shouldn't be too difficult. Given its past political significance, as long as Dumbledore submits a proposal at the Federation meeting, the Federation, which is eager to see the European Ministries of Magic make a fool of themselves, will most likely agree to it."

In the original "history," this is how the Three Kingdoms Tournament was revived.

Dumbledore had been warning the English Ministry of Magic that Voldemort was still alive, but his warnings were denied and maliciously suppressed by Fudge.

Old Deng couldn't go against his principles and kill Fudge—after all, Fudge was the Minister of Magic elected by the wizarding community—he could only use the Federation to revive the Triwizard Tournament and put pressure on Fudge by leveraging the tournament's political significance.

Unfortunately, Deng misjudged the situation, leading to Cedric's death, which gave Fudge ample excuse to use against him.

"But if I try to expand the Triwizard Tournament into a world-class event, then it might be the Federation's turn to be wary —"

This is perfectly normal logic.

The Triwizard Tournament already had political significance. You, Vaughn Weasley, are expanding the tournament, preparing to go beyond Europe and turn the Triwizard Tournament into a quarterfinals—what does that mean? Do you dislike my Federation and want to take its place?

Vaughn rubbed his temples.

Noticing his troubled expression, Dumbledore assumed he was thinking about how to help him and said somewhat leniently, "Of course, my dear, we can consider this later. Before the Grand Ceremony of Luo Tian is over, we can't even enter that Eastern country."

"yes----"

Shaking his head, Vaughn dismissed the system panel in front of him with a thought, and accompanied Dumbledore to gaze at the northern part of the sea.

A day later, the cruise ship left Cebu and arrived in the South China Sea.

As soon as the ship approached the sea boundary, the wizards on board sensed a tremendous magical power emerging from beneath the surface of the sea.

Vaughn and Dumbledore came to the edge of the deck and looked down. The once azure ocean had turned pitch black, as if it had been stained with ink.

It was an incredibly dense darkness, profound and silent, as if it connected directly to the seabed ten thousand meters below. Just looking at that pitch blackness, a feeling of cold, deathly stillness welled up in one's heart.

Dumbledore frowned slightly, gazing at the abyss-like darkness, and said to Vaughn beside him, "This is a magical artifact from the East, called the Ruins of Destiny"—a strange name, but it is said to be able to directly bring all things to their end.

Vaughn's face twitched. What do you mean by "ruins of the final resting place"? — It should mean "ruins of the past", right?

In Eastern legends, Guixu refers to the bottomless valley in the sea, which does indeed imply the end of all things. In this magical world, it is clear that some of the legends evolved from real things.

But looking at that "abyss," Vaughn was more curious about something else: "Albus, how did it bring everything to its end? All matter?"

"I don't know." Dumbledore shook his head. "I only heard about this amulet from an Eastern alchemist friend who worked for the Union many years ago, but based on his description, it seems that any tangible matter could be destroyed—I guess it might involve some kind of use of ether."

It's ether again!

In the theory of the Golden Soul, ether is considered the shadow of creation, the soul of the universe.

Vaughn was a bit of a headache. Now that he was away from the vortex of North America, he no longer needed to prioritize investing his reputation points in improving his strength and researching potions. After returning this time, he wanted to save up some reputation points and study alchemy properly.

The cruise ship continued to glide along the boundary line, and the dense "abyss" followed beneath it.

After waiting for a while without anyone from the Eastern Kingdom arriving, Dumbledore was disappointed: "Sigh, it seems they really don't want to contact us right now—oh well, let's wait until the Luo Tian Grand Ceremony is over!"

Vaughn nodded and waved to Matthew, who was waiting nearby.

Before long, the steam turbines of the cruise ship, which had been enchanted—magic cannot interfere with steam turbines—roared again. The massive cruise ship, powered by its strength, nimbly skimmed the boundary line, adjusted its course, and gradually moved away.

As the cruise ship sailed away, on a small rocky island on the border that it had just passed, two Qi practitioners dressed in long robes quietly appeared, gazing at the tiny shadow of the cruise ship where the sea met the sky.

"Secretary, what did you see?"

"I saw the light of dusk already shining on Albus Dumbledore."

"He's about to ascend to immortality?" The younger alchemist sighed, but this slight regret was brief. He then asked again, "What about Vaughn Weasley?"

".——.."

"secretary?"

"—I can't see him. In my eyes, he's like a black hole, or an invisible giant iron ball. The threads of fate vibrate and rage around him. Wherever he goes, a storm is stirred up—just as described."

The young alchemist couldn't imagine what that scene would be like; he only cared about one thing: "Then, Secretary, when will we report our observations back to Mr. Wilkinson?"

The secretary remained silent for a long time before shaking his head: "For now, let's ignore him. We won't get involved in anything until the Luo Tian Grand Ceremony is over."

"yes!"

As soon as they finished speaking, the two disappeared.

Only the sea breeze, brushing against the barren rocks of the small island, carried the sound of their conversation across the sea.

In the distance, inside a suite on a speeding cruise ship, Vaughn, who was organizing various research materials from his North American trip, suddenly stopped, feeling the slight vibrations carried by the wind.

Through the Multispectral Vision Spell, he developed the Infrasound Spell and the Ultrasound Spell, so naturally he would consider using the characteristics of sound waves to transmit information and begin to study the corresponding detection spells.

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