I, Hogwarts Second Time Around.

Chapter 226 Chang'an Imperial Academy at the Rising Sun

"This..." Hermione's face was filled with disbelief.

She read the words on the newspaper in her hand, word by word.

This is, after all, a French newspaper.

Although she didn't quite understand many of the words, she had to look carefully and guess based on the context.

I was afraid I might have misread the word.

As she read, she translated the text back into English and read it aloud to the other young wizards!

"How could that be?"

Not only Hermione, but also Harry and Ron, who were standing next to her, all showed shocked expressions after hearing the story of the Federation official.

Everyone knows the formidable reputation of the "Secrecy Law".

Their first history of magic class at school, taught by Professor Spencer, was about the Law of Secrecy.

Kyrie Irving was previously imprisoned in Azkaban for violating the Secret Service Act.

The prestige of this law has become deeply ingrained in people's minds.

It's important to understand that not everyone can leave Azkaban as easily as Irving.

In fact, the Ministry of Magic imposes very severe penalties for violations of the Secrets Act, and this is not unique to the United Kingdom.

This is the case throughout Europe and North America.

"They—aren't the Federation investigating them?" Harry looked at the newspaper Hermione had placed on the table; he couldn't understand the French written on it.

But he could see the photo on the front page of the newspaper clearly.

It was a palace.

A magnificent palace.

"You should know this." At this moment, Sirius Black and Mr. Arthur, who were standing to the side, were moved.

Among them, Mr. Arthur spoke first, and the young wizard explained: "The International Wizarding Federation is an organization that was established in the seventeenth century. Before that, the wizarding world already had its own set of rules."

"In the Far East, they have a tradition of communicating with Muggles for thousands of years."

"But—" Ron wanted to argue something.

After all, the law of secrecy held a deep-rooted sense of awe in the hearts of European wizards.

"Ming is a founding member of the Federation. Ron—not all countries signed the International Wizarding Federation's Secrecy Act. Although they also chose to hide themselves and not expose the magical world on a large scale," Sirius continued, continuing Mr. Arthur's words, "but that's not because of the Secrecy Act, but because they have a tradition of living called 'hermitic practice'."

"In addition, they have other traditions in that land, such as young wizards who graduate from magic schools traveling to the Muggle world to integrate into their community, and so on."

They call this behavior "engagement with the world."

"In short, the magic world is all about fists. Their fists are stronger than the Federation's. What can the Federation say?"

Just like Grindelwald decades ago, he almost overthrew the Federation. If it weren't for Dumbledore, we might not be hosting the World Cup in this desolate place right now.

But it was in London—in a Muggle stadium.

"Enough, Sirius," Mr. Arthur quickly interrupted his dangerous statement.

His words just now, and the ideas he implied, were quite dangerous.

Mr. Arthur looked at him cautiously, silently scrutinizing Sirius with his eyes. Could it be that his many years in Azkaban had caused him to harbor such deep resentment towards the Ministry of Magic?

Upon closer examination, this is indeed a possibility.

"Sirius is actually quite right. When the Federation was first established, it was spearheaded by the British Wizarding Council (the predecessor of the Ministry of Magic). In the end, the order that operates in the wizarding world today was actually forcibly promoted by the British. Guess what happened to those who opposed it back then?" Owen suddenly laughed, his fingers tapping incessantly on the table, the 'thump-thump' sound echoing in the hearts of the young wizards.

"You all keep talking about Merlin all the time, but do you know what kind of world-destroying power Merlin, as one of the most powerful wizards in the history of magic, actually possesses?"

Having lived for over a thousand years, did he forcefully promote the idea of ​​protecting Muggles throughout Europe simply by talking?

He held his cheek with one hand and a soup spoon in the other. "In the end, it's because British wizards have declined. They no longer have the power to dominate the whole of Europe. The Secret Service Act, which they established, was originally intended to restrict the development of wizards in other countries, but now it is gradually restricting them."

The atmosphere around them began to become subtle.

Hermione kept giving him meaningful glances.

Irving then stopped.

Fortunately, Mr. Weasley and the others didn't know that Owen was actually a pure Frenchman; otherwise, his remarks would have definitely angered them.

After all, if it were a British person evaluating themselves, it could be considered self-deprecating humor.

But for a Frenchman to belittle them like that is a bit too presumptuous.

"Alright! Speaking of magic schools in the Ming Dynasty." He changed the subject and brought up the magic school in the Ming Dynasty again, the last magic school certified by the Federation.

"Her name is Kunlunxu. In local mythology, it means 'the land of all gods.'" (P.S.: This is taken from the *Classic of Mountains and Seas*, specifically the *Great Wilderness West Classic*, not from a romance novel.)

"You can also call it Kunlunxu Magic School. Like Hogwarts, it has three colleges: Chang'an Imperial Academy in Chang'an, Jixia Academy in Linzi, and Chengtian Palace in the Taishan Mountains."

"Although they all belong to Kunlun Xu, unlike Hogwarts, Chang'an Imperial Academy, Jixia Academy, and Chengtian Palace are three independent schools. They have different teaching philosophies and enrollment methods. You can think of them as three magic schools."

They are one of the oldest magic schools in the world. Kunlunxu has a history of over two thousand years. Even though the three major academies became independent due to a certain event, the history of Jixia Academy alone is over two thousand three hundred years old.

"So ancient?"

The bewildered young wizards stared at Owen in astonishment.

"But—the older the family, the more..." Hermione asked first.

Compared to the pure-blood families in Britain, a country with thousands of years of history and schools, how could it have few pure-blood wizards?

Look at the Black, Malfoy, and Lestrange families—which one of them doesn't hold Muggles in deep contempt?

Families like the Weasleys, who have never married Muggles and whose bloodlines are not as pure as those of the families mentioned above, are considered a disgrace to purebloods simply because they are friendly to Muggles.

How could the Far East be like this?

"Rotten, is it?" Owen chuckled, then replied, "Initially, such dross ideas did exist."

Initially, they didn't even allow wizards and Muggles to marry.

There is a difference between immortals and mortals.

This idea persisted until 2,500 years ago.

That era of moral decay and social disorder. The humanistic ideas from the Hundred Schools of Thought severely impacted the status of pure-blood wizards.

After a war that lasted for hundreds of years ended.

The three academies of Kunlunxu are independent of each other.

A new academic movement began to take hold in that land. Chang'an Imperial Academy was the world's first magic school that did not use bloodline as a criterion for admission (in reality, almost everyone there was of pure blood, descendants of the Yellow Emperor).

They select students based solely on their talent; anyone with magical ability can enter one of the three academies. They also have a sorting ceremony where the thoughts of sages from various schools of thought converge on a statue, and they will sort young wizards into the corresponding academies based on the school of thought they show.

The three major schools of thought represent three academies.

My favorite is the Imperial Academy in Chang'an. Irving continued to pull newspapers out of his pocket, newspapers he had collected during his travels in Europe.

He even managed to get his hands on a copy of the Chang'an Daily.

The front page featured a photo of the Imperial Academy.

In the photo, the wizards dressed in elaborate robes appear to be holding some kind of celebration.

Although it was far from what they had seen with their own eyes, the appearance of the Imperial Academy in Chang'an was still vaguely presented to them.

That was a school that made all the praise of fables seem pale.

Even with all the words in my mind, I cannot describe the true beauty of the Imperial Academy in words.

This is a city built in the mountains, with the Qinling Mountains in the distance. The people of Chang'an used gaps in the mountains to build the city and then built a ring wall around it.

This gives the entire city a semi-circular shape.

The cliff face is covered with abandoned statues, ruins, and scars from battles.

Huge, all sorts of giant swords are stuck here, and there are ruins everywhere. Even some huge statues of people have broken and fallen into the lake.

The people of Chang'an did not clean or repair those relics, but rather preserved them with reverence.

This is their tradition.

Without a doubt, the history of the Ming Dynasty is long and profound, and no living Ming person would dare to claim to know its entire history.

Perhaps even they themselves no longer know what stories lie behind these relics.

But they stubbornly kept it.

An ancient and dignified history. Just like the city itself, it exudes a unique and captivating charm.

On that high mountain, an indescribable sycamore tree stands majestically reaching for the sky.

The photo shows the sun setting, yet the mountaintop is adorned with countless shimmering lights that seem to blanket the entire sky like silk.

The colorful ribbons of light swayed in the wind, illuminating the entire city.

Guangbai Canyon.

The mist and clouds over the parasol trees.

These are the two most famous scenic spots at the Imperial Academy.

"The motto of the Imperial Academy." Owen cleared his throat and then slowly said in the purest Chinese: "The carriages of a gentleman are numerous and plentiful. The horses of a gentleman are both skilled and swift. The Imperial Academy of Chang'an is for those gentlemen."

The phoenix cries out, on that high hill. The parasol tree grows, bathed in the morning sun. The Imperial Academy of Chang'an stands there, bathed in the morning sun.

"What does that mean?" Hermione asked, puzzled.

The other young wizards also peeked over.

A brand new, unfamiliar magic school would be enough to pique their interest.

Moreover, Irving speaks so highly of this school.

It is truly captivating.

"It means I'm even more awesome than the sun," Owen explained casually. Asking him to translate classical Chinese into English was still a bit too much for him.

After all, he's not a professional translator.

"Forehead"

Everyone was speechless, feeling that the school's prestige had suddenly dropped several notches.

"Alright, let's get down to business." Seeing these kids starting to get arrogant again, Owen quickly prepared his words to give them a blow. "The Imperial Academy in Chang'an, and indeed the entire magical world of the Ming Dynasty, has three prominent characteristics:

Firstly, the magic is a mixture of various techniques. Throughout its long history, Chinese magicians have created a vast number of spells, including magical runes, spells, Taoist magic, and supernatural powers. The list goes on and on.

Secondly, the magic world of the Ming Dynasty is diverse. Embracing a spirit of inclusiveness and progress, it widely absorbs magical techniques from around the world, learning from the strengths of various schools and discarding the dross. Although trees, rich in magical properties, remain the most common medium, magicians do not rely solely on wands; gestures, longswords, staves, and other magical instruments are still preserved and passed down.

Thirdly, the number of mages is large. Chang'an Imperial Academy is currently the world's largest magic school in terms of both area and number of students, with over 20,000 faculty and students. This large population naturally leads to diversity in spellcasting and magical learning. As a Confucian-based institution, Chang'an Imperial Academy wields extraordinary influence throughout Asia.

"Wait—20,000 people?" Harry's jaw dropped.

How many people are there at Hogwarts?

He wasn't sure, but it definitely didn't exceed a thousand people.

In the Ming Dynasty, a single magic school had 20,000 students!

this.

No wonder they were able to ignore the Federation's ban.

How many wizards are there in all of Europe?

How many Aurors are there?

Can't be bothered, can't be bothered.

"That land is the birthplace of magic, possessing magical skills unimaginable elsewhere. I'll definitely travel to the Far East after I graduate." Owen finished his bowl of corn porridge in one gulp. "I might stay there for many years. I need to spend some time studying magic that is so different from that in Europe."

"Hmph! That's a good idea." Sirius nodded, acknowledging Irving's future plans.

In his view, it was a blessing for Europe that this little black devil could stay away from Europe.

Don't ever come back.

To avoid causing them any more trouble.

"Travel?" Harry murmured to himself.

That's definitely a good idea.

He knew far too little about the magical world; in this respect, he was even less knowledgeable than Ron.

Maybe he should take advantage of graduation to travel around?

The other Gryffindors also wore expressions of longing.

The more beautifully Irving described it, the more curious they became about the world across the ocean.

I really want to experience it for myself and see those magic schools.

Let's see how they differ from Hogwarts.

Everyone ate breakfast in a rather listless manner.

But it doesn't matter, because soon everyone will be in for a whole new round of fun.

After breakfast.

The group then left the tent.

There are 100,000 wizards outside! They come from all over the world, and you're sure to broaden your horizons significantly.

Just then, the sun rose and the thin mist gradually dissipated, revealing tents all around them, stretching as far as the eye could see.

The group moved among the tents, looking around with great interest.

The young wizards then realized that there were so many wizards in the world, and they had never seriously considered wizards from other countries before.

The campers on the field gradually woke up.

Families with children are the first to get up.

Harry had never seen such a young wizard before. A little boy, about two years old, was squatting outside a large, pyramid-shaped tent, wand in hand, happily poking a slug in the grass. The slug slowly swelled to the size of a sausage. As they approached him, the boy's mother hurriedly came out of the tent.

"How many times have I told you, Kevin! You're not allowed to—touch—your dad's—wand—Ouch!"

She stepped on the fat slug, which popped open with a "pop".

They walked a long way, and could still hear her shouting in the silent air, mixed with the little boy's cries—"You stomped on the bugs! You stomped on the bugs!"

After walking a while longer, they saw two little witches, about the same age as Kevin, riding on two toy flying brooms, flying low, their feet lightly skimming the dew-kissed grass. A wizard working in the department had already spotted them.

He hurried past Owen and the others, muttering irritably, "In broad daylight! My parents are probably sleeping in—"

Fireworks gradually rose up all around.

Every now and then, the young wizards would see adult wizards emerge from their tents and start making breakfast.

Some glanced around furtively and lit the fire with their wands; others struck matches with doubtful expressions, as if they thought it would definitely not work.

Three African male wizards sat there talking seriously, all dressed in long white robes, roasting something that looked like a wild rabbit over a blazing purple fire.

Another group of middle-aged American witches sat there chatting and laughing, with a gleaming banner hanging high between their tents that read "Evermony Magic Academy".

Harry overheard snippets of conversation coming from the tents they passed, in a strange language he couldn't understand a word of, but everyone sounded excited.

It's American English, after all.

"My God! They are all supporters of the Irish national team."

As they spoke, they walked to the foot of a hillside.

Looking out from the foot of the mountain, all the tents ahead were covered with a thick layer of clover, looking like countless oddly shaped green hills emerging from the ground.

Inside the tent, with the curtain lifted, you can see laughing faces.

"Nonsense, if we don't support the Irish team, are we supposed to support the Bulgarian team?" The twins each put an arm around Ron's shoulder.

"You wouldn't be supporting Bulgaria, would you, Ron!" The two men looked at him with amusement, their eyes filled with danger.

"I"

Ron lowered his head and remained silent.

He just muttered to himself, "How could I dare not support it?"

"I really want to see what's hanging on the tents in Bulgaria," Hermione said.

"Why don't we just go take a look?" Owen said, then pointed in another direction, to another hillside covered with Bulgarian chess pieces.

As they approached, they could see clearly that it was a tricolor chess piece—white, green, and red—swaying in the breeze.

The tents here weren't covered with any plants, but each tent had the same poster: a very gloomy face with thick, dark eyebrows. Of course, the picture was animated, but the face only blinked and frowned.

"Krum," Ron whispered.

"What?" Hermione asked.

"Krum!" Ron said. "Viktor Krum, the Bulgarian Seeker!"

(End of this chapter)