C1 Arcane Plane

In the summer of 2019, the entrance of Arcane High School in Jixledo was bustling with people. Many passersby would glance up, their faces alight with longing and hope. In this world, there were countless professions, but arcanists were held in the highest esteem. Arcane High School was established specifically to cultivate future arcanists.

Each student there aimed to master the arcane arts, studying diligently in hopes of earning the right to awaken their powers during the Coming of Age Ceremony. Yet, not all were equally committed or attentive during lessons.

Liu Feng sat frowning, incessantly flipping through his textbook, the rustling pages mingling with the teacher's voice. Surrounding students cast glances of contempt and irritation his way, silently shaking their heads. Without focus and failing to pay attention, it was no surprise that the once-acclaimed prodigy had slipped into mediocrity. How could such individuals ever shoulder the responsibility of defending their homeland?

Eventually, Liu Feng slumped onto his desk, succumbing to slumber. "It doesn't matter," he thought, assuming he was dreaming.

"Get up!" A shrill yet melodious voice shattered his dream, revealing a face framed by frost yet still strikingly beautiful, above a chest as impressive as rolling waves.

"So big," Liu Feng mumbled, still caught in the haze of sleep. His voice, though faint, cut through the hushed murmurs of the classroom, drawing all eyes to him. The room fell silent, then erupted into raucous laughter.

"Hahahahahaha!"

"Classic Liu Feng, the underachiever!"

"He even dares to flirt with Teacher Yuqing."

"What a jerk!" Yuqing's furious gaze was piercing, sending a chill down Liu Feng's spine. Some students were even cursing his family for his blasphemy against their revered goddess.

"Damn it..." Liu Feng inwardly cursed, realizing the formidable teacher was present.

"Teacher, I..." Liu Feng began as he rose to his feet, attempting to explain.

Yuqing's face, cold and flawless, cut him off with an icy tone, "Do you know what the six elemental arcane forces of the world are?"

"Uh..."

"The elements are fire, water, wind, earth, lightning, and ice," Liu Feng recited, having just reviewed them in his textbook.

"Do you know what the most common yet greatest profession in the world is?"

Liu Feng fell silent.

"What does Dimensional Arcane include?"

Again, silence reigned.

"Back in the day, you were hailed as the god of learning, vowing to become the God of Arcane. Now you're aimless, squandering your days. Have you no sense of shame?" Yuqing's voice thundered with anger, her eyes blazing red.

Liu Feng was taken aback, then gave a wry smile. The God of Arcane? His actual dream had been to become a scientist, not some deity of the arcane.

Ashamed, Liu Feng averted his gaze from Yuqing. She cared so deeply for him, yet he had let her down. In that moment, he felt utterly dejected. Once a prodigy, he had awakened from a year-long coma to find the world utterly transformed.

Why was the textbook so different now?

Gone were mathematics and physics, replaced by artistic depictions of fly ash, nebulae, and fixed stars.

History had been rewritten too. Demons roamed the world, the Flame Emperor was now a fire arcanist, Einstein a time-space arcanist, and Newton, the venerable master, was described as the patriarch of the martial soul, capable of shattering myriad spells with a single blow.

Biology had turned into a Demon Catalog, featuring creatures like the Long-furred Greedy Rat and the Dark-Striped Violent Snake.

Geography had become stranger still. The seven continents were now six, with one having been overrun by sirens and lost to the sea a millennium ago.

"Was I too harsh?" Yuqing wondered, noting the forlorn look in Liu Feng's eyes. Her anger softened.

With a sigh, Yuqing reflected on the past. Once the top of her class, Liu Feng had returned from his coma to find himself at the bottom. Such a fall from grace was hard for anyone to stomach, and she found she could no longer bring herself to scold him.

"Please, take a seat and let's continue with the lesson."

"In our spiritual world, there was once nothing but darkness and silence. However, humanity's strongest discovered that we could awaken the arcane to explore this universe, giving birth to celestial bodies..."

"A celestial body possesses a soul. An arcanist can harness the power of these celestial bodies to cast a myriad of arcane spells..."

Liu Feng couldn't shake the feeling of unreality. Before his car accident, the world operated on the principles of math and physics, but now, arcane spells reigned supreme. The high-rises still stood, people went about their lives, and mobile phones, computers, trains, cars, and planes all remained, yet the underlying theories, the laws of the world, the very rules had shifted.

...

Liu Feng had no interest in the lecture, his gaze drawn to the world outside the window. Power lines crisscrossed the sky, clouds blanketed the heavens, and sunlight streamed through the gaps, bathing the land below. It seemed identical to the world he once knew, but Liu Feng was aware that everything had fundamentally changed.

Still, Liu Feng struggled to come to terms with this reality. What did he amount to now? And what about the people around him? Even if they shared the same names and personalities, were they truly the people he once knew?

As Liu Feng's mind raced, out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a green silhouette darting across the sky, majestic as a great roc in flight.

The figure had ethereal wings trailing behind, challenging the very heavens. Liu Feng's pupils were filled with the radiant green glow.

In that instant, Liu Feng was rooted to the spot as if struck by lightning, a peculiar sensation welling up inside him! The textbook theories had led him to believe the arcane world was nothing special, but witnessing those graceful wings in flight, his heart pounded uncontrollably. It was like seeing the love of his dreams for the first time in eighteen years, an intense longing that could not be contained, could not be stilled. Arcane! That was the essence of the arcane!

...

At the Liu family residence in Jixledo.

"Have you made up your mind? Do you truly wish to study the arcane?" A middle-aged uncle eyed Liu Feng with a hint of skepticism.

"Yes, Dad, I'm serious about learning the arcane," Liu Feng replied with conviction.

"Being an ordinary person isn't so bad. Becoming an arcanist means taking on certain responsibilities, like battling demons," Lan Rou said, looking at Liu Feng with a touch of sorrow. Her son had been comatose for a year and had just awakened with a newfound fascination for the arcane, eager to become an arcanist, yet he likely had no idea of the hardships that lay ahead.

In a world where arcane mastery is held in the highest regard, the status of an arcanist is unparalleled, yet the dangers they encounter are beyond the comprehension of ordinary people.

"Mom, you don't need to try to convince me anymore; my mind is set."

"Fine, I'll figure something out for you and talk to your older brother," Liu Guo said, finally nodding after seeing the resolve in Liu Feng's eyes.

...

Liu Feng's actions spoke volumes to his parents about his aspirations.

Since fully accepting the reality of his transmigration, Liu Feng had been tirelessly shuttling between school and the library every day, sacrificing sleep and meals to fervently study arcane theory.

The purpose of learning theory was to better prepare for the study of true arcane arts in the future!

Nine years of mandatory education plus two years of high school were spent entirely on theory! Only at eighteen, when one became an adult, could they awaken and embark on the path of arcane.

Liu Feng's greatest concern was that he had not studied any arcane theory in the last eighteen years.

He gradually learned that the arcane in this world was categorized into five types:

Elemental arcane: fire, thunder, ice, water, earth, and wind.

Black magic, white magic, Dimensional magic, special magic, and more. Arcanists continuously created new spells, meaning the arcane disciplines were not static; they evolved with time, bringing forth new types of arcane.

An arcanist could only awaken to one type at the low level, but with each ascension to a higher realm, they could awaken to an additional type.

The realms were divided into low level, intermediate, and top level.

For instance, a low level arcanist had access to one type, an intermediate arcanist to two types, and a top level arcanist to three types.

One day, Liu Guo phoned Liu Feng to tell him his older brother had made the arrangements, and he could proceed directly to the Awakening Ceremony.

Liu Feng was thrilled, wondering which type he might awaken to.