— First post, then edit.
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Hearing Lucian's words, the vast majority of Archanists on stage were first struck blank, then broke into knowing smiles and began to applaud — truly an appropriate and modest statement.
Since he could present the periodic table of elements before every elemental Archanist, his remark about "seeing a little further" was simply a fact, with nothing to criticize. But by comparing all the previous Archanists who had studied elemental laws to giants while calling himself an ordinary person who could only see further by standing on their shoulders, the implied flattery and humility were impossible not to find endearing.
Lavendy, Ulises, and the other Archanists who had devoted themselves to studying elemental laws felt warm smiles of gratification bloom across their faces. At the very least, their research into the periodic laws of elements had not been in vain — it had laid a towering, solid foundation for the next generation to discover the true laws, bringing it closer to truth.
"Elegant, modest, fitting, and easy to understand — this line will surely become a famous saying, passed down throughout the world." Timothy clapped while turning his head to speak to Larry.
Larry stroked his chin. "This is the Holm Crown Award. Even counting Evans, only twenty-six people have won it in over two hundred and seventy years. Whatever Evans says, it will certainly be recorded in history. But with words this fitting and elegant, his personal charisma will shine all the brighter, making people all the more eager to spread them. It might even inspire the poets."
"Hey, Larry, your teacher Monsieur Gaston said that once Evans became a famous Archanist, that incident on the first morning of the Assembly would become a fine tale — but who'd have thought his wish would come true so quickly? And in that fine tale, you and I seem to be rather unspectacular clowns," Timothy jested with refined grace, entirely unbothered by the matter. Like Felipe, he was someone brimming with self-confidence, and at this point, not so petty as to resent another's success.
Yet as he watched Lucian on stage and listened to the applause swelling around him, a fierce longing surged in his heart. Why couldn't he aspire to the Holm Crown Award? Why couldn't he claim the highest honor in the field of elements?
Lucian's youth, the short time he had spent studying the Arcane, his modest and elegant words, and the sheer shock of the Holm Crown Award being bestowed so suddenly — all of this filled the majority of ambitious Archanists with motivation beyond a twinge of envy and jealousy. They wanted to achieve success.
But a pair of cold, emotionless eyes couldn't help but think: "These are humble words, but 'standing on the shoulders of giants' seems to carry a hidden meaning. Is he paying homage to his teacher, the 'Professor'?"
Lucian saw the smiles on the crowd — some yearning, some dismissive — and heard their enthusiastic applause. He shook his head slightly. The ones he was truly paying homage to, they would never guess.
After a pause, Lucian pressed his right hand downward and continued: "Without Lord Douglas's Ten Questions that set mages on the path of exploring the world, none of us — myself included — could be here today. Without the predecessors in the field of elemental magic who explored the essence of elements and determined that they are composed of various atoms, we could not have begun our true study of elements. Without their invention and introduction of new methods, without their discovery of ever more new elements, the exploration of elemental periodic laws would be utterly clueless — a house without a foundation. And without all of you — ladies and gentlemen — and your research in this field, I would never have found the correct line of thinking."
Following his opening "famous saying," Lucian expressed his gratitude as though reminiscing, drawing even more fervent applause.
"But we stand on the shoulders of giants not to savor glory here, but to see further and explore more deeply."
After reminiscence naturally came the vision.
"Just as I said that day, the most pressing question before us now is not to use the periodic table to discover more elements, but to quiet our minds and ask: why do elements exhibit periodic laws? I have a feeling that exploring this will bring elemental magic closer to the nature of the world, closer to truth, and spark a storm that sweeps across the entire world."
"And where do we begin? I think everyone has noticed the most obvious problem in my periodic table: why are the atomic weights of certain elements measured in values that don't match what the periodic table predicts?"
"From the discovery of these two new elements, we can boldly hypothesize first that their atomic weight data is incorrect. But why is it incorrect?"
Lazarus stood in a corner, watching Lucian on stage — poised, confident, elegant, speaking with eloquence and composure, entirely unlike a beginner giving his first speech before a large gathering of Archanists. Instead, he was reminded of lectures by masters at magical conferences.
A master in the music world meant someone like Christopher — a defining figure of the era, the supreme authority in the field. A master in the magical world could only be a Great Archanist; even a legendary mage without that title could not convincingly be called a master.
Beside Lazarus, Rebecca watched with eyes that shimmered with admiration. A man of both ability and charisma was always irresistible.
Lucian noticed that the majority of Archanists below were unconsciously nodding along to his vision, so he smiled and said: "As for why their atomic weights are erroneous, I have a hypothesis. Apart from atomic weight and the handful of properties derived from it, the vast majority of these elements' properties conform to the predictions of the periodic table. Could it be that their purification was insufficient, and they contain substances that interfere with atomic weight measurement — yet these impurities do not affect their other properties, making them difficult to separate by conventional means?"
"And to purify them, I believe we can start from the fact that these impurities differ from the element itself in atomic weight — that is, in their mass and related characteristics."
Below the stage, Archanists including Larry, Timothy, and Ulises sat dumbfounded. Lucian was directly sharing his inspiration and hypothesis with them all! Was he not afraid that someone would race ahead and solve the problem that had baffled every Archanist for centuries?
Moreover, Lucian's reasoning was so perfectly sound and required no advanced Archanist knowledge — it was merely a logical deduction, yet it seemed to have already found the direction to the solution!