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With a flick of his fingers, he conjured a crystal-clear orb of water beside Ravenna.

"... At least, it eliminates another incorrect option."

Her pretty face, smeared with soot, emerged from the smoke, and she expertly dove into the water orb.

"Sigh..."

Ravenna gently shook her head, emerging from the water orb, her hands wiping her damp cheeks. Droplets of water, some clinging to her long eyelashes and others sliding down her delicate, fair face, made her appear like a fawn that had just quenched its thirst, albeit her expression was far from endearing.

"An in-depth study of the Universal Ether Furnace should only commence after you\'ve reached the fourth stage."

The youthful Hydral glanced at the remnants in the alchemy furnace and couldn\'t help but shake his head, "Any effort now is merely a waste of energy and materials. Unlike other things, Venna, its design principles and elements are far too complex."

Ravenna, too, looked at the object turned to rubble in the explosion, and after a moment of silence, she softly replied, "I know, but I can\'t let it go, Ansel."

She turned to look at the boy sitting on the couch, the only person in the world who could understand her, the only one who could share her vision, and said, "The thought that even a single advancement in the Universal Ether Furnace could hasten the arrival of a new era by even a day fills me with an irresistible urge to create it."

The petite yet stunning woman, now revealing a longing and intoxicating emotion she never shows in front of others, reached out towards the extinguished furnace:

"The world will advance further, breaking away from stagnation. The harm brought by disasters and chaos will be minimized, and this land will undergo a complete transformation within decades... no, within years, eradicating poverty and suffering. Even the most ordinary individuals will not become mere fodder for the extraordinary but will see the extraordinary … become an ordinary part of life."

Ravenna seldom spoke such emotionally charged words to Ansel, clearly indicating that the "Universal Ether Furnace" carried all her hopes and dreams of over a decade, and her pursuit of this dream was beyond words.

"..."

Ansel, looking at his first and best friend, listened to her unreservedly sharing such a vision. He knew better than anyone how difficult it would be to realize such a dream, yet his lips curved into a slight smile, his voice softening, "Venna, you must understand... achieving this is not as simple as inventing a Universal Ether Furnace."

"I know."

Ravenna turned to face Ansel, quickly composing herself. She disliked showing too much emotion in front of Ansel, partly to avoid his teasing and partly because, despite their close friendship and perfect harmony, she was five years his senior and couldn\'t afford to appear... unadult-like.

After all, she was already quite unadult-like.

"That\'s why we continue to strive for that moment, creating more alchemical devices that can push it forward, to change..."

"What I mean is," Ansel interrupted, "no matter how many inventions, no matter how powerful, some things are hard to change."

"Are you referring to... the resistance we\'ll face?" Ravenna frowned slightly.

Ravenna was a true intellect, and being truly intelligent meant she wasn\'t a fool in everything outside of alchemy and spell research.

"That is… indeed a problem."

The woman\'s demeanor cooled considerably: "To push for such a transformation, we\'ll touch upon too many interests, especially since grandfather was—"

Her gaze turned icy and filled with deep loathing, only in such moments did the usually indifferent scholar reveal such intense emotions.

Ravenna took a deep breath, calming herself, and softly said to Ansel, "This isn\'t something you should bear alone; it would bring you great trouble."

"No, no... that\'s secondary."

Not having touched the core circles of the empire, one naturally wouldn\'t understand what the divine species meant for the empire, so Ansel merely responded to Ravenna\'s words with an inexplicable smile, "I don\'t mind such troubles, Venna. The issue is, even if we overcome the pushback, there are still tons of problems waiting for us."

"... Tons of?"

"Societal transformation, fundamentally rooted in the material, must not be confined solely to it."

Whenever these topics were broached, Ansel would become somewhat verbose, but Ravenna did not show any signs of annoyance. Instead, she listened with unparalleled patience and seriousness.

"The desire for empire\'s change cannot be achieved merely by using extraordinary forces to elevate the entire society\'s productive forces—I explained the meaning of productive forces to you when we discussed the universal Etheric Furnace, didn\'t I? In any case, merely allowing the commoners to possess extraordinary levels of productive forces is far from sufficient."

The youthful Hydral, brimming with enthusiasm yet utterly serious, gestured, "This would lead to class conflicts. The issue of interests you mentioned earlier is just the tip of the iceberg... Even if I solve this problem in a short time and push it forward, when this society has been operating for ten years...

No, if the effect of the universal Etheric Furnace is as we expect, it won\'t take ten years, just five years, and more terrifying conflicts will erupt. If not handled properly..."

He paused, then said very seriously, "It\'s not impossible for the Empire to split, be destroyed, and then be reshaped, with everything being swept away."

Ravenna was stunned because Ansel\'s words were indeed somewhat unthinkable. She pondered for a long time, unable to figure out the reason, and finally asked:

"Why? With you and the emperor at the time, such a thing could not happen."

"How many of the extraordinary beings do you think consider ordinary people as their own kind?"

"Should be—"

Ravenna subconsciously wanted to answer "quite a few," but thinking of her grandfather\'s experience and most of the extraordinary beings she had seen since childhood, she fell silent.

She was beginning to vaguely realize what Ansel wanted to say.

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