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Edward sighed after hearing this, "That's because he is scared of breaking his clan's rules about exchanging knowledge."
"I'm confused. Isn't it a good thing to share knowledge? Only by doing so can magic and technology rapidly develop," replied Fleur.
"This involves the culture of this universe," replied Edward. "Even though such 'modern' concept is known to many people, the majority of powerful groups or races in this world are actually very backward.
"They guard their knowledge deeply and do everything possible to prevent it from spreading."
Before the Empire began to spread throughout the stars, Edward's approach has always been conservative. However, after his return and with his new Arcane System, he became bolder.
In the past three months before the symposium, he used his World Gate to travel throughout the galaxy and learn some common knowledge. Nothing too deep, but enough to be aware of the general situation of the universe.
And he received somewhat of a culture shock. He discovered even though interstellar voyage is a very common thing amongst many races or intergalactic empires, the culture is very backward.
The majority of the planets he visited do not look modern or futuristic like one would expect, but they all looked like a fantasy world many Isekai Animes he watched in his previous life.
On these planets, the majority of common people are poor, barely have enough to eat, and have the danger of being killed by dangerous magical beasts.
However, powerful individuals with high Tiers have nobility titles and control countless planets and stars.
"That does not make sense," said Fleur. "Some people should have realized the benefit of doing this. So, why is this not more mainstream? Unless there is something more behind this."
"Very astute," replied Edward. "This world is ruled by the Gods, and it is in their best interest if knowledge is not spread if civilization remains weak and underdeveloped. After all, in this world, knowledge equals power."
Fleur understood the meaning behind these words. If knowledge is shared and developed, then the sovereignty of the Gods will be threatened. A more straightforward understanding of this is the fact that the more knowledge an arcanist has, the more powerful their soul becomes.
And in turn, it is easier for them to control and increase their mana. This rule applies to all casters or magic users in this universe.
"In that case doesn't that mean that our Arcane Empire will be the enemy of the Gods?"
"You are correct," replied Edward. "One day, we will be the master of this universe, and our spirit of pursuing the truth and knowledge will spread to every corner of this cosmos.
"And the Gods will be our greatest obstacle."
Fleur nodded with both excitement and fear; she cannot wait for that day to come. However, this will not be an easy task as the Empire is currently very weak.
After noticing her mood fluctuation, Edward reassured her.
"You do not have to worry that much. Based on my research, the Milky Way Galaxy is a very weak and backward place, and very far away from the central power of the truly powerful Gods.
"As such, it is the perfect place to slowly grow and gather power before the real conflict began."
Edward was very confident in his and the Empire's future. He has access to countless universes' resources and knowledge to grow. So, it did not matter to him whether the Milky Way was considered a barren place.
As long as he has enough time, the Arcane Empire will grow to unimaginable heights.
Fleur had full confidence in her husbands, and herself to one day bring the empire to such heights. Although the process will be long and arduous, she was ready.
"One more thing. With how you usually operate, how come you did not use Legilimency to secretly read the memories of these two?"
"I did. Unfortunately, all the real secrets or magic knowledge are protected by soul contracts, bloodline restrictions, or protected by their Gods. And not just these two, all the mercenaries here are the same.
"The only information I could gather was their experience over the years. Of course, these experiences also provided me with a great deal of information."
While chatting, the two soon arrived at their destination. They entered a private room where they saw someone waiting for them.
It was an old man with white hair and a well-groomed beard, with one arm missing. Despite his old age, a youthful vigor emanated from his eyes underneath his moon-shaped glasses.
"Professor Dumbledore?" asked Fleur.
"It's your highness, Fleur," responded the old man with a smile.
Although Fleur knew that Dumbledore was alive, she did not know his exact whereabouts.
"You can just address me normally," she replied. Meanwhile, Edward looked at the missing arm of the headmaster and said: "Recent adventure?"
"Yes. I was careless and a Sword Mantis cut it off."
Edward could see that the headmaster was in a very good mood despite his current situation, and he could guess the reason. Dumbledore has spent his entire life fearing his power; fearing what he is capable of, fearing the effect he can have on the wizarding world.
However, after Edward sent him off into the universe, he realized how weak he truly was; he realized what true power was. So, he regained his youthful mentality.
Under Edward's order, he became a mercenary to gather information, while in the meantime, he tapped into his Gryffindor's traits and had many adventures. It's a shame that he was very weak and could not gather much useful information in the past decades.
"Let me help you," said Edward as a magical circle appeared in front of him.
Limb Regeneration Spell.
A white light enveloped Dumbledore's body, then a few minutes later, a brand new one grew back.
Edward nodded in satisfaction, however, after feeling the mana used for that spell, he realized that it would have been more efficient to use Gate Alchemy along with a few chemical materials to recreate a new arm.
Oh Well.
"Let's get down to business," said Edward after watching Dumbledore play with his new arm for more than a minute.
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Title: Business
