Edward paused for a few seconds before continuing:

"The second option is to leave the Empire. With all of your financial means, it should be possible to buy a spaceship with FTL technology. The universe is vast, with your abilities, you should be able to achieve something.

"As an Emperor, I can give you my words that the Empire will not pursue you if you decide to leave unless you directly attack us or our interests, however…"

He once again paused, this time lasting way longer. The tension in the room became so thick that it was almost tangible.

"According to the contract all of you signed, if you decide to leave, some sensitive information or knowledge of the Empire will be automatically deleted from your minds.

"Of course, you have until you advance to Tier 5 to make a decision. Before you do so and sign the necessary contract, the knowledge on crystalizing mana will remain a secret."

After hearing Edward's words, many people understood the subtle meaning behind them. If someone decided to leave after reaching Tier 4, with their liquid mana, they will still be considered elite or have some form of advantage in the universe.

This could be considered the Emperor's farewell gifts to them for all their services to the Empire. However, these people will not be able to share this knowledge with other people, nor will they have the opportunity to access the Crystallization Method.

That way, if they want to become Tier 5, they can only be Iron-Grade Tier 5.

Who does not want to be more powerful?

This is essentially an open plot by the Emperor. If someone wants to be a leading figure of the universe in the future, not only will they have to follow the Empire's law, they also have to display a certain level of trust in the Emperor.

On top of that, since the Emperor can come up with such a magical way to shorten the time to reach high tiers, why can't he do it again?

From the Tier System in the library, these arcanists knew that Tier 6 was planetary, Tier 7 Star Level, and Tier 8 Solar System Level.

The jump from Tier 7 to Tier 8 is truly vast. From being able to destroy a star to an entire solar system, the amount of mana required would be tremendous.

They could imagine how long would it take them to gather such mana? Would that even be possible with their lifespan?

Then there is the jump from Tier 8 to Tier 9 Galaxy Level. How much mana does this require?

Since crystalized mana is a sublimated or higher form of mana, the requirement for quantity is vastly reduced. The same for liquid mana. However, even then, the amount of time needed to reach these levels might be counted in thousands, ten thousand, or even a hundred thousand years.

When it comes to this problem, Edward has also noticed this. However, unlike these people, he already had some basic ideas on how to deal with the issue.

…

"Alright, let's began with the Symposium. This is the first project we will be working on today."

A file was sent to all the people attending. After reading it, they began to review it and discuss how to implement it. After all, they will receive a lot of Arcane Merits once everything is done.

Two days later, everything was calculated and planned. Then, the people were divided into two groups.

One group began to build temples in specific places in each continent. Many Alchemists who have proven to be great at enchantments were enlisted to build these temples.

As for the second group, they were further divided into 8, each one going to one continent. As for the last one, it was the largest of them all as they were sent to many scattered islands.

Once they arrived, these people used the Gouging Spell to dig deep underground and build a large transmutation circle that will cover the entire continent.

Many Golems designed for digging and mining were sent to help these arcanists to speed up the process. Two weeks later, the continent-size transmutation circle was finished.

Then, many Tier 4 Arcanists who have proven to be very knowledgeable about Gate Alchemy tapped into the earth energy, the aquatic energy from the ocean, and even mana from the leylines.

These people activated the transmutation circle. Finally, each of the scattered continents began to move towards one another; they began to form a whole: they began to form Pangea.

While floating in the air, Edward was supervising the entire situation, making sure that nothing went wrong.

As the continents and small islands moved closer together, the people living there did not feel much before the slight tremor once the continents first moved.

The transmutation circle was designed not only to move the continents but also to ensure the safety and stability of the people and infrastructure on top. Of course, the people were still warned of the upcoming changes.

As the process was reaching the final phase of fitting together, Edward suddenly received a call.

"Sir, the Atlanteans seem to want to interfere with our plans."

Edward nodded to the holographic image in front of him before gazing under the sea. His eyes seemed to penetrated countless distances as he saw a large city underwater.

The city was roughly the size of North America and was surrounded by a shield. Inside, countless people with mainly blue hair lived in harmony. The majority looked like humans, while the rest were mermaids with fishtails.

No matter their appearance though, they all could breathe underwater and were quite powerful when it came to water magic.

Edward raised his hand to cast a spell: Light Cannon.

A magic circle instantly appeared in front of him before shooting a massive white light. The light traveled rapidly to more than a few hundred thousand meters deep under the sea before hitting the city.

The light hit the shield instead, causing large earthquakes to the entire city. Many people panic before becoming reassured after seeing the shield protecting them.

Unfortunately, this reassurance did not last long as cracks began to appear on the shield. Anyone could tell that it would last long.

The Atlantis Royal quickly began procedures to remedy the situation. However, before they could act, the white light disappeared.

Meanwhile, Edward who purposely ended his attack waited. A few minutes later, a mermaid holding a crystal appeared near his flying location. The crystal shined for a moment before a blue holographic image of a man n a throne with golden armor holding a trident.

Anyone who sees him would think that he was the incarnation of the Greek God Poseidon.

"Arcane Emperor, what is the meaning of this?"

"I should be asking you this, King Nedakh. Why are you interfering in the affairs of our Empire?"

As soon as these two rulers met, they are already ready to draw their swords.