When the Saint comes, she does not collect food.

Cici looked around at Horn and Gramp, then sighed softly, "This matter was originally quite distant for you, but you will soon be joining us, so there's no harm in telling you.

Within the witch covens, or rather, among wizards, there are two main schools of thought regarding the essence of the supernatural: the Magic Theory and the Mana Theory.

The Magic Theory school believes that the source of all supernatural power—what is it? It is existence, everything originates from existence, it is tangible matter, it is magic.

For example, Jeanne's lightning, according to the Magic Theory, is composed of magic, so they call this kind of witch's supernatural power witchcraft.

The Mana Theory school believes that this source, if it exists, is non-existence, existence born from non-existence, it is intangible energy, spirit, it is mana or spiritual power.

Supernatural abilities themselves already exist; mana merely drives them, like using flint to light a torch. They call supernatural powers spells."

After hearing Cici's words, Gramp and even Jeanne looked puzzled, while only Horn fell into thought.

"So, Sister Cici, which theory do you lean towards?"

Cici fanned herself with a feather fan, "I lean more towards the Mana Theory. The Magic Theory is too ancient, and it cannot explain many phenomena…

Um, I need to tell you, there's no problem discussing these things in private.

But in the future, if you encounter wizard gatherings or unfamiliar wizards, you absolutely must not touch this slippery slope."

"Why?"

Cici laughed heartily, "We have a joke in the Secret Party: if you want to destroy the wizards, you only need to send in an undercover agent to raise this question at every wizard gathering. In less than three months, the wizards will destroy themselves due to internal strife.

Any dispute involving magic will inevitably trigger debate wars or even brawls."

"Why? Aren't they just two different theories?"

Before Cici could answer, Horn interjected, "This is a narrative dispute. Two different understandings of the origin of the supernatural will inevitably lead to two completely opposite worldviews and a series of corresponding supernatural laws.

Resources are limited; if you give it to one, you cannot give it to the other.

Regardless of which theory, they will feel that the other theory is a shameful waste and a hateful interference to themselves.

Moreover, they themselves possess martial power. If it weren't for the great mountain of the Church pressing down on them, I suspect they would really start a civil war."

Cici glanced at the farmer youth with some surprise.

Even though it was a forced situation, this farmer pretending to be the son of Messiah actually had some ability.

When he first entered the profession, the answer his witch master Catherine gave him was not much different from what this farmer said.

Come to think of it, a truly ignorant and incompetent farmer could not have organized an uprising of thousands of people and managed it so well.

Compared to Cici's surprise, Horn showed nothing on his face, but he was even more surprised in his heart.

Because from his previous remarks, these wizards actually realized the connection between phenomena and essence, not treating spells themselves as black boxes or divine gifts, but instead beginning to explore their laws.

In other words, they already had the seeds of rationalist thinking—skepticism.

From Cici's remarks, it was possible that individual spells were still black boxes.

But in terms of the metaphysical essence of spells, philosophical-level ideological development had begun to emerge.

Horn initially thought they were all just shamans.

I underestimated you.

But in any case, supernatural force is a high-ranking ability factor in this world, and despite the risk of being discovered, Horn was unwilling to give it up.

"Brother Cici, can I sense this mana you're talking about? Why can't I feel it even though I'm already a witch's familiar?"

Cici rubbed his temples and walked forward for a while before answering, "Generally speaking, first-generation witch familiars don't have this problem. They, like witches, are spell equals mana.

If your mana is so weak that you can't even feel it, then the meditation methods for enhancing mana become empty talk."

Speaking of this, Cici seemed to have thought of something. He took out two clumps of slime membranes from the collar of his riding suit.

Seeing the deflated chest, the surrounding guards were greatly disappointed.

Cici ignored them and pulled out a slender red-copper rod the length of an elbow and the thickness of a finger from the membranes.

"What is this again?" Horn asked, taking the thin copper rod from Cici's hand and waving for the guards to stop.

"This is orichalcum, a kind of alchemical product." Cici took the orichalcum rod from Horn's hand. "This is a tool that can help you enhance your mana."

Handing the orichalcum to Gramp, who was watching the fun, Cici gestured for him to break it.

Holding both ends of the orichalcum rod, Gramp roared, his arm veins bulging and his face turning red at a visible rate.

But the orichalcum rod remained motionless, without even a trace of bending towards the middle.

Taking the orichalcum rod from the bewildered Gramp, Cici held one end and pinched the other with his fingers, pressing it gently, and the orichalcum rod bent into a ninety-degree angle.

Then, Cici tossed it upwards, and the orichalcum rod quickly returned to its original upright shape as if it were rubber.

"This is the characteristic of orichalcum; only those with mana can bend it." Catching the orichalcum rod, Cici handed it to Jeanne, who was curious, "People with mana will soften it the moment they touch it. It seems like you're pressing it with your hand, but in reality, you're bending it with mana.

This is a way to train mana. Mana is like a muscle; the more you train, the stronger it becomes."

While Cici was speaking, Jeanne had already twisted the orichalcum rod into a δ shape. She imitated Cici and tossed it upwards.

The orichalcum rod suddenly popped out a few sparks in mid-air and then continued to return to its original shape.

"As expected of a witch," Cici sighed softly, "Just pressing it to that extent was already my limit…"

"What about those sparks?" Jeanne asked curiously.

"Orichalcum has the property of transmitting mana. For witches, spell is mana. You can think of orichalcum as releasing your mana."

Jeanne nodded in confusion and handed the orichalcum rod to Horn, "Brother Horn, you try."

Horn grasped the orichalcum rod. The moment he touched it, he felt like something was wrong.

Why did it feel like liquid as soon as he held it, completely different from the elasticity of the previous rubber rod?

Smiling at Horn, Cici instructed, "Your mana is too weak, you can probably only bend it a little bit, don't bend it too much…"

Before he could finish his words, he saw Horn gently press it with his index finger, and the orichalcum rod folded into an acute angle.

Blinking, Cici lifted the bangs that were blocking his vision with both hands, brought his head closer, and confirmed that he had not seen it wrong.

As for Horn, he held both ends of the orichalcum rod and kept twisting, bending, and coiling it.

The object that was harder than steel in Gramp's hands was like plasticine in his hands.

By the time Horn placed the orichalcum rod in his palm, it could no longer be called an orichalcum rod; it should be called an orichalcum spring.

Following Jeanne and the others, Horn tossed the orichalcum into the air.

Under the gaze of everyone around him, the orichalcum rod seemed to be pulled by an invisible force, shaking and spinning wildly.

The moment it landed on the ground, it was still twisting, jumping, stretching, and scurrying around like a dead fish.

"This, this is impossible…" As if struck by a huge impact, Cici ignored Jeanne's obstruction, bent down, and chased after it.

He reached out, seemingly wanting to pick up the orichalcum rod, not noticing that there was a sloping stone directly in front of it.

"Careful."

"Sister Cici, get out of the way!"

"Clang—"

Cici and the orichalcum rod fell straight to the ground at the same time.

"Quick, call a physician!"