Midair in the Room of Requirement, a crown completely unlike Ravenclaw's original diadem radiated brilliant treasure-light.
Even above Hogwarts, auspicious vapors were drawn into motion—countless streaks of radiance, like an aurora, breathtakingly beautiful.
If this were the Primordial World, many great powers would sense it at once—recognizing that a special treasure had been born, and sending disciples to seek the opportunity.
Bloodshed might even follow.
But in the wizarding world, no one recognized what it meant.
That saved Theodore a great deal of trouble.
He reached out, and the floating treasure-crown obediently drifted into his hand.
He had forged it personally from start to finish, burning an enormous amount of essence-blood.
A treasure with spirit naturally drew close to its maker, regarding him like a parent—its restrictions all readily accessible.
It wouldn't be like treasures seized from others, which could take ages to control.
Holding it, Theodore felt a surge of grandeur.
His days had become… truly lavish.
Not long ago he'd only obtained his first implement—the Iron-Beaked Divine Hawk.
Now he possessed an actual treasure, and not just any treasure—
a fortune treasure, rare even in the Primordial World.
Taking a breath, he calmed himself and examined its abilities.
First, of course, was the most important function of a fortune treasure—
suppressing fortune.
Theodore looked up at the fortune-cloud above his head and felt the crown release a subtle force, gathering his previously scattered fortune into order.
His fortune was immense, yes—but the turning of heaven carried its own logic.
"Extremes give rise to decline" was not an empty saying.
Without a fortune treasure, even the thickest fortune would eventually ebb.
That was the law of heaven—even the sects founded by Saints could not escape it.
But with a fortune treasure?
Everything changed.
Theodore's fortune now felt bound and anchored—no longer leaking away.
Which meant that even if he misstepped, he wouldn't suffer sudden collapse of fortune.
Every critical point gained tolerance.
He would have countless chances to choose again.
Even what should have been a wrong choice could become safety—misfortune turning into blessing.
Second, when Theodore placed the crown on his head, a cool, clear current flowed into his crown chakra, then streamed into the Microscopic Heavenly Eye.
That eye already claimed to see through all things and trace them to their origin—
with this clarity, it rose another level.
Theodore smiled.
"This crown enhances comprehension and wisdom… and assists in Dao-insight?"
"Paired with the Microscopic Heavenly Eye, it's even more obvious."
He tasted it for a moment and felt the effect was extraordinary.
Even with his Dao-Through-Alchemy talent, which already gave him terrifying insight into alchemy…
wearing the crown still sparked fresh realizations.
Even his combat talents—King of Staffs, Sword's Swift Edge—began producing new understanding of staff and sword paths.
"If this continues…"
"Even without gaining new talents, just relying on the crown and the Microscopic Heavenly Eye…"
"I might be able to push these talents to higher levels."
"Even with the system, this boost is no small thing."
Then Theodore's anticipation deepened.
Suppressing fortune and boosting comprehension were passive.
But the reason treasures were terrifying—
was because once you actively triggered the eighteen layers of restrictions, unimaginable power could erupt.
He pushed the crown upward slightly and poured Origin Sea power into it.
With another treasure, he might not have enough Origin Sea power to wield it.
But the restrictions here were all refined by his own hands and fused with his blood, so the cost was far lower.
As a portion of his Origin Sea power poured in, the crown rose into the air.
Purple qi surged throughout the Room of Requirement.
Golden radiance poured down like a spiritual rain.
Then—a cloud of celebration emerged from the crown, drifting and descending above Theodore's head!
Theodore's breath caught.
Ecstasy burst in his eyes.
"A celebratory cloud?!"
"Unbelievable!"
In the Investiture Calamity, anything associated with a celebratory cloud was never ordinary.
The Heaven-and-Earth Profound Yellow Exquisite Pagoda—one of the greatest protective treasures—produced profound yellow qi and countless celebratory clouds when activated, something even Saints struggled to shake.
The Central Earth Banner and the Cloud-Realm Banner—both could also manifest celebratory clouds when pushed to full power.
Even within the Zhuxian Sword Formation, when Yuanshi Tianzun raised celebratory clouds above his head, even Zhuxian sword-qi couldn't touch him!
Even if Theodore's crown only produced a single cloud—far less spectacle than those legendary treasures—
it was still a celebratory cloud.
The "Saint-grade aesthetic."
Wrapped in it, Theodore felt an unmatched sense of safety.
It was even more reassuring than his Eight-Nine Mystical Art body or Adamantine Undying Body.
Within that cloud, ordinary calamities couldn't cling to him.
Evil spirits, blades, water, fire—none could easily shake the celebratory cloud's protection.
If he'd possessed this crown earlier, that thing in the grey mist could never have harmed him with a mere glance—unless it truly manifested.
In other words:
Once he triggered this crown, he stood in an undefeated position.
After calming himself, Theodore withdrew the crown again, satisfaction beyond words.
"It was worth all that essence-blood."
"Absolutely worth it."
He turned the violet-gold treasure crown in his hand.
"Since you're my first true treasure, you need a name…"
"You're violet-gold, and you summon a celebratory cloud for protection…"
"Then you'll be the Celebratory Cloud Violet-Gold Crown."
He then transformed it into an unremarkable hairband and wore it on his head, leaving the Room of Requirement in contentment.
Outside, the corridor had changed.
Halloween lanterns were being hung, and decorations filled the halls.
Theodore quickly calculated and realized he'd been at Hogwarts for more than two months.
Halloween was near. The castle was already preparing.
Given everything that had happened recently, Hogwarts was clearly placing even more importance on celebrating its first festival of the year.
At that moment, Theodore remembered something—
Ron's wizard chess tournament, the one he'd signed up for, should be starting soon.
He headed toward the common room.
Harry, Hermione, and Ron were already waiting.
When they saw Theodore's pale face—blood loss from refining the crown—Hermione's eyes filled with worry, and Harry and Ron both drew a sharp breath.
Then Ron clenched his jaw and spoke.
"Theodore… there's something I want to discuss."
"With a bad person hiding in the castle, we can't let you guard the Philosopher's Stone alone. The burden on you is too heavy."
"We can help too."
"I'm not going to the wizard chess match. I'm staying to help you."
Theodore froze, then shook his head.
"No."
"You've prepared for so long—if you don't go, it's all wasted."
"Not only will you go, Harry, Hermione, and I will go too."
"We're going to cheer you on."
Harry and Hermione looked torn.
"But if we all go… and even you leave Hogwarts…"
"What if the bad guy uses that chance to steal the Philosopher's Stone?"
Theodore smiled.
"Oh—so that's what you're worried about."
A strange curve lifted at the corner of his mouth.
"Relax."
"I have a way to make that bad guy suffer so badly he won't have time to think about the Stone."
His gaze drifted to the secret arts he had drawn from the Golden Crow Demon Court.
He'd already tasted the value of those arts through the Heavenly Demon refinement method.
But in terms of rank, the refinement method still fell slightly short of the other two.
Golden Crow Transforms into a Rainbow was an escape art—he didn't need it yet.
But the other art—
Seven Arrows Nail the Soul—
was the pinnacle of silent, vicious curse-killing.
"With this, farming merit becomes a lot more convenient."
"They say Voldemort is the strongest curse master alive, with curses even Dumbledore can't undo."
"I wonder…"
"When his little curse tricks meet Seven Arrows Nail the Soul…"
"What will happen?"
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