Chapter 1151

Chapter 1127 The Witch Catherine Who Wants to Become a Fourth-Ring Wizard

The wizards present maintained an eerie silence until, amidst the rain of blood, Catherine walked to Locke’s side and addressed the crowd: “Lady Jinx verbally provoked my student, who then struck her with his sword as a joke. She was unharmed, except for a malfunction in her Permanent Defense Field. Unexpectedly, the evil dark wizard Hazanne seized the opportunity and killed her. Although my student was at fault, I recall the relevant laws stipulating that clear malice is required to prosecute for negligence.”

The wizards present all looked towards the Blood Dragon Throne and the Rain-Suppressing Throne.

Throne of the Rain nodded and said, “That makes sense. It seems we can only blame the Moon Ring Witch for her bad luck. Logically speaking, since she wasn’t sealed, she should have been able to protect herself. At most, Wizard Locke’s actions were just a friendly spar with her, and all the wizards present were witnesses. It was that dark wizard, Hazanne, who was truly despicable, and her magical power was quite high. With one strike, she killed the Jinx Witch.”

Throne of the Blood Dragon, as the head of the White Wizard Association in this area, pondered for a moment, feeling angry when he thought of the Jinx lineage wizards opening the Doomsday Gate in the Rain Swamp.

As a wizard of the Summoning School, he understood the danger of the Doomsday Gate better than ordinary wizards. Once the Doomsday Gate descends, the best time for a low-ring wizard to dispel it is within the first few seconds of its descent. After that optimal time, the Doomsday Gate becomes more dangerous with each subsequent stage.   Before the Doomsday Gate was widely known, wizards dealing with this forbidden magic of the Summoning School often missed the best opportunity to deal with it due to a lack of understanding of its mechanics and constant reporting and requests for support. As the Doomsday Gate grew stronger, it became much harder to manage.

Although   the Doomsday Gate is now more widely known and unlikely to cause such a large crisis, the Blood Dragon Throne is still quite angry.   Firstly, he’s angry because the Rain Swamp almost suffered huge losses, and he’s also angry about the investigation team sent by the Mystic Heaven.   Countless shady businesses in the Rain Swamp will be affected; it’s foreseeable that many of their revenue-generating ventures will be impossible after this incident.   Secondly, the Summoning School already has many forbidden spells. This kind of magic, which relies on small investments for large gains, is strictly regulated by the White Wizarding Association, which sends people to investigate and approve them every year. With this incident, the approval process for future spell model research projects will likely become even more stringent.

In short, while the Rainswamp may not have suffered significant losses on the surface, their reputation with the White Wizarding Association will be severely damaged, resulting in a substantial loss.

The Blood Dragon Throne’s expression grew increasingly grim, his anger towards the person behind Jinx growing ever stronger.

“That’s certainly true. Dark wizards are dangerous, and some people have shady dealings with them. Because of this shady relationship, it’s likely she had an old grudge against that dark wizard.” “

That’s why she met such a tragic end. In the future, even if Wizard Locke goes to the Holy Wizard Court, there’s no need to fear, because all the wizards present are witnesses. Besides, according to the principle of territorial jurisdiction, our Holy Wizard Court won’t prosecute you.”

The wizards present nodded repeatedly; they too harbored resentment towards the person behind Jinx.

They whispered amongst themselves, offering their testimony, stating that Jinx was simply unlucky and was killed by a passing dark wizard.

Locke noticed that the white wizarding association’s symbolic pillars on the ground were gradually returning to their original state, flattening the ground. The phantoms projected by the Void Fleet in the sky were also gradually dissipating. Clearly, after the Gate of Doom disappeared, the Fourth Void Fleet from the Mystic Realm determined that final cleanup was unnecessary and thus halted their return journey.

Next, Locke had Wizard Grandet conduct a brief awards ceremony, concluding the competition.

The wizarding audience gradually left in the light drizzle, while the White Wizarding Association’s Holy Wizard Court and Demon Hunter forces remained, seemingly intending to clean up the area. After all, some dark wizards had fled to the complex interior of Despair Valley or nearby mortal empires to survive.

They needed to eliminate these dark wizards and gather evidence to report to the senior staff of the White Wizarding Association headquarters in the Mystic Realm, who might visit in the future.

The moment the competition ended, Locke seemed to see a special road before him, composed of countless root realms. This special road led to an unknown destination, resembling a river formed by root realms. This river seemed to connect with the Heavenly River and several rivers from other realms; it was an extremely vast and immense road.

He saw something similar to the fruition he had seen in the Mountain and River World emerge from the Valley of Despair, then ascend that enormous road, becoming an ordinary root realm in a small corner of that road.

The witch Catherine walked to his side and asked, “You saw the Path of Truth, didn’t you?”

“Those who can create a Root Realm that elevates others can join the Path of Truth; this is the rule of the wizarding world.”

“The path you see is not an illusion, but rather Root Realms created by countless past and present sages of our wizarding world. These Root Realms were modified by the high-ring wizards of the White Wizarding Association, becoming the Path of Truth we see today. As long as you can create a Root Realm that can elevate others, you can join the Path of Truth.”

“Although it’s possible to create a Root Realm that elevates others even with pseudo-forging, in reality, a wizard usually joins the Path of Truth only at the third ring. Even at the Sun Ring level, it’s difficult to create something like this. However, through your elaborate planning and the arrangement of that ritual power in the Probus Truth Unveiling Competition, you have effectively created a Root Realm. This Root Realm can elevate approximately three Moon Ring wizards. That is, a wizard at the Star Ring’s ultimate magical pressure level can project their ultimate magic onto this Root Realm, forging their ultimate magic based on it. If the compatibility is suitable, they can likely become a Moon Ring wizard.”

“The potential for advancement in a Root Realm created by others is limited, so according to my estimation, it can only be raised by three ranks at present.”

“Although this is only a small and rudimentary Root Realm, it must be said that you have already begun to build your own academic lineage.”

“Entering the Path of Truth means you can be considered to have officially entered the halls of this wizarding world and begun to show your talent. From now on, you must strive to advance your Root Realm in the Path of Truth, to compete for rankings, you must fight for representative species and model genera for your research group, and you must ensure that your ultimate magic enters the list of advanced ultimate magics so that others want to learn from and refer to it. You need to research spell models that can be ranked—”

The witch Catherine said, “In short, on this vast stage of pursuing truth, you have begun to show your talent, and you have become one of us.”

Locke blinked. “Teacher, isn’t this a bit too fast?”

Seeing that no one was around, the witch Catherine poked his forehead with her finger and laughed, “You actually think it’s too fast?”

“Few people at your level can do this. Locke, after this, where do you plan to go?”

Locke thought seriously for a moment and said, “I want to focus all my efforts on improving my current levels of breeding and potion-making to win the competition along the Tianjiang River. However, the finals of that competition are still more than two years away, so I plan to use this time to immerse myself in research and quickly improve my skills.”

The witch Catherine nodded and said, “Good.”

“In a few days, I’ll take you back to Mount Golden Crown and help you create a special Moon Ring Avatar. With the foundation of this competition, plus your Moon Ring Avatar, you’ll have two major Moon Ring trump cards, and you’ll also have two major jungles. However, you’re currently lacking the representative magical plant that every Moon Ring wizard should possess. It’s good that you’re coming back to Mount Golden Crown; I can let you lead a team, handing over several of my groups to you so you can quickly overcome the difficulties and obtain the representative magical plant. The representative magical plant plus the jungle is the standard a good Moon Ring breeder should have.” “

In addition, I’ll arrange some teaching tasks for you during this time. Some time ago, Mount Golden Crown won another competition against Storm Tower in the Cloud Marsh Wetlands, and we acquired a batch of wizard reserves from the No Man’s Land, which will be perfect for you as a student.”

Witch Ekaterina said, “Mount Golden Crown is a complete organization with its own rules. Even I can’t let you leave without paying any price. Especially since the Five-Colored Dragon Throne and the Senate are keeping a close eye on you, but I’ve carefully studied Mount Golden Crown’s rules and regulations and found a way for you to leave with minimal cost.”

“Because you’re already using the resources of the Institute of True Knowledge, strictly speaking, it’s much easier for you to leave than to enter Golden Crown Mountain through a teaching position. If you can train a sufficient number of wizard students, you can leave Golden Crown Mountain,”

the witch Catherine said to Locke. “Besides, I’ll write you a letter of recommendation before you leave.

“

Locke was moved. “Teacher,”

said Ekaterina, the witch, as they walked along a post road in the Valley of Despair. “No need to thank me. In fact, Locke, you’ve helped me a lot along the way. In the Spellfighting Tournament, you indirectly helped me gain leadership of the Academic Committee. Your victory in the Silent Grail Tournament further strengthened my power, and Zeno helped me a great deal in this regard as well.” “

And today, you’ve given me the full support of Mount Golden Crown. Because you successfully utilized the hadron, finding a great use and value in it.”

“After you return this time, I think the Senate will be begging you for favors.”

“Your door will be crowded with visitors. At your age, it’s truly remarkable that you’ve achieved so much, but please don’t forget how you got here. I’ve seen too many people lose themselves halfway through their lives, starting to ‘enjoy’ life, becoming hopelessly addicted, wasting their lives, or even more unforgivably, squandering their power.” “

Locke,” the witch Catherine whispered, “I want to become a fourth-circle wizard. But Anna and I have formed a rivalry, even though we are from the same lineage at a higher level. Anna previously controlled the Rose Council, and in terms of power, she was stronger than me. But with the events of this period, she has lost that advantage.”

“The day of our final battle is approaching. While it’s not a life-or-death struggle, at least for now, only one of us can become a fourth-circle wizard.”

“That’s why we must fight.”

“Anna and I were best friends for a long time. We supported each other, encouraged each other in the most dangerous moments, and later we went to the Southern Wizarding Capital together. We fought against a third-circle wizard who wanted to possess our bodies. In the end, he died, and we became two throne wizards.”

Catherine sighed. “But in the end, we parted ways. Do you know why?”

Locke seemed to understand. “Because our paths diverged, we could not work together,”

Catherine nodded. “I never imagined that a wizard who joined my Golden Crown Mountain with such innocent eyes, knowing nothing, could today so clearly discern the secrets of heaven. Yes, it’s the struggle for power. Anna and I are alike in many ways, but we differ on certain crucial points, and this difference ultimately led to our split.” “

In the end, I refused to join the Rose Council and instead joined Golden Crown Mountain, while Anna returned to the Tacitus family.”

“She purged the Tacitus family, dealing with those traitors.”

The witch Catherine seemed to be reminiscing about the past. “I secretly participated in that purge and helped her. However, she later used this as leverage to demand several markets from me. This is a serious betrayal, and I will not forgive any betrayal. If someone can betray me once, they will betray me a second time.

“

Locke guessed something. “Then, teacher, Your Majesty the Rose Throne—”

Catherine the Witch nodded and said, “Back then, she tried to reconcile with me. But I saw only hypocrisy.

She wanted to maintain our friendship through mutual benefit, but I refused. Later, all the assets she prepared for me indeed collapsed. Locke, remember this: if someone betrays you once, even if they express deep remorse at the time, it’s only temporary. As long as the reason for the betrayal remains, they will definitely betray you again.”

The witch Catherine said, “However, you don’t need to worry about these things. Once you’ve completed your teaching duties and participated in the competition along the Tianjiang River, you can leave.”

“Next, the conflict between Anna and me will inevitably lead to a full-scale confrontation between the Rose Council and Golden Crown Mountain.”

“The confrontation between the two top academies will be extremely terrifying. The wizard war you witnessed between the White Ice Tower and the Tide Great Wizard Tower is nothing compared to this; it’s insignificant.”

“It’s good that you leave early to avoid the impending conflict,”

the witch Catherine said. “In a while, I will hold a farewell meeting. I estimate that at least half of your senior brothers and sisters will leave Golden Crown Mountain for other places.”

Locke looked at the witch Catherine in surprise. He didn’t understand why, at such a crucial moment, she would want his core members to leave Golden Crown Mountain.

The witch Catherine glanced at Locke and smiled, “They are all third-ring or sun-ring wizards; they have their own ideas. I am about to have my final battle with Anna for the chance to become a fourth-ring wizard—it’s extremely brutal. If they don’t stay willingly, they’ll only be dissatisfied. Locke, when going to war, if someone lacks resolve, it’s better not to bring them along, because they’ll only be a burden.” “

These are all high-ring wizards; they all have their own thoughts. Therefore, the closer they are to me, the more I must respect their wishes. Besides, they have connections with my lineage, and some of their businesses are in Golden Crown Mountain, so they will help me no matter what.”

“Secondly, a great war is approaching. If I win, all will be well; if I lose, our lineage won’t be completely wiped out.”

“Therefore, I will soon hold a banquet. After this banquet, many wizards in my lineage will likely go their separate ways.”

“It’s not just me, Anna is the same way,”

said the witch Catherine. “I know her, I know she would do the same.”

Locke, following behind Catherine, said, “Teacher, I still have to participate in the competition along the Tianjiang River. So I won’t leave. I’m currently just a Moon Ring Wizard, and your struggle with the Rose Throne is too high-level for me to participate in much. But as long as I’m here, I still want to do my part for you.”

“Therefore, perhaps there’s something I can do to help you.”

“I won’t leave for now.”

Catherine walked up to Locke, a slight smile playing on her lips, which Locke happened not to see.

“Locke, if this is your choice, then I respect your desire to help me. Your current ring level is still too low; you can’t enter the Sun Ring to build a foundation and participate in the Tianjiang Coastal Competition.”

“Building a strong foundation in the Star Ring stage is the right thing to do.”

“Because of the Moon Ring stage—”

Ekaterina pondered for a moment and said, “Since the Sun Ring stage was created, there’s not much to do in the Moon Ring stage. You’ll understand that later. Right now, there’s limited way you can help me. If you really want to do something, then publish papers.” “

If you can publish more papers, you’ll be of great help to me.”

“To complete the fourth ring, I need a lot of foundational magical research. It’s not enough for me alone; I can handle the highest level. But the academic accumulation at the fourth ring stage is often equivalent to the accumulation of an entire academic system,”

Ekaterina said. “Therefore, I need my students to publish more papers, to broaden the scope of my magical research.”

“This can indirectly help me, making it easier for me to become a fourth-ring wizard.”

“If you want to help me, then you can work on that.”

“In other words, just do your job well.”

The witch Catherine took out a stack of documents from her astral ring. “These are some projects I have suitable for Moon Ring and Star Ring wizards. They’re all projects I’ve carefully designed and completed a lot of complex groundwork for. The tasks that require time to collect data or produce experimental results are basically finished, but there are still some hurdles that need someone to steer and overcome.” Locke took

the documents and looked at them, finding that they were all cutting-edge research in botany, clearly the areas Catherine was most interested in.

The scope was incredibly broad.

There were various kinds of magical plants related to research, each with different directions. For example, there was a study on the ancestor tracing of the potato magical plant; the direction had been locked, but someone needed to steer and overcome the final few difficulties.

Locke quickly read through these dozens of documents.

He couldn’t see any connection between these research materials, but he knew it must be directly related to Catherine becoming a fourth-ring wizard; it was just that his current level was insufficient to see the connection, just like the research content of the six groups in the Institute of True Knowledge seemed completely unrelated.

Locke said to the witch Catherine, “Teacher, if I can complete these projects, it will not only help you, but it will also be extremely beneficial to me personally. It will allow me to quickly improve my knowledge of breeding and botany, so that when I undergo further training, I can obtain a more complete understanding of universal truths.” “

Therefore, I hope we can start working as soon as possible. Let’s begin immediately upon returning to Mount Golden Crown. You happen to have some students you can assign to me.”

Seeing Locke’s enthusiasm, Catherine smiled wryly. Other wizards needed her encouragement, but Locke was simply too tireless.

Normally, according to the rules of Mount Golden Crown, Locke should be able to rest for a week after completing such a major task, or even half a month if he wanted to. Who knew Locke would demand to work seamlessly from start to finish?

Catherine the Witch nodded and said, “I know. After you go back, I’ll immediately send a group of people. You can choose a few to be in charge of these projects.”

“As for the completion speed and deadline, I can only say the faster the better. As long as you complete these projects, I’ll accept them all.”

“By the way, you can return that jungle to me, Locke. It’s the public property of Mount Golden Crown. If it’s lost, I’ll have to pay compensation.”

Locke coughed and immediately took out the five-colored rose from his astral ring and returned it to Catherine the Witch.

Catherine the Witch said to Locke, “After you go to the Ancient Bloodline Factor Research Institute, take a ship back to Mount Golden Crown. We at Mount Golden Crown have formed a cooperative relationship with the Dark World. We can return to Mount Golden Crown directly through the Dark World. It’s very fast, only takes a week. However, traveling through the Dark World requires at least a third-ring wizard.” “Even

those in the Sun Ring risk being lost forever.”

Locke was stunned. He hadn’t expected that his former senior brother, the wizard Trajan, had been doing such dangerous things.

Catherine the Witch said, “You and Trajan will sail back to Mount Golden Crown. I will prepare the materials for creating your Moon Ring clone.”

Meanwhile, in another part of the Valley of Despair, Rose the Witch walked alone along a path, her face showing fear and unease. She stumbled as she leaned against a rock wall in the valley and exhaled a breath of stale air.

“The Tacitus family—”

“You actually sold me to so many people.

‘Goddess Rose, the Death God Selection Council, the Titans.'”

The witch Rose felt a void within her. This was because after being sacrificed to the Gate of Doom, both her essence and form were severely damaged, causing her magical pressure to regress to 20,000, the level she had just reached when she became a Star Ring Wizard.

The witch Rose’s face was grim. If she hadn’t left behind many contingency plans, one of which sparked Locke’s curiosity about the matter, leading him to use stellar gravity to lock onto the cause and effect, and if Goddess Rose hadn’t lacked common sense and been unable to solve the problem, she would have been finished.

If Locke hadn’t responded, or if none of the Star Ring Wizards she had contacted had been willing to do so, or if Goddess Rose had received help from some wizards and used other methods to solve the problem instead of coming to Locke to participate in the competition, resulting in Goddess Rose dying inside the Gate of Doom, then she would have been the one to die.

Rose the Witch smiled bitterly, “So I was just a guinea pig from beginning to end. I wasn’t unaware of it before, but I never imagined it would be this bad.”

A blurry image appeared before Rose the Witch’s eyes. She looked up and saw the Rose Throne.

The Rose Throne stood before her, looking down at Rose the Witch. “This is too embarrassing,

Rose, my grandniece.”

“When you first met me, you boasted to me, thinking you were mine.”

“How did things get to this point?”

Rose the Witch felt a lot of grievances. She was about to tell the Rose Throne, at least to show that some people had sabotaged the Rose Throne’s interests. After all, she was representing the Rose Council in the competition, and so many things had happened along the way.

The Rose Throne raised its hand and said, “Alright, Rose. I don’t like hearing excuses for failure.” “

I know just how disgusting the Tacitus family is, and I know all about your past. I once actively cleansed this family, but this family—its foundation is what it is. If the foundation is too weak, then no matter how many forms it belongs to, how many forms it expands, those forms will definitely be bad forms, not good forms.” “

Therefore, if I ignore them for too long, this family will become like this. You asked me for help, and I ignored you, not because I deliberately ignored you. “

Rose the Witch looked at the Rose Throne in surprise.

The Rose Throne said, “You must now think that your goddess Rose was sacrificed by the Doomsday Gate. But that’s a misconception. The sacrifice condition for the Doomsday Gate is the maximum magic of three Star Ring wizards. The condition sounds relatively lenient, but it’s actually quite harsh, because it means that Second Ring wizards and Moon Ring wizards cannot be sacrificed.

And the biggest reason the Doomsday Gate ultimately collapsed was because of the wrong sacrifice made because of you. So—”

The Rose Throne tapped her forehead with its finger.

Behind Rose the Witch appeared a fierce-looking Rose Goddess, who glared at her with a menacing expression.

The Rose Throne sneered. “You see, the Rose Goddess is still inside you, only extremely weak. This gives you the opportunity to control her.” “

As I predicted, Locke will definitely respond to you, because he, like his teacher, loves to meddle in other people’s business.”

“So, Locke will respond to you, and you will be drawn into the Valley of Despair. No one can predict the process, but I know that the Void Gods are involved behind the scenes in the Valley of Despair. So, as long as you are drawn in, your problem can be solved, allowing you to survive and regain control of the Rose Goddess within you.”

“The Tacitus family is too ignorant. What is a mere Sun Ring Goddess? In my eyes, you yourself are far more powerful and important than her.”

The Rose Throne said, “They don’t realize that you, who can withstand the power of that goddess, are the truly important talent.”

Rose the Witch was moved and looked at the Rose Throne in disbelief. “Great-Grandmother—”

the Rose Throne said, “Come with me.”

“Letting you witness the ugliness of our family is a tradition of the Tacitus family.”

“It’s alright that the Star Ring Demon is temporarily suppressed. I have plenty of money. I’ll soon be competing with Catherine for the chance to become a Fourth Ring Wizard, and I need a powerful ally. You are the one I’ve chosen. This is just a competition organized by Locke Augustine; it doesn’t matter. The real important thing is the competition along the Tianjiang River.

Come with me, and I will show you the wonders of magic. I have a series of projects waiting for you to undertake.” “

At the same time, I’m about to hold a farewell banquet.”

“The final battle of the Dao is about to begin.”

“Those with weak wills cannot be spared; keeping them will only bring about my defeat. In battle, the weakest point becomes the biggest flaw. Therefore, more people are not necessarily better; quality is more important than quantity.”

Rose the Witch was dazed; she hadn’t expected that the Rose Throne would actually be engaged in a final battle with the thousand-year-old witch of Golden Crown Mountain.

The competition between two ancient witches for the chance to become a fourth-circle wizard is no small matter; it has become a major event in the Eastern Frontier.

The Rose Witch chuckled, “The Witch Catherine has fought the enemy repeatedly in this battle. Everyone thinks she’s unharmed, but I know her best, and I know she’s injured. Therefore, my teacher will have to choose between us, and he will choose me, the one with the highest chance of success.”

Rose Witch blinked. “Teacher, your strategy is truly unparalleled. I didn’t understand anything; I thought it was just an ordinary competition.”

The Rose Witch said, “It’s alright, you’re still young, you still have much to learn.”

“Rose, have you heard of my ‘Flower Blooms, All Flowers Wither’? Don’t worry about this current setback. I will lead you to victory.”

Meanwhile, at another exit of Despair Valley, Edgar encountered Lady Six-Eyed Raven. Lady Six-Eyed Raven looked at Edgar and curled her lips, saying, “Lost?”

Edgar nodded. “Yes, we lost.”

“The loss wasn’t unjust.”

“Macedon and Locke are both very strong, as are the enigmatic Karl and Chaos.”

“I do have a lot of room for improvement. Even that wizard named Sera makes me feel uneasy; I feel he’s a threat.”

Lady Six-Eyed Raven nodded and smiled, “The world is vast. Of the people you’ve encountered so far, apart from Sera, who’s a foolish clown, the others don’t actually have much disagreement with you. That’s because of your teachers. Although we have some differences of opinion, we’re generally the same kind of people.

“

“But the world is vast. Even in the wizarding world, at this very moment, there are many wizarding geniuses and powerful wizards who have different ideas from you and me. They want to lead civilization down a different path, while we all believe that path will lead us to the brink of destruction, or turn back the clock of history.”

“It’s good for you to broaden your horizons a bit.”

“The current struggles are just small ones. In the future, you will encounter real enemies.”

“Edgar, I discovered a special magical fountain in a vast world within the endless void, called the ‘Fountain of Unhappiness.’ There, you can return to the Star Ring through the Fountain of Unhappiness and wash your Moon Ring magic pressure into magical water for cultivating magical plants. However, it’s all your choice. If you choose to become a Moon Ring Wizard, that’s a good option too.”

Edgar David said to Lady Six-Eyed Raven, “Teacher, I choose to soak in the Fountain of Unhappiness.”

“In addition, I also want to apply for the opportunity to explore various voids. I want to find more rare magical plant seeds to participate in the Tianjiang River competition. As for the second and third rounds, my avatar can participate; I don’t need to go all out. The only thing I really need to prepare for is the fourth round finals. But right now, I have absolutely no hope of winning.”

A raging fire burned in Edgar’s eyes. “I think I’m still far from being the best right now.”

“No matter what it is, I haven’t reached the pinnacle. I’m far from being number one. But that’s okay, I will become number one.” “

I’m going to the endless void, to explore alone, to take the most dangerous routes, to find the most powerful treant-like magical plants.”

Lady Six-Eyed Raven pondered, “When I was young, I also liked exploring the void. I happen to know that along a route, you might encounter many interesting things and friends. In this particular void coordinate, I met my demise in my youth, and many of my expedition members died. If you want to go to the void to further improve yourself, then go.”

Lady Six-Eyed Raven gave Edgar a void route coordinate.

Edgar took the information, his eyes gleaming. He had made up his mind to explore the void, hone himself, and make himself satisfactory in every aspect.

Edgar said, “I want to be number one in magical power, number one in self-cultivation, and number one in etiquette.”

“I want to be number one in everything.”

Lady Six-Eyed Raven smiled, “Edgar, let me see how far you can go.”

She looked at Edgar with a nurturing attitude.

Three days later, Grandet and his group also temporarily departed. The competition had taken a long time, and they needed to return to handle their own affairs.

Grandet and Locke added each other as friends and created a group chat for the competition committee, agreeing to hold an online meeting later to discuss when to hold the second Probus Truth Unveiling Competition.

Afterwards, Locke bid farewell to Bailouluo and the wizard Ex at the entrance to Despair Valley.

Locke said to Wizard Ex, “Because of the necessary assistance provided by the Maupassant family, Golden Crown Mountain has formally gifted Despair Valley to your family through a written agreement. However, since it cannot be gifted to a Black

Wizard, we have only gifted this land to the witch Bailouluo.”

Wizard Ex nodded and said, “We understand. After so many things have happened, Golden Crown Mountain must be wary of dealing with Black Wizards. Such a large place will henceforth become my sister Bailouluo’s private territory. I’m truly envious.” “

Even within the same family, accounts must be clear. We will give her a certain rent every year, approximately ten million magic stones. Being a landlord these days is truly a blessing.”

Locke looked at Wizard Ex with a half-smile and said, “Wizard Ex, you can say you’ve gained a lot this time.”

Originally, that Third Ring Holy Wizard had explicitly ordered him to be killed.

No one knows what method he used, but he survived for over sixty years, though his life must have been difficult.

After this, he can now fly freely.

Ex laughed, “I’m just trying to survive. So I’ll use whatever I can. Please forgive me, Wizard Locke. You’re a dragon soaring in the sky, while I’m just a local bully. My current achievements are pretty much my limit. At most, I’ll become a relatively powerful Moon Ring Wizard, and if I’m lucky, I might become a Sun Ring Wizard. But that’s probably a hundred years from now.”

Wizard Ex said to Locke with a faint, wicked smile, “You and my little sister—people like you have a future. I suffered a severe injury in the past, and that limited my potential.”

“You should have guessed by now that you’ll encounter my sister, the witch Bailouluo, on the wizard airship. It was indeed my careful arrangement. However, my sister Bailouluo herself is unaware of it.”

Locke nodded. During his time here, he had heard many rumors about Ex from the miners’ apprentices. He was a ruthless killer, his hands definitely not clean.

But that was irrelevant to him.

Moreover, after this incident, his teacher seemed to have further dealings with the Maupassant family to maintain the most basic relationship.

Wizard Ex said to Locke, “If you ever return to the Rain Marshland and come to our Maupassant family’s territory, please let me know, and I will personally receive you.”

The two shook hands.

Then Locke bid farewell to Witch Bailou, saying, “Bailou, I’m leaving.”

“I only wish to live peacefully in this small corner of the world.”

Witch Bailou looked at Locke with admiration and said, “Lord Locke, the Maupassant family of the Rain Marshland will always welcome you.”

“In the future, I will keep an eye on your further achievements. A wizard like you will surely become even more renowned in the future.”

After saying goodbye to her, Locke boarded his carriage alone and headed to the Ancient Bloodline Factor Research Institute. The journey was rather long, so he sat in the carriage, closed his eyes, and meditated.

The witch Bailou waved goodbye to Locke’s carriage, then said to Wizard Ex, “Brother Ex, this time our family has finally broken free from the shackles of the nameless emperor. Our family had always been forced into this situation, reduced to dark wizards.”

“Until we discovered that Mount Golden Crown wanted to investigate the past, we knew our opportunity had arrived. So, under the arrangement of the clan elders, we carried out this series of actions. And today, we have finally achieved our goal. However, I still miss the days of competing and conducting research with Wizard Locke.” “

It’s just a pity he’s leaving.”

Wizard Ex glanced at her, understanding that she simply admired various geniuses and was temporarily feeling melancholy due to the end of the competition.

“Just as you said, he’s a very busy person. Unlike us, he can’t stay in one place for long. You can pay more attention to his articles in the future. I think he’ll publish a lot of articles soon.

Bailouluo, I have to go now, there’s still a lot of cleanup work to be done here.”

Bailouluo nodded and said, “After Mr. Probus left, the core of Despair Valley also collapsed.

There are basically no resources left here. But I think we can erect a statue of Probus and Mr. Locke here. This can strengthen our connection with Golden Crown Mountain, and I suspect that Wizard Locke will need to rent the venue here for future competitions. At the very least, it can be used as a tourist attraction and generate some revenue.” “

The remaining resources can also be mined,”

Wizard Ex nodded and said, “You’re right. This way we don’t have to lay off a large number of mining apprentices and pay a lot of compensation. Not bad, Bailouluo, when did you develop such a business mind?”

Bailouluo laughed, “After all, this place is mine now.”

“I’ve already planned how to exploit this place!”

Three days later, the magic carriage stopped, and the wizard driving it respectfully said to Locke, “Lord Augustine, this is the Ancient Bloodline Factor Research Institute. Welcome.”

“The director wishes to see you and has prepared a small welcome reception for you.”

>

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