Chapter 1165

Chapter 1141 The True Face of the Path of Truth (Bonus Chapter)

In the Land of the Past, bolts of lightning struck its deepest depths. Locke saw a colossal bronze planet lying there. At first, he thought it was just an ordinary world, but after witnessing countless other worlds sweeping past it, Locke roughly estimated its height from the perspective of a medium-sized world.

This was a bronze planet even larger than a typical large world, and likely a creation of some civilization.

However, its surface was charred black, dotted with ruined palaces, cauldrons, and numerous statues destroyed by lightning and fire.

Clearly, a terrible war had taken place here.

What happened here?

Was this the past of the Catherine the Witch?

Atop a colossal bronze chariot sat a woman seemingly existing since time immemorial, letting the stars drift behind her, the Milky Way suspended like ribbons from her soft silk robes. Eight ribbons of starlight billowed, stretching into the endless void. If the Macedonian witch were to witness this, she would be overjoyed.

For these ribbons of starlight were not merely the illusory stars of her Milky Way; what astonished Locke was that the stars within these ribbons seemed real. Yet, Locke wondered if any life inhabited them, for the ribbons contained a destructive power. Not only were they imbued with this power, but the entire bronze planet was filled with it.

A war, unimaginable even to him now, must have occurred here, extinguishing this civilization and shattering the planet.

Locke sensed a powerful suction force emanating from within the bronze planet. A crack had appeared on its surface, a massive fissure resembling a great rift valley. Around this rift valley lay ordinary, broken stones, imbued with a dimensional principle unlike that of the completely bronze-transformed planet.

Locke paused, stunned. “Could it be that this wasn’t always a bronze planet, but rather transformed during a great war? What kind of war could have reduced this great civilization to its current state?”

Locke sensed the dimensional principles here and found it utterly empty—the Great Void.

The woman suddenly turned her head, her eyes shimmering with creation, containing a power Locke couldn’t comprehend.

“This is a place where civilization failed, and also a place where civilization attempted rebirth. Locke Augustine, I know you; we met in the future. I never imagined she would send you here. Does this mean she truly approves of you?”

Locke guessed that the other party must have some connection with the Catherine the Witch.

Knowing that politeness was never a bad thing, Locke immediately bowed. “My lord, I am a student of my teacher. My teacher sent me here so that I might seek your guidance.”

The being’s lips curled into a smile. “Locke, there’s no need for such formality before me, nor for pretense.”

“You’re not very polite.”

Locke coughed, feeling as if he were speaking to his own teacher, which only fueled his curiosity about the Catherine the Witch’s identity.

Who exactly was his teacher?

Could it be that his teacher was a reincarnation of a powerful being from another dimension?

In short, many mysteries surrounded him, because his teacher had used numerous methods just to bring him to this place of the past, even relying on the Golden Dragon to recreate his past identity.

And where was this place?

What was this deep-seated sorrow?

Locke saw the figure instantly appear before him. She was graceful and elegant, her silk dress flowing like a galaxy, every inch of her skin as flawless as snow. Unlike his red dragon witch teacher, she seemed otherworldly, untouched by the passage of time.

Locke saw her hand reach towards his face and bowed again, realizing that aside from the False Forging – Minor Leather he could use, all his other powerful spells, spell models, and jungle magic were suppressed.

Locke said, “My lord, I—”

The woman spoke in a soft voice, yet with the same domineering tone as Catherine the Witch.

“You don’t distinguish between senior and junior; you should call me teacher.”

Locke hesitated for a moment, then bowed again.

“Teacher. Please let me in so I can speak with you inside.”

“I—”

“Alright, I’m confused about the situation now. I only know that my teacher told me that seeing you might resolve my homeostasis problem.”

The woman looked Locke up and down. “I haven’t seen a living person in a long time. Do you want to know where this is?

“

Locke’s eyes immediately lit up with curiosity. “Teacher, what exactly is this place?”

The woman said to Locke, “What this place is doesn’t really matter; knowing the name won’t do you any good. But I can tell you what happened here. Some people here think everything can start over, while others don’t. They believe starting over is only possible at the Dao Three stage.

Oh, it’s between the first and second rings of your wizarding civilization.”

“Our civilization calls our power system Dao One, Dao Two, Dao Three, Dao Four, Dao Five, Dao Six, Dao Seven, Dao Eight—a total of eleven Daos.

“7

“These are collectively called the eleven Dao Lord realms; at Dao Eight, one can call oneself a Great Dao Lord.”

“Some people think our civilization has gone down the wrong path, so they want to retreat from Dao Eleven to at least Dao Three and start over. Thus, the Dao Conflict occurred, a great war broke out, and nothing was left here. A powerful enemy attacked us from the shadows, but I haven’t been able to pinpoint their identities. I can only guess.”

The woman stroked Locke’s face for the second time, seemingly using his appearance to recall someone.

“Don’t misunderstand. I just feel that you resemble some of my relatives. I’m using you to remember them. Even though I am the Great Dao Master of the Eleventh Dao, I cannot resurrect them after the world has been completely annihilated.” “

The timeline here has been completely extinguished, leading to a dead end. You must continue forward; you cannot stay here. My student, Locke.”

“Here, I alone possess the Divine Path.”

Locke noticed that the woman’s eyes were filled with a kind of eternal loneliness and sorrow.

The woman said to Locke, “Ekaterina, or rather, I over there, did something unnecessary. Your constancy is not your enemy, it won’t restrict you. Universal Truth is indeed just a pseudo-forging, but your Little Leather is not in the future. The fact that you could sense the Pseudo-Forging Little Leather in front of the Dao Lord of Dao Eleven shows that this pseudo-forging is special. Even in my world, this level of Dao is extremely special. If there were more, perhaps this Dao Silence wouldn’t have happened.” “

Pseudo-Forging Little Leather is inherently a kind of pseudo-forging that can change itself even in the pseudo-forging stage. Just follow your own path, why do you need my help?”

“You are originally a wizard capable of creating many different pseudo-forgings, why do you need to retract your great magic?

You can forge even more pseudo-forgings.”

The woman took a step back, her expression cold, like an iceberg, a different temperament from the witch Ekaterina, yet giving Locke the same impression.

The woman said, “Since you’ve already created a fake forging competition, you can make your shop alliance fake forge, you can make everything around you fake forge. You can repeatedly make something go through the stages of nothingness, illusion, and falsehood. This is the path of your wizarding civilization. You are a wizard, you should know this better than I do, yet I need to remind you.”

Locke coughed. “My teacher sent me to find you, teacher.”

The woman paused, then laughed. In this region of annihilation, her laughter revitalized a path, only to be covered by eternal annihilation again in the next moment.

This annihilation could not cover the woman,

nor could it cover Locke, who was protected by her power.

The woman said, “For the first time in millions of years, I smiled because of you. Locke, go back. Fake Forging: Minor Leather has no need to retreat. I have read your Fake Forging: Minor Leather, you should understand it yourself.”

Locke said, “Any past mistakes are valuable, are they necessary experiences for seeking truth?”

The woman waved her hand, and Locke flew away from the past.

The woman’s voice appeared in Locke’s ears.

“Locke, the present me and the future me are both me. So my instructions are the same as your teacher’s instructions. Locke, you must become a repeating pseudo-forger. This is the most suitable path for you, and it’s the path you’re already walking.”

“You are someone who can continuously pseudo-forge, and in the future, you can even go further.”

“Don’t hesitate, move forward on the path to the future. This strand of hair is a gift I’m giving you. This strand of hair can bear your Moon Ring Magic Pressure. You only need to temporarily transfer the Moon Ring Magic Pressure to my hair. This is also the purpose for the future me to send you here. In addition, I have placed a special seal in your memories.”

“You cannot speak of what you have seen here in any way, and you cannot be tainted by any karmic connections here.”

“There is a Great Annihilation here, which will erase all the karma between you and me.”

The next moment, Locke left the deepest part of the Past Land and returned to the entrance of the Past Land, which was the area full of bright red magical stars.

Ekaterina the witch seemed to have received some information. She nodded to Locke and then quickly said, “Don’t tell anyone about anything here. Otherwise, I’ll be in big trouble.”

Locke hurriedly assured her, “Teacher, I absolutely won’t reveal any information. You can rest assured.”

Ekaterina the witch nodded and said, “You must be very curious about this place. I can only tell you that I am someone trying to make a comeback. If we only consider relationships within the wizarding world, then you only need to think of me as an ordinary third-ring wizard trying to advance to the fourth ring.”

Locke felt that the situation was very complicated. However, this was a scheme at the third-ring wizarding level, and its implications were so great that it not only affected the Cloud Marsh Wetlands but could even affect the wizarding world of the Eastern Boundary. Therefore, he could only hold back for the time being. Now, the matter concerning his teacher was becoming increasingly mysterious.

Locke looked up at the sky of this past land and saw a massive root realm located on the Path of Truth. This root realm seemed to be the root realm of the Red Dragon lineage. He had never seen such a magnificent root realm before. This root realm was intertwined with another massive root realm.

Two magnificent root realms seemed poised to collide on the Path of Truth, each striving to surpass the other in its progress.

Locke asked the witch Ekaterina, “Teacher, is the Path of Truth like a river? The further you go, the more the water behind you propels your entire root realm forward.”

Ekaterina nodded, “Locke, after your encounter with the root realms of the Probus Truth-Unveiling Competition, your vision in this field has surpassed even that of Moon Ring Wizards, and even Sun Ring Wizards. Indeed, you just touched upon the key points of Crown Magic, and also the essentials of competing for rankings on the Path of Truth.”

“The Rose Throne and I, the witch Anna, have developed serious disagreements regarding the cultivation and understanding of rose-type magical plants.

Therefore, we are constantly improving the root realms of our respective academic lines. If our academic lineages progress further on the Path of Truth, then we can transform the other’s entire academic lineage’s root realm into the driving force for our continued progress.”

“Our doctrines are too similar, so the roots of our academic lineages are also extremely close on the path to truth.

This means that if either of us suddenly falls too far behind the other, we will be considered to have lost the battle of academic lineages and become resources for the other to advance deeper into the path of truth. My crown magic will lose to Anna’s crown magic. And all the resources related to crown magic, that is, the resources of the shortcut I opened for you before, will become less than those of the Rose lineage.”

“Similarly, the foundation of our lineage will regress, while the foundation of the Rose lineage will advance further along the Path of Truth. Their overall magical power will surpass ours due to their foundation. However, the knowledge of the Path of Truth is far more complex than I’ve described. As far as you know, the seven top academies of Cloud Marsh Wetland frequently rotate.”

“The Path of Truth not only advances, but it can also lead to wrong turns, causing regression or stagnation,”

said the witch Catherine. “As long as one can pursue true knowledge, I don’t care whether I become someone’s resource or not.”

“All wizards who embark on this path are seekers of truth. We agree that we should help more excellent wizards pursue true knowledge. But the problem is the witch Anna; her views and her thinking are wrong. I won’t let an unsuitable person go up there.”

The golden dragon Fafnir blinked, not interrupting, because this knowledge was beyond his comprehension. As a dragon, he naturally didn’t know what foundation, the Path of Truth, or Crown Magic were; he was already quite knowledgeable about Great Magic.

The witch Catherine said to Locke, “Locke, you don’t need to worry too much. You’re not fully involved in my academic war. For a Moon Ring wizard like you, all you need to do is prepare well for the competition along the Tianjiang River and fight for resources for Golden Crown Mountain. The focus of my academic war is on those Sun Ring and Three Ring wizards, and on myself.

I’m telling you this just so you can understand in advance.”

The witch Catherine gently said to Locke, “No matter the outcome, I’ve arranged everything for you, including methods and plans to ensure your safe exit. Now you only need to think about how to leave the station, complete your special grant and major sub-projects, participate in the competition, and complete your teaching duties for leaving the station.”

“You don’t need to concern yourself with my affairs. If you’re interested or have some spare capacity, you can work on the projects I gave you before. Those projects can elevate the foundation of our lineage, although not by much. The reason is simple: those projects are all capable of entering a certain market, or are groundbreaking projects. These projects serve as the outer edge of my doctrine, elevating my foundation.”

The witch Catherine pointed at Locke’s forehead, and a clone with a moon ring-level magic pressure appeared beside him, which was 30,000 magic pressure. Locke’s own magic pressure rapidly dropped to 20,000 magic pressure, but the Shadow Assassin’s Divine Pearl within Locke’s body took effect, raising his magic pressure to 25,000.

The witch Catherine said to Locke, “This is the avatar I created for you in the past.”

“This is a spell model that automatically evolved according to our magic system. It should be unprecedented in the wizarding world; you can study it carefully. As I understand it, this avatar spell doesn’t seem to be a clone of you, but rather a direct incarnation of your False Forge Little Leather.” “

In other words, this avatar spell took away 30,000 magic pressure from your False Forge Little Leather. If you are a reservoir, other clones are just dividing the reservoir into several sections; the total amount of water in the reservoir remains unchanged. But this avatar created another reservoir out of thin air next to your existing one, and the two reservoirs are connected.”

“This increased your upper limit.”

“Therefore, the magic pressure you received from False Forge Little Leather is now all above your Little Leather avatar.”

The witch Catherine quickly understood this avatar spell, and a smile played on her lips. “This clone magic is indeed powerful, but it’s not for you; it’s mainly for myself.”

The witch Catherine chanted the incantation, reciting the spell for this clone magic. She then plucked a lock of her hair, which burned with golden-purple flames. She tossed it aside, and a clone appeared beside her.

This clone had pink hair and pink pupils.

It was a true clone of Catherine the witch.

“The power of the past is unimaginable,”

the witch Catherine sighed. “I don’t know what kind of enemy could have taken advantage of the chaos to attack the civilization I once led, plunging its great path into oblivion. I am still searching, and to find it, I must gain more power, and power comes from wisdom, which is revealed through true knowledge.”

“Locke, after my past self’s guidance, I have indeed discovered some problems with my previous thoughts about you.”

“Like my past civilization, after realizing it had gone astray, it tried to start over, only to lose the achievements it had made. Your constancy is essential; it makes it easier for you to seek truth. You must never easily abandon your constancy.”

“You are far from reaching the point where you can abandon constancy and continue your pursuit of truth. Constancy is the fruit of victory gained from forging great magic to a certain level, and it is also an important step to ensure that you can continue. Just continue down this path.”

Locke sighed, “Teacher, the path of seeking truth is truly difficult. My constancy is rather special; I can modify my pseudo-forging, which is better. But what about those constancy that cannot modify their pseudo-forging? In order to seek truth, they cannot abandon their constancy, yet constancy will still limit them at some point.”

The witch Catherine said, “Throughout history, how many seekers of truth have gone astray without realizing it? It’s bad enough that they harmed themselves, but their power systems have been left behind, harming future generations. Seeking truth is inherently difficult, and those who force themselves to seek truth are even more prone to error. But the problem is, if you don’t seek truth, you will remain forever ignorant.”

“Staying in place is always the easiest thing; retreating can be much more helpful.” “

Therefore, since ancient times, seekers of truth have always been the ones who suffer the most.”

“If we remain stagnant—”

said the witch Catherine, “those civilizations have all decayed and been forgotten, thus becoming unknown to all.”

“They vanished without a trace.”

“The most tragic thing is that even if later generations want to excavate those lost civilizations, they often find nothing to criticize, and what they find is often distorted, incorrect information.”

The witch Catherine continued, “Before coming to the Wizarding Civilization, I visited many civilizations. Locke, I can tell you that all those civilizations have now disappeared. No one remembers them, but that’s still not the most tragic thing. The most tragic thing is that the Wizarding Civilization is a civilization that loves to record and examine the past. When our civilization went to find the names of those civilizations, all the names we found so far have been wrong.”

“I once tried to write down the correct names of those civilizations. I submitted it to a three-ring journal, ‘The Void and Civilization,’ but it was rejected.”

Locke raised an eyebrow. “Was the manuscript rejected, Professor?”

Ekaterina the Witch asked. “Because I lack the relevant research qualifications and experience.”

Locke replied, “That’s because the editors of those journals are blind.”

Ekaterina and Locke exchanged a smile.

After laughing, Locke became serious and said, “If my False Forging: Minor Leather continues to develop and deepen, perhaps it can provide wizards currently in the False Forging stage with the possibility of significantly modifying their homeostasis and ultimate magic. Although the current False Forging: Minor Leather is far from being able to achieve that.” “

But I believe that might be possible in the future,”

Locke said earnestly, looking at Ekaterina the Witch.

Catherine the Witch paused, then shook her head, sighing, “Locke, do you know what you’re saying?

This isn’t even a simple sharing.”

“If you could do that—”

“Never mind, I now even think your ambition surpasses mine. I can only tell you that you must constantly create new pseudo-forges and make your pseudo-forge/small leather advance towards true forge. Both paths can enhance your pseudo-forge/small leather. This is the path I believe is best suited for you.”

At this moment, Fafnir the Golden Dragon burped, still holding the wizard’s sword in his mouth. The wizard’s sword was divided into yin and yang colors, one red and one blue, which he used like a toothpick.

“Your wizarding civilization is far too complex. Life isn’t as easy as our True Dragon race’s. We True Dragons simply eat and sleep, sleep and eat, letting nature take its course. After a few thousand days and nights of sleep, our power naturally enters the Star Ring or Moon Ring. After a few tens of thousands more days and nights of sleep, we become Third Ring beings.”

“Our True Dragon race gains power in a very ordinary way. Unlike you wizards, we don’t have to work so hard, affecting our lifespan.”

“If I had to think as much as you do, I absolutely wouldn’t want to,” said Fafnir, the Golden Dragon. “It would shorten my lifespan.”

The witch Ekaterina said to Locke, “You can go out now. Fafnir and I can’t leave here easily. After you leave, immediately go to the Golden Crown Mountain Academic Committee and report that my office was attacked by dragon minions. Have the Golden Crown Mountain Witcher Force and the members of the Academic Committee come and handle this matter.” “

I will feign great anger and conduct spot checks on the dragon minions within the academy.”

“But I won’t completely eliminate those dragon minions. Those dragon minions are the most useful.”

“By the way, I’ve discovered that one of the wizards in your research group is a dragon abomination,” the witch Ekaterina told Locke. “One of the Mario brothers, Wood, Gordon, and the Celtic wizard is a dragon abomination.”

Even Fafnir, the golden dragon, was shocked. “Ah?”

Locke’s expression turned grave. “Teacher, can’t you tell me the specific identity of that dragon abomination?”

Ekaterina nodded.

Locke said, “Yes, Teacher, you must have your reasons for doing this. Since you used such complicated methods to bring me here and have me kill that peak-level dragon abomination, it must be to make some people believe that a large number of dragon abominations are lurking within your lineage.”

“If Teacher tells me who the dragon abomination is, then I will definitely treat him differently. Under normal circumstances, it won’t be a problem, but if it involves a prophetic school’s spell model for prediction, then the enemy might start from my side and discover the anomaly.”

“But Teacher, I only have one question,” Locke said seriously. “Did that dragon in my research group kill any of my Golden Crown Mountain wizards?”

Witch Catherine nodded with satisfaction; Locke had at least learned Golden Crown Mountain’s protectiveness. “No. He killed that wizard before he joined Golden Crown Mountain.”

“It’s possible he did it before that wizard joined, or it’s possible that although he was raised by Golden Crown Mountain from a young age, he did it before obtaining a teaching position and officially becoming a wizard of Golden Crown Mountain. The wizards I assigned to you are all outstanding talents, and this dragon is also an outstanding talent. Although he is a dragon, he has achieved a lot; he is the dragon who has gone the furthest in the wizarding system. Therefore, I want to see how far he, as a descendant of a true dragon and a god, can go in the wizarding system.”

“The dragon you just killed was the Dragon King.”

“And that dragon should just be an ordinary dragon within a tribe.”

Locke nodded and smiled, “Then, to me, he is just an ordinary team member. As long as he doesn’t betray Golden Crown Mountain or seriously violate wizarding laws, then I can treat him as an ordinary wizard.”

“Teacher, I must leave now. I fear that staying here too long will arouse suspicion among some.”

At that moment, the [Small Leather Body] automatically merged into the plane of the wizarding world and disappeared. Locke then felt his homeostasis becoming stronger, seemingly more in harmony with the wizarding world. He then walked outwards, leaving the illusionary walls of the True Knowledge Institute.

Immediately afterward, he deactivated the defensive magic array in his office, allowing the magical pressure of the dragon’s corpse to spread outwards.

At this moment, all wizards of the second ring and above on Mount Golden Crown felt the magical pressure of the dragon.

Because the dragon was cursed, its magical pressure was like a beacon in the darkness.

Soon, the wizards of the Demon Hunter team from Mount Golden Crown, who had already suspected something was amiss, arrived. Led by a Star Ring wizard riding on the back of a three-headed magical bird, followed by the Demon Hunter team wizards riding various flying magical artifacts, this Star Ring wizard arrived above the True Knowledge Institute, attracting many wizards from the institute to come out and observe the situation.

Locke stepped out of his office, dragging the corpse of the dragon abomination, and shouted to the Star Ring Wizard Demon Hunter Captains, “An enemy has infiltrated the academy, suspected to be retaliating against our Golden Crown Mountain dragon abomination clan.”

The Star Ring Wizard was immediately startled.

“Dragon abominations? Dragon abominations wearing human skin can simulate the magical pressure of wizards to the greatest extent. The discovery of one dragon abomination in the academy means that many more have infiltrated. Demon Hunters, listen to my orders, immediately surround True Knowledge Academy. We must conduct spot checks on all wizards in True Knowledge Academy. In addition, I must report to the Academy Council as soon as possible.” The

Star Ring Wizard looked at the dragon abomination corpse in Locke’s hands. He immediately understood that if spot checks were not conducted now, and new dragon abominations appeared in True Knowledge Academy in the future, the Academy Council might hold him accountable for dereliction of duty, resulting in fines or even the loss of his job.

Therefore, he immediately ordered the siege of True Knowledge Academy.

At this moment, a wizard responsible for cleaning True Knowledge Academy suddenly moved his legs and ran outside. He was a rather old first-class wizard apprentice.

The Star Ring Wizard, Chuck, immediately warned him, “Your apprentice, stop right now, or I will consider you a dragon abomination.”

The first-class wizard apprentice seemed not to hear, continuing to run. The next moment, a blade of grass pierced his foot. He roared, his skin splitting open, revealing a black, dragon-like creature—its upper body like a flying dragon, its lower body like a crocodile’s tail—flying into the sky. Clearly, it was a dragon abomination sensing something was wrong and trying to escape. As soon as

this dragon abomination appeared, black dragon abomination fire burned all around.

Dragon abomination fire is cursed fire.

The Star Ring Wizard of the Demon Hunter Squad nodded slightly to Locke, his eyes gleaming, clearly sensing his chance to distinguish himself. He carried a bamboo tube on his back, then chanted a spell. The tube opened automatically, releasing three thousand sword-shaped bamboo sticks.

These sword-shaped bamboo sticks thrust towards the second-ring dragon abomination.

This is the Three Thousand Sword Bamboo, a powerful combat-type magical plant among the Star Ring Magical Plants, and very expensive. The three thousand sword bamboos, like three thousand flying swords, pierced through the dragon’s body in an instant, repeatedly penetrating it. The dragon roared three times in a row, because the three thousand sword bamboos had killed it three times in total.

The dragon is sinful, born cursed, inherently cruel, fond of eating humans, and capable of wearing human skin. Its dragon fire is also a cursed fire, capable of corrupting magical spell models, making it extremely difficult to deal with.

Moreover, dragon monstrosities typically possess multiple lives, likely due to the immortality bestowed upon them by their divine bloodline.

Locke’s earlier single-handed kill of the dragon monstrosity stemmed from his battle against a golden dragon at the third ring, utilizing all his magical power. The advanced mystical meaning of the Four Saints’ Blessing, the Tree of Prosperity, and the Golden Sands of the White Tiger Sea [Year of Xinwei] allowed him to instantly kill all seven of the dragon’s lives.

However, this ordinary dragon monstrosity, though only at the second ring, would not be so easily killed even with the Three Thousand Sword Bamboo.

The dragon monstrosity lying on the ground suddenly rose for the fourth time. The wizards of the Demon Hunter Squad cried out, “Damn it, Captain Chuck! This ordinary dragon monstrosity has a fourth life! It has one more than a typical dragon monstrosity!”

The dragon monstrosity roared as it rose, then its crocodile tail suddenly slammed into the ground, lunging at a crystallized wizard from the Demon Hunter Squad in the sky. Its speed was incredibly fast, appearing as a long black line, while the crystallized wizard from Golden Crown Mountain turned pale.

Captain Chuck, caught off guard, was extremely pale. If there were any casualties, the Golden Crown Mountain Council would hold him accountable, making it impossible to atone for his mistake.

The next moment, Locke, holding the White Tiger Sea Gold Sand in his left hand, stood in mid-air. The dragon demon had already died with a gentle wave of his hand, and the dragon blood and divine blood within its body were separated in this attack.

Locke’s Beast Panel had actually purified the curse on the dragon demon, which should have been cursed by the gods.

The dragon demon let out a mournful cry, and then died completely.

The wizards of the True Knowledge Institute and the Demon Hunter Squad immediately looked at Locke standing in the sky, holding the White Tiger Sea Gold Sand. Although the White Tiger Sea Gold Sand was merely a Star Ring Demon Plant, it possessed advanced mystical meaning, and its year was Xinwei.

With a single strike, it directly destroyed the dragon demon and purified the divine curse on its body using the power of the Nature Guardian.

Captain Chuck immediately thanked Locke, saying, “Wizard Locke, thank you for saving my teammate.”

Locke nodded to Captain Chuck. “We’re all wizards from the same lineage and wizarding academy, no need for thanks. On the contrary, Captain Chuck noticed something amiss at the True Knowledge Institute and immediately came to investigate, showing you’re a wizard who takes things seriously.” “

I’ll report this to the Academic Committee.”

“Please, Captain Chuck, report this to the Academy’s Demon Hunter Department.”

Captain Chuck quickly bowed to Locke. “Grand Wizard Locke, I’ll do it immediately.”

Captain Chuck watched Locke use the Great Bright Dragonflight to leave, inwardly marveling that Locke seemed to have become a reliable figure in the Red Dragon lineage.

Locke arrived at the headquarters of the Academic Committee within the academy, tossing the dragon’s corpse before Robinson, a student of the Green Dragon Throne and a Sun Ring wizard. Robinson

was a breeder who enjoyed researching vine toxicology. He looked at the corpse of this peak-level Star Ring Dragon King.

“Hmm? It’s the Dragon King, the one that escaped during the Great Battle of the Dragon Mountains.”

“Its entire life force was killed in one fell swoop. Judging from the marks, it’s your White Tiger Sea Gold Sand, Wizard Locke

, isn’t it?” After examining the corpse, Wizard Robinson exclaimed, “Sea Gold Sand magical plants have been largely neglected for research for a long time. I never expected to find such an anomaly as you, cultivating it to this extent. Your White Tiger Sea Gold Sand is the most powerful Star Ring stage magical plant I’ve ever seen, at least in terms of attack power. If the Macedonian Witch’s spell model, the White Emperor’s Sword, is the most powerful spell in terms of attack power in the Star Ring stage, then your White Tiger Sea Gold Sand can be called the most powerful magical plant in terms of attack power in the Star Ring stage.”

“The life of this Dragon King was completely destroyed by your White Tiger Sea Sands in one fell swoop. The evidence is that all the hearts that represent his life have the same wound.”

Locke said to the wizard Robinson, “Mr. Robinson, I discovered this Dragon King at the Institute of True Knowledge. He was hiding in my teacher, the witch Catherine,’s office, trying to attack me. If I hadn’t stumbled upon him, I think his real target might have been my teacher, Catherine.” The

wizard Robinson felt his mind go blank because Locke had revealed too much information at once.

“Huh?”

“Attack the Throne Wizard? Him? This—”

The wizard Robinson couldn’t think of a better word for a moment. “That’s really too audacious.”

“A Throne Wizard who leaves wizarding civilization and goes to a great world can directly become the leader of that great world.”

“How much magic could a mere Dragon King have to try to assassinate a Throne Wizard? Strange things happen every year, but this year there seem to be more than usual.”

The wizard Robinson stood up, his face serious. “I understand, I will report it to the Academy Council immediately. I suspect that the entire Academy may be teeming with dragon monstrosities. Wait, these dragon monstrosities could not have penetrated so deeply into the wizarding world without the help of wizards.”

“But something feels off.”

The wizard Robinson carefully examined the Dragon Abomination and, sure enough, found a rosebud resembling a golden bell on its waist.

“This is the Golden Bell Rose, a second-circle enchanted plant. But it has a special ability: after the flower is picked and allowed to air dry, it doesn’t wither; instead, it turns into a sachet that emits a fragrance that can interfere with various detection spells.” “

Yes, someone is helping them infiltrate Mount Golden Crown.”

Locke asked, “The Rose Council?”

The wizard Robinson shook his head. “The Golden Bell Rose is a magical plant restricted from cultivation by the White Wizarding Association. Not many academies are qualified to cultivate it, but there are quite a few. However, the Tacitus family is particularly fond of it, and I think it’s very likely they helped them. But without evidence, this Golden Bell Rose isn’t enough. Some wizards on Mount Golden Crown are qualified to cultivate this magical plant.” “

The Golden Bell Rose is a commonly used second-circle magical plant, dominating the sachet market.”

Wizard Robinson took out the Ganoderma lucidum magical plant and contacted the Green Dragon Throne. After obtaining permission from the Green Dragon Throne, he first used the Academic Committee’s name to order a ban on all wizards from entering or leaving Mount Golden Crown, and ordered the Demon Hunter Corps to begin investigating the dragon abominations within the academy.

Wizard Robinson looked at Locke with a headache.

“The infiltration is more serious than I thought. Wizard Locke, you must be careful these next few days. I believe this may be a result of the spread of the war between your academic branches. These dragon fiends must have been deliberately allowed to attack the wizards of your academic branches.

In such a short time, I’ve received some information about the dragon fiends, and some have even escaped from Mount Golden Crown.”

Seeing the worry on Wizard Robinson’s brow, Locke immediately imitated his expression to appear anxious as well.

However, to be honest, this situation seemed to be entirely within his teacher’s expectations.

He was finally enjoying the benefits of the information gap. While the entire Mount Golden Crown mistakenly believed that the dragon fiends had successfully invaded and began a full-scale search, he remained calm and even pretended to find it troublesome.

Locke was somewhat bewildered, wondering if this was going too far, watching all the wizards of Mount Golden Crown busy while he remained unperturbed.

However, he quickly adapted.

Locke pretended to find it troublesome. “I was just entrusted with a heavy responsibility by my teacher, to lead a research group, and I never expected to encounter something like this.”

Wizard Robinson nodded to Locke with a knowing look.

“You’re only a third-ring wizard. The important projects they assign you involve many things, and even just completing them could slightly change the landscape of a wizarding community. With great power comes great responsibility. At first, any wizard would feel fear and apprehension. Don’t worry, those dragon fiends definitely can’t infiltrate the true core of our Golden Crown Mountain. I don’t think there are any dragon fiends in your research group. Dragon fiends rely solely on their innate abilities; how could they possibly become wizards?”

“If I let them do the work, wouldn’t we be exposed instantly?”

Locke coughed, remembering that there was a dragon fiend in his own research group.

Robinson the Wizard comforted Locke, saying, “Your project is cutting-edge research that could potentially influence the landscape of the Cloud Marsh Wetland. Keep up the good work. When I was your age, I was just an ordinary second-ring wizard, only able to do some insignificant research. Even if I achieved results, it wouldn’t have a significant impact on the wizarding world.”

“But the research you’re doing now, from any angle, has a much wider impact. You need to keep going.”

Locke pretended to be encouraged and said to Robinson, “Thank you, Lord Robinson.”

After leaving the academic committee, Locke let out a sigh of relief. “I’ll go back to the Saffron Peach Garden for a while. After all, with the Dragon Abomination incident, it seems normal for me to stay in the lab.”

A week later, the Celtic Wizard sent him reading reports written by other wizards in his research group. Locke read all four reports but couldn’t tell which one was written by the Dragon Abomination.

“Gordon’s perspective is rather superficial, but that’s befitting of a second-ring wizard. His proposed research method

is rather formulaic. It seems he did a lot of research and then just copied it down for me. But he’s very good at writing; his writing style is quite good.”

Locke sent Gordon a message using a magical plant called Ganoderma lucidum, inviting him to co-write an article for a District 1 journal and asking if he could help.

After all, he’s currently very busy, and having a wizard’s help wouldn’t be bad.

Gordon, who was working in the lab, saw Locke’s message and his face immediately lit up with barely suppressed joy. He secretly glanced at his other colleagues who were also working.

“It seems the group leader only invited me. He must value me. That’s great. I just joined the group leader’s research group and I’ve already gained his favor; even the Celtic wizards haven’t noticed.”

At the same time, Locke looked at the report submitted by the Mario brothers, which contained some good points, and Locke carefully considered their feasibility.

What surprised Locke the most was the reading report written by Wood Wizard.

“Mycelial fusion?”

Locke’s eyes lit up slightly. “Altering specific plant factors in the mycelium of the mushroom-like magical plant, causing the plant factors between mycelia to mistakenly identify them as the same species, thus resulting in mycelial fusion. This is a promising area; I hadn’t thought of it before. This Wood Wizard’s skill is quite impressive.”

Locke stood up. “Thinking it’s about time, it’s time to harvest.”

In the Golden Crown Mountain region, Wizard Sera, controlling a necromancer legion composed of dozens of ordinary second-ring liches and high-ranking undead warriors, had just wiped out a venomous snake nest that had invaded the wizarding world. Looking at the venomous land filled with bones, he squatted down and used a No. 7 Time Crystal Vial to collect the venom into it.

He laughed heartily, feeling the power of the séance ritual constantly increasing.

“I’ve collected 81 different types of snake venom from the Venomous World. This world is a bit strange; as long as these venoms exist, the snake race will never perish. The venom seems to be the very essence of their world. The entire world is also submerged in the venom of the Fourth Ring Snakes.”

“Some of the toxins possess the ability to control a wizard’s body.”

Wizard Sera’s eyes gleamed. “Leaving aside necromancy, just studying the venoms alone yields a considerable amount, which can be used to strengthen my undead. Hmm? There’s a Star Ring Breeder ahead, also catching snakes like me.”

A greedy glint flashed in Sera’s eyes.

He hadn’t just been catching snakes himself lately; he’d also been directly stealing venom from other wizards. These snakes weren’t easy to deal with; some venoms even affected him. If he were accidentally bitten, his own life would be in danger, so he didn’t mind stealing from others.

Sera stood on the back of a skeletal dragon, flying swiftly in one direction.

“Hmm? A Star Ring Wizard from Golden Crown Mountain, and the breeder I hate the most. Using a Gilded Sacred Peach… isn’t this a wizard from the Red Dragon lineage? Judging from her magic pressure, she’s only at the early Star Ring stage, a witch. Although her magic pressure suggests she has little to do with Locke, she’s still incredibly repulsive.”

“Then let’s just snatch her.”

“Who told her to be so unlucky to run into me?”

As a Star Ring Wizard genius, he was quite confident in his power, especially since he possessed portions of many powerful spells he had stolen from other wizards.