Chapter 949

Chapter 943 You are all old and decrepit, dressed in fine clothes!

Master Patrick Finch’s expression was playful as he stared intently at Wizard Zeno amidst the gazes of the crowd.

Wizard Zeno felt his gaze prickly like needles, but he did not back down. He immediately glared back at Master Patrick Finch, even though he was a Sun Ring Wizard.

The Third Ring Wizards collectively remained unresponsive, unfazed by Zeno’s earlier astonishing words. Some didn’t even glance at him. Only the Green Dragon Witch and Wizard Fisher raised their eyes to look at him before continuing to record data with their magic quills.

Catherine the Witch, sitting in the audience, finally put down her magical plant and stopped dealing with her affairs, looking up at her prized student.

The Sea Queen raised her head and sneered.

Meanwhile, the panel of thirty second-ring wizards frowned. The slight goodwill they had felt towards Zeno wizard after seeing his impressive credentials had largely vanished, replaced by deep suspicion.

Could someone so unreliable really trust his application?

For them, the quality of an application was easily discernible, but the competence of the writer was far more difficult to judge.

In this world, famous people often lack substance, while those with substance are less adept at boasting and creating an impression of superiority, thus avoiding widespread fame.

They had encountered many such individuals—famous yet unreliable, substantial yet unknown—and were hesitant to make hasty judgments.

Therefore, in this special grant presentation, every action of each wizard could elicit praise or suspicion from the judges and panel, raising doubts about their true abilities and how their past papers and projects had been accomplished.

One of the star-ring wizards asked him this question.

“You say crystallized magical plants lack life signs, but Master Patrick Finch, precisely because of his research in this area, created the miracle of publishing eight first-tier journal articles in Yunze within a year. I’ve read those eight articles; they’re truly excellent.”

The Star Ring Wizard turned to Master Patrick, who smiled and nodded slightly.

The Star Ring Wizard then looked at Zeno and said, “Currently, the highest individual publication rate in Yunze is eight articles a year. This is truly remarkable, even attracting the attention of third-ring wizards. Are you saying this miracle… is fake?”

“Zeno Wizard, you can take back your words now.”

Not only him, but the second-ring wizards behind and beside him scrutinized him with icy, blade-like gazes. The suspicious and scrutinizing gazes of so many high-ring wizards made the already taciturn Zeno feel even more pressured, and this pressure made him panic. In his panic, his stubbornness began to falter.

“No mistake, it’s fake.”

The Star Ring wizard glanced at him coldly and said nothing more.

A Moon Ring wizard behind him sneered.

“Zenor Wizard, were your previous two papers in the Second Ring, First District journal also obtained through this kind of deliberately sensationalist rhetoric?” “

Those eight journal articles were confirmed by multiple wizards from Yunze, and a key laboratory conducted a crucial experiment to verify their authenticity. Are you saying that those high-ring wizards aren’t as smart as you? That they don’t know as much as you?”

This Moon Ring wizard stood up from the review platform, his aura aggressive, seemingly very averse to Zenor’s behavior.

This wizard was from another school on Golden Crown Mountain. Golden Crown Mountain was too large; these Second Ring wizards rarely even met each other. Zenor Wizard, due to his social anxiety, hadn’t participated in large public events or competitions where he could be easily recognized.

Therefore, this wizard wasn’t familiar with Zenor Wizard, and all his knowledge of him came from this defense.

The Moon Ring Wizard spoke up, “If you were bragging elsewhere, that would be one thing, but these eight articles are unprecedented in Cloud Swamp Wetlands, and it’s unclear when anyone will be able to replicate that feat. To dare boast about something like this, I think you’ve lost your mind. You’ve chosen the wrong target; you’ve overestimated yourself and underestimated us!”

Master Patrick smirked.

At this moment, the wizards on the review panel whispered amongst themselves. Most of them harbored doubts about Zeno and found him absurd.

Master Patrick was hailed as the closest a Moon Ring Wizard had come to becoming a Third Ring Wizard in the past thirty years.

His eight articles on Cloud Swamp within a year had already elevated him above the average Sun Ring Wizard.

The magical plant crystallization technology he pioneered had attracted the attention of countless wizards; some had tried to prove the technology flawed, but all had been met with rebuffs.

Past achievements, Yunze’s credibility, the evaluations of him by some high-ring wizards, and Patrick’s own remarkable accomplishments all led these second-ring wizards (below the Sun Ring) to regard him as the leader of the new generation in Yunze Wetlands.

Although he wasn’t a third-ring wizard, he already possessed the reputation of one.

Facing the laughter of the crowd, Zeno clenched his fists.

Ekaterina, the witch, sat in the third row of the audience, watching the scene expressionlessly.

The third-ring wizard from Mystic Heaven also remained expressionless, as if nothing could change his emotions.

The third-ring wizard from Starfield Sea watched the scene with great interest.

“This is much more interesting than the drama at the Central Grand Theater in Starfield Sea. Our Yunze Wetlands is really lively this year.”

“Eric Ender, what do you say?”

Eric Ender said, “There’s no difference, they’re all good wizards.”

Valeria Kenway, the wizard from Starfield Sea, laughed.

“That’s because your standards are too high; these little fellows simply don’t meet your expectations. That’s true, to your realm, all wizards are wizards of the wizarding civilization.”

“So what difference can there be?”

“Except for dark wizards.”

Eric Ender, the wizard, remained unmoved by the provocation.

“It’s not just talent that determines a wizard’s ultimate success.”

Valeria Kenway laughed, her words carrying a hidden meaning.

“I told you your standards were high; with just a few words, you’ve already looked down on all the second-ring wizards below.”

“But you can take another look; what makes the young people of my Eastern Realm different from those of other realms?”

The two exchanged a glance. Valeria Kenway, a throne wizard born a child prodigy, was full of confidence. He deliberately looked at Eric Ender provocatively, while Eric Ender remained calm and composed. He picked up a cup of wizard’s tea from the table beside him and took a sip.

“Why say everything?”

Valeria Kenway smiled smugly, as if he had succeeded.

“The rule in my Eastern District is that I don’t like to mince words. Just say what you think. Why all this awkwardness?”

Eric Ender took a sip of tea and extended his right hand towards Valeria Kenway, bending three fingers.

Three!

Valeria Kenway saw this and immediately scoffed. “Let’s get this straight. I don’t understand. Don’t expect any useful information from me. If you have something to say, just say it. What’s the meaning of this gesture? Can you convey your meaning through words?”

Eric Ender frowned.

“A thing can happen once, twice, but not three times. That’s the higher-ups’ intention,”

said Wizard Valeria. “Then let them handle it themselves.”

At this moment, in the defense session, a Moon Ring Wizard cautiously asked Zeno, “Actually, your project is quite good, covering both the hot topics of magical plant crystallization and the Golden Route. However, you say that crystallized magical plants have no life force. Why do you think that? The evidence from the related experiments in your application is insufficient.”

“These are just some insignificant small experiments.”

“Besides, you’re a low-ring wizard. Many of your ideas are wrong; it’s low-ring thinking. Perhaps you lack certain information, which is why you’ve made some incorrect judgments. That’s quite normal.”

This white-bearded Moon Ring Wizard intentionally gave Zeno a chance, a way out. He glanced in the direction of the Red Dragon Witch, somewhat intimidated by her reputation. After all, Wizard

Patrick was first and foremost a wizard from another family.

Secondly, even if he becomes a third-ring wizard, he will still be far behind the Red Dragon Witch who once dominated an entire generation of people in Cloudswamp Wetlands when she was advancing to the third ring. Therefore, out of respect for Zeno’s mentor, he should try to help Zeno land smoothly.

The Moon Ring Wizard, in a benevolent tone, said to Zeno, “Perhaps you’ve misunderstood something, which is why you made such a wrong judgment. Reorganize your project; I think there’s still a good chance of receiving top-tier funding next year.”

Zeno stubbornly replied, “No, I’m not wrong.”

“Crystallized magical plants can only be used as raw materials to fill the Golden Path if they are not living beings; otherwise, they can only become magical plants planted on the Golden Path. My entire project is based on the conclusion that Patrick Wizard’s crystallized magical plants are definitely not living beings.”

Zeno said, “Wrong, that’s wrong.”

The old Moon Ring Wizard patiently asked, “You mean all eight chapters on Cloud Swamp are wrong?”

Zeno shook his head: “No, if it can be used in Cloud Swamp and pass repeatable experiments, then there must be something correct. The problem isn’t Cloud Swamp, but the definition of life. I think the definition of life by the [Demistocles] wizard of Bonifacius University in Cloud Swamp Wetlands now seems problematic.”

“According to his definition of life, life must simultaneously possess five abilities—the ability to reproduce, the ability to self-replicate, the ability to grow, a complex interaction system, and the ability to adapt to the environment. Meeting these five criteria is sufficient to determine whether it is a life form in the void world. However, after repeated consideration, I have concluded that his theory is wrong, and therefore cannot describe crystallized magical plants. Crystallized magical plants are definitely not life forms, but they possess the ability to grow on their own, the ability to self-replicate, even characteristics approaching reproduction, as well as a complex interaction system and a response to environmental stimuli.”

“These five criteria were originally intended to describe the minimum standard of life. After all, some primitive life forms are no different from ordinary stones and water in the eyes of many wizards who do not study them. For example, the lava sphere fluid of the Lava Great World is the simplest primitive structure discovered among elemental life forms—elemental sphere fluid. If a wizard who does not specialize in this area sees it, they will only think that it is ordinary lava.”

“But that standard is wrong now. Because Wizard Patrick has created crystallized magical plants, and I believe he himself knows that crystallized magical plants are not living beings. The evidence is that I found problems with the auxiliary experiments in some of his published articles.”

Zeno’s words sounded ridiculous and unbelievable to the thirty second-ring review panel wizards.

They looked at Zeno with suspicion.

Because Zeno had actually dragged in an important research by a throne wizard.

In order to prove his conclusion was correct, he actually used the research results of a higher-ring wizard as evidence.

His actions provoked open questioning and ridicule from these review panel wizards.

A star-ring wizard with a white beard and eyebrows suddenly laughed. He leaned back and said, “Although it is said that writing an application sometimes involves making up a story, and it has to be reasonable and attractive, I didn’t expect our wizard Zeno to take such a risky approach today, actually carrying out these other people’s jokes to the end.”

Many second-ring wizards chuckled.

A Moon Ring wizard spoke up, “Young people, they’re always so arrogant, unaware of the power and wisdom of High Ring wizards.”

He chuckled, “He’s too eager for fame. Perhaps he’ll have his chance in thirty years!”

The Second Ring wizards on the panel chuckled.

Wizard Zeno frowned. He hadn’t expected his public questioning to elicit such ridicule; no one on the panel truly took his words seriously.

“I did conduct some experiments, and the data proves that crystallized magical plants are not living beings. The problem lies in the Mystocles Throne’s flawed definition of life, which allowed Master Patrick Finch to muddy the waters. But he himself knows many of his experiments are flawed; he would never dare to conduct more comprehensive and thorough testing.” Master Patrick Finch

let out a soft laugh.

He remained silent.

He intended to use someone else to do his dirty work.

Public opinion can be devastating.

He didn’t need to utter a word; someone else would refute Zeno’s claims, which was far better than him speaking up himself.

Upon hearing Zeno’s rebuttal, the commentators chuckled softly.

One of the Star Ring Wizards laughed and said, “Your experiments can’t be taken seriously.”

Zeno Wizard retorted, “Then how do you explain that using crystallized magical plant materials can indeed repair the Golden Channel?”

The Star Ring Wizard replied, “Perhaps your experiment was flawed, or perhaps your results are problematic; there are many possibilities. But if we had to choose between you, a Third Ring Throne Wizard, a Sun Ring Wizard about to become a Third Ring Wizard, and the results supported by Yunze and numerous journals, we certainly wouldn’t choose you.”

“Zeno, you’ve really gone too far.”

Zeno took a half step back.

“I went too far?”

“I simply honestly disclosed my research findings, and that’s considered going too far?”

An old Star Ring wizard stood up.

“Honest? Don’t you really know what you’re doing? You’re trying to endorse your project by discrediting high-ring wizards, trying to make others believe you. I’ve seen this kind of trick before. But you’ve chosen the wrong target.”

Another old Star Ring wizard also whispered, “Indeed, this wizard has gone too far. He doesn’t deserve to stand here, wasting so many wizards’ time. Your Highnesses, could you please ask this wizard to leave?”

This old Star Ring wizard looked towards the Green Dragon Throne.

“Your Majesty, could you please ask him to step down? My ears simply can’t take his absurd remarks anymore.”

The Green Dragon Throne remained silent, head bowed, and said, “Don’t interfere, Minks. Just continue with the proceedings.”

“After this round, there will be debates between the contestants. Zeno, you continue. Just perform normally. We will faithfully record your performance and give you a score.”

The judging panel, composed of second-ring wizards, was quite displeased that Zeno wasn’t immediately removed.

But it was the Green Dragon Throne’s order, and they had no choice.

These people launched attacks on Zeno from various angles, accompanied by constant laughter. Under their relentless questioning, Zeno even fell into a logical trap. He gave several contradictory answers and stepped down from the stage amidst the wizards’ mockery.

Zeno looked at the witch Catherine in the audience. After half an hour of attacks from thirty wizards, Zeno began to doubt his own research.

A question arose in his mind—would it have been better if he hadn’t done this research in the first place?

At this moment, he looked at the witch Catherine, but she remained focused on the Ganoderma lucidum plant, preoccupied with her own affairs.

A flicker of self-doubt crossed Zeno’s eyes.

“Teacher…”

“Could it be that my abilities are truly lacking, and my ideas are flawed fallacies?”

He recalled an old Star Ring wizard criticizing him, calling him a low-ring wizard, and questioning how many experiments he had conducted related to life research. He was asked if Zeno was confident in his academic abilities, and if he hadn’t previously made mistakes that he mistakenly attributed to his own original discoveries. Zeno walked dazedly off the stage and sat in the seat of the wizards presenting their dissertations.

The Brandy wizard beside him looked at him, a smug glint in his eyes.

‘Zeno, I never thought you’d have such a day. It seems that choice really is more important than effort. I made the right choice, so now I’m even better than Zeno?’

The Brandy wizard thought of the project Master Patrick had given him, his heart brimming with confidence.

At this moment, another wizard went up. This wizard was also a student of the witch Catherine.

He was also working on the crystallization technique of magical plants. Because of the excellent work of wizard Zeno, his crystallization project on a second-ring magical plant, the Fire Monkey Tree King, was originally unremarkable. However, in the eyes of the second-ring wizards’ judging panel, this ordinariness became an advantage.

This mediocrity was seen as solid and reliable in their eyes, so the judging panel of thirty second-ring wizards praised him more.

Half an hour later, this wizard stepped down from the stage, sat back in his seat, and breathed a sigh of relief.

“Ah, what good luck. I was very nervous when I went up, but I didn’t expect things to go so smoothly.”

“Those wizards didn’t have too many demands on my speech. If they had asked more in-depth questions, I wouldn’t have been able to answer them.”

Wizard Zhuoma looked at him enviously. “You’re lucky,”

the Brandy Wizard chuckled. “Everyone has their own destiny. Choice is more important than effort, even talent.”

On the platform, the Green Dragon Throne rose and announced, “Next, Locke Augustine.” The

panel of thirty wizards, after reviewing Locke’s information, became increasingly interested and their spirits lifted.

“This is the former champion of the Cloud Swamp Cup, the Spellfighting Tournament, the Silence Tournament, the Golden Cup, and the Small Rest Cup.”

“He’s also published three first-section articles on Cloud Swamp and two on the Boundary of All Things.”

An old Star Ring Wizard exclaimed in astonishment, “Five first-section articles? It seems the publication dates all spanned within a year. My goodness, he’s published more first-section articles in his entire life than I have in my entire life.”

An old Moon Ring Wizard smiled.

“After hearing so many low-level speeches, it’s finally time to hear something high-level. I’m very much looking forward to hearing what project this wizard, Locke Augustine, this genius breeder from our Golden Crown Mountain—no, our Cloud Marsh Wetlands—is working on. It doesn’t seem to be magical plant crystallization or atavism? That’s a very niche research direction. This kind of research is probably more common in the border region between the Dark and Bright.”

An old wizard from the Star Ring responded, “That’s true. Atavism is difficult to control because the atavism results of plant factors are hard to control. In addition, there must have been reasons why plant factors that were eliminated in the past were eliminated. So it has never been a key research direction in magical plant breeding.”

“After all, instead of wasting energy on atavism of eliminated plant factors, it’s better to cultivate new plant factors through other breeding methods, or select better magical plant traits…”

“Of course, this is, after all, a project application written by the champion of our Silent Holy Grail Competition. Let’s listen carefully; perhaps there will be some new insights.”

A person’s reputation precedes them!

Locke had participated in so many competitions in the past, and now all of that had turned into fame, directly bringing him a wave of goodwill from the commentators.

At this moment, the audience’s attention was entirely focused on him.

The two wizards from Mystic Heaven and Starfield Sea also turned their gazes towards him.

Eric Ender, the Three-Ring Throne wizard from Mystic Heaven, asked, “What, this wizard seems quite famous. I’ve heard of the Silent Grail. It’s a competition jointly organized by the Truth Wizard of Starfield Sea and the top academy of Cloudze Wetlands, isn’t it?”

Valeria Kenway, a wizard from Starfield Sea, was also surprised that the champion of the Silent Grail would participate in the debate. She had also heard of the Silent Grail’s reputation in Starfield Sea.

It was a competition organized by the Truth Wizard, which held significant importance for the Silent Witches.

The Silent Witches also held a rather special position in Starfield Sea.

Valeria Kenway smiled.

“I see. Then let’s see, it looks like a very interesting debate is about to unfold.”

“Judging from this little guy’s aggressive demeanor, something interesting is about to happen.”

At this moment, the witch Ekaterina once again put down the Ganoderma lucidum plant in her hand and stopped dealing with her affairs.

“Lock is much more popular than Zeno because he often participates in popular competitions.”

She looked at the Sea Queen.

‘That drunkard isn’t a wizard from my Eastern Region. Judging from her magical pressure characteristics and the properties of her permanent defensive field, she seems to be from the Southern Region. What, does she know Locke?’

At this moment, the Sea Queen also raised her head and looked at Locke.

“Kid…”

“There are some things I want to confirm. There are levels among geniuses. I need to see your caliber before I can determine how to teach you potion-making.”

The Sea Queen sneered.

‘Yunze Wetlands is really scheming. We wouldn’t be this scheming in our Xiangshan Islands. There are so many purposes behind a defense. Mysterious Heaven, Star Domain Sea, do these participants on the stage really know what they are doing?’

‘Big places have their advantages and disadvantages. In the Xiangshan Islands, why would there be such a battlefield?’ Locke

stepped onto the stage, his gaze sweeping over the audience, the judging panel, the judges, his two Throne Master teachers in the audience, and the wizard Zeno. His mind raced with his previous doubts about the magical plant crystallization technology. To be honest, Zeno’s research, in his opinion, actually made some sense and deserved serious consideration and discussion.

He hadn’t expected the judges on the judging panel to not only fail to take it seriously but also to ridicule him.

The judging panel’s role here wasn’t to suppress the participants, but to help them hone their logic and assist the Throne Master wizards in judging the contestant’s abilities.

Locke’s eyes hardened. He came to his senses, but all of this was irrelevant to him now.

As a wizard, his duty was to clearly explain his…things.

At this moment, this was his only duty.

“Distinguished judges, my project involves the reversion to ancestral forms of magical plants to explore the plant factors of various magical plants that have disappeared throughout history. The reversion magic itself has already been integrated into my ultimate magic and has been applied to some extent. However, this project aims to enhance the reversion using golden spells to increase its precision. In other words, I’m not just researching the mechanism; it has become an applicable study.”

This needs to be clearly stated.

The topic of reversion is inherently weak, so it’s crucial to clarify whether you’re in the theoretical or applied stage.

Being in the applied stage would undoubtedly earn you a significant bonus!

At this moment, many second-circle wizards were already nodding in approval. Although Locke’s topic wasn’t particularly popular, his reputation and past experience were the best guarantee. With these assurances, even the most mediocre research was worthy of their serious attention in his hands. To publish

five papers in a Zone 1 journal within a little over a year, especially for an ordinary second-circle wizard, was no simple feat.

Many second-ring wizards nodded repeatedly and whispered among themselves as they listened to Locke’s defense.

They discussed in hushed tones, “As expected of Locke Augustine, his topic isn’t even a popular one, but this research on atavism is clear, the mechanism is well-defined, and most importantly, it already has numerous applications. It’s truly solid and down-to-earth, and full of brilliant ideas.”

“Look, even the Blue Dragon Throne is listening attentively to Locke Augustine’s defense. By the way, the Blue Dragon Throne itself enjoys evolutionary research.”

“It’s truly melodious, like heavenly music. After hearing so many mediocre defenses, this research is really excellent. It’s just a pity he didn’t choose a popular topic, otherwise, would there have been any debate about the only spot that passed the academy’s internal review for the special funding?”

Locke said, “I have enhanced atavism through the Golden Spell, and have already achieved breakthroughs in several areas, such as more accurately locating the atavistic golden foxtail grass, and so on…”

At this moment, someone suddenly interrupted Locke’s defense.

A Star Ring Wizard, who seemed to be an experienced breeder himself, wasn’t exactly gray-haired, but he looked like a middle-aged man. He was definitely over two hundred years old; if not for his seniority, he would probably have been eliminated by Golden Crown Mountain long ago.

The teaching positions at Cloud Swamp Wetland have always followed the old rules for the old and the new for the new—the newer the person, the higher the assessment requirements; the older the person, the lower the requirements.

Considering the era’s benefits, loyalty issues, and the pressure for reform from those who have already benefited, this differential treatment seems to have a reasonable basis.

The Star Ring Wizard said, “Wizard Augustine, what you said is very good, and I’ve seen some excellent results you’ve achieved.”

“But I want to ask you, what advantages do you think your atavism research has compared to those project applications on the magical plant crystallization technology research route? Or to put it bluntly, why don’t you directly pursue the magical plant crystallization technology research route, instead of starting from scratch, not taking shortcuts, but choosing the long road instead?”

Wizard Patrick also looked at Locke.

Catherine the Witch and the Sea Queen both looked at him, and even the wizards of the Starfield Sea and the Mystic Heaven were now focused on Locke.

Locke thought to himself, ‘It’s here after all.’

He had known this would happen; it was unavoidable.

There was no way around it; if there hadn’t been the Crystallized Magic Plant research route this year, the special funding wouldn’t have reached this level—it was practically a zero-sum game.

Locke’s eyes remained calm as he looked at the Star Ring Wizard and said, “I’m sorry, but sir, your question seems completely unrelated to my defense.”

He was neither humble nor arrogant.

The Star Ring Wizard was momentarily stunned.

Locke’s performance, on the contrary, won the praise of many wizards.

Ekaterina the witch curled her lips into a smile. In terms of personality, Locke was far more angular than Zeno the wizard.

This was what she was most satisfied with, and it most resembled her younger self.

The Sea Queen couldn’t help but chuckle.

This brat.

The Star Ring wizard, stung by Locke’s retort, had to explain, “It’s not just me who asks this question. When your application for special funding is sent to the White Wizard Association, the reviewers will also have this thought in their minds: is the research significance of your atavism research greater than that of your magical plant crystallization technology research?”

“Why not invest resources in magical plant crystallization technology instead of your research direction? What do you think?”

Locke said, hands behind his back, “Because this is the research direction I, as a newly promoted second-ring wizard, came up with myself.”

The Star Ring wizard laughed.

“I admire your confidence; you young people certainly have different ideas from us.”

“But you can’t convince those reviewers.”

“Even I can’t convince you.”

Locke nodded. There was nothing he could do; after all, competing in a popular field was like this.

Especially since these second-ring wizards practically consider plant crystallization research the future.

Other research directions seem unremarkable to them.

The main issue is that the current spread of plant crystallization technology in the Cloud Marsh Wetlands relies heavily on anxiety.

Anxiety can control others, it can make people insecure and feel insignificant, thus forcing them to depend on the person spreading it. Over time, Locke figured out why the person behind it was spreading this anxiety:

to control others. Indeed, the spreader of information can influence others’ choices. He himself only realized this after experiencing so much.

This anxiety spread through so-called core circles, indirectly affecting countless people.

The closer the circle, the more likely it is to contain anxiety-related information, because only anxiety can weaken a person’s will, making them feel they are nothing outside the circle.

However, Locke could also somewhat understand why the higher-ring wizards didn’t stop it.

If someone can’t even overcome this mixture of anxiety, how can they possibly pursue the truth?

Ridiculous! They will achieve nothing.

In other words, the world is full of fake news, and high-ring wizards don’t need to pay attention to these semi-fraudulent messages. Because if someone can be fooled by such information and become despondent afterward, their own beliefs are insufficient to pursue the truth!

Locke glanced at the second-ring wizards in his evaluation panel, but this kind of assessment actually has very high requirements. Many people know that this is anxiety-inducing, control-type information, but they still fall for it.

This is because anxiety is the most terrifying thing.

Knowing that the information is false, one still feels anxious.

Those who can overcome this anxiety hurdle are probably exceptional individuals, but the problem is that this is a necessary step on the path to truth.

Because those who can explore the path to truth cannot be careless, but these people are often sensitive and good at reasoning. And once such people get involved, they are precisely those who lack sensitivity and are easily manipulated by anxiety.

Locke looked at the thirty wizards. He knew that he was likely not facing thirty predecessors standing at the forefront of the path of truth, but thirty wizards misled by Patrick’s anxiety-inducing messages, manipulated by their own anxiety.

He would either perform poorly and be immediately seized upon, or be thoroughly beaten by their own anxiety, or perform too well and directly provoke them.

What stood before him now was the anxiety deliberately scattered throughout the Cloud Marsh Wetlands.

Locke’s eyes hardened.

All he needed to do now was—under no circumstances should he allow anxiety to sway his emotions; he only needed to perform to the best of his ability.

That would be enough.

Locke nodded to the Star Ring Wizard and said, “My lord, I can tell you that during the evolution of magical plants, many plant factors disappear due to environmental changes. However, plant factors that were unsuitable then may not be unsuitable now.”

“This is like a vast treasure trove waiting for us, and my research is a key for us breeders to unlock this treasure trove…”

Many wizards present nodded in agreement.

Locke’s words were reasonable and well-founded, neither arrogant nor humble. This non-confrontational, reasoning style won the favor of many commentators.

Locke continued, “My atavistic evolution can provide us with a huge treasure trove of plant factors. I believe the significance of this research is no less than that of magical plant crystallization technology.”

Many wizards raised their eyebrows. Initially, they thought Locke’s words made a lot of sense, but once the magical plant crystallization technology route was mentioned, the anxious thoughts that many of their colleagues had been cultivating in their minds recently immediately surfaced.

The magical plant crystallization technology route was the future!

An unchangeable future!

A Moon Ring Wizard said, “Your analogy of a treasure vault and a key is good. But a past plant factor vault is far inferior to the magical plant crystallization technology route.”

Locke raised an eyebrow and continued to escalate the issue.

“It’s not just about acquiring a plant factor vault. Many errors occur during the evolutionary process, and many valuable plant factors have already disappeared into history.”

“Atavism can reduce the errors in evolution…”

Many breeders, whether on the judging panel or in the audience, nodded in agreement. They understood Locke’s idea and knew what he was talking about.

Locke continued, “Therefore, I can use atavism to reduce the errors in magical plants, create more powerful magical plants, and even create perfect second-ring magical plants.”

As soon as he said this, all the wizards on the judging panel looked at him.

Locke frowned, wondering if he had said something wrong. He had been slowly changing their stubborn belief that magical plant crystallization technology was the best.

But when he finished speaking, all the second-ring wizards on the judging panel looked at him with disbelief, as if he had said something wrong.

The brandy wizard in the audience stared wide-eyed, completely bewildered. Meanwhile

, Master Patrick on the judging panel breathed a sigh of relief, a smile spreading across his face.

Locke was finished.

He was still just a young man after all.

The preparation was still insufficient; lacking the wisdom accumulated over the years, he was indeed unlikely to know many hidden pitfalls.

One hundred and fifty years ago, Golden Crown Mountain experienced a massive experimental accident in pursuit of the perfect second-ring magical plant, resulting in significant losses for the mountain. While many had forgotten the incident, most of the review panel knew about it. Therefore,

the term “perfect magical plant” was a trap.

At this moment, the wizards in the review panel became furious.

One Star Ring wizard slammed his fist on the table and stood up.

“Another Zeno. Why are there always these arrogant young people today? Perfect? Do you think you can use the word ‘perfect’?”

“Who do you think you are?”

Locke glanced at him sideways, hands behind his back, and calmly said, “Speak properly.”

The roaring Star Ring wizard felt like he’d punched cotton.

“You…you…”

another old Star Ring Wizard explained, “Perfect magical plants don’t exist. This is the consensus among the older generation of breeders in Cloud Swamp Wetlands. You young people may not know much about this, unless your teachers emphasized it.”

Locke frowned; so that’s how it is.

“That was a slip of the tongue. I can remove the word ‘perfect’ without affecting the result. In short, atavism allows magical plants to remain in their most probable state, adding more possibilities to our breeding science and making a magical plant as powerful as possible.”

The wizard commentary team all revealed cold smiles.

They chuckled again, just like they had done to Wizard Zeno.

“But isn’t this another way of saying ‘perfect’? This young man’s thinking is clearly misguided. We can’t possibly let him get this kind of top-tier funding. Even if he did, it wouldn’t pass through the White Wizard Association.”

“Young man, your pursuit of perfection and possibility is wrong. A former Sun Ring Wizard conducted similar research, and the results were disastrous. He was wrong about Sun Ring; you’d better be careful.”

An old Star Ring Breeder stood up and said to him in a lecturing tone, “The process of evolution is a process of decreasing possibilities. The higher the evolution, the harder it is to change or degenerate the magical plant’s traits. So evolution is a process of decreasing possibilities; with evolution, possibilities decrease. This is the most basic thing, isn’t it? Haven’t you taken any courses on imaginary roots or read any related articles?”

Another old Star Ring Breeder laughed, “If the root of your thinking is wrong, then everything that follows will be wrong.”

Locke looked up at them, raising an eyebrow.

“What are you laughing at? What’s so funny? I don’t even know what you’re laughing at.”

All thirty commentary wizards were stunned.

Locke calmly said, “Are you all judging who should pass the application and who shouldn’t based on your emotions? First, you think that Wizard Zeno is just an ordinary second-ring wizard, and his research must be inferior to that of a sun-ring or third-ring wizard, so you judge him wrong without even looking at his arguments.” “

Then, I misused a word, and you all think that evolution will always reduce the probability, and that evolution that increases the probability doesn’t exist. Are you giving a defense critique or just telling stories? Do you think the quality of a defense is judged by magical rank and authority, not by the specific content?”

The entire room was shocked.

Many of the thirty review panel members stood up.

“Young man, you are arrogant…”

Locke looked up at the thirty review panel members and said, “You thirty second-ring wizards on the review panel, you are all old and feeble!”

“You are old and useless, you can’t even imagine evolution that increases the probability. This is my defense, and what I need to do is clearly explain what kind of research I’ve done. So let me show you directly what evolution that increases the probability means!”

Locke immediately took out a Sea Gold Sand.

(End of Chapter)