Chapter 950

Chapter 944 Locke’s Atavistic Evolution!

In the seats of the wizards participating in the defense, Brandy Wizard was overjoyed. He hadn’t expected that of the three who posed the greatest threat to him in this round of special funding, Antoine had mysteriously disappeared, Zeno Wizard had cut off his own path, and Locke Augustine was even more outrageous, publicly insulting thirty second-ring wizards. His arrogance was unprecedented, rarely seen even in the history of Yunze Wetlands.

Even Catherine’s Throne had never done anything like this!

A smile appeared on Brandy Wizard’s face.

Meanwhile, Droma Wizard sat there dumbfounded. He swallowed hard, looking at Locke who had denounced the thirty old second-ring wizards of Golden Crown Mountain as nothing more than a bunch of decrepit old men. He finally understood why Locke had repeatedly refused to join his group, and why he couldn’t bring Locke in either.

How could he possibly fool such a person?

At that moment, the witch Droma even felt a sense of fear towards Locke.

Catherine the Witch’s pupils constricted for a fleeting instant, before she laughed.

In the audience, the Sea Queen swiftly downed an entire bottle of wizard’s wine, her eyes fixed on Locke.

Meanwhile, the five judges on the panel glanced up at Locke, but only briefly before returning to their expressionless work, writing their evaluations of Locke’s performance, unmoved by his seemingly arrogant words.

The thirty second-ring wizards on the judging panel erupted like firecrackers.

“What?! We’d like to see what he’s going to do next! Calling us all old fogies? Then what is he? A mere wizard who’s not even two hundred years old, daring to challenge us!”

“This is outrageous! We are all your seniors, each at least a Star Ring Wizard, some even a Moon Ring Wizard. We have countless disciples; it takes ten years to grow a tree, a hundred years to cultivate a person. We’ve nurtured even the most talented individuals, and now you call us old fogies? Ridiculous! Even if you are a student of the Red Dragon Throne, we cannot be insulted by a young man like you who doesn’t know his place.”

“Let’s see what he’s going to do next. Let’s see what this so-called evolution that increases possibilities looks like. If he can’t come up with anything, he can forget about getting this special scholarship today. Not this year, not next year, not the year after. This young man needs to sit on the sidelines for several years to learn what it means to respect teachers and elders! We still have these rights.”

At this moment, the second-ring wizard commentary group erupted in anger.

Strangely, the three-ring wizards and the throne wizards present remained calm and composed, as if nothing had happened. They neither criticized Locke nor the judging panel, even though the panel was furious, jumping up and down as if their sore spots had been touched.

Locke placed a sea lily on the ground and took out a flowerpot containing a mixture of high-grade nutrient soil and a portion of verdant spiritual energy.

At the same time, he did something else: he took out the bronze cauldron given to him by King Otto.

A fleeting image of the former royal court flashed across the bronze cauldron.

In the audience, the Sea Queen suddenly let out a soft exclamation and looked up at the image of the image engraved on the surface of the bronze cauldron.

“This is… the Hundred Solutions of the Spiritual Enlightenment, a Hundred Solutions of the Spiritual Enlightenment that only a three-ring potion master could write, and without using the Spiritual Enlightenment Pen, it’s amazing that the Hundred Solutions of the Spiritual Enlightenment can be imprinted on a magical artifact in such a primitive way.”

Primitive yet ingenious.

Who created it?

The Sea Queen smiled. She hadn’t expected Locke to have such a treasure. If she had encountered this 150 years earlier, she would have been interested in taking it and playing with it.

At this moment, Locke needed to use the Reversion to Evolve magical plant, but Reversion to Evolve consumed a lot of Zero Potions. Even with his current enhanced version, it wasn’t truly complete yet.

The overall spell model framework of the Golden Spell was basically correct,

but it lacked data on the sun’s trajectory over the centuries at the boundary between light and darkness.

He didn’t have any extra Zero Potions, and it wouldn’t be right to extract them from the original n*ked Fern just to evolve a single plant.

Furthermore, he was eager to test the results of this Reversion to Evolve, enhanced by the Golden Spell and with improved precision.

Therefore, he decided to refine the potion on the spot.

Long ago, the wizard Trajan had killed a Dark Wizard of the Star Ring and given him his body. However, due to insufficient magical pressure, he had never used the Dark Wizard’s body for potion refinement.

Now, Locke tapped the edge of the bronze cauldron with his fingernail, and a primordial fire instantly ignited within it, the surface of the cauldron radiating magical light.

Before everyone’s eyes, Locke tossed the dark wizard’s body into the bronze cauldron. The entire   audience

was horrified! Whispers rippled through the crowd; this was far too brutal.   Even the thirty members of the second-ring judging panel, initially enraged, hesitated after witnessing Locke’s actions.   They suddenly realized that Locke was an extremely decisive man, renowned among dark wizards for his ruthless methods.   Locke’s usual demeanor at Golden Crown Mountain was gentle and refined, seemingly harmless, like a kind gentleman.   Of course, many knew of his ruthlessness in competitions.   But the fact that he used a dark wizard’s body to concoct potions was still incredibly shocking.   Some of the weaker star-ring wizards in the judging panel even developed a degree of apprehension towards Locke, hesitating whether to offend him.   A person’s reputation precedes them.   If Locke were truly a kind gentleman, lacking in ruthlessness, they would have dared to hurl insults and ridicule him so freely.   But witnessing this scene, the wizards on the judging panel no longer dared to treat Locke the same way they had treated Zeno.   Some of their initial contempt subtly diminished.   They looked at Locke seriously, awaiting his next move, wondering why he had just mocked them as old and feeble.   Wizard Patrick whispered, “Red Dragon School wizards are known for their murderous aura, but a wizard with this much… he has surpassed his master.”   The audience buzzed with discussion, while Edgar, who had come to watch the debate, was completely bewildered.   Edgar seemed utterly unable to comprehend why Locke had confronted the judging panel.   At that moment, he was internally torn, comparing Locke’s level to that of the thirty judges.   He sided only with the stronger side.

Edgar’s mind was in complete turmoil.

Who was strong and who was weak, who was black and who was white?

Logically, Locke was just an ordinary second-ring wizard; compared to the thirty judges, he was the weaker one. But Edgar had a vague intuition that Locke was the stronger one compared to the thirty second-ring wizards on the judging panel.

Why?

Edgar’s mind was a mess.

In the audience, Eric Ender, a wizard from the Mystic Heaven, calmed the storm with a single sentence, despite the stares of the crowd.

“Dark wizards aren’t human. I only saw magical resources entering the potions cauldron, not people. This isn’t illegal, and it won’t attract an investigation from the ethics committee.” “

To become a Star Ring Wizard among the dark wizards, one must already have a long list of crimes. If they fall into our hands, they certainly won’t survive.”

The Mystic Heaven’s White Wizard Association official had spoken, naturally setting the tone for Locke’s actions to some extent.

Locke used the reverse potion-making method to refine the body of the Star Ring Dark Wizard into a Zero Potion.

One Star Ring-level potion resource yielded five Zero Potions, and Locke’s spiritual awareness was rapidly depleted. However, fortunately, his foundation was now strong, so there were no immediate problems.

A full moon appeared behind Locke—the Moon of Evolution. Two

enchanted blades, one gold and one silver, seemed to fly out from the full moon behind Locke, like two birds falling from the sky, heading towards the Sea Gold Sand plant in front of him, circling around it.

In an instant, the Sea Gold Sand floated in mid-air, beginning its ancestral evolution under the influence of the Fire Tree Silver Flower and Yellow Mushroom Essence. At the same time, Locke concealed golden magic within the moonlight, illuminating the Sea Gold Sand plant.

The Sea Gold Sand absorbed the energy mixed with the verdant spiritual energy within the nutrient soil, rapidly changing.

Locke precisely controlled the two enchanted blades, removing unnecessary plant factors that would lead to ancestral evolution, controlling the speed of the ancestral evolution.

Meanwhile, Locke’s understanding of the magic of gold was also rapidly increasing.

‘I might have had a problem understanding gold magic before. The characteristic of gold magic is that its nature is unchanging, not that it is immutable. The variations in gold magic are enormous, because the main development of low-level gold magic focuses on its stability. Therefore, I had previously misunderstood gold magic due to this preconceived notion.’

‘Unchanging things are inanimate.’

‘Things that don’t change are inanimate; people that

don’t change either regress.’ ‘Gold magic keeps everything in its prime, not turning everything into an unchanging rock. Therefore, it’s that its nature is unchanging, not that it is immutable.’

‘Then graft the Imaginary Root onto this magical plant.’

As Locke’s understanding of gold magic deepened, his knowledge of gold spells also improved, so he fine-tuned his own gold spells.

Simultaneously, in a golden glow, the Sea Gold Sand evolved into a n*ked Fern of the Overgrown Mountain.

Many guests present showed slight surprise.

Because Locke claimed he would revert to an ancestral form and evolve a magical plant right before their eyes, they were initially puzzled. After all, even with the reduced cultivation time, a second-ring magical plant wouldn’t require a short time to grow.

They hadn’t expected Locke’s ultimate magic to possess such a powerful ability to accelerate the cultivation and growth of magical plants!

Among the thirty second-ring wizards in the evaluation panel, some showed surprise, as they hadn’t expected Locke to actually evolve something before their eyes.

“What could it be?”

someone stood up, leaning forward, wanting to see what Locke had produced so he could decide how to criticize him later.

This old Star Ring wizard stared intently at the n*ked Fern of the Mountain Dragon, and sneered.

“I want to see what makes you so confident, daring to spout such nonsense in front of so many of us.”

“If it’s something ordinary, you’re in trouble.”

The other wizards in the evaluation panel were also eager to find Locke’s weakness so they could regain some ground and find a reason to curb Locke’s arrogance.

So they all stood up, leaning forward to look at the magical plant on the platform.

Despite the chaos, the throne wizards remained unmoved, as if they hadn’t noticed anything.

The judges grabbed their Focusing Monoculars, or even more powerful magical artifacts, eager to observe Locke’s plant and find a reason to criticize it.

They were so impatient

that they even started pushing and shoving.

One wizard even tripped and fell, simply because the wizard behind him was so engrossed in his observation that he had knocked over the person in front of him.

The audience also looked curiously at the magical plant that had undergone a primordial evolution, eagerly anticipating Locke’s demonstration.

Locke looked at the n*ked Fern of the Mountain Dragon in front of him.

He noticed that with his increased precision in the Golden Spell, this n*ked Fern of the Mountain Dragon was indeed quite different from the first one he had primordially evolved.

It seemed to have an additional imaginary root.

Locke picked up the magical plant and examined it closely. He discovered that this n*ked Fern of the Mountain Dragon not only possessed imaginary dragon scales, but also had many dragon whiskers floating in mid-air beneath its dragon-like head. Upon closer inspection, Locke realized that these whiskers were all ordinary imaginary dragon scales, the most common type of whisker-like imaginary dragon scales found in second-ring magical plants.

The n*ked Fern of the Mountain Dragon did not grow in soil; it grew in an era when the wizarding world had little soil and the world was full of rocks.

Therefore, amidst the curious gazes of the crowd and Locke’s unexpected astonishment, the n*ked Fern of the Mountain Dragon suddenly struggled in Locke’s arms.

Locke was surprised; this was the first time he had encountered a magical plant he had evolved exhibiting such a strong will to resist him.

Yes.

This magical plant was too close to a primitive magical plant; it came from a past timeline of the wizarding world, a timeline completely different from his own, a timeline where wizards did not exist. Therefore, the wizards’ spell models were far too unfamiliar with this primitive magical plant. Or rather, the wizards’ current botanical magic models had barely encountered this primitive magical plant, so it was perfectly normal for the spell to go out of control.

The leaves of the *Gymnocypris chinensis* fern in Locke’s hand trembled continuously.

The moment Locke put it down, all three types of roots quickly plunged into the brick floor of the conference room.

One type of root was the solid root of the Mountain Dragon n*ked Fern, another was the Dragon Scale Imaginary Root, and the third was an ordinary Imaginary Root.

These three types of roots pierced through the brickwork of the ground, and the magical plant’s roots grew wildly in the cracks.

The Dragon Scale Imaginary Root drew upon a special, surging wild energy from the Imaginary Sea of this space, while the ordinary Imaginary Root drew upon ordinary, verdant energy from the Imaginary Sea. The two were mixed together in a certain proportion, and then the Mountain Dragon n*ked Fern released a kind of specially formulated surging wild energy into the air.

In just a short moment, the reprocessed surging wild energy, mixed according to the specified proportions, reappeared, filling the entire conference room.

Immediately, many wizards were surprised, stating that their spell models had been interfered with. Apart from the third-ring wizards and a few others, everyone else was in a chaotic frenzy.

Whether it was the judging panel, the judges, the spectators who came to watch the spectacle, or the wizard managers from various shop alliances who had come to try their luck, many of them exclaimed in surprise.

“The spell model in my mind’s eye is starting to go out of control.”

“The spell model for the Nine Fireballs Charm that I constructed is making many mistakes. Oh no, my hand is on fire!”

A wizard’s eyes flashed with fire magic light, and then, the out-of-control spell model caused a ball of flame to appear on his right hand. Although he had fire-resistant skin and was not afraid of high temperatures and flames, this out-of-control spell model still terrified this second-ring wizard.

“What happened?”

“There’s something wrong with the air. The air is mixed with some kind of abnormal spiritual energy. It’s caused by that magical plant that Wizard Locke publicly reverted to its ancestral evolution. What is that?”

The scene was getting out of control.

The commentary group of thirty second-ring wizards, who were originally ready to find fault with Locke, were now somewhat preoccupied with their own problems.

Because of the peculiar atmosphere, the spell models of these wizards were somewhat out of control. If they had known there was danger, wearing a wizard’s mask would have solved the problem. Wizard’s masks are magical artifacts designed to adapt to the dimensional power of different worlds and purify harmful air.

But no one expected that the special spiritual energy drawn by the magical plant that Locke had reverted to its ancestral form would make the environment of this conference room resemble the primitive ecology of the wizarding world.

Therefore, the spell models of these second-ring wizards all experienced some problems.

At this moment, an old wizard who had recently advanced to the Star Ring Wizard staged lightning bolts shooting from his eyes, which danced and attacked those around him.

The wizards around him were all startled, because the lightning magic of the Evocation School was known for its instantaneous increase in magical pressure and high magical pressure-damage conversion. His random shooting of lightning from his eyes was extremely dangerous.

The commentary team was in a state of chaos.

The old wizard was also quite aggrieved. “I didn’t mean to. I can’t close my eyes, and I was just looking at you. My spell model, [Wrath of the Thunder Demon], has gone out of control. Does anyone here have a spell scroll that seals magic? Please help me seal my eyes…”

He looked at a wizard beside him, who quickly stepped back, tripping over the person behind him.

As a result, a bolt of lightning shot out from the old wizard’s eyes, striking the two of them and colliding with their permanent defensive force field, the Water Cloud Barrier.

This wasn’t the end.

The Water Cloud Barrier automatically retaliated. Although its master had been blasted away, the Water Cloud Barrier, now free of demonic pressure, immediately recovered and deflected a bolt of lightning back. Two bolts of lightning struck the other second-ring wizards.

These second-ring wizards each possessed unique permanent defensive fields, and before they could react, these fields activated, making the scene increasingly chaotic.

The instigator, the old wizard, was frantic, like an ant on a hot pan, terrified someone would demand compensation. He kept shouting, “Does anyone here have a sealing magic scroll from the Protective School? Please help me seal my eyes!”

“Does anyone here have one?”

a wizard from the second-ring wizard panel asked Locke. “Augustin Wizard, we’ve seen how powerful your atavism is. Stop it now, quickly revert that magical plant back to its original state. Or find a way to take it away, quickly take away your magical plant!”

A star-ring wizard from the panel shouted at Locke, “This is outrageous! How dare you do this?”

“Augustin Wizard…”

“Quickly put away your magical plant…”

At this moment, the Blue Dragon Throne on the judging panel suddenly stood up, waved his hand, and instantly the n*ked Fern on the stage was surrounded by a vibrant green tetrahedron. Then, the tetrahedron automatically shrank to about the size of an apple and entered Locke’s astral ring.

The Blue Dragon Throne spoke, “So that’s how it is. Locke Augustine’s magical plant proves that in the primitive era of the wizarding world, the air was likely filled with the special spiritual energy present in this meeting room. Your atavistic evolution recreated the past environment; what you call increasing possibilities is more like restoring possibilities.”

“Indeed, the process of evolution is a process of constantly losing possibilities, or rather, exchanging one’s own possibilities. This is growth. Countless beings in the endless void have undergone this process.”

“Growth means evolving to a certain state by lowering one’s own possibilities, and eventually, when the possibilities decrease to a certain level, it will become a complete form.”

“This is the truth within the endless void.”

At this moment, as the Blue Dragon Throne helped to store the n*ked Fern in Locke’s Astral Ring, the air in the meeting room gradually returned to its original composition.

The special spiritual energy that had been constantly disturbing the spell model quickly dissipated into the air.

Both the audience and the wizards on the commentary panel were finally able to extricate themselves from the chaos.

Some wizards had already silently donned wizard masks, preparing to prevent Locke from suddenly producing some extraordinary ability during the defense.

Some had even donned wizard robes to enhance their permanent defensive field.

At this point, the panel of thirty second-ring wizards finally recovered and began trying to regain their composure.

“Excellent, it’s finally over. That special spiritual energy that filled the air just now was very close to the air composition of the wizarding world during its primitive era. That’s why it caused such a commotion, mainly because we weren’t prepared enough. For a young man to achieve this level… truly… truly… brilliant. Aside from his overly arrogant personality, I have to admit he’s indeed more skilled than me.” “He

‘s still young, lacking composure. As His Majesty the Throne just said, evolution decreases the probability of success, and at a certain point, one becomes a complete being. This is a truth within the endless void. Since it’s a truth, how can it be changed?”

The old Star Ring Wizard took out paper and pen to record these words, as this was a serious critique from the Blue Dragon Throne, which he believed held significant meaning for him.

However, some members of the critique panel hesitated.

“But that magical plant was truly remarkable. This atavistic evolution is no joke. I never imagined his research in this area had reached this level; it’s hard to believe it’s from a young man. If he were a wizard around a hundred years old, I think that would be more plausible.”

“It is remarkable, but to say it can increase the probability is a bit of an exaggeration.” One wizard hesitated, “Of course… at least it’s an isolated case.”

He was trying to find fault.

Because there really wasn’t any more fault to find.

It was just a top-tier grant, and he even mimicked the atmosphere of the ancient wizarding world. Even the White Wizarding Association’s fund committee shouldn’t have any objections and would approve Locke’s application for this top-tier grant.

So, at this point, most of the wizards on the review panel were silent; those still speaking were the last ones trying to be stubborn.

Some seized on the Blue Dragon Throne’s words, while others tried to convince themselves that it was just an isolated case.

Locke looked at everyone and then took out a second magical plant from his astral ring. “My atavism through the Sea Gold Sands, and the reversion to the Mountain Dragon n*ked Fern, is that an isolated case? Then what is this?”

“Is this the second isolated case?”

Locke took out his Giant Spring Cannon Corn from his Astral Ring.

The audience stared at the Giant Spring Cannon Corn, many still unable to recognize it.

But Patrick, the wizard who had been silent, observing the situation and trying to find Locke’s weakness, suddenly narrowed his eyes. “That’s… an extinct magical plant: Giant Spring Cannon Corn.”

His words once again sparked surprise and discussion among the commentary panel and the wizard audience.

“Giant Spring Cannon Corn? Isn’t that an extinct magical plant? There’s only one specimen left at the Rose Council, right?”

“Patrick said it’s Giant Spring Cannon Corn, does that mean Locke really reverted to a magical plant specimen that only the Rose Council has?”

A breeder audience member stood up from his seat. “Could it be that Wizard Locke Augustine really used his atavism magic to successfully regenerate a magical plant that has been officially declared extinct? My God. Why didn’t he publish similar articles before?”

Master Patrick Finch’s pupils suddenly shrank: “No, that’s not the Big Spring Cannon Corn. There are still some differences, but that makes it more believable because the positioning accuracy of his atavism is still too low. So he didn’t truly regenerate the Big Spring Cannon Corn. But… it certainly has great potential.”

At this moment, the wizards in the commentary panel were completely silent.

Locke said to them: “If that’s the second isolated case, then what is this? Is this the third isolated case?”

Under everyone’s gaze, Locke took out another magical plant, it was Golden Ear Wheat!

Locke took out three results of atavism in a row.

At this moment, the commentary panel composed of thirty second-ring wizards was completely silent.

In the audience, a breeder whispered: “I feel that the atavism in Locke Augustine’s hands is also a very interesting research direction.”

A breeder beside him said, “Don’t even think about it. First of all, he hasn’t even released the source code. Secondly, you saw him use ultimate magic during his ancestral evolution just now, so you should know that this is magic under a private breeding method with extremely high barriers to entry. Do you want to learn ultimate magic from scratch with him? And even if you could learn it, would you be able to?”

“That’s a toy for geniuses, not for us.”

On the judges’ panel, wizard Patrick Finch was still pondering where Locke had obtained the Great Fodder Corn magic plant. Logically speaking, most of the breedable seeds of the Great Fodder Corn magic plant in the world were in the hands of their Rose Council.

This was because it was a project that a laboratory of the Rose Council had been focusing on for the past hundred years.

So most of the seeds had already been collected by that laboratory.

Where did Locke get the Great Fodder Corn seeds?

A look of doubt flashed in wizard Patrick Finch’s eyes. It shouldn’t be like this.

At this moment, wizard Edgar in the audience couldn’t help but jump up excitedly.

This was Locke Augustine!

The wizard who had beaten him twice!

As expected, there was a reason he lost to Locke; Locke had utterly humiliated those thirty second-ring wizards with his achievements.

A strong sense of challenge shone in Edgar’s eyes. “I was right, only by defeating Locke can I become a true genius.”

“Teacher, is this why you asked me to come and watch this defense?”

In the audience, the witch Ekaterina nodded slightly. Locke’s research on atavism was indeed commendable, leading the way in the Cloud Marsh Wetlands.

On the defense stage, Locke said, “In summary, my atavism does indeed increase the possibility of magical plant evolution by restoring the possibility of magical plant evolution, bringing the possibility of magical plants back to its maximum…”

Locke paused for a moment.

The Blue Dragon Throne spoke, “Locke Augustine, what you said was excellent. Is there a problem? Why did you stop?”

Locke shook his head, bowed to the Throne Wizard from the Academic Committee faction, and said, “No problem, I just suddenly had a thought. Your Throne, I will continue. Esteemed wizards of the judging panel, the greatest significance of my research on atavism is that it can, to a certain extent, restore the possibilities lost due to evolution.”

“I think the significance of this research is sufficient.”

The judging panel was now completely silent, no longer interrupting.

Seeing that they were not speaking, Locke continued his defense speech, which had been interrupted earlier.

At this moment, because the wizards of the judging panel did not interrupt, Locke successfully finished his speech.

Next, also because the wizards of the judging panel suddenly became mute, only the Throne Wizards of the judging panel could ask Locke a few questions.

The Blue Dragon Throne asked about the principle of using golden magic to enhance atavism.

Locke answered fluently. This part was the result of his and Russell’s Seat’s combined efforts, and its rigor was not at the second-ring level, but rather the third-ring level.

The judges also noticed that Locke’s research contained the thinking of a third-ring wizard.

The Green Dragon Throne Witch asked Locke why he came up with this idea, and Locke truthfully replied that the source of the solution came from his first teacher in the Star Sea.

This made the Green Dragon Throne Witch raise her eyebrows in surprise.

Even Valeria Kenway, the wizard from the Star Sea, looked up at Locke, not expecting that Locke had a connection with wizards from the Star Sea.

At this moment, the wizard Patrick Finch suddenly asked Locke, “I have a question. Where did you obtain the fertile seeds of the Great Fodder Corn?”

“There shouldn’t be any wild plants capable of propagating this magical plant anymore.”

“May I question the origin of this magical plant’s seeds?”

Locke looked at Patrick Finch with surprise, bowed to him, and then calmly said, “Wizard Patrick, I obtained these after entering the Emerald Plane and killing a large number of Nightmares for the Emerald Dream Plane. Many Nightmares related to crystallized magical plants exist within the Emerald Nightmares.”

“Among them is a Nightmare whose predecessor was the Great Fodder Corn.”

Patrick Finch’s expression was enigmatic, and their gazes met in the air. “Mr. Locke Augustine, what do you mean by this?”

The audience murmured amongst themselves.

This debate was truly spectacular. First, Zeno openly questioned Patrick and the Third Ring Throne wizards’ definition of life. Then, Locke directly criticized the panel of thirty Second Ring wizards. Now, when Patrick questioned the legality of the experimental materials, Locke directly stated that crystallizing magical plants would lead to a surge in nightmares.

Zeno, standing below, couldn’t help but get excited. “How come I didn’t think of that? We could go directly to the Emerald Plane and see for ourselves. If the magical plant crystallization technology really doesn’t damage magical plants, and if the crystallized magical plants are truly living beings, how could the Emerald Plane see a surge in nightmares?”

Patrick Finch asked Locke. Strangely, the panel of thirty Second Ring wizards didn’t launch another attack on Locke like they had on Zeno.

Instead, they remained silent, observing the situation.

Patrick Finch’s relaxed smile froze slightly.

Locke said, “I am an archaeological wizard, and I can recreate the past before you all. Master Patrick, if you want to verify the legitimacy of my experimental materials, then I need to prove it here…”

Patrick Finch suddenly leaned back in his seat. “No need. Actually, it’s not a crucial issue. Research and exploration require magnanimity. The source of a few rare magical plant seeds is completely irrelevant. As long as the research is genuine and the field of exploration is valuable, that’s enough. Mr. Locke Augustine, your research on atavism is outstanding and of significant research value in the Star Ring stage, at least possessing potential no less than magical plant crystallization technology at that stage.”

Facing Locke’s question, Patrick Finch surprisingly didn’t refute it, instead yielding to Locke.

Thus, only a few throne wizards asked Locke a few questions, and Fisher, because of Antoine’s relationship with him, didn’t make things difficult for him, even offering a few compliments.

Locke finished his defense and returned to his seat.

The entire commentary panel remained silent, their expressions grim, some seemingly suppressing their anger.

The Brandy Wizard rose from his seat, glancing at Locke and Zeno, swallowing hard. ‘Locke’s atavistic evolution has even earned Master Patrick’s approval. Impressive.’

‘He didn’t follow the path of exploring magical plant crystallization technology, yet he still achieved this. Is this what true genius is?’

Brandy the Wizard thought about his project, his previous confidence gone. He wasn’t sure if it could truly surpass Locke’s.

‘It’s alright, I’ll go up and defend it normally first.’

An hour later, Brandy the Wizard completed his defense on stage. This time, no questions were asked by the Throne Wizards or the Third Ring Wizards.

The previously silent judging panel transformed into a praise-giving group during his round.

First, his project was indeed excellent; there was nothing to criticize, especially since Master Patrick had personally helped him complete it.

The topic was reasonable, the research clear, the logic sound, the research methods logical, and the most important aspect—budget allocation—was handled very well.

This immediately gave many of the judges a good impression and a sense of trust in the author of the application.

A well-written application does have an effect, because sometimes, applying for a project relies on the power of belief.

And a well-written application makes it even easier to gain that belief!

Under the praise of the judging panel, Brandy the Wizard became brimming with confidence.

He stepped off the stage, sat down, and furtively glanced at Locke and Zeno. ‘I still have a chance, after all. It all comes down to our performance now, and the impression the wizards have of us. If I can perform well in the debates, this special grant is mine!’

Brandy Wizard excitedly pressed his palms to his knees.

Don’t panic.

He still has a chance!

All the judges were praising him—his topic selection was reasonable, his design perfect, without a single flaw. They even pointed out his humility, politeness, talent, and virtue.

Unlike some others.

Brandy Wizard thought, ‘Locke has a major weakness: he shouldn’t have attacked the judges earlier. Next, if I seize on his attitude during the debates, I can target him outside of magical research and lower his performance score.’

Brandy Wizard pondered.

…

At Golden Crown Mountain, the dragon wizard’s avatar twisted its neck. “Is this the clone created by a supreme magic spell?”

“Interesting.”

“The supreme magic spell I just created is only at the first level; it’s so fragile.”

He stepped onto the first stone step of Golden Crown Mountain. “But I can pass through the barrier of Golden Crown Mountain now.”

(End of Chapter)