Chapter 951

Chapter 945 The Road to the Third Ring! The Trap of the Second Ring! An Abyss Ahead!

The witch Esther, dressed in a black robe, lifted her wizard’s hood and stood in a pavilion halfway up Mount Golden Crown.

She was originally a Sun Ring witch of Mount Golden Crown, and since Mount Golden Crown was a 5A-level scenic area, many areas weren’t strictly guarded or restricted from entry, allowing her to conceal herself and return to this place she knew so well.

In her left hand, Esther held a thorny rose branch, and in her right hand, a Dragon Soul potion surrounded by powerful dragon energy, the dragon soul coiled within the potion bottle.

Esther raised an eyebrow.

“They came straight up? This is just as Teacher Anna guessed.”

“It seems Teacher Anna has some understanding of the holder of this ancient dragon soul.”

This was a scheme by the high-ring witches, something even she, as a Sun Ring witch, couldn’t fully comprehend.

At this moment, the Dragon Wizard ascended the steps of Golden Crown Mountain. He walked up the steps without any hindrance, but when he reached the mountainside, a heart-shaped mark suddenly appeared on his forehead.

The moment the Dragon Wizard looked down, he looked up again and found that the steps that should have been there, so easy to climb, had vanished. Instead, he saw a cluster of peach trees, each one in full bloom. Flowing water and peach blossoms, a riot of color.

“Hmm? A maze?”

The Dragon Wizard smiled.

“He had been secretly investigating his student’s bloodline for a long time, and traced our existence all the way. He guessed that this scene would happen today, so through his student’s contact with the reincarnation of King Alaric, he cast magic on me. He certainly had many ideas.”

“But that’s all.”

“In the end, he’s just a third-circle wizard.”

He took out an incense stick, stroked the end of the stick with his index finger, and the incense stick was lit. Smoke swirled, and the swirling mist drifted into the distance, condensing and not dissipating, turning into a white line in the air.

“This era has finally restored a little bit of the incense offerings to the Tower of the Black Sun. It’s just too little. But this is enough.”

“I will go up there and kill that wizard with the bloodline of a dragon that has evolved to the second-circle level with my own hands.”

“This person must not live.”

Actually, he made a mistake at the beginning. After discovering that Mount Golden Crown was covering up his investigation, he followed the divination results and looked for a wizard who had a serious connection with Locke, was far away from Mount Golden Crown, and whose magic level was not high enough. He intended to use this connection to find the wizard with dragon blood, but instead, he was struck by a heart-shaped curse.

This severed his connection with his main body and the Black Sun Tower of this era.

He couldn’t send messages back or call for reinforcements.

However, killing a second-circle wizard should still be easy for him.

His clone’s power was more than sufficient.

Moreover, this was merely a probe; his half-body hadn’t even entered Golden Crown Mountain, remaining at its foot to observe. Even if there were any traps or unfavorable situations, his half-body could react and take countermeasures.

Even considering unfavorable circumstances, such as the wizard with dragon blood escaping Golden Crown Mountain, his main body at the foot of the mountain could lie in wait.

Even if they encountered some obstacles on the mountain, his half-body could launch a second attack at any time.

Furthermore, he had already arranged a backup plan beside the wizard with dragon blood—

a plan that would ensure the dragon wizard’s certain death.

The dragon wizard glanced at the tortoise shell in his hand.

“We need to get closer; we’re still too far from that wizard. Just a little closer, and we can inflict the Black Sun Tower’s prophecy curse upon him, using a simplified version of the Exile Curse—the Ten-Day Curse.”

“Once afflicted by the Ten-Day Curse, the Sun Ring Wizard is destined to die with the passage of time, facing his inevitable fate. But we still need a little distance.”

The Dragon Wizard continued following the path of the condensing mist in the air. He frowned, for his enduring defensive field was crumbling, his magic being absorbed by the surrounding peach trees.

The Dragon Wizard saw the magic stripped from him scattering in the air, then being absorbed by the petals of the peach trees.

“Hmm? Where is this?”

The Dragon Wizard saw a stone tablet amidst the dense peach grove, inscribed with four characters—Dragon View Peach Garden.

“Interesting. So the maze was just a side function. There are special imaginary roots in this peach orchard that can disintegrate and strip away my magic.”

“Such advanced imaginary roots. I don’t think there were such powerful imaginary roots in my time.”

The dragon wizard pondered, “I can use divination magic to find the correct route out of here, but as I move around here, my magic will gradually be disintegrated and stripped away. This is a way to weaken me. It seems they are deliberately targeting me.”

The dragon wizard shook the tortoise shell in his right hand, and suddenly the shell cracked open, revealing a gap. He glanced at the tortoise shell.

“I offered sacrifices to the Tower of the Black Sun and received the divination results… So that’s it. Non-human beings are repelled and restrained by this Peach Garden; only humans can walk here.”

“I am a member of the Demon Dragon race, naturally not human. Therefore, I am restrained by this Peach Garden and should not have entered.”

“The solution is… humanity.”

The Demon Dragon Wizard looked at the divination results and shook his head slightly. Although he had a way to gain humanity and immediately break free from the Peach Garden’s restraint, the Black Sun Tower’s principles were paramount.

Therefore, he had no need to change his ways for a powerful spell from a third-ring wizard of this era.

The Demon Dragon Wizard took a few steps forward and suddenly saw a strangely beautiful, bright red rose growing in a corner of the Peach Garden. The rose was stunning, and beneath the rose bush, there was even a trace of blood.

The Demon Dragon Wizard thought for a moment and immediately understood what had happened. He shook his tortoise shell again and offered sacrifices to the Tower of the Black Sun.

“Human hearts are no match for fate. No matter how unpredictable your thoughts, they are all within the calculations of my sacrificial magic.”

“So that’s how it is. It’s a struggle between two sides, each with their own agenda.”

“Then…”

He shook the tortoise shell in his left hand for the third time, and with a ‘crack,’ a third crack appeared on it.

The Dragon Wizard smiled upon seeing this.

“So it’s the Rose Witch of the Rose Council and the Red Dragon Witch of Golden Crown Mountain fighting each other. Unfortunately, your schemes are all within my calculations. Human hearts cannot overcome fate.”

“Anything I can calculate cannot escape my control; they can only be used by me.”

The Dragon Wizard grasped a branch of a rose bush, his right hand instantly pricked and bleeding from the thorns, but he paid no heed. In an instant, the large red rose branch carried him upwards, towards the exit of Dragon View Peach Garden.

Clearly, the Witch Anna had secretly ordered the Witch Esther to bring her power, to help the Dragon Wizard escape Dragon View Peach Garden as quickly as possible, preventing him from losing too much power within and falling into Catherine’s trap, powerless to fight her.

Of course, the moment the Dragon Wizard grasped the thorny rose branch, he too was struck by the Rose Witch’s curse.

However, the Dragon Wizard had foreseen that the curse wasn’t aimed at him, so he didn’t care.

He had already calculated the final outcome using sacrificial magic.

The prophecy of the Tower of the Black Sun is the truth. If the prophecy is successful, all threads of fate will converge on this line. For tens of thousands of years, countless heroic wizards have tried to break this most terrible curse from fate, but the final result has only been a bitter end.

…

At the thesis defense, the witch Catherine sat in the audience, continuing to handle her affairs with her magical plant. A

smile played on her lips. The wizards from a terrifying force from ancient times were unknown even today.

If it weren’t for her student Locke, she probably wouldn’t have noticed the Tower of the Black Sun’s secrets.

But now that she had, she naturally wanted to deal with this ancient force!

Unfortunately, Anna seemed to have noticed as well. It was always like this; whenever Anna had something good, Anna would immediately follow suit.

This plan was started not long after Locke enrolled, so Esther knew part of it. Clearly, Esther had already shared her part with the Rose Witch.

At this moment, during the defense, the Green Dragon Throne Witch announced that all participants would come to the stage simultaneously to verbally attack each other, searching for flaws and loopholes in their research—in other words, the debate among all the participating wizards would officially begin.

Locke walked past Wizard Zeno.

“Zeno, I have something to tell you.”

Zeno’s body stiffened, and he looked at Locke with a strange expression in his eyes.

Locke whispered, “Although it’s a chaotic battle, I think we might be the target of everyone’s attacks. Because most wizards are using the anti-magical plant crystallization route, if we don’t eliminate them, none of them will have a chance. So, I estimate I’ll be surrounded later.”

Zeno whispered, “Ah? Oh… so you want to ally with me. You’re looking for someone to fight alongside you?”

Locke said, “No. To be precise, it’s about protecting you. This is actually a ranking system. You can think of it as everyone having their own first, second, and third place ranking based on our performance in the first half. I guess those contestants probably rank me first.” “

Then you’re second. Your project and mine both have some characteristics of the anti-magical plant crystallization technology route. So, they’ll probably surround you, the second-place winner, first, and then surround me, the first-place winner.”

Zeno looked at Locke in astonishment, his face slightly flushed.

“You mean, I actually got second place with that performance?”

Locke looked at him in surprise, then patted him on the shoulder. When he first met Zeno, he thought he was aloof, arrogant, and disdainful of talking to others. Who knew he was just a simple, innocent, and socially awkward person.

“Of course, Mr. Zeno, your performance just now was reasonable and well-founded. I believe anyone with discernment would agree that your performance was poor. So they will definitely gang up on you later. In the scenario I described, as long as you are safe, I am safe. Because if they can’t eliminate the second, they can’t touch the first.”

“Your defense just now has struck a nerve with all the wizards researching plant crystallization technology. They are probably all planning to cause you trouble during the debate. They can’t spare the time to deal with me if they don’t deal with you first. Your research is a knife that can draw blood from the plant crystallization research route. Therefore, I want to ally with you, I want to protect you.”

Wizard Zeno thought for a moment, “Alright, I will cooperate with you.”

“Locke, I’m sorry for what happened before… I didn’t know you were such an excellent breeder. If I had known this earlier, I should have communicated with you more.”

Locke turned and glanced at him, then calmly walked back onto the defense stage.

After this defense, Locke felt he finally understood why he hadn’t transformed the Tree of Prosperity from Spring Prosperity to Summer Prosperity in the Three Caverns World. During his heated exchange with the Blue Dragon Throne and the judging panel, Locke, in his excitement, finally felt a surge of anger. This anger made him realize he had been on a grave miscalculation. He had been

standing on the edge of a precipice; one wrong step, one half-step forward, and he would plunge into the abyss, becoming one of the many aged wizards he had just mocked.

Where did he go wrong?

Was it what he thought?

Almost there.

Locke closed his eyes. Almost there. He was currently only grasping that idea through intuition and fragments of thought. This idea was still immature in his mind, not yet formed, but he was just one step away from making it complete!

Seven second-circle wizards from Ekaterina’s side stepped onto the stage.

Locke discovered that the wizards of the Senate and the deacon group had finally decided that the special grant was irrelevant to them, and had therefore simply given up. Even the two wizards who worked on the “Wall of Sighs” had realized that both the judging panel and the five judges preferred the magical plant crystallization technique, at least compared to the Wall of Sighs research. Furthermore, their own performance wasn’t outstanding, appearing quite mediocre compared to Locke and Zeno.

Therefore, realizing their own limitations, and wanting to avoid public criticism, they voluntarily withdrew from the second round of debate. If it weren’t for the special grant application, no one would risk having their carefully crafted project criticized from beginning to end in front of so many people—that would be incredibly discouraging.

If it were a superior, insightful critique from higher-level wizard mentors, it wouldn’t be so bad.

However, the wizards in the second round of debates are likely to be of similar skill levels. This often leads to arguments that devolve into nitpicking and psychological warfare, turning into attempts to find flaws in the opponent’s research and even using rhetorical tricks like shifting concepts to attack weaknesses in others’ projects. A wizard who has poured all their energy into securing their top-tier funding would be particularly disheartened to lose the debate at this point.

Locke glanced at the seven wizards present, including himself, who were still present to present their arguments.

This had essentially become a chaotic battle among the researchers within the Red Dragon Academy.

At this point, this year’s top-tier grant had become an internal struggle among Catherine the Witch’s students. Regardless of who won the grant today, it wouldn’t change the fact that their teacher was the ultimate winner.

Although the Golden Crown Mountain True Knowledge Institute was large in scale and had many researchers, it still couldn’t escape their teacher’s control.

Locke was inwardly amazed by the Red Dragon Throne Witch’s flawless strategy.

Under the command of the Blue Dragon Throne Wizard, seven wizards stood on the podium for their defenses.

Locke and Zeno stood together, while the other five wizards, as expected, huddled together. They immediately launched an attack on Zeno in front of everyone.

Zhuoma spoke first, asking Zeno, “Wizard Zeno, your evidence that the crystallized magical plants are not living beings is very weak. Because you only filled these crystallized magical plants into the Golden Channel, but you didn’t verify whether these Golden Channels were usable. Even if I just randomly stuffed some materials into the Golden Channel, wouldn’t it work?”

Wizard Zeno frowned.

“That’s why I need to apply for special funding to obtain permission to use the usable section of the Golden Route. Only key laboratories have this kind of permission. The abandoned section of the Golden Route I’m using now is no longer passable.”

Wizard Zhuoma smiled.

“So, you can’t really be sure whether the crystallized magical plant is alive or not, because the evidence from your experiment is very weak, and even the logic is flawed. Isn’t that right?”

Wizard Zeno frowned.

“That’s because of the limitations of the experimental conditions, not a problem with my experimental methods. But after the repair filling of the Golden Route, I conducted some simple pressure tests and found that it actually meets the requirements.”

Another second-ring wizard, a True Knowledge Officer, suddenly asked, “What kind of pressure tests did you conduct?”

Wizard Zeno frowned, but being a very serious and earnest person, he was naturally not good at debating and didn’t know that some debates were just rhetorical techniques.

“I conducted a maximum load-bearing capacity test on the Golden Route…”

the second-ring wizard began, “but you didn’t have a power wizard from Golden Crown Mountain conduct the test? Have you forgotten? The power wizards of Golden Crown Mountain are experts in this area.”

“You’re not a professional power wizard, which means your test results are incomplete, implying a problem with your experimental methods,”

Wizard Zeno frowned.

“Maximum load-bearing capacity is the most important performance characteristic of the Golden Route; it represents the total number and scale of void warships that can pass through a unit area…”

Wizard Brandy suddenly interjected, “But these are irrelevant to the result you’re trying to prove, aren’t they?”

“As far as I know, the complete power test of the Golden Channel has six major components. Furthermore, your maximum load-bearing capacity test method is also incorrect. Because the navigation conditions of the Golden Channel are complex, I observed that your static load test was highly flawed. For example, you only waited ten minutes after increasing the load before testing the deformation distance… But as far as I know, this timeframe is before the materials inside the Golden Channel have stabilized; you should have waited at least another ten minutes. Your test results are likely due to erroneous observations…”

Wizard Zeno frowned. He immediately began explaining, but Wizard Brandy suddenly changed the subject, asking, “There’s a question. Even disregarding whether crystallized magical plants are alive or not, can the project you’ve undertaken, Wizard Zeno, truly repair the Golden Channel? Crystallized magical plants are, after all, magical plant materials, while the Golden Channel constantly faces the invisible energy of the void. Magical plants are living materials, whether dead or alive, and living materials are always easily restrained by the endless void.”

Wizard Zeno nodded slightly.

“The formless energy of the void is indeed very effective against life-giving materials, which is why the Golden Route cannot be built using life-giving materials. You are quite right.”

Brandy the Wizard frowned. He noticed that Zeno the Wizard had seized the opportunity and was actually trying to escape the vortex of logical interrogation created by his continuous questioning.

Zeno was more difficult to deal with than he had thought.

Brandy the Wizard had originally planned to quickly stump him, but although Zeno the Wizard was somewhat caught off guard by his continuous questioning, he could still answer in general.

This wouldn’t do.

He was about to continue speaking when Locke, who had agreed to ally with Zeno the Wizard, spoke up. After all, he had figured it out.

Just as he had thought from the audience, Brandy and the others were planning to unite, focus their attacks on Zeno first, eliminate him, and then focus their attacks on him.

Their current strategy is to repeatedly ask Zeno Wizard questions, seizing on a specific detail in his answers, and then asking another question. If Zeno Wizard can’t answer even once, it will severely undermine his confidence and disrupt his logic. It also subtly suggests to the audience, the commentary panel, and even the judges that Zeno Wizard’s previous answers, which seemed to have a specific underlying connection, were also problematic.

This is the plan that Brandy Wizard and his group of five devised below. They need to eliminate Zeno Wizard quickly; otherwise, his constant claims that crystallized magical plants aren’t living beings are practically a relentless, collective attack.

Only by eliminating Zeno can they then attack Locke.

At this moment, Locke suddenly spoke, interrupting Brandy Wizard’s barrage of questions.

“Brandy Wizard, can you really complete your project on the crystallization of the imaginary root?”

The Brandy Wizard seemed taken aback by the question, momentarily feeling a little guilty and uncertain.

“I’ve already prepared a detailed list of the equipment needed for the project in my application, and I’ve also created two sets of experimental procedures,”

Locke said. “But I’ve looked at your project proposal, and I found that some of the equipment on it is simply not available at Golden Crown Mountain, especially some small equipment and consumables. Are you sure you can buy them at Golden Crown Mountain?”

The Brandy Wizard’s face flushed red.

“You…”

“Of course, the review panel just praised my plan as very reasonable and the funding allocation as appropriate.”

Wizard Zeno immediately realized what was going on. He glanced gratefully at Locke, then seized the opportunity to fire at another wizard, Droma, who was jumping around excitedly, saying, “Wizard Droma, is it really necessary to apply for special funding for your crystallization of second-ring magical plants project? I published a paper on the crystallization of second-ring magical plants. I can do it without applying for special funding. What’s the point of applying for special funding for your project? Your project has no value in applying for special funding.” Wizard Droma

immediately jumped up and down. He opened his mouth to speak, but then fell silent for a moment. After all, for a moment, he had also begun to doubt himself.

Yes.

Does something like this really need to use a key laboratory?

After Wizard Droma choked up, the other three second-ring wizards also felt a sense of shared misfortune. Droma’s level was about the same as theirs; she just hadn’t performed as well this time. If Droma’s research didn’t deserve to use a key laboratory, then did theirs?

Seeing this, the Brandy Wizard thought to himself, “Oh no. Locke and Zeno have actually teamed up. How could this be? Locke is one thing, but Zeno is so arrogant, as if he doesn’t respect anyone at all. I hate that about him the most. How could someone so proud and arrogant join forces with Locke?”

The Brandy Wizard had to deal with Locke preemptively. He looked at Locke and launched an attack, saying, “Wizard Locke, I noticed a mistake in your defense just now. I’m going to point it out for you now!”

Locke said, “Oh?”

“What mistake did you find?”

The Brandy Wizard smiled smugly and said, “I think the biggest problem with your atavism project is that you used seedlings grown from seeds and seedlings, instead of tissue culture seedlings made through cuttings!” The

heated debate at this moment drew frequent nods from the audience. In any case, due to various unforeseen circumstances, the quality of this year’s special grant was actually higher than in previous years.

The wizards of Mysterious Heaven and Starry Sea also watched this scene closely.

Unusually, the commentary panel had fallen completely silent, simply watching everything unfold.

Locke said, “What’s the problem? So far, I’ve been using magical plants from other labs with standard mother plants. The plant factors of second-ring and first-ring magical plants are extremely stable.”

“And we can use the Queen’s Chessboard and the Ice Magic Mirror to sequence plant factors.”

“They can be used for comparison,”

said the Brandy Wizard. “But tissue culture seedlings can ensure the stability of the plant factors of each plant, while the seedlings you grow yourself are easily affected by soil, spiritual energy, and magic power, making it impossible to precisely control experimental variables.”

Locke said, “I don’t think there’s a problem. First, the plant factors of second-ring magical plants are very stable. Under normal circumstances, without sufficient energy levels, it’s impossible to change their plant factors.”

“I don’t need to waste money on something that’s unlikely to happen. That’s just a pure waste of money. Experiments should be done in a cost-effective way.”

Many audience members nodded in agreement.

It’s not worth spending more money for perfect data.

Because tissue culture seedlings are actually quite expensive. After all, a single sterile plant cultured from a producible seedling of Two-Ring Magic Plant might actually be more expensive than its adult form.

Who would conduct an experiment and play around with seedlings worth five million or even ten million every day?

Moreover, the plant factors of Two-Ring Magic Plant are very stable, so there is indeed no need to use tissue culture seedlings.

Locke held up a second finger. “Secondly, the purpose of my atavism is to restore some of the evolutionary possibilities of magical plants. I don’t think the chaotic plant factors in the seedlings will affect my results. They might even be better.”

“Chaotic plant factors are what allow atavism to produce unexpected results. Perhaps we can make unexpected discoveries in the process.”

Locke asked, “However, Brandy Wizard, I still want to ask you that question: are you confident you can complete your project?”

“The most crucial issue is that the mechanism by which the Imaginary Root draws upon the spiritual energy generated by the Imaginary Sea is not yet fully understood. It involves high-level magical knowledge. Moreover, it’s not just about Imaginary Roots, but also about spiritual energy. Your crystallized magical plants need to be able to properly draw upon spiritual energy. These areas are so complex; do you think you can research them thoroughly within five years?”

“Are you confident? Does your team have a second-circle wizard specializing in spirit energy, or a second-circle wizard specializing in imaginary number root studies? Neither? Since you don’t have either, how can you tackle these topics that even an expert specializing in these fields couldn’t finish in ten years?”

Brandy frowned, because Locke kept hitting his sore spot.

Special grants don’t require much attention to completion, because applications are so difficult. When reviewing qualifications, people only look at whether you’ve applied, and only secondarily at what you’ve researched.

Therefore, Brandy’s biggest hope was to secure the grant.

His main focus was on how to apply, naturally leaving no extra energy for thinking about how to complete it.

How to complete it?

Of the many research projects related to magical plant crystallization technology that Yunze Wetland has secured, how many project leaders dare to confidently say they can definitely produce some results? Having

a good technical approach to secure a project and publish in a top journal is completely different from having good technical skills to produce results and publish in a useful top journal.

After all, some of the content in top-tier theoretical journals is almost akin to the wildest hypotheticals.

It’s not that it’s not clever enough, since those things are built on a large amount of highly abstract, hypothetical magical content.

The Brandy Wizard couldn’t answer Locke’s question, as he didn’t know when he would finish. Making such a boast in front of so many people would be troublesome if he couldn’t deliver.

The Brandy Wizard thought of his previously devised method for dealing with Locke, gritted his teeth, and simply ignored Locke’s question, refusing to answer because he couldn’t.

He asked Locke, “So, Locke Wizard, what about you?”

“Which wizard present isn’t our predecessor? Respect for elders is something we wizards should uphold.”

“The second-circle wizards present are all our seniors at Golden Crown Mountain, who have made great contributions to our mountain. We should treat these seniors with respect and be grateful for their past research achievements, which allow us to stand on the shoulders of giants and move forward. Instead of mocking them for being old while we are young,”

said the Brandy Wizard, which immediately drew frequent nods from the panel of thirty second-circle wizards.

The Brandy Wizard said to Locke, “You’ve only been in our Golden Crown Mountain for a few years. Do you know how many of these people truly love magic and truth? Some have toiled for years, just for a single experimental result. Some have nurtured countless talents, producing numerous geniuses for the wizarding world, some even more talented than you and me.”

“Wizard Locke, I think your attitude towards them just now was very wrong.”

“Today, we can stand here and discuss this so openly because of the relentless pursuit of truth by our predecessors. You can’t rely on your youth to mock those older than us. Don’t you know that everyone grows old?”

The Brandy Wizard continued, “People grow old after birth, just like a flower that blooms and then withers, just like the sun that rises and then sets.”

“Your atavistic evolution also violates the laws of nature. Nature evolves forward, but you insist on going backward. Your research violates the laws of nature!”

The Brandy Wizard seized the opportunity to add an academic question at the end, steer the conversation back on track, and prevent Locke from finding fault.

A few scattered claps broke out. Brandy, the wizard, turned around and saw that it wasn’t just the judges applauding him; a small portion of the audience was also applauding.

However, most wizards felt his statement during the defense was somewhat inappropriate, so while they agreed to some extent, they didn’t offer any encouragement.

Brandy looked at the Red Dragon Witch in the audience, who remained expressionless.

He glanced at the five judges; four of them, all third-ring wizards, showed no reaction, simply keeping their heads down and using their magic quills to record their evaluations.

Brandy mentally affirmed himself.

‘I definitely can’t beat Locke in an academic contest. He’s too menacing; I felt afraid when we looked at each other. But if I can exploit his attitude—his biggest mistake just now—I can minimize his score. Besides, as a white wizard, he was truly not calm.’

Locke stared intently at Brandy.

Brandy, frightened by Locke’s gaze, even took a half-step back. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

Locke stared at him and said, “No, you’re wrong. The greatest disrespect is betraying yourself.”

Brandy, the wizard, paused. “What did you say?”

Locke shook his head. “I mean, my research doesn’t violate the laws of nature. The greatest violation is betraying yourself. What is magic? Magic is turning the impossible into the possible, constantly exploring the unknown. When a wizard believes something is impossible, he has betrayed himself.” “

You’re saying everyone gets old?”

“That’s unreasonable.”

Brandy looked at Locke with doubt in his eyes.

“Everyone gets old, what’s unreasonable about that? Even a third-ring wizard has their lifespan end and dies of old age. All life ages. It’s a natural law in the endless void.”

Locke looked at the Brandy Wizard and said, “At least for wizards, the statement that people are born and then grow old is unacceptable.”

“Similarly, growing old doesn’t necessarily mean one can’t be young.”

Only now did Locke finally understand why he had pushed the prosperity of spring into the prosperity of summer, why he had been so uneasy.

The reason was simple.

He had made the same mistake as the Brandy Wizard:

believing that summer would inevitably follow spring, just as people are born and then grow old.

Locke closed his eyes. Why couldn’t spring still be spring after spring?

The cycle of seasons is a natural law, but as a wizard, he was, as an ordinary mortal, constantly pushing his limits in the pursuit of truth. He had already broken through the limits of his race’s soul twice.

As someone who had broken through multiple limits, he was constantly creating more and greater possibilities for himself.

So why did he think that summer should follow spring?

Why must spring necessarily develop into summer?

If he followed the path of the four seasons, Locke instantly realized two major problems. First, he was a human, not the natural climate; he couldn’t treat himself as the natural climate.

The cycle of the seasons was a law of nature, not a human response. As a wizard, he should constantly pursue the greatest possible possibility, that is, constantly seek spring within the cycle of the seasons.

Indeed, for the natural laws of the endless void, a world, a civilization, or a person cannot remain in spring forever.

But for him as an individual wizard, the so-called racial breakthrough meant constantly surpassing limits, surpassing oneself, and finding possibility within the impossible.

‘It’s a mid-level advancement trap…’

Locke saw the upward path of the cycle of the four seasons.

“The path I was originally going to take was one of constantly creating new levels within the second ring, which is why I could see the brilliance ahead. If I had taken that step, I could have become a Star Ring Wizard ahead of time. But my intuition tells me something’s wrong.”

Of course something’s wrong.

That was the path of the second ring.

Not the path to the third ring.

Going against it leads to immortality, going with it leads to mortalism.

If one truly follows the changes of all things, then what’s the point of being a wizard, seeking truth, or pursuing the Three Rings!

Locke looked at Brandy the wizard and said, “Old age doesn’t necessarily mean one can’t be young. As wizards, we are always exploring our own possibilities. As long as the possibilities are endless, we will always be young. Magic is the doctrine of turning the impossible into the possible. Haven’t you heard, ‘Zhou, though an old state, its mandate

is ever new’?” “People must change; if people don’t change, they grow old. Everything must change. Great changes bring disaster, while small changes bring innovation. If a person or thing is constantly changing, then its spring will never end. So, continuous change within constancy is my Star Ring Forging.”

Brandy looked puzzled.

“What are you talking about? Are you crazy?”

Locke sighed. So that’s it. No wonder no one reminded him before.

It turns out, those people knew that if he didn’t want to understand this matter, even if someone reminded him, he would just take it as nonsense.

Or perhaps this defense was a reminder arranged by his teacher.

If he couldn’t pass, it meant his potential had reached its limit.

The possibility of breaking through to the third ring in the future would be infinitely reduced.

Because once a great magic is forged, it is difficult to modify; it can only be modified on the original basis. And he almost took the step of Summer’s Prosperity in the Three Cavern World.

World artifacts are truly dangerous.

One wrong move, and time will be accelerated, leading him astray and to his end.

The path to pursuing truth is indeed arduous.

Locke closed his eyes, his shadow cast on the floor, and suddenly a star ring condensed behind him.

Under the tempering of the fire of literature and martial arts, cracks began to appear on the star ring. Locke’s magical pressure expanded upwards, and the huge star ring he projected onto the ground began to crack.

Countless cracks began to fall off, revealing a smaller, but more condensed, golden halo within.

The witch Catherine curled her lips.

The Sea Queen stood up, preparing to leave.

“What? Isn’t that enough?”

“I thought your potential was limited to this.”

“It seems you truly have the qualifications to reach the third ring. I see those qualifications. So, I know how to teach the third lesson.”

The Sea Queen left the meeting room directly.

The Red Dragon Witch frowned at the Sea Queen, quite dissatisfied.

“Next time, we need to establish a rule: drunkards cannot participate in the defense.”

“Is this the kind of person Locke’s potions teacher is?”

“Looks like we need to remind him to avoid wizarding wine.”

At this moment, the wizard from the Star Sea showed interest in his eyes.

“He and Zeno are both good. Zeno is the kind of talent we expected to see in our Star Sea plan, but this wizard seems to be an exception. I told you our Eastern Realm wizards have extraordinary potential!”

The Brandy Wizard stood in front of Locke, watching Locke’s magic pressure rise continuously. He swallowed hard, feeling utterly devastated.

How could Locke advance to the Star Ring Wizard level after just a few words with him?

No, he himself had no hope of advancing to the Star Ring level, so how could Locke be attempting it, especially after just a few words with him!

The Brandy Wizard was utterly devastated.

Despite his verbal attack, Locke not only didn’t lose his composure, but actually understood something on the spot—he was about to break through to become a Star Ring Wizard!

At this moment, the thirty second-ring wizards on the judging panel exchanged bewildered glances.

“Breaking through to the Star Ring during the defense? This is rare even in the history of Golden Crown Mountain!”

“This guy’s talent is actually this high?”

“Seeking change within constancy? Under the impact of this young wizard’s ideas, I can’t help but wonder if my thinking has been too rigid. Shouldn’t we old guys also change and rejuvenate?”

“Could we old guys have a second spring? Hmm… this young man dares to be so bold; his courage doesn’t actually make me too angry, but rather makes me think that young people these days are truly amazing. Talking to him has actually given me a bit more vitality. Perhaps he’s right, I do indeed have a bit too much of an air of age about me.” (

Seeking monthly votes at the beginning of the month. ) The author tried to increase the word count as much as possible today. Advancing to the Star Ring level tomorrow!

(End of Chapter)