Chapter 956

Chapter 950 Locke, do you want to be the ceremonial attendant?

Locke looked at Edgar, frowning, but Edgar seemed serious. He scattered a circle of seeds on the ground, and each seed quickly took root and sprouted under his magic. He actually consumed three strands of verdant spiritual energy to cultivate these trees, which then grew into complete forms of second-ring War Trees.

War Trees were originally supposed to be second-ring level treants, but because Edgar couldn’t fully revive their power at the first-ring stage, they were forced to remain at the first ring.

The War Nightmares created by the Life Nightmares Locke encountered in the Emerald Dream were also forced to remain at the first ring because the Life Nightmares hadn’t yet reached the second ring.

Now, five War Trees had grown and, under Edgar’s three streams of wisdom, transformed into War Treants.

Locke looked at Edgar; the wizard Edgar was clearly very skilled in treant magic, even more so than himself. The war tree treants he conjured were far more powerful; clearly, the spell model he used was one he designed himself.

These five war tree treants held hands, forming a circle around him.

Thus, the five war tree treants formed a tree wall, trapping Edgar and Locke inside.

The ancient wizard embers outside attempted to attack this tree wall, but whether it was lightning, fire, or frost, it was all absorbed by the imaginary roots on the tree wall and transformed into the tree wall’s life energy.

Locke looked into the wizard Edgar’s eyes, knowing he was serious.

“I understand. Alright, since this is your request, I agree.”

Edgar’s face showed astonishment. “You don’t think my actions are outrageous?”

Locke looked around at the ashes of the era’s embers; many second-ring level wizard kings were attacking.

Frankly, if this continued, he would be surrounded.

These era’s embers were troublesome; they were merely the residual heat in burnt-out incense ash, and even if he killed them, he couldn’t use them for alchemy. Aside from consuming themselves, they serve no other purpose. Of course, encountering Douglas’s wizard teacher’s father in this war was an unexpected bonus.

The tree wall Edgar has created, at least temporarily, seals them off, creating a tortoise shell to prevent them from being overwhelmed by sheer numbers.

‘This is just a remnant of an era. Those wizards who offended the Black Sun Tower back then will face a global siege, just as King Otto faced in the past. If they don’t comply, the world will unite against them.’ What kind of existence is the Black Sun Tower, exactly?

Locke looked at Edgar and quickly determined that Edgar currently possessed five major magic runes. The spell models he had incorporated into these runes were likely [Twin Branches], [Life Piercing Slash], and [Life Spear Array]. Two other spell models were likely involved, one related to life and death transformation, and the other being this tree wall.

This tree wall was backed by immense magical power; otherwise, it couldn’t possibly be so powerful, capable of creating such a formidable tortoise shell and converting all magical attacks into life energy.

This is a characteristic of [Return of All Things to the Tree].

‘If we continue fighting, we’ll be trapped in an endless siege of the Killing Embers,’

Locke pondered. ‘I don’t know when it will stop, but it seems like it will never stop. After all, this is the residual heat from the embers accumulated by the Black Sun Tower in the past era, and there are countless of them. If it never ends, even if I’m strong, I’ll be exhausted of magic. Although I can rely on the Golden Crown Mountain’s subsequent reaction, I want to keep that in my own hands. I have to do something.’

‘Edgar’s suggestion isn’t without merit. If he can advance to the Star Ring, he can provide a powerful fighting force. Moreover, my Great Magic and his can form a mutually beneficial ecosystem, greatly enhancing my power.’

‘Actually, he could advance to the Star Ring at any time. He should be in the same state I was in before,’

Locke pondered.

‘His previous insistence on not advancing to the Star Ring probably stemmed from his awareness of the irrationality in the construction of Great Magic.’ Even if there are three or four more forgings later, it might not be too late to modify the Great Magic at that time, but it is definitely simpler and more effective to rebuild it when the Great Magic is first forged.

Locke said, “It’s not outrageous, I believe in your choice. You are not someone who speaks carelessly. You and I joined forces when the Holy Grail was silent.”

The wizard Edgar smiled slightly.

“It’s nothing special for someone to be humble in ordinary times, but now that you are in great trouble, when you are facing a great enemy, you can still maintain such humility. Locke, you are indeed a strong person. Your personality is different from mine, but in the end, we are on the same path. We both believe in our own strength.”

“Thank you for trusting me.”

Locke said, “What should I do?”

The wizard Edgar said, “This place is sealed by my hedge prison. We will fight quickly and decisively. Use your most powerful spell to attack me as quickly as possible, and I will also launch my most powerful attack at that moment.”

“We will decide the outcome with one blow.”

Locke said, “Okay.”

The two looked at each other, and saw in each other’s eyes the belief that they could accept each other.

Meanwhile, outside the hedge, a Sun Ring wizard appeared. This wizard was none other than Patrick Finch. With a casual flick of his wrist, he used a rose branch overflowing with boundless fiery energy to kill several second-ring Ancient Wizard Kings who stood in his way, and shattered their kingdoms.

Patrick Finch clenched his right fist and tapped on the hedge. He had heard Locke and Edgar’s duel.

“You two, stop fooling around. On this dangerous battlefield, please don’t act so childishly. Locke Augustine, I will protect you.”

“Don’t worry. The Magic Plant Crystallization Technology is a plan proposed by the Starfield Sea, designed to select wizarding geniuses who can resist the temptations of the winds and hone their own paths in the process. You and Zeno are both chosen for this plan, and I am the leader of this plan, so it is my duty to protect you. You and Edgar should hurry out of there.”

Master Patrick glanced worriedly into the distance, sensing that a third-ring Ancient Wizard King, Ember, was approaching.

The power of that Witch King seemed unimaginable, far surpassing that of the other Witch Kings. One wonders what level of power he had reached when he sacrificed himself at the Tower of the Black Sun.

Master Patrick feared that the man would attack, and the killing intent fluctuations of Mount Golden Crown were unable to stop him, nor could the second-ring wizards of Mount Golden Crown halt the third-ring ancient Witch King.

He glanced back at the judges’ panel, his pupils slightly contracting, because several third-ring embers had appeared before the throne wizards of Mount Golden Crown. These third-ring embers lacked power, but their sheer number allowed them to outnumber the enemy and besiege the Blue Dragon Throne and the Green Dragon Throne.

However, the two thrones of Mysterious Heaven and Starfield Sea remained seated, neither making a move nor showing any intention of leaving.

They likely considered this an internal matter of Mount Golden Crown, and it was inappropriate for them to overstep their bounds.

Master Patrick sensed the approach of the Third Ring Wizard King and spoke to the two again, “Gentlemen, let’s go quickly. There’s no time to waste. Stop fooling around. With a formidable enemy at hand, don’t fight anymore; it’s just wasting your energy.”

Inside the hedgerow, Wizard Edgar heard Wizard Patrick’s shout and panicked, fearing Locke might suddenly change his mind.

Locke looked at Wizard Edgar and said, “Come on, since I promised you, I will never go back on my word. It’s just one strike anyway. Let’s decide the outcome with one blow. Your most powerful spell should still be Life Pierce.”

Wizard Edgar nodded urgently and said, “That’s right. My most powerful spell is still Life Pierce.”

A perfect treant appeared behind Wizard Edgar.

Locke summoned the Golden Peach and the Sky-Piercing Jujube. Because of the existence of the Spring Thunder Arrow spell model, his Tree of Prosperity could enhance this spell, while the Moon of Evolution could enhance the Peach Bow Thorn Arrow. Therefore, the derivative spell of the Peach Bow Thorn Arrow—Spring Thunder Arrow—was, in fact, his highest-output spell.

Compared to it, neither the Spring Return Spear combined with Sea Gold Sand, nor the Great Spring Breeze Dragon Sparrow Curse combined with the Great Roaring Dragon Sparrow, nor any other attack methods, could compare to Spring Thunder Arrow. While

Generational Alternation was a surprise move, under the current circumstances, its magical multiplication output was lower than that of Spring Thunder Arrow.

The Golden Peach transformed into a bow, and the Sky-Piercing Jujube’s arrows became arrows. The power of the Moon of Evolution and the Tree of Prosperity enhanced the Spring Thunder Arrow spell model. For a moment, the arrow split into two, but they quickly merged, and a significant increase in magical pressure appeared out of thin air.

Immediately afterward, the moonlight of the Evolutionary Moon shone upon the arrow, using the Moon’s Nurturing Technique to enhance its magical pressure.

The immense life force transformed into a bolt of lightning, striking Edgar. Edgar’s Life Pierce, intended for Locke, suddenly vanished the perfect treant’s branch the instant it struck Locke.

Locke’s pupils constricted sharply, a rare look of surprise on his face.

Edgar, you lied to me?

At this moment, as a Star Ring Wizard, his control over his magic had reached an absurd level thanks to the refinement of his Great Magic. Therefore, he naturally mastered a transcendent casting technique: Instant Dispel. This meant that

even after casting a spell, he could dispel it before or after it hit the enemy.

Extremely concentrated magical pressure was a characteristic of Star Ring Wizards.

Thus, Locke easily mastered this ability.

He could have dispelled the spell, but seeing the Wizard Edgar’s resolute gaze, Locke sighed.

“Why are you doing this?”

The Arrow of Spring Thunder didn’t retract; instead, it pierced Edgar’s chest, penetrating his heart, and piercing his wizard’s robes and the Permanent Defense Field. A second-circle enchanted staff, crafted from a branch of the Ancient Tree of Life, rolled to the ground.

Edgar took a step forward, a smile spreading across his face.

“The strong always remain strong. ‘I can die happy if I hear the truth in the morning.’ I’m only one step away. To give up now, and then spend decades figuring out this final step, possibly missing the opportunity forever to know this truth—I can’t do it. Locke, thank you for granting my wish. I’m an impatient person; I can’t wait.”

Edgar coughed up blood.

“You said spring doesn’t necessarily lead to summer, that going against the grain leads to success, going with the flow leads to mediocrity—I understand that principle. But after birth comes death. Can one not die? If one doesn’t die, one must follow the path of the undead. Otherwise, it’s impossible to achieve immortality at the second circle stage.”

Suddenly, every leaf of the Perfect Tree behind Edgar turned black.

He snapped his fingers, and instantly the black ink on the leaves of the Tree of Perfection slid off like ink. “If one cannot follow the path of the neither-living nor-dead, then how can one achieve immortality?”

The wizard Edgar shook his head.

“The truth you learned on the podium is too profound; even if you tell others the result, it only leads them further astray. A wrong person, even if they obtain the correct idea, will find everything they conceive based on that correct idea wrong. Therefore, in order to obtain the correct thing, in order to keep up with you, I decided to use the fastest, but also the most difficult, method.”

“Your most powerful magic contains your will; use your magic to lead me into the Land of the Dead—that is the solution I have in mind. This time, I must truly enter the tree’s cycle of death, go inside and see for myself, only then will I know what to do.”

The wizard Edgar placed a precious gem in his mouth, then knelt on the ground, his head drooping. His soul transformed into a wisp of green smoke and flew into the sky, but was captured the next moment by the Tree of All Things he had cast before his death.

Locke raised an eyebrow.

“Hmm? Wizard Edgar, why are you doing this again? Last time, to prove your ultimate magic, you faked your death once in the Silent Dimension, simulating the rules of ultimate magic through the Silent Tournament. This time, you actually tricked me into attacking you, making me kill you, and then tried to exploit a bug with your ultimate magic to trigger death.”

Locke didn’t know if the Tree of All Things could trigger a bug.

Because at this moment, the Tree of All Things itself was also collapsing.

Edgar had deceived him, causing him to use his highest normal output magic attack without using the Beast Panel. And since Edgar neither resisted nor defended, the moment his attack pierced Edgar’s heart, the spring thunder, strengthened by the Moon’s Nurturing Method and the Tree of Prosperity, after the Five Elements reversed and ignited a vast life force, transformed into a terrifying shockwave, fiercely destroying Edgar’s ultimate magic, [Tree of All Things].

Locke said, “Edgar, you’re ready to die. Can’t you accept being weak? If you don’t become strong, then death is the only answer you’ve given yourself.”

Master Patrick, outside the hedge cage, noticed Edgar’s magical pressure rapidly decreasing. His anxious expression froze. “Oh no, something’s happened after all. Locke, Edgar, you’re too young, too impulsive. You’re still young, life is short, why be so stubborn here? Sigh…”

Master Patrick’s hand touched the hedge cage, and a spark of magical electricity appeared where his hand met the hedge.

“Ah? The man is dead, but his magic hasn’t been dispelled? I see. ‘Return to the Tree’ is indeed a powerful spell. Even after its master’s death, it continues to try to reclaim that power, so the spell won’t be dispelled after the master’s death.”

“It’s just weakened…”

Master Patrick said, “Locke, wait, I’ll help you.”

Three second-circle Wizards approached from afar.

Master Patrick glanced at them anxiously, then placed his hand on the hedge cage.

“Trouble. If I use magic to destroy this spell, the cage will absorb my magical power and become stronger the instant it’s destroyed…”

For an ordinary second-circle wizard, the difference between a second-circle wizard and a third-circle wizard is indeed like that between a child and an adult.

But if an ordinary second-circle wizard compares their strengths to a third-circle wizard’s weaknesses, the situation becomes a standoff between a child with a weapon and an unarmed adult.

The adult would then find it difficult to quickly defeat the child with the weapon.

And this was exactly what was happening.

The sealing spell set up by Edgar prevented Master Patrick from quickly breaking it, and attacking the fence with powerful magic in one go could potentially destroy everyone inside.

The anxious expression on Master Patrick’s face vanished instantly.

A mark appeared on the back of his hand—a black sun mark.

The three ancient wizard kings, Embers, who had been pursuing him, stopped abruptly upon seeing Master Patrick’s hand, looking at him in surprise.

“You are also a wizard who worships the Tower of the Black Sun?”

Master Patrick smiled.

“Crystallized magical plants are the creation of the Black Sun Tower. It’s one thing for people to use them, but to treat them as true magical plants is to sacrifice to the Black Sun Tower. Lord Dragon and you come from ancient times and may not understand this era, but that’s alright, we understand.”

The three Witch Kings immediately performed a grand sacrificial ceremony for Master Patrick.

“So it’s an angel.”

Master Patrick quickly retreated. “Rituals must be followed properly; each person must perform their duties. This is a rule passed down since the Age of Stars.”

“I am only a second-circle wizard, not a third-circle wizard. You cannot address me as an angel from heaven.”

The three Witch Kings immediately became polite, their eyes filled with admiration. “This person is so polite; he must be an envoy of the Black Sun Tower.”

Master Patrick turned to look at the fence, took two steps back, and then took out three incense sticks from his astral ring. He lit the three incense sticks with a fire-based magical artifact and then stuck them upside down in the ground.

The smoke curled upwards.

Countless cigarette smoke curled towards the hedge.

“The orders from above were to capture Locke Augustine alone, but I didn’t expect Edgar David to suddenly appear out of nowhere. Oh well, breaking his seal would take too much time. Let’s just teleport them both away.”

Master Patrick smirked.

“I’m truly weary of this hypocrisy with the Starfield Sea and the Rose Council. This era… has fallen. The weak don’t know how to respect the strong, and the strong don’t know how to rule the weak; the social order is in chaos. Wealthy wizards are respected, not role models and exemplars.”

“Locke Augustine, as you said, evolution can go wrong. Is this era necessarily right? No, I think it’s terribly wrong, utterly wrong. Look at Edgar David; he pursued what he couldn’t achieve with his talents, and reality rewarded him with death.”

“Isn’t this era so chaotic because those people don’t follow the principle of doing what is appropriate for them? Heaven created all things, and all things gave birth to wizards to worship the heavens. The first ring is for worshipping humans, the second ring for worshipping the earth, and the third ring for worshipping the heavens. Apprentices have no right to sacrifice, no right to offer. The hierarchy of heaven and earth is clear, but you modern wizards have changed your minds and created this so-called equality for all, which is why the world is in such chaos.”

Wizard Patrick watched the hedge cage gradually disappear into the smoke.

“And now, you, a sinner, have appeared!”

“You are the embodiment of instigation, you are the usurper!”

At this moment, many wizards on Golden Crown Mountain showed shock on their faces upon witnessing this scene.

An old Moon Ring wizard on the commentary team showed anger on his face.

“The Rose Council, how could the Rose Council help the black wizard who attacked Golden Crown Mountain? He is also the person in charge of the Star Domain Sea’s project in Cloud Marsh Wetlands.”

This old Moon Ring wizard turned his head to look at the seats of the two throne wizards from Mysterious Heaven and Star Domain Sea.

The two of them still hadn’t moved their positions.

Even the wizard Valeria Kenway didn’t move, merely stroking his chin and pondering, “Interesting. But this plan was supposed to be a semi-public recruitment for the project leader, so it’s not surprising that someone like this would infiltrate.”

“What kind of person does what kind of work, and everything is clearly hierarchical? This ‘Past Heaven’ is the Tower of the Black Sun, isn’t it? I remember they appeared most frequently during the Age of Stars. So that’s what that era was like. It’s so far removed from our time that these ideas don’t even seem threatening to me.”

He looked at the throne wizard from the Mystic Heaven.

“What do you think?”

“Hmm? You don’t actually think this chaos is caused by our Starfield Sea, do you?”

…

On the other side, the Dragon Wizard was battling the Red Dragon Witch. Both unleashed countless spells simultaneously, effortlessly employing various high-level spells. One attacked, the other countered, the two locked in a fierce, evenly matched exchange.

Suddenly, the Dragon Wizard stopped and retreated.

“Finally succeeded.”

The Dragon Wizard now faced a combined attack from Catherine the Witch and her friend, Victoria the Witch. The Red Dragon Witch was fighting him here, while Victoria was battling his upper body at the foot of the mountain.

The Dragon Wizard glanced at Catherine the Witch and said, “You’re surprised, aren’t you? Could you have guessed this with your political maneuvering? Judging from your expression, you probably couldn’t.”

“I’ve said it before, I’ve calculated everything about you with this tortoise shell in my left hand. Not just your thoughts, but your future, every aspect, and the entire situation. Human calculations are no match for divine calculations.”

Catherine the Witch turned and glanced in Locke’s direction.

The entire conference room was shrouded in the embers of time, but Locke, Edgar, and the hedge cage had already been teleported by Master Patrick to a deeper level of these embers.

These embers were like the ash left after burning firewood; they still retained warmth and had many layers. They were currently only on the outermost layer.

Locke and Edgar had been taken to a deeper level.

The Red Dragon Witch’s eyes showed surprise. She truly hadn’t expected that Patrick Finch, the wizard she considered the head of the Starfield Sea’s project in the Cloud Marsh Wetlands, would be a member of the ancient Black Sun Tower. Although she had long suspected that the Black Sun Tower couldn’t possibly be completely powerless in this era, but…

upon closer reflection, the Black Sun Tower had even mobilized a fourth-ring wizard to eliminate Locke, so sacrificing another sun-ring wizard wouldn’t be surprising.

The Demon Dragon Wizard chanted a spell, and his half-body clone was enveloped in a puff of smoke before disappearing from the scene. With

his target secured, he had no reason to continue fighting the Red Dragon Witch.

“I advise you to kill the Rose Witch, otherwise she will surely kill you in the future. Heh, the future Throne Wizard.”

Catherine the Witch watched the wizard’s figure disappear. Trajan transformed into a half-dragon, every inch of his skin containing terrifying heat, he was like a sun.

Trajan the Witch: “Teacher, my junior brother has been taken away by them with sacrificial magic.”

“Teacher, what do we do now?” “

The Rose Council ambushed Junior Sister Shirley when she was advancing to the second ring, causing her to get lost in the divine kingdom of the Southern Divine Kingdom Academy. Now they have also tricked Junior Brother Locke. The Rose Witch… I will not let her go.” Catherine the Witch rolled her

eyes at him.

“Don’t casually declare war on an opponent you cannot defeat. Anna has stood at the forefront of the Path of Truth for many years, making countless contributions to my wizarding civilization. If she wants to kill you, without my protection, you will go bankrupt the next day and become a debt slave.”

Trajan sensed that Catherine the Witch was in a bad mood and had no patience at this moment.

“I’m sorry, teacher, what should we do now?”

Ekaterina the witch said, “He can come and go as he pleases; there’s no such thing as a free lunch.”

Ekaterina’s eyes turned into golden vertical pupils.

“The immortal dragon scales of a true dragon have the ability to transcend time and space without decay. He still carries remnants of my Heart-Shaped Curse. I will follow this connection, delve into the embers of time, and bring Locke back.”

Ekaterina was about to use her immortal dragon scales to catch up with the demon dragon wizard, but the next moment, a dragon soul attacked her from afar, directly plunging into her immortal dragon scales.

In an instant, the power of the immortal dragon scales, which Ekaterina had suppressed to the ordinary third-ring level, multiplied exponentially. Its original accumulation was already sufficient; now, just a bottle of dragon soul potion specifically designed to stimulate the dragon race’s potential was enough to push the magical pressure of her dragon bloodline to the throne level.

Potions can heal, and they can kill.

It can strengthen or weaken a person.

The way of transformation of all things is the core content of potion-making.

Catherine the Witch’s dragon power suddenly went out of control.

Wizard Trajan immediately cried out, “Teacher!”

Catherine the Witch instantly transformed from a human into a true red dragon.

“Roar~”

The red dragon roared, then spread its wings. Her dragon power surged, causing the true dragon’s will to forcibly suppress her will as a human witch.

And the true dragon will of the Red Dragon Witch was… the Red Dragon Grand Duchess of Hell!

A thoroughly evil dragon.

She spread her dragon wings, a terrifying aura of destruction enveloping the surroundings. Countless embers of time crumbled instantly upon her destructive magical pressure.

The red dragon spewed a breath of dragonfire upwards, the destructive power of which directly burned and blew open a gash. Then the red dragon flew out of that gash and left.

Wizard Trajan’s heart skipped a beat.

‘It’s over. Has today’s trap failed?’ But his junior brother had already warned their teacher that the Rose School was refining Dragon Soul Potions, and the teacher was on guard. Why, then, did the teacher still fall for their scheme?

His eyes were bloodshot, revealing a savage glint in them.

He rushed to Patrick’s location as quickly as possible, and upon seeing Trajan, Master Patrick clearly began to feel guilty.

Trajan spoke slowly and deliberately. “Patrick, I told you that if you dared to provoke Locke Augustine again, I would make you pay the price. Did you take my words to heart?”

Patrick swallowed hard.

“He’s just a second-circle wizard from your school. As for your teacher… it was someone from the Rose School who did it. He should still be at Golden Crown Mountain; you can still hunt them down now. Why bother arguing with me…”

Trajan sneered.

“Regardless of right or wrong, I have no intention of arguing with you. Today you will die.”

The next moment, countless peach blossoms gathered, all imbued with his dragon blood power, transforming into a blazing, radiant light.

Three thousand peaches killed!

…

Deeper into the embers of time, Locke and the fallen Edgar were simultaneously teleported to this location.

At this moment, the Dragon Wizard appeared outside the hedge cage. He stared at the hedge, momentarily stunned, a look of surprise flashing in his eyes, then thoughtfully.

“Hmm? Something beyond my prophecy has appeared. Oh well.”

There was no one left here.

The sky here was a blanket of white ash, and the earth was bare rock. This was the embers of an era, a sacrificial site that had been burned countless times but still retained warmth.

The dragon wizard smiled, bent down, and picked up a flower from the ground—a wizard’s flower.

His hand touched the hedge cage, and instantly the five ancient war trees withered and died.

After the five ancient war trees withered, their bodies cracked open inch by inch. He then walked inside, looked at Locke and the fallen Edgar within the hedge, and smiled, saying, “Finally, there are no outsiders. What’s your name?”

The dragon wizard was unhurried and polite, just like the noble wizards of the Age of Stars.

The dragon wizard found a rock and sat down.

“You won’t speak? That’s easy. I can get your name by divination.”

He smiled, performed the divination, shook the tortoise shell several times, but the tortoise shell remained unchanged.

The dragon wizard’s expression shifted slightly, then he smiled again, speaking as if to a close junior.

“Fine, I’ll call you Locke then… Locke, now, finally, there’s no one else around.”

Locke looked at him coldly.

He raised his hand, but the dragon wizard placed a finger on the back of his hand, making it difficult for Locke to lift his palm.

The dragon wizard laughed, “You’re finally going to face me and meet your destiny. It’s a pity, a shame, that after all your efforts, this is your end.”

Locke said, “The outcome is still uncertain.”

The dragon wizard’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Even in this state, you still possess such fighting spirit. Not simple. Locke Augustine, I’m pondering how to deal with you.”

“My Black Sun Tower is not a group of vicious villains; in fact, we are quite reasonable. So killing you is acceptable, crippling your bloodline is also acceptable. However, your bloodline and your magic are too deeply intertwined. Therefore, it’s either kill you or cripple you.” “

You shouldn’t have come into contact with the dragon bloodline. Throughout history, countless great heroes and geniuses have fallen at our hands. What makes you think you’re special?”

Locke gritted his teeth, trying to break free from the fourth-ring wizard’s magical pressure with his Star Ring-level refined magical pressure.

He was a second-ring wizard; even before a fourth-ring wizard, he should not be an ant.

Every second-ring wizard is an expert in their field!

Locke desperately wanted to find a way out. The current situation was indeed hopeless; he seemed to have run out of cards, while this was the other party’s home turf, where the other party had cards everywhere.

This was the most desperate moment he had ever experienced since arriving in this wizarding world.

But even in this moment of despair, Locke did not give up. He would persevere to the very end; he would find that glimmer of hope.

The Dragon Wizard looked at Locke with admiration.

“Let me think about what to do. You don’t need to struggle anymore. There’s no way a second-ring wizard can escape from a fourth-ring wizard. And your teacher, under my scheme, is helpless.”

“Someone cast a spell on me, and during the battle, that spell transferred to your teacher. Your protector couldn’t save you; right now, there’s nothing here but a corpse.”

“And now, I can finally touch you. Hmm? This bloodline purity. You’re not a secondary evolutionary dragon; you’re a direct descendant of the Black Sun Tower…”

The Dragon Wizard’s face showed astonishment.

“After that war, are there still people living in the wizarding world in our Black Sun Tower? That’s bizarre.”

The next moment, the dragon consciousness within Locke’s sea of consciousness suddenly let out a mournful cry. Then, an arrow suddenly emerged from the heart-shaped mark on its forehead, piercing through both the dragon’s and Locke’s foreheads, before shooting towards the dragon wizard.

The Peach-Arrow Thorn Arrow!

But the dragon wizard’s expression remained unchanged, for even this scene was within his divination; Catherine the Witch’s sneak attack was also within his expectations.

The final move in all of Catherine the Witch’s killing techniques was the Peach-Arrow Thorn Arrow hidden within the heart-shaped mark on Locke’s forehead.

This was why the dragon wizard had plucked a wizard flower earlier. At this moment, that wizard flower bloomed, and from it shot out a spell model structure exactly the same as the Peach-Arrow Thorn Arrow shot by Catherine the Witch.

The Wizard Flower possesses a unique interpretive ability. In the past, countless wizards used this magical plant to plagiarize others’ ideas or to optimize their own. The entire era was rife with plagiarism, leading to a comprehensive lag in technological advancement. Then came the emergence of authority, and wizards accustomed to using the Wizard Flower were powerless to resist its dominance over their thinking.

Ultimately, high-ring wizards used this flower to convey their will to everyone.

And now, this sinful Wizard Flower shot an identical arrow of peach-blossom thorns towards Locke’s forehead.

The two collided and canceled each other out.

The two spells collided and neutralized.

The dragon wizard’s hand touched Locke’s forehead.

The next moment, Locke’s vision blurred, and darkness enveloped him. But he quickly found himself sitting on a throne, an immensely large seat, as if he had become a giant, with countless wizards below offering sacrifices and worship.

Some called him ‘Heaven,’

others ‘Ritual.’

Locke found himself seated on the throne, unable to move. He saw the people bowing respectfully before him, the wizards treating him like the most fervent believers.

He felt as if he had become the center of this long era.

‘Are they worshipping me?’

‘The rite sits on the throne to receive offerings. People regard the corpse as a representative of heaven, therefore, worshipping me is worshipping heaven.’

Locke understood. If he agreed now, he could become the rite, but as a price, he would have to remain on this throne forever, becoming a motionless, speechless symbol, a symbol of the Tower of the Black Sun, the most sublime symbol.

Locke felt himself surrounded by sublime power.

It was the collective worship of a long era.

He was part of the foundation of this long era.

A voice appeared in his ears.

‘Accept the invitation. You possess the blood of the dragon, you are qualified to become truth!’

‘The wizards sitting here are truth, because truth is what everyone believes. The wizards of this entire era believe you are truth.’

‘This is an immense honor.’

At this moment, Locke gritted his teeth.

“No, I refuse!”

“Truth is not this! I seek truth, not these things!”

The next moment, in this dark space, the Holy Dragon Star lit up, followed by a bolt of Locke’s Peach-Arrow Thorn Arrow that shattered the space.

‘Bang!’

The Dragon Wizard’s hand was deflected by the Peach-Arrow Thorn Arrow.

The Dragon Wizard shook his head. “The legacy of the Holy Dragon?”

“So it is his legacy from the Dark Ages. Why bother? I gave you a third choice, why did you refuse me? Then you will die, Locke Augustine!”

“I thought you could join the Tower of the Black Sun. I said, we are actually very patient.”

(End of Chapter)