Chapter 979

Chapter 972 The Wrath of the Supreme Eye Demon and the Conspiracy of the Senate and the Academic Committee

“Hmm?”

Just as Locke was continuing to hybridize the Golden Pineapple to create an even more advanced Abyss Devourer, he bent down, and the instant his palm touched an Abyss Pineapple, numerous illusions suddenly appeared before his eyes. An energy continuously flowed from his eyes, and at the same time, this energy entered the dimensional laws of this small world, causing the entire small world to constantly reorganize.

Stars that could only appear in the center of Star City appeared in the sky, resembling the leaves of the Sky-Piercing Tree growing in the firmament.

“The Abyss power within me has merged with this small world.”

Locke’s first reaction was to check his Parallel Coins using the Golden Crown Mountain Badge. Finding that he still had 5 left, he was relieved. After all, activating double-speed time in this small world also required Parallel Coins.

Moreover, because Parallel Coins could be traded within the White Cardamom Farm, Locke suspected that some wizards were using large amounts of Magic Stones to trade outside and then exchange them for the currency within the Key Laboratory.

“Is this small world of farms created within the key laboratory more than just an ordinary parallel world?”

Locke sensed changes occurring in this small world as the abyssal energy within him was injected into the area.

First, low-level Eye Demons gradually appeared in the Blood Sea within the Abyss of a Thousand Eyes, along with other demons that were considered a minority in this plane. Moreover, this small world, which originally only contained some low-level abyssal magical plants, began to see large patches of high-level magical plants.

It was as if this were indeed an abyssal plane.

Locke consulted the laboratory user manual that the wizard Guberdin had sent him through the Water Hyacinth System, searching for relevant information.

According to the information, this world region was a parallel world created by the White Cardamom Farm of the key laboratory.

It was not a virtual world itself, but a special parallel world resulting from the high integration and development of Spiritual Breathing and Spiritual Macroscopic Science. Therefore, if a wizard possessed sufficient Plane Principles, it was possible to use these Plane Principles to connect this world with a specific plane.

In other words, this could be considered part of the Abyss of a Thousand Eyes, just located in a different phase.

This is a free feature, but it carries certain risks and can be deactivated or exited at any time.

Exiting requires a spell, essentially a safe mode that puts this parallel world in a closed state, though interaction with other phases is still possible.

However, the activation conditions are very strict; the wizard must possess either the wizard themselves or a core power of this world, such as a World Stone.

Each World Stone can only be used once.

This is because it consumes a World Stone, and the wizard’s ability to use this feature stems from their title as the Child of Chaos of the 78th Abyss Plane, an object comparable to a World Stone.

Therefore, the wizard can use their Abyssal Power to support this feature. However, their Abyssal Energy is regenerative and recoverable, allowing for repeated activation.

Locke saw numerous Eye Demons gradually appearing in the sky, even the avatar of the Supreme Eye Demon appearing before him. This avatar, which had been aimlessly floating, was now scrutinizing his Eye Demon Dynasty and the 78th Abyssal Plane.

But at this moment, the Supreme Eye Demon’s avatar seemed to sense something. Its pupils immediately darted around, examining its surroundings.

“Something’s come in…”

“Right in front of me.”

The Supreme Eye Demon’s avatar’s pupils darted, and suddenly, with lightning speed, it shot out a [Demonic Gaze] forward. The gaze pierced through the void, but hit nothing.

The Supreme Eye Demon’s expression flickered with thought. “Something’s watching me. Strange.”

In a different phase of the same plane, Locke watched the Demonic Gaze shot by the Supreme Eye Demon. The Demonic Gaze had been weakened by multiple layers of space, but it still successfully passed through different phases and hit him. However, it was blocked by his Peach Blossom Spell. Countless peach blossoms appeared in front of him, blocking the Demonic Gaze.

But after the Demonic Gaze was blocked, it actually turned into a sphere on the spot, becoming a small crystallized Eye Demon Elder.

This Eye Demon Elder was merely a condensed form of the Supreme Eye Demon’s power, and thus could only exist temporarily. Upon its appearance, it attacked Locke, unleashing a Mind-Shattering Gaze. However, the gaze was distorted by Locke’s Permanent Defense Field as soon as it approached.

Locke swung his Golden Wheat, the golden whip falling and instantly stealing all the surrounding light, including the light in the Eye Demon Elder’s eyes. The Eye Demon Elder’s eyes were then extinguished, plunging it into darkness. It looked around in terror before being shattered by the Golden Wheat, transforming back into a mass of abyssal energy and merging into the abyssal world of this area.

“A key laboratory… truly worthy of being the most important building in the wizarding civilization,”

Locke murmured, a hint of surprise in his eyes.

“Unexpectedly, the Key Laboratory – White Cardamom Farm, simply by acquiring the abyssal power related to the Eye Demon from my side, actually created a parallel world that resonates with the real Abyss of a Thousand Eyes.”

“At this moment, I stand before the Supreme Eye Demon, but because we are in different phases of the same spatial coordinates, it cannot see me.”

Locke stood before the eyeball of the Supreme Eye Demon’s avatar. The Supreme Eye Demon stared into Locke’s eyes. As the highest-level Eye Demon, it clearly sensed someone watching it, even making eye contact, but it couldn’t find Locke. Moreover, it didn’t realize it had actually reached Locke, because it lacked knowledge of phase space theory.

It even thought it sensed someone nearby, never imagining that Locke was directly face-to-face with it, no more than 10 centimeters away.

Locke pondered, “Although I and this Supreme Eye Demon are in different phases of the same world, I’m actually likely in a relatively advantageous position due to the key laboratory, the Cardamom Farm. For example, I can see it directly, while it can’t see me. I can obviously interfere more easily with the positive phase world where the Supreme Eye Demon resides, while the Supreme Eye Demon cannot interfere with my phase.”

“Or rather, it’s difficult to interfere systematically.”

No wonder the key laboratory is the most important infrastructure of the wizarding civilization, and no wonder the Persepolis gods infiltrated and continuously sabotaged the major key laboratories of the wizarding civilization.

It’s not just a research site; it has many comprehensive uses.

Locke observed the Supreme Eye Demon closely, examining its power, and even took out a Focusing Spell Monocle from his Astral Ring.

“My previous guess was correct; the Supreme Eye Demon possesses very powerful abyssal energy and some kind of spiritual power.”

“The evolutionary rule of the Abyss is that when a demon evolves towards a higher demon race, it becomes a kind of reference panel for all subsequent demon races. If the higher demon race it evolves into is a pre-existing demon race, it will permanently change some of the appearance and power attributes of that existing higher demon race, and may even create subspecies of that higher demon race.”

“The Supreme Eye Demon must have received some powerful spiritual energy, resulting in this mutation.”

At this moment, in the Abyss of a Thousand Eyes, the Supreme Eye Demon’s avatar surveyed its territory with extreme annoyance.

“Something must have infiltrated, right before my eyes, but I can’t find its presence.”

“Is it just my imagination?”

The Supreme Eye Demon rolled its eyes, using some kind of superpower leaning towards the mind school, and then its entire eyeball turned red.

“No, my Eye of Insight tells me there’s an enemy nearby. But where is this enemy? Damn it, how did they do that? Is it invisibility? Is it some damned little thief, or an assassin trying to kill the Eye Demon Emperor—me?”

The Supreme Eye Demon seemed to have become frightened. It urgently summoned countless low-level Eye Demons to surround and protect it.

“Who is it?”

However, in this way, Locke indeed couldn’t pass through the dense army of Eye Demons to reach the Supreme Eye Demon. Although its actions seemed a bit neurotic, they were actually quite effective.

Locke ignored the Supreme Eye Demon and instead picked up a black Abyss Pineapple from the ground. He wanted to use these pineapples to hybridize and upgrade the Abyss Devourer inside his Dark Gold Dragon Claw, making the special plant organs inside his Dark Gold Dragon Claw Demon Plant even stronger.

At this moment, Locke reached out and plucked a first-ring Abyss Air Pineapple located in the positive phase space. The Supreme

Eye Demon immediately blinked its eyes, and in an instant, an ion storm was generated at that location—the Supreme Eye Demon’s Evil Storm.

The Supreme Eye Demon seemed extremely angry. As a Sun-ring level organism, it was infamous throughout the endless void. Countless worlds trembled at the mere mention of its name, and felt the end of the world at its mere sight.

But now, in its homeland, its palace, an invisible enemy had intruded.

“It’s been taken.”

The Supreme Eye Demon’s pupils darted around.

“I can sense someone taking a demonic plant. So, their target is a demonic plant. They went to such lengths to enter our 78th level of the Abyss just for a single first-ring demonic plant? Impossible… There aren’t many civilizations that would be so bored. Could it be a wizarding civilization?”

The Supreme Eye Demon pondered its countermeasures and the information.

‘I’ve heard before that some advanced laboratories in the wizarding world have particularly magical devices that allow even first-ring wizards to travel through time and space to intervene in certain planes. But this is the first time for us in the Thousand-Eyed Abyss. And to be able to do this, certain conditions must be met.’ “

Which wizard is it…?”

The Supreme Eye Demon was somewhat agitated, because this wizarding civilization had recently put him in a very passive position. First, he inexplicably lost his title as the Child of Chaos, and then this happened.

In the White Cardamom Farm, a great roaring dragon-bird appeared behind Locke. He leaped up, picked a ring-shaped pineapple, and moved away from the spot. An ion storm appeared where he had been, which was the Supreme Eye Demon’s mental energy storm. It was the full-force attack of a Sun Ring level being, and its scale was enormous. If he were caught in it, he would probably not fare well.

“It’s better to avoid provoking him. If the Supreme Eye Demon discovers the different phases and the same coordinates, it will be troublesome.”

“And if I keep being attacked like this, it will be very troublesome while I’m farming.”

Locke returned to his farmland area in this small world. He transplanted the magical plant into it, then used breeding magic to repair the magical plant, allowing its root system to recover. Then he used a rapid growth magic model to make the magical plant bloom quickly.

One of the major challenges of hybridization breeding is controlling the flowering period of the magical plants.

Because hybridization relies on pollen, the flowering periods of the different magical plants being hybridized must be precisely controlled; otherwise, it becomes very troublesome.

Locke successfully hybridized this magical plant with a Dark Gold Dragon Claw Air Plant, but before long, his Dark Gold Dragon Claw Air Plant suddenly spontaneously combusted, like a lit candle.

The flame was purplish-black.

Locke, however, remained expressionless, showing little change.

Whether grafted or hybridized, Abyssal magical plants have a tremendous destructive effect on magical plants from other worlds, one manifestation of which is the spontaneous combustion seen before.

It’s either destruction or complete Abyssalization.

One effect must be chosen.

This is also the difficulty in researching Abyssal magical plants.

It’s as if these things possess a self-protective mechanism; either they become completely Abyssalized, rendering breeding irrelevant, or the Abyssal energy ignites the magical plant, destroying it.

However, as time passed, although the leaves and roots of the Dark Gold Dragon Claw Golden Pineapple withered and turned black, the flames within it diminished. The Abyss Devourer inside the demonic plant was slowly but powerfully absorbing the abyssal flames.

“It’s a success. Although it’s somewhat half-dead now, as long as we continue hybridization and cultivate special varieties, we can create Dark Gold Dragon Claw Air Pineapples that can hybridize with Abyssal Air Pineapples. It will indeed take some time.”

Locke glanced at the Supreme Eye Demon in the distance.

“It’s probably because my abyssal power seems to have formed some kind of connection with the Supreme Eye Demon, which is why the key laboratory brought me to the Supreme Eye Demon’s side when creating this small lab.”

“But this is also good, because the Blood Sea Reefs in this part of the Thousand Eyes Abyss area around the Supreme Eye Demon are covered with high-level abyssal magical plants, and the density is very high. This saves me from having to spend a lot of time every day searching for high-level magical plants in the Thousand Eyes Abyss.”

“However, breaking through phases and taking plants from this world requires parallel coins, one coin per action, and only I can collect them, so the efficiency is not high. If I do it too often, I’ll be easily discovered, so I can only collect high-value items.” “

Moreover, the consumption of parallel coins is also high. I’ll just collect an abyssal pineapple and cultivate it myself to produce seeds, making use of the environment here.”

“It’s best not to provoke the Supreme Eye Demon for a while. There’s no economic benefit in provoking it anyway.”

Meanwhile, the Supreme Eye Demon, located on the 78th layer of the abyss, used its superpowers, which leaned towards the mind school, again after searching for a while.

“It’s a bit far. This lurker is far away from me now. How did he get into the Abyss Plane? Who is he?”

The Supreme Eye Demon’s eyes revealed a strong killing intent, even stronger than when it was stripped of its title as the Child of Chaos.

After all, seizing titles in the Abyss is a common occurrence, but this layer of the Abyss plane is considered its private property, the fundamental difference between it and ordinary Abyss creatures. It absolutely cannot be invaded by others.

However, it couldn’t find a good solution at the moment, so it could only have the Eye Demons surround it while secretly searching for a way to find Locke.

Thus, Locke and the Supreme Eye Demons maintained peace for a long time.

Two weeks passed, and Locke left this world briefly. First, he ran out of parallel coins, unable to use the double speed function or retrieve the magical plants from the Thousand-Eyed Abyss through phase teleportation. Therefore, he needed to leave temporarily, leaving a magic circle in the nursery within this small world for basic maintenance.

Then, he returned to Starry Sky City on his magic bed.

At this time, Starry Sky City was bustling with many wizards. Locke met Planknia in a wizard’s café built with starstones.

Planknia and Locke each had a cup of wizard’s coffee in front of them; life here still consumed magic stones.

Locke looked at Planknia and asked, “A week has passed. Have you planted the seed I gave you?”

Planknia gave a guilty, bitter smile. She placed a small flowerpot in front of Locke. Inside was a fern with only one leaf, but it looked lifeless.

Planknia said, “Mr. Augustine, I tried my best, but I still couldn’t get it to sprout. It was probably injected with some kind of artificial substance, like Tyrant Essence… So I searched through all the spellbooks that could make Tyrant Essence-infused magical plants sprout again, but no matter how I prepared the nutrient solution and soil, and even used the magic resonance cultivation method to stimulate the seedling’s vitality, I could only do so much. In reality, it’s still dead. As soon as it leaves my magic, it withers instantly.”

The magical aura surrounding the small fern disappeared, and the magical plant withered instantly.

Planknia looked at Locke anxiously.

Because she believed that, strictly speaking, she hadn’t passed the test Locke had given her.

Of course, it had indeed sprouted.

So she didn’t know if Locke would accept her.

If he didn’t… she would be utterly humiliated this time, and she would have used up all the favors she had.

Locke considered for a moment, then said, “Not bad.”

Planknia was stunned for a moment, then her heart pounded, and a look of surprise appeared on her face. She hadn’t expected Locke to praise her for her achievement.

Because all the wizard mentors she had encountered before were expressionless and rather aloof, this was the first time Planknia had ever heard a wizard mentor from Golden Crown Mountain praise her.

Locke glanced at Planknia, confirming that this witch indeed possessed some kind of special talent.

Because the Tyrant Sea Gold Sand he had given her was simply incapable of successfully breeding.

The reason is simple: the Tyrant-Transforming Magic Plant lacks reproductive capabilities, and removing the Tyrant-Transforming plant factors from the seed is extremely difficult even for a second-ring wizard, let alone a star-ring wizard. Planknia lacks this ability, and the fact that she has managed to maintain the seed to this point using her existing magical abilities is already a success.

Locke said, “Alright, Planknia, I can take you as my student. Prepare yourself; when is the earliest you can come to my place? I do need an assistant to tend to the hundred acres of magical fields in my laboratory.”

Planknia immediately became excited. She knew that choosing the right mentor was the bright path to success. Different wizards as mentors represent completely different meanings and future developments. She worked so hard to become Locke Augustine’s disciple because Locke Augustine was the best platform she could imagine.

Moreover, it was the academic committee that strongly recommended her.

Planknia stood up and bowed to Locke, saying, “Professor Augustine, I’m always at your service.”

Locke nodded. “Take care of things here first.”

He stood up and walked to the other side of the wizard’s café, where he saw Wizard Guberdin approaching with a young wizard wearing glasses. Locke glanced at the man with surprise.

Locke asked, “Lord Guberdin, what brings you here?”

Wizard Guberdin smiled and said, “Have you already experienced the true wonders of our key laboratory? Hahaha… Newcomers are usually excited for days afterward. Although our key laboratory doesn’t offer you newcomers access to the truly important equipment, even the basic functions are unmatched by other laboratories.”

This was true.

So, Locke simply nodded.

Wizard Guberdin was extremely generous; he pressed a few buttons on his bracelet and swiped 100 parallel coins for Locke.

Locke looked at Wizard Guberdin with surprise.

“What’s this?”

Wizard Guberdin said, “I have the right to send out some parallel coins every year, so I might as well use them. Therefore, I’m giving you 100 parallel coins as a greeting gift. Don’t worry, this is my tradition; every newcomer to the key laboratory receives 100 parallel coins. Otherwise, without parallel coins, you’ll need to use magic stones to trade outside.”

“This is Wizard Moromota from the Senate. He’s a native wizard of the Senate here, a second-circle power master, and also… cough cough… a middleman. If you need to exchange magic stones for parallel coins, you can contact this wizard. Wizard Moromota is a well-known middleman.” “

He’s also the grandson of a throne wizard from the Senate.”

“Of course, he’s a family member within this key laboratory.”

Locke nodded slightly. It seemed the composition within this key laboratory was quite complex, which was normal. It was impossible for one faction to completely control one of the three key laboratories; that would easily lead to a de facto split. They

probably all maintained a state of mutual interdependence.

Moreover, the maintenance of the key laboratory is an astronomical undertaking, unlikely to be undertaken independently by any of the three major factions.

But why would this Moromuta wizard seek him out at this time?

Was he after the magic stones in his possession?

That was indeed a seemingly reasonable reason, but only superficially so, as he was merely a newcomer to this key laboratory, using only peripheral items.

Logically, a newcomer shouldn’t have such a high need for parallel currency in the early stages; the other party’s early arrival seemed premature.

Locke judged that this Moromuta wizard from the Senate must have other reasons for seeking him out.

The Moromuta wizard extended his palm towards Locke, his eyes sparkling.

“Lord Augustine, it is an honor to meet you. My grandfather is the Third Ring Throne Wizard of the Senate, the [Throne of the Killing Fist].”

“Although I have always lived on the White Cardamom Farm, I have heard of your great name. I am honored to meet you here today.”

“Besides trading parallel coins, I also do other business. Whether it’s buying tools in Star City, acquiring real estate, or purchasing related servants, I can help you.”

Wizard Moromoto whispered to Locke, “Besides being a power master, I am also a breeder, so I would like to communicate with you more and learn more.”

“This is a letter of introduction written to me by Wizard Fisher.”

Locke frowned, took the letter of introduction from him, and after reading it, he found that the other party had actually sought out Wizard Fisher and tried to get Wizard Fisher to use his favor to speak on his behalf, hoping that he would give him more guidance in the field of breeding.

“Parasitic magical plants?”

Locke noticed the emphasis on this in Wizard Fisher’s letter of introduction.

“You want the second-ring grant, don’t you?”

Wizard Moromota coughed. “Yes, my achievements in this area are indeed lacking, so I want to learn from you.”

Locke knew that the other party was eager to apply for the second-ring grant, but his experimental data and achievements were insufficient for it. He enjoyed the benefits of the environment in this key laboratory, but the downside was that there were fewer perks and activities. Therefore, he needed to secure the second-ring grant to gain access to better resources for advancement.

Because his achievements were insufficient, he wanted to align himself with Locke.

After all, the grant application stage required a certain power called belief—a distinguished resume could enhance one’s application. Clearly, the other party felt he couldn’t succeed on his own, so he wanted to latch onto Locke’s coattails to become a member of his team.

With his qualifications, he could put them on the application.

Locke instinctively wanted to refuse, because although Wizard Fisher was on good terms with him, this kind of thing was still quite troublesome.

Now that he’d just gained some skill, all sorts of people were trying to piggyback on his success. His teacher’s recommendation was one thing, but now the Fisher family was trying to get someone into his service too.

‘Something’s not right.’

Locke glanced at Moromota, who clearly admired him but remained arrogant.

‘While the reason makes sense—he wants to get close to me—something still feels off. This reason seems too flimsy.’

Locke glanced at Moromota, then sent a message to the witch Catherine. He then saw that Antoine had sent him a message on his Water Hyacinth System.

Antoine said, ‘Locke, can we exchange favors? Last time you asked me to help you enter the Supernatural Purgatory, could you help me take Moromota into your team this time? Moromota is my underling, don’t worry, I’ll make sure he listens to you. You can use him like a beast of burden. That way, our favor will be even. What do you think?’

Locke sent the message to Antoine. “Antoine, you’re back?”

Antoine replied.

“Yes. I found a superplanet. It’s a massive planet located in a void. Although it’s a magic-free world, there’s so much to explore. I found some Hellish demons and a relatively advanced psychic society on that planet. In short, there’s still so much to explore. It’s just a pity I missed my special grant defense because of my disappearance.”

Locke hadn’t expected him to find that superplanet; that was incredibly significant.

‘Am I overthinking it? But after Antoine found a superplanet that could change the course of Golden Crown Mountain’s development for the next twenty years, he’s not focusing on that, but instead distracted by a second-circle wizard. That’s very strange.’

‘So, for Antoine, he considers this very important. And Antoine is a good actor; although we’re friends, even brothers keep clear accounts.’

Locke sensed that the Senate might be plotting something. The

Academic Committee’s current plan clearly points towards exploring the Dark World, but the Senate has found an unprecedented superplanet, meaning Golden Crown Mountain currently has two development paths. The Senate is probably scheming to outmaneuver their teacher. At

this moment, the other side is offering a third-circle wizard’s letter of introduction and asking Antoine to do them a favor by agreeing to let Moromoto join their team.

Locke looked at the Water Hyacinth System, and the witch Catherine suddenly responded, “Let Moromuta join your team. He does admire you somewhat; he used some of your ideas in several of his first-ring grants, although he hasn’t admitted it himself, but he has indeed used your ideas. He admires you, but he’s also arrogant and provocative.” “

But he’s a useful person.”

“You can agree. Our Academic Committee and the Senate have always had a good relationship, unlike our relationship with the Rose Council. Therefore, you don’t need to worry too much.”

Locke nodded; that made sense.

If the Senate were worried about him, they wouldn’t have agreed to let him enter the Supernatural Purgatory, that most important region to the Senate, nor would they have protected him when the Black Sun Tower attacked Golden Crown Mountain.

But ultimately, they were two factions.

Locke sensed that he was clearly a wizard who entered this key laboratory as part of his academic lineage, and had been drawn into a series of schemes between the Red Dragon Throne and the Senate.

Locke looked at Wizard Moromuta and said, “Mr. Moromuta, have you finished drafting your application for the Second Ring Foundation? Can I take a look?”

Wizard Moromuta coughed, glancing guiltily at Wizard Guberdin, who then chanted a spell and vanished.

Immediately afterward, Wizard Moromuta took out a document from his astral ring and handed it to Locke.

“These are my applications from last year and the year before, both rejected by the White Wizarding Association,”

Locke raised an eyebrow. “And this year? The submission deadline should be over by now.”

Wizard Moromuta coughed, “No reply yet, but I think… it’s probably rejected again.”

Locke looked at his application and noticed that his research over the past three years had all focused on parasitic magical plants, specifically three different types: Ice Sandalwood, Flame Mushroom, and Arnort Giant Flower.

All three were Second Ring level parasitic magical plants.

Interestingly, Moromuta proposed that parasitic magical plants can not only parasitize other magical plants, but also form a magical bond with a wizard, creating a unique magical bond for parasitic magical plants.

He believed that once achieved, a method called “Superpower Wave” could be used to increase the synchronization rate of magical pressure between the wizard and the parasitic magical plant, thereby comprehensively enhancing the power of a wizard using the plant when magical pressure is equal. Locke suddenly realized

what the other party was thinking.

“You want to create a wave magical plant that can resonate with the wizard’s wave? In that case, you can create a special melee magical plant?”

Wizard Moromuta’s eyes lit up slightly. “As expected of Lord Augustine, you really know these things.”

Locke finally understood why the other party had failed for three years. The reason was that the judges generally believed that the other party’s attempt was wishful thinking. The key was that he did not have any particularly good preliminary experimental data to prove to the judges that he could complete this research.

Naturally, he could not apply for the second-ring grant.

“I believe we shouldn’t follow others’ paths, but rather forge our own,” said the wizard Moromuta proudly. “I believe the essence of all things is fluctuation, so humans and magical plants can also connect using fluctuations.”

Locke nodded and asked, “You and I are both second-circle wizards. So if we share the same ideals, working together is fine. But let me ask you a question: do you think the fluctuations between magical plants can resonate?”

Wizard Moromuta frowned, clearly resisting Locke’s question.

“The foundation of fluctuation studies lies in the wizards themselves; we all start with the individual wizard…”

“But…”

Wizard Moromuta sighed, seemingly somewhat resigned, “Yes, they can.”

Locke glanced at him with a half-smile, making Wizard Moromuta feel uneasy. Locke deliberately asked this question to make him uncomfortable, wanting to see his reaction, to judge his character, and to determine whether he wanted to join on his own, or if someone was pressuring him to join their team.

After testing, the conclusion was clear.

Wizard Moromuta was indeed quite arrogant.

Moreover, while he genuinely admired him to some extent, it wasn’t enough for him to overcome the humiliation and shamelessly cling to him.

He did need him, but that was on a condition that things could work out or not.

But now, it was clear that the other party absolutely had to join his team.

That made the problem strange.

Locke smiled. “Alright. But my requirements are high. Let me make it clear beforehand: if you can’t meet my conditions, then we might have to part ways.”

He replied to messages from Antoine and his teacher, indicating that Moromoto could indeed help him.

Because the weapon platform system he wanted to develop, centered around the Great Azure Leaf Dragon Sparrow, required a large number of parasitic magical plants, and while Moromoto’s research direction didn’t perfectly align with his needs, it was largely what he required.

Most importantly, he had the support of the Senate.

It seemed that if the Senate needed him to join their team, they would likely allocate some resources to keep him on their side for a long time, and if he agreed to let Moromoto join his team, it would be equivalent to obtaining those resources.

Locke pondered, “Sometimes, acquiring resources does require a bit of abstraction.”

Moromuta smiled, a look of satisfaction on his face, as if he had accomplished some task.

“Of course, Lord Augustine, it’s an honor to work alongside a breeder as brilliant as you.”

“I will fully meet your requirements,”

Locke said. “I’ve read your applications; they’re quite interesting. Perhaps we can spend some time discussing them and maybe come up with a good research plan.”

Hearing this, the wizard Moromuta, though not as overjoyed as when Locke had agreed to his joining, still smiled slightly.

“Alright.”

…

Meanwhile, in the Land of Dragonfall, at the Windseekers’ Sanctuary, Locke and the two second-ring wizards, after nearly a month of negotiations, finally completed the final procedures.

The two wizards, and their leader, finally couldn’t hold back any longer and agreed that the Windseekers Academy would purchase the Attila Chains Enchantment Lightning scrolls produced by Locke under his personal name, using Aladdin’s assets to purchase them, and classifying these scrolls as Aladdin’s property.

Simultaneously, Aladdin would collaborate with the Silver Peach Garden along the Tianjiang River to jointly develop a large-scale weapon platform based on the Great Azure Leaf Dragon Sparrow.

Locke calmly walked out of the room, while the two second-ring wizards already had dark circles under their eyes.

Looking at the energetic Locke, the two second-ring wizards felt a sense of accepting defeat.

“This lord has incredible energy. Negotiating with him is like a battle of who has the most health.”

“We’ll have to be extra careful when we encounter wizards from the Three Swamps in the future…”

“First-level enchantment scrolls are priced at 30,000 magic stones each, and second-level enchantment scrolls at 500,000 magic stones each. Although we reached an agreement with him according to his wishes,… we still managed to negotiate the price down a bit.”

(End of Chapter)