639: Qionghua Enclave, An Extreme Credit Society!
One month later, Qionghua Enclave.
A wizard airship suddenly emerged from the webway above the Qionghua Enclave. The webways in the sky were interconnected in the form of water channels; above this Wizard Land was a long mana waterway.
Locke stood by the translucent Time Crystal window, looking down. "This is a day earlier than the estimated arrival time. It seems the waterway project in the Star Domain Sea does affect us; its influence has permeated every aspect of our lives."
Wizard Warwick nodded and said, "That's right. The travel speed between the various Wizard Lands in the Eastern Border Region has been improved."
"Though not by much."
"But if the Star Domain Sea's Demon Ascension Plan continues, then perhaps one day, the time cost of traveling between major Wizard Lands will be minimized!"
Locke nodded slightly.
At the same time, he took note of the current state of the Qionghua Enclave. He saw many floating islands in the sky, while beneath them were dark, deep craters and basins.
Both areas had urban structures.
But it was like the difference between heaven and earth.
The floating islands sat high in the sky, siphoning massive amounts of magic energy from the ground and gathering it into the floating cities above.
The floating cities were magnificent, with green mountains and clear waters, and many magical flying vehicles. The level of civilization appeared comparable to the Cloud Marsh.
On the ground, however, there were black mountains and white waters, a scene of decay with almost no decent cities.
Mortals lived like ants in this desolate land, existing in the form of tribal city-states.
Seeing this, Locke frowned slightly. "Warwick, what's going on here? The magic tide on the floating islands is comparable to the Cloud Marsh, but the ground basin is almost a magic-less environment."
"The civilizational gap between the heavens and the earth... it's simply too large."
Wizard Warwick waved his hand and said, "Don't ask me. This has nothing to do with us Black Wizards. You should ask your fellow White Wizards. This is the handiwork of you White Wizards."
"Of course, the styles of the White Wizard Association and the Black Wizard Alliance in each region are completely different. Whether it's history, culture, or even racial composition, the differences are extreme."
"So it doesn't have much to do with you two. At least your Cloud Marsh offers a sense of fairness. In the Cloud Marsh, it's true that as long as you work hard, there will be rewards; I can admit that."
Witch Shirley gave a cold snort.
Wizard Warwick pointed to the ground and said to Locke, "This is the unique ecology of the Qionghua Enclave. The Qionghua Enclave is a typical low-magic, mid-martial region."
"Low-magic?"
Locke said, "Then the basic environment of the Qionghua Enclave isn't even as good as the Southeast Corner Region."
Warwick said, "Exactly. The wizards of the Qionghua Enclave set up inheritance wizard formations everywhere and sought out Alchemists to build floating cities to siphon the magic tide from the world. The floating islands are like paradise, while below... is a purgatory of scorched earth."
"Locke, you have seen and heard too little after all. You've only been to three Wizard Lands, so naturally you're surprised. The White Wizard lady beside you is much better adapted to this situation."
Warwick continued, "Welcome to the most terrifying credit society in the Eastern Border Region!"
Locke looked at him in confusion.
By now, the airship was descending toward the largest floating island, heading for the ground landing site.
Warwick said, "In this Wizard Land, only wizards, Wizard Apprentices, and mortals about to become Wizard Apprentices have the chance to live on the floating islands."
"And some slave races of the wizards."
"Along with the human servants chosen by the wizards. As you know, the hypocritical White Wizards cannot allow humans to be slaves, so they can only be recruited as contract workers."
"Aside from them, everyone else can only stay... on the ground."
"So the mortals on the ground call the wizards in the sky 'Sky People'."
"But if a Sky Person dares to default on a debt and goes bankrupt because they can't pay it back for a long time, that wizard will also be expelled and driven down from the floating island to live on the ground."
Warwick said, "Therefore, this is one of the most terrifying credit societies in the Eastern Border Region. If you owe money and don't pay it back in this Wizard Land, you'll be forced to leave the floating island for the ground, where you'll be enslaved by the sweatshops of your White Wizards."
"That situation... is too terrible."
Witch Shirley snorted. "Stop your alarmist talk. Only wizards who default on their debts might be expelled from the floating islands."
"As long as a wizard works hard, he won't be forced to leave the floating island! The wizards here are far from being as miserable as you claim."
"I think you're too focused on hypothetical extreme cases."
Warwick looked at Witch Shirley and said, "Work hard? Miss Holy Master, what you're saying is far too idealistic. What if a wizard loses the ability to work? What if he's injured or falls ill? What if his research direction is wrong and he wastes a fortune?"
"I'm not talking about a Official Wizard in his prime, but a Official Wizard who encounters an accident and cannot afford to pay back his debts. He would first lose his property and then be expelled from the floating island."
"Because he's been expelled from the floating island, he won't be able to find a normal job."
"Because he can't find a normal job, he'll eventually be forced into a sweatshop to trade for a bit of magic resources just to maintain his most basic magical power in the lower realm."
Warwick spoke with cold words, recounting the cruel truth of the Qionghua Enclave. "The inheritance wizard formations in various places siphon all the magic tide from the lower realm to maintain these floating islands that are like the celestial realm. So, a wizard staying in the lower realm who doesn't go to a sweatshop to sell his labor will soon lose his magic power because it's forcibly extracted. His body will become weak and utterly miserable."
"Miss Holy Master, do you have any friends who have encountered this situation?"
"No, you are a noble researcher from Golden Crown Mountain; of course you wouldn't encounter this. You have powerful mentors around you; even if you had an accident, someone would back you up."
A deep sorrow flashed in Wizard Warwick's eyes. "But I have many friends who fell into the miserable state I described."
"They simply had no background, they were alone, and they had no one to help them. Then, they encountered a situation—some accident—and because of it, they lost their property on the floating island and could only fall to the ground."
"Their magic energy is being drained every moment, and they are in an extremely miserable state. The sweatshops find them, and they are even more miserable there, but for the sake of the tiny bit of resources provided by the sweatshops to replenish their magic energy, they can only further sell their surplus value."
Warwick's voice contained a deep anger. "Some of those friends did indeed deserve such a fate. But some friends just loved their work, just wanted to seek the truth, and just weren't that talented."
"They were just untalented, so they took out loans to do research, and in the end, they found nothing. Then they went bankrupt and were thrown into the lower realm. Why should they receive such treatment?"
Wizard Warwick closed his eyes. "Locke, can you make sense of it? I can't."
"Qionghua Enclave, my foolish and miserable hometown. The White Wizard Society here is systematically eliminating the untalented low-level wizards it doesn't need."
"Those low-level wizards might have slightly poorer talent, but how could they possibly deserve such treatment! This Wizard Land is systematically creating the wizards who fall into the sweatshops." Warwick looked at Locke and said, "And the ones most likely to encounter accidents are precisely the wizards who want to advance the most."
"A Wizard Apprentice or a Official Wizard who only wants to keep what they currently have is less likely to have an accident. But if they want to climb higher, they must take risks. Once they fail, they are forced to leave the floating island."
"And once they fall into the lower realm, a vicious cycle quickly begins, with their status constantly dropping until they are guided into the sweatshops."
"This Wizard Land is constantly punishing those who work hard but lack talent."
Wizard Warwick stood with his hands behind his back, questioning Locke and Witch Shirley. "White Wizards, I ask you, is this right?"
"Is this your reason for becoming a Black Wizard?" Witch Shirley gave him a cold look. "You Black Wizards always have your own reasons for doing evil."
Witch Shirley snorted and whispered to Locke, "Locke, don't pay him any mind. Look at your status compared to his. You are the closed-door disciple of the Lord of the Throne; how could you believe his words?"
Wizard Warwick smiled, showing a knowing look. "So you White Wizards will never be able to understand us."
Locke looked at Wizard Warwick in surprise; he hadn't expected this Abyssal Werewolf Wizard's hometown to be the Qionghua Enclave.
Locke said in a low voice, "Warwick, don't forget our purpose for coming here. We aren't here to perform social reform or criticize this society."
Warwick immediately understood Locke's meaning and proactively apologized to Witch Shirley, saying, "Apologies, apologies. I tend to air some foolish grievances whenever I return to my hometown. I hope Witch Shirley doesn't mind."
Witch Shirley snorted. "It's fine. We are merely in a collaborative relationship anyway. You'd better actually have the information on the tomb of the Nameless King's wife."
Warwick said confidently, "Rest assured. I really do. It's just that the ruins are guarded by a large number of ancient magic traps, making it difficult to approach for a while."
"We've arrived."
The wizard airship landed at the docking site, letting out a loud rumble.
The three of them walked off the airship together. Main Island No. 1 was like a paradise filled with birdsong and fragrant flowers. The air was incredibly fresh, and everyone walking on the streets was a wizard.
Magic streetlights stood along the tidy roads, and carriages pulled by magical creatures were everywhere.
Warwick familiarly hailed a magic carriage and, after paying 100 mana stones, invited Locke and Witch Shirley to board.
Warwick said, "Our destination is the [Ashen Cult] Academy on Vortex Floating Reef No. 13. However, Vortex Floating Reef No. 13 is connected to the main floating island, No. 1, by a magic bridge built by Constructors."
"You two, inside the [Ashen Cult] Academy, there are Plane coordinates and a portal leading to the tomb of the Nameless King's wife. You can prepare yourselves now. Tonight will be the perfect time for our archaeological team of four Archaeology Doctors to show our skills."
A deep desire flashed in Wizard Warwick's eyes. "If we can crack the secret of that Nameless King from the Age of Stars, we will surely win this year's Historia Archaeology Award!"
"I'm willing to have my name listed last! As long as you two help me uncover this ancient secret buried in history."
In the carriage, Locke and Witch Shirley sat on one side, while Warwick sat on the other.
From the carriage, Locke saw that Floating Island No. 1 was essentially an independent mini-society, with buildings row upon row and magic items everywhere.
To the civilizations on the ground, it truly was like a celestial realm.
But Locke found it hard to judge; for one, his current status was insignificant, and for another, he had only just arrived.
As a wizard, how could he pass judgment on a region's civilization based solely on a first impression?
But in his heart, Locke truly believed that the development of civilization should naturally lead to an improvement in everyone's quality of life.
The path of civilizational development in the Qionghua Enclave, where the strong plundered the resources of the weak, made Locke feel some resistance.
'Perhaps the fact that the fifty-three Wizard Lands of the Eastern Border Region have different development directions is itself one of the sources of vitality for my Wizard Civilization. The differences between the Southeast Corner Region, Cloud Marsh, Six Towers Land, and this Qionghua Enclave are indeed vast.'
Locke thought: 'But I haven't interacted with people from the proper wizard academies of this Wizard Land, so I don't know the level of scientific research in this region's wizard academies.'
'Perhaps there are some strengths after all.'
In the carriage, Witch Shirley said to Warwick, "No need. Things should be as they are. There's no need for your posturing, Black Wizard."
Locke also smiled at Warwick. "Mr. Warwick, your contribution to this operation is well known. So far, you are the one with the greatest merit."
"It's better to be fair and decide the order of our names based on our respective contributions."
Warwick's eyes crinkled like a pair of hooks. "As expected of someone from the Cloud Marsh. In your place, hard work truly does bring rewards."
"Otherwise, the wizards there wouldn't love working so hard."
"Fine, we'll decide the order of our names according to the meritocracy you love so much."
The magic carriage carried the three of them across a wizard bridge about five kilometers long, arriving at Vortex Floating Reef No. 13.
This Vortex Floating Reef was a small floating island situated within a storm vortex in mid-air. There seemed to be only one small city on the island, and the center of that city was the [Ashen Cult] Academy.
Warwick deactivated the soundproofing barrier on the carriage, paid the wizard driver, and then was the first to step down.
At this moment, in front of the castle-like building of the [Ashen Cult] Academy, a wizard wearing a Black Wizard robe was already standing.
The middle-aged wizard glanced at Warwick. "Instructor Warwick, you were gone for a long time this time."
Warwick smiled. "It's just that my two friends were too hospitable and entertained me in the Cloud Marsh for two months."
"Instructor McKinley, we decide when to set out ourselves anyway. Being two months late doesn't affect anything."
Warwick said to Locke, "This is Wizard Christopher McKinley."
"He and I are both Official Wizard instructors at the [Ashen Cult] Academy."
"We've been teaching here for many years. The [Ashen Cult] Academy is precisely an Archaeology Wizard academy. Moreover, we have our own White Wizard identities in the Qionghua Enclave; as long as you have money here, you can buy anything, including a White Wizard identity!"
"So, Miss Holy Master, don't think about suddenly turning on us afterward. Wizard McKinley and I are both... members of the White Wizard Association."
"We are all good wizards."