764: Gifts from Senior Brothers
Wizard Gortar was the first Third Ring Wizard to speak. After Locke walked into the room, he took the initiative to say: "I am Gortar. Like you, I am a Breeder. I am the teacher's earliest apprentice."
"I followed Teacher Yekaterina when she was just a common Second Ring Wizard, and at that time, we were not in the Yunze Wetland, but on the Tianjiang Riverbank."
Wizard Gortar was an old wizard who looked like he was covered in a long white beard. He looked very old and advanced in age, just smiling at Locke.
He wore a magnificent wizard robe like an elder's and held a peach wood staff. At the same time, he seemed too old, so his back was hunched, and he didn't look very tall.
"I haven't achieved much; I am just a simple peach grower. My Great Magic is the Clear-Sound Peach, one of the Twelve Peaches of Golden Crown Mountain. Consuming it can clear the soul, grant immunity to magic from the Mind School and Enchantment School, and also provide immunity to many Mind-Control problems in dangerous worlds..."
"Because my peach garden is called the Ming Peach Garden."
"I like to sell some peaches, peach gum, peach pits... I have just followed in Witch Catherine's footsteps."
Great Wizard Gortar seemed extremely humble. As he spoke, his white beard fluttered, but Locke saw a principle of the plane drifting out from him, looking extremely powerful and extraordinary.
Just by approaching him and speaking a few words, he actually caused the root realm to elevate his Great Magic and made the surrounding botanical magic incredibly active.
Great Wizard Gortar sighed: "I have lived in vain for over nine hundred years; I fear I will stop here in this life. Nowadays, I am at Golden Crown Mountain, where there are students everywhere, and I am also a wizard of the Academic Committee of Golden Crown Mountain."
"I have quite a few Second Ring Wizard students at Golden Crown Mountain, and even three Sun Ring Wizard students. Little Junior Brother, if you have any needs in the future, you can come to me, your Senior Brother."
"Because the teacher is the Vice Chair of the Academic Committee, I currently serve as the [Director of the Academic Ethics Committee] within the Academic Committee."
Locke blinked. This position was no ordinary one; it meant this was the highest position in the internal ethical review system of Golden Crown Mountain.
He hadn't expected his Senior Brother to have such status within Golden Crown Mountain.
Locke bowed to Wizard Gortar: "Senior Brother, greetings."
"It is truly amazing that Senior Brother is the inheritor of the Great Magic of one of the Twelve Peaches, Six Teas, and Three-Rices of Golden Crown Mountain."
Wizard Gortar curled the corners of his mouth and nodded with satisfaction. "You also once had the opportunity to own a Twelve Peaches orchard. Even now, it is possible."
"The Dragon Saliva Peach Garden is ownerless, and since you possess the Magic Dragon Bloodline, you can possess two Great Magics."
Wizard Gortar pointed to a stern-looking middle-aged wizard beside him and said: "This is Wizard Heidegger."
Wizard Heidegger looked very serious, wearing a relatively simple and plain White wizard robe. Only when he looked at Locke did a hint of a smile appear on his face.
He nodded slightly to Locke. "Hello, I am Wizard Heidegger. I am also a member of the Academic Committee of Golden Crown Mountain, serving on the Professional Technical Position Appointment Committee."
"I didn't follow the teacher from the Tianjiang Riverbank. I am a native wizard of the Southern Wizard Capital. At that time, the teacher was a wizard mentor at the [Black Iron Tower] in the Southern Wizard Capital."
"Now, the Black Iron Tower has fallen and no longer exists."
Wizard Heidegger said: "My Great Magic is the Cloud Rice Cloud Field, one of the Three-Rices."
"One-third of the cloud fields in the sky of Golden Crown Mountain are my assets, and they are also the assets of the masters of the Cloud Rice Cloud Field through the ages. I haven't really achieved much; I'm just a rice seller."
"The Heidegger Rice Market and the Alonstone Rice Shop are my businesses. Little Junior Brother can patronize them in the future. Besides that, I have opened many other shops, all of which I opened casually when I was young."
Great Wizard Gortar smiled.
"You are too humble."
Locke bowed to Heidegger and said: "Senior Brother, hello. Are you the inventor of the Seven-Colored Rice?"
Heidegger looked at Locke with some surprise.
"You actually know about Seven-Colored Rice. Not bad."
Seven-Colored Rice is an auxiliary spellcasting material used for the Protection School.
The reason Locke knew was that when he used to browse the Dragon Blood Market, he would occasionally stumble into the Heidegger Rice Market. Now he knew that it was his Second Senior Brother's property.
Great Wizard Gortar laughed: "Junior Brother Heidegger, aren't you going to give Little Junior Brother a gift? Your Cloud Field Cloud Rice is perfect for Little Junior Brother at this stage."
Heidegger glanced at him.
"You take all the credit for being the good guy."
"Hmph."
"It was like this before. When we were in the same research group, everyone thought you were the good guy, and I was..."
There was some conflict between Wizard Heidegger and Gortar, but realizing it was not appropriate to bring it up in front of Locke, he stopped mid-sentence.
Clearly, this was an old matter.
Locke also immediately realized that Gortar and Heidegger were likely the First and Second Senior Brothers in Witch Catherine's research group in the early days. In that case, conflicts would inevitably arise between them.
After all, in a large team, the First Senior Brother is the invisible manager, and the Second Senior Brother is the successor to this invisible manager, so it is easy for conflicts to arise between them under objective conditions.
Of course, because he had never been exposed to large teams, he didn't have a deep understanding of this.
After all, by the time he arrived at Golden Crown Mountain, Witch Catherine's team had already been grouped. Because it was too large, the management was specialized, and each group would have two leaders who would rotate.
Wizard Heidegger took a bowl out of his astral ring, handed it to Locke, and said: "Little Junior Brother, take this as a gift from Senior Brother. Eat it."
Locke looked down and saw that at the bottom of this fist-sized bowl, there was only a thin layer of white rice.
This white rice looked like ordinary rice, with nothing unusual.
Locke looked up at the five Senior Brothers and Sisters before reaching out to grab the magic rice in the bowl.
'So heavy!'
Locke felt the abnormality immediately. The magic rice was extremely heavy; each grain seemed as heavy as a mountain, and Locke couldn't even pick up a single grain.
"No. How can this rice be so heavy!"
Locke continuously increased his magic pressure. In the end, he directly used the three True Bloods in his body and the Scorpion Woman Ring, using Berserk, Second-stage Berserk, as well as Beast Body, and Bloodline Harmonization, using his two major Second Ring-level bloodlines to strengthen his whole body's power, but he still couldn't pick up a single grain of rice from the bowl.
At this time, Wizard Heidegger was expressionless, the two female wizard senior sisters covered their mouths and giggled, and the Sun Ring Wizard senior brother laughed out loud.
Great Senior Brother Gortar laughed: "Little Junior Brother, I can help you pick it up."
Locke looked at the thin layer of Cloud Rice in the bowl and began to think. No, this rice is strange.
The next moment, he directly used the Second Ring universal bloodline spell: Burn Out.
Suddenly, the power of his bloodline seemed to be burning throughout his body. This spell becomes more powerful the stronger the bloodline power in the body is, and Locke had two major Second Ring-level bloodlines!
Dragons roared and tigers howled!
Locke's body expanded. Supported by the power of his bloodline, he turned into a little giant more than three meters tall, and muscle after muscle appeared on his body.
Great Senior Brother Gortar and the two female senior sisters looked at each other, a trace of surprise flashing in their eyes.
They had only heard before that Little Junior Brother was a genius Breeder; they didn't expect his attainments in Bloodline Studies to be quite extraordinary.
That move just now showed that his achievements in bloodline were not bad.
As a common Second Ring Wizard, he could already enhance his physical strength to an incredible degree.
Only...
Even so, Locke still couldn't lift a single grain of rice.
Something is wrong!
There is a problem!
This feeling of being unable to lift it at all could absolutely not be the weight of a grain of rice.
This grain of rice didn't have such a powerful magic pressure reaction either.
It felt more like... his strength was not being applied to the rice, but to something else.
'Cloud Rice Cloud Field, rice in the sky... could it be...'
Locke suddenly summoned a ray of moonlight from the Moon of Evolution to shine on these grains of rice. This moonlight had always been above the root realm of Botany. At this moment, the moonlight supported these magic rice grains, which was also equivalent to these magic rice grains being above the root realm of Botany.
At the same time, Locke suddenly felt the magic rice, which had been difficult to lift and immovable, suddenly become light.
Locke picked up the magic rice, astonishment flashing in his eyes.
It worked.
It was a success.
The five people looked at each other, and they all saw a slight look of surprise in each other's eyes. They didn't expect Locke to figure out the key so quickly.
He indeed possessed very sharp intuition.
Hearing of his reputation was not as good as meeting him in person. At this moment, they all saw his ability from Locke's reaction just now.
At least, Locke possessed a powerful insight.
It was no wonder he could become a genius Breeder.
Locke looked at the handful of Cloud Rice in his hand and understood what kind of Magic Plant fruit this was.
This Magic Plant fruit was supported by the root realm. It was a very rare Magic Plant product. It was estimated that its effect was established on the premise that it existed above the root realm.
Therefore, if he didn't use the root realm to support it, and tried to lift it, it meant he had to lift this Magic Plant fruit, which originally required the root realm to be lifted, with his own strength alone.
It was equivalent to wanting to rely on his own strength to replace the entire botanical root realm of the Yunze Wetland.
Locke thought of more in an instant.
"Utilizing this mechanism well, couldn't this Cloud Rice be used as a sealing object? To resist this suppressed Cloud Rice, one would have to use their own magic pressure to replace the entire botanical root realm of the Yunze Wetland."
Wizard Heidegger was no longer expressionless but smiled. As a member of the Professional Technical Position Appointment Committee, he was naturally very sensitive to the abilities of a Official Wizard.
Moreover, he was also a wizard mentor who believed in the genius theory and usually favored geniuses.
"Not bad. Little Junior Brother, your foundation in Botany is very solid. My Cloud Rice can indeed be used as a sealing object. Many wizards buy Cloud Rice not for consumption, but for suppression."
AI Model: gemini-3.0-flash
Locke ate a single grain of rice. The moment that grain of Cloud Rice entered his mouth, a vast amount of energy exploded beneath his tongue, surging continuously through his limbs and bones.
In just a moment, the depletion of bloodline power caused by his continuous use of Bloodline Studies spells was completely replenished.
Furthermore, his physical strength increased slightly once again.
Wizard Heidegger said, "If you consume some of my Cloud Rice every day, it will strengthen your body until you reach your theoretical physical limit."
Locke said, "Second Senior Brother, wouldn't that make it most beneficial for a Bloodline Wizard's advancement?"
Wizard Heidegger replied, "Exactly. Otherwise, Junior Brother, who do you think is buying it?"
"Three-Rice is the magic rice sold publicly by Golden Crown Mountain. Junior Brother, you can purchase it at the rice market, but Cloud Rice usually has a daily limit, so you need to send students ahead of time to snatch it up."
"It costs about one hundred thousand magic stones per grain."
Locke blinked and began to cough.
This...
No wonder this rice was so heavy; it was practically impossible to obtain even a single grain for a thousand pieces of gold.
It turned out the weight of this rice was actually the weight of magic stones!
Locke reflected that Golden Crown Mountain truly deserved its reputation as a representative of high-value-added agricultural industries.
The rice in this market could actually be expensive to such an extent.
Wizard Heidegger seemed to see through Locke's thoughts and said, "Not all rice in the market is this expensive. It's just that Cloud Rice is special, with one grain being worth a fortune. You can eat the remaining nine grains, or use them as sealing items; either is fine."
"For a non-Botany wizard, this single grain of rice is an unliftable mountain."
"Even if you haven't specifically studied the Sealing School, you can still make use of it."
Locke bowed to Wizard Heidegger and said, "Thank you, Second Senior Brother. This gift is very precious, and it has truly opened my eyes."
Wizard Heidegger nodded and looked toward Great Wizard Georta.
"First Senior Brother, I've given my gift. Aren't you going to give one?"
"It seems your peach orchard had a bumper harvest this year. Can you even sell them all? You're not planning to let those peaches rot, are you?"
The smiling old Great Wizard Georta's expression froze.
"I was just waiting for you to go first, Junior Brother, to give our new Junior Brother a good impression. My gift is already prepared. Junior Brother, this is a Clear Chirp Peach I'm giving to you."
Great Wizard Georta produced a peach shaped like a bell. As soon as this peach appeared, the surroundings seemed to fall silent, and even the air became tranquil.
Wizard Heidegger was amused.
"So that's how it is. You wanted to see how many grains of rice I gave before deciding how many peaches to give. After all, one Clear Chirp Peach is worth a million magic stones; with your stingy personality, you'd be loath to give it away."
"But as the First Senior Brother, you were afraid of losing face, so you let me go first. You watched from the side to see exactly how many grains of Cloud Rice I would give before deciding how many Clear Chirp Peaches to give yourself."
Wizard Heidegger asked, "First Senior Brother, am I right?"
Great Wizard Georta acted as if he hadn't heard, pointing at the Clear Chirp Peach in his hand and telling Locke, "The Clear Chirp Peach flees upon hearing sound, so if you make a loud noise, it will fly away."
"Therefore, you must never make a loud noise near a Clear Chirp Peach."
"Clear Chirp Peach trees also love silence extremely."
"I heard the Silent Witch originally had a chance to obtain the Chirp Peach Orchard, but unfortunately, she didn't want to stay at Golden Crown Mountain forever, so she didn't accept the inheritance."
Locke nodded. He didn't eat the peach. For a Second Ring Wizard, this peach wouldn't increase soul or mana by much, but if it were consumed as a potion...
That would be a different story.
It could grant immunity to most Second Ring spells from the Mind School and Enchantment School.
It might be of great use at a critical moment, so he placed it into his astral ring.
At this point, the two Third Ring witches glanced at each other and then introduced their names.
The Third Senior Sister's name was Fiona Brick, and the Fourth Senior Sister's name was Zoyla Hawk.
Witch Fiona mainly researched Tree-Heart Studies within Botany; she was also a member of the Golden Crown Mountain Academic Committee and a senior wizard mentor at Golden Crown Mountain.
She said she had opened several shops in the Yunze Wetland that specialized in selling modular tree hearts.
Locke was quite surprised. Looking at the traditionally dressed Witch Fiona, he marveled, "I didn't expect that a tree's heart could be removed and sold separately. I hadn't noticed that before."
Witch Fiona smiled and said, "It's just that you haven't been paying attention, Junior Brother."
"Furthermore, the market at the First Ring stage is actually not as large as the Second Ring market. For a One-Ring Magic Plant, especially those below the Liquefaction Stage, it's better to just replant a new tree than to replace the tree heart."
"A tree's heart is just a supporting structure, a mass of dead matter. In an old tree, it's entirely possible that 90% of the body is dead and only 10% is alive. Only the branches, leaves, bark, and the vascular bundle area near the bark are living. The heart of the tree is dead. The tree heart only serves for support and magical energy storage."
Witch Fiona smiled. "But replacing a tree heart can quickly repair a dying Magic Plant and can also enhance a treant's magic power, bringing different magical strengths."
"However, Junior Brother, you probably haven't learned how to replace a tree heart yet. Replacing a tree heart requires a certain level of basic ability."
"Therefore, I will give you a grafting knife."
"This is a second-ring magic item grafting knife, and its quality is quite good. Its name is [spirit vein suture]."
Locke accepted a silver dagger as thin as a cicada's wing, covered in enchantment runes. "Thank you, Third Senior Sister. I have indeed been lacking a handy grafting knife recently."
"This is too practical."
Witch Fiona smiled. "I'm glad you like it."
Locke had previously suffered from not having a suitable grafting knife, having to make do with ordinary ones every time, which broke very easily.
He had always wanted to find a grafting knife Magic item with good materials and craftsmanship; who would have thought a Senior Sister would give him one now?
Locke looked at the grafting knife. It was enchanted with a large number of spells and seemed to be made of a special material, allowing it to easily withstand his magic pressure without snapping as easily as his previous knives.
At the same time, the grafting knife had been specially treated. As Locke turned the blade, he found it could easily cut through plane power and the spirituality flowing in the air.
Seeing this, Locke's eyes brightened slightly.
After using so many inferior grafting knives, he understood all the more how important it was to have a good one in hand.
But the price...
Locke said to Witch Fiona, "Senior Sister, this grafting knife seems very expensive..."
Witch Fiona nodded and said, "Yes. It was bought for five million magic stones. After all, it's a Magic item required by a proper Second Ring Wizard; if it were any cheaper, I wouldn't even be able to give it as a gift."
"Because for a Second Ring Wizard, anything less would be too mediocre."
She seemed to realize something and quickly added, "I'm not as multi-talented as First and Second Senior Brother; I'm just a poor witch who sells tree hearts."
"I have no other possessions, so I could only spend some money to buy a decent grafting knife."
Witch Zoyla said, "Then there's even less that I'm good at. I only recently advanced to a Third Ring Wizard, and I exhausted all my resources before, so I really have nothing impressive to offer."
"How about this, I run a plant museum."
Witch Zoyla smiled. "I'll give Junior Brother a second ring magic plant. I watched the Silent Grail competition before and saw that the golden tower branch used in Junior Brother's Great Magic seemed to still be a One-Ring Magic Plant."
"This is a golden peach tree."
Witch Zoyla took out a Magic Plant from her astral ring that was entirely golden—its branches, leaves, and roots were all the color of gold.
As soon as this peach tree was brought out, it appeared magnificent and resplendent, making the whole room seem brighter.
Witch Zoyla smiled. "The golden peach tree, also known as the Unfading Golden Peach. Its leaves and fruit never wither."
"Although it's just an ordinary second ring magic plant, it is a unique specimen."
"The golden peach tree is also one of the symbols of the Hui Ming Borderland, but it is currently an endangered species with fewer than one in ten remaining. It's only because I've been in the plant museum and plant market business for many years that I was fortunate enough to collect one."
"If it were put up for sale, it's hard to say how much it would cost. Based on its performance as a Magic Plant, it's worth about three to five million, but based on its rarity, it seems another few million could be added."
Witch Zoyla shook her head slightly.
"However, the price isn't calculated that way. This is just my collectible, after all, and has never been circulated in the market, so these prices are just my estimates. This item itself was given to me by a friend."
"And he discovered it in a Colonial World."
Locke took the Magic Plant and bowed to Witch Zoyla.
"Thank you, Senior Sister."
It had to be said, the two Senior Sisters were truly generous.
Good grief, after all that, the gifts the two Senior Sisters gave him were worth several times more than those from the two Senior Brothers.
Wizard Heidegger and First Senior Brother Georta looked a bit embarrassed.
They hadn't expected that after not seeing them for years, their two Junior Sisters had become so successful and were now acting so lavishly.
First Senior Brother Georta felt regretful.
'I gave mine too early and lost face as the First Senior Brother.'
'If I'd known, I would have waited for my two Junior Sisters to finish before giving mine. It's just that an internal experiment in a Key Laboratory went out of control a few days ago, and I don't even know how much I paid in compensation... I've really been destitute lately. Sigh