769: The Blade and the Grindstone
Realizing that the opponent was relying on the relative height of the Great Magic within the root realm to establish an absolute advantage over him, Locke immediately thought of a solution.
By using the Second Ring spell, Generational Succession, to transform attributes six times in an instant and stack magic pressure, the magic pressure would double at the moment he acted, causing a very brief superficial doubling of his Great Magic's magic pressure.
Thus, the relative height of his Great Magic within the root realm would also be elevated.
Originally, his accumulation only allowed him to transform the attributes of a Magic Plant five times through Generational Succession. However, after obtaining the pinellia, he could use the Moon of Evolution to grant the summer attribute to other Magic Plants, allowing him to use Generational Succession to change attributes six times.
But Locke rejected this plan.
Although there was no real need to hide it—after all, who among those present wasn't a wizard with a level far higher than his own?
But the problem was that, unless it was the final moment, there was truly no need for him to use his current ultimate chain move of the Moon of Evolution right now.
Moon Cultivation Method + Generational Succession + plant factors of six attribute changes.
This wasn't the Silent Grail or any special competition; there was no need to go all out. The opponent clearly wasn't using her full strength either.
At this moment, the Moon of Evolution behind Locke suddenly disappeared, no longer directly buffing the Peach Arc Thorn Arrow. He only used the magic pressure of a Second Ring Wizard to support the Peach Arc Thorn Arrow.
Witch Rosetta was startled.
Because Locke's actions clearly showed he had detected her intentions.
The root realm only supports Great Magic. As long as the Second Ring spell used is not associated with Great Magic, it is equivalent to having no root realm supporting it, naturally making it unaffected by the height of the root realm itself.
This was equivalent to not comparing with her within that system.
But there was still another problem.
The existence of the root realm was meaningful; it was something extremely beneficial to Second Ring Wizards, constructed jointly by High-Ring Wizards of Textile Studies, Biology, and alchemy.
By actively giving up the dual enhancement of the root realm and Great Magic for his spell, Locke was essentially returning to the magic intensity level of an ordinary Second Ring lifeform.
This was a severe weakening of his magical power.
Cloud Whisker Silk itself possessed the special property of evading magical power.
Locke drew his bow and loosed the arrow directly.
Witch Rosetta frowned.
"You've lost. The magic pressure intensity of this Peach Arc Thorn Arrow cannot possibly get near my Cloud Whisker Cloth."
"Wait..."
That Peach Arc Thorn Arrow, which could barely maintain the spell power of a Second Ring Wizard, traced an arc in mid-air. Then, under the light of the Moon of Evolution, the spirituality of the Cloud Whisker Silk connected with the spirituality of Locke's Peach Arc Thorn Arrow.
Although the Cloud Whisker Cloth would automatically retreat the moment it was subjected to a magic attack, such that the magic attack would never hit the cloth...
...at this moment, the spirituality of the Peach Arc Thorn Arrow was tightly linked to the spirituality of the Cloud Whisker Cloth. Therefore, the Peach Arc Thorn Arrow continuously chased after the Cloud Whisker Cloth.
It created a scene in the sky that looked like a perpetual motion machine.
The two sides were at a stalemate for a while.
In the next moment, under the illumination of the Moon of Evolution, the spirituality between the Cloud Whisker Cloth and the Peach Arc Thorn Arrow suddenly shortened. Immediately after, the Peach Arc Thorn Arrow struck the Cloud Whisker Cloth.
Seeing this, Locke nodded slightly.
In truth, achieving this was extremely difficult for him as well. After all, the instantaneous magic pressure output of this Peach Arc Thorn Arrow was indeed too low.
Even though he utilized the Moon of Evolution's property to connect the spirituality between plants, failure was still possible.
The property of the Cloud Whisker Cloth to automatically evade magic attacks... was very troublesome.
Seeing this, the Rose Witch's eyes flashed with surprise, but then she smiled.
At the same time, Witch Rosetta reached out her right hand. After the Cloud Whisker Cloth was shot down, it fell from the sky into her hands.
The entire Cloud Whisker Cloth was burning in flames.
Witch Rosetta's right hand was protected by the Permanent Defense Field shell, so she was fine. With a dark expression, she took out a bottle of translucent potion from her astral ring, squeezed out a drop of spiritual liquid, and dripped it onto the Cloud Whisker Cloth. The flames clinging to the cloth were instantly extinguished.
At this moment, the atmosphere at the square table became relaxed once again.
His senior brothers took the lead in applauding. A few wizards also used their cutlery to elegantly tap their plates, expressing their appreciation for him in their capacity as elders and High-Ring Wizards.
Witch Catherine looked at Locke with satisfaction.
"Well done, Locke."
Witch Catherine looked toward Witch Rosetta.
"You weren't bad either."
"The Cloud Whisker Cloth is excellent; perhaps there will be many application scenarios in the future. The value of a Magic Weaver lies not in combat, but in production and manufacturing."
Witch Rosetta's expression softened slightly. She looked at the Red Dragon Witch in surprise. She hadn't expected the legendary, tyrannical Red Dragon Witch to speak to her so gently, which left her somewhat stunned and feeling a sense of warmth in her heart.
Witch Rosetta bowed to Witch Catherine and said, "Thank you for your guidance, Lord of the Red Dragon Throne."
When she looked up at Locke, she gave a cold snort, put away the Cloud Whisker Cloth, and turned to walk behind the Rose Witch.
The Rose Witch looked at Locke and handed him the seal in her hand.
"I accept my loss. Locke, this Crimson Bloodstone spirit macro is yours."
She placed the seal in mid-air, where it stayed suspended. She then lightly touched the seal with her finger, and it flew toward Locke.
The Rose Witch smiled and said, "The wizard who made the rubbing of this spirit macro back then put in a lot of effort, so I hope you can make good use of it. You'd better not use it as a one-time consumable for a potion, as it can only be used once that way. If you can copy it daily, I believe it will be of immense benefit to your Potionology progress."
"Director of the Demon Hunting Department, am I right?"
The Director of the Demon Hunting Department was a stout wizard. As a potion master, he laughed heartily.
"Although the Rose Throne is not a Potionology wizard, she has a profound perspective on our Potionology. Yes, exactly. Ultimately, Potionology is a discipline where progress can be accelerated using resources."
"It is very different from your Flower Language Studies, which pursues destiny."
"Your Flower Language Studies is truly difficult to learn. If a student can't grasp it, they simply can't."
The Rose Witch found this very pleasing.
The Rose Witch looked at Witch Catherine and said, "Witch Catherine, I am still very busy. Since I have achieved my purpose for coming here, there is no need to stay longer."
Witch Catherine smiled and said, "Take care. I won't see you out."
The Rose Witch's five students all showed looks of anger, but the Rose Witch signaled them to calm down with a cool gaze.
At the same time, the Rose Witch looked at Witch Catherine and said, "The future is long, Katya. The dispute between you and me is like a game of Go. You place a stone, I place a stone; no one knows the final outcome. Wouldn't you say?"
Witch Catherine remained silent.
At this point, the Rose Witch glanced at Locke.
"However, your student's performance this time was indeed quite good. He was very calm, discovered the true nature of that [Lotus Root Connection Curse], and thought of a risky method to break it."
"Locke Augustine, welcome to the world of the Second Ring."
"Let's go, Rose."
As the Rose Witch departed, white rose petals once again drifted down from the sky like snowflakes, resembling snow swirling in the wind.
Locke seemed to see countless different textile patterns interwoven within this 'heavy snow'.
Locke let out a long breath.
They've finally left.
The pressure the Rose Witch exerted was too great.
She seemed like a very easygoing wizard, but she was anything but!
Her methods were too mysterious, and her motives were even harder to grasp.
Nevertheless, he had indeed won against her granddaughter just now.
Witch Catherine gave Locke an approving look, then turned to continue her exchange with the other High-Ring Wizards.
Because the Rose Witch and her group had left of their own accord, the entire banquet returned to its previous relaxed state. Many High-Ring Wizards had a certain impression of Locke and discussed him for a few more moments.
When Locke turned around, he saw Wizard Turazin praise him, "Junior Brother, you really showed off this time. I thought for a moment you'd fall into her trap. Who knew you'd see through the insidiousness of that Lotus Root Connection Curse yourself?"
Locke said, "I was also lucky. Just a little bit more and I wouldn't have realized it."
Senior Brother Georta said, "Those wizards from the Rose Council are all so insidious in their methods. I've suffered many losses at their hands before."
Witch Zoyla said, "Hmm... I'm actually okay. I have a few friends in the Rose Council. Of course, those in the Rose Witch's faction—I'm definitely at odds with them. Because they are enemies of our teacher."
Second Senior Brother Heidegger whispered, "Even if I don't treat them as enemies, there's no other way. The projects in our hands are closely related to our teacher's projects, and we are naturally in conflict with the direct descendants of their Academic Lineage. Unless we actively back down, cut our own losses, and give up our futures, I really can't think of a way not to clash with them."
Second Senior Brother Heidegger looked at Locke and said, "You need to be more careful, Junior Brother. The Rose Witch values her status and will never do anything in public that would make her lose face. But I can see that Witch Rosetta is not someone to be trifled with. Since you beat her this time, I doubt she'll let it go."
Locke bowed to Second Senior Brother Heidegger and said, "It's fine, Senior Brother. If I could beat her once, I can beat her a second time."
Heidegger was stunned for a moment, then patted him on the shoulder. "Good, you have spirit."
Witch Zoyla said, "Disputes between Academic Lineages are almost unavoidable for Second Ring Wizards. It's hard for such situations to occur among One-Ring Wizards because their value is low."
"For a Second Ring Wizard, it's either joining a team or remaining independent. But no matter what choice is made, a certain price must be paid..."
Locke nodded in deep agreement.
Going solo could indeed avoid these conflicts, but many resources would then be unattainable.
Locke looked at the strange seal in his hand.
"Crimson Bloodstone is a Second Ring Magic Plant material—that much I know. It's mainly used to refine Crimson Potions."
"Those who consume a Crimson Potion can establish a contract or curse connection based on blood relations; it's a special kind of Blood Curse. A single bottle of Crimson Potion is enough to create a bloodline lineage that obeys you, and it's extremely difficult for their descendants to resist."
"I've seen this potion in the free library, but it's a forbidden drug, prohibited by the White Wizard Association."
This was mainly because, in the distant past, before the Enlightenment Era, this potion was used by autocratic wizard monarchs to enslave mortal families with wizarding talent.
The recipe for this potion was nearly destroyed during the Enlightenment Era, but it was later preserved for the sake of knowledge preservation.
Locke looked at the Crimson Bloodstone spirit macro in his hand and wondered, "I know what Crimson Bloodstone is, but what is this Crimson Bloodstone spirit macro? What's the connection between the two?"
Witch Catherine glanced at that [Crimson Bloodstone spirit macro] and frowned, her thoughts unknown.
...
At the foot of Golden Crown Mountain, Witch Rosetta, standing beside the Rose Witch, wondered, "Great-grandmother, I'm truly unwilling to accept losing to that wet-behind-the-ears commoner boy who's even younger than me. Why didn't you let me use the Lotus Root Connection Curse more deeply?"
"At that time, I could have used the Lotus Root Connection Curse to link his Peach Arc Thorn Arrow back to the Botany root realm."
The Rose Witch said as she walked, "Rose, why the rush? The Lotus Root Connection Curse is the core of your Great Magic, the Water Cannon Loom. If you were to run it at full power, you would have to expose too much of your foundation in a non-competitive setting."
"Secondly, and most importantly, your Lotus Root Connection Curse might not have worked."
Witch Rosetta was stunned. "Why?"
The Rose Witch said, "His Great Magic can also connect the spirituality between plants, so it's possible he could have disrupted the effect of your Lotus Root Connection Curse. Therefore, I told you not to be reckless. Besides, my purpose has already been achieved."
"This time, I only had you exchange blows with that Wizard Augustine to let the High-Ring Wizards of the Yunze Wetland see the potential of our Textile Studies; everything else was just incidental. And they saw it. They couldn't fail to know that the Great Magic of Textile Studies is inherently at a disadvantage in a direct confrontation."
"Nor could they fail to see the excellent performance of your Cloud Whisker Cloth, or that your Cloud Whisker Cloth was almost undamaged by the attack of the Peach Arc Thorn Arrow."
"All of this was seen by them. That's enough."
The Rose Witch smiled. "If you really won against someone else at a celebratory banquet, I would be the one with the headache."
"Timing is everything when challenging someone. Now is not the time."
Witch Rosetta nodded and said, "That boy only broke one of my spells by luck. If we kept fighting, he... Of course, this Cloud Whisker Cloth has even better uses."
The Rose Witch glanced at Witch Rosetta and laughed. "I am giving Locke Augustine to you to serve as your grindstone. With your talent, you, as the blade, will surely make good use of this grindstone to sharpen yourself until you are incomparably keen."
Witch Rosetta bowed and said, "Thank you, Great-grandmother."