889: Alsace's Magic Plant Test on the golden dragon claw air pineapple!
The Great Dark World.
The Great Evil King of Darkness's palm descended like the heavens themselves, obscuring the light of countless worlds that had fallen into darkness. Within the dark shadows, voices sang hymns of praise, pleasing the endless dark.
But just as the Nameless Wizard's body was about to be enveloped by infinite darkness and transformed into a shadow...
A black sun suddenly appeared in the sky of the Great Dark World. This black sun was even darker than the darkness of the Great Dark World itself, making the magical radiance within that world seem like glittering stars.
The Great Evil King of Darkness looked up at the dark sun in the sky in terror, gnashing his teeth.
"Sacrificial magic. They are coming again."
"They have been absent from this world for a long time. They have returned."
"The Black Sun Tower has returned."
That black sun seemed to be the spire of the Black Sun Tower, its lighthouse. The moment the dark sun appeared, it disrupted the entire Great Dark World.
Seizing the opportunity, the Nameless Wizard immediately used the [Three Thousand Peach Killing Curse]. Countless pink peach blossom petals swirled around his body, and in the next moment, he vanished from that place... On the exploration vanguard, Locke received a message from his senior brother. He opened the water gourd system to see a message from his senior brother.
"Little junior brother, quickly return my name to me."
Locke was stunned for a moment, then consciously tried to recall this senior brother's name. It was like the moon in the water, a flower in a mirror; he and the true name were always separated by something.
But in the next moment, it was as if he had pierced through some kind of mist.
Immediately, a name appeared in the depths of his soul.
[Turazin]!
As this name appeared, Wizard Turazin sent him a message within the water gourd system.
'Thank you, little junior brother. I owe you a lot this time.'
'This time, in order to retrieve the heartbreak flower, which is very important to them, from the Great Dark World, I faced a full blockade from the Great Lord of that dark world. My gains were substantial, but I also suffered many injuries and almost didn't make it back.'
Locke asked doubtfully: 'With senior brother's abilities, you could have been unable to return while exploring a world?'
Wizard Turazin sent him a reply.
'The Great Void is vast beyond measure; who can guarantee they will never be defeated? Only caution, prudence, and exploring truth step by step are the true principles.'
'This time, I made two major unexpected discoveries. First, the Great Dark World is much larger than the area previously mapped by those explorers; there is not just one Dark Great Lord there. Moreover, I discovered a large number of ancient wizard ruins in the Great Dark World.'
'Second, I brought back a Magic Plant called [heartbreak flower] that is very important to their territory in the Great Dark World.'
On the exploration vanguard, Locke looked at the picture Wizard Turazin had sent him. It was a Magic Plant about the size of a pearl, very small, milky white, looking as if the flower would fall apart in a breeze.
Old Pirate Henry instinctively leaned over to take a look, but due to Hussein's clever positioning, he couldn't crane his neck over.
Henry coughed and chuckled awkwardly, "Professional habit, professional habit. On the ship, we loved to snoop around."
Locke turned his attention back to the picture of the heartbreak flower, examining it carefully and realizing it was a type of Magic Plant he had never seen before.
This discovery by Wizard Turazin could very well become a new point of profit growth for their Academic Lineage, and could also be a key development direction for Golden Crown Mountain in the future.
Of course, this required Wizard Turazin to publish a paper, apply for a project, and strive to gain their teacher's approval. Then the teacher could take these things to Golden Crown Mountain and persuade them to invest resources.
Those wizard ruins in the Great Dark World, and the Great Dark World itself, might very well become future targets for Golden Crown Mountain, but that remained unknown for now.
As a major harvest from the Sun Ring Wizard's void exploration operation, Wizard Turazin's discovery would likely influence the future development of the Wizard Academy.
Wizard Turazin said: "I have already returned to the Wizard World via a planar teleportation array in a wizard ruin. By the way, junior brother, how was your planar exploration?"
Locke told Wizard Turazin about his experiences in the Three Caves World.
After a while, Wizard Turazin replied to him: "I didn't expect your experiences to be no less remarkable than mine."
"Two major god clans, wizards from the Southern Wizard Capital, a super verdant spirit breath mine... quite a substantial harvest."
Locke replied to him: "Not at all, senior brother. My gains can't compare to yours. The two major god clans were not complete entities; the Titan God Clan had already voluntarily left that world long ago."
Wizard Turazin sent him a message.
"Don't belittle yourself. This was your first void exploration, and I was worried you might not adapt. I didn't expect you to achieve such great results in just four months. Regarding that super verdant spirit breath mine, are you planning to entrust the Academy to explore it with you, or build your own exploration facility?"
Locke pondered for a moment.
"I'm still considering that."
Wizard Turazin said: "There's no rush. Take your time. When we both return to Golden Crown Mountain, perhaps we can have a small celebration. To commemorate our Academic Lineage completing two valuable void explorations."
Locke fell into thought.
Indeed, how to develop that super mine was a real problem.
It was foreseeable that developing that super mine would require him to invest tens of millions of magic stones, and he would also need to find a professional Earth Wizard to assess the mine's reserves.
Whether to sell the entire vein outright, or build a magic heavy industry factory for development, were both issues.
And whether building a magic heavy industry factory required financing was another problem.
Furthermore, a magic heavy industry factory would inevitably produce pollutants like ring element heavy particles, so he would need to install corresponding environmental protection facilities.
He certainly didn't want to see nightmares from the Three Caves World the next time he visited the Emerald Dream.
That would truly be a nightmare.
Locke saw a message from Wizard Turazin.
"However, this means our Golden Crown Mountain has offended that Great Evil King of Darkness lord from the Great Dark World. The Great Dark World is extremely unique; the darkness from any world can connect to it."
"Therefore, although the natives of the Great Dark World haven't mastered mature cross-void navigation capabilities, they likely still have ways to interfere with the Wizard World. Our Academic Lineage is probably now at war with the Great Evil King of Darkness."
"The Great Evil King of Darkness will spare no effort to reclaim the heartbreak flower in my possession."
Locke sent Wizard Turazin a reassuring picture.
Then, he summoned Witch Scarlett.
"Witch Scarlett, my clone has already delivered the golden dragon claw air pineapple to you, along with the relevant combat records. Please publish them on the pre-sale section of the Alsace platform."
In the Golden Crown Mountain Region, at the manor of the Alsace Shop Alliance, Witch Scarlett, having replied to Locke not long ago, rose from her lounge chair and looked with curiosity at a magic box brought forward by an ordinary First Ring Wizard.
Sweat beaded on this First Ring Wizard's forehead.
The pressure a second ring magic plant exerted on a First Ring existence, even when placed in a special magic box, was unimaginable.
Witch Scarlett input the password and opened the magic box. As she cracked it open a sliver, a golden light burst forth, dazzling her eyes.
"This is..."
Witch Scarlett stepped back and immediately closed the magic box.
She breathed slightly heavily, looking at the box containing the golden dragon claw air pineapple, a flicker of lingering fear in her eyes.
"This is definitely not an ordinary second ring magic plant. With the equipment currently in our manor, it's impossible to conduct a complete evaluation."
Witch Scarlett realized she could no longer keep up with Locke's growth speed.
"It must be sent to Alsace's headquarters in the Elf Great World for professional evaluation by the experts there. After completing this deal, my authority will likely be transferred away by Alsace. Lord Augustine will probably collaborate with the big shots at headquarters."
Witch Scarlett sighed.
There was nothing to be done about it.
However, after completing this deal, she should be able to become a Platinum Trader. Then she could consider using the conveniences of that position to advance to Second Ring Wizard.
Maybe it would work, maybe not.
But regardless, this was the closest she had ever been to becoming a Second Ring Wizard.
Becoming a Platinum Trader for Alsace granted one opportunity to enter a Second Ring Wizard Secret Realm; that was her greatest chance... A week later, Second Ring Breeder evaluators in the Elf Great World soon received a batch of Magic Plant evaluation tasks sent from the Golden Crown Mountain Region.
Evaluation tasks for Alsace headquarters were sent in bundled packages; one package contained five products, and these five products formed one bundle assigned to an evaluator.
The evaluator would conduct a collective evaluation of the Magic Plants' traits.
These evaluators were formerly excellent Breeders, but as they aged and their creativity declined, they stepped back to second-line positions, becoming evaluators of Magic Plant traits.
At this moment, an old evaluator ordered his subordinates to send him the data for ten packages.
The reason these products needed bundling was that Alsace headquarters received a huge number of evaluation tasks from various Colonial Worlds. Among them were good Magic Plants, but also some trying to slip through the cracks.
To ensure these evaluators worked diligently and verified the traits of each Magic Plant, after these Magic Plant works were delivered to the Elf Great World, Alsace staff would shuffle their order, rearrange them, and distribute them to various evaluators. The evaluators would then lead their departments to test the traits of the various products and issue inspection certificates.
This [Bundling System] originated from a past incident where Alsace discovered that some High-Ring Wizard evaluators, to save effort, would have their low-ring wizard subordinates evaluate obviously low-difficulty Magic Plants. This led to errors in some Magic Plant trait inspection reports, resulting in lawsuits from merchants or customers against Alsace and financial losses.
Therefore, Alsace designed the [Bundling System] precisely to prevent high-ring evaluators from being careless in evaluating obviously low-level Magic Plant traits just to save effort.
However, for every policy, there is a countermeasure. This Second Ring evaluator, [Kungu], would generally toss these [Magic Plant Bundles] to his subordinates for an initial screening, separating average Magic Plants from excellent ones.
He would personally evaluate the excellent Magic Plants, while the average ones would continue to be handled by his subordinates, or even outsourced.
This would save him a lot of trouble.
For High-Ring Wizards, time is life. Some still want to use their spare time to strive, while others just want to lie flat.
Kungu was the former.
Although he had been eliminated from Alsace's technology development department, he still wanted to use his spare time and saved resources to conduct his own research.
Even though he was already over four hundred years old this year, he was still just an ordinary Second Ring Wizard with seventeen thousand magic pressure. He didn't have many award-winning Magic Plant works, nor a single Second Ring, first-zone paper. He only had three Second Ring, second-zone papers from the past, which he had managed to get published due to luck.
But Kungu still wanted to seize every opportunity to 'give off his remaining heat'.
At this moment, Kungu was reading through the materials. He filtered out all the products that seemed ordinary in traits, made a task list, and tossed it to his subordinates.
But then, Kungu saw a preliminary test report on the Magic Plant traits of the golden dragon claw air pineapple. He froze for a moment.
"Pure Magic Plant Wizard Shoes? No, these are wizard gloves, aren't they?"
"These Magic Plant traits..."
Kungu's pupils suddenly contracted. He immediately realized this was not a mediocre second ring magic plant breeding work.
The breeding level of this Magic Plant had reached a very high standard.
Kungu rubbed his eyes and immediately said, "I see there's an expedited testing request attached. We cannot be careless with this Magic Plant work. Although the applicant is just a Platinum Trader with very low permissions, if I mess up with a work like this... I could lose my position."
For an old hand like him, he could certainly distinguish between what was important and urgent.
A Magic Plant with such astonishing data in its initial trait detection report was like a radiant light. Even mixed among the other bundled Magic Plants, it could be spotted at a glance.
Kungu said to a Crystallized Wizard at a workstation in the office, "Go bring that Golden Dragon Claw · Air Pineapple over. We'll conduct a separate test on it immediately today."
That Crystallized Wizard was taken aback. "The centralized testing is scheduled for this afternoon."
"Boss, if we conduct a separate test now, it will incur extra costs for no reason and disrupt our workflow."
Evaluator Kungu said in a firm tone, "No reasons. Do it now."
That Crystallized Wizard was startled. Because Evaluator Kungu was also getting old, he rarely adopted such a forceful attitude normally.
This Crystallized Wizard immediately realized something. He promptly stepped out, stopped two High Elf Apprentices passing through the corridor, and relayed his command downwards.
"You two, go retrieve magic box number 0153 and bring it into the lab. Notify the team to begin testing."
The two First-Class Wizard Apprentice High Elf Apprentices were puzzled, as the centralized testing was supposed to be in the afternoon.
One First-Class Wizard Apprentice who was close to this Crystallized Wizard asked in a low voice, "Teacher, has something happened? Wouldn't conducting a separate test increase costs?"
This Crystallized Wizard immediately looked as if he had found an excuse, his expression turning extremely serious.
"Why ask unnecessary questions? No reasons. Do it immediately."
The two First-Class Wizard Apprentice high elves were frightened. They hurriedly saluted, said they would get to work, then turned and left the area to fetch magic box No. 0153.
In the warehouse, the two First-Class Wizard Apprentice High Elf natives whispered, "It's rare to see our gentle and refined teacher so angry. It seems this magic box No. 0153 is something very important."
The other First-Class Wizard Apprentice High Elf felt regretful. "I shouldn't have asked. The teacher must have his own considerations. He surely has a plan in mind when he tells us to do something. Why did we question it? Are we smarter than a Crystallized Great Wizard?"
The evaluation of the Golden Dragon Claw by Alsace was completed in just half a morning.
Kungu looked at the data sheet brought over by his subordinate Crystallized Wizard and smiled.
That Crystallized Wizard exclaimed in amazement, "The magic pressure of this Magic Plant is 19999, practically the limit for ordinary Second Ring magic pressure. Whether it's the instantaneous doubling of magic pressure or other data points, I've never seen such impressive figures. No wonder you, boss, wanted to test this Magic Plant immediately. It truly stands out among the many second ring magic plants."
Evaluator Kungu glanced at him and smiled.
"You understand now? But you only see the surface. You don't see the substantial core, after all, you're just a First Ring Breeder. You can't grasp the deeper intricacies."
"This Magic Plant was bred using the Spirit Breath Cultivation Method. But I believe a Garden Grotto-Heaven with a structure I cannot confirm is new was used in its cultivation. Half of this Magic Plant's strength lies in its special Imaginary Root. This special Imaginary Root is simply a groundbreaking work."
"Even among Magic Plant works, it is extremely unique within second ring magic plants. These tests alone are insufficient. Go fetch some common Wizard Shoes. I need to conduct trait tests on Wizard Shoes."
Evaluator Kungu reported the situation via Alsace's internal communication software to the Elven Queen, Ella Grant.
Namely, a Sun Ring Wizard native to the Elf Great World.
Evaluator Kungu pondered: 'Although I'm now in a backseat position, wanting to progress and use my remaining heat isn't without opportunity. As long as my eyes are sharp, isn't this the chance?'
'I'm not afraid of good works not coming for evaluation. I'm afraid they come and I fail to notice them. To get the leader's attention, I can't just do my assigned duties.'
'My luck is good. Such a work just happened to be in the batch assigned to me.'
That Crystallized Wizard subordinate was stunned. "second ring wizard shoes... those are very expensive..."
Evaluator Kungu pursed his lips, "Borrow."
The Crystallized Wizard subordinate frowned and coughed, "Boss, I can't borrow second ring wizard shoes."
Evaluator Kungu frowned, "Then I'll borrow them."
"Blue Ribbon, Alsace, Melchior... Wizard Shoes from these Shop Alliances, we need to borrow them all."
...At Golden Crown Mountain, Locke's clone saw two invitations delivered to his dormitory and was momentarily stunned, because they were letters from Solas Lightfoot and Melchior respectively, inviting him to participate in their themed events.
Simultaneously, he received a third piece of information, a letter sent by Wizard Brandy.
It was about a technical seminar hosted by a Sun Ring Wizard from the Rose Council.
Locke frowned, because Wizard Brandy had been constantly sharing news with him lately. Out of politeness, Locke had responded, but who knew it would only encourage him more.
"I'll ignore Brandy for now. Both Solas Lightfoot and Melchior are hosting events themed around void exploration. According to the news Witch Rosetta shared with me, after this event, the two will engage in discount activities aimed at suppressing each other."
"That will be the winter for all wizard shoe Shop Alliances that rely on low prices to survive."
"Inviting me to their themed events at this time, is it a declaration of authority?"
Locke saw the Magic Plant test report Witch Scarlett had sent him. "Hmm. There's even a comparative data report testing it against various versions of Wizard Shoes from the two wizard shoe Shop Alliances."
"I didn't expect Alsace to be so attentive to my work. This does save me a lot of trouble."
Locke posted these report data and the dimensional exploration practical test report he had already compiled onto Alsace's pre-sale platform.
At the same time, Locke said to Witch Scarlett, "Witch Scarlett, you can contact the major void exploration teams now. Let's begin our plan."
Currently, both Shop Alliances are essentially targeting the wizard customer base involved in void exploration.
And this group was originally Solas Lightfoot's core foundation.
Essentially, this is a war initiated by Melchior Magic Step.
Therefore, during this period, both sides have been trying their best to seek support from excellent wizard exploration team leaders, hoping they would purchase their respective Wizard Shoes to enhance their brand's authoritative weight.
Locke pondered, "I have absolute confidence in the Golden Dragon Claw · Air Pineapple."
"The performance of these Wizard Shoes has reached the top level of ordinary second ring wizard shoes from the two wizard shoe Shop Alliances. But the cost is relatively lower, and they can also be used as magic gloves."
"Success or failure hinges on this move. As long as I win the hearts of those wizards in the void exploration teams with a good product, my Augustus Wizard Shoe Shop Alliance will officially step onto the stage of the Yunze Wetland."
Only the Second Ring world is the true stage!
Only by entering the Second Ring Wizard shoe market can one truly enter the void exploration market, and the origin of Wizard Shoes themselves was developed for void exploration.
At this moment, Locke noticed someone contacting him on the Ganoderma Magic Plant platform. He saw it was Wizard Daniel.
Wizard Daniel said to Locke, "Locke, do you know about the academic exchange meeting recently organized by Sun Ring Wizard Master Patrick Finch from the Rose Council?"
"I've seen many friends talking about it recently. They say at the meeting, Wizard Patrick will propose a Magic Plant category and breeding method that could change the era. I think you should go listen. I managed to get tickets. I plan to go, and I have two currently. If you want to go, we can go together."
Locke raised an eyebrow, because if he remembered correctly, this academic exchange should be the one Wizard Brandy had invited him to.
He thought for a moment.
Since it was Wizard Daniel's invitation, going wouldn't hurt. Going out to exchange techniques with peers was also very normal.
Working behind closed doors is indeed not advisable.
If Wizard Brandy invited him, he had adopted a blanket refusal to prevent him from deliberately passing harmful information. But since it was Wizard Daniel, he could go along and take a look.
He just happened to be planning to use the Golden Dragon Claw · Air Pineapple bred in the Three Caves World to crash the market of the two major wizard shoe Shop Alliances, formally declaring war on them.
Since he couldn't do much else for the time being, killing some time at an academic exchange meeting wasn't bad either.