907: Inspiration Regarding the special grant fund
Locke gazed into the distance. Within this special corridor, he saw many stone statues, but one that was originally a golden ear wheat statue had actually split into two halves from the middle.
Locke said, "This is..."
The stone statue that should have been golden ear wheat had actually fractured down the middle, a crack appearing as if it were about to break apart completely.
Throne Russell said, "That's right. The reason I brought you here was to show you this. These stone statues are all masterpieces of the Potion Masters from the Hui Ming Borderland. You probably didn't know, but the Hui Ming Borderland was once a holy land for Potionology."
"There was a group of Golden Potion Masters here who brewed potions that granted immortality to all things."
"They were the ones who created this corridor. In the face of the predestined decline of the Hui Ming Borderland's history, all efforts seemed futile; every endeavor appeared to be pushing fate toward this very outcome."
"Thus, the ancestors of the Hui Ming Borderland determined to leave something behind for their descendants."
Locke suddenly realized something.
"They placed spirit macro markers inside these stone statues."
Locke took half a step back because it was too exaggerated.
He only now discovered that this entire corridor was not constructed from ordinary brick and stone, or even so-called magical materials, but was built entirely from spirit macro.
In other words, every blade of grass and every tree in this corridor was spirit macro.
The statue pillars were spirit macro, the bricks beneath his feet were spirit macro, and even the corridor itself was spirit macro.
Locke now realized that he and Throne Russell had likely stepped into a spirit macro known as the [Corridor of the Past].
Such craftsmanship was truly breathtaking.
'Ordinary spirit macro cannot have an infinite lifespan, yet this corridor seems to have become a location, as if it has become eternal.'
Locke thought to himself.
'The interior of this corridor seems capable of reflecting all things and all existences. Is this truly something a Potion Master can achieve? It's almost as if they've created a World Hall here, condensed from the laws of the plane. There are even many divine beasts that look so real they could be mistaken for the real thing, and these divine beast phantoms can interact with me.'
'What a magical place.'
'And the golden ear wheat statue pillar has cracked; does this mean I have successfully evolved a portion of the golden ear wheat through Ancestral Evolution? Throne Russell calling me over must be related to this.'
Throne Russell said, "Locke, that mutated golden foxtail grass of yours should indeed have resurrected the crucial golden ear wheat. That you could devise a viable method for Ancestral Evolution truly surprised me."
Locke said to Throne Russell, "Based on the article I published on the Convergence of All Phenomena and another article from Yunze, those two papers have already clearly explained the principles of my Ancestral Evolution. It is a miracle achieved using yellow robe mushroom toxin and a system of two enchanted blades I specifically developed."
"But yellow robe mushroom toxin has its limitations. First, this potion element must not conflict with the Magic Plant itself. In fact, only one-third of currently known Magic Plants can use yellow robe mushroom toxin. Furthermore, the principle behind its Ancestral Evolution is simply its ability to destroy the plant factor expression inhibition mechanism."
"This in itself is the limitation of its Ancestral Evolution."
Throne Russell nodded and said, "I see. So, that is why I called you here. I ask you, Locke Augustine, have you decided on your proposal for the special grant fund application at Golden Crown Mountain?"
Locke was stunned for a moment because Throne Russell had suddenly changed the subject.
"Not yet."
Throne Russell curled his lips in satisfaction.
"Then you're in trouble. There are probably only a few months left before your institute's first proposal application review. If you miss it, you'll have to wait until next year."
"If you wait another year, wouldn't you potentially be pitted against your own good friends? A group of people fighting over a single slot is exhausting."
"Isn't the Magic Plant Crystallization Technology route in your Yunze Wetland very popular lately? It has won several championships in various Wizard Lands of the Eastern Border Region, secured several projects, and published numerous articles."
"The achievements those wizards have gained from it are still growing. Since it's so popular, why don't you join in?"
Locke bowed to Throne Russell and said, "Magic Plant Crystallization Technology is very good. It's just that I have my own rhythm, and continuing research into Ancestral Evolution better serves my interests."
Throne Russell nodded.
"Good. One's own rhythm is most important. Do not haphazardly change your actions for the sake of momentary greed."
"That would invite disaster."
Locke asked, "Throne Lord, you seem to have doubts about Magic Plant Crystallization Technology. Your evaluation of it isn't as high as the general wizard public's."
Throne Russell stood with his hands behind his back, his lips curling into a smile as he said, "Don't talk nonsense. On the contrary, I really want to get my hands on the research materials for that technology route for those worthless researchers under me."
"The reason I told you to stick to your rhythm was simply because I didn't want you to steal the opportunities of my disciples and grand-disciples. The low-hanging fruit of a technology research route is limited. If someone like you picks it all, my worthless disciples won't have anything to eat."
Locke was momentarily choked by Throne Russell's words.
He hesitated to speak, then said freely to Throne Russell, "The Throne Lord is joking. For someone of your status, just a few crumbs from your fingers would be enough to feed those below. How could you possibly think I would block your students' path? Among your students, there is no lack of true geniuses far more powerful than I."
Throne Russell looked at Locke with surprise.
"You are unexpectedly humble, not arrogant."
"Back to the main topic. Every person has their role."
"That is all."
Throne Russell said, "If you truly want to insist on developing the Ancestral Evolution route, then take a look at this magic of mine. It is only a Second Ring Spell Model."
Throne Russell extended his right hand, palm upward. Suddenly, a stalk of green foxtail grass appeared in his palm. This green foxtail grass gradually became tinged with golden light and shadow, clearly undergoing some form of Ancestral Evolution.
The green foxtail grass in Throne Russell's hand remained in a state that was partly golden and partly green.
"Did you see it clearly?"
Locke realized that the Spell Model just now was open-source and not hidden. He extended his right hand. Originally, Locke thought he wouldn't be able to directly replicate that Spell Model.
But his pupils suddenly dilated. All the somatic components and the Spell Model Throne Russell had used just now suddenly emerged one by one in his mind.
Each component of the Spell Model felt as if it had always existed in his mind.
How could this be?
In the next moment, Locke chanted the incantation, and the Spell Model appeared in his hand. The green foxtail grass that had been in front of Throne Russell moved to Locke, and the entire stalk of green foxtail grass began to transition toward the state of the second ring magic plant, golden foxtail grass.
Seeing this, Throne Russell's pupils contracted slightly. He nodded and said, "It's alright, mediocre. In our Hui Ming Borderland, that would be considered upper-middle level."
Throne Russell stood to the side in silence, patiently waiting for Locke to completely master this Spell Model.
'Only a Sun Ring Wizard can use magical power to resonate with the Corridor of the Past. Otherwise, this corridor is just an ordinary hallway to that wizard.'
'Therefore, the premise for the Cerberus to trick someone is that they must be a Sun Ring Wizard. And if they are a Sun Ring Wizard, they naturally needn't fear being eaten by him; otherwise, our Golden Dynasty would not tolerate this Cerberus running amok here.'
'Of course, there is another situation: someone who naturally possesses ultra-high Gold Magic talent can resonate with this corridor. The higher the talent, the higher the degree of resonance. Locke Augustine, this fellow's talent is truly terrifying. Dammit, what on earth are those people below doing? If such a talent were still an ordinary First Ring Wizard, I could have directly asked to poach him.'
'Since he is already a Second Ring Wizard, it's not appropriate for me to make that offer anymore.'
'To be able to learn it after seeing me cast the [Golden Curse] just once... even if he is already a Second Ring Wizard... it's incredible.'
The Golden Curse in Locke's hand acted upon the green foxtail grass, trying its best to make the Gold Magic power hidden within manifest and trigger Ancestral Evolution.
Throne Russell said, "Unlike what is known outside, the Potionology and Breeding Science of the current Hui Ming Borderland are indeed average, but that doesn't mean they weren't good in the past. We are currently working hard to restore some ancient plants. This Golden Curse was once a direction of our efforts, though it was later abandoned."
"This project was proposed by me, and I intended to hand it over to one of my students."
A shadow appeared on Throne Russell's brow.
"But later, because he was suspected of selling academy information, he is currently in the Wizard Prison, working there to repay his debt to society and repent for his crimes for the rest of his life."
"Because of his issues, my Golden Curse development project ended in complete failure."
"But according to my ideas, the Golden Curse can also evolve Magic Plants, perhaps even allowing golden ear wheat to appear. I've seen your evolution method; to be honest, the precision isn't high enough, and it's too cumbersome. golden ear wheat was originally a Sun Ring Level Magic Plant. With your method, even if evolution occurs, it would only be evolving from a golden foxtail grass into golden ear wheat."
"But it would still be an ordinary second ring magic plant."
"And golden foxtail grass itself is already a second ring magic plant. This has led to the prospects of your research being greatly underestimated."
"But as long as you use my Golden Curse to strengthen your Ancestral Evolution, perhaps you can create an... Ancestral Evolution with even higher precision."
Locke looked up at Throne Russell, wondering why Throne Russell had chosen him and why he was giving such a good project, as he called it, to him.
They were neither relatives nor old friends, and he wasn't his teacher.
If he was hoping someone could complete the evolution of golden ear wheat, he could have released such a good project to let more excellent wizards work on it.
Even if he had set his sights on him, he only needed to discuss it with Golden Crown Mountain and have him seconded to participate in the project.
Locke's mind whirred as he asked, "May I ask, Throne Russell, why did the student originally in charge of this project betray the interests of the Golden Dynasty and sell information to others?"
Throne Russell said, "He believed I had given him an impossible project. He was very angry about it, feeling he was doing something meaningless."
"He was also a wizard from the Advanced True Knowledge Institute. He believed it was my fault he couldn't advance. I told him it was simply because he was useless. Thus, his mind was no longer on research; he spent all day thinking of crooked ways and shortcuts."
Throne Russell said with his hands behind his back, "I do not like people who take shortcuts."
Locke gave a bitter smile.
So that was it. No wonder he was giving it to him this way—this project had a hidden trap. It had probably seen no progress for quite some time.
And Throne Russell obviously wouldn't waste his time on a Second Ring Level project.
Locke recalled the Spell Model he had just learned.
"It's... a matter of time. Casting that Spell Model requires a massive amount of data on the trajectories of the sunrises and sunsets in the Hui Ming Borderland. Those trajectories are the foundation of this Gold Magic."
"This Golden Curse can strengthen the Gold Magic inside a Magic Plant, forcing its hidden Gold Magic power to manifest, thereby forcing all the latent Gold Magic potential within it to be realized, leading to Ancestral Evolution."
This was a different technology route from his own Ancestral Evolution.
But the two could be combined. Combining the two technology routes, Locke thought for a moment, and indeed, it might give birth to a type of magic with higher positioning precision that could evolve even more powerful Magic Plants.
And this idea had clearly prompted the Throne Russell before him to launch his Golden Curse Project 2.0.
But the greatest difficulty of this project was that it required the tedious collection of the trajectories of the special sun's sunrises and sunsets in the Hui Ming Borderland.
And that inevitably required a vast amount of time.
That was likely why Throne Russell's student had a mental breakdown.
Because such data collection could not be completed in less than a hundred years.
But Throne Russell had originally been calm and methodical, likely working on this project through different rotating students.
In any case, for him, it was just about twenty or so students.
At worst, he would just wait for the twentieth student to produce the results of this project.
But clearly, after seeing his Ancestral Evolution, he could no longer sit still, thinking it was too foolish to wait for another dozen students to complete the project.
This had led to him personally coming to find him.
He wanted him to help him complete this project.
Locke thought back to when Wizard Bruce was talking to him, asking if he had a connection with Throne Russell and telling him how much Throne Russell had protected him.
So that was the reason.
Throne Russell looked at Locke and asked again, "Hmm? You've been standing there dazed for a long time. Can you give me an answer? Are you going to take this project and give it a try?"