918: Three tier 1 Papers in a Row! Ultimate Outburst!
Locke calculated the contribution points he had on hand. He had already used up all his points previously, and now, if he wanted to enter the Supernatural Purgatory, the best way was to publish two papers in Second Ring tier 1 journals.
This was not something impossible for him.
'In the Spirit Breath Cultivation Method, there are three layers of the Verdant Nursery grotto-heaven, the special Imaginary Root of the Great Mingli Dragon Sparrow, and the special Imaginary Root of the golden dragon claw air pineapple. As long as I research these three in depth, they can all produce Second Ring tier 1 articles. The grotto-heaven garden is something new to me, so I'll first research the Golden Dragon Claw and the Great Mingli Dragon Sparrow, which are related to Gold Magic.'
'It just so happens that I already had Douglas do the preliminary data for both of them.'
'As long as I publish two more papers in Yunze in a short period, I can enter the Supernatural Purgatory.' Locke felt like there was a pile of things to do ahead, but now was precisely the moment to firm up his resolve.
Locke looked at Warwick and said, "I just managed to get the authority to enter the Supernatural Purgatory."
Warwick's eyes brightened slightly. "I knew you'd find a way. Then I'll stay at your Golden Crown Mountain for an extra week. I can create a [Historical Illustrated Handbook] for you. Using a temporary Magic item like the Historical Illustrated Handbook to strengthen Historical Reproduction, as long as we can find a being that has met with Wizard Maxwell, we can surely glimpse all the connections on them."
Locke nodded slightly.
Old Warwick was a veteran Archaeology Wizard and certainly had a deep background. He had never even heard of this so-called Historical Illustrated Handbook, but since that was the case, he would just leave it to him to handle.
The two of them walked out of the private room. Before they had gone a few steps, the Moon Ring Witch from the Rose Council, who was sitting in the lobby of the Witchs Kitchen, suddenly stood up from her seat. She looked at Locke and said, "Wizard Augustine, please wait a moment."
The Moon Ring Witch looked at Locke and said, "I didn't intend to eavesdrop or steal your information or anything. It's just that while you and this werewolf wizard were discussing just now, I vaguely heard some of your rather lengthy plans."
Locke and Warwick's expressions did not change.
After all, the two of them had only said some completely inconsequential things after leaving the private room that could be heard by others. The witch before them only knew that they seemed to have a long research plan.
But she didn't know the specifics, or even which direction it was in.
The Moon Ring Witch looked at Locke and smiled. "It's about the special grant project, right? Actually, there's a way that isn't so troublesome."
"Wizard Locke, I admire your talent in Breeding Science, and congratulations on winning the Golden Cup for flying magic plants and collaborating with the Wind Seeker Holy Land of Dragonfall Land. That is a Great Wizard Academy; many aircraft in the Eastern Border Region are made by them."
Warwick looked at Locke in surprise and said, "Locke, you actually never told me about this."
Locke rubbed his nose and said, "What's there to talk about?"
He had only participated in the Golden Holy Grail because he wanted to farm tourmaline king peaches.
Who knew that he would inexplicably get involved with the Wind Seeker Academy and obtain key experimental data for the Golden Curse from Throne Russell's hands?
Warwick shook his head. "Locke, don't you know? That's the Wind Seeker Academy! One of the wizard academies capable of making the best aircraft."
"They are very powerful in Dragonfall Land. On the front lines of the Wizard Civilization, they even purchase some of their super single-item aircraft. You actually say what's there to talk about; it's truly impressive that you could reach a cooperation with them. That wizard university has very high standards; if it's not a truly excellent work, they won't care for it."
Locke said, "It was just my good luck. The Hui Ming Borderland and Dragonfall Land happened to want to cooperate, and then they used the title of a competition champion as a pretext."
The Moon Ring Witch said, "That's why I admire you, Augustine. I have a set of project materials in my hand sufficient for you to immediately write an application for a special grant. I am currently selecting wizards capable of obtaining this honor for the Sun Ring Wizard behind me."
"Wizard Augustine, if you are interested, you can have it right now."
Locke was stunned for a moment, then asked, "Why me? I saw you meeting with Wizard Droma earlier, so I imagine you must have met with other wizards as well. You are indeed selecting an excellent Breeder. But why would that person be me?"
The Moon Ring Witch looked at Locke and said, "Although your fame isn't very prominent because of the sudden emergence of the crystallized magical plant research route, in reality, under normal circumstances, after consecutively winning the Xiao Xi Cup and the Golden Cup, and publishing two papers in Second Ring tier 1 journals in a short time, you should have already become famous and gained everyone's attention."
"These excellent credentials of yours have still entered my eyes."
Locke said, "It's all about publishing in tier 1; what could be different? Droma and Brandy have probably published in tier 1 by now too."
The Moon Ring Witch smiled and said, "Wizard Augustine, you're joking. There is an absolute difference between them."
She held a set of materials in her hand. "As long as Wizard Augustine nods, these materials are yours."
Beside Locke, the werewolf wizard Warwick's expression was extremely unsightly.
Because if Locke accepted these materials, would he still risk going to find the black and white grimoire?
He could see that there seemed to be some connection between finding the black and white grimoire and his special grant.
Warwick hesitated to speak, but he thought about it, putting himself in Locke's shoes—if there were project materials that could immediately get him a special grant, would he refuse?
Ten birds in the forest are not as good as one bird in the hand.
If it were this easy to get these materials, he personally would find it impossible to refuse.
Locke asked, "Can I ask what the project is?"
The Moon Ring Witch directly handed the materials to Locke. "Wizard Augustine can see for himself."
She was calm and composed; the materials were vast anyway, so it was impossible for Locke to memorize them directly after one look.
Locke glanced at her, took the materials, and then lowered his head to read.
"The special Imaginary Root of crystallized magical plants, the crystallized imaginary root." Locke's expression changed slightly. He quickly checked several key pieces of data and the key experiments mentioned in the literature and found that they were well done.
In other words, this was a project that could already be expected to be realized.
The only difficulty lay in the progress speed.
'The crystallized magical plant trend stirred up by the Rose Council has actually reached this point. Even the crystallization of the Imaginary Root, which is most important for second ring magic plants, is already underway.'
'However, this last step is also very troublesome.'
Locke found that although the most difficult part of this project had been overcome, there were still several steps that required collecting a large amount of data and massive cultivation of the suspected source of the Imaginary Root—the Light Void Sea Vine from Ancient Vine Village.
This was a lengthy process.
The documents estimated that it would take a genius Breeder about fifteen years to complete. Even with the Horadric Cube, Locke estimated it would take him about three years or more to finish.
No wonder the Rose Council was giving this kind of project to people everywhere.
Locke understood; an experiment of this level required a true genius to push forward and accelerate its completion.
And clearly, the Rose Council couldn't wait fifteen years for the crystallization of the Magic Plant's Imaginary Root to be completed.
Locke understood the key point of why they were looking for him.
It was because his output speed for experimental results was exceptionally fast.
Clearly, the Rose Council needed to find genius Breeders to help them accelerate this plan and, while they were at it, apply for a few more special grants to contribute to their Magic Plant Crystallization Technology.
Locke frowned. He actually had some thoughts before reading, but after finishing, he completely gave up.
The reason was simple.
Time conflict.
The several projects he had on hand all required a lot of time to complete.
Taking this project might make his special grant seem within reach, but in reality, it would completely narrow his future path.
This kind of seemingly beneficial but actually profit-losing move was unacceptable.
Locke returned the materials to the Moon Ring Witch and then shook his head slightly.
"I'm sorry, I can't do this. I have my own other research plans and really don't have the energy for this."
The Moon Ring Witch immediately raised her eyebrows.
"Could it be that there's any research better than Magic Plant Crystallization Technology? Augustine, you... are missing out on what might be the greatest opportunity of your life. Do you know what completing this plan represents? It represents that you can go down in history."
"If the Magic Plant Crystallization Technology is completely successfully incubated, this project can at least ensure you become a Sun Ring Wizard!"
Locke nodded slightly.
Beside him, Wizard Warwick was already terrified that Locke would be swayed again. He immediately said to the Moon Ring Witch in a perfunctory tone, "Got it, got it. My friend here is just stubborn. Alright, we Archaeology Wizards have our own ideas. Goodbye."
Wizard Warwick hurried to leave with Locke, afraid that the Moon Ring Witch would talk to Locke again and influence his resolve.
If Locke's attention was diverted, how would they find his black and white grimoire?
The Moon Ring Witch was instantly so angry she glared at Warwick. "You... just a Grey Wizard with meager mana..."
The Moon Ring Witch from the Rose Council watched their departing backs and frowned.
"These wizards from Golden Crown Mountain, every single one of them..."
"So tactless."
"It's one thing for Augustine to refuse me, but why did Zeno refuse me as well? Then among the candidates I can choose from, only that Droma and Brandy are somewhat decent. Although this project material has been given to many wizards and won't just be given to a single Second Ring Wizard..."
As long as different focuses were found for this kind of project, it was entirely possible to apply for different special grant projects.
This was also why special grant projects were easier to get approved than the second ring fund.
It was hard to pull off this kind of trick with the normal second ring fund, but because the review for special grants was relatively loose, even if it was the same research, one could find a slight difference and then apply.
The Moon Ring Witch whispered, "Could it be that I can only choose between these two?"
At this moment, in various colleges and universities across the Yunze Wetland, there were people like her persuading Second Ring researchers from the seven top wizard universities to change their research direction to the crystallized magical plant research route.
They even had to strike at these geniuses, making them give up the research routes in their hands and feel despair or disappointment about the future of their own research directions.
After all, the difficulty of traditional research routes would certainly be higher than that of the crystallized magical plant route.
The Moon Ring Witch frowned, falling into deep thought.
AI Model: gemini-3.1-flash-lite
Meanwhile, Locke quickly had his main body and clone all head to the laboratory, and arranged for his student Gregor to take Douglas's body and a golden ear wheat to a region with thunderstorms.
He needed to write two first district journals in the shortest possible time, submit them to Cloud Marsh, and then immediately obtain the contribution points reward through Turazin and his teacher's connections.
After all, he would originally have to wait a month for his articles to be published in the journal before Golden Crown Mountain would issue the contribution points reward to him.
Three days later, in the middle of a thunderstorm, Douglas discovered that his wizard robe was covered in water stains. He climbed up from the ground, his expression somewhat dazed. Wasn't he fighting the Great Evil King of Darkness?
How could he be here? This is... Douglas's pupils suddenly constricted. Isn't this the Wizarding World?
Looking at this summer valley with dark clouds pressing down and thunder roaring, he immediately realized that this was no longer the Great Dark World, but the Wizarding World.
Douglas wiped his face. "Little Boss actually saved me."
He tried to call out to the Lagemen Witch King within his sea of consciousness, but to his alarm, the Lagemen Witch King did not give any response.
"Teacher... has indeed fallen into a deep sleep."
Douglas sighed. Without his teacher, he suddenly felt a bit flustered. At this moment, amidst the thunderstorm, he actually thought of Locke Augustine. At least he still had Little Boss.
Gregor stood at the top of the valley and shouted to Douglas: "Lord Douglas, Teacher instructed me to place you under the thunderstorm. Because of the Magic Winter, I searched for a long time in the mortal realm before finding this valley. Teacher said that after you wake up, you should immediately return to Golden Crown Mountain, enter the Group 2 Research Institute, and help him with experiments."
Douglas suddenly laughed. Only Locke could come up with something like this. To actually want him, a patient, to go work in the laboratory as soon as he woke up; it really sounded like something that senior would do.
Douglas smiled, feeling at ease at the same time. If Locke was acting this way, it meant that everything was still under his control.
Although his teacher had fallen into a deep sleep, he had told him that as long as he could become a Second Ring Wizard, the soul energy gain produced when he broke through to become a Second Ring Wizard should wake him up. Of course, normally, he would need to sleep for about twenty years before he could wake up again.
Douglas clenched his fists. He would definitely find a way to break through and become a Second Ring Wizard to wake up his teacher as soon as possible. Douglas thought of the relic Plane inside Golden Crown Mountain. But to break through, he had to obtain that treasure. What should he do?
Mana coiled around Douglas, and his wizard robe quickly dried. Then, he transformed into a bolt of lightning, flying from the bottom of the valley to the top, and the lightning landed beside Gregor.
He stepped out of the lightning and said to Gregor: "Gregor, Williams has been a Official Wizard for some time now. Aren't you anxious yet?"
Gregor smiled bitterly. "Lord Douglas, even if I were anxious, it wouldn't be any use. By the way, Lord Douglas, Teacher said he is very busy recently and needs your full help."
Douglas was stunned for a moment, then felt quite pleased. 'Teacher has already fallen into a deep sleep, and Little Boss still needs me this much? Could it be that Little Boss really thinks my ability is not bad? It seems he really needs my help.' 'Then I must hurry back.'
In the Rose Council, Witch Rosetta's main body discovered that the special grant application she had submitted to the academy had not been sent to the internal review committee for cross-review at all. She immediately looked at the staff member angrily. "What is going on?"
The staff member coughed. "Witch Rosetta, your research is indeed quite good. But the problem is that recently we are mainly pushing... Magic Plant Crystallization Technology. Your work is not in the direction of Magic Plant Crystallization Technology, so the academy decided that you can wait a little longer this year."
Witch Rosetta was so angry she laughed. At this moment, behind her was a star ring, a symbol that could make countless civilizations in the Endless Void tremble with fear. At this moment, two forces within her were constantly impacting her Ultimate Magic, which indicated that she was infinitely close to being a Star Ring Wizard.
Witch Rosetta's main body frowned. "Are you mistaken? Are you trying to eliminate dissenters?" "If you do this, won't the only people in our Rose Council who have a chance to get the special grant this year be Breeders?"
Witch Rosetta did not expect that Magic Plant Crystallization Technology would even hurt her. She frowned. "But I remember that Star Ring Wizards cannot receive special grants, and I am about to advance to the Star Ring."
The staff member spread his hands guiltily and said: "But rules are rules, there is no way around it. How about you take advantage of the time now and perhaps temporarily switch your research to Magic Plant Crystallization Technology?"
Witch Rosetta gritted her teeth. How could she possibly change her research direction for a grant? Damn Magic Plant Crystallization route. Witch Rosetta thought about it and could only give up. After all, this was other Academic Lineages in the Rose Council exerting their influence, and what could she do?
Three days later, with Douglas's help and the help of the abundant research equipment resources of Group 2, Locke quickly finished two articles, and then he immediately submitted them all to Cloud Marsh. Of course, the reason the research speed could be so fast was because of Locke's currently excessively powerful Gold Magic talent, which helped him find the correct research route.
Moreover, these two first district articles only organized the mechanism of action of the Great Mingli Dragon Sparrow's special Imaginary Roots, how they work, and how they are cultivated. The other article analyzed how the special Imaginary Roots (spike-shaped Imaginary Roots) of the golden dragon claw air pineapple are cultivated, their mechanism of action, and so on. The key is that he can truly cultivate these two types of special Imaginary Roots.
For an average wizard, this level of research is already enough to explain what these two types of Imaginary Roots are, as it has already been explained how to cultivate them, what they can do, and what kind of impact they will produce. But for Locke, he felt that further research could be conducted to find out why these two types of Imaginary Roots mutated, and what the essence of the mutated Imaginary Roots is. However, this level of research can be conducted in the future.
In addition, during these three days, Locke also unexpectedly wrote a third article, which was on the essence of the Great Mingli Dragon Sparrow's special dragon fire. He used the Queen's Chessboard to clearly analyze that special dragon fire, and by igniting a type of special Spirit Breath that he named [Golden Spirit Breath], that special dragon fire could be produced.
This is the reason why Locke felt that he had not really figured out those two types of Imaginary Roots. First, he only knew how to cultivate those two types of Imaginary Roots, but did not know how they were actually formed. Second, he only knew that the dragon horn Imaginary Roots of the Great Mingli Dragon Sparrow could fish out Golden Spirit Breath, as well as the basic fishing mechanism, but he did not know why Golden Spirit Breath was produced. Moreover, he had only just used the Queen's Chessboard to analyze the basic characteristics of Golden Spirit Breath.
This meant that he had just written one article each for the dragon horn Imaginary Roots, the spike-shaped Imaginary Roots, and the Golden Dragon Breath, but the research on the three could be further deepened and consolidated. At this time, Locke urgently had Gregor and Witch Mason go submit the three articles.
Then, Locke used Wizard Turazin and Team Leader Kelt to find a way to contact the responsible editors and other staff at the Cloud Marsh journal to inquire about the review progress, and asked Wizard Turazin to have his friend at Cloud Marsh speed up his review progress.
One day later, in the office of a Cloud Marsh responsible editor, a responsible editor in charge of reviewing manuscripts saw the two articles that had been sent over and immediately realized that the other party had already published a first district journal in Cloud Marsh before, and this was an article that had been requested by superiors to be expedited.
"Dragon horn Imaginary Roots, spike-shaped Imaginary Roots." After reading these two journals, the responsible editor immediately understood why someone on the editorial board was strongly pushing these two articles. Although these two articles were written a bit hastily, the problem was that the author's resume was very good, the corresponding author was a Throne Wizard, and he had already passed a first district article in Cloud Marsh before.
Moreover, research related to special Imaginary Roots was already a frequent guest in the major Second Ring first district journals of Cloud Marsh. "I remember his first first district journal that passed in Cloud Marsh was research on a special Imaginary Root that could fish out special Spirit Breath." "Now there is research on two more special Imaginary Roots. No wonder the editorial board is so concerned." "I will find three peer reviewers." "If there is no problem, these two articles should both be able to pass." This responsible editor said: "It just so happens that the editor-in-chief has been having a headache recently because the next issue of the journal is likely to be all about research related to Magic Plant Crystallization." "With these two articles, it can just solve the editor-in-chief's headache." "This wizard is quite smart, knowing that these two articles would actually be easier to pass at this time."
In the Myriad Phenomena Boundary, Wizard Saronirus picked out Locke's article from the submissions, and after reading it, he immediately smiled. "Locke wants to blitz me again." "This time I won't fall for it." "Golden Spirit Breath... that's a good name, perhaps the wizards above will like it. I will find three students of Throne Russell for him as reviewers, anyway, he seems to have established a connection with Throne Russell recently."
In less than a week, Locke found out through various connections that the two major journals, Cloud Marsh and Myriad Phenomena Boundary, had all passed his three articles! In other words, he quickly converted his past accumulation, and by rushing, he finally managed to scrape together three first district journals in a short time, obtained all the contribution points required to enter the Supernatural Purgatory, and even exceeded them by 150 contribution points.
After learning this news, Locke let out a long sigh of relief in his dormitory. He had this burst of activity, spent all his money, consumed a large amount of favors, and temporarily exhausted his reserve of articles. But he had indeed published three first district articles. Next, as long as he could find a way to get the contribution points in advance, he would be able to enter the Supernatural Purgatory. And once he entered the Supernatural Purgatory, he would have the possibility of finding Wizard Maxwell...