989: Guest Invitation from the Tide Great Wizard Tower!
The entire laboratory became empty. Locke glanced at Trix, then turned to check the ice magic mirror room behind him. He opened the ice magic mirror room and saw that one of the ice magic mirrors was intact and undamaged, which immediately relieved him.
Next, he just needed to find an Alchemist to dismantle the basic equipment in this ice magic mirror room, and then he could transfer this ice magic mirror into his possession.
He figured Witch Heidi must have used many methods to acquire this ice magic mirror.
Now, it had fallen into his hands for free.
One must know that even he, at his current stage, would be reluctant to purchase such equipment.
The consumables and labor required to dismantle the ice equipment would cost around a million Magic Stones, but with careful planning, the cost could still be controlled.
Locke's Innate Magic Eye unfolded on his forehead, beginning to perceive if there was any residual power from the other party. Both Witch Heidi and that Necromancer might have left some magic within this laboratory. Given the lesson the Magic Dragon Wizard learned, which Locke witnessed firsthand, he decided it was better to be safe than sorry and check again.
He moved through the various rooms and corridors within the laboratory, finding several special items hidden by wizard arrays, but they were all useless sundries or special undead cells that were halfway done.
Locke casually picked up a high-grade focus monocle from the laboratory and began observing a special plant cell in a glass vessel. It was a cell slice of a Magic Plant hybridized from an Undead Magic Plant and a Crystallized Magic Plant. Through the monocle, he saw tiny crystalline clusters, and these clusters, one after another, resembled small cells.
"Indeed, this special hybridized Undead Magic Plant is not a true life form. It's merely a special life-like form produced by the innovation brought by Magic Plant Crystallization Technology."
Locke mused, "It seems the Tower of the Black Sun's widespread dissemination of Magic Plant Crystallization Technology has led to some very peculiar changes. I wonder if the Starry Sea anticipated this, though the Starry Sea seems to believe that fair competition is best for everyone, so they aren't too concerned." Locke pondered, "But why would the Pale Pilgrimage... no, I don't know which wizard faction they belong to. Why would that Necromancer, Ancestor Kuteng, want to use Witch Heidi to conduct such hybridization experiments? Why would a Necromancer need to constantly hybridize Undead Magic Plants and make them possess life characteristics?"
Locke had a sudden realization. "Could it be related to his advancement to Moon Ring?"
"However, because of my promise to my teacher, I won't think about it for now. After all, to become a Moon Ring Wizard, one must first reach 30,000 Magic Pressure, and I am still very far from 30,000 Magic Pressure."
Locke walked into Witch Heidi's bedroom. Her bedroom was very simple, with extremely rustic living conditions: a bed, a table, a stool, and a few simple clothes.
For a Star Ring Wizard, Witch Heidi was definitely poor, as even her clothes seemed to be just ordinary magic items, not magic artifacts. She seemed to have invested all her money into these dangerous forbidden experiments.
Locke also saw her daily schedule on her desk. From day to night, all 24 hours were spent working, from morning till evening, fully booked.
"So lax? As a Star Ring Great Wizard, she only worked 24 hours a day. This seems a bit lax for Golden Crown Mountain. I, on the other hand, work 72 hours a day now."
Locke was slightly astonished and found it somewhat absurd.
"Oh, no, she must have overexerted herself. I remember that when a wizard is extremely fatigued, they cannot use clone magic. Right, this is a spiritual power enhancement wafer, a product of Dragonfall Land. She installed a Dragonfall Land wafer for herself when she was severely overdrawn and unable to maintain her clones."
Locke opened the drawer and saw a box of spare wafers. There were three wafers in this box, and according to the instructions inside, one wafer could be used for about a year.
This was a basic spiritual focus wafer. Once installed into one's body, it could maintain attention at all times and increase thinking speed to a certain extent. Of course, the cost was a great burden on the body, and the instructions advised uninstalling the wafer during combat because wafers were extremely fragile.
Such a basic Second-Ring level wafer was worth about 500,000 Magic Stones.
Three wafers would be 1.5 million Magic Stones.
Locke said, "Witch Heidi is too diligent."
Locke realized that Witch Heidi was working harder than most wizards at Golden Crown Mountain, which was why she was easily taken advantage of by the Necromancer.
Her soul was simply too exhausted, with too many loopholes.
And Necromancers were clearly especially good at exploiting such loopholes.
"Hmm? What is this...?"
Locke was about to leave with the wafers when his attention was drawn by the schedule on the table.
"This paper underneath is worth 100,000 Magic Stones—Moon White Alfalfa Paper. The part with writing on it is just ordinary magic paper; the blank part below is the valuable magic paper, Moon White Alfalfa Paper."
The Red Orc Demon King had once entertained him with this kind of magic paper.
"If that's the case, then this is very likely..."
Locke's palm swept across the blank half-sheet of paper on the desktop. Under the radiance of Life Magic, lines of text actually appeared on the paper. It was Witch Heidi's diary: "I'm filled with dread because, according to my calculations, it will be difficult for me to advance to Moon Ring Wizard within a hundred years. I estimate I'll find it hard to secure a formal wizard mentor position at Golden Crown Mountain.
"But how can I endure the humiliation of going to a lower-level advanced academy? I must stay here and explore the truth. I work day and night. While others use clone magic, I created two Great Magic spells and two clones, simultaneously using wafers from Dragonfall Land to enhance my focus and thinking speed. This is my secret weapon and the key to my research progress far surpassing my colleagues. I must stay here." "In my endless work, I seem to have become more anxious. My efficiency has started to decline, but the more it declines, the more I feel I must work."
"I gradually began to lose confidence in myself. But during this process, I don't know how, I started to notice the magical creature bones and Magic Plant corn cobs in the consumables used to cultivate mushroom-type Magic Plants... I became obsessed with the process of decay."
Locke's expression was serious.
"Witch Heidi, while under control, sensed something was wrong, so she used Moon White Alfalfa Paper to start writing her diary."
Locke saw that the text was intermittent, and the time the handwriting was preserved varied.
Evidently, she likely started writing things on it to remind herself of the anomaly, and would come to read it when she was lucid, to maintain her clarity and alert herself to the abnormality.
From the final outcome, her self-rescue attempt clearly failed.
Witch Heidi wrote on it: "As I lost more and more confidence, I became more and more anxious. I lost my sense of direction, and at that moment, some things suddenly appeared in my memory—knowledge that seemed to be Necromancy. I don't know what happened, but a thought suddenly popped into my head: I'm old, I'm useless. I'm too old, my age is too great, I can't compare to those young people anymore..."
Locke frowned. Clearly, the Necromancer's whispers interfered with Witch Heidi's mind. Of course, she was already too insecure, which allowed someone to take advantage. Damn Necromancer.
A cold light flashed in Locke's eyes. He had originally intended to bring Witch Heidi back to Golden Crown Mountain to be dealt with by the Ethics Review Committee there, but who knew the Necromancer had actually killed her, and he could only temporarily let him go due to strategic considerations regarding that Dragon Lich. Next time they meet...
It wouldn't be so easy to talk.
The Moon White Alfalfa Paper continued: "At an academic conference, I suddenly felt a pang of guilt, and this guilt made me realize something was wrong. Before entering Golden Crown Mountain, I was also a talented Witch with self-respect, but here I had my backbone broken. Yet, this guilt made me feel unlike myself. I completely lost confidence in whether I could break through to Moon Ring; I started to believe it was impossible for me to become a Moon Ring because I was too old, too old. I realized my state was off and that my mind had been tampered with."
Locke frowned and said, "Age is not a problem at all."
Wizard civilization has blazed trails and endured, still forging new futures in every era.
A Witch who considers age a problem has already begun to feel insecure and afraid; how can she progress further? The Moon White Alfalfa Paper continued: "I told my best friend, a Moon-Ring Witch named Belial, who is even more talented than me. But she was too busy and seemed to think it was just my mood, comforting me a few words before going to class."
"My mind began to get confused...
"I seem to have missed the opportunity to proactively report my condition to the academy's higher-ups. Most crucially, I had already conducted many forbidden experiments. Proactively reporting information would be equivalent to betraying myself. I couldn't do that. Perhaps through those forbidden experiments, I could make rapid progress." "I did make rapid progress. Without ethical constraints, my research advanced by leaps and bounds. I even earned a tier 1 journal for a Second Ring article because of it. Hahaha..."
"I started to distance myself from my best friend because she kept emphasizing the ethical justification of experimental materials, saying that without ethical proof of materials, having only experimental results was meaningless. She might have discovered something, but I felt that as a Moon Ring Wizard, she was laughing at me. I just wanted to break through to Moon Ring, I just wanted to get a formal wizard mentor position, I just wanted a job, I just wanted to pursue the truth..." "Something's wrong. But it's too late for me to escape. I've already done many wrong things. I secretly investigated the entity in my memory, and I found that he truly exists. He is a wizard, a Black Wizard, and he claims to be a Twelfth-Ring Wizard."
"That's right, the true name of the Second Ring level is Infinite Wizard. The Second Ring has countless realms, so it's not wrong for him to call himself a Twelfth Ring. In my investigation, I believe I was likely ambushed by him, but I'm unwilling to give up my tier 1 journal. I'll write my investigation results on this Moon White Alfalfa Paper to remind myself to be careful of that Black Wizard."
"From the Second Ring, he continuously opened up new levels for himself, creating a total of ten levels. But his Magic Pressure still seems to be at Star Ring, I don't know why. He completely avoided using the proper method of advancing magic levels in the Wizard World, instead using the continuous creation of new levels to indirectly increase his Magic Pressure, but the efficiency seems quite low."
"Heidi, I must remind you, I am you. The man you often discuss magic problems with now is a Black Wizard. He has cursed you. You must remember everything after reading this note, and look at everything written on this note at regular intervals, because your memory is becoming increasingly confused. Do not stop communicating with me, I am another you."
"Heidi, I am the real you. Don't forget."
"Yes, you are the real me. I suddenly figured out how to advance to Moon Ring. I have hope, but the real me... I am now controlled by that Wizard, and I cannot escape him. He also wants to use my hand to hybridize Necromancer Magic Plants and Crystallized Magic Plants. He gave me a lot of information, which showed me some of his background."
Locke's expression became serious, because the handwriting in this diary was getting messier, but Witch Heidi seemed to have understood how to break through to Moon Ring at the last moment. It was just unknown how she figured it out, or perhaps this was just the memory confusion caused by the Necromancer's Necromancer Magic? The last few lines of the Moon White Alfalfa Paper read: "According to the information he gave me, combined with my own Breeding Science knowledge, I can conclude that Necromancer Magic Plants, Plant Spirits, and Nightmares are essentially three different things. Plant Spirits are the product of a plant's normal death. According to some hypotheses, they are very likely the origin of souls, while Nightmares are a variation of spirits, a special advanced soul structure that has not evolved into a soul but has gone astray." "These are all normal things. It's like a fish being mutated into a strange fish by radiation. Although this is an extreme natural change that disrupts the natural cycle, it is still within nature. But Necromancer Magic Plants are different; they are the non-living, non-dead among plants. They simultaneously desecrate both death and life." Locke looked at the last line.
"Form and substance, the undead is the form, I am the substance. I, when you read the words on this note, you must remember that the Necromancer has an extreme worship of form. He worships superficial and perfunctory things. You must remember!"
Then, the text abruptly stopped, and the handwriting on the last line seemed to have been written a long time ago, which meant that in the end, Witch Heidi's mind completely succumbed and she became a puppet of that Necromancer.
But as the price for controlling a Star Ring Wizard, the other party also revealed some of his background.
"He forcefully increased his Magic Pressure by continuously opening up new levels."
Locke mused, "That is a method."
"It's just very inefficient."
"No wonder he calls himself a Twelve-Ring Wizard."
Locke recalled the opponent's Great Magic in his mind. Indeed, some Necromancer magic characters flowed on the surface of the opponent's Great Magic, and these magic characters combined to form new realms.
"Isn't this an Ancient Law Wizard?"
Wizards in the modern magic era obviously want to go through the four forgings of Great Magic: None, Virtual Forging, False, and True, and use this method to reach Sun-Ring Wizard, and then through Sun-Ring Wizard approach Third Ring, entering the state most likely to break through the Second-Ring level-up trap.
But this Ancient Law Wizard obviously followed the traditional method of continuously opening up new levels to increase power, hoping to reach the limit one day and then break through it.
Most civilizations in the Endless Void did this during the Second Ring stage.
"An extreme worship of form... Witch Heidi seemed to have discovered some hidden dangers of his. Form and substance?"
Locke frowned.
"That Wizard took advantage of Witch Heidi's anxiety and lack of confidence, which allowed him to seize the opportunity. And after Witch Heidi violated the regulations of the Ethics Review Committee, she had a guilty conscience and naturally dared not speak of her situation. Instead, she wanted to solve this problem independently and distanced herself from the Moon Ring Wizard who could have helped her at the time."
"With this magic paper, I have a way to give an explanation to the Ethics Review Committee of Golden Crown Mountain."
"Form and substance, is this the problem the Necromancer is encountering? So he needs to constantly hybridize, allowing Necromancer Magic Plants to gain life... Could it be that all undead only have form?"
Locke's heart suddenly skipped a beat. After realizing this, his two Great Magics began to vibrate slightly and continuously reorganize, making fine adjustments.
"Form and substance is not just a problem of Necromancer Magic, but also a problem that Great Magic will encounter during Virtual Forging. After I realized this problem, the spell structures of my Great Magic are actively adjusting, which means I am thinking in the right direction. However, I can't think about it anymore. One is that I don't have much information, and the other is that I promised my teacher not to think in this direction for now."
Locke put away the magic paper, then found Apprentice Trix and asked him to clean up the underground laboratory.
Then, he walked to the entrance of the laboratory. At this moment, the entrance of the laboratory suddenly vibrated, and then the laboratory door—a two-way door—was pushed open.
Two Wizards walked in, and both stared at each other, completely stunned.
Because the two Wizards who walked in were Witch Shari and a Wizard from the Tide Great Wizard Tower.
Locke looked at Witch Shari and said, "Senior sister, what are you doing?"
Witch Shari, who had been on high alert, was also stunned after recognizing the person. "Junior brother, why are you here?" Locke said, "Oh, because I received news that Witch Heidi was about to sign a contract with the White Wizard Association along the Tianjiang Coast, so I couldn't wait for you. I came directly to stop their transaction. I have already handled everything here. I also happened to save a First-Class Wizard Apprentice from Golden Crown Mountain. He claimed that he was captured by Witch Heidi... that is, his mentor."
Witch Shari snorted coldly.
"He shouldn't say he knew nothing about what his mentor made him do. He's a First-Class Wizard Apprentice after all, he shouldn't be ignorant of what he's doing. Who knows how many lives he's already tainted. But I didn't expect you, junior brother, to have already handled everything. I was planning to invite this foreign aid, unlock the two-way door's magic lock, then find a way to collect evidence of Heidi's crimes, and then secretly escape and bring the evidence to the Ethics Review Committee." Locke nodded.
"Before Witch Heidi died, she took all the blame upon herself. Moreover, students lack discernment and can only listen to their mentors. I think as long as the problem isn't too big, they can be given a chance."
"Just send him to a lower-level academy."
The Crystallized Wizard from the Tide Great Wizard Tower quickly bowed to the Wizard.
"I am Gusta, Master Augustine."
Witch Shari then realized that Locke was no longer her junior brother, but a Star Ring Wizard.
She quickly bowed to Locke.
Locke, however, extended his hand to stop her. "Senior sister, why the formality? Let's be as we were."
Witch Shari looked up and smiled, "I've seen many Wizards, after becoming high-ring Wizards, feel that they are no longer on the same level as low-ring Wizards. But Locke, you have a calm mind, even now that you are a Star Ring Wizard, you can still treat me this way."
Locke calmly said, "We are all just seekers of truth. There is only a difference in order, not in magnitude."
Witch Shari was stunned for a moment.
"Listening to you, junior brother, is like listening to some Third-Ring Wizards in the academy. In their eyes, everyone is just a seeker in the boundless realm. It's just that they are indeed a bit ahead. But truth is boundless, so that little lead seems insignificant to truth." "Locke, your current demeanor makes me unable to believe that you are the Wizard who followed me back then."
"I still remember when we went to the Abyss Ruins together."
Locke nodded, "Yes, senior sister, congratulations on becoming a Second-Ring Wizard. Although you experienced some hardships, fortunately, the final outcome is good."
Witch Shari thought of something, and her face turned ugly.
"It was someone from the Rose Council who ambushed me. I came to the Tianjiang Coast this time specifically to help you."
"I heard that the Rose Council is still ambitious lately, and still hasn't given up on the Tianjiang Coast. It's because they learned that the Tianjiang Coast's status in the Eastern Realm will rise in the future, and that one day there might be a large investment from the Starry Sea, seemingly some kind of demolition. So they suddenly went back on their agreement and wanted to use the shameless act of a Shop Alliance to invade the Tianjiang Coast, whose interests had already been decided by competition." Locke glanced at Gusta.
Witch Shari smiled, "News of such investments is just hearsay. Those who believe it are fools. So I laugh at the people of the Rose Council for being fools."
Wizard Gusta quickly gave an awkward laugh.
Apparently, Witch Shari felt that even if this news got out, it didn't matter, because for lower-level Wizards, they simply had no ability to confirm whether this information was a feint or truly happened. Besides, even her own words were full of possibilities.
Locke said to Witch Shari, "Alright, you can take these materials and Apprentice Trix back to Golden Crown Mountain to give an explanation to the teacher and the Ethics Review Committee."
Locke gave Witch Shari a copy of the previously compiled materials.
He himself didn't have time to return to the Yunze Wetlands, so Senior Sister Shari would handle this matter on his behalf.
Senior Sister Shari nodded. After reading the materials and showing a shocked expression, she quickly put them away, because according to these materials, an unknown Black Wizard force had clearly lured a young Wizard from their Golden Crown Mountain down a path of depravity.
This was a serious act of provocation.
Witch Shari said to Locke, "I will take that apprentice back to Golden Crown Mountain. Locke, this laboratory..."
Witch Shari glanced at Locke, her expression subtly shifting, then said, "I think you should handle it. Locke, you are the one from the Ethics Review Committee." She looked at the badge on Locke's chest.
Witch Shari said, "The Academic Committee just needs to ensure that all specimens of Necromancer Magic Plants are completely destroyed, and only one specimen is kept and brought back to the Academic Committee as evidence and for related data storage."
"So I need to record this process with a true sight crystal."
Locke nodded.
"Of course, you can. Senior Sister Shari, I trust you. We are friends, and Wizards from the same school. You can enter this laboratory first and personally destroy every experimental specimen. There are material records in the laboratory; you can match them one by one. Trix, under my command, is dismantling the ice magic mirror."
Witch Shari was stunned. She hadn't expected a mere underground laboratory to have an ice magic mirror.
Locke said to Witch Shari, "Senior sister, if you want to use this ice magic mirror in the future, you can come to me to borrow it. We can use it together." There was no other way. After all, this was an operation authorized by the Ethics Review Committee of Golden Crown Mountain. It would be impossible for him to take away this large equipment worth fifty million magic stones without Witch Shari's consent.
Otherwise, if Witch Shari went back and simply informed the Ethics Review Committee, this ice magic mirror would have to be confiscated.
AI Model: deepseek-chat
Because that equipment was likely accumulated through Witch Heidi's fund transfers and misappropriation of funds—these matters are already unclear. After all, even if a single coin of unauthorized funds was invested into that equipment, its ownership would belong to the academy.
Witch Shari understood implicitly and nodded.
"Alright, Locke."
She had no objections to this, since Locke had already identified the culprit, effectively concluding the task ahead of schedule.
Such matters did not violate the Holy Master's moral compass, as this was a gray area with many intricacies to consider. Even if this item were handed over to the academy, it would undoubtedly get stuck at some stage and end up in the private pocket of some high-ring Wizard within the academy. After all, this was just an unexpected windfall.
Locke and Witch Shari completed their transaction. Then, Locke and Wizard Gusta left the laboratory first, exited the primary academy, and took a magic carriage to the Tide Great Wizard Tower.
Half a day later, Wizard Gusta and Locke arrived at the Tide Great Wizard Tower.
This was a Wizard Tower built beside the Tianhan River, situated within the river itself like a watchtower in the waterway. The tower had water level markers to display changes in the Tianhan River's water level.
The Tide Great Wizard Tower likely originated as merely a landmark structure for monitoring the Tianhan River.
On a rocky mountain beside the Tianhan River stood a wizard castle—the main body of the Tide Great Wizard Tower's academy. That tower was the iconic structure of the Tide Great Wizard Tower and also an ancient Wizard Tower.
Locke and Wizard Gusta took a magic carriage up to that rocky mountain. Along the way, Wizard Gusta tried to introduce Locke to the history of the Tide Great Wizard Tower and the development of its related disciplines. He spoke so effortlessly, almost like a chronicle historian.
Wizard Gusta asked Locke to alight from the carriage first, then looked at Locke with an ingratiating smile. "Lord Augustine, this is our Tide Mountain. That castle is our academy. Behind the academy on Tide Mountain are two statues—one of a male wizard and one of a female wizard." "They were husband and wife."
"Those two statues are incredibly massive, as if they are holding up this academy."
"However, they are not actually the founders of our academy, nor do they have any direct connection to it."
Locke looked at Wizard Gusta curiously.
"Hmm?"
Wizard Gusta smiled and said, "These two wizards were both Third Ring Throne Wizards, specializing in water magic of the School of Evocation. In the early days of this era, when the Tianhan River still breached its banks from time to time, they came here to manage the floods. During one particularly severe flood season, the couple ventured deep into the Tianhan River to discover why it was so turbulent and unstable. After that, they never returned. Strangely, since then, the Tianhan River has been far less turbulent than before."
"Even now, though the Tianhan River has breached its banks again after a century, it is still far less torrential than it once was. The world has completely forgotten how these two great water level surveyors and masters of water magic managed to achieve this. Thus, the founding wizard of our Tide Great Wizard Tower built a water level observation tower here to commemorate these two great water magic wizards."
"Later, to sustain its operation and observe the water level changes of the Tianhan River, this water level observation tower recruited a large number of students and wizard mentors. Over time, it evolved into a prosperous wizard academy. Under the leadership of our Star Ring Wizard, Lord Elliot Chandler, it has flourished even more, with the potential to achieve new heights of glory."
Locke glanced at Wizard Gusta, who was filled with pride. Wizard Gusta was an Official Wizard mentor at the Tide Great Wizard Tower.
"What, is your Dean Elliot about to break through to become a Moon Ring Wizard? Or is he recently considering it?"
Wizard Gusta looked at Locke in alarm, not understanding how Locke had deduced such a crucial fact from just a few words. Wizard Gusta hurriedly bowed to Locke, filled with admiration and awe. As expected of a Star Ring Great Wizard, he had glimpsed the truth just from his words. He really shouldn't have spoken so much in front of Locke, but unfortunately, this time he had come with an academy mission.
Wizard Gusta smiled bitterly.
"Yes, our Dean does indeed wish to break through and become a Moon Ring Wizard. Of course, it's very difficult. It requires concentrating the entire academy's resources, the efforts of all our teachers and students, applying for more projects, publishing more papers, obtaining more resources, and developing more resources ourselves..."
"Lord Elliot is only three hundred and fifty years old, a rare young dean among the Tianjiang Coast. And their White Ice Tower... Hmph, their Master Jikong Yue of the White Ice Tower, though a Moon Ring Wizard, has little lifespan left."
Wizard Gusta said, "The White Ice Tower is simply afraid that after Master Jikong Yue's death, the discipline they pride themselves on will decline, while our Tide Great Wizard Tower can catch up from behind and encroach on their influence. Moreover, once Lord Elliot becomes a Moon Ring Wizard, he could potentially relegate the White Ice Tower to a second-rate, or even third-rate, wizard academy along the Tianjiang Coast in the future."
"Preventing them from ever rising again."
"The White Ice Tower didn't develop animosity because of conflicts with our students; they had premeditated this all along."
Wizard Gusta invited Locke to stand below the statues of the Throne couple who were water level surveyors. Directly below these statues was the Tide Great Wizard Tower academy, and to the left of the academy was an oval-shaped building under construction.
"This is the site for your Great Green-Leaf Dragon Sparrow service station."
"Following the blueprints you provided, we have designed a series of infrastructure, including docking areas."
Locke nodded in satisfaction. From what he could see, this service station was being constructed rapidly and could likely be operational within a few months.
Locke asked, "Can it be accelerated further?"
Wizard Gusta was taken aback, then said, "Lord Augustine, we already have the construction wizards working twelve-hour days. They are already putting in overtime."
Locke realized this was not the Yunze Wetlands.
Wizard Gusta lowered his voice, "My lord, if we push any faster, we fear these construction wizards might cut corners or even quit midway." Locke asked curiously, "Does that happen?"
Wizard Gusta whispered, "These construction wizards have connections with a certain high-ring Wizard in our academy, so they are quite bold. It's difficult for our people to pressure them."
"The Wizard World along the Tianjiang Coast is not large; it's somewhat of a half-acquaintance society. Here, no matter what you do, you might need to rely on connections. So, every wizard working here likely has connections in the background; otherwise, they wouldn't get to work on such a good project." Locke nodded.
There was no helping it. Lower-tier wizard lands absolutely did not only lag behind higher-tier ones in terms of magical resources, wizard numbers, and levels.
In fact, they were inferior in every aspect.
Even the ecological and social structures were problematic. For example, this semi-acquaintance society reliant on connections basically did not exist in the Yunze Wetlands or the Land of Three Marshes.
Because competition there was too intense. Without sufficient performance, connections were useless.
If you couldn't do it, you simply couldn't do it.
Wizard Gusta whispered, "But our Tide Great Wizard Tower places special importance on cooperation with you. So, pressure was applied from above, which forced them to increase their work hours from six to twelve per day."
Locke suddenly realized that the Tianjiang Coast operated by different rules.
Because in this world, wizards could survive not only through internal competition and performance metrics.
If every wizard agreed that you could only work at this speed, that you could only hire people according to this standard, then undoubtedly, the entire society of the wizard land would slow down, become less competitive, and give rise to various small cliques and circles, forming a kind of small-circle protectionism.
The wizards within these small circles would undoubtedly live very comfortably.
"Some of these lower-tier wizard lands genuinely lack resources, while others seem to have developed poorly themselves."
Locke pondered.
Locke asked Wizard Gusta, "You've been painstakingly introducing the history and current state of your Tide Great Wizard Tower to me along the way. I know what you want."
Wizard Gusta immediately offered an ingratiating smile.
Because for Locke to secure the Tianjiang Both Banks Fund, he needed an identity here. And according to unwritten rules, he needed to obtain the highest academy-level fund first to use that academy as a springboard to secure the Tianjiang Both Banks Fund.
That is, he needed to obtain the title of guest wizard mentor at a wizard academy along the Tianjiang Coast.
Star Ring Wizards from top-tier institutions in higher-tier wizard lands typically held multiple wizard academy titles precisely because of this guest system.
And since it was only a guest position, no one took it seriously, so it didn't affect one's pursuit of top-tier institutions.
In fact, if Locke was willing, he could directly ask a small local wizard academy for an honorary title, secure an academy-level fund to go through the motions, and then directly compete for the Tianjiang Both Banks Fund.
Securing this Tianjiang Both Banks Fund would enhance his credentials.
This counted as an association branch-level fund.
Wizard Gusta said to Locke, "Lord Locke, the Tianjiang Both Banks Fund here is structured around offering a course. If you ultimately apply for and secure this fund, you'll have to offer a course anyway and establish corresponding commercial collaborations. So why not offer that course at our Tide Great Wizard Tower?"
"Dean Elliot wishes to invite you to become a guest wizard mentor at our Tide Great Wizard Tower. You don't need to do anything; he has prepared a unique contractual agreement for you."
"The Dean also wishes to meet you."
Locke nodded.
"For now, we only have an ordinary commercial partnership. As for whether I will choose you or another wizard academy, we can discuss that later. However, I can certainly meet your Dean Elliot first."
Wizard Gusta immediately adopted an inviting posture, eagerly ushering Locke into the Tide Great Wizard Tower academy.
The two entered the Tide Great Wizard Tower. Wizard Gusta said sternly to a First-Class Wizard Apprentice, "Handle a matter for me. Go inform the Dean that Lord Augustine has arrived."
In front of this student, he appeared profound and full of authority.
The student bowed respectfully to both Locke and him.
"Yes, Mentor Gusta."