Chapter 940
The defense begins!
Chapter 940 The defense begins!
Five days later, at dawn, Locke's true form sat in his dormitory at Golden Crown Mountain.
His clone was reading materials and handling other matters in the library, while Locke's main body was recuperating in this dormitory.
Within five days, Locke recovered to his optimal condition using the second-circle potion, [Primal Breath Potion], which Douglas had ordered for him.
Locke looked at the materials he had prepared for his defense on his desk and let out a sigh of relief. There were less than six hours left until the defense.
His clone had already submitted the relevant information about the [Great Spring Breeze Dragon Sparrow Spell] that he had compiled to the Holy Land of the Wind Hunters. This was a spell model that he had independently developed, and of course, he couldn't provide it for free.
Therefore, one's clone needs to negotiate a deal with the other party to see whether to make a one-time purchase or to find an enchanter to create a professional enchanted spell scroll. Then, the Windwalker's Holy Land can cooperate with one's clone by purchasing the [Great Spring Wind Dragon Sparrow Spell] scroll.
Of course, this requires lengthy business negotiations.
Because the issues involved are particularly complex, firstly, the Holy Land of the Windbringers may not necessarily approve of this spell; they may have other ideas.
Although the chances of this happening are small, it's not impossible.
Secondly, the Great Spring Breeze Dragon Sparrow Curse was designed based on the miniaturized Great Roaring Dragon Sparrow, and no one knows what kind of reaction it will produce on the super-giant Great Azure Leaf Dragon Sparrow.
Therefore, there should still be room for negotiation with the Holy Land of the Wind Bearers.
Locke planned to have a serious discussion with them after the selection of the top-tier grantees was completed and he had the energy. After all, it involved the business of several of his shops in Aladdin and Silver Peach Garden, and it was also his first time getting involved in large flying machines. He really didn't want to be kicked out in disgrace on his first attempt.
He was hoping that this would allow him to launch two or more weapon platform series of the Great Green Leaf Dragon Sparrow at Silver Peach Garden, transforming Silver Peach Garden from producing individual magical plants to selling weapon platform systems.
However, you need to send at least one person to keep a close eye on these things. Otherwise, even if you have the best things, if you entrust them to someone who doesn't care, you're just waiting to lose money.
Locke opened his eyes and looked at the clock. In less than six hours, he would be going to his dissertation defense. But unusually, he felt no tension, anxiety, or other emotions today; he felt only calm.
Locke watched as the morning sun gradually rose above the horizon.
"I've been so busy lately that I rarely have time to sit down and watch the sunrise. This isn't good; it makes me feel like I'm not living. I can't let myself become a research robot."
There was a knock on the dormitory door. Locke walked through the living room, opened the door, and found that it was Trajan the Wizard.
Trajan had a faint smell of blood on him, but his wizard robes were relatively clean.
He pushed open the door and entered, saying to Locke, "Sorry, I just came back from the battlefield and I have some blood on me. The Five Great Wars have begun, and I just killed a few ordinary second-circle wizards from the Twin Demon Realms. Everyone says the Twin Demon Realms are becoming increasingly difficult to deal with, but I don't think it makes much of a difference."
"Some people are just too nervous."
Locke looked at the wizard Trajan and said, "Senior brother, what brings you here at this hour? Is there something you need my help with? Do you need me to brew a potion?"
Trajan the wizard said, "No, it's not that. It's that I've come to help you."
The wizard Trajan took a stack of documents from his astral ring.
"Because my position at Jinmianshan is the director of an office on the academic committee, and my office happens to be compiling some materials from the applications submitted for your special grant. So, I can take advantage of my position to bring these materials to you."
"Well, there are still a little over five hours left. Time is a bit tight, but if it were you, it would be enough to watch it several times."
Locke looked at the wizard Trajan with a puzzled expression and asked, "Doesn't this violate the rules?"
Trajan the wizard pointed to the clock behind Locke.
"It doesn't matter, because today is the day you're going to start your defense, so the materials have already been opened. It's a procedural issue, so it's allowed according to the rules. You know, when an organization gets bigger and there are more people, there will be more rules, and all sorts of rules combined will definitely create some loopholes."
“My office was set up specifically to follow procedures. So, there were some rather peculiar rules that no one paid any attention to.”
"However, although I'm a bit speechless myself, it's work after all, and since it's work, I can only take it seriously. In short, it's in accordance with the regulations. Take a look now, and you'll have a clear understanding. You can formulate some temporary strategies."
Locke quickly scanned all the documents. There were eleven documents submitted in total, seven of which, including his own, were from Catherine the Witch's collaborating wizards. This meant that Catherine the Witch was the most influential collaborating wizard mentor in the Golden Crown Mountain Academy this year.
Of course, this may not necessarily be a good thing for oneself.
Because there will definitely be wizards from other schools or factions on the judging panel.
Locke glanced at the applications submitted by Catherine the Witch's students, which had passed the review and been approved to proceed to the defense. Of the six applications, excluding his own, all were researches on the direction of magical plant crystallization technology.
This was expected.
Locke glanced at Zeno's research direction and was stunned for a moment, because it actually used crystallized magical plants as raw materials for repairing the Golden Route.
In other words, Zeno's research direction is not to regard crystallized magical plants as a special kind of living magical plant, but to believe that crystal magical plants can be directly transformed into materials to fill the increasingly dilapidated Golden Channel.
Locke vaguely sensed that this was fundamentally different from the other five applications for research on the crystallization technology of magical plants.
He then looked at the brandy application.
"Hmm? The crystallization of the imaginary root of the magic plant has actually achieved important preliminary results? The imaginary root of the second-ring magic plant has been successfully crystallized, proving its initial feasibility. However, its functionality still needs further development."
"Brandy believes that if he were given another year or two, he could truly complete the crystallization of the functional imaginary root."
Locke pondered for a moment.
"Since it's just a defense of the application, whether or not it can actually be done is not important. What's important is that you at least convince the judges and experts through your performance in the application and the defense that these things are indeed achievable."
"As long as they can believe it, then we can get through this."
Locke pondered, “Zenor and Brandy have the same problem. One is focused on the issue of the Golden Route being unmaintained, which is of great concern to wizards, while the other is focused on a major breakthrough in a hot topic: the crystallization of the Imaginary Root. Both topics are of great significance and have attracted much attention. Therefore, for them, the key to victory lies in whether they can convince the judges that the Imaginary Root can indeed be crystallized with sufficient funding, or that the Golden Route can indeed be repaired using crystallized magical plants.”
Their top-tier funding projects were focused on two major wizarding worlds: one a current hot topic, and the other on infrastructure development. Both of them were quite adept at choosing topics.
As the saying goes, choosing the right topic can make all the difference.
Locke suddenly froze.
"Wait a minute, the Golden Path has been under attack by void energy, so the root materials of the Golden Path cannot be made from living materials, right?"
Locke's expression became complicated.
"If his top-tier grant is approved, it will put pressure on the judges, because it would be tantamount to saying that the magical plant crystallization technology is flawed. Brother Zeno, why does he have to go against the grain..."
Trajan the wizard nodded as well.
"That's just his personality. People who meet him for the first time usually don't like him. But they soon realize they've misunderstood him because he treats everyone the same way, which is why he gets ostracized. I gave him some pointers before, but I still don't like his personality."
"This guy just doesn't have any luck with benefactors."
"If things go well, it's because he's incredibly talented, as if our help didn't exist. If things don't go well, it's our fault. Zeno has too high an opinion of himself. Although the teacher likes him, I don't really like him."
"Junior Brother, you are so kind and gentle. I feel very comfortable around you."
Locke smiled, and the two looked at each other and smiled back.
"Senior brother, you are a very kind person. I feel very comfortable being with you."
Trajan the Wizard said, "You can also take a look at Antoine's application. But it's about to begin, and he's the first candidate for the special-funded dissertation defense. He hasn't even returned to Mount Golden Crown yet; neither his clone nor his main body are inside Mount Golden Crown. I wonder what he's doing."
Locke nodded, glancing at Antoine's application, which he already knew about.
If the previous applications, regardless of who got approved, meant that Catherine the Witch had won, then the remaining four applications represented competitors within their respective academic lineages or even factions within the academic committee.
Antoine is one of the strongest contenders.
However, his problem was more obvious: it was too far-fetched. If he hadn't directly obtained the coordinates of that so-called super planetary plane, he wouldn't have been able to convince the judges that he had actually developed a research plan, rather than just a science fiction story.
The remaining three applications were all from the deacon group. Two of them were from other areas, and one was from the Evocation school, focusing on wind magic. This application was for the optimization of a relatively new second-circle wind magic spell model, "Wall of Sighs." It involved twelve sets of wind magic spell models, which were very complex. It also required traveling around the world to investigate the winds of magic, so it needed financial support and relevant data from key laboratories.
Each key laboratory possesses some kind of information that is meaningful to the wizarding world.
Another study appears to be similar. Both individuals are students of the same Throne Wizard from the Evocation school within the Deacon Group, so they are both researching the model of the so-called absolute defense second-circle wind magic spell, "Wall of Sighs."
The only difference is in some innovative aspects.
Another application was for an optimization of a fire magic model from the Evocation school, but to be honest, the quality of this application was very average. Even assuming it was approved by the internal review of the academy, it would probably be squeezed out by applications from other small wizarding academies and rejected, which would be rather ridiculous.
The Special Grant is something that every eligible wizarding university's School of Truth can apply for once a year, submitting one application.
So although the chances of being rejected are slim, it's not uncommon for a manuscript to receive special funding from Jinmianshan this year to be rejected by a dark horse that suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
Locke pondered, “But while the Wailing Wall is indeed a big name among the wizards of the Evocation School, not many wizards outside of it have heard of it.”
Locke's expression was strange.
"Research related to the Wall of Sighs is relatively weak in terms of topic selection, since it has little to do with the basic construction or hot topics of the Wizarding World. They must have their own confidence to submit applications at this time, but under the impact of the magic plant crystallization technology, their biggest difficulty is to tell the review committee that the significance of their research is greater than that of a single magic plant crystallization technology research route."
"Of course, this is also my biggest challenge. This is a disadvantage of competing with technologies in key and popular research areas at the same time." Locke carefully looked at the data, and through this data, he thought about the thinking of his main competitors, predicted how they would attack his research, and what their respective research difficulties, advantages and disadvantages were.
Locke said to the wizard Trajan, "Brother, but I always feel like I'm cheating."
Trajan the Wizard said, “Cheating? That's because your morals are too high. There's a tradition of gathering intelligence before the annual special grant. Some people have probably already started using all sorts of methods.”
Trajan the Wizard said, "Oh, right. There's something I need to tell you. But never mind, my teacher told me to wait until you've completed your special grant before telling you, so as not to affect your mood. Never mind."
Trajan thought for a moment but still didn't say anything.
"I just think you have the right to know about this."
Locke glanced at his senior brother but didn't ask any questions. After all, if this was the teacher's instruction, there must be a reason for it.
There's no need for me to go against the grain like them.
Trajan checked the time and said, "There's only one hour left. Come on, I'll personally take you to the House of Truth."
"I'm afraid someone might block your way and spoil your mood."
Locke stepped outside, jumped onto Trajan's cloud whale, and the two of them stood on a cloud whale, flying towards Mount Golden Crown.
Locke asked the wizard Trajan, "Blocking the way?"
Trajan the wizard smiled.
"It's not just special grants; some important funds often involve large sums of money, the operation of the world, or the development of a small area in the wizarding world. At that time, everyone has to use their own unique abilities. Some people like to stand in the way because whether a grant can be obtained depends on how well they perform."
"So those people who want to be obstacles will deliberately appear on your way to the defense meeting, use various methods to hinder you, ruin your mindset, and prevent you from fully demonstrating your true abilities."
"Some of these obstacles are deliberate, while others, even more dangerously, are unintentional. They just want to deflate your arrogance and dampen your spirit."
Trajan the wizard smiled.
"My first special scholarship was stolen by someone's scheme. So, this time I'll be with you. See, here comes the obstacle, doesn't it?"
On the summit of Mount Golden Crown, Master Patrick Finch appeared before them, accompanied by an ordinary second-circle wizard student riding a flying magical creature, a disc-shaped flying fish.
Patrick Fincher holds a black apple in his hands, supporting it with his right hand as if it were a precious treasure.
Master Patrick Finch seemed quite surprised to meet Locke here.
Trajan looked at Master Patrick Finch with a forced smile. "Finch, how come you've become so bold lately, actually showing up right in front of me?"
Master Patrick Finch's eye twitched, because he hadn't expected that such a formidable killer as Trajan would be by Locke's side.
Master Patrick Finch said, "Hello, Wizard Trajan."
"I am following the fine tradition of your Red Dragon lineage, having some fun and competition with my wizard friends. I have posed a difficult problem to the ordinary second-circle breeders of Golden Crown Mountain. I think this problem, while difficult, is not that hard. Therefore, I have come to your esteemed school, thinking that with the abilities of your wizards, they should be able to solve the problem quickly."
"Jinmian Mountain is a renowned academy of breeders."
"Unfortunately, I have tested many of the second-circle wizards of Mount Golden Crown, but none of them can solve my questions."
Master Patrick Finch looked at Locke with a smile.
"Locke Augustine, you are hailed as a genius breeder in our Cloud Marsh Wetlands, and one of the potential future leaders of the next generation. Some even suspect you are one of the so-called chosen ones of the wizarding world proposed by the Starfield Sea. I am also very interested in you, so can you solve the problem I have in mind?"
Locke looked at the black apple he was holding in his right hand.
Master Patrick Finch said, “Look, here is a golden apple, but it is parasitized by the juvenile form of a second-ring creature called the Black Hawk Moth. It is a black worm-like creature that is adept at absorbing the life force of magical plant fruits, and once it successfully parasitizes, it mixes its own spiritual energy with that of the golden apple. How can this be resolved?”
Trajan the wizard immediately became impatient.
“Patrick Finch, don’t make me lose face in front of your students. I’ve already given you face.”
"If you dare to spout any more nonsense, you can try it."
Locke glanced at the wizard Trajan; his senior brother was just as irritable.
Master Patrick Fincher coughed awkwardly.
He then looked at Locke.
Locke looked at the blackened golden apple in Patrick Finch's hand and then laughed.
"How can the master's question be so simple? It's pointless to ask others about such a question."
Master Patrick Fincher raised an eyebrow.
"Oh?"
The next moment, a full moon fell behind Locke, followed by a golden tree appearing in the moonlight.
Suddenly, the golden apple changed, and a black worm was forced to crawl out of it.
The next moment, the worm exploded and died, and the golden apple returned to its normal color.
Master Patrick Fincher's expression turned serious, but only for a moment!
The problem he posed was solved by Locke in an instant.
Locke's solution was simple: the reason why the larval form of the black hawk moth could parasitize magical plants, and why breeders feared it, was simply because this magical creature would try to blend its spiritual energy with that of the magical plant. This meant that most magical potions could kill both the black hawk moth larvae and the magical plant.
But for someone like myself, who possesses both the strength of a second-ring breeder and a second-ring potion master, this was far too easy.
The first step is to use the Moon of Evolution to evolve the Golden Apple, causing a change in its spiritual energy. Naturally, the larvae will be forced to emerge from their dormant state.
The second step is to kill the worm.
It's that simple.
Patrick Finch may have posed a difficult question to all the ordinary second-ring breeders at Jinmian Mountain.
And black hawk moth larvae may indeed be a very troublesome pest.
But... this is really not a problem for me.
Locke looked at Master Patrick Finch with a half-smile.
"Master, do you think this solves the problem?"
"Master, you will be a judge later, and I am the applicant standing below. Please be lenient with me."
Trajan immediately rode away on his cloud whale, leaving behind a mocking look.
Master Patrick Finch looked in Locke's direction and said, "It's terrifying, the speed of his progress is truly terrifying. When I met him half a year ago, he didn't have this kind of strength."
The second-circle wizard beside Master Patrick Finch gave a wry smile. "Compared to him, Master, these ten years I've spent with you seem like a complete waste of time. I haven't made any progress at all. I saw him once when I was with you in the wizarding town near the Rose Council. He wasn't this terrifying then."
"Those two ultimate spells... are too perfect."
Master Patrick Finch glanced at his student.
“Ottila, to become my student and a second-circle wizard, you are already a genius among geniuses.”
"But the wizard you just met is a genius, one in a million. He should be able to become a Sun Ring Wizard in the future."
Master Patrick Finch crushed the golden apple in his hand and looked at Locke, shaking his head slightly.
"Unfortunately, I have already achieved my goal. Trajan misunderstood me. I did not come here to stand in my way. I just wanted to confirm one thing: I wanted to see Locke Augustine's great magic."
"Just like the immense magic I witnessed with Edgar. Currently, the best second-circle wizards in Yunze Wetlands in terms of breeding expertise are only a handful. It's a pity..."
Patrick Fincher remained calm and composed.
"After seeing Locke Augustine's great magic, I feel relieved."
"I hope that Brandy guy is of some use and not completely useless. I've done everything I can to help. I even gave him some research materials."
Patrick Finch's student whispered, "What about Zeno's matter..."
Patrick Finch said, "I've also seen Zeno's Great Magic, and there's not much to say about that. It's just a construct of that level. I'll break his back at this defense! I'll make sure he never dares to write to Yunze to report me again, and I'll make Yunze's editorial board retract my published articles."
A fierce glint flashed in Patrick Finch's eyes.
(End of this chapter)