Chapter 944
Locke's Atavistic Evolution!
Chapter 944 Locke's Atavistic Evolution!
Among the wizards present at the defense, Brandy Wizard was overjoyed. He hadn't expected that of the three who posed the greatest threat to him in this round of special funding, Antoine had mysteriously disappeared, Zeno Wizard had cut off his own path, and Locke Augustine was even more outrageous, publicly insulting thirty second-circle wizards. His arrogance was unprecedented and rarely seen even in the history of Yunze Wetland.
Even Catherine the Great's throne never did anything like this in the past!
The brandy wizard smiled.
Meanwhile, Wizard Zhuoma sat there blankly, swallowing hard as he looked at Locke, who was vehemently criticizing the thirty second-ring wizards of Golden Crown Mountain as nothing more than a bunch of old fogies. He finally understood why Locke had repeatedly refused to join the group, and why he had been unable to bring Locke into the group.
How could someone like that be fooled?
At this moment, the sorceress Zhuoma even felt a sense of fear towards Locke.
At that moment, Catherine the Witch's pupils shrank for a brief instant, and then she laughed.
In the audience, the Sea Queen quickly drank an entire bottle of wizard's wine from her hand, while keeping her eyes fixed on Locke.
At this moment, all five judges on the panel looked up at Locke, but only glanced at him. They continued to look down at the documents in their hands with blank expressions, writing their evaluations of Locke's performance in the defense, showing no emotional change whatsoever due to Locke's seemingly arrogant words.
The thirty second-ring wizards on the review panel exploded like firecrackers.
"What? We'd like to see what he's going to do next! He calls us old folks, but who is he? A mere wizard who's not even two hundred years old, daring to challenge us!"
"This is outrageous! We are all your seniors, each of us at least a Star Ring Wizard, some even a Moon Ring Wizard. We have countless disciples; it takes ten years to grow a tree, but a hundred years to cultivate a person. We have nurtured even the most talented individuals, and now you dare to call us 'old man' in front of you? Ridiculous, laughable! Even if you are a student of the Red Dragon Throne, we cannot be insulted by a young man like you who doesn't know the immensity of heaven and earth."
"Let's see what he does next, and see what kind of evolution he's talking about that can increase possibilities. If he can't come up with anything, he can forget about getting this special grant today. Not only this year, but next year and the year after, he can forget about it. We need to make this young man sit on the sidelines for at least a few years so that he can understand what it means to respect teachers and elders, and what it means to respect predecessors! We still have these rights."
At this moment, the second-ring wizard review team erupted in excitement.
Strangely, the third-ring wizards and the throne wizards present remained calm and composed, as if nothing had happened. They neither criticized Locke nor the commentary team, even though the commentary team was furious and jumped up as if their sore spot had been hit.
Locke placed a sea lily on the ground and took out a flowerpot containing a mixture of high-grade nutrient soil and a portion of verdant spiritual energy.
At the same time, he did something else: he took out the bronze cauldron that King Otto had given him.
The image of the former imperial court flashed briefly across the bronze tripod.
In the audience, the Sea Queen suddenly let out a soft exclamation and looked up at the spirit engraved on the surface of the bronze cauldron.
"This is... Linghong Baijie, a Linghong Baijie that only a three-ringed alchemist can write. Moreover, it was printed on a magical artifact in such a primitive way without using the Linghong Pen."
Primitive yet ingenious.
Who created it?
The Sea Queen laughed. She hadn't expected Locke to have such a good thing. If she had encountered this 150 years earlier, she would have been interested in taking it and playing with it.
At this moment, Locke was about to use the Reversion Evolution Magic Plant, but Reversion Evolution consumes Zero Magic Potions in particular. Even though he had enhanced the Reversion Evolution, it was not yet truly complete.
The overall spell model framework of the Golden Spell is basically correct.
However, data on the solar trajectory over several centuries at the boundary between light and darkness is still lacking.
However, I don't have any extra Zero Potions left. It wouldn't be right for me to extract Zero Potions from the original Naked Fern just to evolve a magical plant.
In addition, he was also interested in trying out the results of this atavistic evolution enhanced by the Golden Curse and with improved precision.
Therefore, I need to prepare the medicine on the spot.
Long ago, the wizard Trajan killed a Dark Wizard of the Star Ring and gave him his body. However, because his magical pressure was never sufficient, he never used the Dark Wizard of the Star Ring's body to make potions.
At this moment, Locke tapped the edge of the bronze cauldron with his fingernail, and a primordial fire immediately ignited in the cauldron, its surface radiating magical light.
Before everyone's eyes, Locke threw the black wizard's body into the bronze cauldron.
The entire audience was horrified!
The audience whispered among themselves, thinking this was a bit too brutal.
Even the thirty members of the Second Ring Review Team, who were originally furious, hesitated after seeing Locke's actions.
This made them suddenly realize that Locke was an extremely decisive person who had earned a notorious reputation among the black wizards through killing.
Locke was always gentle and mild-mannered on Mount Golden Crown, appearing to be non-aggressive, like a nice guy.
Of course, many people also know about his ferocity in competitions.
But the idea of using a dark wizard's body to make potions is still incredibly impactful.
Some of the weaker Star Ring Wizards in the review panel have even developed some apprehension towards Locke, hesitating whether to offend him.
A person's name, a tree's shadow.
If Locke were truly a nice guy, lacking in murderous intent, they would still dare to hurl insults and ridicule him so freely.
But seeing this scene, the wizards on the review panel no longer dared to treat Locke the same way they had treated Zeno.
Some of them also gradually developed a sense of contempt.
They looked at Locke seriously, waiting for his next move, to see why he had just mocked them for being old.
Wizard Patrick whispered, "The Red Dragon School wizards are known for their murderous aura, but a wizard with such a strong murderous aura... he has already surpassed his master."
The audience was abuzz with discussion about this behavior, while Edgar, who had come to watch the defense, had completely lost his mind.
Edgar seemed completely unable to understand why Locke had clashed with the commentary team.
At this moment, he was torn between comparing his own level to Locke's and the level of the thirty commentators.
He only sides with the strong.
But at this moment, Edgar's mind was completely in turmoil.
Who is strong and who is weak now? Who is black and who is white?
Logically speaking, Locke was just an ordinary second-ring wizard, and he was the weaker one among the thirty wizards in the judging panel. But at this moment, Edgar had a vague intuition that Locke was the stronger one compared to the thirty second-ring wizards in the judging panel.
why?
Edgar's mind was completely in turmoil.
In the audience, the mysterious wizard Eric Ender, facing the gazes of the crowd, calmed the storm with a single word.
“Dark wizards are not human. I only saw magical resources entering the potion-making cauldron, but I didn’t see any people entering it. This is not illegal, nor will it attract the attention of the ethics review committee.”
"To become a Star Ring Wizard in the Black Wizard's camp, one must have committed countless crimes. If they fall into our hands, they certainly won't survive."
The fact that the White Wizarding Association's clerk from Mystic Heaven had spoken naturally set the tone for Locke's actions to some extent.
Locke used the reverse potion-making method to refine the body of the Star Ring Black Wizard into the Zero Potion.
One Star Ring-level potion resource was used to refine five Zero Potions, and Locke's psychic abilities were quickly depleted. However, fortunately, his foundation was now strong, so there were no problems for the time being.
A full moon appeared behind Locke; it was the Moon of Evolution.
One gold and one silver, two enchanted knives seemed to fly out from the full moon behind Locke, like two birds falling from the sky, heading towards the sea gold plant in front of Locke, circling around it.
In an instant, the sea ginseng floated in mid-air, and under the influence of the fiery flowers and yellow mushroom essence, it began to undergo a reversion evolution. At the same time, Locke hid the golden magic in the moonlight, which shone on the sea ginseng.
The sea lynx absorbs the energy of the verdant spiritual energy mixed in with the nutrient soil, and is undergoing rapid changes.
Locke precisely controlled the two enchanted knives, removing unnecessary plant factors that led to reversion and controlling the speed of the reversion.
At the same time, Locke's understanding of the magic of gold was also rapidly improving.
"I may have had a misunderstanding about gold magic before. The characteristic of gold magic is that its gold nature is unwavering, not that it is immutable. Gold magic is highly variable because the main focus of developing lower-level gold magic is on its stability. Therefore, I had a preconceived notion that led me to misunderstand gold magic."
'Things that don't change are inanimate.'
'If things don't change, they become lifeless; if people don't change, they either progress or regress.'
'The magic of gold is to keep all things in their prime, not to turn them into unchanging, inert rocks. Therefore, it is the nature of gold that is unchanging, not the nature of gold that is immutable.'
'Then graft the imaginary roots onto this demonic plant.'
As Locke's understanding of golden magic deepened, his knowledge of golden spells also improved, so he fine-tuned his own golden spells.
At the same time, amidst a golden glow, the sea ginseng evolved into a naked fern of the mountain dragon.
Many of the guests present showed slight surprise.
Locke said he would revert to an ancestral form and evolve a magical plant in front of them. They were initially puzzled by this, since even if the cultivation cycle of a second-ring magical plant was shortened, the required cultivation time would still be considerable.
They never expected that Locke's ultimate magic would have such a powerful ability to accelerate the cultivation and growth of magical plants!
Among the thirty second-ring wizards in the review panel, some wizards showed surprise, because they did not expect that Locke could actually evolve something in front of them.
"What could it be?"
Someone stood up, leaning forward, wanting to see what Locke had come up with so he could decide how to roast Locke later.
The old Star Ring Wizard stared intently at the Naked Fern of the Mountain Dragon, and then gave a cold laugh.
"I'd like to see what makes you so confident that you dare to spout nonsense in front of so many of us."
"If it's just average, then you're in big trouble."
The other wizards on the review panel were also eager to find Locke's weaknesses so that they could turn the tables and find a reason to curb Locke's arrogant arrogance.
So they all stood up, leaning forward to look at the magical plant on the defense platform.
Despite the chaotic situation, the throne wizards remained unmoved, as if they hadn't noticed anything.
The wizards in the review panel picked up their Focusing Sights, or even more powerful magical items, eager to observe Locke's magical plant and find a reason to criticize it.
They were so eager to get started.
As a result, pushing and shoving even began to occur.
One wizard even accidentally fell to the ground because the Star Ring Wizard behind him was so engrossed in his observation that he knocked over the person in front of him.
The audience also looked curiously at the magical plant that had undergone atavistic evolution, eagerly anticipating Locke's demonstration of it.
Locke looked at the naked fern in front of him.
He discovered that as he improved the precision of the Golden Spell, this Naked Fern of the Mountain Dragon was indeed very different from the Naked Fern of the Mountain Dragon that he had first evolved from atavism.
It seems that there is an additional imaginary root.
Locke picked up the magical plant and examined it closely. He discovered that this Naked Dragon Fern not only had dragon scales, but also many dragon whiskers floating in mid-air below its dragon-like head. Upon closer inspection, Locke realized that these dragon whiskers were all ordinary imaginary roots, the most common whisker-like imaginary roots among second-ring magical plants.
The Naked Fern is not a plant that grows in soil; it grows in the Wizarding World in an era when there was not much soil and the world was full of rocks.
Therefore, amidst the curious gazes of the crowd and Locke's unexpected astonishment, the Naked Fern suddenly began to struggle in Locke's arms.
Locke was surprised; this was the first time he had encountered a magical plant he had evolved that showed such a strong will to resist him.
Yes.
This magical plant is too close to a primitive magical plant. It comes from a past timeline of the wizarding world, a timeline completely different from the present one, a timeline where wizards did not exist. Therefore, the wizards' spell models are too unfamiliar to this primitive magical plant, or rather, the wizards' current botanical magic spell models have hardly ever encountered this primitive magical plant. So, it is perfectly normal for the spell to go out of control at this moment.
The leaves of the naked fern in Locke's hand trembled incessantly.
The moment Locke put it down, all three of its roots quickly took hold in the brick floor of the conference room.
One type of root is the solid root of the naked fern, another type of root is the imaginary root of the dragon scale, and the third type of root is the ordinary imaginary root.
Three types of roots pierced through the bricks and stones on the ground, and the roots of the magical plant grew wildly in the cracks between the bricks and stones.
The Dragon Scale Imaginary Root draws a special wild and surging spiritual energy from the Imaginary Sea of this space, while the Ordinary Imaginary Root draws ordinary verdant spiritual energy from the Imaginary Sea. The two are mixed together in a certain proportion, and then this Overmountain Dragon Naked Fern releases a kind of well-mixed wild and surging energy into the air.
In just a short moment, the reprocessed, wild energy, mixed in the correct proportions, reappeared and permeated the entire conference room.
Immediately, many wizards were surprised to find that their spell models had been interfered with. Apart from the third-ring wizards and a few other wizards, everyone else was in a chaotic mess.
Whether they were members of the review panel, judges, spectators just there for the spectacle, or wizard managers from various shop alliances who came to try their luck, many of them exclaimed in surprise.
"The spell model within my mind is starting to go out of control."
"My nine-fireball spell model is showing a lot of errors! Oh no, my palm is on fire!"
A wizard's eyes blazed with fire magic, and then, the out-of-control spell model caused a ball of flame to appear on his right hand. Although he possessed fire-resistant skin and was impervious to high temperatures and flames, the out-of-control spell model still filled this second-circle wizard with fear.
"what happened?"
"There's something wrong with the air; it's mixed with some kind of unusual spiritual energy. It's caused by that demonic plant that Wizard Locke publicly reverted to its ancestral form. What exactly is it?"
The situation is getting out of control.
The panel of thirty second-ring wizards, who were originally poised to find fault with Locke, were now somewhat preoccupied with their own problems.
Because of this special air, the spell models of these wizards were somewhat out of control. If they had known there was danger, wearing a wizard mask would have solved the problem. The original function of this type of magical artifact was to adapt to the dimensional power of different worlds and to purify the harmful air of different worlds.
But at this moment, no one expected that the special spiritual energy drawn by the magical plant that Locke had reverted to his ancestral form would make the environment of this conference room resemble the primitive ecology of the wizarding world.
Therefore, all of these second-circle wizards' spell models have some problems.
At this moment, an old wizard who had recently been promoted to Star Ring Wizard had lightning flashing in his eyes, which continuously attacked those around him.
The wizards around him were all startled, because the Evocation School's lightning magic was known for its instantaneous increase in magical pressure and its high conversion rate between magical pressure and damage. At this moment, his random shooting of lightning from his eyes was extremely dangerous.
The review panel made a mess of things.
The old wizard was also aggrieved. "I didn't mean to. I can't close my eyes, and I was just looking at you all. My spell model, [Wrath of the Thunder Demon], has gone out of control. Does anyone here have a spell scroll that seals magic? Please help me seal my eyes..."
He looked at a wizard beside him, who quickly stepped back, but in doing so, he tripped the person behind him.
As a result, a bolt of lightning shot out from the old wizard's eyes, striking the two men and colliding with their permanent defensive force field, the Water Cloud Barrier. But that wasn't the end of it.
The Water Cloud Barrier automatically retaliated. Although their master was blasted away, the Water Cloud Barrier immediately recovered as the magical pressure returned, and reflected a bolt of lightning back. Two bolts of lightning struck the other second-ring wizards.
The second-ring wizards each possessed unique permanent defensive fields, and before they could react, these fields activated, making the situation increasingly chaotic.
The old wizard, who was the instigator, was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, afraid that someone would ask him for compensation. So he kept shouting, "Does anyone here have a sealing magic scroll from the Protective School? Please help me seal my eyes."
"Are there any friends here?"
One of the wizards in the second-ring wizard review group said to Locke, "Wizard Augustine, we have already seen how powerful your atavism is. You should stop now and quickly regress that magical plant back to its original state. Or find a way to take it away. Quickly take away your magical plant."
One of the commentators, a Star Ring Wizard, shouted at Locke, "This is outrageous! How do you have the right to do this?"
"The wizard Augustine..."
"Quickly put away that demonic plant of yours..."
At this moment, the Blue Dragon Throne on the judges' platform suddenly stood up, waved his hand, and the Naked Fern on the defense stage was immediately surrounded by a bright green tetrahedron. Then, the tetrahedron automatically shrank to about the size of an apple and automatically entered Locke's astral ring.
The Blue Dragon Throne spoke, "So that's how it is. Locke Augustine's magical plant proves that in the primitive era of the wizarding world, the air was likely filled with the special spiritual energy that is currently permeating this meeting room. Your atavistic evolution has reproduced the past environment; what you call increasing possibilities is more like restoring possibilities."
"Indeed, the process of evolution is a process of constantly losing possibilities, or rather, exchanging one's own possibilities. This is growth. Countless beings in the endless void are going through this process."
"Growth means evolving to a certain state by reducing one's potential, and eventually, when the potential decreases to a certain level, it will become a complete entity."
"This is the truth within the endless void."
At this moment, with the help of the Blue Dragon Throne, the Naked Fern of the Overmountain Dragon was stored in Locke's Astral Ring, and the air in the conference room gradually returned to its original composition.
The special spiritual energy that was constantly disturbing the spell model quickly dissipated into the air.
Both the audience and the wizards on the commentary panel were finally able to extricate themselves from the chaos.
Some wizards had already quietly put on wizard masks, to prevent Locke from suddenly producing something extraordinary during the defense.
Some wizards have even donned wizard robes to enhance their permanent defensive field.
At this point, the panel of thirty second-ring wizards finally recovered and began trying to regain their original rhythm.
"Great, it's finally over. The special spiritual energy that filled the air just now was very close to the composition of the air in the primitive era of the wizarding world. That's why it caused such a commotion. Of course, the main reason was that we weren't prepared enough. For a young man to do this... is indeed... is indeed... brilliant. Apart from his overly arrogant personality, I have to admit that he is indeed more skilled than me."
"He's still young, lacking composure. As His Majesty just said, evolution decreases the probability of success, and at a certain stage, one becomes a complete being. This is a truth within the endless void. Since it's a truth, how can it be changed?"
The old Star Ring Wizard took out paper and pen to write down these words, after all, this was a serious comment from the Blue Dragon Throne, which he believed would be of great significance to him.
However, some members of the review panel hesitated.
“But that magical plant was truly powerful. This atavism is no joke. I never expected his research in this area to have reached this level. It’s hard to believe that he’s a young man. If he were a wizard around a hundred years old, I think that would be more accurate.”
“It’s impressive, but to say it can increase the possibility is a bit of an exaggeration.” A wizard said hesitantly, “Of course… at least this is an isolated case.”
He was trying to find fault.
Because there really weren't any more flaws.
It's just a top-tier grant, yet you've even mimicked the air of the ancient wizarding world. Even the White Wizard Association's fund committee shouldn't have any objections and should approve Locke's application for this top-tier grant.
Therefore, at this point, most of the wizards in the review group had already stopped talking; those who were still speaking were the last ones who were stubbornly refusing to admit their mistake.
Some people seized upon the words of the Blue Dragon Throne, while others tried to convince themselves that it was just an isolated case.
Locke looked at everyone, then took out a second magical plant from his astral ring. "My atavism can be achieved through the Sea Gold Sand, and the atavism that produced the Mountain Dragon Naked Fern is an isolated case? Then what is this?"
Is this the second isolated case?
Locke took out his giant corn cannon from his astral ring.
Many of the audience members were still trying to figure out what the giant spring corn stalk was.
But Patrick, who had remained silent, observing the situation and trying to find a weakness in Locke's defenses, suddenly had his pupils shrink. "That's... an extinct magical plant: the Great Spring Cannon Corn."
His remarks once again sparked surprise and discussion among the commentators and the Wizarding World audience.
"Big Spring Cannon Corn? Isn't that an extinct magical plant? There's probably only one specimen left at the Rose Council."
"Patrick said it was a giant spring corn. Could it be that Wizard Locke has really regressed to a primal state and unearthed a magical plant specimen that only the Rose Council possesses?"
A breeder in the audience stood up from his seat. "Could it be that the wizard Locke Augustine really used his atavism magic to successfully resurrect a magical plant that has been officially declared extinct? My God. Why didn't he publish anything like that before?"
Master Patrick Finch's pupils suddenly contracted: "No, that's not the Big Spring Cannon Corn. There's still some difference, but that makes it more believable because the accuracy of his atavism is still too low. So he didn't truly revert to the Big Spring Cannon Corn. But... it certainly has great potential."
At this moment, the wizards on the review panel were completely silent.
Locke said to them, “If that’s the second isolated case, then what is this? Is this the third isolated case?”
Under everyone's gaze, Locke took out another magical plant, Golden Wheat!
Locke produced three items that were the result of atavism.
At this moment, the panel of thirty second-ring wizards was completely silent.
In the audience, a breeder whispered, "I feel like the atavism that Locke Augustine is working on is also a very interesting research direction."
A breeder beside him said, "Don't even think about it. First of all, they haven't even opened up the source. Secondly, you saw that he used ultimate magic when he was undergoing ancestral evolution just now. You should know that this is a kind of magic under a private breeding method with extremely high thresholds. Do you want to follow him and learn ultimate magic from scratch? Besides, do you even know how to learn it?"
“Those are the playthings of geniuses, not us.”
On the judging panel, wizard Patrick Finch was still pondering where Locke had obtained the Great Foeweed Corn plant. Logically speaking, most of the breedable seeds of the Great Foeweed Corn plant in the world were in the hands of their Rose Council.
This is because it is a project that a laboratory of the Rose Council has been focusing on for the past century.
So most of the seeds have already been collected by that laboratory.
Where did Locke obtain the fodder corn seeds?
A look of doubt flashed in Patrick Finch's eyes. This shouldn't be the case.
At this moment, the wizard Edgar in the audience couldn't help but jump up excitedly.
This is the real Locke Augustine!
The wizard who beat him twice!
Sure enough, there was a reason he lost to Locke; Locke had completely humiliated those thirty second-ring wizards with his achievements.
A strong sense of challenge shone in the wizard Edgar's eyes. "I was right, only by defeating Locke can I become a true genius."
"Teacher, is this why you asked me to come and watch this defense?"
In the audience, the witch Catherine nodded slightly. Locke's research on atavism was indeed commendable, and he was considered a leader in the Yunze Wetland.
On the stage of the defense, Locke said, "In summary, my atavism evolution is indeed achieved by restoring the possibility of magical plant evolution, thereby increasing the potential of magical plants. It brings the potential of magical plants back to its maximum..."
Locke remained silent for a moment.
The Blue Dragon Throne spoke up: "Locke Augustine, what you said was excellent. Is there a problem? Why did you stop?"
Locke shook his head, bowed to the throne wizard from the academic committee faction, and said, "There's nothing wrong, I just suddenly had a feeling. Your Majesty, I'll continue. My fellow wizards on the review panel, the greatest significance of my research on atavism is that it can, to some extent, restore the possibilities lost due to evolution."
"I think this research is significant enough."
The commentary panel fell silent, no longer offering any further comment.
Seeing that they remained silent, Locke continued his interrupted defense speech.
At this moment, because the wizards on the commentary panel did not interrupt, Locke was able to finish his speech smoothly.
Next, because the wizards on the judging panel suddenly became mute, only the throne wizards among the judges could ask Locke a few questions.
The Blue Dragon Throne was asking about the principles behind the golden magic enhancement and atavism.
Locke answered fluently; this part was the result of his and Russell's combined efforts, and the rigor of its principles was not at the second level, but at the third level.
The judges also realized that Locke's research contained the ideas of a third-circle wizard.
The Green Dragon Throne Witch asked Locke why he came up with this idea, and Locke truthfully replied that the source of the plan came from his first teacher in the Starfield Sea.
This made the Green Dragon Throne Witch raise her eyebrows in surprise.
Even Valeria Kenway, the wizard from the Starfield Sea, looked up at Locke, surprised that Locke had any connection with the wizard from the Starfield Sea.
At this moment, the wizard Patrick Finch suddenly asked Locke, "I have a question: where did you obtain the fertile seeds of the Great Fodder Corn?"
"There should be no more wild plants of this kind of magical plant that can reproduce."
"Can I question the origin of this demonic plant's seed?"
Locke looked at Patrick Finch with surprise, bowed to him, and then calmly said, "Patrick, this is what I obtained after entering the Emerald Plane and killing a large number of nightmares for the Emerald Dream Plane. There are a large number of nightmares related to crystallized magical plants in the Emerald Nightmare."
"One of them is a nightmare that was originally a large fodder corn."
Patrick Finch's expression was a half-smile, and their eyes met in mid-air. "Mr. Locke Augustine, what do you mean by this?"
The audience was abuzz with discussion.
This debate was truly spectacular. First, Zeno openly questioned Patrick and the Third Ring Throne wizards' definition of life. Then, Locke directly criticized the panel of thirty Second Ring wizards. Now, when Patrick questioned the legality of the source of the experimental materials, Locke directly stated that crystallized magical plants would lead to the generation of a large number of nightmares.
Zeno, standing below, couldn't help but get excited. "How come I didn't think of that? We can go directly to the Emerald Plane and take a look. If the magical plant crystallization technology really doesn't damage magical plants, and if the crystallized magical plants are truly living beings, then why are nightmares surging in the Emerald Plane?"
Patrick Finch asked Locke a question, but strangely, the panel of thirty second-ring wizards did not launch another attack on Locke as they had on Zeno.
Instead, they all remained silent, simply observing how the situation would develop.
Patrick Finch's relaxed smile froze slightly.
Locke said, “I am an archaeological wizard, and I can recreate scenes from the past before you all. Master Patrick, if you want to verify the legitimacy of my experimental materials, then I need to prove it here…”
Patrick Finch suddenly leaned back in his seat. “No need. Actually, it’s not a big deal. Research and exploration should be magnanimous. The source of a few rare magical plant seeds is completely irrelevant. As long as what we’re researching is real and the area we’re exploring is valuable, that’s enough. Mr. Locke Augustine, your research on atavism is outstanding and has significant research value in the Star Ring stage. At least in the Star Ring stage, it has potential no less than magical plant crystallization technology.”
When faced with Locke's question, Patrick Finch did not refute it, but instead took a step back and yielded to Locke.
And so, only a few throne wizards asked Locke a few questions, and because of Antoine, Wizard Fisher didn't make things difficult for him; in fact, he even complimented him a few times.
Locke finished his defense and returned to his seat.
Throughout the entire review session, the panelists remained silent, though their facial expressions were rather unpleasant; some seemed to be accumulating anger.
The Brandy Wizard rose from his seat, glancing at Locke and Zeno, and swallowed hard. 'Locke's atavistic evolution has even received Master Patrick's approval. Impressive.'
'He didn't follow the research path of magical plant crystallization technology, yet he still managed to achieve this level. Is this what true genius is?'
The Brandy Wizard thought of his project, and the confidence he had before was gone. He couldn't be sure if the project could really beat Locke.
"It's okay, I'll go up and defend my thesis as usual."
An hour later, the Brandy Wizard finished his defense on stage. This time, however, he did not receive any questions from the Throne Wizard or the Three Ring Wizard.
The commentary team, which had initially remained silent, transformed into a praise team in his round.
First of all, his project was indeed very well done, there was nothing to criticize, after all, it was completed by Master Patrick himself.
The topic selection was reasonable, the subject matter was clear, the logic was sound, the research methods were logical, and the most important aspect, the budget allocation, was done very well.
This gave many wizards on the review panel a good impression and a sense of trust in the author of the application, immediately after they read it.
A well-written application can also be effective, because when applying for programs, sometimes you still need to rely on the power of belief.
A well-written application is even more believable!
The Brandy Wizard became brimming with confidence after being showered with praise from the commentary team of wizards.
He stepped off the stage, sat down, and furtively glanced at Locke and Zeno. 'I still have a chance, after all. It all comes down to our performance now, and the impression the wizards have of us. If I can perform well in the debates between the contestants, this special grant is mine!'
The brandy wizard excitedly pressed his palms to his knees.
Don't panic.
He still has a chance!
The wizards on the review panel all praised him, saying that his choice of topic was reasonable, his design was perfect, and there was nothing to criticize. They also pointed out that he was humble, polite, talented, and virtuous.
Unlike some people.
The Brandy Wizard thought, 'Locke has a major weakness: he shouldn't have attacked the judging panel earlier. Next, if I seize on his attitude during the debate, I can target him outside of the magical research and lower his performance score.'
The brandy wizard pondered.
……
On Golden Crown Mountain, the dragon wizard's clone twisted its neck. "Is this a clone created by ultimate magic?"
"That's interesting."
"The newly constructed ultimate magic is only at level one, so fragile."
He stepped onto the first stone step of Golden Crown Mountain. "But we can cross the barrier of Golden Crown Mountain now."
(End of this chapter)