Chapter 809: You Completed the Improvement in Only One Week

One month later, inside a laboratory at Bonifacius University.

Since Locke was only cooperating with one laboratory from the new weaving studies department, he could not use Bonifacius University's own breeding studies laboratories, and was only working with a laboratory that new weaving studies had set up for him. Even so, it contained a fair number of top-grade breeding equipment.

At this moment, inside a ten-acre magical field, Locke used a magical force magnetic field to cut out the useful plant factors from the plant essence cores of ten varieties of Black Swan Bromeliad, assembled a set of plant essence cores he had designed in advance, and then introduced this set of plant essence cores into a single Black Swan Bromeliad seed.

Then Locke placed the Black Swan Bromeliad seed into the hands of the one first-class wizard apprentice among the three assigned to him by Bonifacius University whose magic pressure had reached 800, a young man named Vincent Park.

Vincent Park had long hair and appeared to be around twenty-four years old. The look in his eyes as he glanced at Locke held a trace of admiration.

Locke said to him, "This Black Swan Bromeliad will meet the requirements of your sun ring wizard Heraclitus."

"Take it and go plant it."

Vincent Park was mildly taken aback.

"Ah, this. Is it finished?"

He was not trying to be disrespectful to Locke. He would not have dared to disrespect a Second Circle wizard even with ten times the courage. He was simply completely at a loss, utterly bewildered, feeling that the two previous experiences he had working under Second Circle breeders were entirely inadequate to help him make sense of the current situation.

Vincent Park had come to assist Locke with a feeling of eager anticipation, following the instructions of his academy's higher-ups.

He had originally come with a mindset of learning.

The opportunity to work under a Second Circle wizard was something he could not buy his way into even if he offered to pay. It was the kind of thing one had to queue for.

The reason he had been assigned to Locke was that Locke was an outside wizard, so the competition to work with him was less intense. Beyond that, he had been randomly assigned, something that had kept him excited for quite a long time.

But at this moment, Vincent's expression was a little bewildered, because Locke had only been in this laboratory for one week, and not even every day. He would only come for half a day each day.

Most of the time he had simply told the three of them to do some simple planting work, and the most complex task had been helping him sort the plant factors, mainly handling simple, repetitive, and rather tedious data.

Locke glanced at them, then walked out of the laboratory and returned to Bonifacius University's library. He had come to say his farewells.

Bonifacius University had given him a one-year borrowing pass, so he planned to temporarily leave and return after some time.

However, in this period of reading Bonifacius University's free Second Circle books, he had gained a great deal, in terms of plant rhizosphere studies and virtual root studies, where he had accumulated a large amount of knowledge.

Virtual roots were divided into four grades, corresponding respectively to ordinary Second Circle, star ring, moon ring, and sun ring levels. Beyond that, magical plants' virtual roots also came in various special types.

Special types did not necessarily mean superior. The causes of their formation were the subject of many differing views and could not be unified.

Some were simply degradations or regressions caused by environmental conditions. Others were virtual roots that had independently evolved in a world, resulting in anomalous forms.

The large brain-type virtual root network of the Stygian ancient tree was a special type of virtual root.

This type of virtual root seemed to form a special kind of realm.

The Forbidden Forest's Secret Treasure Tree penetrated through the virtual sea and returned to the present reality, where its crown's branches intersected to form the special fruit of a virtual root. That too was a special virtual root.

And the virtual roots within the infinite mountain body inside the Ghost Gate of Little Peach Mountain, one of Golden Crown Mountain's three smaller peaks, was also a special type of virtual root.

So in theory, virtual root studies was not only something for Second Circle wizards to research, but a field of study that ran through all levels of a botanical wizard or breeder's career.

It was simply that Second Circle breeders placed greater emphasis on studying virtual roots.

"The most ordinary of the four grades of virtual roots is the ordinary Second Circle virtual root, which is a cluster of sparse roots that covers the surface of the virtual sea like a beard of fine whiskers. The third-grade virtual root has a main root, much like the roots of the Boat Peach. That corresponds to the star ring magical plant's roots."

Locke thought, "Virtual roots can also fish for spirituality from the virtual sea. Part of the magical tides are born from this process. Essence spirits, the primordial form of the soul, come from this as well."

"The fourth-grade virtual root enters the virtual sea to draw energy, converting what was originally mere possibility into material that can be reproduced in reality."

"In other words, the existence of plants is itself key to allowing a plane to further advance. Of course, the virtual sea was originally part of the plane, so what plants do is simply use their virtual roots to convert the energy and matter in the plane that cannot be utilized, or that has a low utilization rate, into energy or matter with a high utilization rate."

Locke recalled the gains of this past month.

"Virtual roots do indeed produce a large number of derivative products, much like how plant roots convert rock into soil."

"The generation of elemental planes is related to this."

"The foundation of elemental planes, the four elemental breath energies, come from the various breath energies produced by the transformation and modification of the virtual sea by the major virtual roots."

Elemental breath energy, like Spiritual Resonance, was something Second Circle breeders needed to study.

Another name for elemental breath energy was virtual earth, and it also had a name called primordial soil.

Speaking of which, Locke recalled that Wizard Kelt had once told him that his Grand Magic could convert wind energy into elemental breath energy.

Not long ago, Locke's successful acquisition of the Second Circle dragon bloodline had also been largely thanks to Wizard Kelt's Grand Magic.

Locke said, "The greatest gain from this visit to Bonifacius University is learning of the existence of the Edge of the World."

The Edge of the World was a special wizard territory that drifted among the eight great territories, spending the most time in the southern territory but drifting through the other territories as well.

It was nominally part of the southern territory in terms of administrative classification, but people from all eight great territories would go there.

It was said to be a wizard territory situated within the Second Sky, and so its population was relatively small and its number of wizards relatively few, but it was suffused with multiple kinds of strange energies, which caused plants to grow faster in the Edge of the World. As a result, it had become a paradise for breeding studies.

This was because the most troublesome thing about breeding studies experiments was that magical plants had extremely long growth cycles.

At Golden Crown Mountain, Locke could probably have found information about the Edge of the World as well, but Bonifacius University had decades of meticulous calculations regarding the trajectory of the Edge of the World, and that accumulated knowledge had been made available in the library.

As a result, even from the free section he had obtained the data, and by working out the calculations by hand, he had determined the fact that in half a year, the Edge of the World would enter the eastern territory and draw close to the Three Marshlands.

"The Edge of the World only moves within the Second Sky, and is also classified as a hidden wizard territory, so not many people know about it. But I did not expect Bonifacius University to be able to calculate the approximate movement timing of the Edge of the World."

Locke thought, "Then I can go there the moment the Edge of the World arrives. The fewer people on the Edge of the World, the more of the various strange energies there are. Going there half a year ahead of everyone else to claim a position will give me more of an advantage over others. Though that is something for half a year from now."

Locke stood within Bonifacius University, his gaze fixed on a distant point. He would head to the Rose Council next.

The Rose Council possessed the most abundant materials on wizard shoes, and he had applied for and been granted a one-month borrowing pass.

In the corridor of Bonifacius University, Locke mentioned his departure to Witch Georgina in passing, and the two walked through the crescent corridor together.

Witch Georgina looked at Locke in surprise and said, "Leaving so soon? You have only been at our Bonifacius University for a month. I was hoping to entertain you properly. I was planning to take you to visit the two island attractions on Cloud Lake next month."

Locke had heard that Bonifacius University was rich in natural resources and had two magical islands on Cloud Lake.

It was said that these two magical islands held special resources and had also been rated as Five-A scenic areas by the White Wizard Association. They were said to be the true foundation of Bonifacius University.

It was just that he was in no mood at present to sit patiently and wait in line to visit Bonifacius University's magical islands.

Because he was planning to seize this singular opportunity, taking advantage of the period when Third Circle wizards had all departed together, to produce the Second Circle wizard shoe series and undercut Solas Light Foot and Melechi Magic Step from below.

Locke politely declined Witch Georgina and said, "No thank you, I still have things to attend to. When I next want to come and read, I will come back then."

Witch Georgina said, "You are always welcome."

"Locke, I hope you enjoy your trip. Is our Bonifacius University's library really that captivating to you?"

From behind her wooden mask, Witch Georgina let out a sound like silver bells ringing.

"Well, at least this time you should have familiarized yourself with the equipment in our laboratory. Was it comfortable? Is there anything else you would like added?"

"When you come next time, I should be able to have it arranged."

Witch Georgina said, "Heraclitus values every genius breeder."

Locke looked at Witch Georgina with a puzzled expression.

"What would I be returning to your laboratory for? Did Vincent not tell you I have already completed the Black Swan Bromeliad variety improvement?"

Witch Georgina froze, then took a half-step back.

"Locke is joking?"

"Locke, you only visited the laboratory for one week. With so little time, surely the Black Swan Bromeliad magical plant would only have had one generation of crossbreeding completed. I may not be a breeder, but I still know that much basic knowledge."

Locke said quietly, "I am not joking."

"You have forgotten, my Moon of Evolution has the ability to catalyze magical plant growth."

Locke raised his hand to signal the magical carriage waiting at the end of the crescent corridor.

"That is the magical carriage I arranged. Farewell for now, Witch Georgina. The new Black Swan Bromeliad has been cultivated, and I have incorporated some Stygian River information into it. The magical plant fiber has developed a resistance to Stygian River energy."

"That should perfectly meet your requirements."

Locke boarded the magical carriage and had the driver urge the magical creature to depart.

Witch Georgina stood watching Locke until he disappeared from view.

On the magical carriage, Locke's eyes were quiet. Because of the Moon of Evolution, he could attribute his rapid improvement to the Moon of Evolution accelerating magical plant growth, his superintuitive selection of key plant factors playing a decisive role, combined with his being a genius breeder.

So no one would find it strange that his breeding speed was so fast. They would only assume it was the result of his talent combined with his Grand Magic, and at most be amazed at how exceptionally fast he worked.

In essence, he had cultivated the Black Swan Bromeliad through the Synthesis Cube combined with the Moon of Evolution and Flowers Bloom and Fall, supported by the five major cultivation methods.

Aside from the Synthesis Cube being an external tool, everything else was part of the research system he had built himself.

This improvement of the Black Swan Bromeliad's speed had once again demonstrated how quickly this system of his, combining his Grand Magic with the Synthesis Cube, produced results.

On the magical carriage, Locke took out a magical quill and magical paper and began writing up the research methods, research objectives, and research ideas from the Black Swan Bromeliad improvement process. He could then pass this to someone who could use it to publish a First Circle Tier 1 journal article.

Locke thought for a moment and directly contacted his student Williams through the water hyacinth system.

'Williams, I have an article for you. I will send you the key experimental steps and data. Together with the main outline I have written here, you organize it, supplement a few smaller experiments, do them yourself, and then publish it under your own name.'

Locke thought for a moment.

"No need to list my name."

Williams quickly sent back a grateful image. "Thank you, teacher. I truly do not know how to thank you. I was thinking about how to pass this academy's evaluation, and here you send me such a wonderful gift."

Locke was mildly taken aback.

Was it really that big a gift?

This was something he had completed in a week.

Well, for Williams, this was like walking down the road and having a pile of magic stones fall from the sky.

But for him personally, it was simply that he had lost interest in publishing this kind of First Circle article.

Locke replied, "Work hard, and keep building your Forest Sanctuary."

He had not yet formed a teacher lineage of his own, but Williams was part of his network of relationships, and the stronger her Forest Sanctuary, the stronger his Forest Alliance.

From these two perspectives, passing along this article that he had no great need for to his student seemed to be pure gain.

Williams sent back a stream of grateful words that Locke barely read through, only noticing at the very end that she seemed to say she was planning to plant bromeliad magical plants in her Forest Sanctuary recently.

Whatever.

Locke paid no attention to this.

At this moment, sitting on the magical carriage, Locke said to the driver wizard, "I would like to reach the Rose Council as quickly as possible. Please increase the speed."

...

Witch Georgina hurried back to the laboratory and found Vincent and the others. She looked at Vincent and said, "I heard that Teacher Augustine said he has already completed the task we commissioned him for?"

Wizard Vincent immediately bowed to Witch Georgina.

"Teacher Georgina."

"This... I am only an apprentice and do not understand. I only followed the instructions in his technical documents and placed the seed into nutrient soil, added a moss wood pith, and the seed germinated and took root. Teacher Augustine appeared to have left some of his magical power on it, and in just a brief moment..."

Vincent reached behind him and brought out a pot of a pure-black bromeliad, this air bromeliad plant standing as tall as a person and shaped like a swan.

Vincent wore an expression of amazement.

"Does this count as finished? Teacher Augustine said it was done."

Witch Georgina picked up a special First Circle artifact testing blade from the laboratory, cut open the Black Swan Bromeliad, and extracted its fibers.

She took them to the adjacent laboratory, used equipment including a single-fiber strength tester, ran tests on the plant fibers, and compared them against the Black Swan Bromeliad's original fiber strength and other indicators. She found that all fiber indicators of this Locke-improved version of the Black Swan Bromeliad had been significantly enhanced.

"The Black Swan Bromeliad's plant fiber length is 3.5 times what it was before, and after being soaked in a Stygian River environment, no breakage or decay occurred."

Witch Georgina slapped her forehead.

"When exactly did he complete this work?"

"Using only one week to complete something that would take others three months to half a year?"

An expression of disbelief crossed Witch Georgina's face.

"No, if it were someone else, I would certainly suspect something was off. But given that it is the champion of the Silent Chalice, something like this seems perfectly normal."

"Completing the variety improvement of a First Circle magical plant in only one week..."

"I do not feel cheated by my loss to him at the Silent Chalice."

Witch Georgina clenched her fists. She would need to work even harder in the future and catch up with him.

At the same time, an image-call request came in from Heraclitus, the sun ring wizard. Wizard Heraclitus appeared in his famous Flow Into Weaving laboratory, the one with a meandering small river running through it.

Sun ring Wizard Heraclitus smiled at Witch Georgina and said, "I have a few new tasks to hand you, so I am contacting you. I would like you to go and test a new batch of plant fibers. Oh, by the way, I heard Locke Augustine came to fulfill his agreement. How did it go? What is his progress?"

Sun ring Wizard Heraclitus smiled and said, "I spoke well of his breeding talent to convince the academy to cooperate with him."

Witch Georgina was briefly taken aback, then her expression turned strange.

"Teacher Heraclitus, Locke has already left Bonifacius University."

Wizard Heraclitus said, "Left? Oh, I am not in any rush on my end. As long as he completes what is on the contract within a year, that is fine."

Witch Georgina said, "No, Teacher Heraclitus, he left after completing the Black Swan Bromeliad variety improvement."

On the other side, Wizard Heraclitus fell silent, then said, "He completed the improvement in one month?"

Witch Georgina shook her head. "Teacher, it was only one week. He spent the rest of his time in our library."

"Even during that one week, he was in the library for half the time each day."

"After testing, the plant fiber of the Black Swan Bromeliad magical plant he improved perfectly meets our contract requirements, and a resistance to Stygian River energy has indeed appeared."

Witch Georgina said with admiration, "For a Second Circle breeder, completing this degree of breeding work in itself is nothing astonishing, but the speed of it is simply unbelievable."

Wizard Heraclitus listened, then fell silent for a long time.

After quite a while, he suddenly said, "It seems my understanding of Wizard Locke Augustine's talent in breeding studies was still insufficient. In talent among wizards of the same level in the Cloud Marsh Wetlands, he is probably in the top tier. No wonder the Red Dragon Throne has such favor for him. Everything has a reason."

Wizard Heraclitus said to Witch Georgina, "Georgina, I think it is necessary to elevate the level of our cooperation with him."

"Maintain your connection with him. I need to discuss the matter with the academy's higher-ups. Since his speed is that fast, he probably did not use much of the three million magic stones that were allocated for his research, did he?"

Witch Georgina said, "I am not entirely sure of that, teacher. If you want to know, I can have apprentice Vincent prepare a financial report. But I imagine not much was spent, given that he only needed one week to complete the improvement."

Heraclitus said, "Then do not return the money. It was originally public funds from our laboratory allocated for this gifted breeder's improvement work. Keep the money in the shared account for the laboratory Locke has at our Bonifacius University."

"If he comes to do breeding experiments at our Bonifacius University in the future, he can still draw on that money."

Heraclitus thought and said, "I do think we can indeed deepen our cooperation with him. Our new weaving studies has always been heading in the direction of breeders. We are preparing to use plant-fiber-produced weaving threads."

Witch Georgina said, "Teacher, he is currently working on pure magical plant wizard shoes. I think socks, at least, would not be made purely of magical plants. Perhaps we could sell socks alongside his wizard shoes."

"That way it deepens our connection with him. First, it benefits us. Second, for him, it fills in what his wizard shoes have not addressed."

...

The Rose Council. The library.

The entire Rose Council seemed like an enormous garden, a riot of color, beautiful beyond measure.

And the Rose Council's library was a vast greenhouse. Inside the library, large numbers of rose-type magical plant flowers grew throughout, and a faint fragrance drifted through the air.

Locke walked through this library, borrowing pass in hand, heading toward the generalist wizard on this side.

He noticed quite a few Rose Council wizards looking at him with cold eyes. Some even carried a slight air of hostility.

Locke smiled and calmly looked toward a familiar face in the crowd.

"Witch Lana, hello."

Sun Ring Witch Lana had not expected to see Locke in the Rose Council's library and wore a look of surprise.

"Locke, how did you manage to get into our Rose Council's library?"