Locke looked at Alicia and said, "No soul? How can you be certain?"

Alicia nodded very seriously, then pointed at her own eyes and said, "Once in the southeastern quadrant, I had pretty good luck and purchased a Ghost Warbler at the Sacred Tree Market of Virdantia University. I extracted its bloodline and made it into a bloodline modification potion."

"This type of Ghost Warbler likes to follow behind people about to die, and after they die, it quickly swallows that soul, treating human souls as their food."

"We bloodline refiners really like collecting this kind of rare bloodline. Therefore, I injected myself with the Ghost Warbler's bloodline modification potion. From then on, my eyes could see the souls of those about to die. But I haven't told anyone about this. The Ghost Warbler is a First Circle level magical creature. Not only is it difficult to see even one in the Land of Six Towers' already destroyed environment, but even in other wizard lands, they're difficult to encounter."

Alicia said, "But I can indeed use my own eyes to see the souls of those about to die. So I can see my grandfather's soul. I can see that my grandfather's soul body has also shown problems caused by three types of elemental imbalances. But the problem is, when my grandfather falls into unconsciousness, his soul disappears!"

Locke said, "But I saw your grandfather wearing a First Circle magic artifact [Ink Seal Ring] on his hand. That type of magical ring can protect the soul and prevent necromantic bloodline ghost studies wizards from using soul magic to attack your grandfather. If your grandfather is wearing that ring, then even if you possess the Ghost Warbler's eyes, you shouldn't be able to see your grandfather's soul."

Alicia said, "So I removed my grandfather's ring. But the result was still the same."

"I'm very certain that when my grandfather is unconscious, his soul goes somewhere else. I even suspect my grandfather's illness isn't that simple. Perhaps he didn't fail his breakthrough at all, but was harmed by someone."

Locke said, "Alright. But if that's the case, why would your grandfather actively cover for the person who harmed him?"

Alicia said, "At first I couldn't understand either. But later I figured it out. There are probably two situations. The first situation is that my grandfather can't determine who harmed him. The second situation is that my grandfather can determine who it is, but because of their identity, he doesn't want to say it."

Alicia said, "Combined with the fact that grandfather now only lets me see him, I'm about seventy percent certain that the person who harmed my grandfather is a wizard from the Plutarch family's direct bloodline."

Locke was stunned. "Doesn't Grand Wizard Sulla have quite a bit of prestige in the Land of Six Towers?"

Alicia shook her head and said in a low voice, "Grandfather has always wanted to push through reforms, to truly implement a real wizard academy system in the Land of Six Towers, to select talent from the middle and lower levels, and change the appearance of the Land of Six Towers."

"To raise the status of those commoner wizards."

"This would undoubtedly harm the interests of the family wizards, so every reform ends up being superficially complied with but secretly opposed, and then the reform direction is secretly modified to make us family wizards increasingly occupy advantageous positions."

Locke nodded. Sometimes it was like this. The more reforms were pushed, the more they legalized the illegal behaviors of the original vested interests.

Because the vested interests occupied advantageous positions, and the people responsible for and leading reforms were basically all connected to them by blood or marriage, so it was very easy to formulate reforms favorable to them.

Alicia said, "So grandfather is both a spiritual idol to the family wizards of the Land of Six Towers, but also a spiritual idol that some wizards wish would die immediately."

"Moreover, there are plenty of people in the family with selfish motives. The Land of Six Towers also has another ruling family, the Basil family. Additionally, when grandfather was young, he offended many enemies. He himself had an impulsive personality, and only became wise and calm as he grew older."

Alicia said, "So I have very good reason to suspect that my grandfather was harmed by someone."

Locke thought for a moment and said, "If that's the case, I actually have an idea."

Alicia looked at Locke, her eyes sparkling. "What idea, Locke?"

Locke said, "When your grandfather is conscious, you secretly put a bottle of Hive Mind Potion in your grandfather's medicine and have him drink it down, without alerting anyone, to prevent there being a spy among the people around him."

Alicia's eyes immediately lit up. "Hive Mind Potion is also a common supplement, but the magical power of wizards who take this potion will temporarily carry the scent of Hive Mind Potion. Since magical power has this scent, the soul must have it too."

"So, we only need to use a crystal bee to find my grandfather's soul. This is really a good idea."

"Locke, your mind works fast."

Alicia removed the sound isolation array. "Locke, it's really great having your help. You're a very reliable person."

She had just removed the array when, not long after, they heard noisy sounds coming from outside the magic lock on the first floor.

They could hear an angry voice coming from outside the lock. "Why won't you let me in? I'm also my grandfather's grandson. If Alicia can go in, then why can't I?"

"Move aside."

"I don't care whose orders they are. Today I must see my grandfather. My grandfather hasn't seen me in months."

A flash of disgust passed through Alicia's eyes. "It's George Plutarch. Currently still just a first-rate wizard apprentice, the eldest son of my mother's younger brother, which is to say, my uncle."

"My uncle's branch has always wanted to compete for grandfather's affection toward me. When my grandfather was healthy, the struggle was just like this, and they were always at a disadvantage. But now the situation has changed."

Locke raised an eyebrow. "Your family is really quite complex."

"This is too chaotic."

From outside the lock came a middle-aged man's voice. "My niece Alicia, I know you're behind the lock."

"Your uncle has come. Won't you even meet me? I'm your elder."

"Open the lock and let us in."

Alicia's expression turned ugly as she said to Locke, "That's my mother's younger brother, Erik, one of my grandfather's two children. Troublesome."

"He's an ordinary formal wizard with slightly less magical power than me. I'm about to vaporize now. Oh right, Locke, your magical power is already over five thousand, isn't it?"

"I roughly calculated it based on your magical pressure."

"The improved Mammon's Powder Potion consumption method we developed together can indeed allow our magical power to progress quickly. You're already very close to the liquefaction stage."

Locke nodded slightly and said, "Mm, my magical pressure is now 5700."

"Alicia, you don't need to feel so troubled. When it comes down to it, he's just an ordinary stage formal wizard. Just drive him away."

Alicia was about to speak to stop him, but Locke had already passed through the lock and walked over.

Entering the lock from the outside was very difficult, but leaving from the inside to enter the outside was exceptionally simple.

Locke walked out of the lock and said coldly to the group of wizards standing outside the lock in the corridor, "Alicia asked me to relay a message to you. She won't see you."

Erik, wearing luxurious wizard robes, narrowed his eyes and looked at Locke. "Who are you?"

"What business is this of yours?"

Not only Erik and his son George Plutarch, but even the five formal wizards behind these two had rather ugly expressions at this moment.

Among the people behind them, there were even three vaporization stage wizards.

In the Land of Six Towers, vaporization stage wizards were already considered rare.

It could be seen that Erik had brought people over this time with aggressive intent, definitely not just coming to cause trouble that simply.

Probably he also wanted to arrange people to intervene by Grand Wizard Sulla's side, to prevent Grand Wizard Sulla from suddenly dying while he knew nothing about it.

Or at least to confirm whether Grand Wizard Sulla's will was favorable to their branch.

After all, the Plutarch family's business spread throughout the Land of Six Towers, this vast wizard land.

Who knew how many mortal dynasties were under their family's rule.

Their family was like deities on this land.

When Erik thought about Grand Wizard Sulla's doting on his sister while disregarding his branch, his heart was filled with jealousy.

And when he thought further about Grand Wizard Sulla's extreme doting on Alicia while his attitude toward his own children was casual, the imbalance in his heart became even more unbalanced.

Erik looked at Locke with a cold smile. "You're an external potion master invited here? Then you only need to treat Grand Wizard Sulla's illness. This has nothing to do with you."

"The wizards behind me are all family wizards of our Plutarch family. It's perfectly normal for us to come together to visit Grand Wizard Sulla. Alicia, you come out. Don't hide behind this potion master."

"Are you going to stop us? Does this conform to the etiquette of our prestigious Plutarch family? When an elder speaks, you, a junior, dare to disobey?"

Just as Erik was about to raise his voice even higher, suddenly in an instant, Locke released his magical pressure. All the wizards present changed expressions.

Because Locke's current magical pressure was 5700, but since he had continuously taken Mammon's Powder Potion, the Abyss energy in his eyes currently was 1000.

Just the magical pressure equivalent to the Abyss energy he possessed was already at a level comparable to the magical power of an ordinary First Circle wizard.

The ratio of his Abyss magical pressure to normal magical pressure hadn't increased further. This was mainly because Mammon's Powder Potion increased magical power faster than it increased Abyss energy, so rather than rising, the ratio had actually decreased somewhat.

This showed that Locke still maintained a certain degree of control over the Abyss energy within his body.

Generally speaking, even with external magical pressure applied, if the magical pressure quality wasn't sufficient, it wouldn't simply add up numerically. But the problem was that the quality of the Abyss energy possessed by the Beholder Lord was extremely high, so the magical pressure Locke currently displayed was 6700!

This magical pressure had officially exceeded the threshold for liquefaction wizards. Under this enormous magical pressure, Locke's magical power had already transformed from a mist state into a liquefied state. His magical power was like spiritual liquid, rotating around his body.

Although Locke wasn't a liquefaction wizard, he had already reached a stage approaching liquid wizards.

Moreover, this magical pressure mixed with Abyss energy was very aggressive, like a roaring beast appearing beside the ears of every wizard present. The profound malice contained within it caused Erik's face to turn pale.

Erik, who bore almost all of Locke's magical pressure directly, immediately stepped back two steps, as if someone running at high speed had suddenly hit a wall.

Erik looked at Locke with a trace of fear in his eyes that he himself hadn't detected.

As someone accustomed to living luxuriously, Erik had even become a formal wizard by using a Tidal Pearl combined with the Plutarch family's semi-elemental bloodline modification to transform himself into a semi-elemental creature.

His permanent defensive field wasn't a normal First Circle wizard's permanent defensive field either, but rather a [Fire Element Shell] formed by combining an elemental creature with a wizard's permanent defensive field.

This kind of thing was very useful for bullying wizard apprentices, but at the First Circle wizard stage, it was truly useless.

At this moment, under Locke's cold gaze, the fear in Erik's heart grew more and more. The several wizards behind him were also bearing tremendous pressure.

Erik could no longer maintain his composure, his voice somewhat distorted. "You actually release magical pressure on me in our Plutarch family's core territory?"

"This is the White Dragon Tower No. 2. I'm a senior wizard instructor at White Dragon Magic Gem University. You actually dare to release pressure on me here..."

"Scram." Locke looked at him coldly. "Or do you want to fight me?"

"Want to try?"

Locke's right hand turned over, and green spiral staircase-shaped Sea Gold Sand appeared in his palm. At the same time, the triangular leaves of the Sea Gold Sand secreted spore gold powder, and immediately the Sea Gold Sand turned golden.

Countless golden sands rotated around a Sea Gold Sand plant, looking extremely dangerous.

Moreover, the golden sand storm was expanding in Locke's hand, and every second that passed, the expansion speed increased. Because Locke was using magic in this corridor, he had activated the defensive magic array within the corridor. But supported by Locke's current magical pressure of 6700, these simple magic traps couldn't suppress his magical power either.

A flash of fear passed through Erik's eyes. He felt himself being locked on by Locke's magical power. The next moment he would immediately be struck.

'Damn it, this external potion master was clearly hired by my Plutarch family. Why does he have such obvious favoritism?'

'Where did my niece find such a powerful wizard to stand on her side? It seems I really underestimated her before. She's not as lacking in cunning as she appears.'

'I'm a son of wealth. I'm different from these commoner wizards. If we fight, I'll definitely be the one at a disadvantage.' A retreating intent flashed through Erik's eyes. He turned to leave in angry embarrassment, "Let's go, George."

"Can't reason with this commoner wizard. We'll come back another day. Alicia, you actually collude with outsiders to bully your family members. You're really doing such a great job as acting family head. I'll make sure to promote this well in the Plutarch family."

"You're only the acting family head and you're already bringing outsiders to bully your own people. When you become..."

Locke had already lost patience. The spore gold powder of the Sea Gold Sand in his hand turned into golden sand bullets, surrounding Erik. If he released even slightly, the next moment Erik would absolutely be shot into a sieve by the golden sand bullets. "Scram."

Erik looked back at Locke with an ugly expression. He felt that this time Locke truly carried killing intent, so without finishing his words, he took his son and the five branch family wizards who had come with him and fled from this place as if escaping.

At the floating staircase, Erik and the others remained silent. After a long moment, Erik finally recovered from Locke's terrifying magical pressure, gasping for breath. "That wizard is even more fierce and malevolent than a black wizard. Just now I even felt he might really attack me, a Plutarch direct bloodline wizard, in the Plutarch family's most core area."

"Simply unreasonable. Hard to deal with. I originally thought Alicia was an easy-going person. If I pressured her a bit, I could take advantage of father's unconsciousness to swap out the people caring for him by his side. Who knew Alicia would find such a troublesome character."

Erik's eyes were full of unwillingness. "If this continues, will our branch still have a place in this family?"

"George, hurry up and marry that witch from the Basil family. Although she's a bit ugly, as long as you marry her, you can raise your status in the Plutarch family."

"Moreover, according to family rules, as soon as you get married, Grand Wizard Sulla will give you some family businesses. I've had my eye on that family's jackal-leopard bloodline refining factory for a long time. This time I can use your marriage as an excuse to take that factory from my sister Lisa."

Erik said, "Besides, I can see your grandfather probably won't make it much longer, so we need to fight for as much family property as possible."

"Originally my sister's side didn't have that much of an advantage. If not for that little girl appearing, the Plutarch family's property should all be mine!"

George hadn't yet recovered from Locke's terrifying magical pressure just now. He had just felt like an invisibly tall mountain was pressing on his heart, making it impossible for him to even breathe.

At this moment, there wasn't half a trace of color in his face. His soul had probably suffered minor damage from the rapidly rising magical pressure just now, so his entire person was currently in a daze.

...

After Erik left with his people, Alicia finally walked out from behind the magic lock. She breathed a sigh of relief, then said to Locke, "Locke, thank you. Otherwise, I really wouldn't know how to drive them away."

"If I had come forward, I would definitely have been bound by familial affection and seniority. No matter how much I was in the right or how powerful I was, I wouldn't be able to easily say words of refusal."

"Grandfather asked me to manage the Plutarch family on his behalf and completely entrusted his illness management and treatment tasks to me. I really don't know if I truly possess this kind of ability right now."

Alicia said to Locke, "But I'll try my best. I won't disappoint you."

"Also, you can first come with me to the White Dragon Magic University's data management room. I'll show you the current projects at White Dragon Magic University. You can choose whatever projects you want."