Grand Wizard Sulla said, "Just as you said, we need to remain silent and unseen. So in terms of personnel, you can only use these natives."

"Now you understand why I've been teaching them to learn magic. And the five hundred thousand magic stones is also the maximum private funding I can allocate to you while maintaining secrecy and allowing you to use it silently."

"I don't have any more than that."

"I specifically trained Alicia in handling finances. She knows how to operate, so you don't need to worry about that."

Locke thought about it and still nodded, accepting this project. "Then, Grand Wizard Sulla, you need to be prepared for failure. After all, you're only giving me five hundred thousand magic stones."

Grand Wizard Sulla was about to speak.

Locke added, "But I will guarantee that I'll do my utmost on this project."

Grand Wizard Sulla thought for a moment. Actually, he didn't trust anyone. Even if Locke were to promise him right now that he could definitely complete the task, he would instead think Locke was boasting in front of him.

No different from those wizards who constantly flattered him.

But Locke's frankness at this moment in giving him a heads-up instead made Grand Wizard Sulla believe him somewhat. "No wizard can guarantee that their project will definitely produce results. Rest assured, I'm not foolish enough to not understand even this."

"You are my granddaughter's lifesaver, and besides..." Grand Wizard Sulla glanced at the full trust for Locke in Alicia's eyes. Besides, he also wanted to enhance Alicia's prestige in the Land of Six Towers. Now that she finally had someone capable by her side, he naturally couldn't bear to harm him.

He wished for Locke's abilities to be stronger so he could assist Alicia and continue to enhance Alicia's prestige.

Up to now, Locke had always indirectly helped Alicia increase her prestige in the Plutarch family.

After all, no matter what the relationship between the two was, in outsiders' eyes, Alicia was always the source of funding for Locke's projects, the financial backer.

Grand Wizard Sulla said, "So, rest assured about this. You just need to do your best."

"Moreover, although your project sounds very good in description, whether it can actually help me enable these natives to cast First Circle magic is still an unknown. I'm just asking you to try."

Grand Wizard Sulla pointed at the primordial fire running wild through different rooms on this floor and said, "I'm temporarily giving you the right to use this flame. As long as you remain in my Plutarch family for one day, this flame can be used by you."

"Even after you leave the Plutarch family in the future, you just can't take the primordial fire with you. I'll keep it in the family and reserve it for you alone."

"When you return in the future, you can continue to use this primordial fire. I'll make it one of my family's secret treasures."

"This is your compensation for doing this project for me, and it will never be revoked. But if you truly get the project working, I'll consider whether to truly give you the primordial fire."

"How about it?"

Locke glanced at Grand Wizard Sulla and thought to himself, truly an old fox.

Getting some funding from this old fox was really much more difficult than dealing with Alicia.

'This old fox deliberately released the restrictions on the primordial fire, letting it run around everywhere creating chaos. He could have clearly given me the primordial fire while keeping it restrained.' Locke thought, 'Is he trying to probe my strength?'

'Truly a dangerous old fox.'

'I can see now that I can't believe a single word he says. What this guy says and what he does are completely disconnected.'

Locke looked at the extremely innocent Alicia beside him. It seemed Alicia had barely understood the subtext of the conversation between the two of them and this exchange of interests.

He really couldn't understand why such a cunning old fox would raise such an innocent granddaughter like Alicia.

Locke thought, 'This exchange is actually not bad for me, because I'm confident about completing this project. But wanting to hook me with just a primordial fire, where is there such a good deal?'

'This stingy old fox is thinking too optimistically.'

'I'm confident because of my strong abilities, not because this deal he's making is truly fair.'

'No, this deal still needs more negotiation.'

'Otherwise, I'll be at a slight loss.'

Locke thought, "Right now, he's the one who needs me, not the other way around. This means I can take the initiative. This matter has nothing to do with the strength of power."

"Mainly, no matter how precious a primordial fire is, it still can't help me directly advance to Second Circle wizard. What can truly help me advance to Second Circle wizard is an advanced meditation method and knowledge of using special resources from medium-scale worlds."

"When it comes down to it, these two types of knowledge are the most expensive in the wizard world."

The primordial fire had value but no market. There wasn't even a public price for it on the market, so its value was hard to measure. After all, for something without a price, how much you could sell it for depended entirely on your own abilities.

And indeed, the primordial fire was the most precious treasure for every potion master.

After all, with it, one could immediately transform from a rookie First Circle potion master into an excellent First Circle potion master, and could even go further. Possessing it meant being able to go further on the path of potion studies and pursue the preparation of even more formidable potions. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

But the problem was, Locke's mind was very clear. He couldn't be like many potion masters who put the cart before the horse, not improving their magic level but instead focusing on improving their potion master level.

This was picking up sesame seeds while losing the watermelon.

Knowledge about advancing to crystallization wizard and advancing to Second Circle wizard was the most important to him.

Locke flipped his right hand, and a green spiral staircase-like plant appeared, Sea Gold Sand.

In just an instant, the Sea Gold Sand secreted a large amount of golden spore powder. Under the effect of the spell model [Golden Sand Torrent], waves of rolling golden sand seas chased after the primordial fire that was running wild everywhere in the corridor and surrounded it using the golden sand sea.

'Sizzle~'

A burst of fire energy exploded in the golden sand sea.

A large amount of golden sand was rapidly being melted by the flames. But with Locke's 7,000 magic pressure supporting it, this golden sand barely withstood the primordial fire's flames. Moreover, his Abyss energy and the increasingly powerful Golden Twin-Headed Dragon bloodline had a double strengthening effect on the Sea Gold Sand.

Therefore, it gradually covered the area around the primordial fire, forming the shape of a pharaoh's coffin, and at the top of this coffin, a cross pattern appeared.

This magic completely sealed that primordial fire.

This was precisely the fourth magic in the plant magic [Scorching Gold Sand Flow] series, [Sand-Cast Sacred Coffin]!

However, after this sealing spell was completed, the primordial fire still seemed to have some movement. But Locke immediately used the Large Green Leaf Dragon Sparrow. Behind him appeared banana leaves like green dragon wings, and he simultaneously converted his magic pressure into dragon's might, adding it to the Sand-Cast Sacred Coffin to strengthen his sealing magic.

Thirty seconds later, the sealing magic was completely finished. The spark of the primordial fire was thoroughly suppressed and sealed by Locke.

Although Locke was indeed somewhat tired, he widened his eyes and stood straight. He threw the sealed primordial fire into his astral ring, then looked calmly at Grand Wizard Sulla.

Actually, aside from his beast panel and Forest Sanctuary, these two trump cards, he had already used all his other methods.

But the more this was the case, the more he couldn't show weakness.

And Grand Wizard Sulla, seeing this scene, had his pupils contract slightly. At the same time, he felt fortunate that because of Alicia, he hadn't chosen a rather dark direction.

That primordial fire was a violent among fires. How could it be so easily tamed? Even when he initially captured that primordial fire, he had gone through considerable trouble and suffered quite a bit.

But Locke could seal it in front of him without needing his help, and still looked so relaxed, as if he hadn't exerted any effort at all. This showed that Locke's combat power as a wizard absolutely could not be underestimated.

Although part of it was also because that primordial fire had already been consumed quite a bit by him, removing most of its ferocity, and also because this wasn't the earth's core, so the terrain was unfavorable to the primordial fire.

'If I were to fight him, I might not necessarily gain an advantage. Although I can use ritual magic and the magic arrays here, this is just an avatar of mine after all. I only have an advantage in absolute power.' Grand Wizard Sulla looked at Alicia. 'And here is my weak spot.'

'Moreover, this kid's power is not weak either. He seems to also have a special bloodline not inferior to our Plutarch family's Scorpion Woman bloodline, and it even faintly causes the Scorpion Woman bloodline I've cultivated here to stir. I don't know what level of bloodline it is.'

'He also seems to be able to use Abyss energy. Not to be underestimated. I'd better not have any other thoughts.' Grand Wizard Sulla felt Locke was quite troublesome. 'Following the rules and conducting the trade honestly is already maximizing benefits for me.'

'If I try to force things unreasonably, I'm afraid even my granddaughter might turn against me for this kid's sake. I don't want to be foolish enough to ruin a good hand I've been dealt.'