Only then did the two escape White Dragon Tower. The location where they reappeared was a mining field 30 kilometers underground from White Dragon Tower.

Locke had often come to 30 kilometers underground over the past period, because there was the Shadow Pool here. He needed to soak in the Shadow Pool's water to solve the consciousness split problem of the Twin Bloodline.

So he could recognize this location at a glance.

At that time, the Soul Ferryman also automatically dissipated due to the impact of gravity.

Locke breathed a sigh of relief. Although archaeology spells were very useful, some secrets themselves contained enormous dangers.

He would need to use them more carefully in the future.

Locke swept over the surrounding abandoned mining field and the Shadow Pool ten meters away, frowning slightly.

They had intruded into the Elemental Fission Pool through the Soul Ferry from the White Dragon Street area, and had barely moved within the Elemental Fission Pool, but after being ejected, the area they came out to was the Shadow Pool location of White Dragon Tower.

This meant the internal space of White Dragon Tower was likely chaotic, and the spacetime within wasn't necessarily homogeneous.

The fission gravity over there was indeed too powerful.

Homogeneous spacetime was a very important point.

Because this meant magic's repeatability.

If a spacetime's space wasn't equal everywhere, it meant that the same phenomenon occurring in one region at one time couldn't appear again at a similar region and time point.

Many spells would no longer work.

In the endless void, most planes, worlds, and spaces were generally homogeneous, because this was also a prerequisite for a plane/world to birth advanced life forms and complex powers.

If spacetime was distorted everywhere, then this world would be difficult to further evolve in an orderly manner.

Locke suspected the spacetime in that Elemental Fission Pool space of White Dragon Tower was completely distorted and chaotic. This could explain why the ferryman boat's spirit realm etherealization ability, which should ignore gravity, couldn't function there.

Because magical laws didn't hold there.

So-called laws only existed in homogeneous spacetime mediums. Otherwise, each spacetime would have its own characteristics.

If spacetime medium wasn't uniform, laws would lose universality.

In that state, trying to use magic would become very difficult, a major test even for First Circle wizards.

White Dragon Tower's interior undoubtedly had many secrets, and many very high-level secrets that only high-circle wizards could penetrate.

But everything had priorities. His current greatest interest was still to become a Second Circle wizard, so he could only put aside these secrets he had just discovered clues to.

Leonius and Locke talked for a while. The two decided to part ways here.

This was already the very bottom of White Dragon Tower. Usually, no one even came here, except for occasional regular patrol mortal guards and wizard apprentices responsible for maintenance.

As long as Locke activated his authority and opened the bottom gate to let him leave, Leonius could ride the ferryman boat and freely travel through the mineral veins 20 kilometers underground.

Leonius said to Locke, "In First Circle archaeology there are three major skill trees. The first is History Pointer, the second is History Reenactment, and the third is Summon Tomb Spirit."

"Especially the Summon Tomb Spirit system is the most complex. Confronting enemies, summoning meat shields, learning information—corresponding summoning-type spell models exist in this system. But standing at the apex of this system is still Summon Demon God."

Locke's eyebrow twitched.

Leonius said, "Unfortunately, Summon Demon God requires a First Circle crystallization level Suzerain, and requires our research in archaeology to reach a very deep level, and we ourselves must also be First Circle crystallization stage wizards. Warwick can use Summon Demon God, but you and I can't yet."

"Only the Summon Demon God spell model can, at the First Circle stage, fully unleash the power of the historical documents collected in our Suzerain books, borrowing powerful magical power from the past for us."

"Summon Demon God—this spell model is the ritual magic in our archaeology."

Locke nodded slightly. With Leonius saying this, he was indeed tempted.

After all, the Summon, King of the Dead and Summon, King of the Tomb he had used before all had their own wonderful uses.

The Summon Tomb Spirit system at the First Circle stage had brought him many surprises.

If he could use the apex of the First Circle Summon Tomb Spirit system—Summon Demon God, it would obviously bring enormous enhancement to his combat power.

Recently in White Dragon Library, he had read quite a bit of information and discovered that even for Second Circle wizards, ritual magic was very useful.

Don't be fooled by ritual magic only requiring First Circle to cast. Because of the special nature behind ritual magic, its connection to those powerful plane existences, First Circle ritual magic was still useful at the Second Circle stage.

Moreover, there was corresponding Second Circle stage ritual magic.

Only ritual magic was indeed very dangerous. If not careful, one would be like Wizard Nidhogg, playing with fire and getting burned, sending one's soul to the Blood River Plane.

Locke said to Leonius, "You can also advertise for me among archaeologists. If anyone is willing to exchange historical documents with me, I can also help them prepare potions."

At the underground entrance of White Dragon Tower, Leonius summoned a Styx ferryman. He looked at Locke with delight and gave the Styx ferryman an underworld gold coin, then said to Locke, "That would be wonderful."

"Among us archaeologists, there are also many people who want to obtain some potions that ordinary potion masters can't prepare. Some potions even involve gray areas. So they can't be traded with magic stones, but need to be traded with historical documents?"

Little old man Leonius smiled. "Just like Warwick and I said, Wizard Augustine is particularly fascinated by collecting historical documents. Good, I'll advertise this. If archaeologists really do come over then."

Little old man Leonius threw a bag of coins to Locke.

Locke opened it and saw it contained five underworld gold coins.

Locke looked at Leonius with confusion. "This is?"

Leonius said with a smile, "For us archaeologists, underworld gold coins aren't rare. It's just troublesome to collect them, so consider this a gift for you."

Locke thought for a moment and took out five bottles of improved version Spirit Spring Soul Surge from his astral ring and handed them to him.

Over the past year, he had kept ten bottles of Spirit Spring Soul Surge Potion in his astral ring to respond to unexpected needs, such as when fighting, preparing potions, or cultivating magical plants and needing to replenish mana.

What goes around comes around.

Moreover, giving his excellent improved potions to archaeologists to take back to their black wizard lands would better demonstrate his strength in potion studies.

Leonius opened one bottle and smelled it slightly. "How amazing. Just breathing the scent, my mana recovers somewhat."

Locke said, "Hmm, this is my improved version of Spirit Spring Soul Surge Potion. The medicinal effect is about three times the original version."

"It counts as a pretty good recovery-type potion at the First Circle stage. Make do with it. Consider this my gift to you."

Leonius glanced at Locke. "Professor Augustine, you're truly a formidable potion master. A formidable archaeology professor who's simultaneously a formidable potion master, this combination is actually very rare."

"If you came to develop in our black wizard lands, you'd also develop very well. Why stay in this annoying place with so many rules?" Leonius looked at Locke with incomprehension. "The rules here are so numerous they make me uncomfortable all over."

"Even servants can't be killed. How troublesome." Leonius said, "For me, getting a few apprentices killed in one experiment is very normal."

Clearly, little old man Leonius wasn't as agreeable as he appeared on the surface. His agreeableness was built on Locke possessing identity and strength equal to his, and currently he was still in white wizard lands, thus passively affected by this white wizard land's rules to some extent.

But once he returned to his own territory, he might not be this honest old man appearance now.

What determines a person's character is the most bottom-line thing they do.

Locke glanced at Leonius.

Seeing Locke not speaking, Leonius commanded the ferryman to pole the boat. The ferryman raised his oar, and in a flash disappeared without a trace.

Locke glanced once, turned to return to White Dragon Tower, and headed to the floating stairs in White Dragon Tower's central location, using the floating stairs to quickly return to ground level.

...

An hour later, Locke returned to his residence at 10 kilometers height in White Dragon Tower. At the same time, Locke returned to the house and indeed received two contracts sent from Cloud Marsh Wetland.

One was from Bonifacius University, the other from Golden Crown Mountain.

Locke compared the two contracts and found that the benefits Bonifacius University gave him in the contract were basically only half of Golden Crown Mountain's benefits. Moreover, many key rights, such as project funding autonomy, project personnel autonomy, and the right to adjust small project directions weren't given to him.

Instead, he had to listen to his cooperative mentor in everything.

That is to say, if he chose to sign the Advanced Origin Academy contract with Bonifacius University, he would basically enter the Advanced Origin Academy as a large wizard apprentice to study.

The benefits and rights Golden Crown Mountain gave him were very generous. Basically, they treated him as a mature official wizard.

Locke chose Golden Crown Mountain's contract for signing and quickly wrote his name.

As he signed his name, Locke was still preparing to mail the contract back, but who could have thought that the instant he signed his name, that contract suddenly automatically divided into two pages. One page remained in place. The other page activated magic similar to banishment-type Abjuration School magic and directly teleported away on the spot.

"This is..."

Locke said, "Right, all the contracts the Advanced Origin Academy sent me were actually made by Second Circle level contractors."

On the other side, as he signed the contract with Golden Crown Mountain, the Bonifacius University contract suddenly automatically burned, transforming into black smoke and disappearing without a trace.

Locke discovered he actually couldn't remember any terms of the contract Bonifacius University gave him. He could only remember some conclusions.

For example, the various conditions of the contract Bonifacius University gave him weren't as good as Golden Crown Mountain's.

But he couldn't recall any specific clauses.

"Some kind of memory seal?" Locke raised an eyebrow. Moreover, both contracts had Second Circle level curse protection and introduced Eye of Truth authentication. He didn't need to worry about problems with the contract.

Contracts made by Second Circle level contractors were indeed very convenient.

The Golden Crown Mountain contract he signed also had some confidentiality clauses, such as keeping his salary and benefits confidential from other researchers in the Advanced Origin Academy. If violated, corresponding people would learn of this and know he disclosed information.

The contract didn't have any severe punishments. After all, this wasn't a curse, just a commercial contract.

But he'd probably be punished by the Origin Academy.

Locke sensed someone looking for him. He summoned the gray stone tablet and saw it was Witch Yekaterina sending him a message. 'When do you have time to come to Cloud Marsh Wetland?'

Locke quickly replied, 'Mentor, the contract says I just need to report before this autumn's September.'

Advanced Origin Academy could at most let people stay five years.

After five years, whether you had gathered the graduation conditions or not, you'd be forcibly expelled.

Work positions within Advanced Origin Academy were also strictly regulated by the White Wizard Association headquarters. The entire Origin Academy system was the White Wizard Association headquarters' welfare system for young First Circle wizards below.

So this was even more strictly regulated than teaching positions, unless local White Wizard Associations or wizard academies didn't need White Wizard Association headquarters to pay but cultivated at their own expense.

Witch Yekaterina's message came over quickly. 'Autumn September? What are you thinking? It's only spring February now. I can't wait that long for you. Pack up and come now. I've already had someone arrange a dormitory for you.'

'I don't have enough people here. I just rejected a young First Circle crystallization wizard from Golden Crown Mountain's own school who applied to enter my project team for your sake.'

'His conditions were also very excellent, meeting my requirements in all aspects. But for certain special reasons, I still chose you.'

The quota for joining Advanced Origin Academy each year was limited. Generally, there were only two people, at most adding one more that year, for a total of three.

That is to say, just by joining the Advanced Origin Academy himself, due to quota issues, a young First Circle wizard who wanted to join the Advanced Origin Academy and originally met requirements became unable to enter.

He had squeezed the person out.

Locke couldn't help but sigh at the scarcity of these quotas and the cruelty of competition.

Locke thought for a moment and found that staying in the Land of Six Towers now indeed didn't have much significance. So he replied to Yekaterina that he would purchase boat tickets and go over as soon as possible.

Witch Yekaterina sent him a message. 'After you arrive, immediately apply for an Origin Academy project and complete this small project.'

'This kind of small project everyone can have doesn't need to be left undone. Lest you have to be distracted by this small matter when encountering difficult problems. You enter the academy half a year early, just right to solve this small project and get familiar with our Origin Academy's environment early, so you can work soon.'

Witch Yekaterina said, 'Staying in outside wizard lands is just wasting your talent and time. At Golden Crown Mountain, it's more suitable for your mana growth and can help you reach the First Circle crystallization stage earlier.'

'Also... did you recently submit to "Cloud Marsh" and "Southeast"? I have special channels to view submission records of researchers cooperating with me.'

Locke noticed Witch Yekaterina's strictness and keenness. However, having such a Third Circle wizard guide his study and research meant he had found a big backer.

Not just anyone was worth a Third Circle wizard wasting energy on them.

Locke replied, 'Yes, I did submit over half a month ago, but "Cloud Marsh" immediately rejected my article. I could only resubmit an article to "Grass Cloud Marsh" half a month ago.'