On the gray stone tablet, Witch Yekaterina sent a reply. 'Hmm, you can publish articles so quickly. Quite good.'

'I've read both your manuscripts. Both are very good. Congratulations. Your "Southeast" manuscript has passed, but "Grass Cloud Marsh" rejected you again. Alright, I need to get busy. Purchase boat tickets and come over as soon as possible.'

Locke was stunned for a moment. Clearly, Witch Yekaterina had her own special channels that allowed her to learn the results even faster than him, the submitter.

This should be the privilege of Third Circle wizards.

The rights Third Circle wizards possessed were things he currently couldn't even imagine, so he had no idea what method the other party used to learn the results faster than him.

Locke smiled bitterly. Worthy of being a Tier 1 journal in Cloud Marsh. His article failed "Grass Cloud Marsh" again.

Thinking about it, it was probably as the "Cloud Marsh" editor said—what he wrote in his article about using Myst's Power to accelerate becoming a First Circle crystallization stage wizard currently had no empirical evidence.

After all, he now only had 8100 magical pressure. There was still a long way to go before becoming a First Circle crystallization stage wizard.

Locke considered and tentatively sent a message to Witch Yekaterina. 'Mentor, do you have any suggestions for me?'

Locke originally didn't expect Witch Yekaterina to reply to him. After all, the other party was a Third Circle wizard. Even if she personally notified him, at most she'd only say a few words.

But who would have thought that the next moment, a reply from Witch Yekaterina actually appeared on the gray stone tablet.

Witch Yekaterina replied, 'No need to continue lowering the journal tier. Your article can be submitted to Tier 1 journals in Cloud Marsh Wetland. It just lacks key evidence support. Submit it after you become a First Circle crystallization wizard.'

'Don't worry about someone publishing it first, because I've already read it.'

'Also, being able to publish a Tier 2 journal article before entering the academy is very good. Tier 2 journals in Cloud Marsh Wetland aren't so easy to submit to. Coming with a Tier 2 journal article already puts you ahead of many people in our Advanced Origin Academy in performance evaluation.'

'Only, if you had asked me beforehand about that article on Myst's Power principles, I could have arranged more suitable journals for you. You'd also have a chance to compete for Tier 1.'

Locke sensed that Witch Yekaterina was hinting that he had been somewhat wasteful.

Locke shook his head slightly. Before this, he hadn't thought he could actively contact Witch Yekaterina and that he'd have a Third Circle wizard as his cooperative mentor.

If he had known earlier he had this big backer, as long as she didn't find him annoying, he would definitely frequently ask her opinion.

Locke sent Witch Yekaterina a message explaining why he submitted to "Southeast"—because Myst's Power originated from Lilith's Cottage in the southeastern quadrant. In reason and sentiment, he could only publish in "Southeast".

Only after Locke sent a message, he found Witch Yekaterina didn't reply. After waiting a while and confirming Witch Yekaterina wouldn't reply, he stood up and began ordering the servants in the room to pack luggage.

At the same time, he prepared to go to the Land of Six Towers' White Wizard Association's Floating Vessel Management Office to purchase boat tickets. However, for ticket money, he temporarily had none. He could only first sell some potions stored on him, originally used as consumables, to recover some funds.

Boat tickets to the Three Marsh Lands, due to various reasons and the developed artificial network path factor in the Three Marsh Lands, were very cheap. Unlike boat tickets to other wizard lands that easily cost tens of thousands of magic stones.

Boat tickets to the Three Marsh Lands basically only required five thousand to ten thousand magic stones.

It depended on your wizard land's distance from the Three Marsh Lands.

The Land of Six Towers where Locke was located wasn't too far from Cloud Marsh Wetland, so apparently only five thousand magic stones were needed to purchase the most ordinary boat ticket.

...

Golden Crown Mountain, in Dragon Fern Garden, a massive golden dragon lazily sprawled on a volcano, looking at Witch Yekaterina conducting fire volcano magical plant breeding experiments inside the volcano. "How strange. Rarely do I see you make losing deals."

"Wizard."

"You rejected an advanced breeder with rich work experience at our school, a First Circle crystallization wizard, yet chose an outside First Circle liquefaction wizard. This really doesn't seem like your usual choice, Yekaterina, my friend."

This Third Circle level true dragon golden dragon sneezed. Immediately, dragon breath spewed out, a sacred dragon flame exhaled.

Dragon breath was the natural weapon of many dragon creatures, naturally the most powerful magic.

The golden dragon's dragon breath was sacred dragon flame and righteous judgment breath. Silver dragons exhaled sacred ice breath and wisdom judgment breath. Bronze dragons exhaled sacred lightning and sacred storms. Bronze dragons were true dragons that controlled storms...

True dragons' dragon breaths were all different, possessing powerful and incredible power.

Even those giant dragons who liked to pretend to be true dragons would possess different dragon breaths. Giant dragons and true dragons were extremely similar, only their power levels were completely different.

Witch Yekaterina glanced at that golden dragon. "We're just in a cooperative relationship, Fafnir."

"Moreover, that child is the Cloud Marsh Cup champion."

Golden dragon Fafnir sneezed. Every true dragon possessed wisdom left by enormous accumulation of years. "What determines a wizard's upper limit has never been their strengths, but their weaknesses."

"You and I both know that wizards coming from outside, even if they have a strength, their comprehensive performance doesn't match wizards from our Golden Crown Mountain background."

"Coming from outside wizard lands, I think his head is full of how to improve magical plant trait expression, how to increase a magical plant's combat power, or a magical plant's healing effect, how much energy a magical plant can provide—these low-level questions."

"Transforming a person's thinking mode isn't easy, Yekaterina. He's already been poisoned by low-circle wizard thought outside for far too long."

Witch Yekaterina placed fire lotus into volcanic magma, beginning to observe changes in the lotus root at the fire lotus's base—the underground stem's metamorphic form (rhizome) of the lotus flower. "You have great prejudice against him, Fafnir. You can't categorize all problems on a wizard as just him being an outside wizard."

"Fafnir, tell me, what exactly are you worried about?"

Fafnir looked at Witch Yekaterina and finally couldn't help reminding, "That child is very strange. He has an Immortal Dragon Scale. That's not something a First Circle wizard can obtain. Even you, can you make an Immortal Dragon Scale appear on yourself through plundering methods? No. True dragon power cannot be plundered. This is a theorem."

"What wizards can scheme against are only those foolish giant dragons whose heads are full of destruction and who are vain enough to like pretending to be true dragons."

Fafnir reminded Witch Yekaterina. "That child has a very complex problem behind him. That problem is very big. My suggestion is, best not to get involved. Moreover, I still think his comprehensive ability doesn't match our academy's regular wizards who stayed at school."

"Considering everything comprehensively, I originally suggested you not let him enter our Advanced Wizard Academy, but who knew you'd still let him in."

"Moreover, you need to suppress the true dragon bloodline in your body every moment. Being with that child day and night will only make you more uncomfortable."

Witch Yekaterina, wearing black and gold-trimmed edges, observed changes in the fire lotus roots. "I know all of what you're saying. I actually only care whether he can work, because I want to obtain the Ten-Person Fund. I need many reliable assistants. Including him, I need many excellent First Circle wizards and Second Circle wizards to join my project. This is the important reason I chose him."

"And I'm very confident in his abilities. So both problems you mentioned aren't problems. Moreover..."

Witch Yekaterina said, "I should also properly solve my bloodline problem."

"Keeping him by my side, constantly stimulating the true dragon bloodline in my body—this is better. It's convenient for me to completely suppress this bloodline, completely making it serve me as primary."

"With wizard identity as primary."

Golden dragon Fafnir sneezed. "Forget it. It's just a small First Circle wizard anyway. You can do whatever you want."

"As long as it doesn't affect our two people's project."

"Since he's the Cloud Marsh Cup champion, even if he has some weaknesses, he should still be able to work somewhat. As for which of us is right or wrong, it'll be easy to see after he enters the Origin Academy."

Golden dragon Fafnir's viewpoint differed somewhat from Witch Yekaterina's. He was somewhat skeptical that Locke would be unable to keep up with the Advanced Origin Academy's work pace, especially that his ideological viewpoint couldn't be promptly changed in a short time.

The golden dragon said, "If your project can be completed, this will also be very beneficial for our dragon clan."

"This is why I established cooperation with your Golden Crown Mountain. Of course, to some extent, I only established cooperation with you alone. Other Golden Crown Mountain wizards won't know of my existence."

...

Locke sold some scattered potion storage in his astral ring, exchanging it for ten thousand magic stones, and immediately went to the Wizard Floating Vessel Management Office to purchase a boat ticket.

The ticket's departure time was the next day.

Locke planned to leave the Land of Six Towers the next day. All matters and projects here had already ended. Many people he was familiar with had also left after choosing better opportunities due to the Cloud Marsh Cup.

As time passed, there would be fewer and fewer wizards he was familiar with here.

That evening, Locke returned to his residence, preparing to pack up and begin his journey.

Inside the residence, Locke unexpectedly found it pitch dark.

He was about to order servants to turn on magic lamps when he sensed Alicia's magical pressure inside the residence.

Moreover, there wasn't a single servant inside his residence.

During these two years in the Land of Six Towers, Locke and Alicia often discussed potion studies together. Their relationship had become extremely good. Both were also at the age when young people fall in love.

Locke smelled the faint fragrance emanating from Alicia's body, like the fragrance of some kind of grass, with a special rose scent. That should be a special incense made by the incense studies branch of potion studies.

Its effect was calming, and also...

With Alicia's ability, she could naturally easily create it.

Alicia walked over and said softly, "Don't turn on the lights."

Then the girl's soft limbs touched his waist. She embraced him.

Locke's heart was shocked. He was about to push her away, but in his mind he thought of all the moments they had spent together over the past two years.

Moreover, both were already 22, just the right age.

Locke also had some hazy feelings for Alicia.

Alicia gently shook the hair by Locke's ear and asked, "Can you really not stay?"

Locke said softly, "Alicia, you know my choice."

Both fell silent.

Two years had passed. Locke had become more handsome and tall, while Alicia had shed her girlish naivety and become independent and strong in the governing process. The wizard robe on her body had also changed from amaranth red to bright red.

Locke looked at Alicia embracing him in the mirror and suddenly spoke, "Perhaps... you could come with me?"

In the mirror, Alicia looked at Locke's face. Regret flashed through her eyes, but this regret was quickly cut off and transformed into a definite choice. "Can I go with you? Can I? I also want to go with you. I also want to go to bigger places, broader horizons."

"But... Grandfather needs me. The Plutarch family and the Land of Six Towers also need me. I can only stay here."

"Leaving is your choice. Staying is also my choice."

"We both have our own careers. We can't compromise for each other."

Alicia said in a low voice, "Am I too greedy? I want to obtain everything."

Locke said, "No."

Alicia said, "Perhaps we can only be comrades, just as Grandfather said. As the Plutarch family head, I'm indeed not suitable to have a spouse, so... you're my best choice."

"You're leaving, and I only... love you. I won't fall in love with anyone else in the future, so..."

Both were in their youth, their whole bodies brimming with youthful energy. This was also the first time both had touched on such matters, and they both had feelings for each other.

Locke thought for a moment and didn't refuse either.

After one night, the next morning, Locke looked at the sleeping Alicia, got up and left, then sighed slightly.

If possible, he also wanted to bring Alicia to Cloud Marsh lands, but as she herself said.

She chose the Land of Six Towers and the Plutarch family, and didn't choose him.

Just as he chose truth and didn't choose her.

Locke had already packed in advance. Therefore, he put things from the house into his astral ring, wrote a farewell letter, pushed the door open and left.

The instant Locke closed the door, Alicia, who was pretending to sleep, opened her eyes.

She put on her bright red wizard robe. Her body gained an additional majesty out of thin air. At the same time, her magical pressure had already approached the liquefaction stage.

Alicia turned to look at herself in the mirror. A tear fell from the corner of her eye, sliding across her cheek. At the same time, she used secret methods to summon Grand Wizard Sulla's soul. "Grandfather, do you think not leaving with him was the wrong choice?"

"In the future, I'll never be able to feel happiness from anyone else again."

Grand Wizard Sulla guiltily didn't raise his head. "Alicia, you..."

Alicia's eyes quickly became sharp. "Grandfather, it's fine, because this time it has nothing to do with you. This is what I want. This is my own choice."

"Because Augustus Potion Specialty Shop has recently had more and more wizards turn to us. I should also quickly reach the First Circle crystallization stage, then use that Mage Plane to break through to become a Second Circle wizard."

"Once I become a Second Circle wizard, I can start reforming the Land of Six Towers. This wizard land always needs someone to invest energy to change it."

A sense of responsibility flashed through Alicia's eyes. "I enjoyed privileges here, so I must give back here."

"This heart, this thought, never changed!"