Locke frowned. After careful thought, he said, "Breeding studies should be about researching theoretically perfect ecosystems."

Locke sensed that breeding studies must be highly developed in Cloud Marsh Wetland, so he chose an answer that was least likely to be wrong.

Because every breeder's ultimate goal must be to create what they consider the best natural ecology within their cognitive range.

Making the goal sound grand wouldn't be wrong.

Wizard Thomasson's expression improved slightly. "That's a good answer, and it is indeed one of botany's greatest purposes, but the problem is, this answer is wrong in our classroom."

Wizard Thomasson shook his head slightly, seeming somewhat disappointed. "You wizards have been deeply influenced by the shortsighted thinking of the outside world."

Wizard Thomasson turned around and used magic chalk to write on the pure black wall, "We can use counter-questions to verify our thinking, helping us achieve correct thought. The simplest counter-question is, if breeding studies cannot help us create powerful weapons or provide magical plants with special functions, would we stop researching each magical plant, stop classifying them, stop studying the reasons for their unique characteristics?"

"If weather studies eventually discover that the entire weather system is a chaotic system that cannot be predicted or precisely controlled, would we stop analyzing the trajectory of every whirlwind?"

"So today, I'm going to tell you about Cloud Marsh Wetland's customs."

Wizard Thomasson wrote two words on the wall, 'Useless.'

Wizard Thomasson said in a low voice, "In the wizard lands outside, because resources are scarce there and high-circle wizards are few, you're forced to constantly pursue the practicality of things, and this very thing lowers your upper limit."

"Pursuing practicality and thinking about practicality is certainly good, but the greatest practicality lies in uselessness."

Wizard Thomasson turned to face the many wizards, saying, "Let me be frank, all the high-circle wizards at Golden Crown Mountain, and even throughout Cloud Marsh Wetland, are pursuing useless things."

"That is, the pursuit of fundamental disciplines."

"The greatest cognitive change you'll experience coming to Cloud Marsh Wetland is to stop pursuing practicality and stop being averse to useless things. You certainly came to Golden Crown Mountain wanting to learn things, right? Then I'll tell you directly, what you learn here will definitely all be these useless things."

Wizard Thomasson turned around and took out from his astral ring a pot containing flowers of seven colors. "Once, a witch within our Golden Crown Mountain academy loved beauty very much, so she spent effort cultivating plum blossoms with seven colored flowers on a single branch."

"Then, she spent seven more years specifically researching why a plum tree branch could obtain flowers of seven colors through grafting, carefully exploring the magical power pathways involved, as well as the related natural magic component metabolic products."

The wizards below the classroom were whispering among themselves.

Wizard Daniel asked Locke in a low voice, "Plum blossoms with seven colors on one branch, what significance does that have?"

"Could it be that this can enhance the magical plant's performance?"

Before Locke could answer, Wizard Thomasson directly answered him. "It has no significance. If we don't count ornamental value, then it has no significance. Even if we count ornamental value, it's the kind of ornamental significance that doesn't have much practical use for wizards."

"Honestly, this isn't as practically ornamental as a magic painting of a seven-colored plum blossom branch painted by a speed painter. But precisely because it has no significance, that becomes its greatest significance."

Wizard Thomasson walked on the podium, his topic gradually deepening. "Golden Crown Mountain, or rather the path of exploring truth in the magical world, is all about researching useless studies. Besides discovering several mechanism pathways for magical plant branch color variation and publishing several Association S-level articles because of it, that witch didn't achieve any other great significance."

Wizard Thomasson said, "For you outside wizards, spending seven years of your time on making a plum tree look more beautiful seems like you've already lost your mind."

"But later this witch became a Third Circle Throne Wizard. Her name is Witch Yekaterina."

Locke's eyes widened in astonishment.

His collaborating mentor had done such things when she was young?

Wizard Thomasson said, "Witch Yekaterina, from the process of researching this phenomenon, discovered the key point that allowed her to obtain the Young Cadre Fund during the Second Circle wizard stage and become a Young Cadre, the light element backflow mutation mechanism in plants."

"Thus, during her Second Circle stage, she bred a Royal Plum Treant Guardian, that famous Second Circle treant with seven types of attack magic methods."

"Moreover, it also allowed her during the Third Circle stage to publish an epoch-making article in 'Misty Rain Cloud Marsh,' that top-tier journal only Third Circle wizards can publish in, titled 'A Variant of Magic Resonance Breeding Method, Basic Principles of Rainbow Resonance Breeding Method.' That article gave her the possibility of obtaining the Throne Wizard title."

Everyone clearly hadn't expected things to develop this way. That First Circle wizard who sounded heretical was now a Third Circle wizard at Golden Crown Mountain, a Throne Wizard.

What seemed like useless research during the First Circle stage ultimately became the starting point for Witch Yekaterina to discover the light element backflow mutation mechanism in magical plants and the Rainbow Resonance Breeding Method.

The wizards showed expressions of deep thought.

Wizard Thomasson then said, "Researching those seemingly most ordinary magical plants, or weather, certain common plant traits or meteorological phenomena, researching their mechanism pathways clearly, seems like wasting time, seems like useless studies, but is actually the greatest usefulness."

Wizard Thomasson said, "So you must take this course on your first day joining, because there are many projects within the Origin Academy that are different from the experiments you've done before. Those are all work that has no use whatsoever."

"Moreover, for a very long time, you absolutely won't find even the slightest bit of use in them. Besides writing articles, they won't have any other use."

"These are all fundamental disciplines that wouldn't receive attention in other wizard lands. For wizard lands with scarce resources that need rapid progress in the short term, pursuing these things won't improve their situation in the slightest."

"But we at Cloud Marsh Wetland need to stand in the future."

Wizard Thomasson said, "This is why we need the article system. Otherwise, all wizards could just skip articles and directly produce practical projects. When projects are completed, everyone can naturally see their level. But the problem is that much knowledge, many articles, are useless, yet they are the foundation for those truly useful projects."

Wizard Thomasson said, "Therefore, in this classroom, what does the study of magical plants research? It studies the mechanism pathways behind unknown phenomena in magical plants. What does weather studies research? It studies the formation mechanisms of weather phenomena."

"Magical plant studies aren't for making weapons or doing agriculture, but a discipline for researching nature. And weather studies aren't for ensuring favorable weather, but wizards' discipline for exploring the mysteries of the sky."

Wizard Thomasson said, "That's all for today. Class dismissed. I hope all the wizards newly joining Golden Crown Mountain are mentally prepared. Golden Crown Mountain is different from what you think. What we do here are impractical things, what we play with are completely useless stuff."

"If we only talk about practicality, many First Circle wizards here, even in terms of comprehensive ability and actual engineering development, are inferior to the wizards in the wizard lands you originally came from."

"If pursuing practicality led you onto the path of exploring truth, then pursuing the illusory can allow you to go much deeper on the path of truth."

Thomasson said, "Practicality and void are two sides of the same coin. Pursuing practicality and pursuing the void are both beneficial to us. This point, it even relates to your path after becoming Second Circle wizards."

"However, let's not mention this yet. There's no need to explain the specific content in advance. After you become Second Circle wizards, you'll naturally understand how significant today's lesson is for you. The reason why other wizard lands have so few Second Circle wizards, besides resource scarcity, is also because their viewpoint is problematic."

Thomasson said, "Today's lesson is essentially also laying the foundation for you to become Second Circle wizards."

All the wizards in the entire classroom began deep contemplation.

Locke blinked, thinking about why Second Circle Wizard Thomasson would say that the content of this classroom was actually related to Second Circle wizards.

…

Locke and Wizard Daniel left the classroom. Wizard Daniel was muttering to himself, "Useless studies? Pursuing the illusory?"

"I already felt that after becoming an aphorist, the things studied by the psionic school were too illusory, which is why I studied weather studies. But after coming to Cloud Marsh Wetland, they want us to adapt to the fact that what we're learning are all studies of the void."

Wizard Daniel covered his forehead, showing a puzzled expression. "This is really making things difficult for me."

"Pursuing the void? In our Fission Mausoleum Plains, if I wanted to do this, forget about becoming an official wizard, I'm afraid I'd be eliminated during the first-grade wizard apprentice stage. Without producing results, you can't earn money. Without earning money, you have no resources. Those who can pursue the void must be those with extremely abundant resources who don't lack money."

Wizard Daniel sighed.

Locke nodded slightly. "However, this is Cloud Marsh Wetland after all. Each wizard land has its own rules. We just need to follow local customs."

The two returned to their staff dormitory on the castle's third floor.

Called a staff dormitory, it was actually two adjacent large houses with rooms divided inside. The area was extremely large, and they were even equipped with five standard forest elf servants.

In short, the living conditions for First Circle wizards in Cloud Marsh Wetland were quite good.

Moreover, because Cloud Marsh Wetland's magical technology was advanced, Locke felt that living here was actually much more convenient than living in the Land of Six Towers.

After a night passed, Locke sat on his bed. After a night of meditation, he found that his magic pressure had increased by another 10.

At the same time, Locke saw on the gray fog stone tablet that Witch Yekaterina indicated that at six o'clock this morning, he could go to Group Six's laboratory. She had already informed the group leader wizard.

Meanwhile, Witch Yekaterina told him that because choosing an advanced meditation method was related to his advancement to Second Circle wizard, she couldn't let him choose casually.

Therefore, she planned to wait until next month when she held a group meeting to give him a separate hour for guidance on choosing an advanced meditation method.

Locke had no objections to this.

Anyway, he hadn't even reached First Circle crystallization yet. Choosing an advanced meditation method early wouldn't have any practical significance for him.

Moreover, if he chose wrong, that would be very troublesome. Having a Throne Wizard help him choose would be more reliable.

…

The next day, at six in the morning, after half a night of meditation, Locke was in high spirits and immediately headed to the laboratory. On the way, he encountered Wizard Daniel, who kept yawning.

Locke looked at him with puzzlement, full of drowsiness.

Wizard Daniel waved at him. "Don't worry. It's mainly because in my Fission Mausoleum Plains, I've never gone back at two in the morning and started normal work at six in the morning. So I need some time to adapt to this fast pace."

"Damn, only slept four hours. It's a bit hard to adapt. Locke, you look like you're in good spirits? What did you do last night?"

Locke said, "I meditated for half the night."

Wizard Daniel fell silent.

Wizard Daniel was silent for a moment, looked carefully at Locke, and complained in a low voice, "For a moment there, I thought you were a native wizard from this region. You've adapted so quickly to their insane schedule."

"I still need more time to adapt."

Locke hesitated, then said, "Daniel, you're going the wrong direction. I remember the weather studies laboratory is all on the left side, while I should go to the right."

In the corridor, Wizard Daniel nodded and raised his hand, saying, "Thanks."

Locke walked along the right corridor. He found his target location, pushed open the laboratory door, and immediately saw a vast garden behind it.

The garden was filled with birdsong and fragrant flowers, with various types of large breeding equipment and magical fields one after another.

Many First Circle crystallization stage wizards and Second Circle wizards were here surrounding the magical fields doing experiments.

At that moment, a Second Circle middle-aged wizard wearing a modified wizard robe, a jacket with many large pockets filled with magical plant seeds, and luminescent moss wristbands on his wrists, walked over with a frown.

The middle-aged wizard picked up a magic device gold watch in his hand, looked at the time, and immediately frowned. "You're late. Throne Yekaterina told me you would come at six o'clock, but now it's six-oh-one and three seconds. You're late by a full minute!"

"Plus three more seconds."

Locke was extremely shocked. He hadn't expected that a Second Circle wizard would be standing at the entrance of the Origin Academy's breeding studies public large laboratory, holding a magic clock waiting for him and telling him he was late by one minute and three seconds.

The middle-aged wizard looked at Locke, frowning. "Although you're a wizard recommended by Throne Yekaterina, and I'm also a group leader under this throne, by rights I should be very satisfied with you, but now I have two major dissatisfactions with you."

"First major dissatisfaction, on the first day, you're already late by one minute. What else do you plan to do in the future?"

"Second major dissatisfaction, you're only a First Circle liquefaction stage wizard, not a First Circle crystallization stage wizard. This lowers the average magic level within our group. I should say, my main dissatisfaction with you comes from this."

Locke ignored this Second Circle wizard's nitpicking and asked, "Wait, Second Circle wizard sir, I remember that my contract with the Origin Academy stipulated that I can research projects independently, so personally I shouldn't affect Group Six..."

The Second Circle wizard frowned, his brows seeming able to kill a fly. "Then I now have three major dissatisfactions with you. Third major dissatisfaction, you seem to lack collective consciousness."

"Working alone is such a waste of time. If you cooperate with others, it benefits everyone."

"My name is Kelt." Second Circle Wizard Kelt pressed his lips together. As an ordinary Second Circle wizard, he didn't dare disobey Throne Yekaterina's orders and knew how much she valued this young man, so even though he had three major dissatisfactions with Locke, he could only watch him join the group.

"In the laboratory, there are four categories of personnel. The first category is you researchers. The second major category of personnel is us chair professors at Golden Crown Mountain. The third major category of personnel is these jointly trained first-grade wizard apprentice students. Some of them may become your students in the future."

"Finally, there's the throne."

"I'm the group leader here, considered a mid-level mentor, while you're a junior mentor here, and the throne is the senior mentor here."

"Researcher Augustine, I hope I won't have more dissatisfactions with you afterward."