The Secret of the Heart of Plants

Chen Chuan looked toward the voice and saw the vague outline of a human face emerge on the trunk, giving off a gentle glow.

"Who are you?" Chen Chuan asked tentatively.

"I am the guardian, and also the guide of this dream." The face on the trunk smiled faintly.

"By coming to the Life Academy, you formed a connection with this dream."

Chen Chuan felt a warm power flow from the trunk, smoothing away the doubts in his heart.

"I need the Heart of Plants, right?" Chen Chuan asked directly.

"I know what you want to say. The Heart of Plants is indeed one of the cornerstones of the path to becoming a bloodline wizard, but it is not the only path." There was a hint of mystery in the guardian's voice.

"It possesses immense life force. It is an opportunity, but even more so, it is a tremendous risk. Before you, quite a few geniuses obtained the Heart of Plants and tried to devour it as the core material for changing their class to bloodline wizard, but they all failed."

Chen Chuan fell silent, and the guardian continued.

"The Heart of Plants contains a trace of the Tree of Myriad Worlds' bloodline. When you devour it, the Tree of Myriad Worlds will sense it as well. The Wizard World is a hegemon-level power in the cosmic star region, so the Tree of Myriad Worlds will not forcibly descend in its true body. But if it sends down a trace of its divine sense to test you, the Wizard World will not stop it. After all, survival of the fittest is the very foundation of the Wizard World."

Chen Chuan was silent for a moment before speaking again. "What does the test involve?"

The guardian's face shook its head slightly. "The test has no fixed form. Only those who experience it can know, yet no one has passed it to date, so we have no way of finding out. A hundred thousand years ago, there was an exceptionally gifted wizard who had a talent for mental defense. His father was one of the Wizard World's leaders at the time. To surpass his father, he abandoned the orthodox path of an elemental wizard, rejected the smooth road his father had arranged for him, and came here to win my approval. I gave him the Heart of Plants, and he was also the only apprentice to pass the test alive and reappear in the Wizard World. Unfortunately, he survived for less than five seconds before dying from his severe injuries. Before he died, he left these words: those without a mental defense talent are forbidden from devouring the Heart of Plants."

Chen Chuan grew even more silent. He thought for a moment. "What did you mean when you said it wasn't the only path?"

The guardian's face flickered in and out of sight. "When you change your class to elemental wizard, the Heart of Plants can also be regarded as an elemental heart. It can serve as a cornerstone for the life element, allowing you to quickly improve and accumulate power in that field. It can also be used as one of the materials for a spellblade wizard's bonded weapon, granting the weapon certain special effects. Those effects are a tremendous temptation to any spellblade wizard."

The guardian's voice echoed in Chen Chuan's mind, carrying wisdom accumulated over the ages. "The choice is yours, child. Every path has its costs and rewards."

Chen Chuan looked up at the indistinct face on the trunk, his mind filled with thoughts.

The power and danger of a bloodline wizard, the orthodoxy and stability of an elemental wizard, the uniqueness and potential of a spellblade wizard—the three entirely different paths intertwined in his mind.

"I need time to think," Chen Chuan said in a low voice.

The guardian nodded slightly. "When you are ready, enter the dream, and you will naturally find me."

As soon as the guardian finished speaking, the surrounding scenery began to blur, and the light of the Tree of Life gradually faded.

An invisible force pushed Chen Chuan's consciousness out of the dream world.

Chen Chuan's eyes snapped open. Darkness enveloped him in the dormitory, while moonlight poured in through the window like water.

He sat up, his palms already damp with sweat.

Chen Chuan wiped the fine sweat from his forehead, his heart still pounding rapidly in his chest.

Moonlight slipped through a gap in the curtains, casting a silver-white band across the floor and illuminating the copy of Introduction to the Wizard Combat System lying on the desk.

He stood, walked to the window, and pushed it open, letting the cold night wind blow in.

Outside, the enormous Mother Tree stood quietly in the moonlight, its branches and leaves swaying gently in the wind with a rustling sound.

Chen Chuan gazed at its crown, the guardian's words still echoing in his mind.

Those without a mental defense talent were forbidden from devouring the Heart of Plants—that warning hung over his head like a sharp sword.

He returned to the desk and opened the magic book, his gaze resting on the chapters about elemental wizards and spellblade wizards.

The temptation and danger of becoming a bloodline wizard left him hesitant, but Alex's reminder still rang in his ears: as a hegemon-level plane in the star region, what kind of genius had the Wizard World not seen?

The Black Tower was his ultimate destination.

Chen Chuan looked away from the pages and at the sample of Concentration Potion on the corner of the desk. The pale blue liquid glimmered in the moonlight, as if hinting at some possibility.

He got up and picked up the potion, carefully examining the tiny droplets condensed on the bottle.

Alex had said that this potion could increase mental strength, but it was extremely difficult to make.

Chen Chuan put the potion back on the desk, his fingers brushing lightly over the star on his badge.

His position as a researcher brought resources and opportunities, but it also meant greater responsibility.

He closed his eyes and began circulating the Tree of Life Meditation Method.

The magic power within him flowed like a stream, resonating faintly with the Mother Tree outside.

As he meditated, Chen Chuan felt his mental strength slowly growing, but he still had some way to go before breaking through.

"Perhaps I should try making a Concentration Potion first." Chen Chuan opened his eyes, his gaze growing resolute.

Although the cost was high, if he succeeded, it would not only provide assurance for the extraction on the night of the full moon, but also accelerate the advancement of his cultivation level.

Chen Chuan took out the Concentration Potion formula, opened All-Things Analysis, and placed it in the analysis slot.

Analyze the Concentration Potion formula?

"Yes."

All-Things Analysis: Concentration Potion (1 hour 23 minutes remaining.)

Chen Chuan narrowed his eyes slightly. The time was so short probably because his own level of potion-making had already reached that of a beginner potion maker.

That was why it was so fast.

It seemed that as his own skill experience increased, the analysis time for similar skills would also decrease.

Chen Chuan sat down and read Introduction to the Wizard Combat System, studying as he waited.

His mental strength was currently increasing much more slowly. Chen Chuan had only realized later that the gains from meditation were not fixed each time, but random.

In the early stages, he had been able to trigger increases in his mental strength proficiency because the difficulty was low, so he would basically improve whenever he practiced the meditation method. But now, it had gradually become a matter of chance.

Crimson System · Host [Chen Chuan]

Class: Life wizard

Physique: 9.4+

Agility: 9.3+

Spirit: 32.9+

Skills: Tree of Life Meditation Method Lv3 (289/300)+

Elementary Potionology Lv.3 (99/300) expandable+

Talents/active: Light of Wisdom, Seed of Life.

Source of Magic Power: 550

Chen Chuan took out a beginner magic stone and converted it directly into Source of Magic Power.

One beginner magic stone was basically equal to one point of Source of Magic Power.

Chen Chuan had previously saved up 500 beginner magic stones, and the researcher's allowance he had received today included another 200 magic stones.

He currently had more than 700 beginner magic stones.

Chen Chuan first spent 110 points of Source of Magic Power on the meditation method, raising it to Lv4 (1/400).

Spirit +3

His current mental strength was 35.9.

Potionology still needed a lot more experience before it could level up.

It would also be difficult to raise the Tree of Life Meditation Method to Lv5 in the short term.

So he would use all the remaining beginner magic stones as materials for Concentration Potion.