New Discovery

As night fell, the Magic Forest at the edge of Felix Magic Academy grew ever more desolate. Bright moonlight cast long shadows from the towering palace.

At some point, two figures appeared before the gates of the Magic Forest.

They were none other than Doman and Dorothy.

After investigating throughout the day, Doman had finally made up his mind to join Asheff's magical experiment.

"Knock, knock..."

The moment the knocking began, the heavy palace doors silently opened.

Doman straightened his back and strode in with his head held high, Dorothy close behind her grandfather.

The two went around the screen wall, descended the spiral staircase, and arrived at the Underground Laboratory.

Doman narrowed his eyes as he surveyed this distinctly styled magic laboratory, growing ever more certain of his suspicions.

Asheff was not from the Kevil Empire. He was most likely a Wood Spirit mage Dendall had recruited from another country.

At that moment, Asheff and his assistant Erin were gathered around a Microgravity Glass Box, seemingly observing something.

Doman did not mind Asheff's neglect.

His attention had been completely drawn to the wildly twisting plants inside the glass box.

Even with all his experience and knowledge, he had never witnessed plants mutating in such a manner.

"Doman, Wood Spirit Magic Mentor of Felix Magic Academy, greets Mr. Asheff." Doman walked up to Yu Sheng'an and placed a hand over his chest in salute.

"What is it?"

Yu Sheng'an kept his gaze on the glass box. From time to time, he extended a finger and wrote something on the illusory parchment floating before him.

His assistant Erin, however, stared at Doman in astonishment. She had clearly recognized him.

"I have heard that your magical experiments are extraordinary, sir. I would also like to join them, and I hope you will permit it." Doman got straight to the point, his manner humble.

Yu Sheng'an stopped recording and turned to look at him.

He first glanced at Dorothy, frightening her so badly that she hurriedly lowered her head. Only then did he look at Doman. "I have long heard of your great name, Mr. Doman! My experiment does not require advanced magic. If you come here, you will probably end up doing chores like a Magic Apprentice. Are you sure you still want to take part?"

Doman was stunned for a moment, then quickly said, "Of course."

"Don't be so quick to agree. To participate in my experiments, you need to sign a Confidentiality Agreement. Also, your magical attainments are too high. Besides the confidentiality contract, you will also need to sign a Non-compete Agreement."

"A Non-compete Agreement?" Doman was confused.

"It roughly means that you may study what I study in the future, but you cannot tell anyone about it, much less sell it. Do you understand?"

"May I ask what your research concerns, sir?" Doman looked surprised.

"Crops." Yu Sheng'an was becoming impatient. "Enough. Decide whether you're staying or leaving, and do it quickly. Stop dawdling and wasting time!"

Everyone's expressions changed slightly at those words.

Clearly, they had not expected Yu Sheng'an to be so blunt even with Doman.

Doman fell silent for a moment before gritting his teeth. "All right!"

Yu Sheng'an nodded, casually took two blank Contract Documents from his Space Ring, then used magic as a pen to swiftly write out two contracts and hand them over.

Doman read them carefully. Only after confirming that there were no traps hidden in the wording did he sign the contracts.

"Are you planning to research through the night, sir?" After signing the contracts, Doman relaxed considerably and asked curiously.

"There is still some work unfinished. Here, add me as a friend first, and I'll send you the observation report."

As Yu Sheng'an opened the Internet to add Doman, he continued giving instructions. "Later, categorize and tally all the different traits of the same species of plants in that row of glass boxes over there."

Doman, who was about to add him as a friend, looked baffled. "Different traits? What does that mean?"

"You don't understand?" Yu Sheng'an asked reflexively, then said impatiently, "Forget it. Erin, explain it to him."

"Also, once you've finished the tally, keep all the seeds. Take them out of the glass boxes and use normal soil to accelerate their growth, then cultivate second-generation seeds. Remember, accelerate the growth of plants with identical traits separately and let them self-pollinate to produce homozygotes, which will serve as a Seed Bank with stable hereditary traits. Ask Erin if there is anything you do not understand."

After assigning the tasks, Yu Sheng'an left to attend to other matters.

Yet Doman stood as if struck by lightning!

Those technical terms he could not understand made him feel as though he had encountered Wood Spirit magic for the first time.

The pride he had once felt was utterly crushed by Yu Sheng'an's few simple words.

Dorothy's eyes shone even brighter, and her entire body trembled with excitement.

She knew it. Asheff was no ordinary man!

In truth, as Erin stumbled through her explanation, the Dominant-Recessive Gene Theory she described seemed to open the door to a new world for the grandfather and granddaughter.

Plants could be understood from this perspective?

Doman's aged face flushed red with excitement!

Little did he know that Erin was feeling even more complicated emotions.

She had never imagined that one day, the Empire's most outstanding Wood Spirit Archmage would obediently listen to her explain knowledge, repeatedly asking questions whenever he encountered something he did not understand.

It made her nervous. After explaining only a few sentences, she would instinctively turn back to look at Asheff, afraid that she had explained something incorrectly.

After all, Asheff had only taught her this knowledge not long ago.

Back then, she had been utterly shocked as well.

Now, seeing Doman's attitude, it was clear that this seemingly insignificant knowledge was likely far more important than she had imagined.

It was like the famous debate over value in the world of magic.

Which was more valuable: the first Magic Rune humanity learned, or Forbidden Magic?

The universally accepted conclusion was that the first Magic Rune was the most valuable.

Because it represented the leap from zero to one!

The knowledge Asheff had taught her was clearly like that first Magic Rune. It seemed simple, but it was likely the foundation of a profound discipline.

In fact, Doman had realized this long ago.

Only after questioning Erin until she was speechless did he cast a lingering glance at Asheff. Then, like when he had first entered his mentor's laboratory in his youth, he eagerly went off to work, looking more vigorous than any young man.

At that moment, his heart was already filled with wild joy!

This young man truly possessed mysterious Wood Spirit magic knowledge. No wonder Magic God Dendall valued him so highly.

He knew this knowledge had to be extremely precious. If he wanted to obtain it, he would have to prove himself.

Just as he would only impart his most precious knowledge to the Magic Apprentices he found most pleasing.

They worked until midnight.

In truth, Yu Sheng'an did not need to work so hard. Magic was simply too useful, and it had stirred his enthusiasm.

Just imagine it: planting a seed, then watching it sprout, grow, flower, and bear fruit at a speed visible to the naked eye.

With such efficiency, his goal was within reach.

Naturally, Yu Sheng'an wanted to press on while the momentum lasted.

To be honest, if he had not been worried that Doman and Erin would be unable to keep up physically, he would have continued researching.

Yet he did not know that after leaving the Underground Laboratory and returning to their residences, neither Doman nor Erin got much rest.

Instead, in their respective laboratories—one sophisticated, the other rudimentary—they began verifying the Dominant-Recessive Gene Theory Yu Sheng'an had taught them.

Of the two, Doman was the most excited.

The theory Yu Sheng'an had taught him had inspired him and explained many of the problems that had troubled his research.

Naturally, he was too excited to sleep and immediately began testing it.

Erin, on the other hand, was much calmer.

After all, she was merely a Magic Apprentice. The knowledge she had encountered was not especially profound, so there were naturally not many difficult problems for her to encounter.

She was mainly eager to try it out for herself and cultivate something for fun.

Since Asheff had already included the major crops within his experiments, she simply chose to cultivate a very common wild vegetable—Winter Mallow.

Few people in Willis City knew that, in the countryside, this wild vegetable had saved countless lives.

Who knew how many farmers had relied on this cold-resistant plant to survive the bitter winter?

This wild vegetable grew quickly and reproduced quickly. Cut down one crop, and another would grow before long. It was not picky about soil. Its only drawback was that it tasted very bitter, and eating too much of it caused stomachaches and diarrhea.

So Erin wondered whether she could separate its traits and see how its different traits would manifest.

To be honest, she was merely curious and trying it out. She had not thought much of it.

Yet a casual effort produced unexpected results. Through rapid cultivation, she soon obtained two varieties of Winter Mallow—White Flower and Red Flower.

Within each flower color, there were also Wrinkled Seed and Round Seed varieties.

Among them, the White Wrinkled Winter Mallow actually... had lost its bitter taste!!!

This discovery completely stunned Erin.

Without even thinking, she opened the Internet and sent Asheff a message. She was excited by her discovery, yet also felt like a student showing off good grades to a parent.

Only after sending the message did she realize that the horizon was already beginning to brighten. Mr. Asheff must have gone to sleep long ago.

Unexpectedly, the moment that thought arose, Asheff replied at once.