Three Hundred Million Magic Stones in Net Profit and a High-Ring Magic Plant: Nai Tree Venerable's Entrustment

After the Green Dragon Vine covered 1,400 wizarding cities and halted the invasion of all the Hell armies, the Witch Pulao breathed a sigh of relief. She twirled in her high heels and raised her hands high, "It worked!"

The Witch Pulao said to Locke, "Young man of the Red Dragon School Lineage, it has been a very pleasant experience to cooperate with you this time."

"As far as the Pseudo-Forging Lord all things is concerned, you are too young, yet you have your own ideas, and you are not as lifeless as you might be due to being too conservative. Are you still selling the wizard robes you gave that wizard from the Kunguding Academy? I also want to see those Pure Magic Plant Wizard Robe."

Locke looked at the Witch Pulao strangely. She was the Moon-Ring Grand Wizard, with over a hundred Formal Wizard under her command. She was a teacher and a wizard who had gone far on the Path of Truth. Yet, she had a similar personality to his Potions teacher Sea Queen Throne, and was so unrestrained in front of his more than one hundred subordinates.

The personalities of Solas Third Ring -Ring's students seemed to clash with his own.

Locke shook his head. "The Million Mushroom King Wizard Robe is still in testing. Augustus has no intention of selling it to the public."

"Besides, I think you're only interested in the wizard's robe Mike is wearing. To me, even that Prototype Wizard Robe is special; otherwise, I wouldn't have bothered keeping it from you. What's wrong with showing it to you?"

A flicker of disappointment crossed the Witch Pulao's eyes. "Then that's a real shame."

"This document is for you."

Locke took the documents she handed him, opened the magic book, and found that it was a notebook written by the Witch Pulao. It was full of her thoughts and understandings on the Prototype Wizard Robe, as well as her failed experiments. Among them, she mentioned that by using the peel of Angela Soul Pear Fruit and adding it to the textile material of the wizard robe, the Magic Pressure of the robe could be made to be completely consistent with the Magic Pressure of the wizard himself.

"So—you mean to say that the efficiency of my Million Mushroom King's Mycelium Fusion with the wizard's own spirituality can be increased using your Angela Soul Pear Fruit?"

The Witch Pulao held a Rose with petals as large as a person in her right hand; this was a common Moon-Ring Magic Plant of the Hundred-Demon Rose Genus: the Fossil Rose.

The Fossil Rose looked like a plant fossil, with Rose resembling helicopter propellers. The Witch Pulao simply held the magical plant in her right hand, and it carried her into the sky. She was following the Magic Power of the Green Dragon Vine into the other Wizard Duel City.

In mid-air, the Witch Pulao snapped her fingers at Locke. "Yes. I observed Mr. Mike and your wizard robes before, and I thought that with the help of Angela Soul Pear Fruit, it might be able to help you truly complete your magic that is still under construction. Although I don't know what it is, it's probably related to the wizard robes."

"At the back of that spellbook are my thoughts, written down based on my observations of your magic and wizard's robes."

"And the seeds of my Angela Soul Pear Fruit."

Locke flipped through the spellbook to the last page and, sure enough, found a bag of seeds. He looked curiously at the Witch Pulao. At that moment, the soul projections of hundreds of wizards rose into the air with the Witch Pulao. These wizards, along with the Witch Pulao, looked down at Locke, as if countless stars were rising from the ground into the sky, enveloping the entire sky in these projections, and the star-like soul projections...

They followed the Green Dragon Vine toward another Wizard Duel City.

Locke said to the Witch Pulao, "If I remember correctly, our two Academic Lineage are enemies. I even offended your teacher and your senior, Mr. Argos, before."

Upon hearing this, the Witch Pulao smiled and called out to Locke, "I've already heard about it. However, fearing the advancement of competitors is the behavior of the weak. I've always been fond of exotic magical plants and wizard robes, and your Pure Magic Plant Wizard Robe perfectly spans two areas that interest me. At least for your wizard robe, I'm interested in helping you complete it."

"The magic book also contains my contact information for the Lingzhi Magic Plant."

"I'm confident I'll continue to improve, and at a rate that surpasses any other wizard. So if you actually manage to create your Pure Magic Plant Wizard Robe, it will benefit me as well. I might even become interested in this field myself."

"As for the conflict over Academic Lineage, that certainly cannot be forgotten. However, given our current situation, it's not the time to discuss such Academic Lineage. Most importantly, this is a form of compensation. To protect these cities, you had no choice but to leave the Green Dragon Vine in this city for the time being. Now, under the Seamless Heavenly Robe guidance of the Heavenly Master, the Magic Web formed by these Green Dragon Vine is controlled by you and me. To compensate you, I certainly need to provide you with something."

The Witch Pulao's figure disappeared at the end of the green vines in the sky. "I am truly delighted to have cooperated with you today; it's a relief that we didn't lose to those ugly monsters of Hell. Hell is coming on strong, and I suspect they may launch another attack in the future."

Let's exchange contact information then; perhaps there's room for collaboration in the future. If I make any important discoveries that require cooperation, I will contact you.

Locke raised an eyebrow as he watched the Witch Pulao disappear, glancing at the spellbook in his hand. "I didn't expect Solas's side to send..."

There's also this witch in the department. She seems completely indifferent to the conflict between my Academic Lineage and hers.

"Well, this book has indeed been helpful to me. It's not easy to find like-minded people; it seems she's had the idea of designing Pure Magic Plant Wizard Robe for a long time."

Locke flipped through her magic book and immediately understood the source of her initial goodwill towards him: it was because she saw someone who shared her thoughts and was even ahead of her in progress.

Locke was about to leave when he suddenly looked up at the tall, ringed Apple Tree in the sky above the city. "Yes. Your name is Nai Tree Venerable?"

Locke bowed to the Apple Tree. "I've read your survival strategies and know you'll do wizards favors; I should repay that favor."

A spiral-shaped apple seed, resembling a shark egg, suddenly fell from the sky.

It landed at Locke's feet.

Locke picked up the seed. "It's not Nai Tree Venerable's seed, but a seed from a Star Ring Apple Tree? Although it's Star Ring Apple Tree seed, this Magic Pressure— "

The Magic Pressure Magic Pressure of this Star-Ring Magic Plant seed is actually higher than that of a typical Moon-Ring Magic Plant seed.

Locke's Constancy resonated with the Nai Tree Venerable. "So that's how it is. This is actually a Moon Ring Apple Genus magical plant seed with the characteristics of 'Void Forging.' Null Forging, Void Forging, and Pseudo Forging are all choices. This is a magical plant that doesn't follow the Pseudo Forging route but continues to advance as Void Forging entity."

The concepts of nothingness, illusion, falsehood, and truth that begin at the Second Ring can be mapped one-to-one with the Second-Ring Realm. Locke already knew this; it was a definition given by High-Ring Wizard in the Wizarding World.

In the Wizarding World, no one can break this agreement.

If you disobey, you will be targeted by the Wizarding World.

This is the best way to suppress and restrain wizards who pursue form. Although those wizards who pursue form can still find some ways to circumvent it, the overall environment is not favorable to them.

However, this is not the case in the Infinite Void.

There, the increase in Magic Pressure does not correspond to nothingness, illusion, falsehood, or truth.

Locke consulted the materials and discovered that the definition of Moon-Ring Magic Plant is very broad. In the broadest definition, Moon-Ring Magic Plant is considered Moon-Ring Magic Plant as long as its Magic Pressure reaches 30,000, without needing to reach the level of Pseudo Forging.

Just like Locke's Water King Pineapple and Water King Cabbage, as well as Heavenly Wolf Rose, they are still in the process of Void Forging and have not yet entered the Pseudo Forging level. The Black-Gold Ancient Holy Peach Tree, on the other hand, has the crystallization of the evolutionary results at each stage, and finally guided out the Magic Pressure Metal, a substance that can change the entire ecological field.

Both the Saint Stephen's Ring Cherry of the Witch Cheli and the Angela Soul Pear Fruit of the Witch Pulao have their own Magic Plant Ecological Domain, so they are also Pseudo Forging level.

Saint Stephen's Ring Cherry seems to produce a kind of explosive, cherry-like gaseous substance in the air, while An...

Kira's Soul Pear Fruit can widely and universally manipulate the souls of surrounding life forms within the environment. These things, as Pseudo-Forging Lord, can extensively alter the ecological environment of a world and guide this ecological environment to be most beneficial to their respective magical plant genus.

"Null Forging magic plants, Void Forging magic plants, and Pseudo Forging magic plants are all characteristics. Further up the line, if we don't adhere to the strictest definition, then Null Forging magic plant that meets the Magic Pressure requirement can be Moon-Ring Magic Plant."

Locke scratched his head and put down the Lingzhi Magic Plant.

From this perspective, many of the diverse Moon-Ring Magic Plant in the Wizarding World are either Null Forging or only Void Forging. However, if it comes to competing for a spot on the Magic Plant Ranking, Moon-Ring Magic Plant that don't reach the Pseudo Forging level will indeed have a hard time making it into the rankings, at least for the Holy Peach Genus Magic Plant.

I thought my Black-Gold Ancient Holy Peach Tree was pretty good. It had Jungle, Advanced Mystical Significance, the unique ecological domain of Pseudo Forging magical plants, and Magic Pressure Metal production. Who knew it would only rank 94th?

This made Locke suspect that going further up required improving his basic skills in Spiritual Breath Studies or enhancing his fundamental abilities in Breeding Science.

Locke held the Angela Soul Pear seed given to him by the Witch Pulao in his left hand, and the Apple Genus Moon-Ring Magic Plant seed that the Nai Tree Venerable had asked him to plant in another new world outside the Wizarding World in his right. "It seems I need to plant a batch of Moon-Ring Magic Plant. Fortunately, because of the Wizard's Shoe, I should have a large sum of money soon. It's time to go back to the Wizarding World."

Locke put away the two seeds and looked through the information on the Lingzhi Magic Plant.

"Among Moon-Ring Magic Plant, the one with Pseudo Forging is definitely the most powerful. Among magical plants with the same Magic Pressure and a high degree of forging, the one with the most powerful magic resistance..."

The utilization rate of pressure is higher. However, Null Forging and Void Forging plants have their own characteristics. Pseudo Forging Moon-Ring Magic Plant have Constancy; although powerful, they cannot violate their Constancy. Null Forging Moon-Ring Magic Plant, on the other hand, have no restrictions, but are simply the weakest, equivalent to a blank Moon-Ring Magic Plant. Even their Occult Significance is weaker, but they are easier to change direction.

"Breeder focus on quantity are more likely to favor breeding Null Forging Moon-Ring Magic Plant."

"The Void Forging Moon-Ring Magic Plant is unpredictable, its true nature ambiguous. Its natural Magic Power structure is extremely complex, making it more powerful in combat than the Null Forging Moon-Ring Magic Plant, yet easier to cultivate than the Pseudo Forging Moon-Ring Magic Plant. Therefore, many Moon Ring Breeder prefer to cultivate this type of magical plant. Furthermore, because it lacks an ecological domain, it is easier for it to coexist with other magical plants. In addition, the Void Forging Moon-Ring Magic Plant possesses the ability to actively interpret the world at Void Forging moments, altering its own form."

"The cultivation of the Pseudo Forging Moon-Ring Magic Plant in the Jungle is the most difficult, the Strongest combat power, yet it exhibits its own Constancy. It can easily restrict itself and places high demands on the user. Not every wizard is qualified to gain the favor of a Magical Plant of the Pseudo-Forging Lord level."

Locke blinked, immediately understanding the hidden meaning behind this information. "At least I now know why my Black-Gold Ancient Holy Peach Tree is only ranked 94th for now. As Moon-Ring Magic Plant, Null Forging, Void Forging, and Pseudo Forging possess three different attributes. Breeder cultivate them in different directions for different purposes. You can't simply label something and think it's the the Strongest or best, then blindly delve into that area. Therefore, my Black-Gold Ancient Holy Peach Tree, as the Pseudo-Forging Lord, has too weak Constancy."

Its ecological domain is almost entirely itself.

"At most, add me too."

"Therefore, the best way to improve its ranking is to cultivate more holy beings that can produce Magic Pressure Metal."

Peach Magic Plant, or those magical plants that can utilize Magic Pressure Metal. These magical plants should be at the Apprentice Level, First Ring level, Second Ring level, and Star-Ring Level— "

"That is, to allow the ecological domain of the Pseudo-Forging Lord to contain Star-Ring Magic Plant, Second-Ring Magic Plant, as well as Null Forging Moon Ring and Void Forging Moon Ring ----"

"In this way, my Black-Gold Ancient Holy Peach Tree will no longer be just an empty shell of Pseudo-Forging Lord."

Locke was startled when he thought of this scene. It was no wonder that wizards were so eager for outstanding students. Such a huge workload, and this was only for one Moon-Ring Representative Species.

What if future Advantaged Representative Species and type genus are designated?

What if, as a Third-Ring Wizard, one directly controlled a magical plant of a specific element?

How many disciples and followers would he need to elevate such a rank?

Locke yearned even more for outstanding students. Of course, with his ability to Synthesis Cube, he had a special advantage in Magic Plant Cultivation. He was determined to cultivate more of them after returning home, whether to help the Black-Gold Ancient Holy Peach Tree improve its ranking or to cultivate other Representative Species. Every time he used his Great Magic to cultivate such a Representative Species, he could enhance his Great Magic and increase and optimize the forging level of his Great Magic.

This may be related to branding.

Thinking of this, Locke sensed something and looked up at the Apple Tree in the distance, their leaves swaying gently in the breeze. "Nai Tree Venerable, you support me too? Hahaha, I understand. I won't plant magical plants in your world."

Among Nai Tree Venerable's survival strategies, there seems to be an idea of monopolizing a world. To this end, he has evolved apples with a wax system, so that when wizards and other life forms take these fruits to other worlds, the wax can provide absolute defense and prevent the fruits from being destroyed along the way.

Locke believes that Nai Tree Venerable's refusal to grant itself true reproductive offspring may be partly due to Nai Tree Venerable's desire to spread offspring of the demonic plants belonging to its ecosystem, and partly due to Nai Tree Venerable testing itself to see if it is worthy of its trust.

However, if I plant the seed of the Void Forging Moon-Ring Magic Plant elsewhere and it survives, will Nai Tree Venerable be able to sense it?

Locke saw the branches and leaves of the distant Nai Tree Venerable swaying again, as if urging him on.

Locke bowed to him again. "I understand. Nai Tree Venerable, I will take this fruit into a new world."

Locke chose to petrify his avatar, and at the same time, he took the fruit with him as he left this world.

In another Wizard Duel City, the Witch Pulao, holding a stone umbrella in her right hand, spoke to a projection of a wizard with Star-Ring Limit Magic Pressure, saying, "Teacher Pulao, how could you give him the seed of the Angela Soul Pear Fruit? The cultivation of the Angela Soul Pear Fruit is extremely difficult. Giving it to that Great Wizard from a rival Academic Lineage is a waste."

"But if the other party can actually grow it, then it'll be troublesome. Angela Soul Pear Fruit is a highly ranked Pear Genus magical plant. It has high value for grafting, hybridization, and exploring its Plant Essence. Generally speaking, this..."

Aren't all magical plants not for sale?

"Teacher?"

The Witch Pulao stared at the wizarding city beneath her feet and said, "Huh? Oh. What did you just say? I didn't hear you."

The projected soul seemed to be in a hurry. "Teacher—"

He repeated what he had just said.

After listening, the Witch Pulao replied, "That's unnecessary. The magic plant seeds are enchanted by a special protective spell from the Protection School. They cannot be used for grafting, hybridization, or to probe their Plant Factor. He could, of course, try to bypass the magical protection himself, but it would take at least five years. That's not worth it for Locke Augustine."

"If he sells these seeds or gives them to someone else, then I've misjudged him. If he can use those seeds to do something, perhaps I can collaborate with him on something in the field of Pure Magic Plant Wizard Robe. Overall, I have indeed been inspired by him and want to continue to delve deeper into the research of Pure Magic Plant Wizard Robe. So, the necessary price must be paid; one cannot be too stingy."

"I will soon breed a new Representative Species."

The projected soul struggled one last time, saying, "That's a wizard from a rival Academic Lineage. How can we think like him? If we help him research Pure Magic Plant Wizard Robe, aren't we aiding the enemy?"

A ring of pear peels appeared before the left eye of the Witch Pulao, and magical runes appeared on these peels, enhancing her vision and allowing her to grasp something hidden.

"So what? At least I haven't told Locke Augustine what our sect is chasing: the Persepolis God Clan lurking in the wizarding cities. Our sect's Wizard Robe Design Competition has two real objectives: first, to win points in the competition among fellow disciples; second, to hunt down this Persepolis God Clan, which will earn specific points. Besides, I'm also very curious about the secrets hidden within this God Clan lurking in the Great Wizard cities."

"Although Locke Augustine made contact with that native Pseudo-Forging Lord and likely obtained some specific information, I couldn't go up to him at the time to avoid falling out with him. But as long as I could capture this God Clan, I could still obtain some information. Besides, I'm not a fool who's only focused on breeding experiments. Maintaining contact with Locke Augustine means I still have the possibility of obtaining some of the truth about this world through him."

The Witch Pulao flew through the sky, her gaze fixed on the Wizard Duel City below, checking the direction of the God Clan.

She noticed that her senior sister and another Star-Ring Wizard from the same sect were also there.

"Then let's begin our Solas Faction's hunting competition against the Persepolis God Clan!"

Locke's soul returned to his body, and he sat in a chair in the public office. The Celt wizard brought him a cup of wizard tea to help Locke regain his energy.

Locke was breathing softly.

The Wizard Duel City certainly drained a lot of my energy, whether it was the first half where I tried to complete my Spiritual Evolution, or...

The subsequent tasks involve collecting and deciphering the survival strategy of that high-ringed Rose Magic Plant, as well as Magic Plant Cultivation and the Jungle.

The wizards in Locke's research group were all exhausted.

The Wizard Duel City for about half a month, and this group of people worked alongside Locke for half a month without sleep or rest.

Wizard Gordon slumped into his chair, weakly raising his arm. "Team leader, I'm exhausted."

"It's finally finished."

Wizard Wood stood to the side and asked, "Team leader, how much money did you make this time?"

Lix Mario and his brother also looked at Locke.

Locke then took out an Astral Ring and placed it on the table.

"These are 341 Rose Genus magical plants that I collected in Duel City, plants that don't exist in the Wizarding World. I'm distributing these research materials to you all as payment for your work."

Everyone's faces lit up with surprise; it was truly a valuable treasure.

Although they initially thought Locke would keep the resources within his own research group, they were relieved and felt greatly encouraged when Locke actually said so.

The Celt wizard quickly waved his hand, saying, "These are all things you personally obtained from the deeper layers of the Venom Great World."

How could they take it?

Wizard Gordon hesitated for a moment. "Yes—"

Locke replied, "But it's also thanks to everyone's support from the rear. Besides, we're all wizards in the same research group. I don't have any other wizard subordinates. If not you, who else would I give them to?"

Wood was afraid that Gordon and Celt would ruin the deal. "Then thank you very much, team leader."

Locke looked at the Mario Brothers and said, "Besides that, you can write the research articles related to Nai Tree Venerable's survival strategies. This part won't be of much help to me."

My current focus should be on winning the Representative Species.

Studying other Rose species and High-Ring Magic Plant Apple Genus plants will only distract you.

Moreover, I must pay attention to resource allocation. My research group has helped me a lot this time. If I don't share the benefits with them, then morale will be lost.

The Mario Brothers' faces lit up with joy.

Lix Mario replied, "Group Leader Locke, I'll thank you on behalf of my older brother. We've been to many places, and to be Justice, the environment in your research group is the best. We never have to worry about our efforts going unnoticed or becoming someone else's stepping stone."

Locke nodded. Actually, a team that can acknowledge the hard work of others and do its job well is already quite good.

And it definitely won't be bad.

However, many teams cannot even guarantee this.

However, this is only the most basic kind of thing.

Because these kinds of benefits are relatively easy to distribute. What's more difficult to distribute is the kind of credit that's unclear to everyone, so that anyone can claim a little bit of credit.

At this moment, because Locke took the initiative to distribute the profits, and because the entire team was immersed in a joyful and positive state of mind.

In fact, for Locke, these wizards were not difficult to manage. After all, these people either had the need to advance through the Wizard Academy or the need to go through the Truth Institute. For a group of wizards with needs, the premise of being difficult to manage was that the research group could only provide them with limited resources.

If this research group can quickly obtain various resources and distribute benefits relatively fairly, then how could these people be difficult to manage?

Locke scanned the group, explaining their individual tasks and his expectations of them. Locke knew that fairness was important, but more importantly, as his subordinates, these wizards needed to be relied upon.

All you need to do is find what each person is good at and rely on them in ways that are advantageous to you, and you can make every wizard in the research group feel valued.

If we force them to be treated completely equally, it may actually create a sense of estrangement.

I learned this from the Witch Catherine. I discovered it very early on; my teacher was very good at creating a sense of reliance on every witch she cared about.

It has to be said.

This feature is quite useful.

When Locke spoke with the wizard Gordon, he revealed that he wanted Gordon to continue helping him write articles, and Gordon clearly felt that he had gained special and important trust, so he was very enthusiastic at this moment.

"Of course, team leader. No problem. By helping you write the article, I can also get some scraps of information myself, write my own things, and learn something along the way."

Locke nodded and said to Mr. Celt, "Mr. Celt, you'll be in charge of managing the group's internal affairs for now. You all should focus on processing the research materials we obtained from Duel City. I have some things to do."

"There might be some issues with managing the research group's affairs."

Locke continued to Wood Wizard, "Mr. Wood, you are the only one who has been involved in both the Cell-Level Magic Plant Sword Mound and the design of Pure Magic Plant Wizard Robe. I hope you can help me combine the two. We need to continue building this Sword Mound, and it should become a regular resource within our research group in the future. Because this Sword Family is an important starting point for cultivating Pure Magic Plant Wizard Shoes."

Wizard Wood said, "No problem. Team leader, the information you gave me is very complete, I will continue. May I ask, how much money did you make this time?"

This was Wood's second inquiry; he was genuinely curious about just how much money Locke had made.

"Well, you guess."

Locke snapped his fingers and then quickly left.

As Wood Wizard watched Locke leave, he said with some regret, "The team leader has been very good to us and relies on me a lot. But I still didn't get the answer: how much money will Augustus make this time? Augustus defeated Solas Barefoot this time; he should make quite a bit of money."

"Aren't you all curious about just how rich our group leader is? I suspect he's one of the wealthiest Moon-Ring Wizard. Why don't we try asking him how thick his health bar is? My friend next door is having nightmares every night because his group leader is so poor."

"I heard they're so poor they can't even afford Queen's Chessboard."

The Celt wizards had clearly experienced such times. "They can't even afford the Queen's Chessboard? How can they do research then?"

"My goodness! Which research group is it?!"

Wizard Wood rubbed his nose. "I can't say for sure. If I did, and you all spread the word, no wizard would dare join that group. I'd probably completely offend him. Anyway, back to the point, aren't you all curious about how much money the group leader made this time?"

"Lix Gordon?"

Lix Mario said, "How can we ask about such private matters? I am indeed very curious, though. Do you think there's a hundred million?"

Wizard Gordon crossed his arms and swept his gaze over them. "I'm a loyal follower of our group leader. Why would I ask such a thing?"

"I need to report your discussion to the group leader."

The wizard Wood stroked his chin. "Just wanted to check the team leader's health bar."

"However, there hasn't been much going on in the research group lately. You guys can finally do your own things. I wonder what the group leader is going to do during this time. Logically speaking, the Solas Barefoot incident is over, and they shouldn't dare to cause trouble for a while. Group leader, why did you suddenly announce that you're going to do something else?"

Mario's brother walked out of the lab, clearly uninterested in these matters.

He originally entered Golden Crown Mountain only to obtain the resources to become Moon-Ring Wizard, but now it seems that Ping is seriously advancing in the teaching system within Golden Crown Mountain, so staying here is not a bad idea.

Lix Mario quickly followed his brother, then turned to Wood, Gordon, and the Celt wizard, saying, "If we have some free time, let's digest these research materials and see which ones are useful for our projects or that might help us apply for the Second-Ring Fund."

Wizard Gordon nodded as well.

He felt that his magic level in this research group was too low, and if given the opportunity, he hoped to advance to become Star-Ring Wizard as soon as possible.

Although the presence of a Celt wizard in the research group made him seem less useless, he still wanted to advance to become Void-Forging Wizard as soon as possible if possible.

So he wanted to apply for a Second-Ring Wizard's secret realm.

The Celt wizard noticed that everyone seemed to have their own things to do, while he himself felt a little flustered, because he didn't seem to have anything to do himself.

The Celt wizard coughed. "Gentlemen, don't we need to gather together to discuss what to do next?"

Except for Gordon, all the wizards left the laboratory.

The Celt wizard coughed.

Locke arrived at his private quarters on Golden Crown Mountain, and then contacted Queen Ayla of Arthas. Queen Ayla was sitting in her palace, raising a glass of Wizard Wine filled with gold to Locke.

"Mr. Locke Augustine, I think cooperating with Augustus was the right decision I ever made. Congratulations. The Starlit Golden Dragon Claw Air Pineapple, Black Lightning Air Pineapple, and the King's New Shoes Air Pineapple all sold very well this time. I expect a total trade volume of over 900 million. After deducting your external loans, your net profit..."

Rundu may have 300 million.

"The combined sales of Black Lightning, Starlit Golden Dragon Claw, and the King's New Shoes reached an unprecedented three hundred pairs, boosting the sales of your First-Ring Wizard Shoes as well. It's just a pity that your Azure Cloud Duckweed and Water King Air Pineapple haven't been listed yet."

"Many wizards are also interested in your wizarding robes, although there are fewer of them."

Locke raised an eyebrow, surprised that so many wizards would buy the Starlit Golden Dragon Claw this time.

The reason why Azure Cloud Duckweed and Water King Air Pineapple are not yet available is quite simple.

First, mass production technology is not yet perfected.

Secondly, hiring Mike was only for testing purposes; Augustus mainly sold Starlit Golden Dragon Claw Air Pineapple and its variants, as well as the King's New Shoes.

Just like the Wizard's Shoe that Solas Barefoot brought out this time, they were only specific versions of Wizard's Shoe provided to wizards of specific expedition teams. The Wizard's Shoe in the hands of those expedition teams, especially the World Foundation Stone Series, were versions that Locke had previously checked and found were not for sale because the technology was not yet perfected and the cost had not been reduced.

It's just a test; it's not ready for mass production yet, and my Water King Air Pineapple is in the same situation.

The existing Pure Magic Plant Wizard Shoes are actually not enough to support the Water King Air Pineapple.

The Water King Air Pineapple, cultivated in the Cell-Level Magic Plant Sword Mound, is Void Forging Moon-Ring Magic Plant. The Star Ring Imaginary Root it uses are its own, not borrowed from the Underworld Iron Tree. Furthermore, it possesses an exceptionally developed main root Imaginary Root, which carries Moon Ring Magic Pressure and Advanced Mystical Significance.

Locke had previously tried using the Underworld Iron Tree, borrowing its Imaginary Root through the Approach Grafting, but found that he could not upgrade the Water King Air Pineapple to the Moon-Ring Magic Plant.

But that's alright.

Because they already have a million-mushroom Mycelium route, they can reduce the cost of the Water King Air Pineapple.

The reason he told the other wizards in the research group that he would be unable to attend to the research group for a while and that he would have Mike test the Wizard's Shoe that could not be sold temporarily was to prepare for the Eastern Sector Wizard's Shoe Masters Tournament, which was to be held by the Starfield Sea soon.

I plan to participate in the First Ring, Second Ring, and Moon Ring categories of that competition.

If that news is true.

However, there probably aren't many wizards in Cloud Marsh Wetland who know this right now.

Next, I plan to concentrate the resources I've earned this time on perfecting the Water King Air Pineapple, the Starlit Golden Dragon Claw Air Pineapple, and the Black Giant Hummingbird of the First Ring according to the competition requirements. In particular, the two Wizard's Shoe are currently the most popular Wizard's Shoe in the Cloud Marsh Wetland wizarding world.

The winners of the three arenas of that Wizard's Shoe competition will be presented as the standard for Wizard's Shoe in each grade.

This is for all wizards to learn.

In other words, the competition is the best advertising tool.

This time, his Augustus defeated Solas Barefoot, making it unlikely that Solas Barefoot would be able to make a second move for the time being. If this match is completed, his Augustus will likely be promoted to a top-tier Wizard Shoes Shop Alliance in Cloud Marsh Wetland and obtain his own Pseudo Forging.

Locke pondered, "Then, to complete Augustus's Pseudo Forging, it's not enough for the Wizard's Shoe to be of high quality; the concept of Pure Magic Plant Wizard Shoes also needs to be perfected, and Augustus's internal staff and organizational structure also need to be improved."

So, the reason I needed to leave the research group for a while was actually to allow Augustus make Pseudo Forging.

Locke asked Queen Ayla curiously, "Your Majesty, I initially thought our net profit this time would be around two hundred million. How come we suddenly sold about a hundred more pairs of Wizard's Shoe?"

Queen Ayla looked at Locke with suspicion. "You didn't know? I thought this was the supplier you contacted. Someone suddenly placed an order for one hundred Starlit Golden Dragon Claw Air Pineapple. I thought you knew this person. Let me check—"

Two-Headed Ship], hmm, this Shop Alliance has a very unique name. The shareholding structure is extremely complex. But what I like most is figuring out the identities of these people hiding behind the scenes.

After a while, Queen Ayla said to Locke in a strange tone, "Mr. Locke, do you know the name of the person behind this Two-Headed Ship Shop Alliance— "

Meanwhile, in a private office of Solas Barefoot, the Wizard Argos found his bankrupt student, the wizard Lex. Lex looked gloomy and desperate because he had been instigated by Annie to confront Locke Augustine, and now he was bankrupt and owed a huge sum of thirty million Magic Stone.

What is he going to do now?

"Teacher----"

Argos found him and hesitated for a moment. "How much money do you owe?"

Wizard Lex looked utterly desperate. "Teacher, I've borrowed from everyone I know who I can. I've paid back a little, but I still owe the Wizard Fairy Bank thirty million Magic Stone. That's the research and development cost for the Wizard's Shoe. I'm doomed."

"That's it, we're finished."

"I simply can't pay this back."

The main problem was that he had lost all his credit and was broke, so the 30 million Magic Stone were the last stone that broke the Camel's back for him.

Argos considered for a moment, then said, "Lex, sometimes we need to be flexible. You know that. We need to win. I was going to go bankrupt this time too. But halfway through, I suddenly remembered that I still have some traffic from the three Greater World that the Resource Management Integration Committee helped me with. So—well, those people especially need to find a way to buy the Pure Magic Plant Wizard Shoes."

The Lex looked at Argos with a strange expression.

Argos said, "So I set up a Shop Alliance specifically to help Augustus sell Pure Magic Plant Wizard Shoes, called the Two-Headed Ship Shop Alliance. And you know what? Those Starry Golden Air Dragon Claws really sold well. They were all sold out in no time. I think this business can continue. It's a business that can make money quickly."

"Become a distributor for Augustus, Lex."

"We need to keep winning, keep winning all the way. So sometimes we need to be flexible. Don't turn down a business that can make money. Ahem—let's be careful, as long as we don't tell anyone, who'll know we're distributors for Augustus?"

In short, there's nothing shameful about it.