Chapter Summaries

Locke gave Witch Scarlett the Five-Headed Snake seeds and agreed on prices and a launch promotion for his Magic Plants. He then borrowed 500,000 Magic Stones from the Fairy Family Bank to help fund his plans for the Four Elements Ring and Life Ancient Tree.

• Locke gave Witch Scarlett the Nine-Headed Snake seeds and the Five-Headed Snake seeds developed by Gregor and Williams.
• Witch Scarlett set prices of 200,000 Magic Stones for each Nine-Headed Snake and 100,000 for each Five-Headed Snake, and Locke accepted her proposal to offer free Five-Headed Snakes to the first fifteen organizations buying a Nine-Headed Snake on September 1.
• Locke asked Witch Scarlett about Augustine's mass-production Plantations and learned they were mainly in the Lower Wizard Land and colonial planes.
• Locke visited the Fairy Family Bank and learned that its minimum loan of 500,000 Magic Stones carried a 5% annual interest rate for a high-quality customer like him.
• Locke agreed to borrow 500,000 Magic Stones from Fisher and declined to buy insurance.

Locke planted the Life Ancient Tree seedling in his Druid's Ring, using the Four Elements Ring and Mosswood Marrow to give it enough energy to sprout. Its presence strengthened and unified the Forest Sanctuary, allowing Locke to inscribe the Oak Belt and Oak Crown runes onto a Winter-Summer Giant Tree, though his grafting knife shattered in the process.

• Locke bought four Element Rings, arranged his magic rings, and planted the Life Ancient Tree seed in the Forest Sanctuary.
• The seedling would not settle into the soil until Locke used the Four Elements Ring to establish elemental sources and added ten pieces of Mosswood Marrow.
• The Life Ancient Tree sprouted, submitted to Locke, and increased the Forest Sanctuary's integration and capacity.
• Locke described his plans to expand the Forest Sanctuary, strengthen his defenses, and explore the Second Ring, while wondering about Madam Mister's fate.
• Locke carved the Oak Belt and Oak Crown runes into a Winter-Summer Giant Tree, completing them as his Golden Grafting Knife broke apart.
• Locke concluded that he could now try using three Permanent Defense Fields of Life Heavy Armor at the same time.

Locke discovered that Life Heavy Armor let him cycle life force with nature, granting him seemingly endless Mana and rapid healing, and he bought Watergreen Mountain Beeches to strengthen his Forest Sanctuary. Witch Catherine backed him after a wizard complained about his students and instructed him to learn [Peach Arc Thorn Arrow] before attempting the Superior Meditation Method.

• Locke combined Oak Magic Armor, Oak Crown, and Oak Belt into Life Heavy Armor and found that its natural life cycle replenished his power and healed his wounds.
• Locke left Druid's Ring and contracted to buy about forty-five Watergreen Mountain Beeches from Silver Plum Garden for three hundred thousand Magic Stones.
• Witch Catherine told Locke that a Second-Ring Wizard had complained because Williams and Gregor had taken opportunities from the wizard's student, and she said she had already warned him.
• Witch Catherine told Locke to ignore unreasonable threats and assured him that she supported him.
• Witch Catherine gave Locke a reading list and instructed him to learn [Peach Arc Thorn Arrow] before studying the Superior Meditation Method.

Locke expanded his Forest Sanctuary and redirected his research team toward a potentially valuable new Tyrant Element, despite his dwindling savings. He reunited with Witch Diana, who had joined Group Three, and accepted her challenge to test a way she had devised to break his defenses.

• Locke transplanted forty-five Watergreen Mountain Beech trees into his Forest Sanctuary, bringing its total to ninety-five, and considered the dangers of introducing Magic Creatures.
• Locke worried that buying and transplanting the trees had nearly emptied his savings, even as he supported his research team’s expenses.
• Wizard Barrett confirmed that the Overlord Pineapple contained a newly discovered No. 2 Tyrant Element, and Locke assigned the team to investigate it and its breeding potential.
• Witch Diana arrived at Golden Crown Mountain as a project leader seconded to Group Three and told Locke about her previous research at Boniface University.
• Witch Diana challenged Locke to a match at the Joseph Golem Shop, and he accepted after she offered to pay the rental fee.
• In the testing room, Locke formed five Permanent Defense Fields, and Witch Diana launched her expanding Full Moon Barrier against them.

Locke fought Witch Diana, whose amplified Full Moon Barrier exposed the weakness of his Multiple Permanent Defense Fields, but he defeated her with Mister’s Power and learned from their exchange. He then studied Peach Arc Thorn Arrow at the library, and on September 1 he checked Arthas’s product rankings through the Wish Ganoderma.

• Witch Diana used the Luna Laurel Treant’s osmanthus fragrance to amplify her Full Moon Barrier, causing Locke’s five Permanent Defense Fields to collapse repeatedly.
• Locke attacked with Mister’s Power, which broke Diana’s Full Moon Barrier, and she eventually admitted defeat after their prolonged battle.
• Locke and Diana acknowledged each other’s discoveries before parting ways, with Locke heading to the library to study his assigned reading.
• Locke spent contribution points borrowing books and papers about Peach Arc Thorn Arrow, learning that the spell required exceptional concentration and specific Magic Plants he could not yet afford.
• After half a month of study, Locke checked the sales rankings for Arthas’s products through the Wish Ganoderma on September 1, True Love Festival.

Locke feared his newly listed Nine-Headed Snake and Five-Headed Snake Magic Plants would fail to sell, while he continued researching the Overlord Element. By evening, the plants had become huge sellers, and the Five-Headed Snake had pushed a Rose Council bouquet off Arthas’s overall bestseller list.

• Locke saw that his two Magic Plants had no sales and worried that their poor performance would jeopardize his research funding and cooperation with Arthas.
• Locke injected Overlord Pineapple extract into an Oriole Flower and observed its growth, changed keratin, and eventual destruction, concluding that the No. 2 Tyrant Element had significant potential.
• Locke checked Arthas around noon and discovered that his Magic Plants had begun selling, with both entering the defensive Magic Plant rankings.
• Locke continued testing Tyrant Element on other plants as sales surged; by late afternoon, the Five-Headed Snake had sold 101 units and the Nine-Headed Snake had sold 30.
• Locke’s Five-Headed Snake reached first place among defensive Magic Plants and tenth place overall, prompting an angry Rose Council wizard to complain that it had displaced the Pink Lover bouquet.

Locke Augustine’s Five-Headed Snake climbed the True Love Festival sales rankings, disrupting the Rose Council’s long-standing dominance and drawing buyers from across the region. As Rose Council leaders called an emergency meeting, Douglas and King Rag Mammon decided the plant could help unlock Douglas’s ancient defensive magic, while Edgar David declared Locke would become a legend alongside him.

• Raphael and other Rose Council wizards watched Locke’s Five-Headed Snake rise from tenth to sixth place on the True Love Festival sales rankings and recognized Locke as the Cloud Marsh Cup champion.
• Rose Council wizards saw how the Five-Headed Snake could stack Permanent Defense Fields and secretly sent students to buy it.
• Douglas and King Rag Mammon decided to purchase the Five-Headed Snake so Douglas could use his [Five-Element Reversal] defense and abandon their planned search for Five-Element Wizard Stones.
• Edgar David bought a Five-Headed Snake and a Nine-Headed Snake, then predicted that Locke would become a legend alongside him.
• By the end of the day, the Five-Headed Snake ranked fifth, while works by Edgar David, Witch Diana, and Timos also entered the top ten, displacing Rose Council bouquets.
• A Second-Ring wizard summoned the Rose Council office to an emergency meeting after His Excellency the Throne grew angry and leaders suspected the rival academies had coordinated against them.

Locke Augustine’s Five-Headed Snake ranked among Arthas’s top-selling products during the True Love Festival, earning him 6.5 million Magic Stones and provoking alarm within the Rose Council. Celt referred the political fallout to Throne Catherine, while the chapter ended with Locke planning how to invest his windfall in research, equipment, and his Forest Sanctuary.

• Esther showed Celt that Locke’s Five-Headed Snake had reached fifth place on Arthas’s sales ranking, and Celt realized Locke had earned millions of Magic Stones.
• Esther explained that four non-flower products had disrupted the Rose Council’s heavily advertised True Love Festival, raising suspicions that Golden Crown Mountain and its allies had acted together.
• Celt forwarded the Student Affairs deputy head’s angry messages to Throne Catherine, after which the deputy softened his tone; the Academic Affairs Department announced a Jadewater Peach reward for Locke.
• Director Morrison celebrated the Cloud Marsh Cup contestants’ sales success and contacted the Frog Newspaper Office to promote them as the “Three Gods of the Cloud Marsh Cup,” while approving the Machine Soul girl 300,000 Magic Stones for an alchemical chip.
• Locke learned from Witch Scarlett that his Five-Headed Snake and Nine-Headed Snake had earned 6.5 million Magic Stones, then planned to rent Queen’s Chessboard, expand his Forest Sanctuary, and fund further research.

Locke celebrated his new wealth while Wizard Daniel described his own investment gains and invited him into venture capital, which Locke declined. After his colleagues revealed that all three had won Second-Class Fund approvals, Locke planned further research and received a suspicious investment pitch from Witch Lena, whom he suspected was the same woman advising Daniel.

• Wizard Daniel told Locke about earning two million Magic Stones from Divination Mist and working on the Inferno Plane's Nine Suns Problem, then praised venture capital and urged Locke to invest with Witch Lena.
• Locke declined Daniel's invitation, advising him to stay cautious, and later learned that Mason Witch, Freya Witch, and Wizard Barrett had received approval for their Second-Class Fund Project applications.
• Locke discussed renting a Queen's Chessboard and publishing research on the No. 2 Tyrant Element, considering several prestigious journals.
• Witch Lena sent Locke a friend request offering to grow his wealth through divination-based investments; Locke rejected it and sent Daniel a screenshot of her message.

Locke bought Watergreen Mountain Beeches at the Golden Peach Garden and gained access to its hidden VIP exhibition hall, where he met Reid Thomasen and was invited to a Dragonblood Wizard gathering. He discovered a rare Golden Palace Relic Branch that could aid his study of Peach Arc Thorn Arrow, but its 500,000-Magic-Stone price forced him to reconsider his budget.

• Locke bought 105 Watergreen Mountain Beeches from Trader Bruce for 630,000 Magic Stones and learned he could receive favorable prices on future purchases.
• Trader Bruce brought Locke into the Golden Peach Garden’s hidden exhibition hall, where Locke saw Reid Thomasen wearing Million Series luxury Magic Artifacts.
• Reid Thomasen recognized Locke as a Dragonblood Wizard, revealed his family’s standing, and invited Locke to a third-generation gathering; they exchanged contact details.
• Trader Bruce showed Locke rare Magic Plants, including the Fire-Eyed Ornamental Peach and the Golden Palace Relic Branch, and explained their abilities and demanding growing conditions.
• Locke recognized that the Golden Palace Relic Branch’s spiritualities suited Peach Arc Thorn Arrow and could speed his progress, then learned it cost 500,000 Magic Stones.

Locke bought powerful Magic Plants from the Golden Peach Garden to support the Peach Arc Thorn Arrow Spell Model and expand his Forest Sanctuary. After spending 1,950,004 Magic Stones, he planned to grow the sanctuary into an Ancient Stage forest.

• Locke confirmed trader Bruce’s claims and bought the Golden Palace Relic Branch for fifty Magic Crystal Cards, then contained it in his Druid’s Ring.
• Bruce showed Locke the Little Vajra Jujube Pendant, and Locke bought it for five hundred thousand Magic Stones because it suited Peach Arc Thorn Arrow and could absorb damage by shedding its jujube pendants.
• Locke bought eighty-one Gem Holly shrubs and received Apprentice-Level green manure and Wind Element-stabilizing Magic Plants as a gift.
• Locke spent 1,950,004 Magic Stones that day and planned to expand his Forest Sanctuary into a thousand-mu Ancient Stage forest.

Locke bonded with two powerful magical plants and studied Peach Arc Thorn Arrow, discovering its blank-state requirements and its role in reaching the second ring. After checking on his researchers, he learned that two of his papers had been rejected because his low academic standing as corresponding author biased their reviews.

• Locke used the Life Ancient Tree Seedling and Ferocious Beast Panel to bond with the Golden Palace Relic Branch and Little Vajra Jujube Pendant, then attempted to construct Peach Arc Thorn Arrow and suffered magical backlash.
• Locke realized the spell required him to keep his spirituality in a blank state, and he found that connecting with ancestral leaders’ spirituality deepened his understanding of botanical magic while leaving him vulnerable to intrusion.
• Locke met with Mason Witch and the other researchers, reviewed their completed analyses, and assigned them experiments on No. 2 overlord element while he planned to borrow the Queen's Chessboard.
• Locke checked on Gregor and Williams, learned Williams had been selected for Golden Crown Mountain’s Potion Relay Race team, and gave both researchers new questions and reading lists.
• Schneider told Locke that two of four submitted papers had been rejected, and Locke concluded that reviewers had discriminated against him because he lacked a senior academic appointment and was listed as corresponding author.

Locke arranged for Schneider to resubmit two manuscripts, blocked Witch Lena’s investment scam after Hassan explained how bankruptcy law could void her contract, and sought a path to colonize a medium-sized plane. He paid to use the Feathered Serpent Ancient Pavilion’s dangerous Queen’s Chessboard and followed the shopkeeper underground to it.

• Locke told Schneider to submit two rejected manuscripts to Environment and Plants, then revise and resubmit them if rejected again.
• Witch Lena repeatedly contacted Locke with promises of huge investment returns, but he blocked her new account and asked Hassan to review her proposed contract.
• Hassan warned Locke that bankruptcy law in the Land of Three Marshes could invalidate financial rights under a contract if Lena declared personal bankruptcy.
• At the Feathered Serpent Ancient Pavilion, Locke asked about renting medium-sized-plane colonization opportunities and learned he might pursue Golden Crown Mountain competitions or buy exploration qualifications through the Shop Alliance.
• The shopkeeper offered Locke advance access to specified Heavenly Ladder rewards for planar exploration and warned him that using the Queen’s Chessboard cost one million magic stones and involved dangerous Origin Force.
• Locke confirmed he would use the Queen’s Chessboard, then followed the shopkeeper down a concealed passage and spiral staircase to its room.

Locke used the Queen's Chessboard to study the Source Matter of Tyrant Element and design a cell compound that might remove its toxicity to plants. Exhausted after twenty hours, he prepared to test whether the chessboard could also expand the historical materials in his Sect Master's Book, first deciding to make a backup.

• Locke entered the Queen's Chessboard and used his protective fields to shield his Source Matter from being forcibly manifested.
• Locke recorded the Source Matter possibilities of the No. 1 and No. 2 Tyrant Elements and compared them through collisions on the chessboard.
• Locke tested Tyrant Element against Sea Golden Sand's Source Matter and confirmed that the No. 2 Tyrant Element was highly toxic to other plants.
• Locke designed a special birch-cell compound to counter the No. 2 Tyrant Element's toxicity and stored the treated cells to test later with a Clear-Sky Birch.
• Locke realized the Queen's Chessboard might help increase the historical materials in his Sect Master's Book, and decided to back up the materials before trying it.

Locke used the Queen's Chessboard to expand and decipher historical records, then tested the combined Summon the Three Kings spell before it nearly slipped out of his control. After submitting his project report and receiving a White Dew Peach from Celt, Locke left to rest while Celt discovered the report contained major findings about Number Two Tyrant Element.

• Locke used the Queen's Chessboard to reverse-deduce the Dragon's Book's Source Matter, uncovering new details about the Wizarding eras and the Evil Fang Kong Wizard King, who may have returned as a lich to protect his kingdom.
• Locke summoned the Lord of Demons, then combined it with the King of Ancient Tombs and the King of the Dead; after the mummy king began resisting, Locke dismissed all three and resolved to study historical records daily.
• Locke considered seeking records from archaeologists who studied general history so he could better understand the Wizarding world's major eras.
• Locke submitted his project completion report to Celt and said that using the Queen's Chessboard had left him exhausted.
• Celt gave Locke a White Dew Peach and read the report, noticing Locke's discoveries of new natural mana structures and the prominent mention of Number Two Tyrant Element.

After recovering from three days of exhaustion, Locke learned that his apprentices had advanced in the Breeder Competition and arranged to meet Warwick about the Abyssal Ruins. He also heard a pitch from a new journal, Life and Reproduction, and agreed to consider submitting a suitable paper while reconsidering how useful Contribution Points would be for obtaining a plane.

• Locke woke after sleeping for three days, discovered Celt had marked him present, and learned that his final defense had been scheduled for half a month later.
• Locke read that Gregor ranked fifty-seventh and Williams eleventh in the second round, then sent them questions and reading lists and urged them to do their best in the finals.
• Ginny told Locke that Warwick had summoned him to Witch's Kitchen that afternoon, and Locke decided to keep the appointment to discuss the Abyssal Ruins coordinates.
• Bartolomeo Hayes visited Locke on behalf of Life and Reproduction and asked him to submit papers listing his students as first authors and Locke as corresponding author.
• Locke learned that Contribution Points could buy permits for previously developed planes, lowering his interest in earning them, then reviewed Life and Reproduction's history and agreed to consider sending it a suitable paper.

Locke learned that the Starfield Sea’s Waterway Plan could affect the Abyssal River, prompting Warwick to push their Abyssal Ruins expedition forward. Witch Catherine also told Locke about the Silent Grail Tournament, where winning the Wand Championship could earn him a place in a competition offering the champion a new medium-sized plane.

• Wizard Hayes left Locke’s dormitory after telling him how his mentor Barbatos had helped him become a Second-Ring Wizard.
• Locke practiced Peach Arc Thorn Arrow, maintained Flow State for two hours, and noticed his Magic Pressure was rising rapidly.
• Warwick met Locke in Dragonblood Market and hinted that the Eye of Truth prevented Black Wizards from discussing why their kind had appeared only in the modern era.
• Witch Catherine warned Locke that the Starfield Sea’s Waterway Plan would connect the Eastern Sector’s Wizard Lands and could affect the Abyssal River, leading Locke to suspect it had prompted Warwick’s visit.
• Witch Catherine told Locke to win the Wand Championship to represent Golden Crown Mountain in the Silent Grail Tournament, whose champion would receive coordinates to a new medium-sized plane.
• Warwick urged Locke to explore the Abyssal Ruins soon because the Starfield Sea planned major construction on the Abyssal River, though he did not know what the work involved.

Warwick invited Locke to join an expedition into an Abyssal Ruin believed to be the tomb of the Nameless King's wife, promising access to its Legendary Historical Records and a chance at the Istoria Archaeology Award. Locke agreed to bring another First-Ring archaeologist from Golden Crown Mountain, and the group planned to meet in two months.

• Warwick told Locke that they would explore an Abyssal Ruin near the Ashen Esoteric Sect Academy in Black Wizard Land and offered him historical records from the Demon God's Book.
• Warwick explained that the ruin might be the tomb of the Nameless King's divorced wife and that uncovering its secrets could earn their team the Istoria Archaeology Award.
• Warwick warned Locke that the tomb was dangerous and said he needed several capable archaeologists to face its traps and possible Erasure Curse.
• Locke informed Witch Catherine about the expedition, and she approved while asking him to invite another First-Ring archaeologist from their sect.
• Locke asked Warwick to include Witch Catherine's direct disciple, and Warwick agreed on the condition that she sign a highest-level First-Ring Contract and pay its fee.
• Warwick and Locke finalized the expanded team and arranged to meet in two months.

Witch Catherine sent Shally Holmes to protect Locke during an expedition to the Jadeflower Enclave and opposed the Starfield Sea’s Waterway Project as signs of Truth’s Advent Event resurfaced. Locke prepared for his defense session by developing No. 2 Overlord Element, and his Sea Golden Sand began to Overlordize successfully.

• Witch Catherine told Shally Holmes to accompany Locke to the Jadeflower Enclave in two months, and Shally promised to protect him and his mind from Black Wizard influence.
• Shally described the Enlightenment Era and Truth’s Advent Event, while Witch Catherine reflected on the event’s return and wrote her opposition to the Waterway Project.
• Locke returned to his dormitory to finish his No. 2 Overlord Element research before his defense session and prepared to strengthen himself for the Abyssal Ruins expedition.
• Locke and his helpers transplanted Magic Plants into the Forest Sanctuary, then he injected combined cells into a Clear-Sky Birch and collected its No. 2 Overlord Element.
• Locke injected the element into a Flash Sea Golden Sand, which developed an Overlord Pattern and began changing, showing that his design had sharply reduced the element’s toxicity.

Locke confirmed that the No. 2 Tyrant Element had transformed Sea Golden Sand into a powerful Overlordized plant, then bound it to himself and added it to his network. With the Abyssal Ruins and Magic Combat Tournament approaching, he visited the Rex Copper Furnace Workshop to find practical Soul Magic Artifacts that could improve his Magic Pressure and combat strength.

• Locke tested the Tyrant Sea Golden Sand and discovered that its Overlord Domain weakened non-Golden Magic while strengthening Golden Magic, though the plant was difficult to control and could not reproduce.
• Locke subdued the Tyrant Sea Golden Sand, connected it to his Distributed Psionic Network, and replaced his ordinary Flash Sea Golden Sand with it.
• Team leader Celt offered to compile information about Locke’s Magic Combat Tournament opponents, and Locke thanked him.
• Locke visited the Rex Copper Furnace Workshop and rejected an expensive Sun Furnace in favor of a practical Soul Magic Artifact.
• Locke searched the catalog for a basic Soul Furnace to raise his Magic Pressure and soul limit before the Abyssal Ruins expedition and upcoming tournaments.