Chapter Summaries

Locke demonstrated Atavistic Evolution during his funding defense, recreating a primordial Mountain-Dragon Naked Fern whose Spiritual Breath disrupted the meeting room’s Spell Models. He produced two more evolved plants, won Patrick Finch’s approval, and finished his defense; Brandy then presented his own polished project while the Demon Dragon Wizard’s clone tested Golden Crown Mountain’s barrier.

• Locke refined a Star-Ring Black Wizard’s body into Zero Potion, then used Golden Magic and Atavistic Evolution to turn Sea Golden Sand into a Mountain-Dragon Naked Fern.
• The fern released primordial Spiritual Breath that sent many attendees’ Spell Models out of control, until Blue Dragon Throne contained it and explained that Locke had restored possibilities lost through evolution.
• Locke presented Big Spring Cannon Corn and Golden Tassel Wheat as further results, silencing the review panel and earning Patrick Finch’s praise for his research.
• Patrick Finch questioned where Locke had obtained Teosinte Corn seeds, but Locke linked them to Nightmares in the Emerald Nightmare, and Patrick withdrew his challenge.
• Locke completed his defense, then Brandy Wizard delivered a well-received presentation and resolved to target Locke’s conduct in the coming debates.
• The Demon Dragon Wizard’s clone stepped onto Golden Crown Mountain’s first stone stair and discovered that it could pass through the barrier.

Witch Esther’s rose branch helped the Demon Dragon Wizard escape the weakening Dragon-View Peach Garden, while Locke joined forces with Zeno in the defense debate. Challenged by Brandy Wizard, Locke realized his mistake about the path to the Third Ring and began forging his Star Ring during the defense.

• The Demon Dragon Wizard used divination to understand the schemes around him, grasped Witch Esther’s thorny rose branch, and escaped Dragon-View Peach Garden despite being struck by the Rose Witch’s curse.
• At the defense venue, Locke warned Zeno that the other contestants would target them and formed an alliance to protect one another.
• Droma and Brandy Wizard questioned Zeno’s experiments, but Locke interrupted and challenged Brandy Wizard’s project; Zeno then turned the criticism back on Droma.
• Brandy Wizard criticized Locke’s research and attitude, but Locke argued that magic meant pursuing possibilities beyond supposed natural limits.
• Locke realized that his plan to advance from Spring Prosperity to Summer Prosperity had trapped him on a path within the Second Ring rather than toward the Third Ring.
• Locke’s Magic Pressure surged as his Star Ring cracked and revealed a smaller, more concentrated golden ring, drawing astonishment from the judges and spectators.

Locke’s Star-Ring breakthrough prompted him to rebuild the Tree of Prosperity around Spring Magic and decide that the Forest Rangers should be governed through an academy rather than a kingdom. The new tree produced a second fruit as Locke continued advancing at the Truth Institute.

• Wizard Hao called Locke a fellow traveler but refused to bet that he would reach the Third Ring, while predicting that Locke would become a Sun-Ring Wizard.
• In the Three-Cave World, Locke guided Master Gerant Nika to name Lenny his successor and establish an academy beneath the Golden Tree instead of creating a kingdom or preserving the status quo.
• At Golden Crown Mountain, Locke’s Magic Pressure surged as he neared the Star Ring, leaving Brandy Wizard, Droma Wizard, Zeno Wizard, and Edgar David reacting to his breakthrough.
• Locke plucked and ate the Spring Fruit, causing the original Tree of Prosperity to wither as its power returned to him.
• Locke planted the Spring Fruit’s core and rebuilt the Tree of Prosperity so Spring Magic formed its foundation, declaring that the Forest Rangers would use the academy system.
• The new Tree of Prosperity grew and produced a second fruit after its original Spring Prosperity Fruit.

Locke completed his advancement to Star-Ring Wizard and won the support of the defense session, but the Black Sun Tower attacked Golden Crown Mountain before the funding results were announced. A force of ash-born wizards condemned Locke, and Fischer awakened Golden Crown Mountain’s stored defenses to fight back.

• Locke completed his second forging of the Great Magic, became a Star-Ring Wizard, and received applause from the defense session.
• Wizard Eric Ende criticized Valeria Kenway’s methods for cultivating geniuses, while Wizard Droma decided to leave the institute and abandon his pursuit of Special-Grade Funding.
• Demon Dragon Wizard broke Witch Catherine’s Peachheart Curse in Red Dragon Witch’s Dragon-View Peach Garden and climbed the final steps toward the Truth Institute.
• Era Embers filled the meeting room, suppressing the wizards as ash beasts attacked; the Green Dragon Throne Witch recognized the threat, and Locke realized the Black Sun Tower had come for him.
• Ash-born wizards from past eras appeared and declared a crusade against Locke, while Golden Crown Mountain teleported most spectators away.
• Fischer used a rust-covered key to unlock the Elder Council’s stored Killing-Intent Wave power from Supernatural Purgatory.

Golden Crown Mountain’s Killing-Intent Waves and Witch Catherine’s allies held off the Demon Dragon Wizard while Locke fought ancient Wizard Kings in the Era Embers. After Locke killed several Second-Ring opponents, a Star-Ring Wizard King confronted him over his use of the Attila Lightning Chain.

• Supernatural Purgatory released Golden Crown Mountain’s ancient Killing-Intent Wave Force Wizards, who battled the Age of Stars wizards and killed a Wizard Count.
• Witch Catherine and the Red Dragon Witch blocked the Demon Dragon Wizard with Killing-Intent Waves and Dragon-Blood projections, refusing to hand over Locke Augustine.
• Locke used his Moon of Evolution and Bloom and Wither to disable ancient magic plants, then killed five Second-Ring Wizard Kings and defeated three more attackers.
• Wizard Trajan and the Red Dragon School Lineage’s senior disciples appeared as reinforcements, while Golden Crown Mountain’s judging panel rallied to support Locke.
• A Star-Ring Wizard King from the Lightning Gate School accused Locke of stealing the Attila Lightning Chain and declared that Locke was unworthy of learning it.

Locke defeated a young Mage King with the strengthened Great Magic of the Tree of Prosperity and learned that Rag Mammon was the king’s son, Lagma Mammon, who had supposedly usurped the Badakliya Imperial Court. After another Mage King tried to crush Locke with a Gravity Kingdom Domain, Edgar killed him and asked Locke to fight him so he could advance to Star-Ring level.

• Locke combined the Great Green Leaf Dragon Sparrows’ Life Energy with Attila Lightning Chain and overwhelmed the young Mage King’s lightning spells and Kingdom Domain.
• Locke explained that Meiotic Replication, the Tree of Prosperity, and Entwined Branches had amplified his power, then identified Rag Mammon as the source of the Spring Thunder Arrow’s inspiration.
• The young Mage King recognized Lagma Mammon as his son and feared that he had usurped the Badakliya Imperial Court before collapsing into ashes.
• A fat Mage King trapped Locke in a Gravity Kingdom Domain, but Edgar ambushed and killed him by transforming his hand into a Treant’s branch.
• Edgar refused the teleportation and asked Locke to fight him so he could understand what he lacked to become a Star-Ring Wizard.

Locke agreed to Edgar’s request for a duel, but Edgar used Locke’s strongest attack to enter the Tree’s Death Cycle and seemingly died. Patrick Finch revealed his allegiance to the Black Sun Tower and teleported Locke and Edgar into the deeper Era Embers, where the Demon Dragon Wizard confronted Locke and tried to make him accept a place as the Tower’s symbol; Locke refused and broke free with the Holy Dragon inheritance.

• Edgar enclosed Locke and himself in a Hedge Prison, and Locke agreed to their plan to settle matters in one exchange.
• Locke struck Edgar with Spring Thunder Arrow, and Edgar used his apparent death and Tree of All Things to seek an answer about overcoming death.
• Patrick Finch revealed his Black Sun Mark and used sacrificial magic to teleport Locke and Edgar deeper into the Era Embers.
• The Demon Dragon Wizard reached Locke, overwhelmed him, and countered Witch Catherine’s Peach Arc Thorn Arrow with a copied spell from a Wizard Flower.
• The Demon Dragon Wizard offered Locke a place as the Black Sun Tower’s embodiment of truth, but Locke refused and shattered the illusion with the Holy Dragon inheritance.

Locke escaped the Demon Dragon Wizard’s immediate attack with help from Sophia, King Otto, and Edgar, while learning why the Black Sun Tower wanted to erase his natural powers. As the Demon Dragon Wizard and King Otto fought, Catherine defeated Esther, secured the Marriage Pact Ring, and prepared to move against the Truth Institute.

• Sophia used the Lucky Clover Ring and Cloud Marsh Wetland’s Root Realm to separate the Demon Dragon Wizard from Locke, giving Locke time to flee with Edgar’s body.
• King Otto emerged from the Era Embers after Locke used Peach Arc Thorn Arrow to summon him, and he confronted the Demon Dragon Wizard.
• King Otto revealed that the Black Sun Tower targeted Locke partly because of his World Tree Leaf, and Locke refused to abandon his path or Demon Dragon Bloodline.
• Edgar revived himself with the Essence-Nurturing Earth Orb, repaired his Great Magic, and advanced to Star Ring before joining Locke in a Comrade-in-Arms War Ritual to support King Otto.
• Catherine defeated Esther, combined Esther’s ring with her Marriage Pact Ring, and stored her dragon soul in the finished ring, eliminating her remaining weakness.
• Catherine spared Esther for their past ties, then activated the Peachheart Curse on Locke and vanished toward the Truth Institute.

Locke, Edgar, and King Otto combined their power to devastate the Demon Dragon Wizard, while Otto entrusted Locke with the task of moving forward and uncovering the past. After the Red Dragon Witch revealed how she and Witch Anna had outmaneuvered the Demon Dragon Wizard’s prophecy, his Peachheart Curse resurfaced on Locke as an arrow began to emerge.

• King Otto brewed the Comrade-in-Arms Potion, allowing Locke and Edgar to unleash their combined Great Magic against the Demon Dragon Wizard.
• The Demon Dragon Wizard survived their attack, but his avatar was near collapse, and King Otto urged Locke to keep moving forward before disappearing from the battle.
• The Red Dragon Witch confronted the weakened Demon Dragon Wizard and revealed that she and Witch Anna had joined forces after detecting his prophecy and changing its outcome.
• The Demon Dragon Wizard realized his divination had become a paradox, and the Red Dragon Witch explained that she had relied on understanding human nature rather than prophecy.
• Peachheart Curse fragments appeared across the Demon Dragon Wizard’s body, while a mark appeared on Locke’s forehead and an arrow began to emerge from it.

The Demon Dragon Wizard’s assault on Golden Crown Mountain ended with his defeat and the release of twelve Fake Flowers, while the Starfield Sea revealed it intended to use the resulting upheaval to find talented Wizards. Locke’s Special-Grade Funding application passed review, and he left the mountain with Witch Catherine after reaffirming their bond.

• Locke’s Peachheart Curse, Victoria Witch’s Crown Magic, and attacks by other Wizards severely wounded the Demon Dragon Wizard, who released twelve Fake Flowers before his Half-Body shattered.
• Witch Catherine and Rose Witch each received part of the Demon Dragon Wizard’s Dragon Soul, and Rose Witch ordered Rose to destroy the Silver-Clad Peach Garden.
• Valeria Kenway explained that the Starfield Sea planned to use the Grand Ritual’s Magic Tide increase and recruit the twelve inheritors, while the Throne Wizard from Mysterious Heaven condemned the plan and departed.
• Valeria Kenway summoned Patrick to report back and said Zeno and Locke deserved special attention through the Special-Grade Funding.
• Witch Catherine told Locke that his application had passed the Institute’s emergency review, and Locke affirmed that he wanted to stand on his own.

Witch Catherine brought Locke to the Purification Spring, where its Spiritual Breath removed hidden injuries, a curse, and traces of the Blood River Plane’s will from him. She also offered him access to a Breeding Science Key Laboratory and a place in a delegation visiting the Ostia Great World, where a wizard had advanced to the sixtieth level.

• Witch Catherine offered Locke a subproject under one of her Key Individual Grants, and Locke chose the Breeding Science Key Laboratory.
• Witch Catherine took Locke to the Purification Spring and explained that it could heal his soul and remove a hidden curse from the Black Sun Tower.
• Locke entered the spring, where its purifying vitality drew out the Demon Dragon Wizard’s poisonous serpent and Era Embers, which Dragon Mountain Little Peach devoured.
• The Purification Spring removed curse traces from Hassan’s Shared-Death Blood Curse and the Blood River Plane’s will and World Power from Locke.
• Witch Catherine told Locke that a wizard in the Ostia Great World had advanced from the fifty-fifth to the sixtieth level and invited him to join a delegation visiting the world.

While soaking in the Purification Spring, Locke tried to remove the abyssal energy embedded in his magic but discovered that it was tied to his Moon of Evolution. He learned of Shally’s predicament and obtained Wizard Trajan’s Peach Guard Spell, then began a dangerous attempt to use it to complete his demon dragon bloodline and unite it with the abyssal energy.

• Locke found that life magic could not cleanse the abyssal energy in his eyes, while a purification potion disrupted the Moon of Evolution because its spell structure relied on that energy.
• Locke realized he might suppress the abyssal energy’s drawbacks by using it to complete his incomplete demon dragon bloodline, and contacted Wizard Trajan to ask for the Peach-Killing Curse.
• Wizard Trajan explained that Shally was trapped in the Southern Divine Kingdom Academy’s divine kingdom after suspected sabotage by Rose Council wizards, and urged Locke to damage the Rose Council’s investments along the Heaven River Coast.
• Wizard Trajan sold Locke the Star Ring version of his Peach Guard Spell for five million magic stones, and Locke quickly learned it in the Purification Spring.
• Locke linked his demon dragon bloodline to the Golden Sacred Peach through Mana Grafting, then used the Peach Guard Spell in an attempt to unite the bloodline with the abyssal energy.
• Locke’s experiment caused repeated shock waves that shook the Purification Spring, prompting Headmaster Gaia to warn a retired Sun-Ring Wizard to watch over it.

Locke completed a transformation of his Demon Dragon Bloodline using Abyssal Energy, then investigated an Ouroboros mark that might be connected to the dangerous End Dragon. After advancing to Star-Ring, he drew the attention of rival wizard institutions seeking to recruit him.

• Locke used the Purification Spring to perfect his Demon Dragon Bloodline with Abyssal Energy, making it harder for the Black Sun Tower to track him.
• Locke asked Ackerman about the Ouroboros mark, and Ackerman showed him records of the End Dragon Stigmata, left after a vanished wizard academy's experiment with Abyssal Summoning.
• Locke concluded that his bloodline transformation was beneficial but decided to take precautions in case the power he sensed was related to the End Dragon.
• Seleucus of Magic Nexus City tried to recruit Locke as a teacher with promises of Witch Porcelain and a senior title.
• A wizard from the Winged Dragon Garden of Rain-Marsh and a representative of Root Crown Court arrived to compete for Locke's attention.

Locke received recruitment pitches from Root Crown Court and Magic Nexus City, then Wizard Fischer asked whether he would stay at Golden Crown Mountain after his postdoctoral station. Locke said he had no plans to finish the station yet, leaving his future choice unresolved.

• Wizard Anglu criticized Winged Dragon Garden's standing and advised Locke that Crawler Garden and other Rain-Marsh academies had specific strengths.
• Wizard Anglu invited Locke to join Root Crown Court as a contract-based lecturer, but Locke found the offered terms unappealing and accepted business cards from Anglu and Seleucus.
• Wizard Fischer arrived, prompting Anglu and Seleucus to leave, and offered Locke a lecturer position and a path to becoming a wizard mentor if he stayed at Golden Crown Mountain.
• Locke told Wizard Fischer that he had no plans to complete his postdoctoral station yet, so Fischer put away the contract and postponed the discussion.

The White Wizard Association approved Locke Augustine’s Special-Grade Funding application, giving him access to a Key Laboratory and a year of Dream Engine use, while strict security procedures delayed his entry. Using his doppelgängers to outlast Windcatcher Sacred Land in negotiations, Locke secured an agreement on the Great Green Leaf Dragon Sparrow before taking Douglas to retrieve a secret treasure guarded by the Dark Great Evil King.

• The Cloud Marsh Wetland Funding Division approved all seventeen selected applications, including Locke Augustine’s project on using Golden Magic to strengthen Atavistic Evolution.
• Locke received the funding approval and learned from Wizard Trajan that security checks for Golden Crown Mountain’s Key Laboratory would take a week; Trajan explained that its Magic Rice research supported wizards in low-magic regions.
• Locke’s doppelgängers continued negotiations with Windcatcher Sacred Land, and Locke used his seventy-two-hour workday to resist pressure to provide the Attila Lightning Chain for free.
• Windcatcher Sacred Land agreed to cover the full cost of enchanting the Great Green Leaf Dragon Sparrow with Attila Lightning Chain, but Locke refused to let it apply the technique to other craft without an additional fee.
• Locke told Douglas he knew about the ancient soul accompanying him and offered to help retrieve a secret treasure from the Dark Great Evil King; Douglas asked how they could get past the Third-Ring guardian.

Locke went with Douglas to Heidegger Rice Market and obtained Cloudfield Cloud Rice and Seven-Colored Rice for his plan against the Dark Great Evil King. They entered the Dark Great World’s Treasure Grounds, where Locke tricked the Evil King into swallowing the sealing rice and sent Douglas toward the hidden realm as the Evil King struggled to break free.

• Locke took Douglas to Heidegger Rice Market, advised Uruk of Minotaur World to buy Black Pearl Rice, and asked Heidegger for Cloudfield Cloud Rice and Seven-Colored Rice.
• Heidegger gave Locke fifty grains of Cloudfield Cloud Rice and a bowl of Seven-Colored Rice after Locke left his name with the Black Hole Witch Peach.
• Locke and Douglas entered the Dark Great World’s Treasure Grounds, where the Dark Great Evil King attacked Locke and saw through his concealment.
• Locke feigned defeat and used a doctored Retreat Potion to make the Dark Great Evil King drink it, then revealed his disguise and explained the deception.
• The fifty grains of Cloudfield Cloud Rice weighed down the Dark Great Evil King, and Locke ordered Douglas to use the token to reach the hidden realm.
• Locke used the Seven-Colored Rice to protect himself and ran toward the ruins while the furious Dark Great Evil King struggled against the traps.

Locke and Douglas escaped the Dark Great Evil King by entering the Gate of Lightning’s treasure space, where Douglas faced the dangerous Warhammer Lightning inheritance and Locke claimed the Pagoda Broccoli Spirit Plant. Locke then absorbed a third World Tree Leaf into his Three-Eyed Tiger-Eyed Cat Bloodline, advancing its power.

• Locke and Douglas opened the ruin’s portal and escaped the Dark World just before the Dark Great Evil King’s attack could destroy it.
• The Dark Great Evil King stopped the destruction, crushed the Dark World spectators who had mocked him, and declared his intention to wage war on Golden Crown Mountain.
• Inside the treasure space, Douglas accepted the Gate of Lightning’s Warhammer Lightning inheritance despite its deadly risks and chose to endure the trial rather than withdraw.
• Locke bonded with the weakened Pagoda Broccoli Spirit Plant, grafted an Imaginary Root onto it, and used the Great Glazed Winter Green Plum to preserve it.
• Locke collected the World Tree Leaf from the dead peach tree and merged it with his Three-Eyed Tiger-Eyed Cat Bloodline, forming a cat-paw Star Ring.

Locke refused to take half of Douglas’s Warhammer Lightning, and the Pagoda Broccoli saved Douglas by absorbing his excess magical energy and forming a fragile demiplane. After Douglas inherited the complete lightning legacy, he joined Locke’s Aladdin Shop Alliance, and Locke learned that the Treasure Grounds held a sealed passage to the Orc World that might let them escape the Dark Great Evil King.

• Locke examined the third World Tree Leaf, discovered that it strengthened fire power, and considered ways to give the Three-Eyed Tiger-Eyed Cat Bloodline a fire affinity.
• Lagma Mammon Witch King offered Locke half of Douglas’s Warhammer Lightning to save Douglas, but Locke refused and sought another solution.
• Locke used the Pagoda Broccoli to draw excess metal energy from Douglas, stabilizing his Five-Element Reversal and discovering that the plant contained a growing demiplane.
• Douglas survived, mastered Warhammer Lightning, and agreed to work as a designer for Locke’s Aladdin Shop Alliance while pursuing the resources needed to forge Green Dragon Lightning.
• Lagma Mammon Witch King explained that he had sealed a passage to the Orc World in the Treasure Grounds, and Locke decided to use it to evade the Dark Great Evil King.

Locke and Douglas entered the Bottomless Abyss instead of the Orc World, crossed Ten-Sun Marsh and the Sinful Plains, and encountered a wizard from East Central Province conducting research into the origin of magic. They reached the former Orc World’s Evilheart Grassland, where its ruler invited Locke and his companions to a banquet.

• Locke, Douglas, and Lagma Mammon Witch King passed through the Plane Gate and discovered they had arrived in the Bottomless Abyss, in Ten-Sun Marsh.
• Locke received the Crown of the Chaos Child, while the Supreme Beholder realized that Locke had claimed the title he wanted and arranged for him to escape the layer.
• Locke and Douglas traveled to the Sinful Plains, where Douglas killed thirteen Red Orc Demons before a black-robed rider arrived to guide them toward a Plane Gate.
• The rider revealed that his master’s group from East Central Province was excavating ancient wizard ruins to investigate the origin of magic, then escorted Locke’s party to the passage leading to Evilheart Grassland.
• Locke and his companions arrived in Evilheart Grassland, where Red Orc soldiers invited them to a banquet with their wizard ruler, a descendant of the ancestor who had brought the world into the Abyss.

Locke secured two hundred First-Ring Red Orcs from the Demon Archduke Diabolo by using his knowledge of ancient etiquette and displaying his Abyssal Demon Dragon power. Meanwhile, Witch Rose tried to recruit Wizard Terence as Aolaye escalated its campaign against the Silver-Clad Peach Garden, while Locke remained focused on his upcoming examination and other plans.

• Locke and his companions were welcomed to Diabolo’s palace, where Locke used Lagma Mammon Witch King’s etiquette lesson to impress the Red Orc Demon King and avoid handing over a treasure.
• Locke persuaded Diabolo to sell him one hundred First-Ring Red Orcs and give him another hundred, then marked the army as his own after revealing his Abyssal Demon Dragon form.
• Wizard Terence failed to reach Locke as Aolaye poached Silver-Clad Peach Garden employees and Witch Rose asked Terence to join her alliance.
• Locke ignored Terence’s messages because he had tacitly allowed Rose to purge the garden’s failing staff, and he received notice that he would undergo a Power Composition Examination the next day.
• Terence refused Rose’s offer, saying Locke’s silence showed confidence, and Rose left with Wizard Joshua.