Wizard: Starting With Synthesized Gems

Chapter 621: Night Meteor and the Sacred Dragon Star

"Tch..." Fire Saint Wizard had completely lost the composure he'd carried before.At that moment, every botany wizard within the entire Cloud Arena felt their magical power being suppressed the instant Witch Yekaterina activated her Crown Magic, their strength diminishing out of nowhere.

Crown Magic, as it was known, could horizontally dominate all similar magical forces in the surrounding area, making its wielder's magic the sole authority over all magic of the same type nearby.

As one of the finest to walk the Path of Truth...

Unrivaled across an entire era!

As a result, within the vicinity of Crown Magic, the closer a sub-field spell was to Crown Magic, the more it would be affected.

The botany wizards only felt a slight influence, amounting to little more than physical discomfort. But if someone were researching the same sub-field as Witch Yekaterina, their magical power would be completely suppressed.

Fire Saint Wizard didn't dare directly oppose Crown Magic here either. If his Twin Siphon organ had been functioning normally, he might have been willing to take the risk.

Fire Saint Wizard glanced over and saw that one of his subordinate Second Circle black wizards had already successfully stolen the target. He let out a quiet sigh of relief, then turned to face Witch Yekaterina and said, "The Twin Demon Realm is the world of fire-stealers, a magical realm that gives every person in this world who lacks sufficient talent a chance."

"Fire-stealers will always exist."

"Since the very beginning of civilization, the Twin Demon Realm has already been in existence."

"Just as a sun will inevitably appear within any living world, this is truth. Your white wizard society cannot deny it!"

Fire Saint Wizard licked his lips. "However, coming to meet Witch Yekaterina today was truly not aimed at Golden Crown Mountain. I only came for one other target. Since that target has already been obtained, please accept this as an apology gift..."

Behind Fire Saint Wizard, a two-way passage from the Twin Demon Realm appeared. Within that passage, it resembled the throat of some enormous creature, concealing a terrible tongue within its depths. Then the Twin Demon Realm spat out a stream of magical energy.

That energy resembled shooting stars of the night.

"This Night Meteor is an apology gift to Golden Crown Mountain. We stole it from another world, so please accept it with a smile."

Witch Yekaterina was about to continue her attack, but suddenly realized that by sending over the Night Meteor, Fire Saint Wizard had used it as a convenient means to shake off the enormous magical force she had sent into him.

Fire Saint Wizard's Twin Siphon organ thus returned to normal, allowing him to rapidly steal the distances of several black wizards, pulling them directly in front of Witch Yekaterina, while he himself slipped over to the entrance of the Twin Demon Realm's dimensional passage.

The Night Meteor instantly plunged Golden Crown Mountain into darkness, and within that darkness, shooting stars flickered and gleamed.

All the wizards gathered at Cloud Arena were caught in a daze, as each of them sensed within the Night Meteor a certain celestial power that resonated with their very existence.

On Arena No. 1, Locke stood atop the platform and looked up at the sky, seeing a breathtaking torrent of stars, while countless points of starlight fell and scattered all around him.

It was as though it were the most beautiful sight in the entire world.

Within the darkness of night, a river of meteors flowed, and tiny points of starlight drifted downward, incomparably beautiful.

The wizards inside Cloud Arena were involuntarily stunned. To them, the stars that rested within the void had always seemed close in the night sky yet were in truth separated by countless spans of spatial distance. Even aboard a void warship, reaching them would likely require hundreds, or even thousands of years.

For a First Circle wizard from the main world, boarding a void warship and traveling to a major colonial plane in another plane cluster would take at least ten or more years.

For destinations slightly farther away, the journey could take several decades.

The void was so vast that even for wizards, traveling to other colonial planes required an enormous expenditure of resources.

Therefore, observing and studying the stars came at a tremendous cost.

But at this moment, the Night Meteor seemed like a reflection of those stellar planes scattered across the boundless void. Countless stellar planes, and even some stellar worlds among them, were all moving within the Night Meteor.

The wizards were thus able to catch a glimpse of portions of these stellar worlds with remarkable ease.

Quite a few Third Circle wizards on Golden Crown Mountain, amid the retreat of the Twin Demon Realm's black wizards, found themselves hesitating. Torn between giving chase and studying the stellar reflection maps before them, they ultimately made their choice, quickly ordering their students and disciples to immediately halt the pursuit and hurry to record as much of the star map as possible.

Whatever they could record, they would.

The two Second Circle wizards from the Tower of Transmutation had gone red in the eyes. "Good heavens, just how much pressure were the Twin Demon Realm's black wizards under that they were actually willing to throw away something like this just to buy themselves a safe escape? Still, they came here and made a feint. What was their actual purpose? Were they only here to cause destruction?"

"Never mind others for now. The Third Circle wizards can record the full panorama of these star maps, while we Second Circle wizards can focus all our energy on studying a few individual stellar planes. It's a pity my astrology isn't very strong, or my gains would be even greater."

The two of them were bloodline wizards. Recording stellar planes could only serve them in a supplementary capacity. Those who stood to gain the most were the wizards from the Divination School, specifically those working in the astrology magic sub-direction.

Of course, because the star maps were so extraordinarily precious, most wizards chose to study them rather than pursue the enemy.

And the Twin Demon Realm's wizards took advantage of this opportunity to begin their retreat.

As for most of the First Circle wizards, their capabilities were insufficient to study individual stellar planes, but they could sense the planar energy and spirituality of the stellar planes, allowing them to rapidly boost their own magical power. In any case, stellar planes had many marvelous applications, and so Golden Crown Mountain at that moment witnessed a grand event in which the benefits of the Night Meteor were being freely shared by all.

Of course, Golden Crown Mountain's Fourth Circle wizard, a Truth Wizard, was the very first to summon Black Hole Wizard Peach, generating a black hole to receive and contain the Night Meteor.

Golden Crown Mountain would harvest the Night Meteor entirely for itself.

Meanwhile, Locke stood on Arena No. 1. At first, he had simply been absorbing the stellar energy within the Night Meteor to boost his magical power and replenish himself. But he quickly discovered that his magical power had already reached the First Circle limit.

Absorbing any more would be of little use.

So he released his Forest Sanctuary, allowing the thousands of acres of forest within it and the hundreds of First Circle magical plants to absorb the starlight and strengthen themselves, guiding his Forest Sanctuary to absorb the benefits of the Night Meteor.

But very soon, Locke summoned forth his Porcelain Moon and discovered that it had formed a special resonance with certain planes within the Night Meteor.

"Those are the moon planes scattered across the boundless void!"

Locke came to the realization. "Those moon planes are normally separated from the main material plane by an extremely vast distance. But because of this Night Meteor, they are all laid out before me right now. I must seize this opportunity to observe the characteristics of those moon planes on the spiritual level, the magical level, and across all other levels."

"Otherwise, I would have to purchase expensive astronomical equipment just to observe them and use the findings to improve my Porcelain Moon magic."

"And even then, there's no guarantee it would succeed!"

Locke seized the moment. He raised his Porcelain Moon to absorb the stellar energy, while an innate Magic Eye appeared on his forehead. He also opened the Fierce Beast panel to amplify the perceptive power of his Magic Eye, and then drank a vial of the Tyrant Eye potion.

He locked onto three moon planes within the Night Meteor that were resonating with his Porcelain Moon, and concentrated on observing them intently.

He recorded the various magical fluctuations, spiritual fluctuations, and other attributes of those three moon planes, and also tracked their trajectories through the void. From this, he observed at least three First Circle spell models and could combine them to further refine and perfect Porcelain Moon Growth.

At the same time, the Golden Palace Legacy Branch and the Little Diamond Jujube Pendant automatically flew out from his star realm ring on their own and transformed into Peach Bow Thorn Arrow, resonating with a star within the Night Meteor that represented the sacred dragon.

Locke shifted a portion of his attention and discovered that within the Night Meteor, a bright star was flickering its starlight directly at him.

Unlike the other stars, this Sacred Dragon Star seemed to be actively reacting to him.

The Sacred Dragon Star shot a beam of starlight toward his Peach Bow Thorn Arrow. It was a Deviation Arrow, also known as a Revolution Arrow.

Locke quickly came to understand that in terms of every measurable dimension, the Sacred Dragon Star was an ordinary star. But on the spiritual level, the Sacred Dragon Star represented the star of revolution. Its appearance signified that a revolutionary event was about to unfold.

Under normal circumstances, for Locke to observe this particular star, he would have had to perform acts of revolution to draw its favor, an endeavor that would have required a great deal of effort.

But summoned by the Night Meteor, this mysterious star had appeared directly in broad daylight.

The Night Meteor's enhancement to Locke was extraordinary!

The more powerful a wizard was, the more they would gain from it.

Yet at this moment, Locke suddenly furrowed his brow. "Even with my current level of perception, it is impossible for me to directly observe the three moon planes and the Sacred Dragon Star at the primordial force level. But if I could observe them at that level, it would be a tremendous improvement to both of my spells and to my overall understanding of magic."

If he could observe them, it would trigger a domino effect.

He could even take that as a core foundation and develop a whole series of spell models from it.

The problem was that even a Second Circle wizard could not observe the primordial force layer of things with the naked eye.

He himself certainly couldn't either.

He would need to use the Queen's Chessboard to have any chance of achieving it.

"Wait, the Full Moon Growth from before could use lunar gravity to bind Type 2 Tyrant Element, and I could even place potions inside it and let the lunar gravity bathe the land below."

"I can still use Full Moon Growth right now to absorb the moonlight from the three moon planes I am observing. After that, I can use the Queen's Chessboard to analyze them separately."

"By the same logic, I can also use a fourth Full Moon Growth to absorb the starlight of the Sacred Dragon Star."

Locke spoke the incantation, and four instances of Full Moon Growth appeared around him.

Seven days ago, this would have been something utterly impossible for him. But after this Sports Festival competition, he had improved considerably.

Indeed, competing in place of training was the most effective way to improve oneself.

This was likely because, first, competitions had clear objectives, and once a person had a near-term goal, they would work tirelessly to achieve it.

Second, prolonged accumulation finally released all at once.

This competition had transformed all of Locke's prior accumulation into things that could enhance his magical power.

Even if he were to do it again, the effect would not be this good, because his previous accumulation had already been fully converted into his current magical power.

Participating in competitions every single day would not yield the same results.

At that moment, four lunar rings appeared and absorbed the starlight above. All four underwent a certain transformation as the stellar energy interacted with Locke's four instances of Full Moon Growth.

Locke then shouted toward Witch Camilla beside Arena No. 1, "Witch Camilla, could I borrow some ordinary witch porcelain for a moment?"

"I can pay you at market price."

At that moment, Witch Camilla was also doing her best to absorb the stellar energy from the sky. However, her perceptive ability was not as strong as Locke's, and her accumulated foundation was not as deep, so she was unable to directly observe a specific stellar plane. She could only absorb stellar energy to improve various aspects of herself.

At that moment, hearing Locke call out to her, she glanced at the four Full Moon Growth instances in front of him, and her expression became somewhat exasperated.

"First time I've ever seen a wizard more opportunistic than me. He really has thick skin." Witch Camilla thought it over. "But I don't seem to have any reason to refuse him. Besides, we completed a transaction together last time, so there's already some goodwill between us. What do I care about the grudges and grievances between Magic Pivot City and Golden Crown Mountain?"

"Every day I have to put my life on the line for Magic Pivot City! Every year there are research assessments and teaching assessments. Fail them and I could be dismissed. It's only these last few years that I've been able to relax a little without worrying about being let go."

"I want to become a Second Circle wizard, and when that time comes, I'll very likely need a large number of wizards to help me. Goodwill is built through give and take. Given that, getting ahead of things by making this friend now isn't a bad idea."

Witch Camilla directly tossed four pieces of ordinary witch porcelain to Locke.

The surfaces of these porcelain pieces were covered in many fine cracks. They were ordinary witch porcelain, known as crackle porcelain.

The fine, dense network of cracks that naturally formed on the surface of a ceramic piece was called crackle.

The witch porcelain in Locke's hands was ice-flake crackle porcelain among the crackle varieties, distinguished by the golden and iron-black lines on its surface that made it exquisitely beautiful.

This reflected the aesthetic sensibilities of Cloud Marsh Wetland.

Locke placed the four pieces of porcelain into his Full Moon Growth instances.

Although these ordinary porcelain pieces could not merge with his spell moons the way constellation witch porcelain could, nor serve as an energy source to strengthen his spells, they were sufficient to temporarily stabilize his spell moons and serve as vessels to house them.

This was different from his Porcelain Moon, so he was simply creating four solidified Full Moon Growth spell moons and having them housed within the porcelain.

At this moment, Locke also noticed that the Ancient Life Tree sapling at the center of his Forest Sanctuary was devouring stellar energy in massive quantities.

"Good." Locke's eyes flickered. "I had already been thinking about how to help the Ancient Life Tree grow from its sapling state into a First Circle state, and I had even planned to ask Wizard Edgar about it."

"He has experience with this."

"But now it seems that won't be necessary. The quality of this stellar energy is high enough, and the quantity is limitless."

"Whatever can be absorbed, so be it, as long as the Night Meteor remains in the sky for long enough!"

Locke opened his Druid's Ring, allowing as much starlight as possible to pour into it and into the Forest Sanctuary within. The Ancient Life Tree sapling began growing with all its might.

Up in the sky, Witch Yekaterina had no intention whatsoever of observing the star maps. She had been pursuing Fire Saint Wizard relentlessly the entire time, intent on killing him.

Fire Saint Wizard saw this and ground his teeth. "I've already given you back your Grand Magic. I've already ordered my forces to retreat. What more do you want?"

"Do you have to be so ruthless, Yekaterina!"

A cold indifference flashed through Witch Yekaterina's eyes. She was utterly merciless, and every spell she unleashed was aimed to kill.

Her sole purpose was to slay this Third Circle theft wizard of the Sacred Thief rank from the Twin Demon Realm.

Sacred Thief was a title that corresponded to the rank of Throne.

Fire Saint Wizard suddenly understood one thing. Witch Yekaterina had no interest whatsoever in recording star maps. What she wanted was his head.

What she wanted was the corresponding merit that came with it.

Throughout the entire event, Witch Yekaterina had already used it to elevate her status enormously, and if she killed him, her power within Golden Crown Mountain would grow even greater.

"Her student won the right to participate in the Plane Conquest Competition!"

"She led the victory in this demon realm war against the Twin Demon Realm!"

"Her power has expanded through two consecutive victories. This woman... I only wanted to steal the students' talents, but she intends to take all the power for herself."

Fire Saint Wizard's gaze turned cold and sharp. He barely managed to escape, his figure disappearing into the Twin Demon Realm's dimensional passage that resembled a creature's throat.

"Witch Yekaterina, your very existence proves one thing. Compared to you white wizards, we black wizards are merely small fish in a big pond."

"Authority never dies, and neither does the great thief."

"You are the true great thief."

Witch Yekaterina watched Fire Saint Wizard disappear, a flash of dissatisfaction crossing her eyes.

She had come so close to killing that Sacred Thief and achieving an outright, complete victory for this operation.

And there was one more thing she needed to get to the bottom of.

The Twin Demon Realm had launched this small-scale demon realm war in a manner that ultimately fizzled out. They had wanted to experiment with seizing the talents of wizard geniuses, but that plan had not succeeded to any significant degree before it already collapsed.

Although it had indeed been successfully demonstrated that this method could partially accomplish the theft of talents, the Twin Demon Realm surely had another objective.

And Witch Yekaterina was intent on uncovering their true purpose. After all, knowledge was the key to power.

As a Third Circle Throne wizard who had lived in a past age and had very likely once been on the verge of becoming a wizard monarch, Witch Yekaterina's drive to explore the arcane was largely fueled by her hunger for power.

Witch Yekaterina stood with her hands clasped behind her back, hovering in midair, a pair of red dragon wings spread out behind her.

The golden dragon behind Witch Yekaterina asked, "Aren't you going to observe the star maps?"

Witch Yekaterina said, "Golden Crown Mountain Academy already has many Third Circle wizards who will do the observing. Once they have recorded everything, they will publish articles, and by reading those articles, I can naturally obtain whatever star maps I need. Besides, I know nothing about astrology magic, so observing star maps would do little to improve me."

"What matters more is that I need to fully take command of the victory from this operation and consolidate my position."

Witch Yekaterina looked down at the remnants of the battle still unfolding below. She turned her left hand palm-up and released her own Grand Magic, Beast Tide Ecology.

At the center of Cloud Arena, a peach orchard of longevity peaches grew into being. The orchard was lush and verdant, bearing a special variety of peaches unique to Golden Crown Mountain.

Above the orchard hung a placard that read: "Dragon Peach Garden!"

That was right. Golden Crown Mountain's Twelve Peaches were, in essence, the special products of twelve different Grand Magics.

Grand Magic could be passed down.

When it passed into the hands of different wizards, the Grand Magic would undergo corresponding changes.

These inherited forms made it somewhat easier for a wizard to become a Second Circle wizard, though even so, the difficulty was not reduced by a great deal.

Moreover, after a wizard became a Second Circle wizard, they could reduce some of the costs involved in building Grand Magic and improve its quality, enhancing the power of that Grand Magic to the greatest possible degree.

But Third Circle wizards had long lifespans, and a thousand years of time was not enough to change certain things.

Therefore, the names and effects of Golden Crown Mountain's Twelve Peaches appeared unchanged over a millennium. In truth, however, there had been changes, and with the passage of time, their effects had grown ever more potent.

The orchard formed by Witch Yekaterina's Grand Magic could bear Dragon Viewing Peaches within it. These Dragon Viewing Peaches held all manner of wonderful uses for magical creatures.

And it was not only the Dragon Viewing Peach fruit that was useful.

Every part of the peach trees within the orchard had specific effects for the beast tides of magical creatures.

This orchard existed within a small world of its own, sufficient to form a unique ecology that could greatly enhance the strength, lifespan, and intelligence of magical creatures across an entire region.

And once these things were consumed, the magical creatures would acknowledge the orchard as their master. This was the nature of Beast Tide Ecology.

This acknowledgment of a master incorporated elements from the Mind Magic school, but more fundamentally, it was a matter of choosing based on self-interest.

Those magical creature groups would form a symbiotic ecology with the orchard, coming to regard it as their god.

And therefore, they were compelled to protect it.

As the orchard appeared at that moment, every magical creature in the vicinity of Golden Crown Mountain, including all the magical pets that the various wizards had brought with them, were forcibly drawn toward the Dragon Peach Garden.

Even the black wizards' magical pets betrayed their masters at that instant. Rather than break the orchard's pull, they chose to break their contracts, turning themselves into weapons under Witch Yekaterina's command.

Every magical creature surrounded the black wizards.

No mercy was shown.

Not a single black wizard was to be allowed to escape back into the Twin Demon Realm.

This was Witch Yekaterina's will.

And at that moment, Witch Yekaterina seemed to transform into a titan standing at the edge of the sky. She bent down, extended her hand, and grasped a single peach from the crown of the central peach tree at the heart of the orchard, then plucked it free.

She then pinched that peach between her fingers, and with the air of someone bestowing a great favor, hurled it toward Golden Crown Mountain. "All magical creatures, hear my command. Black wizards are to be killed on sight, without exception."

"The one who kills the most shall receive the Dragon Viewing Peach King."

"And gain wisdom to rival that of a human!"

In an instant, countless magical creatures erupted into a frenzy. Ten million beast tide creatures, all for a single peach.

One peach to command all the beasts of the world!