525: Sophia the Witch Advances to the Second Ring
Inside the Wizard Hot Spring, Daniel and Locke each soaked in a private pool. Special herbs had been added to the spring, giving it a unique, refreshing fragrance. The spring water continuously nourished their skin and strengthened their bones.
These herbs possessed powerful purification and energy recovery effects.
This Wizard Hot Spring was jointly established by a Potion Master and an Earth Wizard. The Potion Master was responsible for the herbs, while the Earth Wizard was in charge of locating earth energy convergence points and guiding underground water veins to artificially create the spring.
Wizard Daniel exhaled a breath of turbid air. "Locke, before I came to Golden Crown Mountain in the Yunze Wetland, I never imagined a wizard could live like this. Everything is so convenient, and everything is so cutting-edge."
"It truly lives up to its reputation as the Three Ze Lands."
"Among the fifty-three Wizard Lands within the Eastern Border Region, besides the Star Domain Sea, the Three Ze Lands is one of the most prosperous wizard areas. I've heard that in the Eastern Border Region, only the Dragonfall Land, the Hui Ming Borderland, the Southern Wizard Capital, the Siming Waters, and the Central Wizard Plain can rival the prosperity of the Three Ze Lands."
"Of course, the greatest advantage of the Three Ze Lands is that the three Wizard Lands are connected as one by Yun Lake, making it naturally more prosperous than other Wizard Lands of the same level."
Daniel said comfortably while soaking in the Wizard Hot Spring.
Locke nodded. He had only learned from reading articles over the past few days that there were a total of fifty-three Wizard Lands in the Eastern Border Region alone.
Among these fifty-three Wizard Lands, the Star Domain Sea was the most prosperous; it was the most powerful Wizard Land in the Eastern Border Region and served as its core.
However, the Three Ze Lands was very close to the Star Domain Sea and was also one of the core wizard regions of the Eastern Border Region. Wizards from other Wizard Lands were continuously flocking here.
Of these fifty-three Wizard Lands, he had only personally experienced two. The Wizard World he had come into contact with was merely the tip of the iceberg of the Eastern Border Region's Wizard World.
Regardless, now that he was in one of the core wizard zones of the Eastern Border Region—the Yunze Wetland—the world he could see would naturally be much broader.
It was Locke's first time hearing about the Siming Waters, the Southern Wizard Capital, and the Central Wizard Plain, and by the sound of it, none of these three Wizard Lands seemed lacking.
Locke thus asked Wizard Daniel about these three Wizard Lands.
He had heard of the Hui Ming Borderland and the Dragonfall Land before, and had even dealt with wizards hailing from those lands.
Soaking in the spring, Wizard Daniel spread his hands and said, "I'm not very clear on the specifics. The Ocean School, Spellcasting School, and Mind School magic of the Siming Waters are very famous, especially the Mind School, which is much more powerful than the Mind School magic of our Fission Mausoleum Plain."
"Many Mind School wizards in the Siming Waters have even proposed many shocking viewpoints. I once read an article by a Second Ring Wizard from the Siming Waters; he believed that all things in the world can be changed by a wizard's inner heart, and thus all things are determined by one's own heart."
"Whatever kind of world one perceives, that is what the world is. For example, if one perceives the world as beautiful, then the world is beautiful; if one perceives it as ugly, then it is ugly. All things change according to his heart; the things themselves do not change, it is his heart that has changed."
"Therefore, there is no need to change the world, only to change one's heart, and the world will change along with it. Furthermore, he went on to propose a psychological hypothesis—that he is the only person in the entire world, and other wizards do not exist."
Locke listened with a look of utter confusion. Remembering that Daniel himself was a Gnomonist of the Mind School, he spoke cautiously, "That actually works?"
Wizard Daniel smiled and said, "The Siming Waters is the most developed region for the Mind School, with countless branches. Wizards of the Mind School easily fall into the realm of idealism, so it's very easy for such issues to arise."
Wizard Daniel hesitated, "Moreover, that was an article by a Second Ring Wizard, so I am not qualified to judge whether it's right or wrong. Articles from the Mind School must be read very carefully. If you are led astray, the person who wrote the article won't care, but we'll be in trouble."
Wizard Daniel continued, "Even within my original Tuqingshan Cult Wizard Academy, there are many Psions who are obsessed with their own worlds and spend all their time researching the self... They no longer pay attention to the outside world and eventually refuse to communicate with it entirely. Some wizards even..."
Wizard Daniel's expression turned serious. "This can be considered a major hurdle for us Mind School wizards. Some Psions will directly choose to submerge their bodies and souls into their own minds, hiding away and remaining latent within for their entire lives, constantly researching and never taking another step out."
"It might be fine for the person himself, but for an outside observer—that is, for others—he has fallen into his own mind. You could say that this person no longer exists. Anyway, once he hides everything about himself within his mind, we as outside observers can no longer find him."
Locke nodded thoughtfully. "The main research scope of Mind School magic is the self-mind, so it is indeed easy to fall into this situation."
Locke looked at Wizard Daniel and said, "No wonder you like researching meteorology. Compared to the Mind School, meteorology is indeed more material and external. Researching meteorology probably helps you keep a portion of your attention on the real world."
Wizard Daniel was stunned for a moment, then looked at Locke and said, "That is indeed the case. Locke, your intuition... is very sharp. You actually guessed why I like meteorology."
Wizard Daniel added, "I know very little about the Southern Wizard Capital and the Central Wizard Plain."
Soaking in the spring, Wizard Daniel asked, "By the way, Locke, I haven't asked you yet—why did you come to Golden Crown Mountain? Was it just to obtain resources and explore a wider world?"
Locke nodded and said frankly, "Yes, isn't that enough? What about you?"
Wizard Daniel laughed. "It's enough, it's definitely enough. You are a truly pure person, and pure people can always determine their goals and put in the effort to achieve them."
"I'm somewhat envious that you can be so pure."
"I'm different from you. I have many ideas, and pursuing my ideals is only one of them. Another is that I want to learn the advanced knowledge of meteorology here in the Yunze Wetland and then bring that knowledge back to my hometown, the Fission Mausoleum Plain. Although it's just an ordinary little Wizard Land, it is my home, and it's very special to me personally."
Wizard Daniel said, "So, I really want to take truly advanced theories back with me. It was with this sentiment that I came to Golden Crown Mountain."
Locke nodded. "I see. You are a sentimental idealist; that's quite good. I only want to head to the Star Domain Sea to explore more things."
In the spring, Wizard Daniel looked at Locke in surprise and then said, "The Star Domain Sea?"
Wizard Daniel laughed and shook his head. "I really don't want to be called an idealist by someone like you. If I'm an idealist, then between the two of us, I think you're the one who seems more like an idealist."
"The most I dared to imagine was coming to the Three Ze Lands, yet you want to go a step further. To be honest, between the two of us, you, who wants to go to the Star Domain Sea, are the one who more closely resembles an idealist."
"That's the Star Domain Sea! There are simply too many super geniuses there, countless, as many as the stars in the sky—that's why the world calls it the Star Domain Sea! It is one of the civilization centers of our Wizard World! I'm already very satisfied being able to study in the Yunze Wetland. The Star Domain Sea is something I wouldn't even dare to dream of."
Wizard Daniel pondered, "However, if you really want to go to the Star Domain Sea, this Hall of Advanced True Knowledge is indeed the most suitable springboard."
"Furthermore, in that case, while others only need to get two out of the three major projects in the Hall of Advanced True Knowledge, if your goal is the Star Domain Sea, then you absolutely must get your hands on that Special Support Fund Project."
Daniel fell into deep thought. "I've checked the list of recipients for the Special Support Fund Project before; only four people have received it in the last five years. In other words, you and all those wizards who want to obtain the Special Support Fund Project are potential competitors."
Daniel raised his hands toward Locke. "But I'm not your competitor; I have no hope for that Special Support Fund Project. I'll be satisfied if I can just get the True Knowledge Institute Fund Project and a sub-project from my mentor's key single project. Getting those two projects will be enough to satisfy me and allow me to obtain my completion certificate."
Locke nodded slightly. "That's good. To each their own."
Daniel stared at Locke. "I really didn't expect your ambition to be so great."
"But Locke, I'll give you a sincere piece of advice: you'd better not tell anyone else in this True Knowledge Institute that you want to go to the Star Domain Sea."
Wizard Daniel paused and whispered, "I say this out of kindness. It will save you a lot of trouble. There are many people here who, like you, want to go to the Star Domain Sea but either can't, have fled back from there in a panic, or are too afraid to go. These people have suffered setbacks in the Star Domain Sea, and if you say you want to go there, they might transfer that resentment onto you."
"Besides, neither of us has made a name for ourselves in this Hall of Advanced True Knowledge yet. Currently, our point rankings are still at the bottom, so it's better not to draw unnecessary attention."
Locke nodded, knowing that Wizard Daniel was a good-hearted and sincere person. This advice was actually very useful to him.
"I understand."
"I..."
Locke looked at his left hand in surprise. On his left ring finger, he wore the three-leaf clover ring that Sophia the Witch had given him. However, at this moment, the magic pressure on the grass ring... had completely changed.
The magic pressure suddenly intensified violently in an instant. Following that, both its nature and total volume abruptly rose by several levels.
Locke felt the magic pressure being transmitted from the grass ring. "Teacher has actually broken through to the Second Ring."
"I knew it. The gap between her and me hasn't narrowed; instead, it's widening. Teacher's speed of progress is simply too fast."
Locke raised an eyebrow. This was what a true genius looked like.
...
In the Star Domain Sea, inside the laboratory of the Fourth Ring Wizard Starsea Scholar, Sophia's Second Ring senior brother clapped to welcome Sophia the Witch as she stepped out of the plane gate.
After sensing that Sophia the Witch's magic pressure was now a level higher than his own, he immediately let out a bitter smile. "Sophia, you are the most talented witch I have ever seen in the Star Domain Sea."
"No matter what you do, you complete it so quickly. But I didn't expect that as soon as you broke through to become a Second Ring Wizard, your degree of separation from Great Magic would become so low."
Sophia the Witch said modestly, "Senior brother, there are countless geniuses in the Star Domain Sea. What do I even count for?"
"I just noticed during the breakthrough that there was a degree of separation between me and the Great Magic, and I found a way to reduce that separation."
"So, are you saying that the progress of a Second Ring Wizard is about reducing that degree of separation?"
The Second Ring senior brother's eyes lit up with joy and he was about to explain, but Sophia the Witch shook her head to herself and said, "No, it's impossible to strengthen oneself by simply reducing the separation. To break the soul's limit for the second time, a wizard obtains a magic source. The separation exists for the sake of breaking that limit, so naturally, one cannot strengthen oneself just by reducing the separation."
"Therefore, the correct approach is to strengthen my connection with the magic source. By strengthening this connection, I can indirectly reduce the degree of separation, eventually making this power completely my own."
Sophia fell into deep thought because there were two difficult points in this line of thinking. The first was how to strengthen that connection.
What would the method be, and what would be its form of manifestation?
The second was the final outcome—is it really to make the magic source completely one's own?
The Second Ring senior brother smiled bitterly. "No wonder Mentor likes you so much, Sophia. I've never seen a witch with such talent. You're like an incarnation of magic. Others are Children of the Elements, but you are a Child of Magic."
"You figured out the key point so quickly. But do you know? There are still many Second Ring Wizards out there who have been focusing on the wrong thing, yet you, without anyone's reminder, realized the crux of the problem immediately upon breaking through."
The Second Ring senior brother's attitude toward Sophia the Witch became one of respect and awe. He chose his words carefully and asked tentatively, "Sophia, your senior brother might have to rely on you in the future."
Sophia looked at him in surprise, then suddenly thought of something. "Senior brother, isn't our small research group still short an assistant? Regarding the proposal to invite my student..."
The Second Ring senior brother shook his head and said, "Originally, this was just a small matter. If you, Sophia, asked for my help, how could I not put in some effort? But it's not possible now. You've been away in a Colonial Plane for your advancement and breakthrough, so you don't know that the vacant assistant position has already been filled."
The Second Ring senior brother quickly explained. He was now communicating with Sophia the Witch as an equal, and even voluntarily lowered his own status. "It's not that I didn't save the spot for him, but even a Second Ring Wizard has very little say in this laboratory. That assistant has a connection with a wizard in the First Forge stage of the Second Ring, so they took the spot. You know that I'm just an ordinary Second Ring Wizard."
Sophia the Witch was thoughtful. "First Forge, so that would be the Void Forging stage... or according to the naming conventions of the Star Domain Sea, a Star Ring Wizard within the Second Ring."
"Senior brother, I am already very grateful to you."
The Second Ring senior brother smiled and said, "Seeing as your degree of separation from your Great Magic is so low, you shouldn't be far from completing the First Forge of your Great Magic and becoming a Star Ring Wizard. You'll probably become a Sun Ring Wizard very soon. Even in the Star Domain Sea, talent like yours... is an anomaly."
"By the way, you don't need to worry about where that student of yours will go. He just joined the Hall of Advanced True Knowledge at Golden Crown Mountain in the Yunze Wetland."
"And naturally, he won the championship of the Yunze Cup."
Sophia the Witch was stunned for a moment, and then the corners of her mouth curled up.