Chapter 445: The Invisible Battle of Compressed magic pressure
Locke stared at Wizard Sfendice with cold eyes. At this moment, Wizard Sfendice was extremely nervous, even involuntarily taking a step back, and kept trying to explain to Locke that he really knew nothing about this matter.
Wizard Sfendice was clearly in the wrong. "I really knew nothing about this. I am also very angry about it. If you need, I can demand my student to provide compensation to your student."
"And then there's... the matter of the bill, it might really just be a misunderstanding. I can return all your materials to you as well."
The more Wizard Sfendice spoke, the more his confidence wavered, as Locke's gaze toward him grew increasingly cold.
Just then, the voice of a wizard suddenly came from not far away.
"You two, I detected magic pressure reactions at the level of Formal Wizards in the apprentice area. Both of you are One-Ring Wizards in the Liquefaction Stage; releasing your magic pressure at full power like this will cause soul damage to even those First-Class Wizard Apprentice students if they stay in such a violent clash of magic pressure for long."
The newcomer was Alicia Plutarch's father, Wizard Gregory Nick.
He was also a First Ring Crystallization Wizard of Bloodline Studies from the Plutarch Family.
As a First Ring Crystallization Wizard, Gregory's magic pressure was over 9,000, while Locke's magic pressure at this time was only over 6,100. There was a qualitative difference in the magic pressure between the two.
Although he could use the fierce beast panel to double his magic pressure to 9,000 and then use Abyss Energy to externally bolster it to achieve over 9,000+ magic pressure,
no matter what, he could not use the Ritual Magic unique to a First Ring Crystallization Wizard.
When Locke recalled the Ritual Magic of the Ghost Saint Church's leader he had once fallen victim to—being dragged into the Styx Plane and nearly drowning there to become a scapegoat water ghost—he felt a lingering fear. For a moment, he truly couldn't think of a better way to deal with Ritual Magic.
The Ritual Magic unique to First Ring Crystallized Wizards possessed a unique crushing ability against wizards below the crystallization level.
The only two ways Locke could think of to counter it were as follows.
The first was to stack Eternal Defense Fields to forcibly resist the Ritual Magic, but by his calculations, the success rate was less than 10%.
Unless that project of his from the Star Domain Sea could be completed, then the success rate could increase to over 90%.
The second was to strike first before the opponent could use Ritual Magic, leaving them no time to cast it.
According to what he knew, the wind-up time for casting Ritual Magic was still relatively long.
This was actually the most realistic way for a Liquefaction Stage wizard to fight a Crystallization Stage wizard, though the risk remained very high.
However, there was no need for Locke to be an enemy of the wizard before him.
Locke and Wizard Sfendice both bowed to Gregory.
Gregory's gaze swept gently over Wizard Sfendice and Locke. His eyes lingered on Locke for a moment, and after sizing him up, he showed a look of satisfaction. Then he questioned the two again, "What exactly happened that warrants two Liquefaction Stage wizards flying into a rage in a student dormitory area?"
"Hmm? Why is it so messy here? This is an asset area of my Plutarch Family. Who dares to cause destruction here?"
Wizard Sfendice immediately lowered his head guiltily.
Meanwhile, Locke had already directly compressed the information from the Historical Projection and transmitted it into Wizard Gregory's hands. "Respected Proctor Gregory, does the Six Towers Land and the Plutarch Family not have their own laws and regulations?"
After Gregory finished watching, his expression turned slightly cold, and he looked at Wizard Sfendice with a stern gaze. "Barnaby Cooper is your student, right? How dare he do such a thing on our Plutarch Family's territory? Have you considered our family's reputation?"
Wizard Sfendice hurriedly said, "I really didn't know. I was just trying to explain to Wizard Augustine, but he wouldn't listen to me and even used his magic pressure to clash with mine. Look, my mana is currently in a state of extreme disorder."
Wizard Sfendice spoke with some lingering fear. The students watching nearby hadn't known what was happening, but in truth, Locke and he had staged a high-level, technically difficult confrontation of magic pressure in this dormitory corridor.
Locke's compressed magic pressure had loomed over his shoulders, demanding he kneel, while under this compressed magic pressure technique, he could only barely resist with his own magic pressure. If it continued for long, he would surely collapse.
If Wizard Gregory hadn't suddenly arrived, he would have certainly suffered today.
Because it was highly compressed, this invisible contest of magic pressure had resulted in the surrounding students not noticing anything unusual at all.
In reality, this demonstrated the achievements Locke had made with the [Compression Method] from his daily practice of the Eternal Defense Field.
It was precisely by using the Compression Method technique that he could crush Wizard Sfendice's magic pressure. From the comparison between the two, although the opponent also knew a Compression Method, it was clearly not as efficient as his own.
Wizard Sfendice's heart went numb because two Formal Wizards were now looking at him with cold eyes, suspecting him of condoning his student's destruction in a high-value asset area of the Plutarch Family.
Wizard Sfendice hurriedly said, "Barnaby Cooper is the heir of the mid-tier prestigious Cooper Family, and his succession rank is at the very top."
"Therefore, he possesses more autonomy than other Wizard Apprentices."
"I have never even punished him normally; after all, I have to consider the Cooper Family's opinions."
Wizard Gregory said coldly, "That is your own business. How you deal with the Cooper Family is your responsibility as a wizard mentor. But our Plutarch Family is the current ruling family of the Six Towers Land, and Great Wizard Sura is the ruling wizard of the Six Towers Land."
"Never mind that he is just the heir of the mid-tier prestigious Cooper Family; even if he were the heir of the other ruling family, the Basil Family, if he dares to do this, he must be strictly bound by the laws of my Six Towers Land."
"As for the Cooper Family's reaction, that is something you, as a wizard mentor, should handle yourself."
Wizard Sfendice finally understood that his current situation was extremely dangerous. Since Locke had directly produced evidence of his student, Barnaby Cooper, destroying Plutarch Family assets, it made it very easy for him to fall under suspicion of targeting the Plutarch Family.
According to the evidence in Locke's hands, it was enough to send Barnaby Cooper to the Wizard Prison.
Compare connections and backgrounds?
Who in the Six Towers Land could be greater than the Plutarch Family?!
But if he dealt with Barnaby Cooper haphazardly, he would offend the Cooper Family.
The Cooper Family wouldn't be hostile toward the Plutarch Family because the evidence was conclusive and the Six Towers Land had its rules; everyone would accept a punishment within the rules. However, the Cooper Family would definitely have a problem with him personally.
Realizing this, cold sweat poured down Wizard Sfendice's forehead. At the same time, he completely abandoned any hope of luck and looked at Locke, saying, "Wait a moment, Lord Locke, Lord Gregory. Everything between wizards can be measured by trade."
"The primary victims of this matter are all students in Lord Locke's research group, while the perpetrator is mainly my student. So, why don't we conduct a reasonable trade to settle this matter quietly?"
Hearing this, Gregory also glanced at Locke, waiting to see how Locke would handle the situation.
As the mentor of the victimized students, his attitude would indeed largely determine the direction of this matter.
Whether to settle it quietly, overlook the feelings of a few students, and protect the stability and harmony of the environment all depended on this mentor's thoughts.
Hearing this, Locke spoke directly, "It's fine if you want me not to pursue this."
Wizard Sfendice immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
And Wizard Gregory also nodded secretly in his heart.
Indeed, as an outsider wizard, sacrificing the feelings of a few students in exchange for one's own convenience was considered normal.
When he was young and encountered such things, he could only handle them this way.
Otherwise, if one fell out with other wizards in this environment, how could they continue to get along within the Plutarch Family in the future?
It was normal to be bullied a bit when young; after all, everyone had gone through it. Many wizards who had stayed here for a long time had developed smooth personalities and naturally found it easy to take advantage.
In his youth when he first came to the Six Towers Land, he had suffered many such overt and covert losses.
Some losses, young people just have to swallow.
Locke looked at Wizard Sfendice and smiled. "The prerequisite for me not pursuing this matter is that, as compensation for my student, Leopold, you must give him a bottle of Advancement Potion. Similarly, for my other students who suffered losses—there are six of them in total—you must also give them at least one bottle of Advancement Potion to share."
"As the mentor of the victimized students, I won't pursue this matter with you further. As for the other damage you caused, I can only report it truthfully; this is a matter for your Plutarch Family. How you are punished has nothing to do with me."
Leopold and the other six students had originally been prepared to swallow this grievance. Hearing Locke's demand now, they all looked at him in surprise, their hearts filled with emotion.
Leopold pursed his lips, even feeling a bit like crying.
They had always been bullied, exploited, and suppressed in this White Dragon Tower, never having enjoyed such a luxury as justice.
Over time, their personalities had become either timid or prone to extremes.
The environment had shaped their characters.
Yet today, Locke actually spoke up directly to another wizard mentor, demanding two bottles of Advancement Potion for them.
Gregory glanced at Locke in disbelief, but after a moment's thought, he didn't say anything, allowing Locke to negotiate with Wizard Sfendice himself.
Wizard Sfendice, however, had a strong reaction. His body stiffened, and he said with some irritation, "Wizard Locke, Advancement Potions are important teaching resources in the Six Towers Land. They are special magical resources that wizard mentors decide and allocate to their students themselves. Moreover, only when one's own student's mental power reaches 800 can one apply for a bottle of Advancement Potion from the White Wizard Association headquarters."
"Advancement Potions are hard currency in the Six Towers Land, surely you know that?"
"You're actually asking me for two bottles of Advancement Potion!" Wizard Sfendice's body was rigid. "I don't even have enough for my own students."
Commoner students had another use, which was the primary reason they were allowed to enroll: certain rewards, especially the truly important ones, were all handled by the White Wizard Association headquarters.
Therefore, even if the family wizards of the Six Towers Land controlled the local branch of the White Wizard Association, they couldn't obtain those rewards.
Because of this, the Six Towers Land needed these commoner wizards to enroll and reach 800 mana as quickly as possible. Then their wizard mentors could obtain Advancement Potions and subsequently allocate them to the family wizards.
Especially for those family wizards for whom one bottle of Advancement Potion wasn't enough and who needed multiple bottles to advance.
The fate of most commoner wizards was simply to be "human mines" for Advancement Potions in the Six Towers Land. Only a few could become Formal Wizards through means such as ghostwriting papers.
Wizard Sfendice looked at Locke in disbelief. The sigh of relief he had just let out was caught in his throat again.
Locke looked at him coldly, took half a step forward, and simultaneously utilized the Abyss Energy contained within his eyes.
The Main Brain Control Potion was also an abyss potion. He had taken one bottle before, so his current Abyss Energy was equivalent to 1050 magic pressure. The ratio of Abyss Energy to normal magic pressure remained at 0.17, only slightly higher than before, not by much.
Since the safety line was at 0.3, he was controlling it well.
At this moment, that aggressive, violent Abyss Energy pressed down towards Wizard Sfendice. The combined magic pressure reached 7150, far exceeding Wizard Sfendice's magic pressure of just over 6000.
Moreover, Locke's compression technique was very skilled. His magic pressure was extremely condensed. Combined with the violent nature of Abyss Energy, Wizard Sfendice's own magic pressure protection was like a magnetic field facing a violent solar storm. In a very short time, it was blown away by Locke's compressed magic pressure. His physical body was completely exposed without protection. In the next moment, Locke's magic pressure slammed him directly against the wall.
With a 'bang', the magical stone material, white milkstone, snapped in response.
Wizard Sfendice spat out a mouthful of blood. His Eternal Defense Field bloodline shield, Dragon-Scorpion Carapace, automatically deployed, hardening his skin into Dragon-Scorpion Armor.
Wizard Sfendice's expression changed drastically. He hadn't expected the gap between him and Locke to be so large. Locke had sent him flying just by using compressed magic pressure and forced him to deploy his Eternal Defense Field.
Wizard Sfendice felt the magic pressure still enveloping him like a violent storm, and the pressure in his heart was immense.
The compressed magic power was almost condensing into a physical form. Even with the Dragon-Scorpion Armor deployed, it was still like a whirlpool in the sea, drawing him in and trapping him for a moment.
Under this immense pressure, Wizard Sfendice finally relented. "Fine, okay, I'll give those students of yours two bottles of Advancement Potion."
Locke spoke directly, "Immediately."
Wizard Sfendice's expression changed slightly. He hadn't expected Locke to be so experienced at such a young age, completely distrusting his verbal promise. Thus, he could only take out two bottles of Advancement Potion from his astral ring and apologized to Locke, "Lord Locke, your methods are indeed superior; I am completely convinced. Here are two bottles of Advancement Potion. I don't want to be your enemy, as you know."
Locke took the two bottles of Advancement Potion from his hand and gave him a cold look.
He still believed in "striking one blow to avoid a hundred."
People like Wizard Sfendice had been full of hostility and contempt for the wizards in his research group from the very beginning. No matter how much one compromised, it would be useless.
Because they despised you from the start, no matter how much you pleaded, it would be useless and would only lead to them targeting you further.
Only by making them afraid and making them feel pain would they dare not do it again.
From the Yunze Cup small group, Locke knew the consequences of being soft-hearted. Wizard Marius Lawrence from Dragonfall Land had a research group that was almost at a standstill because he was too soft-hearted.
A major issue for a junior mentor of a research group was whether they could take charge and handle things.
To prevent the wizards of the Six Towers Land from continuing to harass the wizards in his research group, Locke had to use thunderous means to suppress all defiance. He had to make those people not only feel pain but also pay a certain price, so as to curb all the little tricks hidden behind the scenes.
Otherwise, with such daily harassment, how could his research group get anything done?
Locke squeezed the Historical Projection into an information sphere, placed it into a Truth Crystal, and then gave it to Wizard Gregory. "This is the evidence of Barnaby Cooper leading the destruction of the Plutarch Family's property."
"The White Dragon Tower has its own laws. Laws that cannot punish people will lose all binding force. So, I'll leave this to the Plutarch Family."
Wizard Sfendice turned pale and almost couldn't stand steadily. He had paid so much—two precious bottles of Advancement Potion, resources he didn't have many of and were difficult to obtain through trade or favors—just to get Locke not to pursue it and to lessen Barnaby Cooper's guilt.
That way, he could also give the Cooper Family an explanation.
Who would have thought that even after he paid two bottles of Advancement Potion, Locke still chose to hand the evidence over to Wizard Gregory for processing.
With such clear evidence, the Plutarch Family would certainly punish Barnaby Cooper severely, as they had to maintain their authority.
They would not tolerate such a provocation from a mere heir of a mid-tier noble family.
Wizard Gregory was surprised by Locke's decisiveness. From the corner of his eye, he saw the awe-struck looks the Wizard Apprentices gave Locke, and he immediately understood that Locke was "killing the chicken to scare the monkeys."
Only, the "chicken" being killed was a wizard in the Liquefaction Stage and the heir to a mid-tier noble family, while the "monkeys" were all the wizards of the Six Towers Land.
'Why didn't I have such spirit when I was young? If I had then, perhaps many of the things I regret wouldn't have happened.'
Wizard Gregory thought.
Wizard Sfendice gave a bitter smile. He was now completely afraid of Locke. With no defiance left in his heart, he said to Locke, "Lord Locke, please follow me. I will take you to find Barnaby Cooper..."
A flash of anger towards Barnaby appeared in Wizard Sfendice's eyes. He feared the Cooper Family, not a minor family wizard of the younger generation.
He felt that the loss of face he suffered today was entirely that student's responsibility.
He also had a surge of suppressed anger. Since he couldn't afford to offend anyone present, he could only take this anger out on his student, Barnaby Cooper, after he returned.
Besides, these matters were stirred up by him in the first place. It was clearly a matter where he was completely in the right, yet in the end, he turned out to be the one most in the wrong.
He had even lost two bottles of Advancement Potion and suffered a great loss of face in front of many students.
Wizard Sfendice stomped his foot and whispered, "Barnaby, that damned fool!"