Wizard: Starting With Synthesized Gems - Chapter 698

Chapter 695 The Silent Holy Grail Tournament Officially Begins! The Silent Throne Hangs High!

Locke sat atop the Rainbow Sparrow, gazing upon the land of Golden Crown Mountain. He saw demonic storms descending upon various parts of Golden Crown Mountain, and the colossal demonic beast rampaging wildly, causing unprecedented chaos in the region’s magical tides.

Locke saw in the distance, in the direction of Rose Paradise, that the colossal demonic beast opened its maw, spewing a demonic storm from its five-finger-shaped black mouth, attacking Rose Paradise.

The magical forces of the two sides collided, triggering a spectacular scene of heaven and earth shattering.

The massive demonic storm continuously destroyed the rose vines, but the rose vines regenerated endlessly.

As long as these rose vines remained intact, the entire town would not be destroyed. As long as

the entire town remained intact, the magic array that Rose Paradise had set up beneath the spiritual veins of Rose Town would not disappear.

Rose Paradise still had a glimmer of hope.

As long as she could survive the end of the Demon Realm War, the Twin Demon Realms would have to leave. Therefore, she didn’t need to fight the Demon Realm behemoth with its third-ring magical pressure; her only goal was to withstand at least a month of attacks! The

Priestess of Rose Garden, seeing Rose Town constantly being destroyed and then restored, felt a glimmer of hope in her eyes.

The next moment, the underground spiritual veins of Rose Town were directly sucked out by the Demon Realm behemoth. The behemoth bit into the underground magical energy veins, chewed a few times, and swallowed them whole.

The Moon Ring Witch of Rose Garden’s expression changed drastically. As the earth veins were swallowed by the Twin Demon Realms, the magical arrays that Rose Garden had spent hundreds of years setting up in Rose Town lacked sufficient magical energy to nourish them, and rose after rose withered.

The colorful roses continuously withered and died, while the town was constantly being destroyed. One after another, the Rose Garden wizards responsible for maintaining the nodes were forcibly teleported to the second sky by the Twin Demon Realms’ demon behemoth. Their

purpose was to completely dismantle the enemy’s armed forces within the Demon Realm’s black hole, and then the Demon Realm would completely devour them.

The Moon Ring Witch’s eyes were filled with despair, for she saw that the colossal demonic beast wasn’t just aiming to destroy Rose Paradise and seize the magical fields hidden within its core; it was unleashing its magical pressure upon the entire region,

including Rose Town and several surrounding mortal kingdoms.

It intended to uproot the entire area and completely annihilate Rose Paradise.

The Moon Ring Witch gritted her teeth; she now had two choices.

First, abandon the wizarding academy and flee.

With her immense magical power, she could easily use her ultimate spell, [Gilded Rose], to carve a bloody path out.

However, the numerous first-ring wizards and apprentices of Rose Paradise would be left with nowhere to go.

Especially since she had already witnessed the only three ordinary second-ring wizards of Rose Paradise forcibly breaking their promise, bearing the burden of magical backlash from the Eye of Truth’s punishment and losing all their civilization credit points, desperately fleeing together.

The second option was for her to stay at the academy and fight it out.

The Paradise Master, watching the many first-ring wizards still struggling to gather magic to resist the demonic storm, gritted his teeth. “The century-old tradition of Rose Garden cannot be severed in my hands. Otherwise, how can I face my teachers?”

“In past demonic wars, there has never been a precedent of annihilating a wizarding academy as large as Rose Garden.”

“What exactly are the Twin Demon Realms up to? Have they spiraled out of control? Or is it that behind them…”

The Garden Master’s eyes were resolute. “Since they have become pawns, it is my fault for making a mistake. It is my incompetence as a wizarding leader that has implicated the wizards in these academies. Therefore, I will live and die with my academy. I would rather be the last Garden Master of Rose Garden than abandon my post.”

The Garden Master looked towards Mount Golden Crown, seemingly wanting to confirm whether Mount Golden Crown would provide support.

…

A week later.

Locke found something strange: Mount Golden Crown formed a wizarding army to rescue the victims of the demonic storms and limit their range.

These actions were indeed very effective in dealing with the demonic storm disasters, but they never took the initiative to eliminate the demonic beasts. Instead, they only intervened to suppress them after the demonic beasts and the range of the demonic storms had expanded.

In other words, Mount Golden Crown allowed a certain amount of demonic storms to exist, only eliminating them after they grew large.

Locke walked at the foot of Mount Golden Crown, lost in thought. ‘Does Mount Golden Crown have a special agreement with the Twin Demon Realms?’ ‘

Of course, Mount Golden Crown doesn’t tax the wizarding academies throughout the Mount Golden Crown region. Those academies aren’t subordinate to Mount Golden Crown. On the contrary, they are competitors for students and magical resources, so Mount Golden Crown truly has no obligation to help them.’

‘Just the rescue is already more than enough.’

Mount Golden Crown isn’t the ruler of the Mount Golden Crown region, just the most famous and powerful wizarding academy there.

However, Locke still sensed something amiss from Mount Golden Crown’s strange attitude.

This matter wasn’t as simple as it seemed.

For example, the medium-to-large-scale wizarding academies within the Mount Golden Crown region—those closest to Mount Golden Crown’s power—were being exploited by the Demon City during the demonic storms, with wizards being sent to continuously plunder the magical resources of the victims.

The Hall of Eternal Radiance and the Tower of Sandbars remained closed, refusing to leave and pretending nothing had happened.

Only the Kungudin Building Materials Academy sent some wizards to rescue some of the victims.

Locke snapped out of his reverie and saw Princess Preston, the White Dragon Princess, standing before him in a white wizard’s robe with snowflake patterns on the cuffs.

Also present was Chad Schultz, the Moon Ring Wizard, leading the group from the Land of Ruins Bridge.

Preston greeted Locke. “Young Locke, what are you thinking about? You seem troubled.”

Locke nodded. “Just thinking about some things I can’t figure out.”

One can see further from a higher vantage point.

Locke put aside his doubts; perhaps these problems would be solved once he became a second-ring wizard.

If he couldn’t figure it out now, he wouldn’t dwell on it.

Wizard Chad Schultz looked at the clock, frowning. “What’s going on? The Silent Grail Tournament is waiting for us. What’s wrong with Antoine? We notified him in advance, why isn’t he here yet?”

“We’ll be late,”

said the Preston Witch. “Actually, it’s nothing. If Antoine isn’t coming, we’ll find someone else. According to the order of substitutions, if Antoine doesn’t come, and Julian Witch doesn’t come either, then… the fifth place is the wizard from the Kungudin Building Materials Academy, so the sixth one will come…”

“The Silent Grail War is a very serious tournament,” said Wizard Chad Schultz. “If Antoine really doesn’t show up, I’ll have to find a way to invite Witch Julian. Otherwise, I really don’t have the confidence to participate in this Silent Grail War.”

Witch Preston, hands on her hips, curled her lips into a frivolous smile.

The three waited for about an hour and a half before Antoine arrived in his magic carriage.

Wizard Chad Schultz breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Antoine’s carriage, though his eyes held a hint of malice as he suppressed his anger.

Witch Preston, however, said to Antoine, “Antoine, where have you been partying again? You’ve kept us waiting for so long.”

Antoine emerged from the carriage, his clothes tattered, like a beggar’s. “Sorry, everyone,” he said, “I just came out of the Fighting Inferno. I’ve been going as fast as I could to make it on time.”

Witch Preston chuckled at the sight. “You’re exaggerating a bit, Antoine. I’m not used to you doing this.”

“Is that supernatural purgatory, the combat purgatory, really that dangerous, that it could make you so embarrassed?”

Antoine smirked. “Why don’t you give it a try?”

Wizard Chad Schultz urged, “Alright, you three. We have to go. Otherwise, we’ll be too late.”

“Use my ultimate magic to get to the location of this competition, the Silent Holy Grail Arena in the Quinnjoll region—where the Silent Throne is located.”

Wizard Chad Schultz flipped his left hand, and a tea tree descended. Then, the tea tree suddenly grew a million times larger, transforming into the Water Saint Tea Tree, with a single tea leaf supporting an entire city-state.

Then, just as Locke was wondering what method Wizard Chad was going to use to move them quickly with his ultimate magic,

the next moment, the flower buds between the leaves of the Water Saint Tea Tree suddenly condensed water vapor, then, like flower buds condensing liquid, launched a jade-like water cannonball at each of the four.

First-circle Botanical Magic: Tea Bead Water Bullet.

Locke blinked, instinctively using his five-headed serpent technique to create a natural force field.

Then, he was engulfed by the water bullet, a massive inertial force surging towards him, and his vision went black due to the large amount of liquid covering him.

‘Damn, it moves like this!’ Locke was speechless. ‘Given the strength of this magic, if my natural force field weren’t strong enough, I would have been severely injured.’

Locke had only caught a glimpse of the water bullet smashing Antoine’s exquisite magical carriage and then swallowing him whole; he wondered if it was for personal revenge.

…

The Silent Throne.

This was a massive seat suspended in the sky, essentially a third-ring magical artifact. This third-ring artifact had locked onto the Silent Plane and specially modified it, achieving a unique cooperation with the world’s will of that plane.

Below the Silent Throne was a vast circular arena.

At this moment, the arena was completely full, with not a single empty seat.

After the seated tickets sold out, standing tickets were put on the market. Not only were they sold out, but more were sold, because some wizards might be unable to attend due to unforeseen circumstances.

From the beginning, the white wizards on the competition committee had assumed that some wizards would buy tickets but not show up.

Therefore, both seated and standing tickets were oversold.

While refunds could be issued if the venue became too crowded, it wouldn’t be fair for the white wizards to lose money by not selling more tickets.

Besides, the stands could always be crammed in if they were squeezed.

Second-ring and first-ring wizards from all over the world arrived at the competition venue.

The Great Magic Modeling Competition held value for both first-ring and second-ring wizards.

Wizards from Golden Crown Mountain, Boniface University… wizards from all over the world came to watch the competition.

For example, in the competition venue, the City of Magic had spent money to buy a good seat near the front, and Camilla the witch was there.

She angrily bought a serving of popcorn, then sat in the front row, looking up at the Silent Throne in the sky. “Damn Locke. He made me send my sister to the Marginal Wizarding Grounds.”

“I’m going to watch this competition closely.”

“Let’s see what ranking you get.” Camilla glanced guiltily at her cooperating tutor beside her. ‘He took so many of my life-bound magical porcelains, I don’t know how to explain this to the academy.’

‘If this guy pulls out a bunch of my academy’s life-bound magical porcelains in front of everyone, what will I say to my teachers and colleagues watching the competition? Last time, someone guessed that I traded my life-bound magical porcelains to Locke, but no one investigated further.’

Camilla the witch thought guiltily.

On the other side, Wizard Mike from the Kungudin Building Materials Academy sat in the audience, gazing up at the Silent Throne. “Teacher, is that the Third Ring artifact, the Silent Throne? Such immense magical pressure! I can’t even determine its total amount; its magical pressure is like the size of a world.”

The Sun Ring wizard beside Wizard Mike, hearing this, chuckled, “Your perception is correct. The Silent Throne is locked onto the Silent Plane, so that is indeed the magical pressure of a world.”

“This is a magical artifact created by the Third Ring Throne wizards, who spent a vast amount of resources and painstaking effort. It has a history of over a thousand years.”

“Take a good look. Actually, this is the first time we’ve seen the real thing, and like you, we’re very surprised. In fact, because we’ve seen more than you, we’re even more surprised.”

Many wizards from the second most powerful force in the Quinjol region, the Wizarding Academy of Little Rest Mountain, had also come.

A first-ring wizard, accompanied by his sun-ring wizard teacher, looked resentfully at the throne in the sky and muttered, “If I hadn’t lost to that bastard Edgar, I would have had a chance to enter that throne and participate in the competition.”

“Damn it, originally none of the younger generation on Quinjol’s side were my match, but who knew Edgar would suddenly appear. Teacher, I’m not reconciled.”

The second-ring wizard from Little Rest Mountain glanced at him. “Unwilling to accept it? That’s right, Martin. This is the fate of the losers. What do you think happens to those who fail in a competition?”

“You are, and so is Xiaoxi Mountain. The entire ecosystem of Yunze Wetland is a huge competitive ecosystem, and the Five Great Wars are just a part of this competitive ecosystem.”

“In this ecosystem, who dares not fight hard? Anyone who falls behind by even a fraction will lose a corresponding amount of resources.” “

Therefore, the leaders work diligently, daring not to slack off in the slightest. The latecomers strive to catch up. The early birds have the advantage of being first, and the latecomers have the advantage of being second.”

The Sun Ring Wizard of Xiaoxi Mountain’s eyes were filled with ambition. “Just remember, a thousand years ago, Quinjol University wasn’t one of the seven top colleges. So, a thousand years later, our Little Rest Mountain can rise to the top.”

“Martin, a temporary victory or defeat doesn’t matter. Watch this match you couldn’t participate in, and experience the feeling of a loser only able to sit on the sidelines and watch the winners compete.”

“Then, you should try your best.”

Wizard Martin swallowed hard. He said that, but… Teacher, your words were a bit too sarcastic.

What did he mean by experiencing the feeling of a loser only able to sit on the sidelines?

This…

Wizard Martin covered his face. “Anyway, if Edgar dares to lose to someone else, I’ll be even angrier. Since he beat me, he can’t afford not to win this match.”

Meanwhile, the wizards from the Bonifacius region were discussing amongst themselves.

A sketch artist from the Black and White Gallery, a medium-sized wizarding organization in the Boniface region, asked in a low voice, “I heard that the parents of this year’s main contestant from Boniface University are both dark wizards.”

Another sketch artist from the Black and White Gallery, a first-stage crystallization level cultivator, looked at his colleague in surprise. “The offspring of dark wizards? How can she participate? What right does someone like that have to study magic?”

“The offspring of the vile.”

The first wizard from the Black and White Gallery shrugged and said, “I don’t know what Boniface University is thinking.”

“They’re probably crazy. If you ask me, they shouldn’t give the offspring of dark wizards any chance.”

The second wizard from the Black and White Gallery coughed and said in a low voice, “Stop talking, stop talking.”

The first sketch artist from the Black and White Gallery frowned in displeasure, thinking that the other person was interrupting him. When he turned around, he had an embarrassed expression on his face.

Because they were standing next to the corridor, and the wizards from Boniface University had just walked up to them and were standing behind them.

The wizards, descendants of the so-called dark wizards, stood in the group, wearing wooden masks.

It was unclear how much of their conversation had been overheard.

Georgina, the witch wearing the wooden mask, glanced at the two wizards from the Black and White Gallery and frowned slightly.

Two assistants from Boniface University beside Georgina whispered to her, “Ignore them. The Black and White Gallery? A wizarding university that’s declining. They say the student body is getting worse every year.”

“They’re suppressed by Cassilos Art University every year.”

“Cassilos Art University’s ink painters simply can’t tolerate a skilled sketching wizarding academy emerging from Yunze Wetlands.”

“They don’t represent the people of Yunze Wetlands at all.”

Georgina nodded. “Thank you, Adam Smith.”

Adam Smith deliberately said in front of the two wizards from the Black and White Gallery, “Heh, anyway, I don’t know how much longer the Black and White Gallery can stay in Yunze Wetlands. If it continues to have no students, I guess in a few years, in order to maintain its status, it will have to move to another wizarding land.”

The two wizards from the Black and White Gallery immediately showed a look of embarrassment and anger.

But just then, someone suddenly appeared, laughing loudly, and said in a rhythmic voice, “That’s because sketching isn’t real magic, it’s not real art.”

“The gallery is full of ‘masterpieces,’ but upon closer inspection, they’re all just formulas. The color formulas are accurate, but the audience wants to vomit. Sketches as fast as lightning? Machines will replace you sooner or later.”

“Sketchers, put away your sketchbooks and admit you’re just tools. Art is a wildfire, you’re just human printers!”

It was Master Milady, the master bard from the Cassilos Art University who had once served as the chief judge for Locke’s second-class grant project, who, with rhythmic words and exaggerated, rhythmic gestures, hopped and skipped towards them.

Some wizard fans nearby gasped, recognizing Master Milady, a third-circle wizard.

One of the most skilled bards in Yunze Wetlands…

and if we remove the fourth-ring Truth Wizard and the third-ring Throne Wizard, then Master Milady might be able to contend for the title of the number one bard under the Throne, or simply the number one under the Throne.

Adam Smith blinked. “Master Milady!”

The two sketch artists from the Black and White Gallery immediately lowered their heads, pretending not to see them.

After all, Cassilos Art University was the most hostile to their Black and White Gallery.

The ink painters always looked down on them sketch artists.

Now, these two first-ring wizards, in this unfamiliar place, had encountered a third-ring wizard from Cassilos Art University.

So, their wisest choice was to play the ostrich and bury their heads in the sand, otherwise they would only be humiliating themselves.

Master Milady looked at the witch Georgina, his tone suddenly becoming serious as he comforted her, “Georgina, you are the most artistically talented weaver I have ever met. The artistic spirit within your works astonishes even me. Therefore, you are the best contestant from Bonifacius University.”

The witch Georgina’s eyes brightened slightly as she bowed to him, saying, “Thank you, Master Milady. Master, your cheerful attitude towards the world, this optimistic and positive spirit, is something I should learn from.”

Adam Smith’s eyes lit up as he asked the incredibly amiable Master Milady, who enjoyed playing with lower-level wizards and was very easy to talk to. “Master Milady, can Ms. Georgina win this competition? Do you think she’s the best candidate?”

After all, for an artist, such praise was already extremely high.

Master Milady paused for a moment. “Well… Georgina the Witch is indeed the most artistically talented magic weaver in my opinion. But Edgar the Witch of Quinjoll is also the most vibrant breeder I’ve ever seen.”

“And Locke Augustine the Witch of Golden Crown Mountain makes me sigh; it seems Catherine the Witch has found herself again. That kid is incredibly clever, even surprising me.”

“So, if you ask me who I like best, it’s hard to say.”

“That’s precisely what makes the competition interesting, what makes it worth anticipating.”

Milady the Witch gestured as she took her seat in the VIP section, singing and dancing, saying, “This world is a chessboard, and everyone is a piece. Some become kings, sweeping across the board, while others become pawns, getting kicked around.”

“They laugh at my persistence, I laugh at their casualness. The real winner is never afraid; victory or defeat is up to us, the game reveals all.”

Adam Smith wiped the awkward cold sweat from his forehead. “The master is still so… so creative.”

Georgina the Witch murmured to herself, watching the master’s departing figure. “The outcome is up to us, the game will decide…”

Adam Smith frowned as he looked at the waiting area on the other side of the stage. “Quinnjoll, Storm Tower, and we’re all here. Where are the people from Mount Golden Crown?”

“They haven’t arrived yet?”

Bonifacius’s team leader was also taken aback by this sight. “The team leader from Mount Golden Crown should be the wizard Chad Schultz, who participated in the Silent Grail War ten years ago.” “

I fought against him back then. He was incredibly arrogant, and I don’t know if he’s changed in ten years. But he’s a very punctual person, and he’s about to go over time. With so many spectators and tournament staff, does he really want to keep so many people waiting?”

Due to the special nature of the Silent Grail War, contestants are not eliminated for going over time unless absolutely necessary.

The Moon Ring Wizard pondered for a moment, then said, “Let’s go, Georgina. Let’s go up first.”

“What are the people from Mount Golden Crown up to?”

“You’re about to ascend the Silent Throne. Georgina, how weakened are your souls? Can you hold on? Because the competition is about to begin, I’ve ordered you to stop using weakening potions two weeks in advance.”

“Hmm? Could it be that Mount Golden Crown is deliberately stalling for time, trying to disrupt our condition? That’s something Chad Schultz would do. He faked his death back then, almost getting me killed. Luckily, I saw through his scheme beforehand.”

The Moon Ring Wizard grew increasingly uneasy, his face darkening, his teeth clenched.

“Don’t let the enemy’s schemes affect you. Let’s go up first. Good heavens, I’ll teach him a lesson when I see him!”

(End of Chapter)