Chapter 81: Clever Little Details in the Report

Chapter 81: Chapter 81: Clever Little Details in the Report

Saphiron watched Chen Shang’s figure disappear at the end of the corridor and let out a long breath. Having that terrifying Demon around made it feel extremely uncomfortable.

A nearby death row inmate suddenly spoke up. "Saphiron, is that treasure vault you mentioned real?"

Saphiron grew slightly irritated. "Do you think I would dare lie in front of that Plague God?"

The other death row inmates sneered. "We just find it hard to believe that a cunning Evil Dragon would willingly offer up its treasure... If there’s something fishy about the information you provided, what do you think that Wizard Apprentice will do to you?"

A few of the inmates even cast malicious glances at the healing fleshy lump on Saphiron’s lower body.

"I told you, I wasn’t lying!" Saphiron growled in a low voice, glaring back to intimidate them.

That night, Chen Shang returned to the laboratory and carefully looked up the location Saphiron had mentioned.

Balman No. 7 was an ordinary Middle Magic Plane under the jurisdiction of the Pan-Wizard Alliance and part of the Giant Dragon World Community. It had no rare local products, only common Extraordinary resources.

As was customary, Wizards had built High Towers there, bringing the plane under their rule and integrating it into the Wizard Coin system. The local racial demographics were also well-documented.

Chen Shang turned off the Crystal Plate. Having understood the whole story, the Golden Crow volunteered, "Boss, if you’re too busy, I can make a trip and retrieve the Secret Treasure for you."

Traveling to a plane to fetch something was a simple task that the Golden Crow was fully capable of handling.

Although it was only a Tier One Creature, it had the identification papers Chen Shang had processed for it. If it encountered beings within the Pan-Wizard Alliance, they wouldn’t make things difficult for it.

"That could work," Chen Shang nodded. "But let me look into the specific details first. Sub-dragons are cunning and greedy. What if it’s a trap?"

The Golden Crow tilted its head. "That Dragon Race is locked in a cage right now and doesn’t enjoy any protection from the Pan-Wizard Alliance. Would it dare lie to you? Does it have a death wish?"

Chen Shang shook his head. "It’s better to be careful with these things. We shouldn’t entrust our safety to a death row inmate. What if it just wants to drag me down in a suicide attack?"

"Alright, I’ll listen to you then." The Golden Crow flapped its wings and left the laboratory.

A few days later, Chen Shang submitted his first comprehensive report.

Hathaway took the Crystal Plate and skimmed it briefly. Then, her brow twitched slightly. She picked it up again and read it carefully from beginning to end.

"This report of yours wasn’t filled out according to the template," Hathaway said, looking up at Chen Shang with a curious expression.

"I did some analysis based on my own understanding," Chen Shang explained.

The data and observations in the report were real, but because he knew about the existence of the Magic Spring in advance through his Golden Finger, he had focused on specific areas. Namely, the analysis of energy circulation and the structure of the Magic Spring.

This definitely exceeded his original scope of work, but Chen Shang certainly wasn’t wasting his effort. He had his own little scheme.

By emphasizing this kind of analysis in the report, he would have more opportunities to come into contact with related knowledge. When the time came, he might be able to extract the [Multiple Magic Springs] entry.

Hathaway set the Crystal Plate down and looked Chen Shang up and down.

"It seems I have good luck this time, recruiting such a talented apprentice. It looks like you’re truly skilled with biological structures. Are you interested in studying under me?"

Chen Shang froze for a moment. The word "studying" carried a completely different weight when spoken by a Wizard compared to an ordinary person.

As Haimer had once said, Wizards used wisdom to evolve. They respected knowledge, and therefore respected the carriers of that knowledge. The master-apprentice relationship was treated with utmost seriousness. What Hathaway was offering now was a formal apprenticeship.

However, Chen Shang shook his head. "Master, I still want to try my hand at the Cultivation of the Starfall Inheritance Witchcraft."

Hathaway looked slightly disappointed. "Alright, I figured as much. Apprentices who join Star Fall are never willing to give up until they’ve tried the Star Force Field Series Witchcraft.

"If you don’t succeed, you can consider coming to me. There are countless paths in the Wizard World; there is no need to trap yourself on a dead-end road."

"I understand, Master. I will consider it," Chen Shang replied.

Hathaway didn’t bring up the apprenticeship again. Instead, she reopened the Crystal Plate and flipped through Chen Shang’s report page by page, asking a question with every turn.

"Here, you wrote about the correlation between the Silver-Scaled Deer’s Water Element Affinity and its Magic Power generation. What is the basis for your judgment?"

"I observed the energy flow of Silver Branch. I discovered that as the Water Element circulates within its body, a portion of it is converted into colorless, transparent pure energy, which is then stored in its antlers.

"This energy is reserved for emergencies, such as injuries, starvation, or during the mating season..." Chen Shang explained.

Hathaway nodded. "Not bad, continue. Here, you wrote about the relationship between the Tailless Snake Lizard’s regeneration consumption and its Magic Power reserves..."

Chen Shang nodded. "I observed its tail during the regeneration process. The energy fluctuations were concentrated near the severed stump, while the energy in other parts of its body remained almost unchanged. Therefore, its regeneration is driven by localized energy storage..."

Hathaway nodded again and turned to the next page. "And here..."

Her inquiries went deeper and deeper, moving from superficial observations to core mechanisms. Some questions were clearly unrelated to the report; perhaps Hathaway wanted to test exactly where Chen Shang’s limits lay.

Chen Shang began to struggle. He could answer some questions, could only guess at others, and simply shook his head and admitted he didn’t know for the rest.

On a few questions he truly couldn’t answer, he started asking Hathaway for guidance. "Master, if one wanted to add an Attribute to a Magic Spring, how should they go about it?"

Hathaway thought for a moment, lightly tapping her fingers on the desktop.

"A Wizard Apprentice’s initial Magic Power possesses the Chaos Attribute, which serves as the primary point of contact for leveraging various Runes and Elemental Powers.

"If you assign an Attribute to it, you’re limiting the Wizard’s potential. It means you can only invoke powers related to that specific Attribute. Therefore, very few Wizards would ever consider doing such a thing.

"But having Multiple Magic Springs changes things. One can be kept pure for daily spellcasting, while another can be imbued with an Attribute specifically for certain types of Witchcraft. The two would not interfere with each other, each performing its own function."

She went on to explain some basic concepts about how to guide Spiritual Power to resonate with the Magic Spring, how to integrate an Attribute into the structure of a Magic Spring, and how to prevent the main spring from being contaminated.

At this point, she paused. "Chen, the knowledge that follows comes with a price. I can’t tell you any more."

Chen Shang looked disappointed. He had just gotten to the crucial part.

The superficial knowledge Hathaway had shared had already helped him confirm he was heading in the right direction, but she hadn’t said a single word about the exact execution.

Seeing his disappointed expression, Hathaway smiled faintly. "Although I appreciate you, giving you certain knowledge for free would undermine the Wizard’s transaction system."