Wizard Gregory left with the evidence and Wizard Sphendis and Locke soon found Barnaby and those family wizards associated with him.

When they found them, they were actually still indulging themselves in the Witch Tavern on White Dragon Street, chatting and boasting with those witch mistresses about things they had done.

When Locke and their mentor Wizard Sphendis arrived, everyone's faces turned pale.

Including those third-class wizard apprentice witches in the witch tavern, their faces turned deathly pale one by one. They had never seen a formal wizard face-to-face in their entire lives. At this moment, before Locke and the others, they were frightened into silence, not daring to make a single sound.

Next, Wizard Sphendis, who had been angered by Locke, began furiously berating Barnaby. His words were so intense, and with Wizard Gregory's arrival, Barnaby instantly understood that what he had previously treated as prank-like mischief seemed to have become serious.

Now the situation had become very grave.

Leopold's wizard mentor was actually an archaeologist and had used archaeological methods to record everything they had done, turning it into evidence and sending it to Dean Gregory.

Barnaby was immediately frightened and repeatedly apologized to Leopold and the others, returning all the magical materials and laboratory data he had taken from Leopold's side from his astral ring.

Leopold kept a cold face as he received these items. After checking them, he said to Locke in a low voice, "Teacher, all the data is here."

Only after Barnaby learned that Wizard Sphendis had actually paid the price of two bottles of advancement potion to appease Locke did he understand the severity of the problem. He hurriedly bowed to Locke in salute and apologized, "Teacher Augustine, I just wanted to play a prank and teach Leopold, who usually doesn't see eye to eye with me, a lesson."

"I didn't expect things to become so serious."

"This really wasn't my intention, I..."

Locke looked at him coldly, not lowering himself to converse with this wizard apprentice, but instead looked at his mentor Wizard Sphendis.

Wizard Sphendis also felt a trace of wishful thinking in his heart, wanting to suppress this matter. "It's just a small conflict between students. I think as First Circle wizards we should..."

Locke frowned at Wizard Sphendis. "What joke are you making? Wizard Sphendis?"

Wizard Sphendis's thinking, after being repeatedly dealt with, had become somewhat confused. "Hm? Making a joke?"

"I'm not joking."

"Lord Locke, you..."

A Shadow Eye Grass in Locke's hand fell imperceptibly, like a parachutist falling toward the ground, then silently merged into the shadows of the witch apprentices in this tavern.

The next moment, that Shadow Eye Grass suddenly appeared from behind a witch and released a geomagnetic force from Locke's forehead natural magic eye toward her.

The witch's expression immediately changed drastically. The aura of a liquefaction stage First Circle wizard rose from her body. At the same time, her weather-beaten face showed cracks, and then that mask-like face suddenly shattered and fell to the ground, turning into fragments.

This was First Circle Transmutation School magic, Pretender's Mask.

Through morphological changes of mana, or even more subtle mana morphological simulation, it could even simulate specific soul auras and magical pressure fluctuation auras. Using these microscopic structural details to simulate their properties.

At the same time, one could disguise oneself as whoever one wanted to impersonate, from wizard apprentices to First Circle wizards, even Second Circle wizards, all could be transformed into.

However, from what Locke knew, Transmutation School magic like Pretender's Mask required investing enormous mental effort. So if a wizard was skilled in this type of magic, they necessarily wouldn't be skilled in other directions of magic, especially very likely not skilled in combat.

At this time, that mask fell to the ground with a sound, revealing a cold man's face.

Wizard Sphendis immediately understood everything. The problem was even more serious than he thought. This matter actually involved the intervention of academic thieves.

There was a portion of black wizards who specialized in going to various laboratories to steal data from those laboratories, then handing it to interested parties, or simply delivering it directly to clients.

Clearly, this was not merely an incident of family wizards discriminating against commoner wizards and engaging in simple provocation and troublemaking, but rather a liquefaction stage black wizard attempting to steal data from Locke's laboratory.

And the role his student Barnaby played in this was very likely communicating with these black wizards, committing serious betrayal of the White Dragon Tower.

Barnaby didn't just come to this tavern for pleasure, but also to meet them here and hand the obtained data to that black wizard.

However, he probably hadn't expected that several high and mighty wizard mentors would condescend to come to the apprentice living area.

That Locke would actually pursue this matter to the end for the sake of his students and to protect the research group's students from being harassed and troubled in the future.

And that Locke, as an archaeologist, had directly investigated the true culprit Barnaby, then brought people over in an extremely short time. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Therefore, what was originally just an ordinary investigation task had actually drawn two liquefaction wizards to this small witch tavern.

Seeing the matter exposed, the black wizard immediately tried to escape. He used a Transmutation School spell, and suddenly a pile of sofas in the tavern were forced to fly up automatically. A pile of sofas formed human shapes and tried to attack Locke.

But the next moment, Locke snapped his fingers. primordial fire flew out and burned the entire sofa to ashes without harming the surrounding environment at all.

"Petty tricks." Locke activated magic, and Sea Gold Sand appeared in his hand. Golden sand filled the air everywhere, precisely the fifth magic in the Scorching Gold Sand Flow series, Flowing Gold Sand Waterfall.

Massive amounts of golden sand fell toward that black wizard like a waterfall. The three protective school spells, Lightning Shield, Flame Shield, and Storm Shield, set up by that black wizard using three magical artifact rings in front of himself were instantly submerged by this powerful magic.

At the same time, Wizard Sphendis, as a Plutarch family wizard, also immediately acted. Dragon Scorpion Carapace appeared on his body, and he used the universal bloodline spell Blood Flame to attack that black wizard academic thief.

Under the magical attacks of the two, that liquefaction stage black wizard suddenly used transmutation magic to transform his body infinitely, then became a sheet of white paper. That sheet of paper floating in midair then folded itself and emitted a certain 'ticking sound.'

Like the sound made by a metronome used when practicing musical instruments.

That paper dart formed by folding white paper actually bypassed all the Sea Gold Sand golden spore powder and the Blood Flame summoned by Wizard Sphendis burning bloodline energy, and fled toward the door.

Clearly, the opponent wanted to escape.

"The permanent defensive fields of Transmutation School wizards, one by one, how are they all so strange?" Locke immediately saw that the opponent could transform so thoroughly, which was clearly the opponent's permanent defensive field. And the fixed ticking sound emitted by that paper dart while flying was clearly the ruler that First Circle transmutation magic must have.

The ruler was something the Transmutation School necessarily had after the First Circle stage.

The appearance of the ruler system gave the Transmutation School the ability to safely transform and quickly change forms, elevating the Transmutation School by several levels.

Generally, First Circle wizards of the Transmutation School liked to use heartbeat sounds as the ruler to represent changes in time and remind themselves.

Some First Circle wizards preferred to carry clocks and the like. The size of the ruler would affect the minimum and maximum volume of objects they transformed, so choosing which ruler was of paramount importance to Transmutation School transformers.

For a moment, Locke couldn't think of any good method targeting that black wizard's ruler, but if the opponent wanted to come and go freely within the White Dragon Tower, they were underestimating him too much.

The White Dragon Ring worn on Locke's right middle finger immediately flashed with magical radiance. He directly mobilized the authority in his hands, drawing elemental torrents from the White Dragon Tower's elemental fission pool.

Using the wizard tower's magic amplification module to amplify his magic!

Under the current authority of the wizard tower, Locke could achieve being invincible among the same rank without using any trump cards.

At the same time, all magic would be amplified!

Moreover, he could directly invoke spell models engraved in the White Dragon Tower's elemental fission pool, using the wizard tower's spell models to attack enemies.

Immediately, a manifested bloodline energy enveloped the black wizard's head, transforming into a beast claw striking the paper dart he had transformed into.

The White Dragon Tower's solidified universal bloodline spell, Beast's Tribulation!

A spiritual beast claw condensed from bloodline energy, like a seal, pressed down on that black wizard's body.

Wizard Sphendis was stunned for a moment, looking at the White Dragon Ring in Locke's hand in astonishment. "Lord Locke, you actually have such high authority that you can use the wizard tower's Beast's Tribulation!"

Beast's Tribulation was a relatively high-level universal bloodline spell. Its efficiency in converting bloodline energy into attack power was extremely high, and combined with the wizard tower's special ability to amplify ordinary magic.

Once Beast's Tribulation was activated, even First Circle crystallization wizards couldn't withstand this strike.

And if one possessed the wizard tower's highest authority and had First Circle crystallization wizard-level magic, using Beast's Tribulation could activate Beast's Tribulation's maximum power mode, or even more complex war bloodline spells. Then even if Second Circle wizards came, they would have to retreat in defeat.

Once six crystallization wizards simultaneously presided over six wizard towers and activated the highest authority, they could invoke the highest-level universal bloodline spells solidified and imprinted behind the six towers.

Legend had it that this could resist Third Circle wizards!

At this time, that black wizard felt that the Beast's Tribulation magic actually had a locking function. No matter how he folded and transformed himself, he couldn't avoid that beast claw trampling down.

He immediately realized this was one of the most common damage-locking forms of bloodline studies at the First Circle stage, Bloodline Recognition. The attack methods of bloodline studies could lock onto your bloodline spirituality the instant of attack.

This point was what Transmutation School wizards found most troublesome.

Because once bloodline spirituality was locked, no matter how Transmutation School wizards transformed, they couldn't dodge.

At this time, even after consecutively folding himself three times, becoming different paper birds, paper grasshoppers, and paper airplanes, he still couldn't avoid that blood-red claw condensed from bloodline spirituality descending from above.

Bloodline studies spells actually heavily countered Transmutation School spells.

Previously, Alicia was only lacking in combat experience, which was why she had her mental state crushed by that Magic Thief Clown Troupe's clown leader.

With a 'bang,' that black wizard was forcibly reverted from the First Circle transmutation magic Paper Substitute to his original form. He spat blood from his mouth and looked back at the White Dragon Ring in Locke's hand. He clearly hadn't expected that this data theft target, who was supposedly just an outside wizard, would actually have a White Dragon Tower authority ring in his hands.

If he had known this, he definitely wouldn't have accepted this theft task. Inside a wizard tower, stealing data from a wizard with control authority was really too risky.

However, Paper Substitute was his permanent defensive field, so 10 seconds after his spell was broken, after his right hand was severed by Locke using the botany magic Golden Sand Torrent, he once again recovered the ability to use Paper Substitute.

He became a sheet of white paper again, threading through a street alley wall on White Dragon Street, quickly folding himself into a paper dart and entering the sewers.

Wizard Sphendis watched the black wizard disappear, his expression ugly. He looked at Locke as if looking at a pillar of support. "Lord Locke, that black wizard has disappeared. That liquefaction stage black wizard who infiltrated the White Dragon Tower has disappeared. What should we do?"

He glared fiercely at Barnaby.

Everything else he could forgive, but bringing a black wizard into the White Dragon Tower, this point he as a Plutarch family wizard absolutely could not forgive.

At this moment, Wizard Sphendis's eyes looking at Barnaby were already ice-cold.

And Barnaby's heart had also turned cold.

He knew that this time, no matter how powerful his background, he was definitely finished. He would have to go to wizard prison.

But Locke raised his left hand and softly recited an incantation. During the battle just now, Locke had a Shadow Eye Grass slip into the shadow of the paper the opponent had transformed into.

No matter how he changed forms, he still had a shadow. As long as there was a shadow, the eye grass could slip into it.

So that Shadow Eye Grass kept following the opponent, and no matter how he fled, he couldn't escape.

Locke closed his left eye and saw the black wizard in the sewers, caught in serious injury. "He can't escape. I'd like to see who hired him to steal my data."

Locke quickly recalled the contestants in the Cloud Marsh Cup competition group. He hadn't expected that among those people, there would be someone so underhanded.

Indeed, by looking at some peripheral data, one could know his experiment's specific progress. Could it be that Wizard Alaric from the Twilight Border?

But looking at his big-mouthed appearance, it didn't seem like his style of doing things.

Locke directly transmitted his vision through the Shadow Eye Grass and used his vision to transmit his magic.

And after he activated the White Dragon Tower's authority, all magic had amplification effects. geomagnetic force would also be amplified!

Because he used the wizard tower, even if the opponent was a wizard of the same rank as himself, he could quickly crush the opponent and directly bypass their permanent defensive field, making them completely lose combat capability.

At that time, in the sewers, that Transmutation School wizard, no matter how he changed his body, couldn't get rid of the eye grass hidden in his shadow.

"Damn it." The Transmutation School wizard's expression changed drastically. He reverted to his original form, pulled out a silver dagger from his astral ring, then suddenly turned and stabbed at his own shadow. But that Shadow Eye Grass directly slipped into the deeper part of his shadow to avoid his attack.

"How can there be such a troublesome magical plant?"

"Slipping into shadows, completely impossible to attack, and attached to my shadow, constantly transmitting the opponent's vision. I've never heard of such a troublesome magical plant before. Such useful magical plants should have been used by many botany wizards!"

"Could it have been recently developed?"

"It can't be. I've already pulled away some distance from that wizard. Can this magical plant still transmit the opponent's magic? Such a place could actually cultivate such an excellent magical plant." This black wizard's heart rose to his throat, feeling the terrifying magical fluctuations coming from his shadow.

He only had time to pull out a defensive magical artifact worth fifty thousand magic stones from his astral ring.

The next moment, a geomagnetic force burst out from the shadow, enveloping him. Because of the wizard tower's magic amplification, it directly blasted the silver small shield in front of him into nine fragments.