Chapter 29: New Discovery

Night had fallen. The Forest of Magic on the edge of Felix Magic Academy grew increasingly desolate, with the moon casting long shadows from the towering palace.

Two figures appeared at the entrance to the Forest of Magic, though it was unclear when they arrived.

These figures were none other than Doman and Dorothy.

After a day of investigation, Doman had finally made up his mind to join Ajef’s magic experiment.

“Knock, knock…”

As soon as the knocking sound started, the heavy palace doors silently swung open.

Doman straightened his back and walked in confidently, with Dorothy closely following her grandfather.

They bypassed a shadow wall and climbed a spiral staircase, eventually reaching an underground lab.

Doman squinted as he surveyed the uniquely styled magic lab, becoming more convinced of his hypothesis.

——Ajef wasn’t from the Kewell Empire; he was most likely a magician specializing in Wood Spirit Magic, recruited from another country by Dundar.

At that moment, Ajef, along with his assistant Aileen, was gathered around a micro-gravity glass container, seemingly observing something.

Doman was not bothered by Ajef’s indifference.

His attention was completely captured by the plants writhing wildly inside the glass container.

Even with all his experiences, he had never witnessed such a bizarre mutation in plants.

“Doman, Wood Spirit Magic Mentor at Felix Magic Academy, greets Mr. Ajef.” Doman approached Yu Sheng’an, placing his hand on his chest in a respectful salute.

“What do you want?”

Without taking his eyes off the glass container, Yu Sheng’an occasionally extended a finger to jot something down on the virtual parchment floating before him.

It was his assistant Aileen who looked at him with amazement, clearly recognizing his identity.

“I’ve heard remarkable things about your magic experiment and wish to join. I hope you’ll allow it.” Doman got straight to the point, adopting a humble attitude.

Yu Sheng’an paused his note-taking and turned to look.

First, he shot a glance at Dorothy, which made her feel deeply uneasy and hurry to lower her head. Then he directed his words to Doman: “I’ve long heard of your great name, Mr. Doman! There isn’t much need for advanced magic in my experiment, so if you come, you’ll likely end up doing grunt work like a regular magic apprentice. Are you sure you still want to participate?”

Doman hesitated briefly before quickly replying, “Absolutely.”

“Don’t be in a rush to agree. Joining my experiment requires signing a confidentiality agreement. Moreover, given your high level of magic proficiency, you’ll also need to sign a non-compete agreement.”

“Non-compete agreement?” Doman was puzzled.

“In simple terms, it means you can research what I research in the future, but you can’t tell others about it or sell it. Understand?”

“May I ask what you’re researching?” Doman looked surprised.

“Crops.” Yu Sheng’an was starting to grow impatient, “Alright, decide quickly whether to stay or leave. Stop wasting time!”

Everyone’s faces changed slightly when they heard this.

Clearly, they hadn’t expected Yu Sheng’an to speak so curtly, even to Doman.

After a moment of silence, Doman gritted his teeth and said, “Alright!”

Yu Sheng’an nodded, casually pulling out two blank Contract Documents from his space ring. He quickly inscribed two contracts using magic and handed them over.

Doman carefully read through the documents, ensuring there were no loopholes, and then signed the contract.

“Are you planning to conduct experiments overnight?” After signing, Doman relaxed and asked curiously.

“There are some tasks I haven’t finished yet. Here, let’s start by adding each other as friends so I can send you the observation reports.”

As he opened the Internet to add Doman as a friend, Yu Sheng’an continued giving instructions: “Later, compile a detailed record of the various traits of the similar plants in that row of glass containers.”

Just as he was about to add Yu Sheng’an, Doman asked incredulously, “Different traits? What does that mean?”

“You don’t understand?” Yu Sheng’an instinctively retorted before impatiently adding, “Forget it, Aileen, explain it to him.”

“Also, after you’ve gathered the data, keep the seeds, remove them from the glass containers, and then accelerate their growth using normal soil to cultivate the second generation. Remember, cultivate plants with the same traits separately, allowing them to self-pollinate and produce homozygous seeds as a stable gene bank. Ask Aileen if anything is unclear.”

After assigning the tasks, Yu Sheng’an left to attend to other matters.

However, Doman was struck like lightning!

The professional jargon, completely unfamiliar to him, made him feel like he was encountering Wood Spirit Magic for the first time.

His formerly proud mindset was utterly shattered by Yu Sheng’an’s few casual words.

Dorothy, on the other hand, was so ecstatic that her whole body trembled with excitement.

As she had expected, Ajef was no ordinary person!

In fact, as she listened to Aileen’s fumbling explanation, the theory of ‘dominant and recessive genes’ being described felt like a doorway to a new world was opening before them.

——Who would’ve thought plants could be interpreted from this angle?

Doman’s old face flushed with excitement!

Little did he know, Aileen’s mind was also in turmoil.

She had never imagined that one day, the Empire’s most outstanding Wood Spirit Magic Mentor would attentively listen to her, repeatedly asking for clarification if he didn’t understand.

It made her so nervous that after explaining, she instinctively glanced back at Ajef, fearing she had explained something wrong.

It’s important to remember that this knowledge had only been taught to her recently by Ajef.

At that time, it had already shocked her.

Now, seeing Doman’s growing enthusiasm, it was clear that this seemingly mundane knowledge might be far more important than she had originally thought.

This is like the well-known debate in the magical world.

——Is the first magic seal humans learned more valuable, or is forbidden magic more valuable?

The widely accepted conclusion is that the first magic seal holds the highest value.

Because it represents the leap from zero to one!

The knowledge that Ajef had imparted to her was clearly akin to this first magic seal. It may seem simple, but it’s likely the cornerstone of a profound discipline.

Doman had already realized this.

Only after he had questioned Aileen until she was speechless did he, reluctantly, glance at Ajef. Then, like a young apprentice entering a mentor’s lab for the first time, he anxiously busied himself with the task, appearing more agile than ever.

At this moment, his heart was filled with pure joy!

This young man truly possessed mysterious knowledge about Wood Spirit Magic, no wonder Archmage Dundar held him in such high regard.

He knew this knowledge was incredibly precious, and to obtain more, he would have to prove himself worthy.

Just like how he only imparted his most valuable teachings to the most amiable magic apprentices.

And so, he worked until midnight.

In truth, Yu Sheng’an didn’t need to work so hard—it was mainly because magic was too convenient that his passion was ignited.

Just think, a seed planted in the ground would sprout, grow, bloom, and bear fruit at a pace visible to the naked eye.

With such efficiency, the goal seemed within reach.

Naturally, Yu Sheng’an wanted to push forward while the momentum was strong.

To be honest, if he weren’t worried that Doman and Aileen wouldn’t be able to keep up, he would have continued experimenting.

Little did he know that after leaving the underground lab and returning home, neither Doman nor Aileen actually rested.

Instead, in their respective labs—whether precise or rudimentary—they began verifying the ‘dominant and recessive gene theory’ that Yu Sheng’an had taught them.

Doman was the most enthusiastic.

The theories Yu Sheng’an shared sparked his inspiration and explained many of his research conundrums.

Naturally, he was too excited to sleep and immediately began verifying the theories.

As for Aileen, she was much calmer.

After all, she was just a magic apprentice, and her knowledge didn’t run deep. She didn’t encounter many issues.

She was mainly eager to experiment for fun.

Since the main crops had already been included in Ajef’s experiments, she decided to cultivate a very common wild vegetable—mallow.

Not many in Willis City knew that in the countryside, this wild vegetable had saved countless lives.

Countless farmers had survived bone-chilling winters thanks to this hardy plant.

Mallow grows quickly, reproduces rapidly, and doesn’t require much soil preparation. The only downside is that it’s very bitter, and consuming too much can cause stomachaches and diarrhea.

So, Aileen wondered if she could separate its traits and see what different characteristics might appear.

To be honest, she was just curious and experimenting out of interest, without too much thought.

Unexpectedly, she accidentally made a groundbreaking discovery. Through accelerated growth, she quickly cultivated two variants of mallow—white-flowered and red-flowered.

Within each flower color, there were wrinkled-seed and round-seed types.

Among them, the white-flowered, wrinkled-seed variant tasted…no longer bitter!!!

This discovery left Aileen utterly astonished.

Without a second thought, she opened the Internet and sent a message to Ajef, feeling both excited about her discovery and eager to show off to a mentor or parent, just like how students proudly show off their grades.

After sending the message, she realized that dawn was breaking—the sky was already showing streaks of light. Ajef was probably already asleep.

But just as the thought crossed her mind, Ajef replied instantly.