Qian Jing and the Grand Magician Sami El are still on the platform at the end of the labyrinth. Since Sammy El was still a step slower after all, Qian Jing had already lifted the Championship Gold Cup before the end of the competition, so he had to be the champion, otherwise the reputation of the Fortress Star Magic Contest would be gone, and this kind of competition would not be held again.

"You're a champion, there's no doubt about it, and I'm not playing tricks. Samiel said, "You are a guest player, and it is not your responsibility that you were forced into the tournament by the core Ring member, the Grand Wizard Stanch. So, you didn't have any active violations in the process of participating in this competition, so I can't disqualify you from the championship. The archmage of the Fortress Star values facts and logic, and any speculation and emotion must give way to facts and logic. ”

Qian Jing applauded vigorously: "That's right! Grand Magician Stanch is trying to ruin the reputation of the magic competition in order to avoid the outflow of the spark of wisdom of the fortress star." You're not going to let him get away with it, are you? Canceling me as a champion is actually at his will. ”

Stanch...... He was of a different philosophy than I was, and never believed that Stronghold was on the verge of civilization's destruction. Samiel sighed, "His plan obviously failed, but how is he doing now?"

"Dead, old dead, I didn't do it. Qian Jing recounted the meeting with Stanci in the control room of the Flying Castle in as brief and processed a way as possible: "...... Without his control, the Flying Castle crashed head-on into the playing field, and all the magicians in the Alchemy Tower were dead - except for the one lying in the python's corpse below. After that, we escaped from the Flying Castle and took refuge outside the competition venue. Then it happened that I was sucked into the playing field. ”

Grand Magician Samiel squinted, he heard several loopholes in Qian Jing's story, such as how Qian Jing entered the control room of the Flying Castle, and how did he get all kinds of information about the Flying Castle from the control room? These are all difficult things to do, even if one great magician personally does it, it may not be able to break through the protection set by another great magician. There are many secrets on this money mirror, which pique Sami El's interest. However, it is more important to figure out the mystery of the magic circle on the Guest Ticket than to uncover these secrets.

He ...... It's better to die than to be sad to see your current failures. Alas, I really didn't expect to get to this point. Sammy El took a deep breath and suddenly said, "Qian Jing, what do you think we want to do with the stars?"

"It's pretty good, it's just a lot of sand, it's hot, and I get sick if I eat the food. The magic here is very interesting, and many people fly in the sky, which is not possible in my hometown. ”

Sammy El smiled reluctantly: "Thank you for the compliment, but these are appearances. In fact, the Fortress Star civilization is almost unsustainable, and it is almost impossible to get out of its current predicament on its own - which is why there is a magic competition. Stanch doesn't believe this. ”

The Great Magician raised his index finger with the red gemstone ring and pointed to the champion space bag in Qian Jing's hand: "You open it, take out the small box inside, and I will tell you why Saixing needs the Magic Competition." ”

Qian Jing didn't have a better choice, so he did what he said. The so-called small box inside the space bag is an orange-sized gray steel cube with different openings on four sides. Depending on the direction of the text, the opening on the top surface is "fuel", the two sides are "add water" and "remove the slag", and the front of the box has a flywheel that can be turned.

"This is my biggest invention to date: the Stronghold Star steam engine, and one of the prizes for the champion. It's great to use, but there's still a lot of room for improvement, just like you've seen in Ultimate Magic Spells before - not that they're just unfinished work-in-progress. The way to improve is very simple, it is to combine it with this magic circle of yours. Samiel shook the spell tablet in his hand, and his tone gradually slowed: "The Grand Mage will leave some puzzles on some special tickets, and those who solve them will be able to participate in the corresponding competitions. This ticket is mine, it's been two years old, and it's not specially prepared for this tournament. I didn't expect it to unravel now, although it was a surprise. I have a thousand ways to lose your title, but for the sake of this magic array, and for the sake of the future of the Fortress Star, it is not too much to give you a thousand titles. ”

Qian Jing didn't speak, he knew that Sammy El would continue. He expected that what he had drawn on the Spell Chart would be important and could be used as a bargaining chip, but he didn't expect it to be comparable to a thousand champions. If the value is too high to exceed the ability of the money mirror to protect it, then it is not a bargaining chip but a burden. Qian Jing had already thought that the Great Magician Sami El wanted the secret of the magic array, but he couldn't teach him - he couldn't give him the Mind Shaping Ink, right?

"All of Stronghold's prosperity is built on the use of the earth element. The sand, the Gobi and the vast expanse of the land here give us unique conditions. "The Great Magician of Samiel has a deep gaze, as if he is looking at the history, present and future of the fortress star at the same time, and then derives wisdom from time. "We have always enjoyed the convenience brought by the energy of the earth element, and developed a prosperous civilization. We make excellent goods that draw from the multiverse what we lack. Everything seems to be going well, but there are hidden dangers behind it. Even if the planet is full of sand, the power of the earth elemental is not endless. ”

"This planet originally had a lot of sand, so it was called Sand Star. It's called Fortress now because we don't have enough sand energy. We keep using the power of the earth elemental, and we will eventually deplete it. If we can't make it to the point where we leave the fortress and travel to other planets before we run out, then our race and civilization are doomed. Don't put on a confused face, while multiverse travel is commonplace, how have you ever seen an entire civilization relocate? Whatever the reason, if one civilization enters the world of another civilization as a whole and obtains resources, the Ring Alliance will perceive it as an invasion. We have been blessed with an entire universe, and if we can't stand up, fly, or travel to other planets ourselves, then we are a failure. ”

"You envy us for being able to fly, but it's not so easy to fly. It will take time for us to solve the problem of non-recyclable energy, to solve the simple dependence on earth, to find new available resources, and to find sustainable solutions. Samiel's tone was heavy, and his voice was full of exhaustion: "Not everyone saw what I saw, many were just fascinated by the momentary prosperity in front of them. In a few decades, the supply of earth energy will decline, our standard of living will fall, and the cost of our products will rise, so we will not be as competitive in the multiverse, and what we will get from the outside world will be reduced. This is where the vicious circle begins, and it is difficult to get out of it, and we will undoubtedly lose our future. Therefore, now more than ever, we need magic contests to learn from the wisdom of others and accelerate our own change. ”

He picked up the cube box from Qian Jing's hand, like a loving father holding a newborn baby: "This is the steam engine of the fortress star, it is one of the few designs on the fortress star that uses the power of the water element, and it took me forty years to complete it. The steam engine is highly rated in the Spark of Wisdom project of the Ring Alliance, and technology transfer is completely prohibited. I was inspired by looking at the equipment of the players, and that's legitimate. This steam engine can give the fortress star an additional source of energy, let the earth element rest, and let the four elements start the cycle again, thus giving us time to progress. This is the greatest creation of my life!"

The ultimate creation of the Great Magician is a steam engine?Qian Jing didn't know what expression to use to face this matter. "This thing is almost obsolete on our planet, and it is rarely used in normal times, except for some large ships. Qian Jing said: "Actually, you don't need to hold a competition, don't you just understand it by going around and looking around? At least the design of this steam engine is not kept secret by us, and it is in the school textbook." ”

"You're thinking too simply. The world is different, the rules are different, it is not something that can be used immediately, let alone something that can be learned by looking at it twice, and the original power of a world is never easy to break through. I'm studying outside, and what I've learned doesn't necessarily work when I come back. But if it can be used in the magic competition, then it has been approved by the will of the world, so it can be used in the fortress star, which is the real meaning of the competition. Sami El returned the steam engine cube to Qian Jing: "And don't underestimate the wisdom of the magician. This steam engine has a thermal efficiency of 70 percent, and if you can combine it with the magic array you have on your admission ticket, I can achieve an infinitely close to 100% thermal efficiency. Moreover, the steam engine can be used in all worlds with active elements - that's about eighty percent of the multiverse. ”

One year is not enough time for Qian Jing to return all the knowledge used in the college entrance examination to the teacher, so he can understand the meaning behind the close to 100% thermal efficiency, which can be summarized in the sentence "On the earth, this is not science, but magic". After 100 years of optimization, the thermal efficiency of the Watt steam engine is just in the double digits. Later, people invented the steam turbine and continued to climb the technology tree, and the thermal efficiency of the industrial steam turbine has just reached half. If we add the assistance of combined circulation technology, we can touch the threshold of 60%. Not to mention that 100% thermal efficiency is already a fantasy technology, even if the thermal efficiency is 70%, it can still be miniaturized and can be placed in the palm of the hand, which is already against the sky.

"How did you do that?"

"You boil water, I boil the water element, that's roughly the difference. Sammy El smiled rarely, clearly proud of his invention. "With seventy percent thermal efficiency, I can fight for at least a hundred years to save the Fortress Star civilization. 100 percent thermal efficiency, I have 1,000 percent. I can't live that long for a thousand years, but my life is worth it, at least I can die in peace. So, you don't need to be so hostile: now I'd rather die myself than get hurt. ”

"As long as I can tell you how I completed that magic array, right?" Qian Jing scratched his head. He knew that the conversation would eventually come back to the magic circle, but he couldn't explain it without revealing the Mind-Shaping Ink. "I ...... I can't tell. It's not that I don't want to talk about it, but I can't talk about it. I can draw some more, but I can't teach you. ”

"It's okay to be recreated!" Sammy El clapped vigorously, looking very happy: "You young man thinks too much, do you think that I will dig knowledge from your head? Haha, if that is useful, the entire multiverse will be full of brain-digging skills! You have a unique ability, and there is no guarantee that you can learn it through learning." I've seen so many unique abilities and understand the limitations. Oh yes, I've seen a dragonborn who can turn a planet into a burning star with a snap of his fingers. I want to learn to solve the energy problem once and for all, but I can't learn that!"

"I won't stay on the fortress star and help you build a magic circle forever!"

"You're overthinking. Let you engage in repetitive production, it is better to let you be free, and maybe a new spark of wisdom will be generated. Samiel said with a smile, "I've thought about this for a long time: there is a certain chance that you can't learn the ability to save the fortress star, so you need a way to copy, preserve, and reproduce." So I joined the Weights and Measures group of the Ring Alliance, and came up with a way to standardize - hence the invention of the ultimate magic spell. It is a sealing spell, except that it is not a physical object that is sealed, but a state or function. I can use the magic array on the admission ticket to push the sealing spell to a stability of about ninety-five, and then I use it to seal the state of the magic array you recreated, and then I only need to copy this standardized sealing spell to have enough magic array to use. ”

"Sounds very convenient...... Qian Jing was already confused by this new knowledge, and his brain began to shut down.

"It's not convenient, and the consumption is not less, but it's feasible, and it can generate new cycles, enough to save the fortress star. Samiel didn't explain the joints in detail, presumably he didn't think Qian Jing understood and didn't want to listen. "Having said all that, all I want to say is that I want to have a fair negotiation with you. This is by no means coercion or inducement, or an alliance under the city. ”

"In other words, this is a business?" Qian Jing relieved himself: "It's good to talk about business, I'm a salesman of White Flag, and it's the ...... of my business to talk about business."

Grand Mage Sami El breathed a sigh of relief, then smiled and said, "According to the rules of the Ultimate Magic Competition, this ticket belongs to the Fortress Star, so you can be eligible to participate in the competition, and you are the champion." The prize for the champion is confirmed, it's all in the bag, and what I want to talk to you about is actually the fact that you draw more magic circles. ”

"You need at least one, don't you?"

Samiel nodded, "I'm representing the Stronghold Star Core Ring Council right now, and I hope you can transfer this magic array - don't forget to name it." Due to the uniqueness of its technology, we can only buy out its sealing, copying, and production rights. ”

"I don't know what's going on behind this thing, so I can't get an estimate. It's not good for me to talk about a buyout now, so let's divide it. Qian Jing said: "I will use this magic array technology to participate in the shares, and the fortress star will take it to operate, and I will share dividends." I read your sealing spell before, and the stability rate is about sixty percent, and you said that using my magic array can be increased to close to 100 percent. I...... I don't care about the marginal effect with you—after all, the closer you get to perfection, the higher the difficulty cost—and I'm going to ask for the forty percent of the net profit that the magic array will give you. ”

"It's too much. Samiel said, "We can afford it, but it's not a good thing for you to have an interstellar flow of wealth on this scale." Of course, if you live in the fortress star, I will agree to this condition immediately. You can ask for something else. ”

"Something else?huh...... I want to know all the principles of the championship prize?Space Bag, Sealing Charm, Super Steam Engine, I want to learn all of that. ”

"Yes, I can teach you everything, but there's no guarantee that you'll learn them all - becoming a Grand Mage is hard, and there are some areas that can't be accomplished with hard work alone. Sami El said, "There are many space bag technologies in the multiverse, but the Fortress Star's Sealing Spell and the Steam Engine are very valuable technologies. Exchange technology for technology, plus a full set of magic spell knowledge system, and your dividends will be reduced by one more: to half percent. ”

"Ishei. Or if you can produce my technology, I can also produce your technology, and if this condition is met, I will agree to half of it. Ten perfect magic circles are guaranteed to you. Qian Jing's eyes were crooked, and he also smiled and said: "I have to learn all of them before I can use these techniques to produce, and you only need to copy and produce immediately." You're definitely ahead of the game, aren't you?"

Grand Magician Sami El had never seen how Qian Jing imitated the creation of the Charm Grass, otherwise he would never have agreed to this condition happily.