Translator: AnubisTL
In contrast, exploring new planes carried far greater uncertainty.
A single misstep into a plane with unique rules could cause the advance team to vanish without even sending a message.
While encountering such bizarre planes was rare, most initial contacts with new planes still resulted in significant losses.
As Jieming watched the young faces—some excited, others anxious—step into the teleportation formation, the light flared, and their figures vanished, a wave of melancholy washed over him.
For a decade, the academy had been a colossal crucible, filtering and forging batches of talent before sending them into the vast, unforgiving world beyond.
After the farewell ceremony, the plaza fell into a brief silence.
Then, the teleportation formation on the opposite side began to glow.
These were the wizards returning from the frontline battles.
Jieming and his companions mingled with the crowd, watching the returning wizards emerge from the teleportation formation.
They were a stark contrast to the departing apprentices. Most bore the marks of time, their eyes sharp and weathered, their bodies radiating an aura of blood and fire.
Their wizard's robes were tattered from battle, giving them a slightly disheveled appearance.
Yet they themselves were like honed blades, sharp and dangerous.
Several high-level wizards from the academy stood before the teleportation formation, their expressions solemn and dignified as they welcomed the returning wizards.
Having been tempered by the battlefield, these individuals now formed the academy's core strength.
Amy and Victor whispered about the returning wizards' power and experiences in other planes, their eyes filled with awe.
Jieming remained silent, quietly sensing the energy fluctuations emanating from the returning wizards.
Most of them were third-tier formal wizards, with a few even reaching the fourth tier—their strength far surpassing that of the returning wizards he had seen upon entering the academy.
It seems... the Shadow Plane truly offers immense benefits. The rapid emergence of so many third-tier and higher wizards suggests abundant resources. No wonder the academy invested so heavily in it, Jieming mused inwardly.
Suddenly, Jieming froze.
At the back of the crowd stood a figure.
He appeared unremarkable, dressed in a simple wizard's robe without any ostentatious decorations.
His face bore no visible scars, nor did he exude the aggressive aura typical of seasoned warriors. He simply stood there quietly, like an ordinary stone.
Yet, in Jieming's perception, there was no discernible energy fluctuation within the man's body!
To Jieming's senses, it was as if the man occupied a vacuum, completely detached from the world around him.
This sensation was familiar to Jieming, having experienced it with many of his mentors—a sense of complete integration with the rules, of having become part of the very fabric of existence.
This indicated an absolute suppression of Jieming's own cultivation level, a vast chasm in their life-force tiers.
He took a deep breath, barely suppressing his inner shock.
This is... a fifth-tier wizard?!
Even within the wizard civilization, renowned for its abundance of powerful practitioners, fifth-tier wizards served as the backbone of offensive operations.
If third- and fourth-tier wizards represented the elite of the wizard civilization, then fifth-tier wizards were the high-level figures who wielded authority and influence.
At Noren Academy, apart from Mentor Clark, a sixth-tier wizard, all other wizard mentors were only at the fifth-tier.
Most importantly, the emblem on this wizard's robe indicated that he was one of the returning veteran apprentices from the same cohort as Jieming.
To advance from a first-tier official wizard to the fifth-tier in just five years...
"Holy shit, is he cheating or something?" Jieming muttered inwardly.
Even with his own cheat, he wouldn't dare level up this fast.
Just then, the fifth-tier wizard Jieming had been observing suddenly turned his head and looked directly at him. The power in his gaze made Jieming's hair stand on end.
"What's wrong?" Amy asked, noticing his strange reaction.
"Nothing, just a bit tired," Jieming replied, relieved when the wizard withdrew his gaze. He quickly offered a casual excuse to brush it off.
Amy and Victor exchanged glances, both sensing something odd, but neither pressed the matter.
Jieming stopped paying attention to the newcomer, but the incident had dampened his enthusiasm for the tour. He couldn't help but gaze up at the sky, his thoughts drifting.
Now he finally understood why Mentor Clark's tone had turned strange when discussing the third solution earlier.
Back in his laboratory, Jieming sat cross-legged and entered a state of inner contemplation.
The partially completed Five Aggregates Rainbow Transformation Mirror hovered silently within his Dantian Qi Sea. No longer a mere illusory projection in his mental sea, it now possessed tangible form and substance—warm, translucent, and suffused with swirling, multicolored conceptual light.
Refining the artifact was only the first step; the next phase was a prolonged period of nurturing.
Each day, Jieming dedicated a portion of his refined true essence and divine sense to meticulously nourish the heart mirror, like the most meticulous craftsman.
True essence flowed over the mirror's surface like warm spring water, while his divine sense delved deep into the artifact's interior, carefully sorting out the intricate network of the five conceptual lights. He sought to strengthen their connections, gradually merging them into a seamless whole.
This was a slow and delicate process, one that could not be rushed.
Persistence was key. Even after half a month of exhausting work, Jieming never abandoned nurturing the magic artifact.
He could feel that with each day of nurturing, the light within the heart mirror grew softer, and the conflicts between concepts gradually subsided, replaced by a wondrous resonance and fusion.
The magic artifact seemed to have come to life, slowly maturing under his care, awaiting the moment of its transformation.
"Phew... I've been working non-stop for half a month now. Cultivation requires balance—tension and relaxation. Next... I should take a good rest for a while."
These past few days had been excessively tiring, and Jieming had noticed a slight imbalance in his Essence, Qi, and Spirit.
Instead of rushing into further cultivation or research, he unusually slowed his pace.
He even skipped the new student orientation ceremony, choosing instead to stay holed up in his laboratory, clearing his mind and even indulging in a long-overdue nap.
Occasionally, he would check his merit point balance on the magic net terminal, then sit by the window, watching the busy figures of the new apprentices below.
Jieming spent some time in this listless state until one day, he suddenly opened his eyes while lying on the recliner.
He gazed up at the laboratory ceiling for a long moment before finally getting up and examining his palm with a hint of curiosity.
Just a moment ago, he had suddenly felt his mind clear, his vision sharpen, and his body feel completely at ease. An indescribable sense of well-being coursed through him.
This wasn't a breakthrough in his cultivation, but rather a simple rebalancing of his Essence, Qi, and Spirit. It also meant that his magic artifact had finally entered its first stage of formation.
"Looks like my vacation is over."
(End of the Chapter)
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