Translator: AnubisTL
Jieming landed on a patch of hard igneous rock.
The moment his feet touched the ground, he sensed something amiss—the rock seemed to possess an unusually rigid quality.
Without hesitation, Jieming effortlessly lifted a large chunk of the rock with his bare hands.
He placed the rock on the ground and activated his alchemy, meticulously examining its composition.
His mental power flowed through the rock like mercury, dissecting its internal structure.
When he finally saw the rock's composition clearly, Jieming's eyes widened in astonishment.
He was shocked to discover that the rock contained an astonishing 80% metal!
Moreover, its internal structure was extraordinarily complex, composed of at least seven or eight different types of metals with distinct properties, including several that could be classified as extraordinary materials!
This was no ordinary igneous rock—it was essentially a massive, natural metal block!
Suppressing his excitement, Jieming didn't pause.
He quickly randomly sampled other volcanic rocks in the vicinity and even extracted and analyzed some of the molten lava.
The results shocked him again.
Whether it was the solidified rock or the scorching lava, the metal content consistently ranged between 60% and 90%!
This had already surpassed the scope of a mere mineral vein!
It could be said that this was a plane entirely composed of metallic minerals.
Rather than magma, it was more accurate to say that molten metal surged through these active volcanoes.
"Th-this... such an abundant mineral resource?!" Jieming's voice trembled slightly. "This truly deserves to be called the 'Steel Land'..."
The entire plane served as a colossal natural smelting furnace, continuously melting metallic ores from the depths of the earth and solidifying them into metal-rich rocks.
This was the dream paradise for any alchemist!
Even without any particularly special metallic materials, the sheer quantity of minerals alone was enough to make most wizards green with envy.
"The Noren Workshop is truly generous..."
After all, wizards would have surely investigated the mineral conditions of the plane during the clearing process. Yet, despite this, the Noren Workshop still chose to release it as a reward.
Truly extravagant!
Overwhelmed with surprise, Jieming immediately activated his teleportation array to return to the Golden Garden.
When he first heard that he could choose a plane, Jieming had already begun considering design ideas, an idea already taking shape in his mind.
Now that Jieming had discovered the exceptional quality of the Purgatory Sulfur Plane, he couldn't resist the urge to immediately begin modifying it.
Returning to the underground laboratory in the Golden Garden, Jieming swiftly activated his magic net terminal and eagerly contacted Mentor Clark.
"Mentor, I need to consult you about seventh-tier large elemental pools," Jieming said directly, his voice brimming with barely contained excitement.
On the other side of the magic net terminal, Mentor Clark's figure materialized. He gazed calmly at Jieming, a hint of understanding in his eyes. "It seems you're quite pleased with that demon plane."
"Extremely pleased, Mentor!" Jieming didn't hide his enthusiasm. "The plane's resources are beyond imagination."
"I know its potential is immense. The workshop always goes all out," Mentor Clark interrupted, his tone gradually smoothing. "But regarding seventh-tier large elemental pools... Jieming, you have absolutely no need for equipment of that caliber at this time."
Jieming paused, slightly taken aback.
"Not just seventh-tier. Even a sixth-tier large elemental pool is sufficient as the core energy source for a plane-level war fortress. In fact, once you understand the plane's specific rules and energy data, even a fifth-tier large elemental pool could meet the demands of most high-intensity planar wars."
Mentor Clark explained, his voice devoid of emotion, "Even I currently use only a sixth-tier large elemental pool within the wizard tower."
He continued, "Creating elemental pools of this tier is an exceptionally arduous process, with a terrifyingly high failure rate. Even within the Noren Workshop, few are ever publicly sold. The seventh-tier you mentioned is typically found only on the custom order lists of a handful of top-rank wizards."
Jieming was, of course, aware of this.
Though he had already begun developing Elemental Storage Runic Artifacts and had easily acquired a small elemental pool, the technical difficulty and power of large elemental pools were on a completely different level.
To draw an analogy, a small elemental pool was at best a high-capacity home battery, while a standard large elemental pool could be considered a nuclear power plant.
As for the seventh-tier large elemental pool he spoke of... it might be better described as a Dyson sphere.
While a fifth-tier large elemental pool still relied on connecting to the Four Elemental Planes to replenish its energy, a sixth-tier large elemental pool had already achieved the ability to directly create a projection of an elemental plane.
A seventh-tier large elemental pool was equivalent to directly creating a small elemental plane.
Such a pool was a creation that nearly transcended the limitations of mortal objects. The difficulty of manufacturing it and the resources required were so daunting that they were almost prohibitive.
Even with Jieming's second-tier cultivation protocol, which allowed him to purchase anything without restriction, he couldn't acquire what simply didn't exist on the market.
It was precisely because he couldn't obtain it through normal channels that he hoped to leverage Mentor Clark's network to find someone capable of manufacturing such a device.
The saying that the Logistics Department was the true backbone of the Noren Workshop wasn't just a joke.
Though usually low-key, Mentor Clark actually belonged to a specific faction: the alchemy department of the Noren Workshop. All students who primarily cultivated alchemy automatically became apprentices in this department.
Of course, many apprentices perished during their growth, but a significant number still survived.
Based on things Mentor Clark had casually mentioned and information Jieming had personally researched, the alchemy department alone had over twenty seventh-tier wizards and more than a hundred sixth-tier wizards.
These high-rank wizards were normally dispersed across various Noren Academies and the frontlines of the planes, which was why their numbers didn't appear significant.
However, this number of high-rank wizards was sufficient to construct a seventh-tier large elemental pool.
"Mentor, I understand the difficulty," Jieming said firmly. "But I have my reasons. An ordinary elemental pool cannot fully meet my needs."
Jieming didn't elaborate further. After a moment of silence, Mentor Clark didn't press him further.
Every wizard must be responsible for their own actions, and besides, he trusted that Jieming wasn't ungrateful or unable to distinguish between what was important and what wasn't.
This disciple always managed to bring some unexpected surprises.
"Very well," Mentor Clark said, a barely perceptible sigh in his voice. "I can try to contact my own mentor. Perhaps he'll do me this favor, but he certainly won't build it for you for free."
Jieming's heart leaped with joy, but then Mentor Clark raised another critical question: compensation.
"I told you at the beginning of the term that wizards value equivalent exchange," Mentor Clark's tone turned serious.
"Even if my mentor wanted to build a seventh-tier large elemental pool, he'd need to enlist the help of several other alchemy wizards of the same tier. Even as your mentor's apprentice, he'd still charge at least the production cost and the wholesale price. And that 'wholesale price' would be almost impossible for a wizard of your level to afford."
He picked up a document and projected it onto Jieming's magic net terminal. "This is the highest discounted purchase price Noren Workshop can offer for a sixth-tier large elemental pool. Even with this discount, the merit points required are astronomical. Given your current net worth, purchasing it would be extremely difficult."
Jieming opened the terminal and his pupils constricted sharply at the sight of the number.
It was a staggering, astronomical figure, even exceeding the sum of all his merit points.
He had thought his merit points were already substantial, but he never imagined that the "cost price" of a single sixth-tier elemental pool would be so terrifying.
Jieming did a quick calculation.
Even if he had a readily marketable material like adamantium, and could ensure a continuous supply of raw materials, he would have to work like an ox day and night, manufacturing and selling adamantium without rest, just to accumulate the merit points needed to purchase a sixth-tier large elemental pool. Even then, it would take decades.
This was even assuming the workshop continued to buy his adamantium at a high price.
But that was clearly impossible. Not to mention he wouldn't allow himself to waste decades of his life.
Even if he somehow managed to produce that much adamantium, the market price of adamantium would inevitably plummet.
After all, no matter how excellent adamantium's properties might be, wizards only considered it a fifth-tier material with superior resistance.
Such materials were countless in wizard civilization.
And the cost of a seventh-tier elemental pool would be even more astronomical.
"Of course, if you truly believe you can earn that many merit points in a short time, I can help you make the connection. But understand, this isn't a promise to be taken lightly," Mentor Clark emphasized.
Jieming fell into thoughtful silence.
He indeed needed a seventh-tier elemental pool; it was an indispensable part of his plan.
But the staggering requirement for merit points stood as a formidable obstacle.
He couldn't possibly spend ten years mining and selling to accumulate them; that would render his progress meaningless.
Fortunately, Jieming wasn't without ideas.
However, some matters required verification, and he wouldn't be able to confirm them in the short term.
"I understand, Mentor Clark. I should be able to give you an answer within two months."
Clark's interest was piqued by Jieming's demeanor. "Oh? It seems you already have some ideas in mind. Interesting. Then I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with. Rest assured, if you can solve the merit point problem, I'll gladly help you make the connection!"
"Thank you for your trouble, Mentor!"
(End of the Chapter)
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