Translator: AnubisTL
The life-level transition that came with advancing to a second-tier wizard was exhilarating. The feeling of commanding such power was intoxicating, so much so that Jieming couldn't resist the urge to spend more time familiarizing himself with and developing his newly acquired abilities.
Unfortunately, immediately after his advancement, Jieming barely had time to savor the newfound power of a second-tier wizard before the contract compelled him to dive into studying the designated knowledge provided by Master Roland.
Though he had many other matters to attend to—such as optimizing his four core spells or quickly processing the spoils of war from the Flamefrost Plane—he was bound by the contract he had signed with Master Roland of the Tower of Annihilation to acquire the one-use spell artifact capable of spatial jumps.
Strictly speaking, Jieming was now heavily indebted to Master Roland.
As part of the contract, it was stipulated that Jieming must prioritize studying the specified knowledge provided by Master Roland immediately after advancing to a second-tier wizard.
Furthermore, he needed to quickly assimilate this knowledge, optimize it, and integrate it into his unique "Universal Eye" witchcraft model.
Afterward, he would have to provide the fully optimized and refined "Universal Eye" witchcraft model to Master Roland.
Only then would half of their debt be considered settled.
As for the remaining half... that would have to wait until his future advancement to a third-tier wizard.
The binding force of the contract directly affected the soul.
Feeling the soul-deep constraint, Jieming dared not delay. He immediately contacted Master Roland, who was still conducting research on the Flamefrost Plane, through the magic net terminal.
The master seemed to have anticipated Jieming's contact at this precise moment.
Almost the instant the connection was established, an unimaginably vast torrent of encrypted data flooded into Jieming's laboratory terminal.
The master had sent him a mountain-high, sea-deep collection of diverse materials.
Even a cursory glance at the table of contents made Jieming's head begin to throb faintly.
This information contained extremely profound knowledge about the Space Gap!
The content primarily focused on understanding and applying certain unique spatial properties.
It's important to note that only third-tier wizards typically begin formally studying space-related knowledge.
While second-tier wizards could attempt to learn it earlier, their limited life level and cognitive capacity meant they would likely be unable to apply the knowledge even if they managed to memorize it.
Moreover, the difficulty of learning this material was absurdly high—akin to asking a primary school student who had just learned arithmetic to immediately study calculus.
Jieming roughly estimated that to fully master this knowledge, truly internalize it, and not just memorize it by rote, he would need at least 100 to 200 years of continuous, sleepless study!
Fortunately, advancing to the second-tier wizard realm not only brought a massive increase in power but also significantly extended the wizard's lifespan through the life-level transition.
As their lifespans lengthened and time stretched on, wizards' perception of time gradually underwent a fundamental shift.
Just as with first-tier wizards, a wizard's theoretical lifespan typically ranged from one thousand to one thousand five hundred years.
Consequently, wizards who lived exceptionally long lives gradually developed a perception of time roughly ten times longer than that of ordinary humans.
This was similar to Jieming's experience during the war on the Flamefrost Plane, where an unexpected incident forced him to serve for over fifty years at once.
For a mortal, this would represent the majority of their lifetime.
But when converted to a first-tier wizard's perception of time, it felt more like—originally planning a business trip of just over a year, only to have an unexpected incident extend it to five years.
While still extreme, this remained within the realm of what one could accept.
Upon reaching the second-tier, the increase in lifespan wasn't as dramatic as during the advancement to the first-tier.
However, a healthy second-tier wizard could easily live for four thousand to five thousand years.
Therefore, dedicating over a hundred years specifically to mastering a crucial piece of knowledge was not considered unacceptable for second-tier wizards.
In fact, for many wizards, this was the norm.
"Spatial knowledge is indeed notoriously difficult to learn..."
Jieming realized this firsthand only after truly immersing himself in the study.
Even with his highly activated brain and soul, a result of his recent advancement, he still found his mind reeling when confronted with the distorted, abstract spatial theories that defied conventional physics.
It wasn't just the conceptual complexity; the sheer volume of data to memorize and comprehend exerted an overwhelming pressure.
Yet this extreme pressure proved to have its benefits.
During his studies, Jieming discovered that under this intense mental strain, the body tempering method he had adapted from the immortal cultivation world was undergoing a peculiar evolution of its own!
It seemed to be actively adjusting the structure of his body and soul, adapting to the external pressure originating from his spirit and mind.
The most tangible manifestation of this was the steadily increasing activity of his brain under the high-pressure learning.
His comprehension of abstract concepts also grew smoother and more effortless.
What had initially been a painstaking struggle through the spatial knowledge gradually transformed into a swift, fluid process.
The once-obscure theories now seemed to clarify themselves.
Jieming couldn't help but feel astonished.
He never imagined that a body cultivator's method from the immortal cultivation world could adapt to even the "spiritual pressure" arising from academic study, undergoing targeted self-evolution in response!
More than a decade passed after Jieming completely immersed himself in the ocean of knowledge, oblivious to the world outside.
One day, while he was in his laboratory, painstakingly deciphering a complex model of "spatial curvature folding," the magic net terminal on his wrist suddenly chimed softly, alerting him to a new message.
Jieming temporarily withdrew from his mental immersion and glanced at the sender.
It was David.
He had returned from the frontline.
Jieming still had a vivid impression of David.
This tier 10 genius from the Noren Workshop had seemed deeply affected by the trials on the Elosia Plane.
After completing his assigned tasks following the trials, he had reportedly plunged headfirst into his laboratory, burying himself in research for over thirty years.
He had thoroughly digested all the insights gained during the trials.
Only then, brimming with confidence, had he ventured to the planar battlefield to fulfill his military service.
David's luck was clearly far better than Jieming's. He encountered no unexpected events like living planes.
He was assigned to a relatively stable plane, where he spent over thirty years in another unfamiliar world, fulfilling his academy-mandated military service contract without incident before returning.
The reason he contacted Jieming immediately upon his return was because he saw the message Jieming had sent him after his own earlier return.
After all, Jieming had accepted the survivors from the Elosia Plane at David's request.
Though they hadn't met often, they were still acquaintances.
Using their magic net terminals, they exchanged updates on their recent activities.
Jieming briefly described the progress of the survivors' integration into his territory, informing David that Noren Academy had taken over the process and everything was proceeding smoothly.
They then briefly discussed their respective experiences in the planar war.
Finally, David revealed his true purpose for returning this time.
"Speaking of which, the reason I returned this time is because I sensed a 'breakthrough opportunity' on the battlefield that could allow me to advance to a second-tier wizard. That's why I cut my mission short and came back to prepare for the breakthrough," David said, his voice barely concealing his excitement and anticipation.
"Really? That's wonderful news!" Jieming replied, genuinely happy for him. "Congratulations in advance, David."
Despite what the promotional materials at Noren Academy might have suggested—filled with tales of "Senior So-and-so advancing to a third-tier wizard in five years after participating in the planar war" or even "Senior Such-and-such becoming a fifth-tier wizard in ten years"—such stories were the exception, not the rule. These "children of destiny" were one in ten billion wizards.
Moreover, the vast majority of those who advanced so rapidly were combat wizards.
Jieming vividly remembered that when he first enrolled, most of the logistics department seniors who had already served in a planar war were still first-tier wizards. Many were even still third-tier wizard apprentices, not yet formal wizards.
This fundamental difference between logistics wizards and combat wizards was evident in their advancement patterns.
Statistically, most logistics wizards progressed at a moderate pace in their early stages. Their approach emphasized gradual refinement, accumulating knowledge and resources before making a breakthrough.
In contrast, combat wizards experienced extreme polarization in their advancement speed.
Those fortunate enough to discover rare materials or critical information on the planar battlefield could receive official rewards, potentially achieving rapid advancement.
However, those less fortunate might stagnate for centuries, unable to advance to second-tier wizard status due to injuries or resource scarcity.
According to the academy's overall statistics, the advancement rates for both departments appeared roughly equal, with combat wizards sometimes even advancing slightly faster.
Yet Jieming and David understood the brutal truth behind these figures: only the lucky ones survived the bloody planar battlefields to return alive. The unlucky ones had long since perished.
(End of the Chapter)
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