Translator: AnubisTL
After their conversation, David hastily ended the communication, not even taking the time to say goodbye.
From the faint anxiety and urgency that leaked through his forced composure, Jieming guessed that David was likely burdened with a mountain of unpayable debts himself.
Jieming hung up and chuckled softly.
He had come to realize that in the wizard civilization, if you weren't carrying debts stretching back at least a century, you'd be embarrassed to call yourself a "genius."
This was understandable.
After all, for wizards—a group that prized rationality and believed in equivalent exchange—"investment" was never altruistic.
Only when they were convinced of your potential for advancement and your ability to generate sufficient returns would high-rank wizards or powerful organizations be willing to invest in you.
In the wizard civilization, the amount of debt a wizard carried, to some extent, reflected the external world's assessment of their potential.
Those with true potential often bore staggering debts.
After bidding farewell to David, Jieming once again immersed himself in studying the vast and boundless knowledge of space.
He estimated that he wouldn't be able to communicate with David for quite some time.
Since David had decided to enter secluded cultivation to advance to a second-tier wizard, he wouldn't respond to anyone for the next decade or even several decades.
Jieming's rapid advancement to second-tier wizard within just a few months was due to the fact that he had already spent fifty long years on the Flamefrost Plane completing most of the prerequisites for advancement.
The most crucial and time-consuming step in advancing from a first-tier wizard to a second-tier wizard is the thorough and systematic "reorganization" and integration of all the knowledge one has accumulated since their apprenticeship.
This means that the time required for advancement varies greatly depending on each wizard's knowledge reserves.
Logistics wizards, whose expertise spans a vast and diverse range of subjects, face the daunting task of reorganizing and integrating an astronomical amount of information during their advancement.
This meant their advancement was typically slow, measured in years rather than moments, making it impossible to advance on the ever-shifting battlefield.
Combat wizards, on the other hand, were the opposite.
Their knowledge focused primarily on combat and slaughter, resulting in a relatively simple and pure system.
When advancing, they usually only needed a few days to refine their combat system, optimizing it for rapid advancement.
As a result, combat wizards often advanced at an astonishing pace on the battlefield.
With luck, sufficient resources, and seizing a moment of combat insight, they could advance on the spot.
The advancement speed of logistics wizards, however, was significantly slower.
Of course, higher rank didn't necessarily equate to increased combat power.
What truly determined a wizard's strength was the breadth and depth of their knowledge, and their understanding of it.
A wizard's rank primarily raised their capacity for containing and releasing power, not their ability to fully utilize that potential.
Many top-rank sixth-tier wizards possessed the resources and wealth to artificially create hundreds of "instant" sixth-tier wizards in a short period, simply by throwing resources at the problem.
However, these artificially created sixth-tier wizards possessed virtually no real combat ability.
Forget about fighting elite Alchemy Units personally crafted by genuine sixth-tier wizards; these "instant" wizards would likely struggle even against Indigenous Gods of the same tier who relied on instinctual combat.
Senior Viola was a prime example.
She had advanced to the sixth-tier in one go using a soul ascension potion, appearing immensely powerful and awe-inspiring.
But in reality, beyond her mastery of the Law of Pain—which she had thoroughly researched beforehand—her combat prowess in other areas was so lacking that she would likely lose to a seasoned fifth-tier wizard, or even a well-versed fourth-tier logistics wizard.
This was why Mentor Clark had rushed to the Flamefrost Plane, bringing Viola along as his assistant.
Besides capturing her to repay his debt and to gain early access to the top-tier material of a "living plane," Jieming also wanted Viola to accumulate sufficient knowledge and experience while assisting him.
His goal was to transform her realm-based power, which currently lacked substance, into genuine strength as quickly as possible.
In the following years, with the aid of the body tempering method, Jieming's progress in learning spatial knowledge far exceeded his initial expectations.
He ultimately mastered the knowledge, which he had originally estimated would take at least a century to grasp, in just over twenty years, achieving complete comprehension and integration.
After completing his studies, Jieming became even more convinced that the spatial knowledge Master Roland had assigned him was of little practical use to him at his current stage.
While he now understood the various manifestations and theoretical aspects of "space gaps," his current mental power and soul observation capabilities were utterly insufficient to directly observe these microscopic phenomena existing within the spatial mezzanine.
Without observation, manipulation is impossible.
Therefore, at this stage, this advanced knowledge served little practical purpose beyond helping him repay a portion of his loan.
However, Jieming wasn't particularly disappointed.
He had anticipated this outcome.
Wizardry knowledge progresses in layers. While the spatial knowledge he had acquired was currently useless, it would significantly reduce the difficulty when he advanced to the third-tier and began delving into spatial magic.
Laying a solid foundation in advance could never be a disadvantage.
After some time, Jieming confirmed that his "Universal Eye" witchcraft model had evolved into a completely new form as the new knowledge integrated into it. He promptly contacted Master Roland of the Tower of Annihilation again.
"Oh? Wizard Jieming? You've completed it?"
Master Roland's voice, transmitted through the communication device, was filled with barely concealed astonishment.
In his view, for Jieming to complete this task within a century would already be considered extraordinary talent.
He never imagined the other party would complete it in just over twenty years.
When he received the optimized and upgraded "Universal Eye" witchcraft model from Jieming and loaded it into his spiritual sea for a quick test, his astonishment only deepened.
The observational capabilities far exceeded his expectations!
Jieming hadn't merely completed the mission; the quality of his work was beyond imagination!
Roland had originally anticipated that such advanced observational abilities would only be possible once Jieming reached the third-tier wizard level.
The evolution of a spell is intrinsically linked to a wizard's comprehension of knowledge.
This meant Jieming hadn't just learned the material; his understanding of spatial knowledge surpassed even that of some third-tier wizards specializing in the field!
"Incredible... utterly incredible!" Master Roland exclaimed sincerely. "Wizard Jieming, your innate talent for spatial perception and model construction is unparalleled! If... if you're willing, once you advance to the third-tier, you could join my research team! I guarantee you'll have access to the best resources and cutting-edge knowledge in space gap research!"
"Well... I'll have to discuss it with my mentor first..."
Faced with the earnest invitation from a fifth-tier wizard, Jieming offered an awkward smile and politely declined.
He knew Wizard Roland was telling the truth, but the claim was heavily exaggerated.
After all, the so-called "space gap" was merely an insignificant branch within the vast field of space attribute knowledge.
Jieming believed Wizard Roland's assertion that it was cutting-edge knowledge. This concept indeed held little practical value within the broader space attribute domain, and its effects could easily be replicated or superseded by other space attribute techniques.
Jieming suspected that the "space gap" might be a prerequisite for certain specialized spells developed by the Tower of Annihilation, explaining Wizard Roland's intense interest in it.
Regardless, Jieming saw no compelling reason to delve deeper into the study of space gaps.
Master Roland expressed genuine regret at Jieming's polite refusal.
However, he didn't take offense. Instead, his demeanor grew even more enthusiastic, as if determined to forge a strong relationship with Jieming, this immensely promising "genius."
"Very well, I won't press the matter," Master Roland said, his voice tinged with disappointment before shifting gears. "By the way, Wizard Jieming, as a token of gratitude for your outstanding work, I'd like to offer you a small personal gift. Would you be interested in a more effective space-teleportation escape-type spell artifact?"
"I can help you bridge the gap," Master Roland said, throwing out an offer that made Jieming's heart skip a beat. "My Seventh-Tier Mentor will personally craft a custom artifact for you."
"A spatial wizardry artifact forged by the immense power of a seventh-tier wizard can bypass most spatial interference or space confinement effects! It's absolutely the best choice for survival!"
Sensing Jieming's hesitation, Master Roland quickly added, "Of course, you don't need to worry about the price. Even if you can't afford it now, it's perfectly fine. You can always... take out another loan from my mentor!"
The moment Jieming heard the word "loan," he immediately understood what Master Roland was after.
He could only force another awkward smile and hastily decline the "kind offer."
No way! He was already struggling to repay his debt to a fifth-tier wizard, and he was still at the third-tier. If he took on another debt from a seventh-tier great power, he'd never be able to get back on his feet in this lifetime.
Master Roland seemed disappointed but maintained his composure.
Before ending the communication, he reiterated that if Jieming ever changed his mind, he could contact him anytime.
(End of the Chapter)
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