Chapter 154: Chapter 148: Predicament

Jeming landed on a hard piece of igneous rock (the general term for rocks formed from solidified magma).

As soon as he landed, he felt something was off—this rock seemed to have an unusually hard quality.

Without hesitation, Jeming lifted a large rock with his bare hands.

He placed the rock on the ground, then activated alchemy to carefully examine it.

His spiritual power seeped in like mercury, analyzing the internal composition of the rock.

Upon “seeing” the material composition inside the rock, Jeming couldn’t help but widen his eyes.

He was surprised to find that the metal content of this rock was as high as eighty percent!

Moreover, its internal composition was extremely complex, comprising at least seven or eight different types of metals, some of which could be classified as extraordinary materials!

This was no ordinary igneous rock; it was practically a natural gigantic metal block!

Suppressing his inner excitement, Jeming didn’t stop.

He quickly conducted random tests on other rocks solidified under nearby volcanoes, even directly extracting some flowing magma for testing.

The results once again shocked him.

Whether it was solidified rock or blazing magma, the metal content varied between sixty to ninety percent!

This had already surpassed the scope of a mineral vein!

It could entirely be said that this is a plane made of metal deposits!

Rather than saying that these active volcanoes were erupting magma, it would be more accurate to say they were spewing molten metal.

“Such… such abundant mineral resources?!” Jeming’s voice trembled, “This can absolutely be called the ’Land of Steel’…”

The entire plane was a huge natural smelting furnace, continuously melting the metal minerals from deep underground, then solidifying them into metal-rich rocks.

This was simply a paradise for any alchemist!

No need for any particularly special metal materials, just this astonishing mineral abundance was enough to make most wizards envious.

“Nolun Workshop, truly generous…”

After all, the wizards must have already investigated the local mineral situation while clearing the plane, yet the Nolun Workshop was still willing to offer it as a reward.

Truly extravagant!

Amidst his surprise, Jeming immediately initiated teleportation back to the Golden Garden.

When he heard he could choose a plane, Jeming had already begun considering related designs, with ideas forming in his mind.

And now, having discovered the superior nature of this Purgatory Sulfur Plane, Jeming couldn’t resist immediately wanting to modify it.

Returning to the underground laboratory of the Golden Garden, Jeming quickly activated the Magic Network Terminal, eager to contact Professor Clark.

“Professor, I need to consult about the Seventh Level Large Elemental Pool.” Jeming got straight to the point, his tone carrying uncontainable excitement.

On the other end of the Magic Network Terminal, Professor Clark’s figure appeared, calmly watching Jeming, with a hint of understanding in his eyes: “It seems you are quite satisfied with that Demon Plane.”

“Very satisfied, Professor!” Jeming did not hide his emotions, “The resources of that plane are beyond imagination.”

“I know its potential is immense, the workshop has always been generous.” Professor Clark interrupted, his tone gradually calming, “But regarding the Seventh Level Large Elemental Pool… Jeming, you don’t need such equipment now.”

Jeming paused slightly.

“Not to mention the Seventh Level, even a Sixth Level Large Elemental Pool is already sufficient for use as the core energy source of a plane-level war fortress. In fact, knowing the specific rules and energy data of a plane, even a Fifth Level Large Elemental Pool can meet the needs of most high-intensity plane wars.”

Professor Clark explained, his voice devoid of any emotion: “Even in my own Wizard Tower, I am only using a Sixth Level Large Elemental Pool.”

He continued: “The construction of such level of Elemental Pools is extraordinarily troublesome, with a terrifyingly high failure rate. Even in the Nolun Workshop, few people would publicly sell them. The Seventh Level you mentioned generally exists only on the private customization lists of a select few top-tier wizards.”

Jeming certainly knew this.

Despite having already begun developing the Element Storage Talisman Witchcraft and easily acquiring a small Elemental Pool, the technical difficulty and intensity of large Elemental Pools are not comparable.

When making a comparison, a small Elemental Pool is at most a household large-capacity battery, while a normal large Elemental Pool can be called a nuclear power plant.

As for the Seventh Level Large Elemental Pool Jeming mentioned… it could probably be termed a Dyson Sphere.

If a Fifth Level Large Elemental Pool is still at the technical level of supplementing energy by connecting to the Four Great Elemental Planes, then a Sixth Level Large Elemental Pool already involves directly manufacturing a projection of an Elemental Plane.

As for the Seventh Level Large Elemental Pool, it is akin to directly creating a small Elemental Plane.

The Seventh Level Elemental Pool, it’s almost a creation beyond mortal limits, its manufacturing difficulty and required resources are daunting.

Even though Jeming’s Second Level Cultivation Agreement allows him to purchase anything without restriction, things that don’t exist on the “market” can’t be bought even without restrictions.

It’s precisely because he couldn’t purchase it through normal channels that he hoped to find someone capable of manufacturing such equipment through Professor Clark’s network.

The phrase “in the Nolun Workshop, the Logistics Element is the orthodox” is no joke.

Though usually inconspicuous, Professor Clark actually belongs to a faction too.

The faction he belongs to is the Alchemy Element of the Nolun Workshop, and all students majoring in alchemy automatically become apprentices of this faction.

Of course, many apprentices perish during their growth process, but those who survive are still considerable in number.

According to things Professor Clark mentioned inadvertently and the information Jeming himself checked, there are more than twenty Seventh Level Wizards and over a hundred Sixth Level Wizards in the entire field of alchemy.

It’s just that these people are usually scattered across various Nolun Academies and front lines of planes, thus their numbers seem inconspicuous.

But this number of High Tier Wizards is enough to manufacture a Seventh Level Large Elemental Pool.

“Professor, I understand its difficulty,” Jeming’s tone was firm, “but I have my considerations, ordinary Elemental Pools cannot fully meet my needs.”

Jeming didn’t explain too much in detail, but Professor Clark fell silent for a moment and didn’t try to advise further.

Every wizard has to be responsible for their own actions, moreover, he believes that Jeming is not someone who cannot distinguish between the important and the trivial.

This disciple always manages to bring unexpected surprises.

“Alright,” Professor Clark’s voice carried a barely noticeable sigh, “I can try to contact my mentor, maybe he will do me this favor, but he certainly won’t manufacture it for free for you.”

Jeming felt a burst of joy, but then immediately heard Professor Clark raise another key issue — compensation.

“I already told you at the beginning of the semester that wizards advocate for equivalent exchange,” Professor Clark’s tone became serious.

“Even if my mentor wants to make a Seventh Level Large Elemental Pool, he would need to invite several alchemy wizards of the same level to assist. Even though you are a disciple’s disciple, he at least needs to cover the cost price and material cost. And this ’cost price,’ for a wizard of your current level, is almost an impossible price to afford.”

He picked up a piece of information and projected it onto Jeming’s Magic Network Terminal: “This is the highest discount procurement price for a Sixth Level Large Elemental Pool currently offered by Nolun Workshop. Even so, this amount of points is quite huge. With your current resources, purchasing it is quite difficult.”

Jeming opened his terminal, and when he saw the numbers on it, his pupils couldn’t help but narrow sharply.

It was an astonishing astronomical number, even exceeding the total of all his points.

He originally thought his points were already abundant, but he didn’t expect that even the “cost price” of a single Sixth Level Elemental Pool would be so terrifying.

Jeming calculated a little.

Even with high-quality materials like Refined Gold, materials that sell easily, and ensuring a continuous supply of raw materials.

Even if he worked tirelessly day and night to manufacture and sell Refined Gold, the time needed to gather enough points to purchase a Sixth Level Large Elemental Pool would be measured in decades.

This is even assuming the workshop continues to purchase his Refined Gold at a high price.

But it’s clear reality cannot be so ideal; not to mention he won’t allow himself to waste ten years’ time.

Even if he really manufactured so much Refined Gold, the market price of Refined Gold would decrease.

After all, no matter how superior the nature of Refined Gold, it’s considered just a Fifth Level Material with exceptional resistance among the wizards.

And materials of this level are countless in the Wizard Civilization.

And the cost of a Seventh Level Elemental Pool would only be more astonishing than this.

“Of course, if you believe you can really earn such a level of points in a short time, I can also help you make the contact. But you must understand, this promise is not child’s play,” Professor Clark finally emphasized.

Jeming fell into a thoughtful contemplation.

Indeed, he needs the Seventh Level Elemental Pool; it is an indispensable part of his plan.

But this massive points demand is a real roadblock.

He certainly cannot spend ten years mining to earn money; that would lose the meaning of moving forward.

Fortunately, Jeming is not completely without leads regarding this.

However, some things need to be verified, and confirmation might not be possible in the short term.

“I understand, Professor Clark, I should be able to give you an answer in about two months.”

Clark, seeing Jeming’s demeanor, became interested instead: “Oh? It seems you already have an idea in your mind, interesting, then I look forward to it. Alright, rest assured, as long as you can solve the points issue, I will help you make the connections!”

“Thank you very much!”

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