Unknowingly, fifty years had slipped by quietly.
For mortals, this was half a lifetime of trials and tribulations.
But for a wizard immersed in the ocean of knowledge, it was merely a fleeting moment.
Jie Ming stood, as always, in his vast underground laboratory.
His gaze was fixed intently on two glowing orbs suspended in midair, sustained by countless intricate instruments, slowly merging together.
Under the interweaving of complex energy fields, one blue and one red core, both radiating the aura of origin, were fusing, permeating, and entangling with each other at an excruciatingly slow yet resolute pace.
Confirming that the cores had finally stabilized, Jie Ming’s face revealed a mix of exhaustion and anticipation.
The red core belonged to a “Lava Giant,” while the blue one was from a “Snow Beast.”
Strictly speaking, these pure elemental beings didn’t possess a “core” in the traditional sense of elemental biology.
For a living Lava Giant, what was called a core was actually countless tiny crystalline fragments, the size of rice grains, scattered throughout its body.These fragments contained not only their fundamental life essence but also stored vast amounts of fire elemental energy.
Due to their sheer number and distribution, even losing a significant portion during intense combat would not deal a fatal blow.
When Lava Giants reproduced, they would extract a single, fully mature crystal from their body and place it into an incubation pool or an energy-rich magma pool.
The so-called “Lava Giant core” before Jie Ming was artificially created after the creature’s death, meticulously collecting all remaining crystalline fragments and forcibly combining them into an energy aggregate using special techniques.
The Snow Beast’s core was similar, though even more extreme.
A living Snow Beast had no fixed crystals in its body.
However, these elemental beings possessed a peculiar biological instinct: when their bodies melted under high temperatures, the liquefied parts would instinctively gather together to ensure a swift recovery of combat strength.
Even after death, this physiological trait persisted.
The most vital and energy-dense parts of a dead Snow Beast would automatically coalesce under this unique characteristic, forming an irregular, ice-blue crystal—the so-called “Snow Beast core.”
When Jie Ming first proposed the research plan to “enhance the Lava Giant race,” he had set his sights on the Snow Beast, a creature from the same plane as the Lava Giant but with opposing attributes.
However, back when he was in the Frostflame Plane, his research on Snow Beasts was insufficient.
Moreover, he wasn’t proficient in genetic modification techniques related to water elements.
Thus, the project had been fraught with difficulties and progressed slowly.
But ever since Jie Ming obtained a wisp of “Water Elemental Origin” as a reward from Dean Avery Knight, his research had taken off as if it had grown wings!
Now, the final results were within sight!
Jie Ming operated the instrument panel for a moment, glancing at the data on the screen, silently calculating in his mind.
The data showed that the fusion of the two cores had entered a stable phase, and it would likely take just over a year to complete.
By then, the outcome of this century-long research would be clear—success or failure.
Buzz…
At that moment, the communicator beside him chimed, indicating a spatial teleportation request sent through the lab’s internal permissions.
Jie Ming raised an eyebrow, checked the sender’s information, and was surprised to see it was Viola.
“Research finished?” he muttered to himself, casually approving the request.
The next second, the teleportation array in the center of the lab flared with light.
Amid a surge of spatial fluctuations, a stumbling figure emerged.
It had been decades since the two last met.
Even Jie Ming couldn’t help but pause at the sight of Viola’s current state.
Viola looked utterly wretched.
Her once silky, moonlight-like silver hair was now dry, frizzy, and disheveled, resembling a thunderstruck mess.
Her silver-gray eyes, usually sparkling with cunning and wisdom, were dull and filled with exhaustion.
Dark circles framed her eyes, so pronounced that they were shocking for a sixth-level wizard’s physique.
It was obvious that years of toiling as a “workhorse” for Mentor Clark in the harsh Frostflame Plane had taken a heavy toll.
“Hey, Jie Ming… junior,” Viola weakly waved at him, her voice hoarse. “Sorry for dropping by uninvited.”
“Senior, you…” Jie Ming stepped forward, handing her a potion to restore mental energy.
Viola downed the potion in one gulp, exhaling deeply as a flicker of vitality returned to her dull eyes.
She looked at Jie Ming, a sincere smile spreading across her face. “Speaking of which, I owe you thanks for those mental enhancement and fatigue-relief potions you sent me back then. Without them, I might’ve actually died in that wretched place.”
Jie Ming’s eyelids twitched as he took in her frail appearance, unable to help but remark, “Looking at you, these years must’ve been brutal.”
Viola nodded emphatically, agreeing wholeheartedly.
Then, suddenly, a sickly, fanatical flush crept onto her face!
She licked her cracked lips, speaking in a tone of near-ecstatic pleasure. “Yes! It was… so exhausting! The soul and body, both pushed to their limits, every second teetering on the edge of collapse… that agonizing experience! Ah… it was truly rare! It made me feel… utterly exhilarated!”
Jie Ming’s eye twitched uncontrollably.
In his mind, he silently retracted his earlier concern.
What a fool I was to worry about her. Completely unnecessary!
Seeing Viola like this, Jie Ming was even more convinced that she, an unabashed masochist, was the perfect wielder of the “Pain” rule!
“Alright, enough joking.” Viola quickly returned to normal and explained her purpose. “I’m here to update you on Mentor Clark’s research in the Frostflame Plane.”
“He’s made a major breakthrough in a key project, so he’ll likely stay there for a few more centuries.”
“Mentor Clark asked me to tell you that if you’ve finished the batch of Mortal Dust Potions to repay your loan, you can contact him through our imprint and send them directly to the Frostflame Plane.”
Jie Ming understood immediately. This was his mentor’s way of subtly pressing for debt repayment.
After all, it had been a while, and it was indeed time to continue paying off his debt.
“Got it,” he replied promptly. “Please tell Mentor Clark I’ll prepare the potions and send them as soon as possible.”
Then, looking at Viola, he asked, “What about you? What’s next?”
Viola stretched, her graceful figure on full display. “Me? After decades of intense research and ‘experiencing’ the laws of that plane, I’ve finally dragged my knowledge level up to the ‘passing line’ for a fifth-level wizard.”
“So, Mentor Clark mercifully let me go for now, to catch up on the foundational knowledge I’ve neglected and… figure out how to pay off that astronomical debt I owe.”
Her silver-gray eyes, now regaining their spark, glinted as she looked at Jie Ming. “So… Junior Jie Ming, got any quick money-making gigs lately?”
Jie Ming thought for a moment, recalling an event from fifty years ago.
After organizing his thoughts, he briefly told her about a new plane recently discovered by Dean Avery Knight.
“The combat strength there is formidable, and the war’s intensity is high, so they’re in dire need of fighters. But because of that, the plane is rich in resources, and the war merit exchange rates are quite generous. Senior Viola, if you’re looking to make a quick buck, you might want to check it out.”
Jie Ming clearly remembered that Viola held the title of guest professor at the newly established Noren Academy branch in the Elosia Plane.
Theoretically, she was under Dean Avery Knight’s command.
Joining the war there made perfect sense.
“A new plane?!”
Viola’s eyes lit up instantly!
That gleam was the look of a ravenous wolf spotting a herd of plump sheep!
War meant chaos, death, and… pain!
And, of course, immense, unimaginable opportunities and wealth!
She clapped her hands excitedly. “It’s settled! I’ll prepare for twenty or thirty years, get myself in peak condition, upgrade my lovely ‘pets,’ and then head out immediately!”
Seeing her eager, battle-hungry demeanor, Jie Ming could only silently mourn for that unfortunate, unknown world for three seconds.