Translator: AnubisTL
Noren Academy.
This colossal institution wasn't built on the ground but floated among the clouds, like a giant's carelessly discarded building blocks.
An obscure yet powerful energy visibly pulsed through its ancient stone walls.
Jieming mingled with the thousands of young men and women crowding before the academy's massive bronze gates, striving to maintain the same expression as everyone else—looking around with just the right mix of nervousness and anticipation.
But truth be told, the source of his anxiety was entirely different from theirs.
"...One hundred eighty, one hundred eighty-one... Damn it, even the academy staff greeting us at the entrance are over one hundred eighty golden core stage cultivators... Uh, wait, according to this world's terminology, they're second-tier official wizards."
Jieming struggled to maintain his "country bumpkin in the city" facade, but his eyes couldn't help twitching.
Fortunately, the other young test-takers wore equally bewildered expressions, making him blend in somewhat.
Feeling the meager wisp of true essence he had barely refined to the first layer of qi refining, Jieming nearly laughed in exasperation.
"What kind of cosmic joke is this? How could a 'spirit-void world' completely devoid of spiritual energy possibly produce so many golden core stage... no, second-tier official wizard-level powerhouses? Damn it, could the knowledge from my golden finger be a bootleg copy? If things go south, how the hell am I supposed to escape?!"
He stole a glance at the imposing group of second-tier official wizards ahead, who radiated power like miniature humanoid nuclear missile launchers, and the countless first-tier official wizards surrounding them—so many he'd lost count.
Even a sliver of these wizards' casual pressure could immobilize him in his qi refining stage.
Recalling his decade-long, day-in-day-out grind through the ancient "refining essence into qi" method—a technique practically relegated to museums in the immortal cultivation world—to barely reach the first layer of qi refining... Jieming wanted to slap himself to check if he was dreaming.
He'd been in this world for so long that he'd almost forgotten his previous life—that era of neon lights and high-speed internet.
He'd become the son of an ordinary merchant in a remote territory, living a comfortable, middle-class life with a predictable trajectory.
Except for... the "Librarian" authority hidden deep within his consciousness.
Taking a deep breath to calm his roller coaster-like emotions, Jieming focused a portion of his consciousness and skillfully located the magnificent white jade palace within the depths of his soul.
Great Dao Library Pavilion
The name alone exuded an aura of profound authority, as if it represented the ultimate truths of the universe.
Its origins remained shrouded in mystery, yet the knowledge contained within was as vast as the sea. From the most basic techniques of drawing qi into the body to supreme secret methods for defying fate, alchemy, artifact forging, array formations, talismans—it encompassed everything under heaven and earth.
"If I were in a spirit-rich immortal cultivation world with this thing, I'd at least be at the golden core stage by now, right? Maybe even have a shot at nascent soul or divine transformation!" Jieming muttered, a self-deprecating smile tugging at the corner of his lips as he gazed at the silent white jade palace in his consciousness.
This golden finger was impressive and powerful.
But Jieming realized it was more like a top-tier online library and scientific research database than a cheat code that directly granted him power.
The knowledge within required him to understand it himself, put it into practice, and find the necessary "raw materials."
Unfortunately, this world... lacked spiritual energy.
Without spiritual energy, none of the Great Dao Library Pavilion's powerful cultivation techniques—those requiring the absorption of heaven and earth's spiritual energy into the body—could be used. Alchemy, artifact forging, and array formations, all dependent on spiritual herbs, spirit stones, and spiritual veins, were completely useless here.
Even the most skilled artisan can't cook without rice. No matter how extraordinary the Great Dao Library Pavilion was, it couldn't conjure spiritual energy out of thin air.
He was left with only the "refining essence into qi" methods, nearly obsolete in the immortal cultivation world. He had to literally "eat" his way to cultivation.
Each day's efforts consumed vast amounts of energy and time, requiring massive quantities of food to replenish his depleted reserves.
What the immortal cultivation world considered the insignificant "first layer of qi refining" had taken him over a decade of gnawing on dry rations and exhausting countless hours of painstaking effort to barely climb.
Just when he thought his life might remain this way forever—relying on a meager amount of true essence to be slightly stronger than ordinary people, living a stable but unremarkable life—this world suddenly slapped him with a harsh reality: it was actually a high-magic world inhabited by wizards who controlled the elements, studied souls, and pursued eternal life!
Worse still, these wizards were research fanatics with a near-pathological thirst for unknown knowledge.
And as someone who cultivated a completely different power system, he... was an extremely rare living research specimen!
Jieming knew all too well that once he was discovered to be a filthy outsider, his fate would be sealed: to be studied, dissected, drained of his value, and then displayed as a specimen.
Human rights? Morality? Could one expect such things from wizards who casually waged wars across dimensions and experimented with souls?
So when his lord informed him that he had reached the age to undergo aptitude testing at the academy with the other children, Jieming wanted to refuse.
But facing the mountain-like pressure of his lord, a second-tier wizard, the words of refusal circled in his mouth, not a single syllable daring to escape.
Fortunately, Jieming hadn't yet despaired enough to resign himself to death.
Though most of the knowledge in the Great Dao Library Pavilion was impractical for direct use, the sheer variety and strangeness of the methods recorded there far exceeded his imagination.
Beyond the mainstream immortal cultivation techniques, the pavilion also contained records of unorthodox and niche methods.
At Jieming's mental command, a stream of light shot from the white jade palace, forming a holographic book before his consciousness.
He skillfully flipped through the pages, simultaneously sensing the flow of true essence within his body, making precise adjustments to ensure absolute perfection.
Basic Volume of Internal Circulation
Inner circulation, as Jieming understood it from his knowledge of immortal cultivation, was a rather unorthodox method. It was typically practiced only by those who specialized in body refinement, seeking to forge their bodies into grotto-heaven magical treasures.
Unlike mainstream cultivation methods that sought spiritual energy from the external world, inner circulation emphasized internal exploration, using one's own essence, qi, and spirit as nourishment to create a miniature energy circulation system within the body.
Its most crucial advantage was that once the inner circulation reached its peak, it severed the body's connection to external energy, placing the practitioner in a state of extreme isolation.
As long as one remained passive, even divine sense scans would struggle to detect the wisp of true essence completely isolated from external energy within the body!
"Stay calm... I already underwent a preliminary aptitude test at the Lord's Manor and roughly understand that wizard aptitude assessments primarily focus on mental strength and soul. If I use inner circulation to conceal the fluctuations of my true essence and moderately suppress my mental strength, I should be able to pass undetected... right?"
Whether it worked or not, this was the most effective method he could employ given his limited resources!
Jieming sighed, pulling his consciousness back to reality.
He lifted his head and gazed once more into the bronze giant gate.
To an outsider, he merely appeared to be momentarily lost in thought at the entrance, a brief pause born of nervousness.
The queue ahead of him steadily shortened. Yet, as he drew closer to the bronze gate, his heart grew increasingly calm.
The aptitude tests proceeded swiftly. Batches of nervous and hopeful young people stepped through the gate, only to emerge moments later, their faces etched with a kaleidoscope of emotions.
Soon, it was Jieming's turn.
He straightened his back, took a deep breath, and cast aside his final reservations.
Come on! This is a life-or-death gamble!
(End of the Chapter)
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