I, a cultivator, have ended up in the wizarding world.

Chapter 145 Refining the Heart in the Mortal World (Part Two)

After a moment's thought, Jemin made a decision.

“Mentor, I’ve made up my mind.” Jemin’s voice was firm and clear. “I choose a demon plane.”

Professor Clark nodded silently, seemingly unsurprised by the choice.

“Excellent choice. I will immediately contact the person in charge of the Elosia plane to handle the necessary procedures for you. Detailed plane coordinates and information will be sent to you later. Remember, no matter which plane you choose, you will need to explore and control it yourself. This is the true path of a wizard.”

“Yes, mentor.” Jemin’s eyes gleamed with excitement.

Then he thought of the information Amy and Victor had just brought: "Mentor, is the person in charge you mentioned the future dean of the Erosian plane?"

“It seems you already know this news.” Clark nodded calmly. “That’s right. The other party is a newly promoted seventh-level wizard who has just retired from the battlefield. He has a mandatory rotation period of several thousand years, so it can be basically confirmed that he is the future head of the Erosian plane.”

But Jemin thought of another question: "So... what are we going to do after the break? Go to the Star Ring Federation?"

Jemin remembered clearly that the reason Norren Workshop opened this trial was supposedly because the Star Ring Federation had some major moves on their end.

But after the trial ended, everyone seemed to have forgotten about it. The trial seemed to have turned into a recruitment process for faculty and staff of the new academy.
"Well... you don't need to rush. Given the way those old guys in the Federation plan ahead, they probably started spreading the word hundreds of years in advance. They probably won't need you anytime soon."

"The reason why the workshop plans to open a new Norren Academy in the Erosian plane is probably to 'make use of' you guys."

Jemin looked helpless: "We shouldn't have fallen to the level of being useless, should we?"

"Just understand the spirit of the idea."

Clark glanced at Jemin on the communication screen and couldn't help but smile: "Besides, even if there is a real need, you are not qualified to participate with your current strength. Instead of thinking about these things, you should find a way to improve your strength."

Jemin scratched his head, knowing that Clark was telling the truth.

Given the size of the Star Ring Federation, if there were any real needs, a level one rookie wizard like him wouldn't be qualified to participate.

Clark, however, didn't care at all; he had gone through the same phase as Jemin.

Confident young people often feel they are unparalleled and are eager to achieve something.

Compared to some newcomers who have become arrogant after their trials, Jemin, who has been quietly studying, is the "perfect child" in everyone else's eyes.

"Also, judging from the workshop's decision, even if the rest period ends, you don't need to rush to the front line."

"Huh?" Jemin was taken aback. "That contract..."

"The contracts here at the workshop aren't actually that strict," Clark said nonchalantly. "Your participation in the interplane war in the Erosian plane can offset part of your military service."

"According to the workshop's rules, wizards who have participated in a war have a rest period of at least six months and at most five years. So after the six months are over, you can choose another six months to five years of rest."

"You can do that?" Jemin was dumbfounded.

Clark's lips curled into a smirk: "The workshop trains you to produce stronger wizards. The so-called military service is just to put pressure on you and make you progress faster. As long as you can apply what you've learned and aren't just mindless idiots doing endless research, that's fine. And..."

"and?"

"Besides, a lowly wizard like you doesn't even have the right to be exploited."

Jemin was speechless. Although the words were hurtful, they seemed to be true.

After all, aside from the brutes of the combat class, proper wizards are very good at creating all kinds of products, and high-level wizards are practically humanoid production lines.

In addition, the wizarding civilization was in a period of rapid expansion, with various resources being continuously imported from the outside world.

In terms of production, the output of thousands of low-level wizards combined does not equal that of a single high-level wizard.

After Clark hung up the call, Jemin thought for a moment and decided to put these messy things out of his mind for the time being.

Not to mention the new academy that hasn't even materialized yet, even the plane he applied to couldn't be brought down in a short time.

"Let's continue the research first."

……

……

A bronze mirror, shimmering with a faint iridescent light, floated silently in front of Jieming.

Its design is simple and unadorned, yet the mirror surface has a strange sense of chaos, as if shrouded in a thin mist, and the reflected image always carries a hint of haziness.

This is Jieming's natal magic weapon, the Five Aggregates Rainbow Mirror.

With Jieming's many years of refinement, the decorations and patterns on the back of the Five Elements Rainbow Mirror have become increasingly complex, indicating that this magical artifact is becoming more and more powerful.

"The Erosian plane is a good place. The new 'Five Lights' are almost all collected, and the first 'Reforging' is not far away."

The magical treasures in the Great Dao Library are roughly divided into two types. One type has a fixed form and substance. This type of magical treasure is relatively simple to refine, and the material requirements are not so troublesome (for the cultivation world).

The downside is that once it's mastered, it's very difficult to improve further, and even in special circumstances, improvement is exceptionally slow.

The second type is a magical artifact similar to the Five Elements Rainbow Mirror. It does not have a solid form in essence, but its disadvantage is that the materials are relatively troublesome to obtain and difficult to refine.

The advantage is that as long as materials are continuously replenished and the process is refined, theoretically, there is almost no upper limit to the improvement.

However, with each round of reforging, the quantity and quality of materials required for this kind of magical artifact will increase, making it quite difficult to truly improve.

Fortunately, for Jemin, it's just a matter of spending a little more time.

"However, we can try another method of refining now."

Jemin's expression turned serious.

He extended his finger, and a wisp of barely perceptible mist was drawn out from his inner space, gently brushing across the surface of the "Five Aggregates Rainbow Mirror".

The essence of mortal life is a complex blend of emotions, condensed from the joys, sorrows, loves, hates, and passions of countless living beings.

It carries the most intense earthly flavor and has a profound effect on tempering one's "spirituality".

With his long-practiced method of controlling his breath, Jemin used his exquisite control to slowly permeate the mirror with the purest and gentlest part of his breath.

At first, the mirror surface only showed a deeper layer of chaos, as if it were covered by invisible silt.

That kind of chaos is not a flaw, but a kind of "ignorance" that comes with the magic weapon when it is first created, and an "unresolved" understanding of the mortal world.

The essence of the mortal world, with its profound and mundane nature, is used to "refine" this ignorance, allowing the magical artifact to truly understand and reflect the mortal realm.

But as the worldly atmosphere continued to permeate, that sense of chaos began to slowly but steadily recede. The mist gradually dissipated, the mirror became clearer and clearer, and the reflected light became increasingly pure.

This change is extremely slow and requires Jemin's patient control.

He could sense that as the worldly energy was gradually absorbed by the mirror, the faint spirituality deep within the magical artifact was being activated.

It is no longer just a tool, but more like a life form with rudimentary "thinking", beginning to understand everything it reflects.

When that wisp of worldly energy was completely absorbed, the entire "Five Elements Transformation Rainbow Mirror" was completely renewed.

The mirror was as clear as water, reflecting clearly Jemin's slightly tired but delighted face.

Its iridescent light became more restrained and profound, as if it could encompass all things in the world.

The obscure runes on the surface of the mirror became more vivid, as if they were breathing.

More importantly, Jemin sensed that the magical artifact's spirituality had also become stronger.

Because the magical artifact was deeply connected to him, Jeming also personally felt his consciousness becoming clearer.
"The effect is excellent." Jemin praised softly, then put away the magic weapon.

But then, his brows furrowed slightly.

In the feedback from the magic weapon, he clearly sensed a slight "fatigue".

This kind of training seems to be a "radical enhancement" of the magic weapon's spirituality. It should not be done multiple times in a short period of time, otherwise it will damage the magic weapon's spirituality and even risk its collapse.

"It seems that the principle of reversal at the extreme also applies to the path of cultivation." Jieming thoughtfully put the "Five Elements Rainbow Mirror" into his body and let it slowly recover.

After a short rest, Jemin wasted no time and prepared to make a second, even bolder attempt—to directly imbue his soul with a trace of worldly dust.

He sat cross-legged, his spiritual power contained, guiding the vast mortal energy within his body.

This time, he extracted an even fainter wisp than before, as fine as a hair, and then carefully guided it into the depths of his soul.

The moment that wisp of worldly dust touched his soul, it was as if a bomb had been dropped into Jieming's spiritual world!
It wasn't pain, nor was it an impact; rather, it was an almost all-encompassing experience!

His consciousness was instantly torn apart, and then reassembled.

He was no longer Jemin, but one of the millions of ordinary people.

He saw a poor farmer working under the scorching sun, his clothes soaked with sweat, all for the sake of a bowl of hot soup for his family.

His heart was filled with longing for a bountiful harvest and fear of natural disasters; that simple, tenacious will to survive flowed into Jemin's heart like a warm current.

He sensed the young lovers pouring their hearts out to each other under the moon, their hearts intertwined. The pure love and sweetness of first love made Jieming's heart tremble.

He became a soldier on the battlefield, amidst the flashing swords and flying blood and flesh, the screams of his comrades and the sneers of the enemy echoing in his ears.

The despair of impending death, the longing for his hometown, and the frantic will to survive that erupted in the last moment made Jemin's breathing rapid, and he almost suffocated.

He experienced the heart-wrenching grief and helplessness of a mother who had lost her child, crying uncontrollably in the cold, rainy night. The tears welled up in Jemin's eyes uncontrollably.

He transformed into a nobleman in the capital, reveling in lavish banquets. Behind his hypocritical smiles lay endless scheming and greed. His thirst for power, his pursuit of pleasure, and the unfulfilled emptiness deep within his soul made Jemin feel extremely oppressed.

Scenes of life unfolded in his soul like a revolving lantern, depicting joys and sorrows, greed, anger, ignorance, hatred, love, and grudges, all in a remarkably real and personal way.

He was not an observer, but a participant; he could personally experience every emotion and feeling they went through at that time.

That is a collection of the most authentic life experiences of hundreds of thousands, even millions of ordinary people.

The massive flow of information and the torrent of complex emotions assaulted Jemin's soul like a volcanic eruption.

His mental energy was almost instantly drained, and his entire body began to tremble uncontrollably.

His clothes were soaked with sweat, and his face was as pale as a sheet of paper.

Jemin gritted his teeth, desperately guarding the last vestige of clarity in the depths of his soul, so that he would not be completely lost in this endless illusion of the mortal world.

After an unknown amount of time, when that wisp of worldly energy completely merged into the depths of his soul, transforming into a barely perceptible red light, Jemin suddenly broke free from that terrifying experience.

He was breathing heavily, his chest heaving violently, as if he had just escaped death.

He opened his eyes, his gaze filled with a mixture of bewilderment and relief at surviving the ordeal.

Several minutes passed before his consciousness fully returned to his body.

Jemin let out a long sigh of relief, his body slumped to the ground, his expression revealing an undisguised exhaustion.

This fatigue is not physical exhaustion, but rather weakness resulting from the extreme exploitation of the mind and soul.

However, after the exhaustion comes an indescribable clarity and sublimation.

My thoughts seemed to be working faster, and my perception of the surrounding elements was more acute.

It was as if his somewhat turbid soul had been cleansed by the dust of the world, becoming crystal clear.

If the "Eastern Purple Qi" he absorbs daily enhances the quality of his soul, then the mortal world's Qi enhances the "purity" of his spiritual power!
It seems to peel away and purify the impurities, stagnation, and redundancy in the soul little by little.

This enhancement of "purity" allowed Jemin to reach a completely new level of control over his own mental power.

In terms of the wizard's specific performance, Jemin could clearly sense that his threshold for manipulating elements had decreased again.

This means that he now needs less mental energy and it is easier for him to cast spells than before, as if the elements are more obedient to his will.

Even if he encounters a plane with lower elemental activity, Jemin will not be greatly affected.

At the same time, his precision in manipulating the mind has also greatly improved, enabling him to perform more microscopic and precise energy control.

This exquisite manipulation of energy and spirit directly led to a rapid increase in his alchemical skills.

Many of the sophisticated alchemical operations that he could only study in theory or that required repeated attempts before are now easily accomplished by him, with a much higher success rate.

Unfortunately, like polishing magical artifacts, this thing cannot be used multiple times in a short period of time.

Jemin could sense a faint red light deep within his soul, which was currently in a saturated state and needed time to settle and digest.

Forcibly reintroducing the soul will cause irreversible damage.

“Refining the heart in the mortal world… No wonder it’s a cultivation method recommended even by the Great Dao Library.” Jemin’s eyes were filled with the joy of accomplishment.

(End of this chapter)