Chapter 7: Wizard!

Chapter 7: Chapter 7: Wizard!

When it was Chen Shang’s turn, he was just about to line up when a sudden chill shot up his spine. An overwhelming dread enveloped him—an instinctual, pure terror that his body simply could not control. Like prey encountering a natural predator at the top of the food chain, he froze in place. His entire body tensed, his heart raced, and sweat instantly soaked his back. He turned his head with great difficulty.

In the distance, at the base of the High Tower, a door had opened at some unknown point. A figure emerged from within and slowly walked toward him. The man wore a simple, unadorned dark gray robe. He looked to be in his thirties, with a face so ordinary he would disappear into a crowd. But when those eyes looked over, Chen Shang felt as if he had been dissected from head to toe. It was as though no secret could be hidden from that gaze. The man walked up to Chen Shang and stopped.

Chen Shang’s fear reached its peak. He almost wanted to kneel, to run, to do anything to escape this feeling. But his legs refused to obey. He could only stand there, as stiff as a stone.

The man stared at him for a long time before asking, "What is your name?"

Chen Shang opened his mouth, his voice hoarse. "Chen... Chen Shang."

"Where are you from?"

"Lu Xing, Black Crow Territory."

The man nodded and said no more. From his robe, he pulled out a palm-sized Round Disc. Its surface was carved with dense, intricate patterns, and a dark red Crystal Stone was embedded in the center. He fiddled with it a few times, and the Crystal Stone lit up. Then, the man looked up at Chen Shang, a trace of curiosity in his eyes.

"The Elemental Tower has your records. You were born without any Spirit Talent."

Chen Shang’s heart suddenly sank.

"But now, the High Tower shows that your Spiritual Talent has met the standard," the man continued. "It’s very strange." He put the device away and looked at Chen Shang again. "Come cooperate with me for a test."

Chen Shang stood there, his back covered in cold sweat. It was his Spiritual Talent. The [Spiritual Talent (White)] he had activated less than a month ago had been detected.

"I was too careless," he thought. "Wizards have too many methods I don’t understand. I shouldn’t have rashly collected attributes! But what can I do now? Do I have any room to refuse?"

Left with no options, Chen Shang followed the Wizard into the High Tower.

The interior of the tower was much more spacious than it appeared from the outside. There were no stairs and no compartments, only a spiraling pathway leading upward. The walls were embedded with densely packed Crystal Stones, emitting a soft, milky-white glow. The Wizard walked in front at an unhurried pace, making no sound. Chen Shang followed behind, treading carefully with every step.

His fear had yet to dissipate. The feeling of being targeted by a natural predator still loomed over him, as if a freezing hand were gripping the back of his neck. This was an absolute crushing suppression on the level of lifeforms. It was like an ant looking up at the sky, or a mortal looking up at a Deity!

They soon reached the end of the passage. The Wizard pushed open a door to reveal a circular room filled with instruments Chen Shang couldn’t name. Some looked like Crystal Balls, some like floating Rubik’s cubes, and others were completely unrecognizable. In the center of the room stood a platform, above which hovered several glowing panels with dense strings of flowing characters.

The Wizard walked over to one of the instruments and began to adjust it. Chen Shang stood in place, not daring to move or sit down.

The room was quiet, save for the faint BUZZING of the machines. After a moment, the Wizard suddenly turned his head and glanced at him. "Are you afraid of me?"

Chen Shang froze for a second before nodding honestly.

A faint smile appeared on the Wizard’s face. "It’s normal to be afraid. I just broke through to become a Third Level Wizard, and the radiation from my body cannot be completely restrained yet. However, it is harmless to living creatures. Moreover, I am an Official Member of the Pan-Wizard Alliance, so you don’t need to worry about me harming you."

He withdrew his gaze and continued adjusting the instruments. "Come here and lie down."

Chen Shang walked over and lay on the platform. The surface was freezing. He stared at the glowing characters hovering above him, unable to understand a single one.

The test began. One instrument was aimed at his head, another was attached to his wrist, and a panel floated right above his chest, its characters jumping rapidly.

As the Wizard observed the data, he remarked, "If we confirm that your Spirit Talent meets the standard, you will be excellent material."

Chen Shang’s heart gave a heavy THUMP. Material? That didn’t sound like a good thing. Steeling himself, he mustered his courage and asked, "Material... Will I be dissected?"

The Wizard’s hands paused, and then he laughed.

"I didn’t expect you to know about dissection. But you’re overthinking it. That was the practice of Wizards in the ancient era. A fraction of Black Wizards would sneakily capture creatures and conduct inhumane research. It was inefficient and wasteful. Things are different now."

"Could you be more specific?" Chen Shang asked.

"Take you as an example. If your condition meets the standards, you will be merged into a research group with others in similar situations, overseen by the relevant Wizards.

"Your data will be uploaded and analyzed along with the samples from the entire research group. If it is confirmed that the environment of the Otherworld triggered your Acquired Spiritual Power growth, this conclusion will be incorporated into the major project of ’Spiritual Power Development,’ becoming one of countless sub-projects."

The Wizard’s tone was calm, yet it carried an inherent pride. "Systematization and scale. Tens of thousands of Wizards persistently researching countless projects. The efficiency is incomparable to the ancient era. Even the old monsters who survived from the old days have to admit the advanced nature of this model."

Chen Shang lay on the platform, his mind BUZZING in a slight daze.

The terrifying, bloodthirsty, and powerful Black Wizards he had read about in novels during his past life were, in this man’s mouth, merely inefficient and wasteful remnants of the old era. On the contrary, tens of thousands of Wizards researching countless topics day after day sounded far more like the scientific research model of his past world.

The only difference was that the subjects of study had shifted from physics, chemistry, and biology to Spiritual Power, Elements, and rules. Or to put it another way, these things *were* the physics, chemistry, and biology of this world. But there was one major difference: in this world, knowledge wasn’t just knowledge; it could be translated into immense personal combat power!

"Then what kind of existence are my attributes?" he wondered. "Are they also a manifestation of knowledge that I don’t understand yet?"

He recalled what that combat Warrior had said before: "As long as the body can keep up, billions of combat Warriors can be created in an instant."

It was all about scale. It was all about systematization. It was about turning everything into something that could be mass-produced, iterated, and optimized. This included knowledge, Power, and even the Wizards themselves.

"The results are out."

The Wizard’s voice pulled him back to reality. Chen Shang turned his head and saw that the characters on the hovering panels had stopped jumping. The Wizard stared at one of the panels for a few seconds before turning around, a trace of satisfaction in his eyes.

"You have indeed crossed the qualification line for Wizard Cultivation."