Chapter 235: The Reward

Unfortunately, even the dean was not omnipotent.

The spatial portal, just stabilized by the combined efforts of the wizards, was utterly destroyed by the devastating force of the nearby self-detonation.

The surrounding wizards had no time to react, and even Dean Avery Knight, the only one who could, was fully occupied countering the terrifying energy unleashed by the Destroyer Demon’s explosion!

Thus, they could only watch as the gateway to a new world shattered like a broken mirror under the destructive force.

In the end, the black vortex collapsed entirely, dissolving into the air!

A failure at the final step!

As the portal to an unknown, resource-rich world crumbled into chaotic spatial turbulence before his eyes, Dean Avery Knight’s brow furrowed slightly.

Yet, such a setback was clearly insufficient to shake his rock-steady composure.

He remained calm, casually waving his hand to seal the remains of the Destroyer Demon within a crystal forged from pure soul energy.

Then, he precisely carved off a small portion and handed it to a nearby fifth-rank wizard skilled in reverse engineering, issuing a string of commands in an authoritative tone:

“Leave a few to immediately record all spatial fluctuation parameters here. Though the coordinates collapsed, the residual energy data still holds immense research value!”

“Assign another group to study this sample. I want the fastest possible reverse-tracing of its planar coordinates!”

His voice grew stern: “Speed is critical! Though I blocked most of its distress signals, the sudden disappearance of an eighth-rank entity will surely alert its civilization soon!”

“We must re-derive the exact coordinates before they react!”

“Yes, Dean!”

The dozens of high-rank wizards hovering in the air nodded in unison.

Like a precision machine, they divided tasks based on their expertise without needing further discussion.

Space-specialized wizards flew to the still-turbulent high altitude, deploying countless precise probes to collect every trace of residual spatial energy.

Those skilled in biology and soul studies gathered around the Destroyer Demon’s remains, pulling out bizarre alchemical instruments to begin immediate analysis and dissection.

Two particularly irritable wizards swooped down, shooing Jie Ming and David into the air like swatting flies.

Then, alongside others, they cast spells to lift the entire island—complete with its massive sacrificial array and underlying crust—straight from the seabed.

Judging by their demeanor, they intended to haul it back to a lab for deeper study.

As for the Sage, his mind shattered, collapsed like mud on the reefs, a passing fourth-rank wizard casually encased him in an energy field and “packed” him away.

The wizard’s eager expression suggested he hoped to extract underlying technologies of the unknown civilization from the Sage’s tainted soul, perhaps even uncovering coordinate clues.

Jie Ming and David, hovering midair, stared in

stunned awe

at the high-rank wizards’ ruthlessly efficient “scorched-earth” sweep.

For a moment, they were at a loss for what to do.

Just then, a figure appeared silently before them.

It was Dean Avery Knight, having finished his tasks.

Sensing his vast, ocean-like aura, Jie Ming and David snapped to attention.

They bowed solemnly to the legendary seventh-rank wizard.

“Jie Ming (David), greetings to the Dean.”

“No need for formalities.”

The exchange was brief.

Like most wizards, Dean Avery Knight was decisive, disliking wasted time.

He cut straight to the point:

“Though a minor error prevented us from directly invading their world, that’s our fault, not yours.”

“Your intelligence was accurate and critical. So, beyond the academy’s mission system rewards, I’ll grant you an additional reward.”

Jie Ming and David’s eyes

lit up

!

But before they could imagine the riches of this “extra reward,” Dean Avery Knight’s next words left them

utterly shocked

.

In a tone as casual as asking, “What’s for dinner?” he said:

“Tell me, what type of

Planar Origin

do you need?”

Hiss—!

Though they knew the reward would be substantial, hearing “Planar Origin” spoken so lightly by a seventh-rank wizard made them both gasp.

Planar Origin

was, without question, the ultimate strategic resource for wizards advancing from second to sixth rank!

To progress beyond second rank, wizards needed to comprehend and master

Laws

.

But studying the ethereal, abstract Laws was no simple task.

Wizards, at their core, were scholars who observed, learned, and summarized the principles of all things, leveraging their limited individual power to manipulate universal rules.

Laws

were the most fundamental expressions of a world’s rules.

The difficulty of studying them was unimaginable.

Unlike closely guarded core knowledge in other factions, in the wizard civilization,

Law

studies were abundant and semi-public.

With enough coin, one could access them in the academy’s database.

This was because the nine great ninth-rank wizards at the civilization’s apex had openly shared their insights on all Laws, from basic to advanced, for posterity to study.

Yet, even in this near-“spoon-fed” environment, few wizards could independently master Laws through study alone.

Knowledge didn’t guarantee understanding.

Thus, wizards sought various aids.

Some kept their souls and bodies in peak activation to boost learning capacity.

Others used a more direct, brutal method—making the wizard’s soul

directly comprehend

Law-related knowledge!

Planar Origin

was exactly that.

It was the aggregate of all “information” from a plane’s birth to its end.

All Laws born within that plane were fully recorded within it.

Wizards devised a method where high-rank wizards extracted

Planar Origin

from a plane.

Then, through specialized techniques, it was infused directly into a lower-rank wizard’s soul!

The Law information within the

Planar Origin

naturally permeated and assimilated the wizard’s soul.

This meant the infused wizard theoretically grasped all Law knowledge contained within instantly!

If the extracting high-rank wizard could precisely select and extract

Planar Origin

with a single Law, the infused wizard gained vast knowledge of that Law instantly!

Theoretically, with enough

Planar Origin

, a wizard ignorant of Laws could master a complete, singular Law in an instant!

Of course, such a “cheating” convenience came with immense drawbacks.

First, extracting

Planar Origin

caused irreversible damage to the plane.

Though minimal extraction allowed slow recovery over time, the snowballing wizard population increased demand for

Planar Origin

.

It was said the wizard civilization’s long-lost “Primordial Plane” was destroyed by excessive origin extraction.

Beyond knowledge pursuit, wizards’ relentless conquest of other planes aimed to secure new, healthy planes for extracting

Planar Origin

to nurture their descendants.

Moreover,

Planar Origin

’s value went beyond this.

Only sixth-rank wizards could interact with it, and safely extracting it required at least a seventh-rank wizard!

And it was a specialized skill—not every seventh-rank wizard was adept at it.

Thus, Dean Avery Knight’s offer was clear: he would personally extract the specific single-Law

Planar Origin

Jie Ming and David needed as their reward!