Translator: AnubisTL
A few months after registering, Jieming received a system notification from the "junction point" on his personal terminal.
The brief message informed him that a new planar war was about to begin. All registered wizards were required to report to the designated assembly point within the specified timeframe to prepare for deployment.
Having learned from his previous planar war experience—where encountering a living plane had kept him stranded for decades—Jieming meticulously prepared this time.
Before departing, he devoted considerable time to organizing his Golden Garden, underground laboratory, and the hatchery within the Purgatory Sulfur Plane.
He not only upgraded all defense arrays and stockpiled enough energy to last for centuries, but also programmed a series of automated commands for his lava giants and the Black Giants that had hatched but not yet fully matured.
This ensured that even if he were absent for centuries or millennia, his rear lines would remain secure and functional without his direct oversight.
With all arrangements finalized, Jieming finally stepped confidently into the teleportation formation.
Having learned from his previous experience, Jieming went directly to the massive plaza outside the Affairs Center at the junction point.
The vast plaza was still sparsely populated. Looking around, he estimated there were only a few thousand people scattered across the space, making it feel rather empty.
The spider web-like network of spatial teleportation arrays surrounding the plaza pulsed with intermittent flashes of light.
Wizards of all shapes and sizes emerged from the arrays in a steady stream, converging toward the plaza.
Jieming found a relatively quiet corner, leaned against a cold metal pillar, and closed his eyes to focus his mind and adjust his mental state.
Simultaneously, he delved into his internal space, taking inventory of his combat reserves.
After an unknown amount of time, as Jieming was meticulously organizing rows of magic potions, spell artifacts, and spare energy pools, he suddenly sensed a curious and probing gaze fixed on him.
The gaze carried no malice, nor did its owner attempt to conceal it. Even with his eyes closed, Jieming could clearly feel the weight of that attention.
A flicker of curiosity stirred within him. He opened his eyes and followed the line of sight to its source.
Not far away, a young-looking wizard clad in Alchemy Armament was peering curiously in Jieming's direction.
Jieming's brow furrowed as he recognized the wizard. The face seemed vaguely familiar, yet when he tried to recall their connection, nothing concrete came to mind.
In fact, it wasn't just this wizard staring at him. Several others in the small team of seven or eight wizards also evoked a faint sense of déjà vu.
Noticing Jieming's scrutinizing gaze, the wizard only intensified his scrutiny.
When he finally got a clear look at Jieming's face, the wizard's eyes lit up!
Jieming watched as he exchanged a few words with his companions. Then, the entire group excitedly pushed through the crowd and hurried straight toward him.
"Hey kid! Long time no see!"
The wizard greeted Jieming with an easy familiarity, triggering the wizard's instinctive wariness.
Yet the wizard seemed unfazed by Jieming's guarded demeanor, his cheerful smile unwavering.
Seeing that Jieming didn't seem to recognize him, he couldn't resist reminding him, "What? It's only been a few centuries. Have you already forgotten the senior who greeted you on your first day of school?"
At this reminder, a long-sealed gate of memory in Jieming's mind swung open.
He suddenly realized that the wizard before him, whose face seemed much younger than he remembered, was none other than the figure from his past.
The man's features closely resembled those of the alchemy department senior, Wizard Jack, whom Jieming had met near the Logistics Department's exhibition terrace in the recruitment plaza on his first day.
At the same time, Jieming remembered that the others surrounding Wizard Jack were also the Logistics Department seniors who had been present that day.
However, their appearances had changed dramatically. Their faces were now much younger than the slightly weathered look they had back then.
Instead of the simple wizard's robes they had worn before, they now sported sleek, technologically advanced exoskeletons that pulsed with energy.
More importantly, their cultivation levels had far surpassed what Jieming remembered. He could clearly sense that their auras had all firmly reached the second-tier wizard realm.
"Senior Jack?" Jieming asked tentatively.
"Hey! Glad you haven't forgotten me, kid. We seniors would have been so disappointed if you had," Jack grinned.
After receiving confirmation, Jieming quickly bowed in greeting, exchanging nods with Jack and the other seniors.
Recognizing old acquaintances, a genuine smile involuntarily spread across his face.
In truth, they weren't particularly close. Strictly speaking, they had only met once, when Jieming first entered the wizard world during his enrollment ceremony.
Still, this group represented one of the few "familiar faces" Jieming had encountered in this cold and cruel wizard world.
"I never expected to run into you seniors here..."
As he spoke, Jieming subtly assessed the number of people in this reunited "senior" team.
He clearly remembered that back in the plaza, the team had consisted of at least a dozen members.
Now, their numbers were significantly reduced compared to what he had seen during his own enrollment ceremony years ago, and there were even several new faces among them.
It seemed they had suffered losses during the planar war over the years.
Yet those who had survived had grown far stronger than they had been back then!
Jieming was even more surprised to discover that the seemingly unremarkable potionology senior, who had been merely a third-tier wizard apprentice back then, had now become the highest-ranked member of their party—a genuine third-tier wizard!
Seeing Jieming finally recognize him, Jack and the other wizards in the party exchanged relieved smiles.
After all, for wizards who never knew when they might face their next trial, even a fleeting encounter with someone they had met only once could be a cause for celebration if they were to meet again in the future.
Jack scrutinized Jieming closely once more, unable to suppress his amazement.
"I never would have imagined this! When we first met, you were just an ordinary person who knew nothing about wizards. And now, after only a few hundred years, you've already caught up in rank!"
"My judgment was right all along! You're a true genius!" the rune studies senior declared smugly from the side.
"Tch! You say that about everyone you meet. What kind of judgment is that?!"
"You disagree?!"
The two members of Jack's party fell into their usual bickering as they chatted, while the others stood by, some even gleefully stoking the flames.
The commotion drew the attention of many wizards nearby. In the wizard civilization, such lively wizards were a rare sight.
Jieming glanced at the group with a hint of envy, then exchanged a few words with Jack, sharing stories of their experiences over the years.
Though they weren't close, they had crossed paths before.
Meeting an old acquaintance on the eve of battle was a welcome distraction.
As they prepared to part ways, they exchanged contact methods and agreed to offer mutual support if either party encountered insurmountable challenges during the planar war.
Jieming knew this was Senior Jack's way of looking out for him. After all, as a lone wizard, he had no way to provide meaningful assistance to their larger group.
After bidding farewell to Senior Jack and the others, Jieming waited a while longer.
Before long, he was astonished to see the number of wizards in the plaza had swelled to an astonishing degree.
After a quick estimate, he realized there must be over one hundred thousand of them!
This was far more than the number of wizards who had participated in the Flamefrost Plane War last time.
Just then, a massive shadow engulfed the entire plaza, blotting out the sunlight.
Every wizard instinctively looked up.
The artificial sky above the junction point had been completely covered by a vast, pitch-black expanse of earth!
Jieming knew this must be the "Ship" Plane they would be boarding for their expedition.
Judging by its size and the color of the exposed earth, this was not the same "Ship" Plane he had used to conquer the Flamefrost Plane.
However, Jieming was no longer the clueless rookie he had been back then.
Through research, he had learned a great deal about the junction points.
For example, within the "junction point," there were multiple ship planes used as "ferries."
Ship planes were essentially abandoned planes that had been completely drained of their plane origin and core resources, rendering them devoid of any further developmental value.
These discarded planes were then repurposed by wizards, who used various technologies to transform them into mobile war fortresses.
Since these planes were already on the verge of collapse, using them as vessels to navigate the endless chaotic void proved to be a remarkably cost-effective solution.
According to Jieming's knowledge, the three major powers that established the junction point—including the Noren Workshop—had each deployed at least several hundred such ship planes as strategic reserves.
Considering the junction point launched one to two expeditions annually, and conquering a mid-to-small-sized plane typically required twenty to one hundred years, depending on the plane's resistance,
with such a vast fleet of "ships," there was no need to worry about a shortage of "transportation."
(End of the Chapter)
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