Free Web NovelChapter 527: Chapter 455: Level 5 Wizard, Bottleneck, and Levels
On this day, inside the quiet laboratory.
Jeming had just completed the "consumption" of a strand of Plane Origin containing the "forced absorption" trait.
His consciousness gradually detached from the cold formulas and complex models relating to energy siphoning, forced stripping, and unidirectional diversion, returning to reality.
He rubbed his slightly throbbing temples, planning to meditate for a moment, but suddenly paused.
A strange feeling welled up in his heart.
The Ring of Truth trembled gently in the spiritual world, more solid and stable than before, and its resonance with external elements became much clearer.
The total amount of Spiritual Power hadn’t surged, but it circulated more harmoniously.
"Is this... a Fifth Level Wizard?"
Jeming felt the changes within himself, somewhat surprised, yet it seemed only natural.
The requirements for advancing to a Fifth Level Wizard were clear: mastery of at least one Law to over 10%, along with a sufficient intensity of Spiritual Power.
His grasp of the Spiritual Qi Law had long exceeded 20%, and after intensive training with the Time Residue, his body became incredibly strong. The mutual influence of the Essence, Qi, and Spirit made achieving the required intensity of Spiritual Power a natural outcome.
"Fifth Level..." Jeming murmured softly, his tone calm.
For him, this advancement brought negligible enhancement in terms of "actual combat power."
After all, it was the same old reason, a wizard’s power lies in "knowledge."
A level upgrade merely means your "hardware" foundation (spiritual capacity, energy control limit, law-sustaining capability) is upgraded, akin to upgrading from an old computer to the latest supercomputer model.
But what truly determines how complex and powerful the "programs" (witchcraft) your "computer" can run is the quantity and quality of "knowledge" stored in your consciousness.
Currently, Jeming’s situation is: his hardware has just upgraded to the "Fifth Level standard," but the "Fifth Level knowledge programs" belonging to the orthodox wizard system stored in his mind are pathetically few.
It’s not an exaggeration to say that regarding the accumulation of orthodox wizard knowledge and corresponding combat methods, he might be inferior to some experienced Third Level Wizards.
In the Third Level, he relied on the Black Giant and composite methods to threaten weak Fifth Levels, and at the Fourth Level, he faced Fifth Level Wizards with more ease.
Now at the Fifth Level, he still maintains only a threat to his peers and remains underpowered against Sixth Level Wizards.
Moreover, his maintained combat power mainly relied entirely on knowledge from another domain.
His combat power advantage came from "cross-domain knowledge dividends" and "compound technology advantages," not the wizard level itself.
And now, ascending to the Fifth Level means the "orthodox wizard knowledge gap" he needs to fill has grown larger.
Those who can cultivate to the Fifth Level Wizards have spent thousands of years in their fields, accumulating vast knowledge and countless trump cards, as either geniuses or monsters.
Compared to them, Jeming’s "thinness" in wizard knowledge is especially evident.
"There is more to learn, research, and accumulate..." Jeming sighed lightly, not relaxing due to the promotion, but feeling even more pressure on his shoulders.
He moved his thoughts slightly, subconsciously focusing his perception on his Cultivation Immortality system’s status.
The circulation of the Essence, Qi, and Spirit trio was much smoother than before, with the "incoordination" resulting from an overly powerful physical body significantly reduced.
The gaps among the three are rapidly closing, and at this rate, within a few years, it will return to the ideal state of roundness and balance.
This is good news.
But immediately after, another discovery made Jeming frown slightly.
The bad news is, the growth speed of his Spiritual Power and Spiritual Qi showed no sign of slowing down due to the impending balance restoration.
They continue to rise at the same unusually fast pace as before.
Based on description alone, this seems like an enormous benefit, as strength constantly grows.
However, given his current realm and perception, it implies a rather concerning fact: there appears to be a very exaggerated gap from the theoretically required "Void Refinement Realm" standard.
"Hiss..." Jeming couldn’t help but draw a sharp breath, his eyes revealing a look of disbelief, "Cultivators... Is the power gap between these Great Realms so vast?"
He should know that his Spiritual Power and Spiritual Qi are increasing synchronously, their strengths roughly corresponding to his Wizard Level.
Now that he is a Fifth Level Wizard, the intensity of his Spiritual Power meets the standard.
According to past experiences, a wizard’s and a cultivator’s combat power is generally comparable, so logically, the total and qualitative change of the "Essence, Qi, and Spirit" trio should also meet the threshold for a Refining Void Realm Cultivator.
But that’s not the case.
He felt that he couldn’t sense any direction for advancing to a higher level.
This feeling is completely different from the "natural progression" when breaking through minor realms step by step.
"Something’s not right."
Jeming decisively put aside all ongoing research, even temporarily halting the absorption of Plane Origin.
He moved to the center of the quiet room, sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and immersed his full attention deep into his consciousness.
The white jade-cast virtual image of the Great Dao Book Pavilion stood quietly.
Jeming’s mind stood before the doors, thoughts racing: "Search for key factors in promotion from ’Divinity Transformation’ to ’Void Refinement,’ essential differences in realm, comparison of ancient and modern methods-related texts!"
