**Chapter 21: Thunderclap**

A string of “Superior” and “Exceptional” results burst forth like a barrage, leaving the old wizard’s jaw practically on the table.

His once-mocking smile froze, replaced by sheer astonishment and an uncontrollable tremble.

Mental erosion resistance and mind control resistance at a Level Four standard?!

This was already approaching the core resistance of some high-tier protective constructs!

And the final few results—corrosion and curse resistance—reported “Assessment exceeds current instrument range” with a prompt to “Recommend advanced testing”?!

This instrument was standard equipment capable of testing materials up to a Level Five Wizard’s resistance!

This… this… how could this be possible?!

The old wizard’s reaction drew the attention of the other testing wizards nearby.

They crowded over, and when they saw the glaring “Inferior” ratings for physical and energy resistance followed by a dazzling array of “Superior,” “Exceptional,” and even “Exceeds range” results, the entire testing center erupted!

“What the hell? What kind of material is this?!”

“How can the physical and energy resistance be so poor, yet the erosion resistance so high? It’s completely unbalanced!”

“Exceeds the instrument’s range? That’s at least a Level Five Wizard’s material! Who submitted this?!”

“Submitter’s name?! Is this from some senior wizard? Why didn’t it go through the special channel?”

They all turned to the crude label on the sample bottle, which read only—“White Iron-Based Insulating Material” and an apprentice’s ID number!

“An apprentice?!” Everyone froze.

A wizard apprentice?! What kind of joke was this?!

A Level One Formal Wizard, hands trembling, grabbed the record board, his voice breaking. “Quick! Get the supervisor!!!”

The testing center descended into chaos as every wizard gathered around, staring at the unremarkable white iron pieces with shock, doubt, and disbelief.

Some quick-thinking wizards, seeing the results, were already discreetly contacting their associates, urging them to prepare to buy this material on the magic network the moment it became available.

Curse and corrosion resistance beyond Level Five—this was an absolutely controlled substance even in Noren Workshop.

Insulating material?

What a waste!

A material of this caliber would be perfect for crafting protective artifacts!

As for its weak physical and energy resistance… that was never an issue!

Wizards excelled at those protections and had countless methods to compensate.

In endless planar conquests, the greatest threats wizards faced were erosions and damages from incomprehensible unknown forces.

Logistics wizards joined the front lines precisely to analyze unique energies or substances in those planes and develop countermeasures on the spot.

Likewise, the greatest losses among logistics wizards came from injuries sustained during such research.

With this material, unless you were extraordinarily unlucky, it was like gaining an extra life!

More and more wizards realized this, and the covert communications intensified.

By the time the supervisor arrived, nearly every formal wizard in the academy was buzzing with excitement.

That night, an anonymous apprentice and an unassuming material sent a silent thunderclap rippling through the depths of Noren Academy’s alchemy workshop.

Meanwhile, the center of all this fervor, Jie Ming, was still sweating away in a corner of the warehouse, toiling for those life-saving points.

Completely unaware of the seismic stir his unintentional act had caused within the academy.

…

…

Warehouse No. 5 was filled with the mingled scents of dust and various ores.

The warehouse resembled a massive cave, stacked high with raw materials.

Dust from ores and the dry smell of plants floated in the air. Sunlight streamed through a few rune-glass openings at the top, forming beams of light where countless tiny particles danced.

Jie Ming, clad in protective gear, was assigned here with a few other apprentices, facing a small mountain of ores and plants.

They needed to identify each material against the *Basic Materials Manual*, sort them into different boxes, weigh them, and label them.

“Ugh, another physical job,” sighed a fellow apprentice, bending down to start moving ores.

“If it was just physical work, that’d be fine. Why do we have to identify ores too? They all look the same!” another apprentice grumbled.

Jie Ming said nothing, donning his protective gear and joining in.

While carefully identifying ores with his mental energy, he mechanically sorted and weighed them.

Suddenly, he paused, noticing Viktor and his task partner entering the warehouse.

They seemed to have just finished a task and were looking for the next.

Viktor spotted Jie Ming’s group sorting but didn’t approach. Instead, he led his partner to the task board’s terminal within the warehouse.

A moment later, Jie Ming heard Viktor’s voice from nearby.

He’d apparently found another promising task and was persuading his partner.

“Look, this ‘Test Energy Conductivity’ task requires going to Energy Room No. 3… It’s a bit out of the way, but the task itself isn’t hard—just operating a few instruments. Plus, the points are double what sorting pays!” Viktor’s tone was persuasive. “Don’t just do physical labor—use your brain!”

His partner hesitated. “Energy Room, huh… I heard the energy fluctuations there can be unstable…”

“No worries! There are protective measures! Besides, instability is perfect for logging extra data. Maybe you could even write a small report for the mentor to make a good impression,” Viktor said lightly, brushing off the concerns with a confident “trust me” vibe.

Listening, Jie Ming smirked to himself.

He was certain Viktor was getting some kind of kickback from someone in the Energy Room, totally setting up his partner.

Not that it was a complete scam—Viktor’s words weren’t wrong.

But he conveniently left out that the energy fluctuations in the Energy Room were often discordant. They weren’t harmful, but you’d be dizzy, nauseous, and out of sorts for a couple of days after.

Still, Jie Ming had no intention of exposing him. They had no deep grudge, after all.