**Chapter 24: Damn it!**

It was a basic theory class at the alchemy workshop.

Sunlight streamed through the tall windows, illuminating Instructor Clark’s perpetually stern face on the lecture platform.

He was explaining the energy conduction properties of a certain basic ore, his voice as dry as grinding stone.

Jie Ming sat near the back, mechanically jotting notes while skillfully circulating the Internal Circulation technique to suppress his true essence fluctuations.

With his recent breakthrough, his Internal Circulation technique had become more refined, concealing his aura even better than when he was at Qi Refinement Layer One.

Thanks to that wisp of Purple Qi from the East, his Qi Refinement Layer Two had stabilized overnight. But further cultivation required more accumulation—and more points to rent a lab.

The Purple Qi’s cleansing of his soul had elevated his aptitude further, and the mental energy boost from his cultivation breakthrough had, in turn, accelerated his meditation efficiency.

Even without inscribing the fourth Truth Rune, the speed at which his meditation converted elemental energy into true essence was alarming, requiring constant suppression.

He calculated that, even if he delayed inscribing the fourth Truth Rune to mask his talent, at this rate, he’d face another breakthrough “crisis” in just over a month.

To avoid repeating the previous near-disaster, he needed to grind out more tasks to earn enough points for a safe breakthrough.

As his thoughts wandered, Instructor Clark, as usual, left the classroom promptly when the time came. A suppressed, excited whisper came from beside him.

“Hey! Jie Ming, did you hear? Big news!”

It was Amy, looking unusually spirited today, her face beaming with the thrill of uncovering a massive secret as she leaned in.

Jie Ming turned politely, offering a tired smile that fit his “hardworking but slow-progressing Level Six talent apprentice” persona. “What news? You look thrilled.”

“You won’t believe it!” Amy lowered her voice, but her excitement was uncontainable. “A super talented apprentice in the workshop created a new material that shocked all the formal wizards!”

“Oh?” Jie Ming’s heart stirred.

He was intrigued by a new material that could capture the wizards’ attention. The wizarding world’s material system was new to him, and it might offer insights to integrate into his cultivation system.

“It’s not just ‘oh’!” Amy waved dramatically. “It’s huge! HUGE! H-U-G-E news!” She mouthed the words, her eyes glinting with gossip. “They say when the material was submitted for testing, it nearly made the old wizard in charge fall over! The results shocked everyone in the testing center! Think about it—these are formal wizards who’ve seen everything, and an apprentice’s work floored them!”

Jie Ming listened with interest.

Indeed, for an apprentice’s work to shock formal wizards, it had to be extraordinary.

Thinking of his own refined gold, still languishing in review, he couldn’t help but sigh.

Some people really outshine others. Even with his cheats, could he not match these native geniuses?

Speaking of which, he’d forgotten to check his material’s review status yesterday. It was probably still pending, no need to worry too much…

He put on a surprised expression. “That crazy? What kind of material?”

“It’s insane!” Amy said mysteriously. “I dug around for details! It’s some kind of insulating material, but super, super powerful! Word from the testing side says it has terrifyingly high resistance to elemental erosion, curses, and stuff. Some tests even maxed out their instruments, showing ‘exceeds range’!”

Jie Ming was smiling, his face showing just the right mix of awe and curiosity.

He imagined this unknown apprentice’s genius, crafting something so incredible.

To stir up such a storm in the wizarding world—that was true talent…

Wait a second?

His smile froze for a moment.

An insulating material?

With terrifyingly high resistance to elemental erosion and curses?

Why did that sound… familiar?

He shook his head.

“No way, absolutely no way! There are countless materials out there… and while refined gold involves some concepts, it’s just a basic material. It can’t be *that* strong… probably…”

From the Great Dao Book Pavilion’s knowledge, refined gold was merely the most basic spiritual material. It could be further refined with related concepts to create superior materials.

So, theoretically, it shouldn’t be an issue… right?

Amy didn’t notice his subtle shift and continued excitedly. “And the craziest part? The material hit the workshop’s internal magic network for sale and was snapped up by formal wizards instantly! Now tons of wizards are privately asking who this apprentice is, trying to buy more! The price has skyrocketed! I heard… one unit costs a hundred contribution points!”

“A hundred points!” Amy gasped at the jaw-dropping price. “I couldn’t afford a fraction of that with a month’s points! Who’s this genius, making a fortune quietly? And they say the submitter’s info is confidential—seems the academy’s taking this material seriously!”

Jie Ming’s mind uncontrollably flashed to the task terminal, his apprentice ID on the submission record.

Amy kept going. “And they say the material’s name was super casual, something like… ‘White Iron-Based Insulating Material’? Hahaha, such a plain name, who’d have thought? Goes to show, you can’t judge people—or materials—by appearances!”

Jie Ming’s face froze completely.

Hearing the name of the material that haunted and infuriated him, his mind felt like a planet had exploded!

Could it be…

Maybe…

Possibly…

Perhaps…

That apprentice… was actually… him?!

As Amy animatedly recounted the “epic” deeds of this “mysterious apprentice,” Jie Ming felt his vision darken.

Quietly making a fortune?

Fortune, my foot!

He just wanted to make a low-grade material for some points, so how did he suddenly become the center of attention?!

Now, forget staying low-key—his material had made him so high-profile it shook the entire academy, maybe even other academies!

Amy kept talking, oblivious to the internal tsunami raging in her fellow apprentice.

“Amy, I just remembered something urgent!” Jie Ming blurted a flimsy excuse, ignoring her confused look, and bolted out of the classroom like a gust of wind.

He raced to the task hall, found a magic network terminal in a corner, and, with trembling hands, pulled out his badge.

Login!

His eyes locked onto the “Point Balance” field on his personal page.

A dazzling, dizzying number appeared on the screen, like the cruelest judgment:

**Point Balance: 500**

Five… hundred?!

Jie Ming felt a wave of dizziness, his legs buckling, nearly collapsing.

Normally, he’d be thrilled to see such a balance.

But now, leaning against the cold wall, staring at the shocking point total and the “Sold Out” status next to his material sales record, stars danced before his eyes.

“Damn it!”