**Chapter 30: A New Beginning**

Recently, Jie Ming had been living quite comfortably.

Not only had he cleared his identity, resolving his biggest concern, but he had also gained greater privileges.

Although, according to Mentor Clark, the second-tier cultivation protocol didn’t provide tangible credits or material rewards, it offered significant conveniences in other areas, including fast-tracked approvals for various applications.

The permission to establish a laboratory came through quickly. Jie Ming had initially planned to rent a low-tier laboratory long-term, but upon learning that the laboratory establishment permit came with discounts for leasing, he decisively opted for a mid-tier laboratory.

Compared to low-tier labs, mid-tier labs were not only larger, with more comprehensive protective facilities and equipment, but also came with multiple rest areas and even free delivery services from the cafeteria.

In other words, if the lessee desired, they could practically live in the laboratory.

In fact, many wizards did just that, as research projects often lasted months or even years.

For Jie Ming, who needed to cultivate under the morning sun daily, this was perfect.

As for why he didn’t rent a high-tier lab? Simply put, high-tier labs were too expensive!

Low-tier labs varied in cost from 200 to 1,000 credits per month, depending on their specifications.

Mid-tier labs started at 2,000 credits, while high-tier labs demanded a minimum of 20,000 credits per month.

Jie Ming had thought that selling refined gold would make him flush with credits, but reality hit hard, leaving him momentarily disheartened.

The issue with selling refined gold for credits was that, despite the lifted restrictions and the material’s popularity—snapped up almost instantly upon listing—his progress was bottlenecked by the availability of raw materials.

After all, gold wasn’t particularly valuable to wizards. Beyond its use in basic teaching materials, it was only occasionally needed for crafting specific equipment.

Although the academy could mobilize resources from all thirteen Noren planes and dozens of surrounding smaller planes, gold collection had never been a priority, resulting in a mere twenty-three cubic units of gold in the academy’s reserves.

Moreover, after Jie Ming bought out this stock, replenishing it would take time.

In other words, for the short term, the refined gold produced from these twenty-three cubic units would be his primary source of credits.

Since refining gold into refined gold consumed over ninety percent of its mass, the yield wasn’t high.

Over a month, Jie Ming finally produced just over ten standard units of refined gold.

Considering refined gold’s utility as a crafting and insulating material for future experiments, Jie Ming kept half for himself and sold only ten standard units.

Based on the academy’s appraisal, pure refined gold was classified as a fifth-grade material.

Referencing the prices of other fifth-grade materials, Jie Ming sold his stock at 10,000 credits per standard unit.

“I only made a measly ten-thousand-fold profit. I’m just too kind-hearted,” Jie Ming said smugly, lounging in the luxurious, cushioned chair of his mid-tier laboratory, legs crossed.

Though the mid-tier lab’s annual rent cost him 20,000 credits upfront, the remaining 80,000 credits were enough to sustain him for quite a while.

With this in mind, Jie Ming pressed his hand on the desk, and a light screen materialized before him.

“Tch, tch, tch… as expected of a mid-tier lab. The mana network terminal’s tech level is leaps and bounds ahead.”

If low-tier labs’ mana network terminals were akin to bulky CRT monitors, mid-tier labs had skipped LCDs entirely, stepping straight into futuristic holographic projections.

“Should I splurge on some high-tier knowledge for fun? Come on, let me see the limits of wizarding civilization!!!”

*Smack!*

Jie Ming suddenly slapped the desk, shutting off the light screen, sinking into deep thought.

“Hiss… am I doing this wrong?”

Reopening the mana network terminal and staring at the string of zeros in the price column, Jie Ming felt his head throb.

“Forget it, forget it. Those are too far out of my reach. Better stick to learning some basic knowledge.”

Pinching the bridge of his nose, he scrolled the light screen to the beginner knowledge section and, following his earlier plans, purchased courses and foundational texts on runic studies and potioncraft.

After buying the essentials, Jie Ming began pondering his next steps.

“The knowledge from both worlds is an advantage, but it also comes with challenges. First, I need to identify the differences between the two worlds to smoothly transplant cultivation knowledge here.”

His fingers absentmindedly traced circles on the desk. “Beyond the most fundamental world rules, the most critical difference is likely the composition of matter and energy…”

Energy differences could be studied by comparing different supernatural forces, with Jie Ming himself serving as an ideal test subject.

As for rule differences, the runic studies he’d soon learn and the alchemy he was currently studying would reveal the underlying framework of the wizarding world’s rules. The Great Dao Book Pavilion could provide insight into the cultivation world’s rules for comparison, so he wasn’t too worried about that for now.

“The first two require accumulating knowledge, which can’t be rushed. So… that leaves material differences. Alchemy and potioncraft will gradually build my understanding over time, but there’s a way to speed things up…”

Jie Ming’s gaze instinctively drifted to the laboratory’s storage, where various miscellaneous materials were kept—purchased alongside the gold to obscure the refined gold’s exact formula.

The Great Dao Book Pavilion held an extensive repository of material-related knowledge. If he wanted to delve deeper into a specific material, the Pavilion could even provide a phantom of similar materials for him to examine within his consciousness.

So, to accelerate his analysis of the differences between the two worlds, he could start with the materials available in the wizarding world.

As an educational institution, Noren Academy was perfectly suited for this.

With newfound confidence, Jie Ming opened the academy’s mana network material exchange section, ready to go on a shopping spree.

However, as he browsed and calculated, he stumbled upon a new, disheartening reality.

The wizarding civilization had conquered countless planes.

Each conquered plane brought new creatures, environments, minerals, and plants.

The variety of materials was astronomical, with new ones discovered and cataloged almost constantly.

*Basic Material Compendium*, *Extraplanar Material Index*, *Mineral Encyclopedia*, *Mutated Plant Genealogy*… the data on ordinary materials alone was mountainous, and the actual number of material types was countless times greater.