**Chapter 40: Limestone Realm**

The blinding blue light faded, and the distorted sense of space receded like a tide.

Jie Ming’s feet touched solid ground. After a wave of dizziness, he opened his eyes.

Following his pre-planned strategy, he activated his Talisman-Rune Artifact the moment the teleportation ended.

In an instant, three differently colored shields materialized around him.

Only then did Jie Ming take time to survey his surroundings. The crowded plaza was gone, replaced by a desolate expanse.

He stood on a vast plain, the ground beneath him gray and uneven with rocky terrain. In the distance, a eerie forest was shrouded in thick fog.

Farther still, jagged mountains loomed like skeletal ridges.

The air carried a sulfurous heat mixed with the unfamiliar stench of rotting vegetation, evoking a primal, savage impact.

“Hm?”

Jie Ming let out a surprised sound, immediately noticing something off—the elemental forces in this world felt entirely different from those at Noren Academy.

They were like wild horses, untamed and volatile, brimming with a frenzied instability.

He could sense the fire elements burning as if ready to ignite, the wind elements restlessly whistling past his ears, and the earth elements so heavy they seemed almost solid.

This was no gentle plane.

“Such volatile elemental forces… energy-based wizardry will be far more destructive here, but it demands exponentially greater mental control. A single misstep could lead to spell failure or even backlash.”

Jie Ming extended a finger, testing the surrounding elemental forces with his mental power.

Watching the energy cluster form and quickly burst, he made a swift judgment.

This… was good news for him?

After all, his Talisman-Rune Artifacts relied on the synergy between their seal structures and environmental elements. This volatile environment could amplify their power.

Of course, overly wild elements might make the artifacts more prone to damage.

But from a testing perspective, this would also reveal their stability.

Scanning his surroundings, his vision was obstructed by rolling terrain and towering vegetation.

Distant roars of beasts and flapping wings echoed, but no immediate threats were visible.

“In an unfamiliar environment like this, danger could come from anywhere. Attack, defense, and mobility alone aren’t enough for wilderness survival. Scouting and counter-scouting are just as crucial—perhaps even more so. Detecting threats and concealing one’s tracks… those are the keys to surviving in an unknown realm.”

Jie Ming immediately recognized his shortcomings. “Not bad, another lesson learned.”

Firmly noting to prioritize scouting-type Talisman-Rune Artifacts next, he didn’t rush to act. Instead, he decided to test his current prototypes in this plane.

The defense artifact had already been activated, performing well so far.

The earth-attribute shield, enhanced by the plane’s elemental intensity, was even sturdier, though the other two shields seemed somewhat unstable.

“The shields formed successfully, but the volatile elements cause slight fluctuations in the artifact during construction, requiring quick mental stabilization… I’ll stick to the earth shield for now.”

“Next…”

With a thought, the mobility artifact, disguised as a pendant at his waist, glowed faintly.

A light force surged, lifting his body.

With a gentle leap, he glided forward, propelled by an invisible wind, moving far faster than ordinary running.

Under the influence of the plane’s wild wind elements, his speed seemed slightly faster than in the training field, though it required more focused mental control.

Finally, the attack-type artifact.

He casually pointed at a large rock in the distance, his mind stirring.

A head-sized fireball materialized, streaking toward the rock with a piercing whistle.

*BOOM!*

A louder-than-expected explosion erupted, shattering the rock into flying debris!

The wild fire elements, instantly drawn by the seal, boosted the fireball’s power far beyond what it achieved in the training field.

“Whoa… fantastic,” Jie Ming said, thoroughly pleased.

The plane’s volatile elements significantly enhanced the attack artifact’s effects.

Though it might increase control difficulty, the benefits outweighed the flaws.

Tests complete, Jie Ming stowed the artifacts.

He had two goals for this trial:

First, thoroughly test the Talisman-Rune Artifacts’ combat performance in a real savage plane, identifying their limits, strengths, and weaknesses.

Second, a newly set goal: collect samples of this plane’s unique materials.

With such volatile elemental forces, the materials here were bound to have distinct properties.

As for points?

Jie Ming wasn’t too concerned.

With the support of his second-level training agreement, he didn’t need to vie for first place to prove himself. Securing enough points to rank in the top 10%, qualifying for Noren Workshop’s large-scale evaluation in five years, was enough.

Focusing his mind, Jie Ming activated the mobility artifact and accelerated toward a direction with higher elemental concentration.

Common sense dictated that richer elemental areas held more abundant resources—and greater dangers.

This aligned perfectly with his two goals.

During flight, he occasionally spotted other apprentices using flight or speed spells in the air or on the ground.

Most eyed him warily, clearly surprised to encounter someone so soon, especially someone faster.

Since they had just entered the plane, the competitive tension wasn’t yet intense. With few points to gain and the risk of others capitalizing on early conflicts, most apprentices merely glanced at Jie Ming before veering away cautiously.

Occasionally, some thought they couldn’t outrun his “pursuit” and stopped, adopting defensive stances.

Jie Ming gave them a brief glance, then steered his mobility artifact in the opposite direction, swiftly exiting their perception range.

He wanted to test his artifacts’ combat capabilities, but there was no rush to fight humans. Finding some live targets first would be ideal.