"But... the academy is actually willing to take out High Tier Military Merits as rewards. Can the headmaster afford it?"

After the excitement, Jeming calmed down and discovered something peculiar.

Just as Clark said, the academy certainly isn't just entrusting him alone this time. It seems likely every High Level Wizard in the school skilled in alchemy will be required to produce materials resistant to energy erosion.

He is just a Third Level Wizard Apprentice, and both in terms of production and efficacy of materials, he is surely far below other High Level Wizards.

The distribution of merits should also vary according to each person's contribution, so by this calculation, the amount of military merits the academy is paying this time is quite considerable.

It's all High Tier Military Merits, and neither points nor military merits, nor High Tier Military Merits nor Low Tier Military Merits can be exchanged with each other. They can only be obtained by completing tasks from the Star Orbit Arbitration Court.

And to take on tasks from the Star Orbit Arbitration Court, you need to be at least a Seventh Level Wizard.

Within the entire Nolun Academy, the only Seventh Level Wizard is the headmaster, whom they have never met.

"Do you guess why the headmaster hasn't shown up for so many years?" Clark's face showed a rare schadenfreude expression, "Of course, it's to go to the frontlines and work like a bull and horse."

"Hiss..."

Thinking of the mysterious headmaster actually having to work like a bull and horse, Jeming couldn't help but want to laugh.

However, considering he still has to work under him in the future, and fearing the headmaster would hold a grudge against him afterward, he could only forcefully distort his expression into sucking in a cold breath.

"Cough... um... to support the entire academy alone, the headmaster is truly a paragon for our generation..."

"If you want to laugh, just laugh, that old guy is not a serious fellow anyway." Clark cast him a slightly mocking glance.

As if resonating with being a bull and horse, his facial expression was not as rigid.

Jeming curled the corners of his mouth but still held back his urge to laugh.

To divert attention, he raised another question:

"That Shadow Plane looks very difficult to deal with."

"The shape of that plane is quite unique, the creatures inside exist in a half-element, half-biological state, and the special nature of shadow elements causes significant losses for the wizards."

Clark didn't hold back and fluently narrated the intelligence regarding the Shadow Plane, as Jeming's Second Level Cultivation Agreement was enough to give him access to such information.

"It's so tough to deal with... then why doesn't the headmaster personally take action?" Jeming couldn't hold back his curiosity.

Judging from the academy and Clark's reactions, there shouldn't be anyone of the headmaster's level in the Shadow Plane, otherwise, they wouldn't be so relaxed.

Moreover, the higher a wizard's level, the greater the disparity between them and other civilizations' similarly ranked powerhouses, with a High Tier Wizard's strength far surpassing ordinary same-level creatures.

Even if there really were Seventh Level Creatures in the Shadow Plane, even if their numbers exceeded double digits, coupled with the whole plane's empowerment, they probably wouldn't measure up to one hand of the headmaster.

"Because there's a Divine Spirit equivalent to a Sixth Level Creature in that world."

"Hmm?" Jeming couldn't help but tilt his head to express his confusion.

Clark glanced at him, ignoring his confusion, and instead asked: "What do you think is the purpose of the entire Wizard Civilization's enthusiasm for waging interdimensional wars?"

The purpose of wizards initiating wars?

Jeming blinked, cautiously thought for a while, and then carefully replied: "For... resources and knowledge?"

Wizards seek many things, but in summary, it's essentially resources and knowledge.

"Not bad, you're not blinded like those fools." Clark showed an appreciative smile.

"We initiate wars not for the pleasure of destruction... although there are such fools, the majority of wizards participate in dimensional wars simply to continually acquire more knowledge and resources, allowing themselves to advance further."

"If a plane, upon encountering invasion, willingly offers all its world's knowledge and resources, wizards wouldn't insist on annihilating that plane's indigenous civilization, they might even consider taking them in as new servants... there are many servant planes like that in the Nolun Workshop."

"Even if the indigenous people within the plane resist extremely, wizards don't mind, and even welcome it, as war can catalyze the birth of knowledge."

"Because the effect of catalysis through war is so favorable, some forces upon finding a new plane, will deploy evenly matched wizards based on the overall strength of the plane to ensure the war remains at a high intensity to catalyze the birth of new knowledge."

Here, Clark glanced down at an inconspicuous wristband he wore: "Of course, such extreme individuals are usually in the Deep Red Royal Court faction, while the Star Ring Federation's philosophy leans more towards what I previously mentioned."

"Can the philosophies of these two factions genuinely distinguish between good and evil?" Jeming quirked his eyebrows, unable to resist complaining in his mind.

Regardless of whether it's the Star Ring Federation or Deep Red Royal Court, in Jeming's view, both factions' philosophies are nothing but prime war criminals!

Neither has anything good.

What's that?

I'm currently a member of the Star Ring Federation?

Oh, then it's nothing.

However, now Jeming also understands why the academy is willing to expend so many resources for the Shadow Plane. A plane so troublesome surely has resources and knowledge worth the anticipation.

Noticing Clark's gaze towards him, Jeming gave a dry cough, subdued his inner thoughts:

"If you think about it this way, isn't it even more reason for the headmaster to take action? This way, at least most resources can be preserved."

"This is where it gets most troublesome." Clark shook his head, "Sixth Level Creatures certainly aren't worth mentioning. If confronted directly, even some more outstanding Fifth Level Wizards can take them down."

"The problem is, once creatures reach Sixth Level, they gain access to the Plane Origin. Though Sixth Level Creatures can't precisely manipulate Plane Origin like wizards, even a rough utilization provides them the ability to drag the entire plane down with them."

Jeming finally understood, in the end, it's about cost-effectiveness and benefits.

If they truly went all-out, in a state of extreme despair, it's highly likely this expedition would be in vain for the wizards.

"Then how should one handle such situations?"

"Three methods: one, find a more powerful wizard to handle it. Generally, an Eighth Level Wizard could forcibly suppress the other's attempts to destroy the plane, even if the opponent is also an Eighth Level Creature. As for the second method, continuously deploy forces to gradually weaken the plane's strength until the Plane Origin is weakened to a certain extent. Or..."

Clark paused for a moment, his gaze meaningful as he gazed out the window: "... a wizard ascends to Sixth Level in that plane."

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