I Arrived At Wizard World While Cultivating Immortality Chapter 1: At the Gate of the Novice Village, Big Shots Everywhere

Noren Academy.

The immense edifice wasn't rooted to the earth; instead, it hovered high in the clouds, resembling a play block flung carelessly by a capricious titan.

Obscure yet formidable energy pulses visibly danced across the timeworn stone walls.

Amid the throng of thousands of youths jammed before the academy's gigantic bronze entrance, Jie Ming mixed in seamlessly, striving to copy their looks—scanning about with curiosity, eyes holding the perfect blend of anxiety and eagerness.

Yet in truth, what had him on edge stemmed from a totally different realm than the others' concerns.

“...One hundred eighty, one hundred eighty-one… Damn it, even the academy personnel welcoming us at the gates total more than one hundred eighty Golden Core—no, hold on, second-rank official wizards in this world's lingo.”

Jie Ming fought to hold onto that classic “rural youth in the metropolis” face, though his eyes kept spasming uncontrollably.

Fortunately, all the other test-takers sported expressions yelling, “Who am I? Where am I?” so he blended right in without issue.

“What sort of cosmic prank is this? How can a ‘spiritless world’ lacking any spiritual qi spawn countless Golden Core—no, second-rank official wizard-tier experts? Is the info from my golden finger a bootleg version? If things turn south here, can I even flee?!”

He snuck a peek at the cluster of daunting second-rank official wizards up front, each emanating the vibe of a compact human-shaped nuke dispenser, flanked by uncountable first-rank official wizards—far too numerous to tally.

Even the tiniest wisp of pressure from them could freeze a Qi Refinement Stage cultivator such as him in place.

Thinking back to over ten years of grueling toil, painstakingly employing the “Refining Essence into Qi” technique—a relic method long forgotten in the cultivation realm—just to scrape into Qi Refinement Stage One, Jie Ming itched to smack his own cheek to verify if this was all a dream.

He had dwelled in this realm for ages—long enough that memories of his old life with flashing neon and blazing-fast nets had almost faded.

He was now the offspring of a commonplace trader in a distant outpost, enjoying a cozy family setup and a straightforward path ahead.

All except... for the “library administrator” ability concealed deep in his mind.

Drawing in a steadying breath to steady his wild emotional swings, Jie Ming split off some awareness, deftly pinpointing the grand white jade hall buried in his soul's core.

[Great Dao Book Pavilion].

Its very title radiated majestic splendor, as though it captured the profound secrets of the universe.

Origins unknown and veiled in enigma, the pavilion's contents spanned oceans of wisdom—from entry-level qi intake arts to peerless fate-defying secrets, covering alchemy, artifact forging, arrays, talismans, and all pursuits beneath the sky.

“In a world brimming with qi and armed with this, I'd have hit Golden Core by now at minimum, perhaps even Nascent Soul or Spirit Transformation!” Staring at the tranquil white jade palace within his mind, Jie Ming couldn't suppress a wry, mocking grin.

This golden finger was undeniably phenomenal.

However, he'd come to see it as a premium digital archive and study hub rather than an instant-power plug-in cheat.

All the lore demanded his own study, training, and sourcing of “base materials.”

Regrettably, this realm... possessed zero spiritual qi.

Lacking spiritual qi rendered the Great Dao Book Pavilion's mighty arts—those needing heaven-earth qi absorption—or its pill-making, gear-crafting, and array setups requiring spirit plants, spirit crystals, and spirit lines—completely worthless!

Even a master cook starves sans ingredients, and regardless of the Great Dao Book Pavilion's wonders, it couldn't summon spiritual qi from nothing.

He was forced to lean on the pavilion's archaic “Refine Essence into Qi” approaches, cultivating by essentially “devouring” sustenance.

Daily labors drained massive vitality and hours, demanding heaps of grub to refill his stores.

Back in cultivation lands, Qi Refinement Stage One meant nothing, but here it came from more than a decade of chomping bland fare and pouring endless sweat to barely ascend that initial rung.

Right when he'd figured he'd spend his life marginally tougher than mortals thanks to his paltry true essence, this world hit him with brutal truth—it was a high-magic realm of wizards mastering elements, probing spirits, and chasing eternal life!

To top it off, these wizards were obsessive knowledge fiends gripped by a near-mad hunger for the arcane unknown.

As a cultivator harnessing a wholly alien power system, he... represented a priceless, live research specimen!

Jie Ming understood perfectly that discovery as an “outsider” would doom him to relentless study, dissection, and display as a husk once all his secrets were extracted.

Human rights? Morality? As if wizards who launched casual wars across planes and toyed with souls in experiments would bother with such nonsense?

Thus, when the local lord announced it was time for him to join the other children at the academy’s aptitude test, Jie Ming desperately wished to decline.

Yet under the crushing weight of the lord’s second-rank wizard aura, like a towering mountain, no refusal dared pass his lips.

Thankfully, Jie Ming hadn’t surrendered to despair and passive fate.

Though much of the Great Dao Book Pavilion’s wisdom proved unusable directly, its enormous trove of techniques—including strange, hidden ones—far outstripped his wildest guesses.

With just a mental command, a ray of light shot from the white jade palace, manifesting as a book’s phantom within his mind.

He swiftly scanned its pages while tracking the true essence circulating in his body, tweaking it with exact care for absolute perfection.

[Internal Circulation Fundamentals]

Among the cultivation lore he had explored, Internal Circulation counted as a peculiar technique, one mainly used by body-refining cultivators striving to mold their bodies into cave-heaven realms.

Differing from standard cultivation’s drive to draw in heaven-and-earth qi, it looked inward, burning one’s essence, qi, and spirit to craft a small energy loop inside the frame.

Its top strength lay here: at peak Internal Circulation, it broke all ties to outside energy, locking the body in a highly sealed condition.

Without deliberate exposure, even divine sense sweeps would fail to sense the true essence fully cut off from external energies!

“Stay calm… I already passed a basic aptitude test at the lord’s manor. I roughly understand that wizard aptitude tests focus on mental strength and soul. If I hide my true essence fluctuations with Internal Circulation and slightly suppress my mental strength, I should be able to pass unnoticed… right?”

It absolutely had to succeed—this stood as his strongest option amid such tight constraints!

Jie Ming exhaled deeply, pulling his awareness back to the real world.

His eyes rose once more to the bronze gates.

To those watching, he had simply blanked out for a moment from entrance jitters.

The line ahead kept shrinking steadily, and the nearer he got to the bronze gates, the steadier his heartbeat paradoxically became.

Aptitude tests wrapped up with stunning speed. Clusters of tense, eager youths passed through the gates and returned, faces showing every shade of feeling.

At last, Jie Ming’s turn came.

He stood tall, inhaled deeply, and shed his lingering doubts.

Here we go! The life-or-death gamble!