The two hurriedly arrived at the academy gate, just in time to see a group of people surrounding a man and a woman walking in.

The woman was strikingly beautiful, with a charming smile that made her seem approachable, exuding a gentle temperament.

Fleming immediately understood, this should be Senior Attila.

It was said that she was kind to everyone, very popular among the students, and many of them admired her, but so far, no one had heard of her being with anyone.

As for the man beside her, it was obviously Senior Sherman.

His looks weren’t particularly handsome, but he had a calm and composed demeanor, giving off the impression of a steady personality.

Sherman and Attila were surrounded by the senior students like stars encircling the moon, making it impossible for the new students to get close, having to observe from afar instead.

"I heard Senior Sherman has already built the seventh star ring!"

"Wow, that fast? Doesn’t that mean he’s close to becoming a Level 3 Wizard Apprentice?"

"The Traveler mentor personally said that Senior Sherman could possibly break through before turning fifty!"

"That’s incredible, I’d be grateful if I could become a Level 2 Wizard Apprentice by fifty."

"No wonder he’s Sunan’s prized student."

Hearing the discussions around him, Fleming couldn’t help but secretly envy them.

He also wanted to be an outstanding Wizard Apprentice like Senior Sherman.

Seeing Sherman gradually fade into the distance amidst the crowd, Fleming withdrew his gaze and turned to leave.

"Where are you going?" asked Donohue.

"To the Meditation Room," Fleming replied, waving his hand without looking back.

Rather than just stand around watching, it was better to go back and train hard.

Someday, he could also become someone others were envious of.

...

Finally shedding the crowd, Sherman let out a long sigh as he arrived at the doorstep of his dormitory.

Luckily, Level 2 Wizard Apprentices at the academy had standalone villas for dorms; otherwise, escaping the enthusiastic crowd wouldn’t have been so easy.

"Being the academy’s top student isn’t easy, huh," Attila said with a playful smile.

"Stop teasing me," Sherman replied with a bitter smile and a shake of his head.

He didn’t even know how he suddenly got the title of being the academy’s top student.

After some teasing, Attila got back to the main point: "So what’s your plan now that you’re back?"

"First, I’m going to focus on my training for a few years," Sherman clearly had already made his decision, "I accumulated enough Contribution Points from this war to last a long time. Next, I want to focus on training and aim to advance as soon as possible."

Attila nodded without surprise because she had the same plan.

"Let’s work hard together."

...

Top floor of the Dragon Remains Tower, control center.

The hall, surrounded by the galaxy and starlight, looked like a pure white land floating in the universe.

Sunan stood by the Elemental Pool, examining the patterns on the surface of the square pool.

"Speaking of which, it’s time to expand the Elemental Pool."

Back when he first mastered the Dragon Remains Tower, he wasn’t a Wizard and could only manage to repair the Elemental Pool.

But times have changed, now he has the power to construct an Elemental Pool, so he can certainly take it further.

"I should expand the Elemental Pool first to practice, preparing for the future construction of a Wizard Tower’s Elemental Pool."

The Elemental Pool of a Wizard Tower is much larger than that of the Dragon Remains Tower, with a higher construction difficulty.

Sunan felt it was necessary to gain some experience first.

"Once I’m back from the Thunder Elemental Plane, I’ll put it on the agenda."

Gathering his thoughts, Sunan took out a gemstone as a medium, tapped into the Elemental Pool’s power to open the elemental passage, then stepped inside.

Suddenly, his vision brightened, and a weightless sensation engulfed his entire body.

The peculiar feeling lasted several seconds before a hard texture came under his feet, as if he was standing on a surface.

Sunan abruptly opened his eyes, and in his sight was a barren wilderness, with the sound of rumbling thunder echoing around him.

"Is this the Thunder Elemental Plane?"

Sunan looked around, the area was desolate, devoid of vegetation or jagged rocks, only pockmarked pits stretching into the distance as if bombarded by artillery fire.

Burnt earth stretched endlessly, barren as far as the eye could see.

Looking up, the sky was filled with swirling clouds, from which lightning darted and thunder roared, with purple flashes of light dancing – amidst the clouds, it seemed as though a dragon was soaring.

Sunan’s eyes reflected his awe.

No matter how many times he saw it, such a sight always invoked a deep sense of wonder.

No one could fully explore or determine the size of the Elemental Plane, as their boundaries seemed endless, one after another.

Take the Thunder Elemental Plane, for instance, it contains countless Thunder Elemental Spaces.

Each independent Thunder Elemental Space had different attributes.

Some were scorched earth, with endless thunder falling.

Some contained only rolling clouds and seas of thunder.

Others had nothing but a sphere entirely composed of lightning.

No matter the attribute of a Thunder Elemental Space, their common trait was their extreme danger.

Not only due to the ever-present thunder crashing down at any moment but more worrying were the Elemental Spirits within the Elemental Plane.

Elemental Spirits were beings composed entirely of Energy Particles.

In some ways, they can be seen as a mass of Elemental Energy with self-awareness.

They mostly live in the corresponding Elemental Plane, with few occasions—like being summoned by Casters—where they descend into the Material Plane or other Outer Planes.

Different Elemental Spirits have different temperaments.

For instance, Wind Elements and Water Elements are generally mild in temperament.

Earth Elements are usually unhurried.

Fire Elements, however, are synonymous with rage.

As for Thunder Elements, they are slightly better than Fire Elements but still very aggressive and combative.

Elemental Spirits vary in strength.

Weaker Elemental Spirits can be easily defeated by Level 2 Wizard Apprentices.

But stronger Elemental Spirits are a challenge even for Level 3 Wizard Apprentices.

Beyond that, Elemental Giant Spirits pose a powerful threat that a mere Official Wizard could contend with.

As for the higher-tier Elemental Giant Spirit Elders and Elemental Lords, they’re beyond what Sunan could currently handle.

Especially Elemental Lords, who are at the very least of Half-god Level strength, with the strongest capable of wrestling with Divine Spirits.

The Thunder Elemental Plane is chaotic, with unending conflict, home to one renowned Elemental Lord after another. Each Elemental Lord with a name has enough power to put many weaker Divine Spirits to shame.

Sunan dared not step into the Elemental Spaces inhabited by these Elemental Lords.

The Elemental Plane is vast and boundless, and each time the elemental passage opens, the space it leads to is random.

Luckily, Sunan’s luck was good this time; the energy particle concentration in the Elemental Space he entered wasn’t high, suggesting no Elemental Lords or Giant Spirit Elders were present.

As for Elemental Giant Spirits, as long as he didn’t venture too deep into the space, he probably wouldn’t encounter them.

Coming back to his senses, Sunan activated the Ring of Extreme Protection.

[Forbidden Zone] recharged slowly, so unless combat occurred, he didn’t plan to use it casually.

After arranging everything, Sunan began moving forward.

The Thunder Elemental Half-plane had no memorable terrain features to guide navigation; it all looked the same with no landmarks.

Luckily, he didn’t need to recognize the path; returning required merely reopening the spatial passage.

He only needed to be cautious, discerning the energy particle concentration of Thunder Elements, avoiding accidentally entering the core of an Elemental Space.

Rumble!

The deafening roar of thunder in his ears was almost constant.

Every ten or so seconds, a bolt of lightning descended with a bang, striking the ground and sending debris flying everywhere.

It was clear the countless blackened pits around him were formed this way.

Even just observing with the naked eye, one could feel the power of these lightning strikes.

Below a Legendary Knight, getting struck by one could mean instant obliteration.

And this was in a region where Thunder Elements were relatively sparse; going deeper would mean the thunder’s power increased further.

"Without the power of an Official Wizard-level strength, coming here would be suicidal," Sunan thought to himself.

After walking only a few dozen meters, he had already been struck by lightning three times, and the Ring of Extreme Protection’s defense had dropped by a dozen points, causing him to frown.

A dozen points of defense weren’t much, but this was just the beginning of his venture into the Thunder Elemental Plane. If he stayed long, the Ring of Extreme Protection he brought might not suffice.