Although he was quite confident in his own preparations, faced with a bizarre Plane that could silently swallow a million Wizards together with the first wave of reinforcements, Jeming did not dare show the slightest negligence or contempt.

In the last stretch before departure, he raced against time to carry out final enhancements.

He poured in a vast amount of focus, once again performing Refinement to produce high‑purity Liquid Refined Gold and further fused it into his Lifebound Magical Treasure, the [Profound Gang Red Dust Barrier].

He strove to hold out a little longer when facing unknown Spiritual Power erosion.

Immediately after, he rushed to inscribe the Space Transmission Technology he had preliminarily mastered as a priority onto the cores of more Black Giants.

This work was extremely delicate and mentally exhausting, but he understood that this might be the key to preserving these precious combat forces at critical moments.

At the same time, he began screening his troops.

Although the space within his body had expanded to the size of a modern metropolis, there was simply too much that needed to be housed: massive automated factories, mountains of various raw materials, the central Fifth Level Large Elemental Pool, the "nest" responsible for remolding Black Giants... the space left for Black Giants to station themselves had become exceptionally precious.

The Black Giants had enormous bodies; mature Third Level individuals commonly exceeded twenty meters in height, like mobile five‑ to six‑story buildings.

Individuals of higher Level were several times larger still.

After precise calculations, while ensuring that other functions could operate normally, and taking into account the need to retain a certain number of Patrollers in order to deal with possible aerial and naval warfare environments, Jeming ultimately determined that he could only carry just over fifty thousand of the most elite Black Giants.

After more than a hundred years of reproduction and devouring evolution, those two Fifth Level Black Giant Leaders still had not broken through their bottlenecks, but the number of Fourth Level Black Giants had already broken through the one‑hundred‑thousand mark.

From among them Jeming handpicked with great care, taking only the standouts of each Level.

Finally, the date of assembly arrived.

Jeming checked his own state one last time, and after confirming there were no problems, he properly arranged the follow‑up affairs of the Purgatory Sulfur Plane and his laboratory, ensuring that the Incense Fire Divine Dao could operate automatically during his absence.

Then he took a deep breath and stepped into the Teleportation Array leading to the rally point.

Light flickered, and Jeming appeared directly on a plaza inside Nolun No.147 Academy.

A First Level Wizard who had been waiting there confirmed his identity, then respectfully led him toward another, much larger Teleportation Array whose Runes were also far more complex.

The instant he stepped into the array, a strong spatial tugging force came over him.

When his vision cleared again, a wave like solid substance, mixed with countless Spiritual Power fluctuations and low, rumbling conversations, surged toward him!

Jeming focused his gaze and found himself in an incomparably vast space.

All around, densely packed Teleportation Arrays lit up like a honeycomb, one figure after another stepping out of them.

In the sky and on the ground, everywhere his eyes could reach was almost completely filled with the silhouettes of Wizards!

The flow of people was like a tide, surging endlessly.

Jeming immediately followed the instinctive flow of movement, quickly dispersing toward the periphery to clear space for those who would be Teleporting in afterward.

His figure flickered, and he hovered into midair, finally able to take in the overall picture.

Beneath his feet was a cold Metal floor stretching to the limits of his sight, while overhead was a simulated firmament.

He immediately understood—he had been Teleported directly onto the "Ship" Plane.

He carefully sensed the Wizards around him, and his heart tightened slightly.

The average Level here was frighteningly high; everyone was at least Third Level!

Among them were no shortage of Fifth and Sixth Level Beings radiating vast, oppressive auras.

What made Jeming even more wary was that even the surrounding Wizards who were likewise Third Level gave him a clear sense of threat.

Without a doubt, every single one here was an elite among elites, by no means ordinary.

At the same time, the other Wizards were also quietly sizing up their "companions" all around.

When their gazes met, there were no pleasantries, only appraisal; a voiceless heaviness permeated the air.

In the few minutes before the scheduled assembly time, the lights of the Teleportation Arrays scattered throughout the area finally dimmed one after another, and no new figures appeared.

Jeming swept his gaze across this boundless sea of people and roughly estimated that the number of Wizards gathered this time was likely close to a million!

"A million elites..." Jeming’s expression grew even more grave.

Such a large‑scale second wave of reinforcements on the one hand showed how seriously the Federation regarded the fallen Wizards; on the other hand, it underscored how great the value and strangeness of that target Plane were—high enough to force the deployment of such power.

He could imagine that if even this second wave of a million elites were to fall again, the total number of Wizards trapped in that Plane would reach a staggering two million, most of them top‑tier!

At that point, the formation sent to handle the follow‑up situation would likely be unimaginably large.

Events proved his premonition completely correct.

Before long, a pressure that made the Soul shudder descended without warning.

Immediately after, a group of figures appeared on the high platform at the front of the assembly area.

Jeming took just one glance and felt his eyelids twitch uncontrollably.

There were more than a hundred Seventh Level Wizards!

They simply stood there calmly, yet the aura naturally diffusing from their bodies seemed to twist the light around them, making them impossible to look at directly.

And in front of this group of Seventh Level Wizards stood more than a dozen figures!

Their presence seemed to become tangible, like mountains, like the Abyss; just a sweep of their gaze made Jeming feel his own insignificance and fragility.

Eighth Level Wizards!

And more than ten of them!

Jeming was shocked in his heart.

If this power were unleashed together, let alone a single Plane—even if there were a large Plane Community before them, it would likely be reduced to ashes in an instant!

At their head was an Eighth Level Wizard with an archaic countenance and eyes that seemed to contain the birth and death of star seas.

He had no intention of introducing his own name. His figure slowly rose into the air, overlooking the million elites below. His voice was calm yet clearly resounded in the mind of every Wizard:

"We are about to arrive at the target Plane. After signing up, you should all have received the relevant intelligence and know of the strange situation ahead. Therefore, I will state here in clear terms the psychological bottom line of the command headquarters..." He paused, his tone brooking no dispute. "Ten years."

"If, after ten years, you still have not sent back any effective information, we will no longer wait and will forcibly intervene."

His gaze swept over the silent crowd below as he continued, "However, with a forced intervention, the intensity of resistance is impossible to estimate. The Plane itself may then produce violent rejection or even collapse, and casualties may be unavoidable. In view of these risks, the command headquarters has decided to grant you one last chance to choose."

"If you deem this campaign not to your strengths, or harbor doubts in your heart, you may leave now. No one will hold it against you."

When his words fell, the vast assembly platform sank into a brief silence.

The million Wizards all weighed matters coolly.

A moment later, figures silently turned around, stepped back onto the Teleportation Arrays they had arrived by, and departed quietly amid flickering light.

In the end, the number of Wizards who chose to leave exceeded thirty percent.

Jeming and the other Wizards who chose to remain calmly watched them go. No one made a fuss, no one mocked; there was only rational reflection.

As Wizards in pursuit of truth, clearly recognizing one’s own limits and avoiding unnecessary risks was likewise a manifestation of wisdom.

To stay required courage and confidence; to leave required self‑knowledge and reason.

Both were ways of walking the Wizard’s path.