Still Embracing the Research Spirit

【You ignored the voices around you and swaggered inside.】

【Perhaps because he was taking Ji Wuqing’s face into consideration, Ji Baiming did not throw you out on the spot.】

【“Young man, what makes you so certain that you can find the First Prince and Second Prince?”】

【You clasped your fists toward Ji Baiming as a gesture of respect.】

【“As far as I know, the Astral Apes have only determined that the two princes fell into the Void Realm. But the Void Realm consists of countless minor planes, and each plane is separated by a sturdy world barrier.

Presumably, you still don’t know which minor plane they fell into, do you?

Although I don’t know what method you use to enter the Void Realm, if you can’t identify the correct plane, are you planning to search tens of thousands of planes one by one?”】

【As soon as you finished speaking, you clearly heard the people around you whispering among themselves.】

【“Brother Jiang Wen, is the Void Realm really like that? Does it contain many minor planes?”】

【“Well… I seem to have read about something like that in a legend, but… I’ve never been there, and there are very few records. I really can’t say for sure.”】

【“This kid sounds so confident. Is he telling the truth?”】

【You were speechless.】

【These people knew even less about the Void Realm than you had imagined.】

【They didn’t even know that the Void Realm was made up of countless planes.】

【If even the humanoid races didn’t know, then the three ancient divine beasts native to the Real World certainly knew even less.】

【The Astral Apes immediately became interested when they heard what you said.】

【“Kid, you seem to know a lot about the Void Realm. Tell us more!”】

【You folded your arms and raised your chin.】

【“I can, but first we need to settle the matter of projecting into the Void Realm. We’ll discuss it privately.”】

【Even though you were dealing with humans, you had no intention of publicly announcing that you came from the Void Realm.】

【The fewer people who knew, the better.】

【Seeing the hesitation on the Astral Ape’s face, Ji Wuqing stepped forward to lend you a hand.】

【“Father! Brother Ji Yi is the newly appointed Commander of the Wanan City Patrol in our Ji Clan!”】

【You glanced at Ji Wuqing and whispered,】

【“Wasn’t I just a squad leader? When did I become a commander?”】

【“Just now.”】

【“Then what about my title of—”】

【You cut yourself off in time.】

【After a brief moment of thought, you understood.】

【She was telling everyone present that you were an important member of the Ji Clan, not some unknown nobody.】

【She was also giving Ji Baiming a reason to take your side and speak on your behalf.】

【Ji Baiming and his daughter were perfectly in sync. He immediately went all out to recommend you as the person who would project into the Void Realm, repeatedly emphasizing that you were “one of our Ji Clan’s people.”】

【Ji Baiming was indeed very shrewd.】

【Even if the person handling the projection wasn’t him or one of his blood relatives, as long as that person belonged to the Ji Clan rather than another human faction, the benefits would ultimately fall to the Ji Clan.】

【Sun Xiaosheng waved his furry monkey hand, and a barrier of divine power appeared, sealing off the conversation between him, the other envoys, and everyone outside.】

【Several apes gathered together and discussed something among themselves. In the end, Sun Xiaosheng made the final decision.】

【“Very well, Ji Yi. We can work with you, but we’ll need to discuss the details. If we decide that you’re unsuitable, we’ll still have to replace you later!”】

【The Jiang Clan and the other factions continued chattering, trying to push for a contest on the arena.】

【They had noticed that your cultivation was not very high, so you would definitely lose in an arena match.】

【However, the Astral Apes insisted on speaking with you privately before making a decision.】

【Since there was still a glimmer of hope, the various factions stopped pressing the matter.】

【They consoled themselves by deciding that you were merely putting on an act.】

【The Astral Apes might look like monkeys, but they were actually extremely clever. They would surely see through your façade of strength concealing weakness, and then naturally replace you.】

【Unexpectedly, the very next day, Sun Xiaosheng publicly announced that the candidate had been finalized. He also began borrowing resources from the Jiang Clan and the other factions in preparation for projecting into the Void Realm.】

【Sun Xiaosheng and the others came from the Star Ape galaxy.】

【Crossing an entire galaxy was a completely different matter from crossing a single planet.】

【To shorten the time spent traveling, they had not brought many resources with them. As a result, they could only borrow what they needed from the factions on Vermilion Violet Star.】

【The three ancient divine beasts were a golden signboard in their own right. Every faction wanted to establish a connection with them, so all of them were willing to lend a hand.】

【The reason Sun Xiaosheng and the others had decided so quickly to send you was, of course, that you had told them you came from the Void Realm and had met the two princes.】

【You gave them a detailed description of the princes’ appearances, right down to their personality traits, which delighted Sun Xiaosheng and the others.】

【“The heavens truly favor us! The two princes have survived thanks to their immense fortune!

I heard that no one from the human race has ascended in tens of thousands of years. And yet, by such a coincidence, the one person who ascended was you—and you had even met our two princes!

Wonderful! Wonderful! Wonderful!”】

【Before the official operation began, Ji Baiming summoned you to his study. Ji Wuqing was there as well.】

【Ji Baiming handed you a golden token.】

【“This is a Golden World Token. Within the Ji Clan, it represents a status second only to that of the main branch.”】

【You glanced at Ji Wuqing and said with a smile,】

【“I thought it would be a Crystal World Token.”】

【Ji Wuqing shrugged.】

【“You’d need a connection to the main branch for that. It’s simple enough—just marry me.”】

【Ji Baiming rebuked Ji Wuqing.】

【“What are you saying? Shameless girl! If you want to say something like that, say it in public. Only when you leave him no room to back out will he marry you!”】

【“Exactly! Father, you’re so clever!”】

【The corners of your mouth twitched. You thought to yourself that the two of them really were father and daughter.】

【You tucked the Golden World Token away.】

【“I wonder why the clan master summoned me today. Is there something you wish to entrust to me?”】

【The Ji Clan had officially appointed you as the Commander of the Wanan City Patrol.】

【The position was comparable to that of the chief of a capital city’s public security bureau. It represented not only status, but also a certain degree of trust.】

【Since the Ji Clan had shown you such sincerity, you felt that if they asked you to handle a few matters, you could do so if they were within your ability.】

【Ji Baiming took out a book.】

【“This contains the research topics our Ji Clan’s think tank compiled regarding the exploration of the Void Realm.

For example, the structure of the Void Realm, the composition of its energy, its cultivation system, the characteristics of its life forms, and whether it contains any hidden secrets related to becoming an immortal.

We hope that after you project yourself into the Void Realm, you can investigate these matters on our behalf, allowing our research into the Void Realm to make substantial progress.”】

【So the Ji Clan was just like Old Shen—full of scientific curiosity.】

【That wasn’t surprising, either. Curiosity was a natural instinct of the human race.】

【“That’s easy enough. But if time is limited, I’m afraid I won’t be able to find answers to every question.”】

【“That’s fine. Do your best.”】

【As he spoke, Ji Baiming took out another stack of books—so tall that it was almost taller than he was.】

【“What are those?”】

【“Oh, the book I just showed you was only the table of contents. These are the actual main texts.”】

【“…”】

【Ji Wuqing looked on with schadenfreude.】

【“Good thing I didn’t end up going. Otherwise, I would have worked myself to death!”】

【In the previous simulation, Ji Wuqing had been the one who went.】

【You estimated that in the normal timeline, the various factions had ultimately settled on the arena competition method, and Ji Wuqing had won.】