Chapter 280: The Academy

Fifty years of time, in the midst of focused research, felt like a mere snap of the fingers.

Inside the laboratory, Gao Jie Ming gently set down the scalpel in his hand, which was stained with traces of biological tissue fluid.

On the operating table before him, a specimen of the "Wind-Howling Winged Beast" from the Sky Domain Plane, with a structure as exquisite as a natural flying vessel, had been thoroughly dissected and analyzed.

His expression remained calm and unruffled, as if he had merely completed a daily task; only his fingertips moved rapidly across the light screen beside him, archiving the final batch of data records concerning the coupling structure of its neural cords and energy vesicles.

As the last piece of information was entered, he skillfully activated the cleaning formation.

A soft light swept over, instantly rendering the operating table and all tools pristine, decomposing all biological residues into fundamental particles.

Removing his heavy multi-functional protective suit, Gao Jie Ming walked to the observation window, gazing out at the unchanging crimson sky of the Purgatory Sulfur Plane, and let out a helpless, light sigh.

For fifty years, he had buried himself in the laboratory, systematically studying the specimens brought back from the Sky Domain Plane, proceeding from simple to complex biological structures.

However, the progress was far from ideal.

A full fifty years had passed, yet he had completed only one-fifth of the planned research schedule.

"The speed of research ultimately cannot keep up with the desire to collect," Gao Jie Ming said, rubbing the space between his eyebrows.

Dissection, analysis, recording, deduction—every single step required time.

Especially when facing those rare creatures with complex structures and unique rule-based powers, one had to be exceedingly cautious.

He roughly estimated that to thoroughly study all the specimens collected from the Sky Domain Plane, at least another three hundred years of continuous investment would be needed.

And this was merely for the normal harvest from the Sky Domain Plane.

Beyond that, there was the mutated spider-snake possessing spatial talents, as well as the mysterious and unpredictable white mist that even seventh-level wizards valued highly.

To make any headway in studying these things would require an unimaginable amount of time.

Just thinking about it made Gao Jie Ming feel that the road ahead was long, yet filled with the temptation of exploration.

He left the main laboratory and arrived at a large ecological cultivation chamber within the plane that had undergone special modifications.

Through the thick observation window, one could see that inside the simulated zero-gravity environment, tens of thousands of ordinary spider-snakes, as if following some ancient ritual, were quietly clustered together, forming a massive biological sphere nearly a hundred meters in diameter that rotated slowly.

This was a common habit of theirs in their native environment of the Sky Domain Plane, used for conserving heat and dealing with danger.

In the adjacent unit, a special breeding compartment strictly sealed by layers of spatial confinement formations, that unique mutated spider-snake was swimming restlessly, with spatial ripples on its body surface appearing and disappearing.

Through preliminary exploratory experiments, Gao Jie Ming discovered that this mutated spider-snake played the role of "leader" within the pack, its pheromones exerting a powerful dominating force over the ordinary spider-snakes.

He speculated that if deprived of the leader's pheromone suppression and guidance for an extended period, the ordinary spider-snake group would likely, under survival pressure, spontaneously give rise to new mutated individuals.

Therefore, he isolated it, both to conduct in-depth research into its mutation mechanisms and in the hope of using this to "stimulate" the emergence of more precious mutated specimens, thereby enriching his research materials.

After checking the condition of the spider-snakes and confirming that the preservation environments of several other important specimen repositories were stable and error-free, Gao Jie Ming contacted the person in charge of the Plane Nuolun Workshop Plane Reconstruction Team via a communication formation—a sixth-level wizard with a steady aura.

"Wizard Gao Jie Ming, long time no see. It is quite rare for you to have the leisure to contact me," the sixth-level wizard's figure appeared before the screen; behind him, a group of wizards was installing a large formation.

Gao Jie Ming nodded as a greeting: "No need for politeness; I simply had many matters to attend to, so I haven't been in touch much recently—how is the engineering progress?"

"Quite good; everything is proceeding smoothly." The sixth-level wizard extended a finger, and soon, a detailed report on the engineering progress was sent to Gao Jie Ming's screen.

"The second phase of infrastructure construction has been fully completed. The third phase, involving the energy beam and dispatch system, is approximately thirty percent complete. The overall progress meets expectations, and full completion is projected within another fifty years."

Satisfied with this speed, Gao Jie Ming remarked: "The pace is very fast; truly, I must trouble you all."

"Not at all; this is our duty."

After ending the communication, Gao Jie Ming began to calculate his subsequent action plan.

He could afford to wait fifty years.

By then, the energy problem plaguing his incubation pool for so long would be fundamentally resolved, allowing the cultivation of a new generation of Black Giants and more energy-intensive research to be placed on the agenda.

Just as he prepared to return to the laboratory to relax his tense research nerves by reading those profound seventh-level elemental pool materials, his portable encrypted communicator emitted a soft glowing alert.

Somewhat surprised, Gao Jie Ming answered the call.

A light screen unfolded, revealing the familiar and imposing face of Dean Avery Knight.

"Gao Jie Ming, long time no see; it seems you have gained quite a lot during this period." The Dean's gaze seemed to penetrate the light screen, sensing the increasingly deep and heavy aura emanating from Gao Jie Ming.

"Dean Avery Knight—judging by your complexion, the war must have proceeded quite smoothly?"

Hearing this, Dean Avery Knight could not help but reveal a satisfied smile: "Indeed, the harvest from that plane was truly substantial; there were over a dozen innate deities of eighth-level beings alone. For a long time to come, my research laboratory will not lack for research materials."

Upon hearing this, Gao Jie Ming was secretly shocked, never expecting that the plane where that Destruction Demon God resided possessed such exaggerated resources.

Under normal circumstances, after concentrating the resources of a single plane, at most sixth-level beings could be born.

To ascend to higher levels, one must travel to other planes to acquire more resources.

The existence of so many eighth-level beings, whether they ascended through the plane's own resources or by plundering resources from other planes, represented a massive amount of extra resources.

Of course, for the vast majority of civilizations, encountering such a civilization would be nothing short of a disaster.

Only the wizard civilization was so absurd; a single seventh-level wizard could not only fight above their level but also contend against many opponents alone.

Dean Avery Knight was extremely satisfied with the results of his first plane expedition since taking office: "We have now successfully merged that plane into the Aelosia Plane Cluster; next, we only need to spend time transforming it."

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Dean Avery immediately cut to the chase: "After so many years of continuous, subtle aptitude transformation and genetic optimization of the native humans of the Aelosia Plane, individuals possessing wizard aptitude that meet the minimum standards are finally beginning to emerge steadily."

Gao Jie Ming was stunned; this meant that the preparatory work for Plane Nuolun No. 147 Wizard Academy, established on the Aelosia Plane, had entered its final stage.

Dean Avery Knight continued: "It is estimated that in ten years, we will officially open the school and enroll the first batch of native students."

"With the academy just founded, hundreds of enterprises await revival, and what we lack most are teachers with experience and strength." Dean Avery's gaze carried expectation: "Gao Jie Ming, I hope you can come to serve as a teacher at the academy."

Hearing this, Gao Jie Ming hesitated slightly: "Thank you for the Dean's high regard, however—my own strength is somewhat lacking, and I may not be suitable."

His current research plans were packed to the brim, and the plane transformation was also underway; serving as a teacher would inevitably consume a great deal of time and energy.

"It does not matter; your experience will be a precious asset to the new generation of wizard apprentices." Dean Avery understood Gao Jie Ming's implication but did not say much more, merely detailing the benefits and treatment for academy teachers.

"Considering that assigning teaching duties to low-level wizards would severely impact their own exploration, research, and rest," the Dean explained, "as compensation, the academy stipulates that the regular plane war rest period for low-level wizards serving as teachers can be doubled."

Upon hearing this, Gao Jie Ming immediately changed his mind.

In other words, Gao Jie Ming's original two-hundred-year rest period would become four hundred years if he served as a teacher!

This condition exerted a fatal attraction on Gao Jie Ming.

For him at present, the direct benefits brought by mere plane expeditions were no longer as important as his own research and accumulation of knowledge.

What he urgently needed was a long, uninterrupted stretch of time entirely at his disposal, to digest his gains, deepen his research, and improve himself.

A four-hundred-year period of rest was undoubtedly an irresistible gift.

"Thank you for your trust, Dean. I am willing to take on the position of instructor." Gao Jie Ming hesitated no longer and solemnly accepted.

A satisfied smile spread across Dean Avery's face, and he immediately added, "There is one more matter. Regarding the reward for that planar discovery I promised you earlier, the remaining nine strands of planar origin have been prepared. They will be transmitted to you shortly via an encrypted channel; please keep an eye out for them."

A thought stirred in Gao Jie Ming's heart, and he expressed his gratitude once more.

Not long after the communication ended, the teleportation array in the Purgatory Sulfur Plane received a request for item transmission.

After confirming authorization and security, nine crystal test tubes emitting a soft yet brilliant light appeared steadily on the receiving platform.

Inside the test tubes, nine strands of planar origin, condensed like liquid halos, circulated slowly, radiating a heartbeat-stirring fluctuation.

Gao Jie Ming carefully stored them together with the twenty strands of origin he had obtained previously.

Looking at the twenty-nine strands of origin now gathered in his storage space, radiating magnificent light, even Gao Jie Ming, who was accustomed to seeing the world, could not help but click his tongue in astonishment.

"With such a quantity of origin, I fear that even a Sixth-Rank Wizard would find it difficult to produce it all at once within a short time—" he murmured to himself.

Although his military merit savings had shrunk significantly to just over one hundred million due to expenses for planar transformation and various research projects, Gao Jie Ming had not the slightest intention of selling these strands of origin for cash.

In his plans, these strands of origin served a far more important purpose—they were not only precious resources for breaking through to higher realms but also a top-tier hard currency.

Their value was stable, comparable to gold reserves in the mortal world, and at critical moments, they could exchange for rare resources or knowledge that military merit could not measure.

(Continuing with extra updates, one more chapter to come!)