Following Viren for a stretch, Jie Ming noticed that the entire plane was almost devoid of ordinary intelligent life aside from wizards.
Whether trimming vegetation or handling cleaning duties, all the workers were autonomous constructs of various shapes. They carried out their tasks in orderly fashion, and their degree of automation was clearly far higher than that of the automated city at Noren No. 1 Academy. Viren continued to lead the way while smiling.
“This is a brand-new plane that Void Architecture Academy specially opened for this academic exchange. All infrastructure was built to the highest specifications—spatial stability, ecological environment, and experimental equipment are all first-rate.”
“Of course, if you’d prefer to use your own equipment, we also offer delivery and installation services.”
Acknowledging Viren’s words, Jie Ming’s gaze swept both sides of the road. The mountain forest was filled with many rare plants from different regions, and in quite a few places there were plants exclusive to the other three major powers. These plants should have lived in completely different environments, yet they were now rooted together in the same land, each growing lushly with no sign of rejecting one another.
That alone was enough to prove Void Architecture Academy’s mastery in ecological transmutation and spatial environment regulation.
Seeing the interest flash in Jie Ming’s eyes, Viren immediately introduced at his side:
“Void Architecture Academy was founded on the belief that different civilizations, different lives, and different laws should all be able to find their own place under the same sky.”
“Amazing!” Jie Ming nodded in admiration.
The two continued forward and soon arrived at a spacious, bright reception hall. Many wizards who had arrived early were already gathered inside.
Some were registering their information; others were gathered around announcement light screens reviewing the conference schedule. A few were in the lounge area with drinks, quietly discussing newly published papers.
When Jie Ming walked into the hall, quite a few gazes turned toward him at once. Some people recognized the style of his robe, and their eyes brightened a few degrees, curiosity showing in their expressions. But none of them rushed over; they merely nodded from a distance.
Viren smoothly handled the registration procedures for Jie Ming, then received a silvery-white data box from an attendant puppet and solemnly handed it to him.
“These are your conference materials: your official participation credential, conference handbook, panel discussion schedule, participant list, and access to all public laboratory areas open for this exchange.”
He then lowered his voice a little. “Also, with your clearance, if you need any special experimental equipment, rare materials, or want to book a meeting with any mentor, you can contact me directly.”
Jie Ming’s eyes lit up. “Wouldn’t that be too much trouble?”
Viren adjusted his glasses and said very seriously, “Please don’t feel burdened. The Academic Exchange Committee has always believed that a good academic environment is itself an important research resource. Especially for a wizard with such boundless potential as yourself, as long as conditions permit, we will do our best to satisfy your needs.”
Jie Ming accepted the data box and nodded gently.
“Then for the coming period... I’m much obliged.”
“You’re welcome.” Viren smiled. “It’s our duty, and my honor.”
Afterward, he continued guiding Jie Ming through several tree-lined corridors and finally stopped before a standalone building.
The structure was as white as jade, covered on its walls with vines that gave off a faint blue glow, swaying softly in the breeze and lending the entire building a tranquil, elegant air.
Viren opened the door and invited Jie Ming inside. The space within was far more expansive than what had been visible from outside, clearly the result of mature spatial expansion techniques.
The central laboratory alone was thousands of square meters, with various experimental platforms arranged in neat rows. Another room was a large cultivation area where over a hundred cultivation pods of different types hummed quietly.
In addition, there was a lounge, a library, a meditation room, and a recreation room, all fully equipped. In the recreation room, besides various recreational facilities including a pool, there was also a latest-model Magic Net terminal from the Star Ring Federation and a complete immersive virtual reality setup.
Viren introduced with a smile: “This is an independent experimental residence prepared by the committee for senior participants. Please take your time getting familiar with the environment. If you need anything else, feel free to contact me at any time.”
Jie Ming thanked him with a nod. “Thank you.”
“Then I won’t disturb your rest.” Viren gave a bow and turned to leave. Before departing, he added a reminder: “I hope you can rest well over the next period, because you’ll probably have quite a few people wanting to meet you.”
With that, he turned and left, and the door closed softly, restoring the building to silence.
“Quite a few people, hmm? It looks like this academic exchange will be livelier than I expected. I’m actually curious about that.” Jie Ming thought to himself.
He then went to the library, set the data box on the table, and opened it. As he looked at the names, some unfamiliar and some familiar, a slight curve formed at the corner of his mouth. He closed the handbook, and instead of rushing to study the conference content, he headed straight for the bathroom.
He had been on edge for the past few days; it really was time to relax.
At dusk, the last trace of gold-red afterglow slowly sank behind the mountain range. Following the routes in the conference handbook, Jie Ming walked along several winding forest paths and arrived at a restaurant hidden deep among the buildings. The restaurant was unremarkable. The whole structure was wrapped in large patches of faintly blue-glowing vines; their leaves swayed gently in the evening breeze like a waterfall flowing with starlight. Pushing the door open, a faint aroma of spices greeted him.
The interior was not large, with only a dozen or so long wooden tables. The distance between tables was just right—neither empty nor crowded. Warm yellow light spilled softly from crystals set into the dome, bathing the hall in a warm glow.
Jie Ming casually chose a seat by the window, which happened to overlook half the valley. In the distance, lights gradually came on, and buildings of varied styles dotted the mountain forest like scattered stars in the night sky. An attendant puppet silently came to the table and placed a menu in front of him.
Jie Ming flipped through it casually. Most of the ingredients on the menu were unfamiliar to him, but each dish had a detailed introduction attached. He simply chose a few dishes marked as “Void Architecture Academy specialties” and also ordered a pot of Moonlight Flower Tea, which was said to relieve mental fatigue. The attendant puppet bowed slightly. “Please wait a moment.” Then it turned and left.
The tea arrived quickly. Leaning back in his chair, Jie Ming sipped the tea while observing the other guests in the restaurant. He had come early, so the restaurant was still fairly empty, but a few wizards were already gathered together, speaking in low voices and occasionally waving their hands to project complex runic structures in the air.
At that moment, a tall, slender figure walked straight toward him. Jie Ming looked up and froze for a moment when he recognized the newcomer.
The man was tall and thin, wearing a loose robe of silver-gray. The edges of the robe were embroidered with extremely fine spatial runes, and layered pale-blue light flowed slowly along the patterns, as if the entire robe was resonating with the surrounding space. His cheeks were slightly gaunt, his cheekbones somewhat high, and his eyes a little sunken. His gray-blue eyes were deep, and his expression appeared as though he were perpetually calculating some extremely complex problem.
Standing there, he exuded no deliberately released pressure, yet he naturally possessed an undeniable presence. It was not the coercion that came from strength, but the composure and confidence formed by standing at the peak of an academic field for a long time. The man walked to the table.
“Wizard Jie Ming?”
His voice was low and steady, but his tone was too direct—there was no small talk at all.
Jie Ming, not at all annoyed, nodded. “That’s me.”
After receiving confirmation, the other party unceremoniously pulled out a chair and sat down across from him, moving as naturally as if he were returning to his own laboratory. He didn’t even ask “May I sit here?”
After sitting, he leaned forward slightly, placed his crossed hands on the table, and fixed his gray-blue eyes on Jie Ming.
“I’m Savien. Your published ‘Self-Stabilizing Field Regulation Protocol’ helped me a great deal.”
He spoke at a measured pace, but with an irrepressible excitement.
“The most troublesome issue with spatial experiments isn’t creating the experimental environment—it’s maintaining it. A platform that is absolutely stable, absolutely sealed, and can still withstand the impact of high-order spatial laws—no mature solution has existed until now.”
“Your Self-Stabilizing Field Regulation Protocol solved exactly that problem.”
That’s right. This man was precisely the Wizard Savien Jie Ming had seen this morning.
To be honest, the moment Jie Ming saw him, the fingers under the table unconsciously curled slightly, and a subtle tension quietly surfaced.
How to put it?
Considering that among the thick textbooks he had once studied—books thick enough to serve as weapons—more than half had his name in the author column, this man could very well be called the chief compiler of the textbooks from Jie Ming’s student days.
This feeling was less like the nervousness of meeting a top-tier powerhouse and more like a student running into their teacher.
Jie Ming felt like an unlucky student who, during the final exam, suddenly had the proctor swapped for the professor who had written the exam—and that professor had taken a seat right across from him, watching him answer the questions.
Quickly regaining his composure, Jie Ming forced as natural a smile as he could. “I’ve long admired your name, Wizard Savien. The textbooks you wrote were also a great help to me. I’m deeply honored that my little technique could be of use to you.”