No matter the profession, the hardest part is always the first step: once you fuse with the core ability, the success rate for other abilities won’t be low.
This is the advantage of professional templates. By following the experience summed up by predecessors and choosing the right alien species, not only is the fusion success rate high, but it can also enhance the effects, forming a systematic deployment of abilities.
While they were talking, Zhong Ming walked out with a smile brimming from ear to ear.
"Ether affinity feels amazing!" he, having fused with an alien species, immediately felt the powerful effect, directly sensing the presence of ether energy. He was so eager to start cultivating, he could hardly wait.
Ji Xinghuo wasn’t surprised at all.
Ether sensitivity and ether affinity, these two alien species, were almost compatible with all mutants, and the probability of fusion failure was extremely low.
"Big sister," Zhong Ming saw the video projection and learned that she had also become a mutant, so he quickly congratulated her.
Ji Xinghuo said, "There’s something I need to mention."
The family’s attention turned to her.
"You might have heard of the Ether Research Institute, a direct institution under the Star Realm Department..." Ji Xinghuo recounted what happened today.
Zhong Ming and the others listened with wide eyes.
They certainly knew about the "Ether Research Institute," but it was a legendary institution to ordinary people who didn’t know its location. The official website of the Star Realm Department had only a terse description, with no application channels whatsoever.
If Ji Xinghuo hadn’t spoken up, they would never have known the insider details in their lifetimes; it seemed like another world.
"Xinghuo, you really are a different person now," Zhong Ming expressed with a sigh. "You can easily meet with important figures like Minister Yan."
Ye Dongyun felt it even more deeply.
She had been a civil servant, and in the two to three years of her tenure, the highest-ranking official she had ever interacted with was a district chief; to her, that was already someone highly placed. Just leaving an impression in his presence would keep her thrilled for days.
The head of the Star Realm Department was a high-level official only seen in official news, seemingly as unreachable as a deity in the heavens.
Ji Xinghuo said with a casual smile, "In this era, mutants evolving is the fastest pathway to cross social classes."
"That’s certainly true," Ye Dongyun agreed profoundly.
Zhong Ming had understood this point early on, and Wang Zizhen along with Liangqiu Feiyan were also thoughtfully considering it.
Ji Xinghuo said, "Second brother, go on the Star Realm Department’s website now and apply for access to the Ether Research Institute."
Zhong Ming looked stunned. "Me apply?"
Just a moment ago his younger brother had mentioned that you need to be at least among the top 300 on the Sky Ladder, or top 100 among legends, to qualify for using the Ether Energy Gathering Room—and even that was just a qualification, not a guaranteed approval from the Star Realm Department.
"I’ve already spoken with Minister Yan; he will pass your review," Ji Xinghuo said with a smile. "Not just you, Man Ying will also be approved for usage rights."
He immediately turned to Ye Dongyun.
"Big sister, you’ve just become a mutant. For primary-level mutants, using the Ether Energy Gathering Room is very cost-ineffective. With ether refining solvent, your cultivation efficiency will be fast enough," Ji Xinghuo patiently explained.
Beyond that reason, the more important issue was the approval.
Even though Yan Wenxu should agree out of respect for him and would approve the applications for Man Ying and his second brother, it was still somewhat nepotistic.
Man Ying’s talent was unmatched globally; no one would question her application.
But his second brother was a different case.
Although he was a competing mutant, he hadn’t made any notable name for himself and was only an intermediate mutant, far from reaching the Sky Ladder.
It was only because Ji Xinghuo had deliberately exaggerated his second brother’s talent in front of Yan Wenxu that he had agreed.
If he included his newly mutant big sister too, that would be too much.
It would completely break the rules.
Even if they paid with ether crystals, if someone intent on causing trouble got wind of the situation, it might not concern him, but it could cause significant difficulties for Yan Wenxu and Director Ke, the two main people in charge.
"It’s fine, let Xiaoming go," Ye Dongyun, deeply understanding, softly said, intuiting some of the inner workings: "Don’t make it difficult for Minister Yan."
Ji Xinghuo breathed a sigh of relief.
At that moment, Zhong Ming finally caught on and nervously said, "Xinghuo, didn’t you say that the cost of using the Ether Energy Gathering Room was very high?"
"It is a bit pricey, but I can afford it," Ji Xinghuo said nonchalantly.
Zhong Ming pressed, "How much exactly is it?"
Since Ji Xinghuo hadn’t revealed the price earlier and he would eventually find out, he replied, "If you cultivate for 12 hours a day and 4 of those hours are in the Ether Energy Gathering Room, the cost-effectiveness is highest for an intermediate mutant using a Second Level Ether Energy Gathering Room. The daily cost is four million Ya Yuan."
That was with payment in ether crystals, at half the price.
For cash payments, it would be two million Ya Yuan per hour, costing eight million Ya Yuan for one day of cultivation.
All of them gasped in unison.
Liangqiu Feiyan quickly calculated, "Four million a day means 120 million a month, and if you cultivate for an entire year, that’s 1.44 billion!"
As she calculated, her eyes bulged in astonishment.
"Xinghuo, maybe we should just forget it," Zhong Ming, startled himself, was a Class B league competing mutant, earning a high income, but even then, he averaged just over ten million a year, and that was before taxes, leaving him just a few million in hand.
Cultivating for one day at the Ether Research Institute would almost spend an entire year’s income, far beyond imagination.
"I said, I can afford it, don’t worry about the money, second brother," Ji Xinghuo had calculated it all before.
One month needed six ether crystals, not really a big deal.
That was merely equivalent to two Sky Blue Fruits.