"Jiang Li, I've come up with three solutions!"
Seeing Jiang Li hesitate, Babata bared two sharp fangs in a mischievous grin. "The first option is to sell that 'Zhuxian' sword in your hand.
"The second option is for you to change your mind, kowtow nine times to the Master, become his personal disciple, and naturally inherit all of his legacy!"
"The last option…"
"Is to head to the Mercenary Alliance and try your luck—developing barren planets, exploring star-system secret realms, and so on. You might pick up some unexpected gains."
Hearing this.
Jiang Li nodded. "Then I'll take the last one."
After exiting the Virtual Universe Network, Jiang Li went straight to the Red Mercenary Castle.
The Red Mercenary Castle was completely different from the Green and Yellow ones. It covered over five hundred square kilometers—on Blue Planet, that would be nearly the size of Yangzhou City.
But on Black Kun Star, this was only one branch of the Mercenary Alliance.
"Excuse me, sir, would you like to publish a mission or browse missions?"
As soon as he entered the Red Mercenary Castle, a green-skinned woman in a red robe approached. "To publish a mission, please proceed to the fifth floor. To browse missions in the Red Castle, you must pay 1 Qianwu Coin…"
Hearing that.
Jiang Li was speechless.
They even charged just to browse missions?
"Jiang Li, the Mercenary Alliance assigns missions to different castles based on star-rank. For the highest Black Castle, anyone below the Immortal rank isn't even qualified to enter."
Babata's voice echoed in Jiang Li's consciousness.
"Mm."
Jiang Li nodded.
Every power had its way of making profit—just like the Virtual Universe Company, whose 'internet fee' collected every hundred years was simply terrifying.
After paying the browsing fee, the green-skinned woman guided him to a metal room on the second floor. Inside were countless pieces of technological equipment Jiang Li couldn't understand.
"Sir, once you put on the consciousness helmet, you may browse all Red-rank missions."
...
In the vast starry sky, within a well-known void region of the Milky Way—
A silver flying-saucer-class spaceship was speeding toward Blue Planet at an astonishing velocity.
Inside the ship.
A burly crew member whose entire body was covered in black fur—looking somewhat like a giant chimpanzee—said worriedly, "Captain, our family's warship has also entered the void region. When the time comes, will the family steal the Captain's profits?"
"Hmph!"
The handsome spaceship captain snorted coldly. "Although my relationship with my grandfather is strained, he's not that kind of petty man!"
"It's better for Captain to stay cautious," a beautiful, curvaceous cat-eared woman said anxiously. "The life planet we're heading to is one that an Invincible-level expert has occupied for countless years!"
"Its value is beyond imagination!"
"In the face of enormous利益, even fathers and sons may break ties, and brothers may turn on each other!"
Hearing this.
The handsome captain looked around at his crew and assured them, "Everyone, rest easy. No matter what happens, our Cosmic Adventurer Squad won't receive a single coin less. You all are my brothers and sisters—those who live and die by my side!!"
With the captain's guarantee, the crew finally felt slightly relieved.
"Once we reach the life planet, we immediately begin sampling. After collecting enough data, we can use the Virtual Universe Network to look for buyers. The family's warship only just entered the void region—they need at least three hundred more days. There's no way they'll be faster than us!"
The captain was full of confidence. "Atuka, how long until we reach that life planet?"
"Reporting to the Captain!"
A childlike holographic head appeared above the control console. "We will arrive in one hundred days!"
"Excellent!"
The entire crew beamed with joy.
Every one of their gazes burned greedily at the simulated projection of the azure planet.
...
Meanwhile.
Wearing the consciousness helmet, Jiang Li couldn't help sucking in a breath of cold air. At this moment, it felt as if he were submerged in a boundless ocean of missions.
"Nearly three hundred trillion Red-rank missions?"
"Just in the Black Dragon Mountain Empire's territory alone, there are over seven billion missions?!"
Forget accepting a mission—just reading all of them would probably take centuries.
"Transport, Development, Exploration, Secret-Realm… Trial type?"
Looking at the three-dimensional projected categories, Jiang Li asked curiously, "The Mercenary Alliance even has Trial-type missions?"
"Perfectly normal."
Babata said indifferently, "Many major powers publish trial missions. On one hand, they can more easily recruit geniuses. On the other, they can explore trial planets…"
"I see."
Jiang Li nodded, immediately understanding.
In simple terms, the trial locations were placed inside certain secret realms. While being explored, they also allowed these powers to observe the abilities of mercenaries. If a prodigy appeared, they could recruit them instantly.
After all, most of the Mercenary Alliance members were lone wanderers of the universe.
"Let's look at the trial type."
Compared to other mission types, trial missions generally had the lowest risk.
Suddenly!
In the unfolding three-dimensional interface, the mission with the third-highest browse count in the trial category caught Jiang Li's attention.
"Wanshan Zunzhe?"
"Wanchongshan Secret Realm?"
"This mission actually requires a payment of one hundred Qianwu Coins?"
After carefully reading, Jiang Li discovered that this "Wanshan Zunzhe" was a Universe Venerable of the Mercenary Alliance. The purpose of releasing this mission was simple—
To find a disciple who could inherit his mantle.
"Jiang Li, don't even think about it."
Babata appeared and wagged his finger at the mission panel. "Look here…"
"This mission has been on the Red Board for over eighty million years. From the initial ten thousand Qianwu Coins until now, the total accumulated payment has exceeded six billion…"
"And not a single person has ever completed it. That alone proves it's a scam!"
Jiang Li: "..."
Although a hundred Qianwu Coins wasn't much, the sheer amount of time this mission had existed meant that over eighty million years, the accumulated reward had reached over six billion Qianwu Coins.
This was a truly terrifying fortune.
And—
The more astonishing the reward became, the more people would attempt the mission. The further it accumulated, the more terrifying it grew.
It resembled a kind of lottery pool back on Blue Planet.
"Mission Requirement: Human martial warrior or spiritual念师 below the Universe-level, to comprehend the Wanchongshan Mifa within one month…
"Upon success, one will obtain the entire accumulated reward and become a student of 'Wanshan Zunzhe.'"
"Upon failure, all related memories of the secret technique will be erased."
...
"This Wanshan Zunzhe is something else!"
Even someone as strong as Jiang Li had to admire his disciple-recruitment strategy. He invested only ten thousand Qianwu Coins as seed money—everything else was essentially crowd-funded.
If anyone actually succeeded, the fortune they would obtain would be monstrous—
Far richer than what any Universe Venerable's disciple normally received.
And what did Wanshan Zunzhe pay?
Just ten thousand Qianwu Coins!
"You're the one."
Jiang Li's eyes lit up.
"Jiang Li, you're just giving away money!!"
Babata wailed. "Six billion Qianwu Coins in the reward pool means around sixty million people have attempted the trial—and they all failed! You think you can succeed?"
"No big deal."
Jiang Li suddenly smiled.
He didn't know how difficult Wanchongshan Mifa was to comprehend. In one month, he honestly didn't have absolute confidence in comprehending a Universe Venerable's secret technique.
But—
He had clones.
If he invested a few hundred years of time at once to focus all clones on studying one technique, getting its basics down would be as easy as breathing!
This mission was practically tailor-made for him.
Moreover—
Once he became a student of a Universe Venerable, he could practically walk sideways across the entire Qianwu Universe Country!