Chapter Five: The Highest-Level Meeting

Leaving the secluded bamboo courtyard, Serena traversed the many courtyards of the Fourth Legion Commander’s residence, eventually reaching the deepest part of the estate.

There, a seemingly ordinary oak door stood silently, known as the "Anywhere Door."

The existence and function of this door were personally named and mythologized by Bai Yujing, who declared it the pinnacle of imperial technological achievement, capable of ignoring spatial distance to transport individuals instantaneously to any location within the empire.

The truth, however, had nothing to do with technology; it was a pure creation of supernatural power.

It is common knowledge that the supernatural abilities of the Great Han Empire are categorized by the official system into six major disciplines: Solidification, Rheology, Emission, Synesthesia, Manifestation, and Heterogeneity.

The "Anywhere Door" before her was a masterpiece of the Manifestation discipline.

When a Manifestation-type ability user reaches the transcendent realm, they can spread false concepts or urban legends. As long as people believe in them, they can be brought into reality. Naturally, the more powerful the manifested object, the exponentially greater the number of "believers" required, and the more astonishing the consumption of source energy.

Therefore, since its creation ten years ago, this door had remained nothing more than an ordinary door most of the time. Only when Bai Yujing issued a summons to the legion commanders would it briefly manifest into the legendary portal capable of traversing space.

Jenny stepped forward and silently pushed open the oak door. Serena stepped inside without a moment's hesitation.

In an instant, as if passing through a cool, thin film of light, the scene shifted. Gone was the seclusion of the commander’s residence; she stood now in the solemn, dark-red-carpeted corridor of the Holy Palace.

Directly ahead, a nine-meter-tall, heavy wooden door carved with coiled dragons and auspicious clouds remained firmly shut.

Jenny, having followed her through the "door," immediately bowed with tact and hurried toward the entrance of a side hall on the right. As the captain of the personal guard, she had no right to attend the highest-level meeting about to take place; she could only wait in the side hall alongside the guards of the other legion commanders.

Serena raised her hand to push against the doors that symbolized the heart of imperial power. The heavy hinges creaked slightly as they slowly swung inward.

Inside lay the magnificent Great Hall of the Holy Palace. Beneath a twenty-meter-high vaulted ceiling hung huge, intricately designed palace lanterns, their light cascading like water, illuminating the polished dark hardwood floor.

Two rows of seats were arranged on either side of the hall. The right side, which held significantly more seats, belonged to the members of the Cabinet. The first chair was for the Prime Minister, followed by the core figures of the imperial administration, including the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Education, and the Minister of Technology.

The left side held only fifteen seats, representing the military might of the empire. The first thirteen belonged to the commanders of the Great Han’s Thirteen Legions. The two seats following them belonged to the Commissioner of the National Police Agency and the Commander of the Imperial Guard, respectively.

It seems the empire is truly facing a monumental crisis, Serena thought to herself. Habitually, she wore a warm, snow-melting smile as she elegantly walked toward her own seat as the Fourth Legion Commander.

Before she had even taken her seat, a thick scent of gunpowder already permeated the hall.

"Hey, Ouyang, I heard there's a serial killer running loose on your turf for over a month now without being caught. Why don't you let me handle it? It’ll save the empire the embarrassment!"

"Oh? I wasn't aware that your rusted, blunt sword had any use beyond chopping firewood, let alone killing people."

"Ha! You want to test if my sword is rusted or not?"

A chilling, murderous aura instantly flooded the entire hall.

The Cabinet members on the right, who had been whispering about the reasons for the Saint’s sudden return to the palace, fell deathly silent, not daring to draw a full breath. The Prime Minister’s brow furrowed, his gaze sweeping with anxiety over the two glaring legion commanders. He instinctively wanted to speak up to restore order, but he knew well that these military titans would never heed the words of a mere civil official.

He cast a pleading look toward the First Legion Commander sitting at the head of the left side—the venerable, white-haired old Marshal. However, the old Marshal’s eyes were slightly closed, his breathing long and steady, as if he were peacefully dozing in his seat, oblivious to the "children’s squabble" beside him.

The Prime Minister’s hesitation lasted only a moment.

"The Saint approaches!"

Outside the hall, a resonant and solemn announcement suddenly rang out.

Like boiling water poured over snow, the murderous atmosphere in the hall, which had nearly turned into substance, vanished in an instant. The Eleventh and Sixth Legion Commanders, who had been glaring at each other and nearly drawing their blades, immediately retracted their presence as if nothing had happened. They flashed into position, standing respectfully before their seats with their heads bowed.

"Creak."

The heavy doors of the Great Hall were pushed open from the outside by two attendants.

Bai Yujing appeared at the entrance. He wore his signature vermilion dragon robe and walked directly toward the unique dragon throne at the head of the hall.

The throne was cast entirely from brilliant gold. The back was not adorned with a standard coiled dragon, but rather with countless golden blades pointing upward, ingeniously assembled to symbolize supreme authority and judgment. The seat was covered in thick, bright yellow cushions. The throne sat on a dais one step higher than all the other seats below.

He sat down calmly and scanned the room below.

On the left, the fifteen legion commanders, commissioners, and commanders—representing the empire's greatest military strength—moved in perfect unison, striking their left chests with their right fists and bowing their heads in respect. As high-ranking military officials of their caliber, they were granted the privilege by Bai Yujing to omit the verbal declaration of loyalty.

On the right, the Cabinet officials led by the Prime Minister performed their own traditional bow.

They bowed in unison, saying, "We greet the Saint!"

"Rise."

Bai Yujing waved his hand casually. His voice was not loud, but it reached every person clearly.

"The reason I have summoned you all here so urgently is to discuss a matter of life and death for the empire, and indeed, for the entire Blue Star."

He paused, his gaze landing on Nangong Lin, who stood quietly beside him. "I imagine you are all very curious about who this is beside me."

Bai Yujing raised his hand to gesture. "She comes from the world of Shenzhou; her name is Nangong Lin, and she was once the Empress of the Great Qian."

As these words left his lips, the Prime Minister and the others widened their eyes, glancing at one another in sheer, incredulous astonishment. If these words had not come from the mouth of the Saint, they would have dismissed it as a fairy tale.

The reactions of the legion commanders on the left were more complex—inquiry, curiosity, doubt, and scrutiny... various gazes focused on Nangong Lin, as if trying to see right through her.

Bai Yujing seemed to have anticipated their reactions and continued, "I know some of you may think I am joking. That is fine; seeing is believing. Let her demonstrate for you the sights of the Shenzhou world."

Upon hearing this, Nangong Lin kept her hands elegantly folded at her waist. Without raising them, she moved her right index finger almost imperceptibly.

*Swish!*

A point of silvery-white light suddenly ignited at her fingertip, then transformed into dozens of hair-thin, lightning-fast beams of light. They shot out silently and precisely into the space between the brows of every attendee present, including Serena.

Serena felt a coolness at the center of her forehead, as if a drop of ice water had seeped in. Immediately following, countless bizarre, magnificent, and grand images flooded her mind like a tide.

Towering celestial palaces, cultivators flying through the heavens and earth, magical artifacts capable of moving mountains and filling seas, and the peerless grace of this Empress leading an expedition, causing stars to fall with a wave of her hand. The images were so clear and shocking, as if she had experienced them personally, deeply branded into her memory.

"There really is another world of cultivation? Incredible!"

Below, a voice filled with excitement and fanaticism rang out; it was the Twelfth Legion Commander, known for being a research fanatic.

Bai Yujing scanned the varying but universally shocked expressions below and smiled faintly. "It seems you all believe now."

His tone shifted, becoming grave. "Then, the next topic we must discuss is the 'Outworld Heavenly Demons' that destroyed Shenzhou!"

Nangong Lin understood, and her right index finger moved slightly again. Another condensed burst of silvery-white light fell, transmitting all the terrifying information from her memory regarding the Outworld Heavenly Demons—demonic seed parasitism, the consumption of life essence, resurrection from a single drop of blood, and the distortion of space-time to facilitate their arrival—to every high-ranking official in the hall.

She had not used this method on Bai Yujing previously for a simple reason: the key to this technique was invading the opponent's brain to implant memories. Faced with Bai Yujing’s unfathomable strength, she was powerless to do so.

After receiving this information, the Prime Minister’s face turned extremely grave. He understood the horror of the Outworld Heavenly Demons and the reason for the Saint’s urgent summons. As the empire’s chief administrator, the Prime Minister quickly thought of a solution. He stepped forward and said, "Saint, there are as many as 3.1 billion residents who have not participated in the health check. With such a massive number, it is impossible to conduct a secret screening. It would be better for you to issue an imperial decree. Compel everyone to participate in a free health check within one month, under the pretext of selecting candidates capable of bearing immortality technology, so as to avoid alerting the demons."