Shen Yun was speechless for a while.
He didn't expect Little Nine to actually admit it.
However... as a modern smart device rather than some vintage clunker, how could she be truly pure?
"I don't mind you having a bit of a wicked sense of humor, but just know where to draw the line." Shen Yun finally reached out helplessly and pinched Little Nine's cheek. "Don't cry if you end up making me dislike you."
"Master would never dislike me," Little Nine said playfully, rubbing her cheek against Shen Yun's palm. "Little Nine is super well-behaved."
Shen Yun couldn't help but laugh.
Over this short period of time, he had gained a fairly good understanding of Little Nine's personality. She was sometimes as emotionally pure as a newborn, yet she seemed to know a little bit about everything. Anyway, as long as she was cute, that was all that mattered.
"Master, they have arrived at the door."
In a burst of light, Little Nine reverted to her original form. She slipped down Shen Yun's collar, pressing tightly against the skin of his chest.
Shen Yun had already heard the sound of helicopter rotors.
Several military helicopters landed directly in the open space outside his door. Director Lu, whom he had met before, stepped out of one of them.
"Let's go." Shen Yun had already opened the door.
"Yes." Director Lu gave a military salute and then glanced inside the house. "If you're worried, you can bring Miss Little Nine along."
This was the trust and privilege Shen Yun deserved as the strongest person on the planet.
But Shen Yun waved the Bronze Tripod, which had shrunk to the size of his palm.
"She's in here."
Director Lu immediately understood. Without another word, he welcomed Shen Yun aboard one of the armed helicopters.
All the helicopters took off almost simultaneously and flew in different directions. After all, who knew how many satellites in space were currently monitoring Shen Yun's villa.
"You coming to pick me up today—did something happen?" Shen Yun astutely caught a hint of anxiety in Director Lu's eyes.
He wondered if something had gone wrong in the Otherworld.
"It is indeed somewhat urgent." Director Lu offered a helpless smile. "As for the details, someone will explain them to you once we reach the base."
Shen Yun nodded and closed his eyes. He looked as if he were resting his eyes, but in reality, he was listening to Little Nine singing to him in his mind.
Along the way, Shen Yun transferred between helicopters, cars, high-speed rails, and military armored vehicles. After going through countless security procedures, he finally arrived inside a hidden military base.
Even this was not their final destination.
"Underground?" Shen Yun marveled at the massive engineering feat as he gazed at the subway-like transport vehicle before him.
He was already three hundred meters underground.
Even the oxygen here was artificially produced and pumped in; electronic screens displaying the oxygen concentration were visible everywhere.
"That's because the ruin itself is underground." Only then did Director Lu hand over a tablet. "All the Information is in here. What we control isn't some mere tunnel, but a two-way Teleportation Array left behind from an unknown era."
Teleportation Array...
Shen Yun couldn't help but look at the footage on the tablet. It was a rather spectacular Bronze Hall.
Even through the screen, he could feel its ancient aura. Signs of aging were visible in many places, but right in the center sat an unassuming stone slab about ten meters in diameter. Around thirty people in military uniforms stood scattered around the slab's edge. Without a doubt, that was the Teleportation Array.
The passage to the Otherworld.
"Master Shen, please don't underestimate this hall," Director Lu said, understanding Shen Yun's surprise. "Our experts have tried everything, but they can't chip even a single atom off these bronze pillars. An invisible force protects the entire hall. Even the Teleportation Array requires at least thirty experts at the Divine Thought Stage giving their all, or a single Golden Core master, just to activate it once."
Before the revival of Spiritual Qi, this area had been scanned by mineral Detectors countless times. There had even been excavations in the past. Yet, nothing had ever been found. It was only after the revival of Spiritual Qi that this ancient ruin finally revealed itself.
"Our world, the Cosmos, holds great secrets," Shen Yun couldn't help but sigh.
"Indeed," Director Lu wholeheartedly agreed.
Since the return of Spiritual Qi, human civilization had repeatedly witnessed its own insignificance and the world's wonders. Even now, many of them still felt a deep sense of fear when using this ruin. However, the only way to deal with the unknown was to strive to become stronger.
Shen Yun remained silent, but in his heart, he constantly reminded himself never to let success get to his head.
"Master Shen, this is the last piece of Information sent back by Director Wei. The timestamp is 23:10 last night." Director Lu handed him another tablet.
Shen Yun skimmed through it. His pupils slightly contracted.
A week ago, the emperor of the Empire issued a decree bestowing the Seventeenth Imperial Princess in marriage to Emperor Qing, the Pavilion Master of the Cyan Cloud Pavilion.
The day before yesterday, Wei Er boldly confronted two Grandmasters of the Cyan Cloud Pavilion, killed one, and fled with the Empress, sustaining light injuries.
Yesterday, five Grandmasters of the Cyan Cloud Pavilion were mobilized in full force.
Martyrs sacrificed... seventeen!
"All this just to protect an Empress?" Shen Yun's hands trembled slightly.
"It's to protect the people of our nation!" Director Lu emphasized. "We must obtain the Twelve Capitals Grand Array. This concerns whether domestic order can be reestablished and whether the vital interests of the people can be guaranteed. Master Shen... this is the real world. This is also the plan that ensures the greatest benefit with the smallest sacrifice."
Supporting a controllable, pro-China emperor.
The benefits involved were unimaginably massive.
"...I understand."
Shen Yun said no more, and even Little Nine kept quiet.
It was like foreign peacekeeping forces. They weren't there to protect foreign citizens, but to safeguard their own country's reputation and interests.
He hoped the actions of this Empress... were worth such sacrifices, otherwise...
An unconscious solemnity settled over Shen Yun's expression.
After finishing all the materials, Shen Yun finally understood the situation in the Otherworld.
The empire had no name; it was simply called the Empire. Apart from that, there was the Buren Empire in the West and the Hundred Barbarian Alliance in the North.
Then, there were various sects.
The Cyan Cloud Pavilion... was originally just a mid-tier sect. It only prospered after producing a top-tier Grandmaster a century ago and was gradually courted by the Empire. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they were currently in their honeymoon phase.
This time, it was because Emperor Qing also had a Prince he favored and wanted to make an example out of someone. The perpetually low-profile Seventeenth Imperial Princess unfortunately became that example.
"This is already a fight to the death, isn't it?" Shen Yun said softly, looking at the Teleportation Array that had now appeared before him. "They only had six Grandmasters to begin with, and one was already taken out by Master Wei."