Wen Yuncheng had a terrible headache. She had thought that someone like her would never in her life get involved with that mysterious organization that had once been eradicated, nor had she ever considered becoming some kind of savior. Yet, this news had somehow fallen into the lap of a minor figure like her… and it was the kind of thing that was difficult to tell others. Even the First Princess wasn’t qualified to be involved in such matters. Yan Ling? Teacher Yan Ling was only a Star King. But for her to tell the Protectors of the Nation, or even the King, about this… Wen Yuncheng suspected she would be imprisoned the very next second.

Most importantly, even if she did tell them, there was no guarantee anyone would believe her.

Wasn’t this as ridiculous as a high school student on Earth running up to the head of state and saying, “Aliens are about to invade!”? She had no authority, no way to make them believe her. At this thought, Wen Yuncheng collapsed onto her bed, limp as a dead fish.

[You don’t need to overthink this for now,] 1947 comforted her. [Even if they send a signal, it doesn’t mean they can react immediately. Matters like this require discussion. Discussion, planning, and implementation all take a very long time.] [By the time it actually happens, who’s to say you’ll still be insignificant?]

[If you were to speak up, not only would those people not believe you, but you might also attract the attention of Fu.]

Wen Yuncheng gave a muffled grunt of agreement.

This kind of thing was truly annoying, and she really didn’t want to get involved. But she just had to be the one to find out, and now that she knew… she couldn’t possibly pretend that she didn’t.

With a sigh, Wen Yuncheng thought that perhaps she could work harder to level up in the Dueling Arena. Right, and the Mountain River Fruit. She should find a night to consume and digest it in the Fire Tempering Bath. There was no one there, and it had a protective barrier, making it relatively safe. Of course, the safest option would be to have someone stand guard for her, and the obvious candidate for that was the Little Ice Mountain.

She had to get stronger, faster.

Lin Jinyu had received guidance from the Xuan King this time, so her future cultivation speed probably wouldn’t be any slower than her own, even with her cheat system. After all, the Little Ice Mountain was incredibly diligent.

As she mulled over these things, the nerves that had been wound tight by the sudden turn of events slowly began to relax. 1947 was right. Some things were just the way they were, and with her current strength, she was in no position to make any announcements or warnings.

Climbing out of bed, Wen Yuncheng took out a set of parts for the C-02 Enemy-Annihilator. She hadn’t had any time to assemble it recently. Now that her mind had just calmed down, she might as well use this to distract herself.

The next day, Wen Yuncheng reunited with Yao Mu and the others. They hadn’t gone to the Xuan King’s inheritance, but they had encountered the legacy of another fallen senior, not only learning new techniques but also obtaining a great deal of medicinal pills.

Everyone had their own fortuitous encounters. Although the incident in the tomb prevented them from exploring further, their gains this time were substantial, and everyone was quite satisfied.

When they were alone, Lin Jinyu gave her another ring filled with pills, a harvest from when they first entered the Xuanhuang Tomb. Wen Yuncheng asked out of curiosity and discovered that Lin Jinyu had acquired quite a few treasures while with the Flowing Cloud Sect—pills, spiritual herbs, techniques, and even five Yellow-rank Spirit Treasures. However, she had given everything she couldn’t use to the Flowing Cloud Sect, to be awarded to outstanding disciples back at the sect. Among the techniques was a sword style, but after a brief look, Lin Jinyu felt it couldn’t compare to the one she obtained in the Demonic Beast Great Forest, so she didn’t practice it. After all, when it came to techniques, mastery was more important than quantity.

After the incident in the Xuanhuang Tomb, the Empire dispatched elite troops as soon as most of the disciples had evacuated. As a member of the Flowing Cloud Sect, Lin Jinyu naturally had to wait for their Protectors to emerge.

Yao Mu and the others returned directly to the academy. They had gained many opportunities from their trip to the tomb, whether techniques or Spirit Treasures, and needed time to digest them. A good period of seclusion upon their return might even lead to a breakthrough.

Wen Yuncheng didn’t leave with Yao Mu’s group. For one, she wanted to gather intelligence about the tomb—about Fu, and about that mysterious formation. She didn’t know if these powerful experts could figure out the formation’s purpose. And for another… she naturally wanted to stay with Lin Jinyu. Although Lin Jinyu said nothing, Wen Yuncheng could sense her anxiety: she was worried about the two Protectors who had remained inside the tomb. Words of comfort were powerless at a time like this; the only thing Wen Yuncheng could do was keep her company.

Fortunately, Protectors Eight and Nine returned safely soon after, though their expressions were grim.

“Damn it…” Protector Eight cursed under his breath. He glanced at Wen Yuncheng, saw the curiosity on the kid’s face, and decided to continue anyway. “Those bastards escaped. The Xuanhuang Tomb has more than one exit. That strange formation is damn bizarre. We couldn’t break it even by joining forces. In the end, we had to wait for the Empire’s reinforcements to arrive before we could destroy it together.”

“Then-then what does the formation do?” Wen Yuncheng asked hurriedly.

“Who the hell knows what it does? It’s not offensive in nature… Someone from the Empire copied it. Scholars from the various academies will probably gather to study and decipher it.” After speaking, Protector Eight patted Wen Yuncheng’s shoulder. “Alright, with your current cultivation, you don’t need to know so much. We need to head back to the Flowing Cloud Sect to report this. Are you coming with us or…?”

“No, no, no, I’m going back to the academy, back to the academy.” Wen Yuncheng waved her hands frantically. Why would she go to the Flowing Cloud Sect? To make it easier for Sect Master Lin to beat her up, to go out of her way to provoke him? Even if she wanted to fight Sect Master Lin, she couldn’t be so reckless when she was only a Star Master Level 1!

“I’m also returning to the academy,” Lin Jinyu said. “I’m going into seclusion when I get back.”

“Hmm? …Then let Old Ten escort you back. We don’t know if the people from Fu are still around here. It’s always better to be careful.” Protector Eight thought for a moment and decided to have Protector Ten, the tool, escort them. After all, Protector Ten hadn’t stayed in the Xuanhuang Tomb, so he wouldn’t be of use when they reported the information from inside.

And so it was decided. Protector Eight was clearly in a great hurry. Without even resting, he immediately organized the disciples to head for the Flowing Cloud Sect. Obviously, what had happened this time was very important. If not for the cultivation level restrictions, the leaders of the major sects would probably have rushed over themselves.

Wen Yuncheng hadn’t been in a hurry to return to the academy, but since Protector Ten was escorting them, she didn’t delay. She and Lin Jinyu headed for the academy together. Protector Ten saw them to the gates of Star Academy and then immediately went to the flying beast station to return.

During the few days on the road, Wen Yuncheng came to a new understanding of the situation.

Look, without 1947, would Fu’s plot have been exposed? Obviously not. By the time everyone figured out what the formation did, people from another plane would probably already be invading. This was an information gap! Although Wen Yuncheng couldn’t tell anyone for now, it didn’t mean she couldn’t in the future.

This realization gave Wen Yuncheng a strange sense of confidence, as if “I am the protagonist.”

After returning to the academy, Lin Jinyu continued to comprehend her sword intent, combining it with the commonalities between the Xuan King’s technique and sword style, and went directly into seclusion. Wen Yuncheng wasn’t idle either. She reported her safety to Yan Ling, briefly explained what had happened in the Xuanhuang Tomb, and then rushed to the Dueling Arena to clock in.

About a week later, 1947 finally had news.

[1014 has deciphered it. It’s a low-level plane, similar in composition to yours. The people of that plane also cultivate and have level divisions, but they don’t absorb Star Power. That continent is translated as “Huanling Continent.”] 1947 explained simply. In short, it was another fertile ground for cultivating a Long Aotian.

[1014 deciphered the sent message… This is likely not a signal to start a planar war, but a distress signal,] 1947 said. [The person from the Huanling Continent within the Fu organization was originally a top-tier expert, obsessed with research. He could fly through the air… One day, on a whim, he wanted to fly to the highest point to see what was there, but his strength and physical constitution limited him, so he researched a series of things. Finally, he managed to ascend to a high altitude, but was unlucky enough to be swept into a passing spatio-temporal turbulence.]

Wen Yuncheng: …

[He had many treasures and managed to survive, eventually being swept to this continent. He fell into the sea and almost died. But he survived and later met people from Fu, joining them due to his unique abilities. He didn’t tell Fu that he was from another plane, using the excuse of “Star Power Mutation.” He had the mindset of another continent, which was very helpful for cultivation on this continent, so he rose to a high position within Fu. Then he began to secretly research the formation and sent this distress signal.] 1947’s explanation was very detailed. It wasn’t making this up; all of this was written in the information stream. The guy even wrote a long passage crying about how he missed home and wanted to go back, complaining about how much he had suffered here, and so on, playing the victim. [He has been on the Starry Sky Continent for fifty years.]

“Isn’t that great?” Wen Yuncheng’s eyes lit up. “So there won’t be a war?” However, fifty years? Then this guy wasn’t the one instigating Fu’s previous actions?

[He also introduced the various resources and power level details of the Starry Sky Continent. He greatly downplayed the strength of the Starry Sky Continent,] 1947 said. [But he’s just one person. Why would that plane come to save him? He’s been missing for so long, they probably think he perished long ago.]

Leverage. He needed enough leverage, enough benefits, enough resources to make the people of another continent come and bring him home.

Was he selfish? He just wanted to go home. But the consequences of his actions could lead to the deaths of countless beings. A war between two low-level planes, especially ones without an absolute power disparity, would be exceptionally cruel.

Wen Yuncheng still felt angry. If it were her, if she had a chance to go back, she certainly wouldn’t want to give it up. But if it required such a price, she would rather stay on the Starry Sky Continent forever. Of course, she no longer had any thoughts of returning. She had already lived on the Starry Sky Continent for seventeen years. In a few more years, she would have spent more time here than on Earth. Besides, her memories of Earth… many of them were already blurry. Although it wasn’t her intention, when she tried to recall her studies and entertainment on Earth, she could only remember one or two iconic things; most of it had become vague.

Of course, the most important point was that only here could she find Lin Jinyu.