Chapter 109: Ruins of the Recent Ancient Era

Over the next few days, Lin Huang couldn’t stop thinking about the Summer Palace ruins.

However, his daily routine and schedule remained largely unchanged. During the day, he accompanied Lin Xin to visit the tourist attractions within the stronghold. By four or five in the afternoon, they returned to the hotel for dinner. Afterwards, he would practice the art of fate manipulation, the “War Command Technique,” until around ten in the evening. Then he spent time scouring the internet for any information about the Summer Palace ruins until midnight, when he went to bed promptly.

Time flew by, and five days slipped away.

The circulation time of the War Command Technique within Lin Huang’s body had shortened again to ten minutes per cycle. The total fragments he had gathered increased to 228, still quite far from the 400 fragments needed to advance to the third tier.

On both the Imperial Mind Network and the Hunter Information Network, the valuable information he found about the Summer Palace ruins was scarce.

All that was known was that the ruins were unearthed more than 300 years ago, around the time when District Seven was newly established. Since then, experts and scholars had conducted extensive research on the site, only to discover that many artifacts in this palace ruin were unlike those found in any other ruins. Even the decorations were unique, unmatched by any previously excavated site.

As a result, numerous speculations about the ruins circulated online, with many suggesting that the palace was built by the divine race.

Since most of the urban sights had been visited, and he was soon to head to the Summer Palace ruins, Lin Huang, hoping to obtain more useful information, reluctantly dialed Yi Zheng’s number.

However, after two rings, the call was abruptly disconnected.

A moment later, a brief message arrived: “Not convenient now; let’s talk tomorrow.”

Lin Huang raised an eyebrow upon reading the message and decided not to disturb Yi Zheng further. Instead, he called Yi Yeyu.

The call was answered on the second ring.

Seeing Yi Yeyu dressed in an elegant black gown with precious jewels adorning her neck, and hearing the lively noise in the background, Lin Huang asked with a hint of curiosity, “Where are you, dressed so formally?”

“Nowhere special, just attending a small gathering,” Yi Yeyu replied with a shake of her head, then teased with a smile, “Come on, what trouble have you gotten yourself into this time?”

“None at all. Do I really look like someone who enjoys causing trouble?” Lin Huang answered helplessly.

“You don’t look like someone who likes to stir up trouble, you *are* the troublemaker!” Yi Yeyu couldn’t help but recall the incidents Lin Huang had caused over the past few days and blurted out the truth.

Lin Huang raised an eyebrow but made no rebuttal. As a noble, Yi Yeyu was well aware of the events that had transpired on the spaceship—it was normal. Upon reflection, since he had committed murder on the street without being pursued by the Alliance government, it was very likely that Yi Yeyu and her associates had helped suppress the matter.

“They’re calling me now. If you have anything to say, say it quickly,” Yi Yeyu abruptly changed the subject, perhaps feeling she had spoken too bluntly.

“I want you to help me look up information on the Summer Palace ruins. With my clearance, the information I find isn’t very useful,” Lin Huang finally stated his purpose.

“The Summer Palace ruins? That place has been excavated countless times. Why do you want that information?” Yi Yeyu found Lin Huang’s request somewhat puzzling.

“Just want to learn a bit, so when I take my sister there as a guide in a few days, I can use it,” Lin Huang made up a casual excuse.

“There are professional guides over there, you know? I just can’t understand you guys who dote on your sisters. Fine, once the banquet ends, I’ll find what I can and send it to you, but it’ll probably be late,” Yi Yeyu reluctantly agreed.

After hanging up, Lin Huang glanced at the time—it was already past midnight. He didn’t wait for Yi Yeyu’s message and went straight to bed.

Early the next morning, before he even got out of bed, several message alerts appeared. Lin Huang opened them to find they were all from Yi Yeyu.

She had sent screenshots of all the information she had found—several pages in total.

Page by page, Lin Huang reviewed the data. The concise few pages contained far more than what he had managed to gather over several days.

“The Summer Palace ruins date back even before the Old Era, to the Near Ancient Era? The Old Era spans over thirty thousand years, meaning that the person who traveled here with a notebook appeared in this world at least thirty thousand years ago, maybe even earlier…” Lin Huang furrowed his brow at this revelation.

“Humans below the transcendent level rarely live beyond 720 years. Upon reaching transcendent, lifespan extends to about 1,800 years. As for the mightier demigods, though their true strength is unknown, living beyond thirty thousand years seems highly unlikely,” Lin Huang concluded firmly that the transcendent individual must have long since perished. “And that notebook—time travelers wouldn’t bring useless items. It’s likely his trump card. If even that’s damaged, his chances of survival are slim…”

A trace of disappointment welled within him. Lin Huang had secretly hoped to meet a kindred spirit, even if the other couldn’t impart much wisdom. Simply having someone to talk to would ease the loneliness of being a stranger in a foreign land.

Continuing to scroll down, Lin Huang soon found another useful piece of information.

Experts had suggested the Summer Palace might be connected to a powerful figure named Xia Hao from the Near Ancient Era.

According to ancient texts, Xia Hao was a man who, within just a few years, rose from an ordinary person to a demigod, earning the reputation of the era’s greatest prodigy. Then, for unknown reasons, he suddenly vanished. Some said he had fallen, others claimed he had pierced through the void to another world.

Upon reading this, Lin Huang was certain: if Xia Hao truly existed in the Near Ancient Era, then he must be the traveler he was seeking. Only a traveler with a miraculous trump card could achieve demigod status within such a short span.

Reaching the end of the information, Lin Huang saw a message from Yi Yeyu:

“I searched for Xia Hao’s information for you but found nothing. Data on the Near Ancient Era is scarce and requires high clearance. What I could find, I’ve already sent.”

“Thanks, got it!” Lin Huang immediately replied.

Just then, a knock sounded at the door.

“Brother, get up!” Lin Xin’s voice came from outside.

“Got it, coming,” Lin Huang responded, finally rising from bed.

Over ten minutes later, the two were back in the hotel dining room.

They took their breakfast from the buffet and chose a table by the window.

“How many city attractions are left to visit?” Lin Huang asked casually as he ate.

“Only one left, we can finish it this morning,” Lin Xin replied, then asked, “Are we staying in the city for a few more days, or heading straight to the Summer Palace ruins?”

“Let’s leave for the Summer Palace ruins first thing tomorrow,” Lin Huang said, his anticipation for the journey evident.