The presence of a dreamboat like Kang Shuai naturally drew gasps and screams from many of the female students.
Feng Hao shook his head helplessly, walked quickly over to Xi Yueyao and his three underlings, and said, "Stop staring. Hurry up and greet Second Brother and Brother San."
Zhang Meng and the other two hurriedly stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Greetings, Second Brother, Brother San."
"A fine group of three," Kang Shuai nodded approvingly, his gaze landing on Xi Yueyao. "Staring at me like that... aren’t you afraid Brother Feng will get jealous?"
Xi Yueyao’s nose wrinkled slightly as she said, "Second Brother, you’re very handsome, but I’m afraid you still fall a little short compared to my Feng Hao."
"Haha..." Upon hearing this, Wang Tongqian, who was standing to the side, couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
Kang Shuai was also taken aback and rubbed his nose in embarrassment. "Your girl is certainly cute. Brother Feng, you’d better treat her well."
Feng Hao contentedly pulled Xi Yueyao into his arms, gloating, "But of course. My Yaoyao is the cutest of all."
"That’s right, that’s right, Yaoyao is the cutest." The girl smiled sweetly, squirming restlessly in Feng Hao’s arms.
Kang Shuai chuckled, "You two really are a match made in heaven."
"Since this is our first time meeting, shouldn’t we find a quieter place to talk?" Wang Tongqian suggested with a frown.
Everyone nodded in agreement. Feng Hao then led them to a nearby restaurant, where they got a private room.
Over the meal, they talked about everything under the sun, and the atmosphere was incredibly pleasant...
After the meal, the sky had already darkened. Feng Hao walked Yao Girl all the way back to Xiyue Manor, then returned to the Miao Medicine Tower.
After getting Kang Shuai and Wang Tongqian settled, he briefly checked on Miao Feng’s progress and then headed alone toward the City Lord’s Mansion.
The City Lord’s Mansion was as desolate as ever, overgrown with weeds and littered with dead branches. Not a single soul could be seen within the vast estate.
’Doesn’t he feel lonely like this?’ Feng Hao shook his head helplessly. He really couldn’t understand why the Old City Lord didn’t hire any servants.
He walked straight to the Old City Lord’s room. Just as he was about to knock, the old wooden door before him swung open, followed by the Old City Lord’s kindly voice, "Come in."
Feng Hao walked into the room, astonished, and the door creaked shut behind him.
The Old City Lord was sitting quietly cross-legged on a cushion, studying Feng Hao with his profound gaze. He nodded with a smile. "Not bad, not bad. You’re making rapid progress."
"You’re too kind, elder." Feng Hao gave a small smile and respectfully sat cross-legged in front of the Old City Lord. "By the way, was there something you needed me for, elder?"
"Nothing major. I just need to explain a few things to you," the Old City Lord said calmly.
"Is it about the Ancient Seal?" Feng Hao asked, his brow furrowed.
The Old City Lord chuckled and nodded, speaking slowly. "On this matter, I imagine you already have an answer in your heart. The Four Symbols Clan has guarded the Ancient Seal for eons. For it to be exposed in this day and age... perhaps this is fate."
"The Four Symbols Clan?" Feng Hao said in surprise.
"That’s right, the Four Symbols Clan," the Old City Lord explained patiently. "The Ancient Seal carries the four aspects—east, south, west, and north—and gathers the powers of earth, fire, water, and wind. The reason it has been maintained to this day is thanks to the four great clans preserving it with their bloodlines, generation after generation."
Feng Hao’s expression faltered. "You mean to say...?" he asked, startled and suspicious.
The Old City Lord nodded in affirmation. "The reason the Ancient Seal has been maintained until now is because of the sacrifices made by the Four Symbols Clan, generation after generation."
"Is there any meaning in doing that?" Feng Hao asked, his expression grave.
He had always wondered where the previous Patriarchs of the four great clans had gone. After all, the current generation at Xiyue Peak was still very young. Given the lifespan of a Mage, the previous Patriarchs should still be around.
He had assumed they had gone to the outer realms, but now it seemed they had likely all been sacrificed for the Ancient Seal.
’Thinking about it, the Ancient Seal has existed for billions of years. Who knows how many ancestors of the Four Symbols Clan have been sacrificed. Just the thought of it is both tragic and senseless.’
’Most importantly, Yao Girl is also deeply involved in this. Perhaps one day in the future, she too might have to devote herself to this ancestral duty.’
At this thought, Feng Hao’s expression grew even more solemn.
"To be honest, I don’t know what meaning it has either," the Old City Lord said with a self-deprecating smile, his voice wistful. "Perhaps it’s to defend against the next cosmic calamity?"
"Are you saying the extra-dimensional demons will invade on a massive scale again?" Feng Hao asked, alarmed.
The Old City Lord gave Feng Hao a meaningful look and said mysteriously, "On that point, I’m afraid you know better than I do."
"Uh, what do you mean?" Feng Hao asked, stunned.
"You came from the Ancient Seal. Have you not realized something?" The Old City Lord’s eyes were sharp, as if they could see right through Feng Hao’s heart.
Feng Hao froze for a moment. He frowned in thought for a second, then his head snapped up. "I came from the Ancient Seal? You mean, the Ancient Seal is in the Xiyue Family’s back garden."
The Old City Lord nodded with a smile. "In truth, I’ve been watching you ever since you arrived in Rongcheng."
Feng Hao only half-understood what he was hearing, his thoughts a tangled mess. He frowned, recalling his memories from before and after he transmigrated, feeling as if he had grasped something.
’Extra-dimensional demons?’ Feng Hao’s brow furrowed tightly as his memory flashed back to the scene before his transmigration.
The apocalypse had come to Earth. Countless bizarre alien monsters were invading the planet.
Before, Feng Hao would never have connected these two events. After all, he had only seen what the monsters looked like in videos sent by other players, and those monsters were bizarrely varied and didn’t look like the extra-dimensional demons.
But things were different now. From his research with Sun Yaowen some time ago, he had learned that the extra-dimensional demons had no fixed form. Only after entering a universe would they evolve into various forms based on the creatures they encountered.
In other words, the monsters that appeared on Earth before he transmigrated were very likely the extra-dimensional demons.
HISS! At this thought, Feng Hao couldn’t help but suck in a sharp breath.
Seeing the drastic change in Feng Hao’s expression, the Old City Lord also grew grave. "It seems a new cosmic calamity is coming."
"The planet I originally came from was indeed invaded by creatures similar to the extra-dimensional demons," Feng Hao said pensively. "If it really is an invasion by them, shouldn’t we be making some preparations?"
"What preparations can we make?" the Old City Lord said with a wry smile.
"At the very least, we should let the major powers know, right?"
"After such a long period of peace, no one would believe it. On the contrary, some would try by any means possible to break the seal."
Feng Hao gave a surprised, bitter smile. "So we just wait around?"
"The extra-dimensional demons don’t have Teleportation Arrays or cosmic shuttles. It will still take them a long time to get from the outer-realms to the inner-realms. When the number of demons on the outer-realm defense lines increases, people will naturally realize something is wrong." The Old City Lord glanced at Feng Hao thoughtfully, a strange look in his eyes. "Your situation, however, is rather special."
"Uh." Feng Hao paused, a strange expression on his face. "You don’t think I’m an extra-dimensional demon, do you?"
The Old City Lord chuckled. "There are indeed some among the extra-dimensional demons who evolve into human form, but you don’t have the aura of a demon on you. Otherwise, how could I have possibly let you live until now?"
’Feng Hao secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Good thing the Old City Lord wasn’t going senile, or this would have been a huge misunderstanding.’
"I’m just very curious... who was it that teleported you here?" the Old City Lord asked, his eyes glinting.
"To be honest, I’d like to know that too," Feng Hao said with a shrug.
The Old City Lord nodded meaningfully and gazed quietly at the sky outside the window. "Perhaps it is a kind of fate."
Feng Hao was completely bewildered, unable to understand what the Old City Lord was talking about.
"By the way, why are you telling me something so important?" Feng Hao asked, confused.
"One reason is because you came from the Ancient Seal." The Old City Lord’s expression grew distant. "Another is because I can feel that my end is near, and some things must be passed on to the next generation."
"You’re leaving?" Feng Hao asked, alarmed.
The Old City Lord’s expression suddenly became strange and complex. "Not necessarily. This is already the countless-th time I’ve felt my end was near. Whether I can actually manage to die or not still depends on the will of heaven."
"..." Feng Hao was rendered speechless.