179: Entering the Cold Palace

When the other team members heard their Captain’s words, their eyes practically went dark. The person next to him even secretly poked his back, thinking, “How presumptuous is the Captain?”

Chu Shengfan maintained a proper smile on his face, “You might need to ask Sage Master Yang about this question to find the answer.”

The Captain gave an awkward laugh. Ask Sage Master Yang? As an ordinary student who was also the Captain of the Patrol Team, he didn't have the guts for that.

He handed the jade token he had inspected back to Chu Shengfan, then stepped aside to clear the path. “There are no issues. Please proceed.”

His gaze swept across the Lotus Platform Chu Shengfan was standing on, revealing a hint of envy. The treatment for this new student was truly excellent. Not only could the Lotus Platform guide itself, but the attached Protective Shield probably couldn't be broken by an ordinary Spirit Rank Source Beast.

After Chu Shengfan thanked him, the Lotus Platform beneath his feet continued to carry him forward.

The surrounding scenery gradually began to change, and the great Dao beneath his feet disappeared at some unknown junction.

What appeared before him were not the usual buildings within the academy, but scenes like those Beyond the Border—everywhere were towering mountains and steep ridges, lush with trees, with only faint corners of structures occasionally peeking out.

Upon arriving here, the Lotus Platform rose higher, and Chu Shengfan's field of vision became even broader.

He saw that beyond the towering mountains and steep ridges lay vast plains, deep and tranquil valleys, and sparkling lakes.

It seemed that this single academy contained all sorts of different geographical features, and many ownerless Source Beasts lived freely within these environments.

As for the various human structures of the academy, they were scattered but arranged according to some pattern within these geographical features, occupying only a small fraction of the environment.

The area here was so vast that it was difficult to even encounter a few academy personnel.

The trajectory of the Lotus Platform's flight seemed to follow a certain rule; it did not fly straight toward its destination but meandered left and right. Especially when passing over the academy's artificial structures, it made a wide detour, seemingly unable to fly directly over the buildings.

After flying for a long time, during which a type of Flying Bird Source Beast even chased alongside him for a moment, the speed of the Lotus Platform beneath his feet gradually slowed.

Chu Shengfan raised his eyes and looked straight ahead. An extremely tall mountain peak appeared before him. The lower half of the mountain was below the clouds, and above it was lush and green, as if perpetually spring.

As the altitude increased, the middle section gradually saw falling snow, and the uppermost layer was covered with a thick layer of ice. A large palace, seemingly made of some kind of Ice Jade, was situated on this mountain.

Looking at the appearance of this palace, it was essentially the same as what he had seen last time in the Domain constructed by Sage Master Yang.

Perhaps due to the Protective Shield surrounding the Lotus Platform, Chu Shengfan did not perceive the coldness of the environment as they drew closer to the Ice Jade Palace.

The Lotus Platform gradually floated to the palace entrance. Before Chu Shengfan could observe the details, the person guarding the palace entrance warmly approached him.

The speaker was a young woman dressed in light blue robes. Her Aura was unfathomable, but Chu Shengfan felt she was slightly stronger than his own grandfather.

“Greetings, Little Palace Master Your Highness. The Palace Master ordered us to come here to welcome you. Did you encounter any difficulties on your journey?”

Little Princess? Chu Shengfan was stunned. Was this form of address correct?

“Thank you, Senior, for your concern. I did not encounter any difficulties.”

Chu Shengfan felt there was nothing wrong with his answer, but the young woman’s expression immediately changed drastically. She quickly bowed,

“Little Palace Master, please do not call your servant a Senior. Your servant cannot bear it. You are the second most honored master on this Qinghan Mountain, and no one other than the Palace Master is worthy of receiving a respectful title from you.”

Chu Shengfan felt a bit helpless, but he quickly adjusted his mindset and accepted it. In other words, this Spirit Rank woman, whose exact stage he didn't know, held a status in the Qinghan Palace similar to the Head Maids at his home who had undergone Spirit Opening contracts.

Calling her Senior was indeed inappropriate. “Please rise. I will rely on you for information in the future.”

“This servant's name is Su Yi. I will be responsible for your exclusive daily life and routine from now on. You may ask me any questions you have. Now, let us first go see the Palace Master. She has been waiting in the Main Hall for a long time.”

Chu Shengfan stepped down from the Lotus Platform, which was firmly fixed on the ground. After he stepped off, the Lotus Platform transformed back into a small decorative piece and attached itself to Chu Shengfan's waist. The faint Protective Shield still enveloped his body, helping him resist the pervasive Cold Qi around him.

Su Yi guided Chu Shengfan from the side, speaking softly:

“Because this is your first time in the Palace, the Palace Master has gathered all the servants in the entire Qinghan Palace in the Main Hall. Therefore, you will certainly meet many people shortly.

“However, you don't need to remember everyone; just remember a few Stewards. If you need anything, approach a Steward directly. The lower-ranking servants were summoned just to prevent them from failing to recognize your identity and offending you in the future.”

Chu Shengfan nodded. Although he was now a Different-rank Contract Master, and his Mental Energy and memory were much better than ordinary people's, he didn't know exactly how many people Su Yi meant by “many people.” If there were several hundred people at once, trying to memorize them all would indeed be difficult.

Seeing Chu Shengfan nod in agreement, Su Yi continued,

“If it's convenient, you can summon your Source Beasts now. When we reach the Main Hall later, the servants will be able to see what your Source Beasts look like.

“This way, when they play around the palace, they won't be disturbed by those ignorant subordinates.”

Chu Shengfan thought about it and found no harm in doing so. The Myriad Flower Butterfly Spirit and the Spirit Origin Cloud Mother appeared in succession.

Seemingly disliking the cold surroundings, the Myriad Flower Butterfly Spirit landed directly on Chu Shengfan's shoulder as soon as it appeared. The Protective Shield naturally extended to cover it, blocking all the coldness outside.

The enormous body of the Spirit Origin Cloud Mother floated quietly behind Chu Shengfan. The palace was tall enough to fully accommodate even the Spirit Origin Cloud Mother's overly massive frame, with enough height and width remaining for several more.

Su Yi looked at Chu Shengfan's two Source Beasts. The astonishment in her eyes lasted only a moment before returning to calmness. After all, if the Source Beasts weren't somewhat extraordinary, they probably wouldn't have caught the Palace Master's eye.

The two of them continued walking into the palace, passing tall Jade Pillars and exquisitely carved ceilings.

The view ahead suddenly opened up for the two of them, revealing an extremely wide platform where many people stood neatly and orderly arranged.

These people wore clothes of different styles and colors, perhaps due to their differing statuses.

The most numerous were those in white, the simplest style of robes or long skirts. There were about two hundred people wearing these clothes, and their Realms mostly ranged from the Lower Stage of Exotic to the Upper Stage of Exotic.

The next slightly smaller group wore blue sashes around their waists and had patterns of a Blue Ice Lotus embroidered on their bodies. Their Realms were roughly at the Lower Stage of Spirit Rank or Middle Stage of Spirit Rank, numbering about forty to fifty people.

The smallest group consisted of those dressed similarly to Su Yi beside him, numbering about a dozen. Their Realms were the highest; although Chu Shengfan couldn't discern the specifics, he felt they should not be below the Spirit Rank Upper Stage.

At this moment, these so-called servants, regardless of their Realm or status, kept their heads lowered and their eyes downcast, acting as if they hadn't noticed the arrival of Chu Shengfan and Su Yi.

At this moment, a gentle voice came from the Main Hall behind the snowy plaza.

“Disciple, you have arrived?”