87: Chapter 87 Invitation

In the conference room, Commander Ji Yunlan finished reporting the situation inside and outside the ruins in one breath, while the projection on the table remained on the structural diagrams of the two ruins, with several freshly printed reports pressed beside it.

Patriarch Xia Renyi sat in the head seat, tapping his fingers lightly on the table, nodding after listening.

"Understood, thank you for your hard work this time... As for the Ji family..."

Before he could finish, Commander Ji Yunlan had already straightened her body, her tone crisp and decisive.

"I still need to participate in the follow-up cleanup work, so I will take my leave now."

After speaking, she gave a salute and turned to leave. The conference room door was quickly shut.

"This girl..." Patriarch Xia Renyi looked at the closed door, shaking his head, his tone tinged with helplessness.

The room was quiet for two seconds. Patriarch Xia Renyi and Xia Yunchi exchanged a glance, the former leaning back against the chair, continuing to speak:

"Chen Ye was just a minor hidden danger, but this time we fished out a big catch. The council member truly hiding within the Human Federation has taken the bait... We owe it to Old Man Lin, otherwise, this would have been troublesome."

"It really came down to Xiao Xi; if she hadn't stopped us from closing the net too early, this big catch wouldn't have surfaced..."

Patriarch Xia Renyi casually picked up his cup to drink some water, and as if suddenly remembering something, turned to look at Xia Yunchi.

"That girl Xiao Xi, how are things going between her and that boy from the Lin family now?"

Xia Yunchi's gaze drifted slightly, not quite knowing how to bring up this matter... "Well... Xiao Xi, she..."

He coughed, his voice dropping a few notches. "Plans to break off the engagement..."

"What the hell???" Pfft! Even as a War Sovereign-level expert, Patriarch Xia Renyi couldn't hold it together upon hearing this, spraying a mouthful of water on the spot.

The documents on the table almost suffered as a result; Xia Yunchi hurriedly handed over a tissue, his expression incredibly complex.

Patriarch Xia Renyi glared while wiping his beard. "Say that again?"

Xia Yunchi felt his scalp tingle and could only speak honestly: "It went like this, and like that..."

He recounted the story from beginning to end. From how Xia Xi never really had feelings for Lin Tianjian, to her increasing contact with Lu Cheng later on, and finally, how this girl got fixated on her own path...

By the end of the story, even Xia Yunchi felt a headache coming on...

After listening, Patriarch Xia Renyi was silent for two seconds. "This Xiao Xi..." He paused.

Xia Yunchi had already braced himself for a scolding. But the next second, Patriarch Xia Renyi slapped the table, his beard even shaking with it.

"Isn't that great? Daring to love and hate, she has the spirit of our Xia family!"

Xia Yunchi: "?" No, isn't that a bit too fast for you to accept, old man?

Patriarch Xia Renyi felt it made more sense the more he thought about it. "Things like marriage contracts are determined by the elders. If the younger generation isn't truly willing, why force it? Besides, I've met that boy from the Lin family; he has talent, but... for a grown man, he's too soft. It's normal that Xiao Xi doesn't like him."

"In our family, you're the only one who follows the rules; Xiao Xi is more promising than you!"

"Don't worry, I'll go talk to Old Man Lin. But this Lu Cheng... what kind of sacred figure is he, to be able to make my granddaughter care so much?"

Xia Yunchi's mouth twitched, and he pointed outside the door. "That guy, you just saw him earlier... he's the boy who just came out of the Northern Ruins."

"That boy?" Patriarch Xia Renyi narrowed his eyes. "That's worth investigating then..."

As he spoke, he tapped his fingers lightly on the table. "Do you have the profiles for him... and that young girl who came out of the Southern Ruins? Bring them here for me to see."

Xia Yunchi was well-prepared and handed over two files directly. One was for Lu Cheng, the other for Su Wan.

Patriarch Xia Renyi took them and flipped through the first two pages casually, his expression still calm. But the further he read, the stranger his gaze became. By the end, he wasn't even stroking his beard anymore; he flipped the pages back and read it all over again.

The conference room was very quiet. Xia Yunchi sat to the side, holding his cup without speaking. He knew that anyone seeing these two files for the first time would basically have this reaction.

Sure enough. A few seconds later, Patriarch Xia Renyi looked up, his eyes filled with a bit of existential doubt.

"Are you... sure they are locals from Rong City? Not hidden descendants of some great family?"

Xia Yunchi gave a wry smile. "Lu Cheng doesn't count; his family moved here from somewhere else... but Su Wan is a genuine local."

Patriarch Xia Renyi looked down again. How long has it been since they awakened? One, with the strength of the Body Refining Realm, fought back a Black Seed member of the Hua Hai Realm head-on. The other, as the main attacker, led two Body Refining Realm individuals to kill a Meridian Opening Realm martial artist in a counter-ambush.

Then there were the ruins records, battlefield records, temporary military assessments, and eyewitness reports. Any one of these things taken individually would be outrageous enough. But this all happened to two high school students?

Patriarch Xia Renyi exhaled slowly and raised his hand to stroke his beard. "Compared to them, those so-called geniuses in the Imperial Capital... do those things even deserve to be called geniuses?"

Xia Yunchi's eyelids twitched; this assessment was incredibly high. The Imperial Capital had the best martial arts resources, and every genius there was trained with the full power of their entire clan. However, the fact that Patriarch Xia Renyi could say this meant these two truly had that level of ability.

Patriarch Xia Renyi put the files on the table, an idea already forming in his eyes. "How about this... include them both in this year's special recruitment plan."

"It's time to let those geniuses see what it means when there's always someone better. The martial arts environment also needs a good cleanup."

Hearing this, Xia Yunchi's expression became more serious. If Lu Cheng and Su Wan really went, the scene would likely be very lively.

Just then, a resonant report came from outside the door. "Report!"

Xia Yunchi looked up: "Enter." The door was pushed open, and a soldier walked in quickly, saluting before saying: "Lu Cheng and Su Wan have arrived outside and are awaiting notification."

"Speak of the devil and he shall appear." Xia Yunchi chuckled. Patriarch Xia Renyi also laughed, lifting his chin. "Let them in." "Yes!"

Soon, the door opened again. Lu Cheng and Su Wan walked in one after the other.

As soon as Lu Cheng stepped through the door, the first thing he saw was Patriarch Xia Renyi sitting in the head seat.

This old man had an even stronger sense of oppression up close; his build was robust, his shoulders and back were broad, and the long scar on his face stretched from his temple to the side of his cheek. Despite his age, it hadn't worn away any of his ferocity; sitting there, he was like an old lion with its claws retracted.

Lu Cheng wore his signature smile, speaking very politely. "Mayor... Xia, did you call for us?"

Xia Yunchi and Patriarch Xia Renyi exchanged a glance. The former's mouth twitched slightly as he said: "Just call me Uncle Xia. Sit down, no need to be so formal. Student Su Wan, please sit as well."

"Alright, Uncle Xia." Lu Cheng agreed quickly, pulling out a chair to sit. Su Wan also nodded gently and took a seat beside him.

After sitting down, she swept a glance at Patriarch Xia Renyi. Of course, she knew Patriarch Xia Renyi. A War Sovereign, head of the Imperial Capital's Xia family, a member of the pro-war faction within the Human Federation, powerful and upright. Later on, he would even step into the Saint Realm, and he was one of the few supporters she had in her previous life.

Xia Yunchi didn't beat around the bush and went straight to the point. "We called you here today mainly for two things." "The first is to understand what exactly happened after you were pulled into the space."

He softened his tone as he said this. "Of course, there is no need to be nervous. As the vanguard exploration team, whatever you obtained inside is your own fortune. If the Federation were to snatch even that, humanity would have perished long ago."

Su Wan knew the reputation of the Xia family better, and after a moment of silence, she spoke first: "We were pulled into a space from the past."

As soon as she said this, the eyes of the two men in the room fell upon her. Su Wan continued: "It was connected to the past of the Northern Ruins and Southern Ruins, and both statues were still complete."

"Later, a man wearing a long black coat walked out of the gray fog." "He carried a blade and successively severed the heads of both statues." "Then he handed the heads to Lu Cheng and me, respectively."

"He said that was the power of the past, and also the power of the future. Finally... those two heads were used to destroy the final energy core inside the ruins."

Although she had reached the Destiny Realm in her previous life, her rise to power was too short, and she had spent years guarding the border, so she simply hadn't had time to encounter many of the more ancient secrets. She had no clue who that man in black really was.

Patriarch Xia Renyi pondered for a moment before speaking slowly: "I heard from Commander Ji Yunlan that the Southern Ruins is the place where the Flame Demon is sealed."

"According to records, the Flame Demon reached at least the Saint Realm during its lifetime. It is a demon born from the gestation of a world, making it extremely difficult to kill completely." "That thing in the north is most likely its counterpart, the Ice Nightmare, or rather, the Cold Nightmare."

"To be able to leave a residual time-space in the past and pass hope to the future, this person must possess great supernatural powers." "I didn't expect that such an existence was hidden within the ruins..."

Speaking of this, a trace of solemnity flashed across his eyes. A moment later, Patriarch Xia Renyi withdrew his thoughts, his gaze landing back on the two of them as he suddenly smiled.

"Besides this matter, there is another thing..." As he spoke, he flipped his palm. He produced two gold-stamped envelopes from somewhere, placing them gently on the table.

The material of the envelopes was special, with dark gold patterns pressed along the edges, and in the center was printed a minimalist yet highly recognizable emblem: a long spear piercing through clouds, with a rising sun behind it.

Patriarch Xia Renyi looked at them, speaking slowly: "Are you interested... in participating in the selection for the Navigator Academy?"