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--- Chapter 446 ---
"How should I address you, Lord?" asked Ye Ziyun, readily accepting her new role. She gazed at Beta calmly, wondering what kind of bright future he would lead them to.
Beta blinked and let out a sigh. "You really accepted things fast, huh? I haven't even laid out any conditions yet."
"We can discuss that later. Right now, I'd prefer to know the name of the Lord I am going to follow." Ye Ziyun smiled in response.
"..."
Han Yuan was speechless. 'This woman... is something wrong with her head?'
He then chuckled, "How do you know I wouldn't make any excessive conditions?"
"Would you?" Ye Ziyun countered wittily.
"Uh, no..."
"Then, that is that." Ye Ziyun gave him a trusting look. "Now, please, your name, sir."
"Han Yuan. That's my name," Beta answered, deciding not to use his code name after all.
"Han Yuan..." Ye Ziyun clasped her hands together. "That's a good name. From now on, I shall refer to my lord as Lord Han."
"Shouldn't you ask my opinion first?" Han Yuan was left speechless yet again.
"Does calling you Lord Han bother you, my lord?" Ye Ziyun asked in return.
"No..." Han Yuan really didn't know what to say anymore.
"Fantastic! So, there is no problem!" Ye Ziyun gave him the brightest smile she could muster, though it appeared a bit awkward due to how stiff her facial expression was.
Han Yuan would have never thought someone could be so enthusiastic, yet so expressionless at the same time. Is this what a true "Kuudere" was all about?
After staying in the Dou Qi Plane for so many years, Han Yuan had spent countless hours with all kinds of girls, and Ye Ziyun heavily reminded him of Han Xiayue, the fiercely indifferent Senior Sister of Jia Nan Academy.
However, compared to Han Xiayue's genuine coldness, Ye Ziyun was clearly trying her best to appear enthusiastic, even if her physical expressions couldn't quite support it.
It seemed that having the Ice God's blood flowing through your veins seriously affected how you showed emotion.
Han Yuan briefly wondered if it was just social awkwardness, but thinking that felt a bit rude. Either way, it gave Ye Ziyun a unique charm that other girls lacked.
Of course, if any of the women Han Yuan knew back home could read his thoughts right now, they would definitely roll their eyes. It was the classic inner monologue of a total Playboy. Fortunately, since none of them were here, Han Yuan decided to just play it cool.
"Whatever. How is the situation outside?" Han Yuan sighed, changing the subject. "Even though I placed sealing barriers around the city, including those space-time tunnels the Small Demon Grotto Plane used to invade this place, that won't stop them from trying to create more."
Ye Ziyun's expression instantly returned to its default, icy-cold state. "The Small Demon Grotto Plane hasn't sent any additional waves of attack. They simply stopped after you sealed the rifts."
"Huh? That's weird." Han Yuan rubbed his chin thoughtfully. 'Wait, does that mean the Douluo Plane is currently still under lockdown?'
'If that's the case, it explains why the Small Demon Grotto Plane didn't react much. Well, either that, or they're just terrified of me. I can't be too sure...'
'The plan that Alpha asked me to carry out, huh? Man, what a troublesome pain-in-the-ass plan this is.' Han Yuan clicked his tongue in annoyance. However, he couldn't even be truly mad, because 'Alpha' was ultimately just himself.
"Uh, City Lord Ye, do you still have the remains of the Demon Emperors?" he suddenly asked.
Ye Ziyun nodded. "Yes, we do. Also, I would prefer it if you called me Ziyun, Lord Han."
"Alright, Ziyun. Lead the way." Han Yuan accepted his fate of managing this oddly dependable new subordinate.
As Ye Ziyun escorted Han Yuan to Glory City's underground warehouse, several survivors greeted him gratefully along the paths, even bowing deeply. Han Yuan responded calmly, maintaining a humble, reassuring smile.
At this point, one could argue that Han Yuan's status in the hearts of Glory City's people was even higher than Ye Ziyun's own. It was no wonder she was so willing to hand over the reins; the residents would have gladly done it for her.
When they finally arrived at the vault, Han Yuan was once again surprised by the sheer level of technological advancement hidden within Glory City. While the Spirit Guidance Tools used here were ancient, they were no less sophisticated than the designs he was familiar with. Well, the designs Alpha was familiar with.
Regardless, Han Yuan was personally more experienced in forging traditional artifacts, but that didn't stop him from recognizing high-tier craftsmanship.
"If I'm not wrong, the first City Lord was a one-of-a-kind genius in the field of Spirit Guidance Technology, right?" Han Yuan observed the intricate arrays carved into the heavy doors.
They didn't just lock the vault; yes, they also acted like a spiritual sieve, filtering out harmful elements to protect the storage inside.
Ye Ziyun replied somberly, "That's right. The first City Lord was an absolute prodigy. Not only did he invent many of the current Spirit Guidance Technologies we use today, but he also devised the plane-crossing arrays, among many others."
She paused, her eyes darkening slightly. "Of course, later generations perfected his vision. But that same vision eventually backfired on us."
Han Yuan tilted his head and pondered, "Have you ever wondered why he was so obsessed with inventing plane-crossing arrays in the first place?"
"No? It always seemed irrelevant to our survival." Ye Ziyun answered bluntly.
"Well, it's highly relevant, considering your first City Lord wasn't originally a person from this timeline." Han Yuan stated casually.
Ye Ziyun's eyes widened in utter disbelief. "What? How could that be?"
"We have his biographical records, his historical journals, everything! He was born on this very tundra, married the love of his life, and even left behind descendants, though they unfortunately perished over time."
"Are you sure about those 'ancient' records?" Han Yuan countered. "Don't you find it a bit too convenient that the first City Lord just happened to stumble upon the Ice God's Heart?"
"That's a divine artifact even a Godking would covet. While the chances of a random local finding it aren't zero, they're so infinitely low that you'd need reality-bending luck to pull it off."
He leaned in slightly. "Unless, of course, the first City Lord already knew exactly where to look because he had encountered it before. Yes, there is a very high possibility that he was a time traveler."
"This is..." Ye Ziyun's thoughts become chaotic. Han Yuan hadn't just given her a new perspective; he had completely shattered her understanding of her city's history.
Han Yuan shook his head gently. "Don't overthink it. We'll get our answers once we meet him anyway."
"What do you mean by meeting him, Lord Han?" Ye Ziyun snapped her eyes back to him, shocked. "Are you planning to resurrect the first City Lord?"
Han Yuan's mouth twitched slightly. "While that isn't entirely impossible for me to pull off, there's no need to go to such extremes. After all, the first City Lord isn't actually dead."
" Well... not dead in a literal sense, anyway. Take me to the resting grounds of the previous City Lords."
Still questioning her own reality, Ye Ziyun followed Han Yuan's orders. She led him deeper into the underground path, entering a perfectly preserved crypt where rows of ornate coffins lined the walls.
Among them was the coffin of the previous City Lord, Ye Zong, who had tragically fallen in the battle against the Sage Demon Emperor.
Han Yuan and Ye Ziyun stopped at the very end of the crypt, facing a jet-black coffin covered in countless blue-gold carvings.
"This is it..." Ye Ziyun said softly.
"A Stasis Chamber, huh?" Han Yuan walked up to the coffin and traced the glowing blue carvings, subtly injecting his own energy into the array. "Oh well. You've slept long enough."
"It's time to wake up!"
BOOM!
The black coffin let out a muffled, heavy thud as the carvings flared with brilliant blue light, illuminating the entire crypt.
Rhythmic, clicking mechanical sounds echoed through the room, causing Ye Ziyun to catch her breath.
Pffsssh!
The coffin's lid slowly slid open, venting a cloud of ancient frost and revealing a robed, humanoid figure inside.
"Who awakened me from my slumber?!" A solemn, booming voice reverberated through the crypt.
But it wasn't the voice of a human.