Chapter Forty-Five: Little Gold, Little Gold (Second Update)

"Ye Xiu stayed because of the Heavenly Emperor’s invitation," Sang Sang said, lifting Xiao Jin’s hand with her finger and tracing his armpit, her tone calm. "It was your suggestion that the Heavenly Emperor invite Ye Xiu. With Ye Xiu, who is known as the Cosmic Library, around, you can ask him about many questions you can’t find the answer to. Other than Green Sprout, you get along best with Ye Xiu among everyone, and he even calls you Your Highness."

Xiao Jin turned his head, anxiously replying, "I did it for the sake of the whole Heavenly Dao group, and my relationship with you is a hundred times better than with Ye Xiu."

Sang Sang raised her eyebrows. "What about with the Heavenly Emperor?"

Xiao Jin declared firmly, "You are as important as the Heavenly Emperor."

Sang Sang pursed her lips. "Since it’s because of him that I got to know you, I’ll let him share the honor."

Xiao Jin turned his head away and let out a very human-like sigh of relief, muttering to himself that women really were petty. Fortunately, he was quick-witted and responded immediately, "No, wait, we’re talking about your issue. Don’t change the subject. Are you sure you want to reveal your mastery of the laws of time and space?"

Sang Sang smiled. "Didn’t we discuss this before? Revealing a bit of my connection to the laws of time and space can cover up the secret of harboring the origin of time and space. Although now the Master Yuan Mo will be asleep for a hundred years before regaining consciousness and no one will discover it for the time being, that might not always be the case. The Star Sand recorded the laws I touched, and the part of time and space that Yuan Mo initially fused was absorbed by me. According to the history of the Divine Court, every limited appearance of the origin of time and space is always fiercely contested."

"Just because you absorb the laws of time and space doesn’t mean you can comprehend them. Over time, it will naturally dissipate. If you reveal that you’ve already merged with time and space, many people will surely watch your progress, and the risk of the origin of time and space being discovered will rise." Xiao Jin said earnestly, "I know, as long as you don’t want anyone to know, Aslan absolutely won’t be able to detect the star of time and space law you’ve fused."

"Xiao Jin, you still don’t fully understand human nature. There’s a saying: ‘darkness under the lamp.’ I’ve already started merging with time and space. Harboring time and space fluctuations is perfectly normal. Even the best instruments can only detect that my mastery is at the third level. Anyone can see that I’m not hiding my cultivation, so there’s no way I could possess the origin of time and space." Sang Sang paused here, motioned for Xiao Jin to lift his foot, and continued, "Even if I don’t expose it, when the Heavenly Emperor arrives, do you think he can restrain himself from using time and space spells? If he can’t and someone notices, they’ll still trace it back to me. Better to come clean early."

"Fine, your argument is stronger," Xiao Jin said, crestfallen, his voice losing its vigor.

Sang Sang changed the subject. "By the way, the dedicated star network line for the Milky Way has already been opened, right?"

Xiao Jin perked up. "It’s up, but only the family ports you’ve authorized can access it. Full access will have to wait until you’re selected as Saintess, pass your internship, and receive your title. Then the Temple will open up D-level and below technology and cultivation texts to galactic civilization, which is about the level of a fourth- or fifth-tier civilization. Do you want to contact Jun Lin? He spends two-thirds of every day online in the Temple’s starnet, and he’s been bullied. I transferred a hundred faith coins to him for pocket money in star coins."

Sang Sang replied, "No need, just keep an eye on them for me. I don’t want to see old acquaintances in my current state."

"When Jun Lin met you, you were this size too. But maybe it’s better you don’t see him. The Heavenly Emperor said he harbors impure thoughts toward you," Xiao Jin whispered, drawing patterns on Sang Sang’s sole. "Elder Qing is also online, together with your teachers. Do you want to see them?"

"Don’t worry about me. Long-term seclusion in the God’s Tomb didn’t affect me much. I practiced my psychic energy, internal energy, and the laws, switching between them, so I never had time to feel bored. It was just a little uncomfortable at first after coming out, but talking to you has made it much better," Sang Sang said, patting Xiao Jin’s head and lifting him up. Golden runic arrays slipped into his toy mecha body. "I’m done drawing. See if the gathered energy is enough for your daily use?"

Xiao Jin ran a diagnostic on his energy condensation speed. "The efficiency is twenty-seven times higher than before, plenty for daily needs. If I don’t do high-intensity calculations, I can even store a fifth of it. Purity has increased by fifteen percent—your purification law has improved as well."

"As long as it’s enough, let’s eat a feast. No matter how good the time-locking preservation is, it can’t compare to a fresh dish right out of the pot." Sang Sang placed Xiao Jin in a little flower basket lined with fine energy stones and velvet petals, then carried the basket to the dining room. Black Butterfly was just putting a big plate of crispy sparrows on the table. Sang Sang couldn’t wait to grab one and pop it into her mouth. "Mmm, Black Butterfly’s skills have improved—the taste is better than before."

Xiao Jin protested, "I made them. Black Butterfly only helped with plating."

Sang Sang suddenly understood. "No wonder they taste so good. I thought it was just because I hadn’t eaten for so long in the God’s Tomb. So it was you cooking—Xiao Jin, you’re getting more and more versatile."

Xiao Jin lifted his head proudly, left foot stepping on right, then right on left. "Sang Sang, are you going to the exhibition tomorrow? Take me with you, I’ll hide so no one sees me."

"Alright," Sang Sang nodded. "With Teacher Boya there, even if someone notices you, no one will dare to snatch you. Besides, I haven’t used time and space spells here yet. In the God’s Tomb, I created a skill called time-space exile—as long as someone was born within the last hundred years, I can exile them back to the moment of their birth, letting the temporal traits cancel each other out and naturally vanish. I’m not sure what the effect will be."

The Ninth Hall of the Seminary was hosting a creative media exhibition, an internal contest among the candidate Saints and Saintesses. It was called “small” only because the Seminary’s standards for scale were unusual. Large exhibitions often featured hundreds of thousands or even over a million works; anything under a hundred thousand was medium, and under ten thousand, small. The first round of selection only eliminated fifty-odd contestants, leaving more than nine hundred. What would be considered a large exhibition elsewhere was only small in the Seminary.

The exhibition wasn’t open to the public, but students of the Seminary could visit with their student cards and were eligible to vote. The work with the highest number of votes would receive a pass for one round of selection, and the teachers in charge of the voting would score each piece, with the scores affecting the final results.

Though called a small hall, the interior space could expand infinitely. In the void, spiral staircases stood still, gigantic by human standards, each step supporting a transparent, square room at its center. Each room was a self-contained space for an artwork. By pressing a hand to the transparent barrier, one could teleport into the exhibit room. The rooms were identical in size and shape, regardless of the artwork, and each was magnetically isolated. From outside, one could see the entire work; to experience it, one had to enter.

Sang Sang walked into the Ninth Hall and was almost startled back out by the chaos inside. She had seen many aliens before, but witnessing so many bizarre forms gathered together gave her the illusion of stepping into a zoo. The Seminary recruited from all races in the universe; the combined staff and students of its many branches and affiliated educational bases numbered in the billions. Humans were still the majority, but certain large races had such a strong presence that, along with interstellar law granting minors the right to maintain their original forms, they could not be forced to appear human. That was why Sang Sang thought she had walked into a zoo, though on closer look, there were still plenty of humans and humanoids inside.

P.S.: Sisters, don’t forget to vote.