Seeing her hold the ice crystal, the silver-haired man repeated his earlier words without changing a single word. The ice crystal in her palm remained completely still, radiating calm and sincerity.
Elara did not say anything more, nor did she return the ice crystal. She simply asked again, "What about the time?"
"If all goes well, it should take about seven days."
Elara toyed with the ice crystal in her hand, her tone becoming flat. "No, this is the critical period when the insect eggs are attacking and evolving. I can't leave Plumera Kingdom for that long."
Especially since the other party even asked her to take all the high-grade divine artifacts with her.
The silver-haired man looked at her with a hint of surprise. "Why? If you are worried about the safety of Plumera Kingdom, Divine Attendant Gabriel has always been by your side. Once you leave with me, he will remain here to guard it for you. What are you still worried about?"
Elara's eyes narrowed instantly. "What did you say?"
Divine Attendant Gabriel? According to Elara's current understanding of the Temple of Divine Attendants, when it was first founded, one of the original five temple masters was named Gabriel—sharing a name with one of the ten mythical beasts of ancient Carnation lore.
How could such a figure be by her side? And for so long?
Seeing her reaction, the silver-haired man seemed to understand something. His pale lips curved slightly, and he suddenly looked at the void behind Elara.
"Gabriel, the time foretold by the Divine Sovereign has come. You have remained hidden for over ten thousand years. It is time to return."
As his voice fell, Elara turned her gaze to where he was looking and saw a very familiar figure slowly manifest beside her, like a figure emerging from a landscape painting.
"...Scholar Fu?!"
It was none other than Scholar Fu, who had indeed stayed by her side ever since she arrived in this world.
Scholar Fu was as warm and composed as ever, his expression and movements calm and unhurried.
But if one looked closely, they would notice that the corners of his eyes and hair carried a faint bluish tint, like the signs of a mythical beast about to reveal its true form.
Elara stared at him in astonishment.
...Scholar Fu?!
...The last unfortunate top scholar of the old Plumera Kingdom? The man who willingly entered the former empress's harem for several years after being chosen? He was actually one of the first-generation temple masters of the Temple of Divine Attendants who had hidden away for thousands of years?!
Elara's shocked mind flooded with thoughts... no wonder Scholar Fu always had that detached, ethereal manner, untouched by worldly affairs. Elara had never seen him take much interest in anything... so it turns out he was not fully human by worldly definition after all?!
Scholar Fu calmly glanced around the grand hall, then stepped forward to stand in front of Elara. As always, he performed the respectful bow of the Minister of Appointments. Then, from his sleeve, his long fingers reached out and pulled a translucent jade sword from the air.
"Your Majesty, please go. Whether or not you are the one destined by the gods, the Temple of Divine Attendants will never become your enemy, nor will it ever endanger you."
He spoke to Elara with his usual measured tone, then walked slowly to the center of the hall.
He was still wearing his dark blue ministerial robe. With a sweep of his long sleeve, the translucent jade sword glowed faintly blue. Then, like an anchor, he thrust it into the center of the hall.
Even though the sword did not pierce the ground—its tip still hovered thirty centimeters above the floor—Elara seemed to hear a sharp cracking sound, like something splitting open under immense force.
In the next second, a divine radiance entwined with soft blue and pale red light shot up from the sword, piercing through the ceiling and soaring into the sky.
Then, at a speed visible to the naked eye, it spread like a high-tech, transparent five-colored protective barrier, enclosing the entire sky.
Even from the palace corridor, Elara could hear the palace servants outside suddenly crying out in awe, kneeling and chanting with devotion, "The divine has manifested!"
Elara stood silent for a long time before looking away. She turned her gaze to the center of the hall, where the gentle scholar still stood tall before the sword, exuding a quiet scholarly aura... and in her heart, a chaotic feeling emerged, as if a learned man had suddenly rolled up his sleeves and drawn his sword.
...She had always grouped Scholar Fu and Mathias among those who lacked martial strength, often assigning extra guards to protect them during expeditions...
Turns out... the protection was meaningless. It should have been them protecting the guards.
"Your Majesty, this is the Source Core Sword that I have always carried with me. Its spreading energy is enough to protect the entire Plumera Kingdom, as long as those creatures outside do not evolve to the cocoon-breaking stage."
Confirming that the sword's radiance had enveloped the whole of Plumera Kingdom, Scholar Fu turned to Elara. Just like when he had something to report in the past, he folded his hands and bowed to her.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me for hiding the truth. After all, the will of heaven cannot be revealed. Even now, like the Snow Spirit Dragon, I cannot completely confirm your identity. I only sensed, from the moment I first saw you, that there was a deep, unbreakable karmic bond between us. That is why I have remained by your side all these years."
"Your Majesty, please go without worry. I will guard Plumera Kingdom for you. No matter what the final outcome is, the Temple of Divine Attendants will never cause you harm."
Elara did not trust the white-haired man and his group when she first met them, but she had more trust in Scholar Fu, who had always stayed by her side.
After scanning Scholar Fu's long sword with the System and confirming that the light it emitted could protect the entire Plumera Kingdom, Elara agreed to the white-haired man. Then she summoned the senior officials from several major departments in Plumera City and clearly explained all the future measures that needed to be taken in Plumera Kingdom. After that, she stepped into the silver glowing portal with the white-haired man.
The moment she stepped into the portal felt strange. Time and space seemed to stretch in that instant, as if an eternity passed yet also only a moment. When her vision changed completely, Elara and the white-haired man's group appeared in a stunning world made of ice crystals.
Elara stepped onto the clear crystal floor, raised her eyes to look around, and had the System check the map. Only then did she realize that she had been brought to the peak of a snowy mountain over six thousand meters high in the southeastern region of the Central Continent.
This Ice Crystal Palace was located right at the top of the mountain.
"Your Majesty, this is one of the branch halls of the Divine Attendant Gabriel's Palace on the continent. Please follow me."
Elara followed the white-haired man to the edge of the ice palace and saw a spiral staircase made of ice winding downward in a gentle curve.
This scene truly felt magical and otherworldly. But since this world had no real magic, only advanced technology and time-travel elements, the best way to describe it was a blend of sci-fi and fantasy beauty.
Elara walked behind the tall and graceful white-haired man down the staircase, passing through more than ten heavy crystal doors. They descended around two hundred meters before the view suddenly opened up. At the bottom was an enormous space the size of two football fields and over a hundred meters tall.
In this space, blue flames burned on ice crystals everywhere, lighting up the entire interior brightly.
Rows of huge bookshelves made of ice crystal stood neatly arranged. But instead of scrolls or bamboo slips, what filled the shelves were carefully displayed divine symbol totems.
Elara looked at the countless rows of totems and could not help but have her pupils slightly tremble.
To other nations on the continent, just having one or two divine relics granted by divine veins was already a dream. Yet Divine Attendant Gabriel's Palace had densely packed this massive area with mid to high-grade divine items.
No wonder it was said the Divine Attendant Gabriel's Palace was the most mysterious and unfathomably powerful top-tier force. Just this room filled with divine totems showed how deep their foundation was. Even the top-ranking great powers of other nations could not compare.
"Your Majesty, these are the contents of your final test."
While Elara was still looking at the countless divine totems on the huge shelves, the white-haired man walked to the front and gestured toward all the totems behind him.
"These divine totems were prepared over thousands of years by the Divine Attendant Gabriel's Palace specifically for you, or rather, for a divinely chosen person like you."
"If you are truly the one foretold by the prophecy, not only should you be able to activate and use them all, you should also be able to absorb the divine power left behind by the God."
The white-haired man looked at Elara with calm eyes as he slowly explained.
Elara paused upon hearing this. She had indeed been able to activate various divine symbols and always felt a mysterious power entering her each time.
"Leftover divine power?" So the energy she had unknowingly absorbed each time she activated a divine symbol was the power left behind by a God?
Then what was the glowing tree in her consciousness that grew each time it absorbed that energy and even bore fruit? A divine relic tree?
Wait. So all the "abnormalities" that had happened to her after arriving in this world were all related to the "Gods" of this world?
The white-haired man followed her gaze to the giant "bookshelves" around them. "Yes, advanced divine relics always retain a bit of the divine power left by the God."
Elara looked at the endless rows of totems that stretched so high one could hardly see the top. "So this so-called test are you saying I need to activate and absorb all these totems?"
If so, this would truly be an enormous blessing for her.
Like fortune falling from the sky.