Chapter 1448: Council City

Chapter 1448: Chapter 1448: Council City

The reason Pei Yan was so determined to go along, aside from worrying about Mei Simiao’s safety, was that some inexplicable emotion was calling him there. This emotion felt like fate working in the dark, rising from within him of its own accord. Pei Yan didn’t know what had sparked it, nor could he dispel it. It had kept his mind in turmoil these past days. He decided to go to the Three Great Councils to see for himself, mentally prepared to stay calm no matter what happened.

"You already said we’d go back together, so what’s the point of us returning first! If we’re going anyway, let’s all go together." Wang Wenze knew Pei Yan’s temperament; realizing persuasion was useless, he immediately suggested.

"Sure! Let’s go home together! Hurry up! The sooner we get this done, the sooner we go home!" Someone in the crowd immediately chimed in.

"All right then, let’s depart together." Seeing that no one had any objections, Mei Simiao figured that at this point there probably wouldn’t be any danger, so she agreed to the plan, and the group set out together for the Three Great Councils’ base.

After a stretch of space-jump travel, the group arrived at the Three Great Councils’ base. This was Pei Yan’s first time coming to the power center of the Magic Plane. Compared with the grandeur of the Holy City, the elegant luxury of the Immortal Palace, and the natural majesty of the Dragon Realm, the site of the Three Great Councils seemed rather ordinary. There were no perilous passes, no towering walls. From afar it actually resembled the early form of a modern city: rows of neatly staggered houses, carriages running back and forth along the avenues, making one feel as if they’d been dropped into eighteenth‑century Europe. If you had to point out what differed from the present world, it would be those high towers rising among the city like cranes among chickens, especially eye‑catching, and those spectacular cathedral‑style buildings.

Having done his homework beforehand, Pei Yan knew those towers were the Mage Towers that housed the Mage Association. These structures were common in larger towns across the Magic Plane, but the Mage Tower in the Council City of the Three Great Councils only admitted the strongest—those at least equivalent to a level‑seven ability user or above, a Mage.

Yet in this world, the most powerful weren’t those Mages. Back when Pei Yan was in the Investigation Office, Instructor Hu had already taught him never to underestimate women in battle, because on some planes female Cultivators were stronger. The classic example was the Witches of the Magic Plane. According to the yin‑yang and life‑death correspondences of the Four Great Planes, in this world women find it easier than men to master Magic Source Qi. Whether in speed of learning and advancing in Magic, or in the rate of Source Qi recovery during combat, they surpass the Mages by a clear margin.

He gazed toward the city, feeling several buildings inside openly casting probing looks outward. Suppressing the urge to go in and have a look around, Pei Yan honored his promise to Mei Simiao and did not enter the city with her. Instead, he and the rest chose to rest by the roadside outside the city. The other two plane representatives who had come along did likewise—seeing things through to the end, they politely declined the Bright Church Bishop’s invitation and stayed outside with Pei Yan’s group.

Once they arrived here, Pei Yan’s restless, uneasy heart suddenly quieted down. He sat casually by a big tree at the roadside, watching the people coming and going through the city gate, his mood surprisingly calm and peaceful. He couldn’t help mocking himself inwardly—had Delacuri’s and Ye Ruozai’s prophecy scared him that badly? Given the current situation, nothing else should be happening. Maybe that prophecy referred to something far in the future. Or maybe it was that he’d been cautious all the way, giving Blood Shura no chance to make a move, and thus successfully sidestepping this danger. After all, divination was only prophecy, just like his parents’ crisis and Ye Ruozai’s crisis—so long as you took precautions in advance, it was still possible to avoid such things.

With that thought, Pei Yan relaxed a lot. He leaned against the tree and closed his eyes to rest. Snatches of conversation between Lin Daozi and Jiang Feiyang drifted to his ears. Ever since seeing Jiang Feiyang’s and Liang Qian’s abilities on the Vlad Clan’s plane, both planes had been trying hard to win over these two rising stars, especially Jiang Feiyang, who was getting a lot of attention. On this matter, Pei Yan turned a blind eye with tacit approval, letting the Investigation Office appropriately display abilities other than his own, which could more effectively raise the Investigation Office’s standing in the minds of the various planes.

If you looked deeper, there was nothing wrong with the intent—what could be problematic were the people. Liang Qian was fine; as a girl, she was gentle and courteous in dealing with others, winning unanimous goodwill from the two planes. She and Xia Yu, along with Pei Yan’s elder sister Pei Jin, had even become prime targets for friendship for Lin Xunrou of the Immortal Palace and Long Jin of the Dragon Realm. Over the journey, the girls had already formed different kinds of friendships. But things were entirely different on Jiang Feiyang’s side. This guy, suddenly being chased after and flattered, had gotten a bit carried away. Plus his usual habit of shooting his mouth off, talking nonsense without a filter—on the way he had been chatting away with Lin Daozi, discussing ancient and modern times, pointing out the fate of empires, tossing around all sorts of high‑end tactical jargon that left Lin Daozi blinking in amazement. In the end, Lin Daozi actually came to regard Jiang Feiyang as the Investigation Office’s grand strategist, just short of bowing down to him and inviting him back to serve as military advisor to the Six Guards Army.

Listening from the side, Pei Yan had to fight not to burst out laughing. Jiang Feiyang at best was operating at the level of a military hobbyist; what "strategy and tactics" he knew all came from books bought off street stalls, read and half‑digested. The only tactic he’d truly mastered was "shell the ground flat," which happened to be the only tactic Pei Yan himself was proficient in. Pei Yan really couldn’t tell whether Lin Daozi was flattering Jiang Feiyang or had genuinely been taken in by his spiel. Though it seemed unlikely, Pei Yan suspected the latter was more probable, because Jiang Feiyang’s pseudo‑theories were still somewhat fresh and attractive to the ears of Lin Daozi, who poured all his energy into cultivation and was not very invested in other matters.

Thus, amid Jiang Feiyang and Lin Daozi’s lazy, cheerful banter, Pei Yan sensed Mei Simiao’s Source Qi aura moving from inside the city toward them. He slowly opened his Mechanical Eye; judging from the aura, he could tell she was free and hadn’t been restricted in any way. It seemed his worries had indeed been unnecessary. Once Mei Simiao returned, they could head back to headquarters together.

Sure enough, before long Mei Simiao appeared within everyone’s line of sight. Seeing her being accompanied out by that Bright Bishop, the Witch, and several attendants, the group couldn’t help letting out a collective cheer—finally, they could go home. Only Pei Yan noticed the faint fear and unease in Mei Simiao’s expression.

"Director Mei, is everything settled?" Pei Yan stepped up to ask.

"Ah! Mm! It’s done! Let’s head back now!" Upon seeing Pei Yan, Mei Simiao immediately smoothed out her emotions. Smiling, she patted Pei Yan’s shoulder and urged him.

"Oh, okay." Pei Yan was a bit puzzled, but still let Mei Simiao herd him along as they walked out. Keenly, he noticed that Mei Simiao—who was usually very smooth in dealing with people—hadn’t done any final farewells with the Three Great Councils’ people, nor exchanged pleasantries with representatives from the other two planes. And the few sending them off showed no sign of displeasure at this.