Sanctuary Technology

What astonished and unsettled Bai Zongnan the most was how eerily similar his life's trajectory was to that of Wu Song! First, he slew a tiger demon on a hillside. Next, he was recognized by the county magistrate and appointed as a constable. Then, tragedy struck: the elder brother who had raised him was poisoned by his beautiful sister-in-law.

“There must be a reason behind this!” Bai Zongnan pondered.

“Brother… ah, I mean, Officer Bai Zongnan,” Li Sikui had already come to his side, her clear, gentle voice tinged with concern and warmth. “You’ve just finished your trial and still have some lingering confusion. Why not get some rest and take a nap?”

“Hm? Oh, thank you for your concern, Director Li.” Bai Zongnan finally snapped back to himself and nodded his thanks.

“There’s no need for thanks. From now on, we’ll be colleagues, partners, comrades-in-arms.” A hint of blush crept over Li Sikui’s cheeks, and her pretty face flushed rosily. “By the way, what did you mean in the mythic world fragment when you mentioned ‘Kui’s Department under the beauty filter’?”

As she spoke, her delicate face, once fair and pale, was now radiating a heated crimson.

“Kui’s what?” Bai Zongnan was at a loss. “I…?” When did he ever say all his inner thoughts out loud?

“All right, go get some rest.” Li Sikui chuckled softly, her glowing cheeks barely concealing her fondness and longing for her “brother.” She had to turn away, her high heels clicking briskly as she left. “Tomorrow morning, we’ll undertake a true descent into the mythic world. I hope we’ll earn even greater merit then, to provide more momentum for the sanctuary’s development.”

“Oh.” Bai Zongnan nodded woodenly and walked toward his room.

Just around the corner, Li Sikui clenched her small fist and leaned against the cold alloy wall, her chest rising and falling rapidly with excitement in her eyes. “Hooray! The ‘Kui’s Department’ my brother mentioned—could it be the ‘Sikui’ in my name? Did I really leave a good impression on him?”

To leave a mark, even if it’s only a name, in her brother’s heart—it was truly wonderful!

---

In the monitoring room, the head of security instinctively turned off the screen and looked around at the four or five team members monitoring the surveillance, speaking quietly. “I trust none of us will breathe a word about Director Li’s feelings for Bai Zongnan, the big star, right?”

“Of course not, absolutely not!” The security team members all shook their heads emphatically.

After all, who didn’t know that Director Li Sikui, now the acting director, had openly declared on the political review form that she was Bai Zongnan’s top fan?

“But honestly, Bai Zongnan really is handsome!” The security team couldn’t help but feel a twinge of envy in their hearts.

After all, Bai Zongnan’s charm transcended gender!

“Bai Zongnan, eighteen years old, high school graduate, registered in Long City, debuted as a child star at thirteen. Songs like ‘Firefly,’ ‘Magic Castle,’ and ‘Youth Training Manual’ dominated the charts and won him the Newcomer of the Year award.”

“In the same year, he began writing online novels. His works ‘Battle Against the Heavens,’ ‘Skybreaker,’ and ‘The True Path of Origin’ all reached platinum contract status within three years.”

“He later produced hit variety shows like ‘Yearning for Life,’ ‘Let’s Run,’ and ‘Youth With You.’”

“Just as his life was reaching new heights, at eighteen, during the national mental assessment, he was found to have an extraordinary spiritual value and a talent for descending into the mythic world. He was thus specially recruited by the government of Kaiyang Sanctuary and became a civil servant without the usual examination.”

“During his initial trial in the Fourth Institute’s mythic world fragment, he awakened an extraordinary incarnation, with a robust physique, agile movements, mastery of both fist and blade, astonishing strength, and top-tier combat experience and observational skills.”

“There’s no record of Bai Zongnan having undergone descent training, so his talent for descending is rated A+.”

“His recommended future cultivation path: Martial Arts.”

Kaiyang Sanctuary, Long City.

Within the Fourth Institute of Mythic World Studies, although it was already near midnight, the main offices remained brightly lit.

---

Meanwhile, in the descent zone of the research institute, over a hundred staff members were busily arranging equipment and cabling.

“So this is Bai Zongnan’s current dossier?” As director and acting head, Li Sikui sat exhausted in her massive executive chair, her tall, slender figure seemingly swallowed by its embrace, making her appear all the more delicate and charming.

Yet, as she held the thin dossier and its scant pages, her fair face betrayed a trace of helplessness. “Well, it seems the mythic world matching dossier will need more descents from Bai Zongnan before it can take shape. For now, there just isn’t much data.”

“Director Li, should we prepare some new mythic crystals for Bai Zongnan’s next descent?” Three veteran strategists seated before her offered their advice. “Judging by his trial results, the initial crystals we prepared—those for solid family backgrounds, wealthy upbringings, or officialdom—aren’t really suitable. And professions like Confucian scholar, roaming swordsman, or judicial scribe don’t quite fit the talents and foundation he’s displayed.”

“I see.” Li Sikui set down the dossier and gently massaged her temples, her slender, white fingers rubbing her brow as she mulled over her previous miscalculations with a hint of headache.

Mythic crystals were tools brought back from the mythic world by the descendants—distinct from the merit they earned.

Yes, tools.

Typically, they could profoundly influence specific backgrounds, professions, or even cultivation methods and traits during the process of matching a descendant with the mythic world.

After all, when the people of the Seven Great Sanctuaries descended into the mythic world, it was never merely their bodies that crossed over.

Rather, it was akin to reincarnation through the entanglement of thought and soul fragments.

Harnessing the power of sanctuary technology, they could manipulate the mythic world’s flow of time and ensure that soul fragments reincarnated in that world in near-perfect form—allowing the incarnations to both flawlessly match their true selves and seamlessly adapt to the rules of the mythic world.