Cracks appeared on the surface of the egg, and the Divine Beast inside was about to emerge. Wu Tian watched curiously. What exactly is the Divine Beast inside? The eggshell was no ordinary material; even Wu Tian’s Spiritual Sense could not penetrate it. From this, it was clear that the Divine Beast inside was no ordinary creature. Moreover, Wu Tian took a liking to the eggshell. Compared to Xuan iron, it would make the latter seem laughably weak.

「At the same time」

Outside the New Holy Land, a luxurious RV pulled up and parked. An old man and an old woman, both appearing to be in their seventies or eighties, disembarked. They were both dressed in white lab coats and wore glasses, the very picture of erudite individuals. They were followed by several others in similar white coats, who appeared to be their students.

After getting out of the RV, the old man gazed at the New Holy Land. Above it, hundreds of birds danced in the sky, a sight that made him exclaim in awe, “It truly deserves to be called the New Holy Land. This phenomenon is even more spectacular than the Buddha Light atop Mount Emei. It was worth the trip for me, Xia Wanjuan, to come and investigate.”

“Besides us, the Head of State has also summoned other professors and masters,” the old woman, Liu Ju, said. “Yet none of them have figured out how to enter the Sacred Land, let alone how this New Holy Land was formed. With those questions unanswered, I’d suggest you don’t get your hopes up too soon.”

“Hmph! This era is full of professors, but few have any real substance,” Xia Wanjuan scoffed. “Besides, in this country, who is a greater authority than me? I will definitely discover how this New Holy Land came into being, and I will find a way to enter it.”

Liu Ju sighed. Xia Wanjuan was an authority in the scientific community—a public one, at least. She knew there were other, equally brilliant scientists, but they shunned fame and fortune, choosing instead to make their contributions in obscurity. There were also experts who, despite lacking the title of “scientist,” were true masters of their fields, proving the old adage that talent can be found in the most unexpected of places.

Many times, Liu Ju had advised Xia Wanjuan to be more humble, but he refused to listen. In his eyes, those unknown scientists couldn’t possibly be his equal. If they were, wouldn’t they have come out to challenge him? He was even more disdainful of the notion of masters hiding among the common folk.

What was science? To him, it was a domain accessible only to the truly learned. He believed those who had barely read a few books and claimed to be “masters among the common folk” had simply gotten lucky. In reality, they were nothing special.

“Tell me,” Xia Wanjuan raised his voice to address the students behind him. “Do you think your teacher can unravel the mystery of this New Holy Land?”

“Of course, Professor! You’re the best!” one of the sycophants immediately replied.

“But Professor, I feel some things can’t be explained by science,” another student said with blunt honesty.

Hearing this, Xia Wanjuan frowned, clearly displeased.

“Nonsense. Everything can be explained by science,” Xia Wanjuan said, glaring at the honest student with hostility. “You are a student of science, not superstition. Are you questioning science itself?”

The student didn’t want to argue, but Xia Wanjuan was relentless, his piercing gaze fixed on him, unwilling to let the matter drop. This prompted the student to speak up. “Of course science can explain everything, Professor. But science is limitless; no one can claim to understand all of it. Our scientific development isn’t advanced enough yet, so there are still some things, some phenomena, that we cannot explain.”

“Absurd!” Xia Wanjuan roared. “Our science has reached incredible heights, built by great minds like Newton, Edison, and Einstein. We stand on the shoulders of countless giants to have the science of today. By questioning today’s science, you question those great figures. Do you realize what a cardinal sin that is in academia?”

The student was left speechless, unable to argue with him. Seeing the student bow his head in defeat, Xia Wanjuan nodded in satisfaction. Carrying his scientific instruments, he led his team toward the perimeter of the New Holy Land.

Ye Tianshi and his soldiers checked their identification and passes, confirming they had been summoned by the Head of State before allowing them to stay and conduct their research. The New Holy Land had been cordoned off by a military encampment, preventing ordinary people from getting close. They could only gaze from afar at the sacred site and the spectacle of the Hundreds of Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix.

Xia Wanjuan first instructed his students to circle the woods of the New Holy Land and calculate its area. He then turned to Ye Tianshi and asked, “Could you tell me what methods the previous professors and masters tried in their attempts to enter the New Holy Land?”

“I can.” Ye Tianshi nodded. As a descendant of the former General Ye, he was courteous yet dignified. He promptly began to detail all the methods used by the various experts the Head of State had previously summoned.

The normally relaxed expression on Xia Wanjuan’s face darkened as he listened. The professors and masters had already attempted every method he had in mind. All of them had been utterly useless; they simply could not enter the New Holy Land.

Liu Ju, who had been Xia Wanjuan’s junior in university and was also one of the professors summoned this time, said, “It seems we’re out of options, too.”

Ye Tianshi nodded, unsurprised. He had long since witnessed the bizarre nature of the New Holy Land. An invisible wall deflected everything, even bullets.

Xia Wanjuan was powerless against the New Holy Land and wanted to leave, but he couldn’t bring himself to just walk away in failure. After a moment of deliberation, he said, “Actually, there might be other ways to get inside.”

Ye Tianshi’s eyes lit up. “What way?” he asked eagerly.

“First, you must evacuate the area. Tell everyone nearby to leave,” Xia Wanjuan ordered solemnly.

The expressions on Ye Tianshi and the others’ faces changed drastically. They immediately guessed what kind of weapons Xia Wanjuan intended to use—inhumane ones that would devastate the ecosystem and have long-lasting consequences. Such weapons could certainly breach the New Holy Land’s barrier, but was it worth the cost?

“No, absolutely not,” Ye Tianshi flatly refused. “I am a soldier, and I serve the people. I will not carry out such an order.”

Just a moment ago, Xia Wanjuan had been brimming with pride, delighted that he had found a solution where others had failed. This would be further proof of his superior status and ability in the scientific world. But Ye Tianshi’s refusal nearly drove him mad.

My God, soldiers simply don’t understand science.

He now knew the feeling behind the old saying: a scholar meets a soldier, and all reason is lost. Suppressing his fury, he said, “Do you have any idea what it would mean to unlock the secrets of this New Holy Land? It would mean we could use science to create our own Sacred Lands! Everyone could achieve greatness! What is one small sacrifice in the face of that? Sacrificing the entirety of Yang City would be worth it! Don’t you understand? That’s what a soldier does! You sacrifice a city for the ultimate victory! Isn’t that your duty?”

Ye Tianshi clenched his fists, his jaw tight. “But some things can’t be explained by science. If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be a pointless sacrifice? You want to talk science? Then first explain the phenomenon of the Hundreds of Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix. What’s that all about?”

“Hundreds of Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix? Hah! It’s just a flock of birds flying around. Do you hear a Phoenix cry anywhere?” Xia Wanjuan scoffed.

But the words had barely left his mouth when—

SKREEE!

A loud, piercing cry suddenly reverberated through the air.

Then, from within the New Holy Land, a bird soared into the sky. Xia Wanjuan, Ye Tianshi, and the others stared, dumbfounded.

It was… a Phoenix.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep