Chapter 127: Phase One Testing of the Multiverse Portal Begins (Bonus Chapter for Rewards)

Just as Xerath had predicted, it was truly impossible to spare any manpower on Earth to deal with Dracula. Everyone in the mystical community was buried in work, busy from dawn until dusk with establishing schools and negotiating with various governments.

Had it not been for the boundless energy of those in the mystical arts—who could go days without sleep as if it were nothing—the current progress would have been impossible to achieve.

"Phew, the tasks at hand are finally nearing completion," Li Xiaoyao said, stretching his arms and pushing aside a stack of documents. He was the hardest worker among them all, having not taken a single break since he first descended to Earth.

"You've worked hard, though I’m afraid you won’t be able to rest just yet," Zhao Ling’er said, helping him process the files on the desk.

"Still can't rest? What else is there?" Li Xiaoyao felt as if he were reaching his breaking point. His body was fine, but mental fatigue could only be resolved through relaxation.

"Most of the sorcerers from the Hong Kong Sanctum chose not to join the Supernatural Response Force, but the others want to join us. I checked beforehand, and the majority of them are hoping to come over and take on a more relaxed position as teachers," Zhao Ling’er explained. "According to the promise we made at the time, we have to accept most of those who are willing to come."

This was the commitment they had made when the Hong Kong Sanctum sorcerers decided to seek revenge against Kaecilius.

Li Xiaoyao felt a headache coming on. If they brought on more teachers, he would have to spend months on resource allocation and rescheduling the entire curriculum. He couldn't just pay them in currency; he had to provide resources from the cultivation world as well. At the very least, they would need a dedicated exchange channel, otherwise, it wouldn't be fair.

Seeing her husband’s distress, Zhao Ling’er smiled and reached out to take his right hand.

"Don't worry. I’ll handle this part for you. I’ll ask my mother and grandmother if we can use a fast-track channel. Our Nuwa clan has a batch of raw materials about to ripen. Aside from the portion reserved for building our celestial paradise, we can spare some for this."

"That’s wonderful, Ling’er! You really are the best wife in the world!" Li Xiaoyao picked her up and spun her around twice.

"What are you doing? We’re an old married couple now; it doesn’t look right if people see us," she said, tapping his hand, though the smile never left her face.

"So what? Let them see. Let them be envious," Li Xiaoyao whispered, his arm still wrapped around her waist.

"By the way, I can handle that matter for you, but there is one thing that only you can do," Zhao Ling’er continued.

"What is it?"

"The Clock Tower’s multiverse teleportation array is ready for a trial run, and they have invited us to attend the ceremony."

"Why me? Can’t they just pull one person from the crowd? Besides, wouldn't it be strange for me to go alone?"

"You silly man, why do you think it’s you?" Zhao Ling’er rolled her eyes at him. "Everyone started construction at the same time five hundred years ago. The Clock Tower has finished most of their work and is starting trials, but our final blueprints aren't even set yet. Do you think anyone else is in the mood to attend a ceremony?"

"My mother told me recently that the teachers designing the celestial paradise have been meeting for days and are nearly at each other's throats. Sometimes when they get heated, even the Heavenly Emperor can't stop them."

Li Xiaoyao fell silent. He could imagine the scene; the elders of his own sect had been acting much the same way lately, arguing fiercely to secure more curriculum time. Some of them were even his seniors in age and status, so he couldn't exactly scold them when they got worked up. Even if he wanted to, he wouldn't know what to say—they weren't arguing for personal gain, but out of a desire to do more work. You couldn't criticize that.

"Speaking of which, why are they starting the trial run so suddenly? Didn't they say last time that the issues with world detection hadn't been solved yet?" Li Xiaoyao asked.

"The Eye of Agamotto," Zhao Ling’er revealed. "Since Master Ancient One passed away, the Eye was handed over to Master Zilean. It’s said that the people at the Clock Tower are using it as a result monitor. They randomly select world coordinates and then use the Eye to look at the timeline of our world after the selection. After repeating this hundreds of thousands of times, they finally picked a suitable test world."

"What about the test personnel? Please don't tell me I have to bring them over. We don't have any spare hands," Li Xiaoyao asked, pondering the situation. He didn't want to attend a ceremony only to be press-ganged into service. They didn't have enough manpower as it was, even with the Sanctum sorcerers joining.

"What are you thinking? They wouldn't dare try to draft people from us unless they were looking for a fight," Zhao Ling’er laughed. "Besides, there’s a slight issue with the world discovered this time. After assessment, it was found that anyone above the level of a low-tier professional cannot enter. Because of that and other factors, they’ve selected three members of the Ouroboros: Frank, Vernon, and Fina."

"Frank, Vernon, and Fina? They’re all close to the Clock Tower. What kind of selection is that? I remember it being agreed that once built, the share would be split fifty-fifty," Li Xiaoyuf frowned. Fina was a disciple of the Morningstar Mage Blaze, a true Clock Tower loyalist, and Vernon was a druid from the Clock Tower orphanage. Even Frank had closer ties to their side.

"There’s no helping it; it’s a test, and they get to choose the personnel. And since our celestial paradise isn't built yet, the report issued after the meeting between the Heavenly Emperor and Master Zilean states that all energy harvested by this multiverse portal, aside from what is needed for maintenance, will go toward supporting our construction," Zhao Ling’er explained. Li Xiaoyao’s focus was on Earth, while she kept a close eye on the cultivation world.

"Well, that’s fair enough. But there’s one more problem: we can't show up to such a big ceremony empty-handed. What should we bring as a gift?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ling’er fell silent. A gift? What could they possibly give? Everything was already accounted for. If they were to send something, it had to be something China possessed, but something useful for world exploration... perhaps... a nuclear bomb? Just for self-defense?

While Li Xiaoyao and Zhao Ling’er considered the gift, the three selected testers were being taken to the Hextech Research Institute for emergency training. They needed to master the techniques for forced world extraction and calculating the placement of energy extraction arrays, along with other testing standards, all in a very short amount of time.