Hearing Rulu's words, C.C. was silent for a moment before letting out a sigh. "Human affairs really are complicated. Carrying a grudge for so long, refusing to rest until it's settled in blood — I truly don't understand the way you humans think."

  Rulu raised an eyebrow and looked at C.C. "What do you mean, 'you humans'? Aren't you human yourself? You make it sound like you're some kind of being superior to humans. If you look down on us so much, then why do you have a human face and speak a human nguage to a human like me?"

  C.C. blinked. She lowered her gaze and instinctively looked down at her own hands, then gave a self-deprecating little smile. "You have a point. Whether I like it or not, I am human now — and perhaps I always will be."

  With his temper spent, Rulu gradually calmed down. He felt there was little point in staying angry at C.C., and said, "Forget it. You're not obligated to me in any way, C.C. You had no duty to help me. Giving me this Spiritual-power was already an enormous gift. Let's leave it at that — we should head back."

  Rulu turned and began walking in the direction of the safe house. But C.C. stayed where she was, unmoving. After Rulu had gone about ten meters, he noticed she hadn't followed and turned back, looking at her with puzzlement. "What's wrong, C.C.?"

  "I have known your father for a very long time," C.C. murmured, her head bowed. "And I know him far better than you do."

  "What did you say?" C.C.'s voice had been soft enough that Rulu hadn't caught it clearly. He walked back to her side. "Say that again."

  C.C. lifted her head and looked steadily into Rulu's face. "Rulu — do you know why the Sanctuary wages wars, why it invades other nations around the world, and why it continually gathers resources from every corner of the earth?"

  Rulu hadn't expected that question. He thought for a moment, then said, "Of course I know. The Sanctuary has no fixed territory — it doesn't belong to any continent on earth. It's entirely man-made. The resources it collects from around the world are used in its construction."

  "That's right," C.C. said slowly. "When the Sanctuary was first established, it was very small — no rger than a tiny isnd. After centuries of expansion, it has grown to nearly half the size of Huaxia Nation's entire territory. Now let me ask you something else, Rulu — do you know why the Sanctuary doesn't simply conquer and cim existing nd as its territory? Why does it go to such enormous lengths to gather resources from across the world to build its own?"

  "Well..." Rulu reflected. "The Sanctuary has a very unique environment. The composition of its nd and air is different from everywhere else — it's saturated with a strange energy that can alter the constitution of living beings, even grant them eternal youth. You could call it a closed kingdom of Magic. To maintain that kind of special environment, the Sanctuary has to be constructed in a very specific way — it requires special materials collected from all over the world."

  C.C. nodded. "Not bad — worthy of a prince of the Sanctuary. You know quite a lot. Let me ask you one more thing: do you know why the Sanctuary's Emperor is in such a hurry to build it? What is his ultimate goal?"

  Rulu answered without hesitation. "To expand the Sanctuary's power, of course — to make it the most dominant nation in the world, and then rule over everything."

  "No. You're wrong." C.C. shook her head. "The Sanctuary Emperor's ultimate goal is not to rule the world. Quite the opposite — his ultimate goal is to have the Sanctuary break free from this world entirely, and become completely isoted from reality as we know it."

  "Break free from the world — isoted from reality? What are you talking about?" Rulu didn't quite follow.

  "Put simply," C.C. said, "the Sanctuary's Emperor wants to create a new world — one that exists within an independent dimension of space and time. It would exist within our current space-time, yet not belong to it. It would be able to traverse time itself, moving freely between the past and the future, unconstrained by time or space in any form."

  "Are... are you serious?" Rulu stared at her, open-mouthed, his instinct telling him she had to be making this up.

  "Completely serious." C.C. gnced at him and continued. "And that's not all. Once this world is completed, it would grant absolute dominion over Blue Star. If that Emperor so desired, he could send Blue Star drifting freely through the universe — or destroy it utterly. He could even create an entirely new Blue Star from nothing. This world would be, in every sense, the world of a god."

  Rulu stood in stunned silence after hearing this. "No — that's impossible. That Emperor couldn't possibly do something like that."

  C.C.'s lips curved into a sardonic smile. "Whether you choose to believe it or not, this is the Sanctuary Emperor's ultimate objective — and it is precisely what he is working toward right now."

  Rulu seemed to have been struck by a profound shock. His face went pale with horror. He clutched his head in both hands and muttered to himself, "No... it can't be. If that Emperor can truly do something like this — if he really possesses power on that scale — then there's no way I can ever defeat him. I could never beat him. Never..."