The Doomsday Lord: Starting as a Insect Queen-Chapter 95 - 11 Zhuchen Court

Zhuchen, Taian, West Palace of Zhuchen Palace, by the Backlight River

"I’m truly sorry for not considering this matter; I will make sure to arrange for more books in the room later.

Ah, here we are. This is Zhuchen Court, the core and reliance of my Zhuchen. That tallest building over there is the heart of Zhuchen Court where the Royal Library is also located."

Agent Zhu walked ahead, stopping in front of a vast gate that was wide enough to allow four iron carts to pass side by side, while pointing inside and explaining to Bai Yi.

Bai Yi snapped out of admiring the surrounding riverbank park landscapes and followed where he pointed.

Behind the archway made of marble, a road paved with brick tiles extended smoothly into a huge circular square inside.

In the middle of the square stood a giant stone sculpture featuring an open, thick book, apparently carved with rows of clear text.

And behind the sculpture was a white circular building, from which several arched vaults spread out, collectively supporting a massive orange-yellow domed roof above.

Bai Yi estimated that the building’s diameter might well be five hundred meters, and the height also at least one hundred meters.

If this wasn’t supported by transcendent power, it would certainly be considered a marvel in this era.

"Amazing, isn’t it? This was supervised and constructed by Lord Yin Hai, the current Director of Zhuchen Court and Scribe of the Royal Library.

With ingenious calculations using the latest engineering techniques and materials, it took a whole year to complete this Zhuchen Court."

Agent Zhu took out a jade pendant from his pocket, showed it to the guards, and then led Bai Yi inside.

"This is the biggest theoretical tower of Zhuchen Court at present, where most of Zhuchen Court’s theoretical research and teaching take place.

In the most central location is the Royal Library, and Lord Yin is right inside."

Bai Yi, with Agent Zhu’s introduction echoing in her ears, curiously looked around.

Here, there was no wooden structure in sight, nor the riverside flower gardens she had seen all the way, or even any plant at all.

From the ground to the buildings, all that could be seen were stones. Along the sides of the road stood stone lamp posts, and at the top, the four-sided lamp boxes were carved and fitted with slightly blurred glass, seamlessly integrated with the ground.

No signs of inlay could be detected.

Or rather, everything here seemed to have been carved from a single massive block of stone.

Bai Yi could confirm, it was not held together by cement, as even cement, due to differing solidification orders, would leave distinct traces.

"Is this place, this construction purely manual?

And, why are there no trees here?"

Agent Zhu showed no impatience, and answered:

"Some transcendent methods were indeed used during its construction, but I can assure you that now, it stands here entirely on its own.

As for why there are no plants here...

It is to seal something, but if all goes well, this place can soon be filled with flowers and grass.

Here we are, Miss Bai can go in on her own, there will be attendants to lead you to Lord Yin.

I have official duties and cannot accompany you further, but I will wait here when you come out."

Agent Zhu watched Bai Yi walk through the archway, disappearing up the stairs directly opposite the gate, then his smile faded:

"What happened?"

An unidentified man in black had appeared behind him at some point, whispering close to Agent Zhu’s ears.

"What do you mean, those three people all collapsed? And all together?"

"Right, the Imperial Physician checked and said...

Food poisoning."

"?"

Agent Zhu suddenly remembered the pot of pitch-black, hardly soup-like mysterious mixture he had seen last night.

Could it be that?

"Let’s go, I’ll take a look."

.........

"Miss Bai, this way please."

After Bai Yi entered, the maid who had been waiting by the stairs took the initiative to approach and guide the way, remaining exactly two steps ahead of Bai Yi.

Precisely two steps.

Bai Yi was very curious about how the maid managed to accomplish this; even if she slowed down occasionally, the maid would also slow down in sync.

And when her pace quickened, the maid matched that as well.

Upon noticing this, Bai Yi felt playful and intermittently pretended to be curious about the portraits hanging on the walls, altering her pace unpredictably.

Using her peripheral vision, she continually observed the maid’s movements, trying to find a flaw.

"We’ve arrived, Miss Bai. Lord Yin is just beyond this door, and he has been waiting for a long time."

The maid, smiling, seemed to declare her victory in this silent contest.

It was then that Bai Yi realized she had been so focused on the maid that she completely lost track of her surroundings.

She had no idea where she had been led.

If it weren’t for the confidence that the cat hat on her head brought her, she might have felt like retreating.

Sensing Bai Yi’s anxiety, the orange cat gently patted her forehead with its paw, offering comfort.

Pushing open the metallic door, the room didn’t contain the lavish decorations Bai Yi had imagined, but just simple desks and sofas, minimalist and straightforward.

This made Bai Yi unconsciously focus her attention on the man in the white robe standing in the center of the room.

Bang—

The door closed behind her by the maid, leaving only Bai Yi and the white-robed man in the room.

"Hello? Are you Lord Yin Hai?"

"You’ve finally arrived, Miss Bai."

The man turned around, his face unexpectedly young and his eyes deep, as if they could see through everything.

Bai Yi had thought that Lord Yin would be an old man with white hair.

The man examined her from head to toe, making Bai Yi feel uneasy, worried that her unique bond with the orange cat might be discovered.

"I won’t beat around the bush. I believe Kong has already informed you of many things, Transcendent, rituals, Divine Fragments, as well as Transcendent levels and professions. freёweɓnovel.com

You know that our Transcendents gain their powers through rituals, but do you know where these rituals originate from?"

Without waiting for Bai Yi’s response, Yin Hai answered:

"They come from the Divine Fragments, from beings like me, Transcendents.

When we first collected a Divine Fragment, we had no way to utilize or control their power.

Most people who touched them ended up as insane lunatics.

However, there are always the fortunate ones in this world.

Like me, and like you.

There’s no need to deny it, if everything remained unaffected, one day a Divine Fragment would have found you and ’accidentally’ merged with you.

Once we obtain a Divine Fragment, we naturally embark on the path it dictates.

Walking this path, we can foresee the rituals needed for our next profession.

The Transcendent professions we currently possess in Zhuchen are the ones I have derived, and are inferior to my current profession.

We sought you out because you are a perfect match for another Divine Fragment.

Its rank is the same as mine, and when uncontrolled, it spontaneously mutates all surrounding vegetation. I believe it should be well-suited for you.

What we hope, is that you will try to control it, to derive a second line of professions for Zhuchen.

Would you, for Zhuchen, bring forth a new strength?"

.........

Backlight River: An artificial river excavated from the water flow of the Taishan Mountain Range, running eastward across the Capital, with its tributaries flowing through the Imperial Palace, serving as the source for most water decorations within the palace...