Chapter 155: Zhuge Liang

Within the internal universe, in the main hall of the Wheel of Rebirth Pavilion.

Lin Yu sat cross-legged on a jade-colored mat, his pitch-black eyes shimmering with silver light, as if able to pierce the endless void and see the near-infinite multiverses within it.

At this point, twenty-three days had passed since the two new group members joined, and half a month had passed since the Battle of New York.

During these half-months, Lin Yu had essentially done only two things: first, he stayed in the Marvel universe to guard Ling Hua No. 2 until she fully brought the entire Chitauri race under control, after which he chose to return.

As for the second thing, it was the world coordinates his true self had been searching for.

Thanks to the Marvel universe and the Dimensional Secret Art, his knowledge in this area had grown increasingly profound, and his understanding of space and dimensions had surged forward.

Today, he had finally found the world coordinates of the group members—and not just one, but three at once!

He opened the group chat and told his junior members the good news.

The members were stunned and delighted, immediately asking which worlds they were.

【Lin Yu: If I didn’t misread the signals, they should be Tang Zhuan, Qing Yu Nian, and the Three Kingdoms world…】

【Xiang Yunye & Fan Xian: Good good good!】

【He Jing: ?】

【Lin Lie: ?】

【He Jing: Why are you putting question marks? I got here first!】

【Lin Lie: Brother He, there’s no such thing as first come, first served here!】

【Lin Lie: We’re fellow sufferers—we should unite against the outside first…】

【He Jing: That makes sense. My mistake!】

Watching the messages scroll in the group chat, Lin Yu couldn’t help but smile.

He had already suspected this scenario.

Searching for world coordinates was a capability of his true consciousness, and its origin was his internal universe.

Including the already discovered Tang Gui world, the four group member worlds closest to his internal universe were all low-magic or even non-magic worlds, likely all located in the same region of the endless void.

His internal universe must have drifted into this region too, which is why he originally encountered the group chat—by accident, intruding into his internal universe…

Judging by this, his existence truly was an accident.

According to the group’s pre-upgrade screening criteria, the original members should all have come from low-magic worlds or below!

【Xiang Yunye: Alright, I know you’re jealous—I’m jealous too.】

【Xiang Yunye: Old Su just got a head start of over a month, and he rocketed straight to Qi Condensation Layer Seven—what kind of cultivation speed is that? Who wouldn’t be envious?】

【Xiang Yunye: Brother Lin, ignore those two—just connect the worlds already! I can’t wait!】

【Fan Xian & Li Shimin: +1】

【Lin Yu: Don’t rush.】

【Lin Yu: I’ve gained new insights into the Dimensional Gate—I believe I can attempt to open a fixed teleportation portal.】

【Lin Yu: All three of you have your own factions—why not first find a suitable location, confirm the coordinates, and then let me link the two worlds?】

【Xiang Yunye: Perfect!】

【Xiang Yunye: I’m planning to build Baiyu Jing on Kunlun Mountain—let’s set the portal there!】

【Fan Xian: I have a suitable spot too, but I need some time to prepare…】

【Lin Yu: Whoever finishes preparing first, come to me first to open the portal.】

【Li Shimin: Me me me!】

【Li Shimin: I’m already ready!】

【Xiang Yunye & Fan Xian: Already?】

【Li Shimin: Hehe, I’m the Emperor—I can easily designate a forbidden zone inside the palace!】

【Lin Yu: Shall we start now?】

【Li Shimin: Wait—this matter is too important to hide from the court’s senior ministers. If you don’t mind, I’d like the Prime Minister to witness this with me!】

He had now been in the group for over twenty days and had gained a general understanding of the other members.

Among them, Lin Yu—the strongest—was his primary focus; according to what he knew, this man came from a higher-level world and was a true immortal who had lived for thousands of years.

Before such an entity older than any dynasty, Li Shimin, who had lived two lifetimes, was merely an infant.

Thus, calling him “elder brother” came naturally—he did so willingly, without a trace of humiliation or condescension.

【Lin Yu: Zhuge Liang…】

【Lin Yu: No problem!】

Upon receiving Lin Yu’s approval, Li Shimin’s eyes lit up, and he immediately issued orders to summon Prime Minister Zhuge Liang to the palace.

While waiting for the Prime Minister, Li Shimin ascended the pavilion of Shou’an Palace with Guan Xing, his gaze sweeping over the plainly built palace before him, pondering where to place the portal.

The Chengdu palace was expanded from the former governor’s office after Liu Bei declared himself emperor, historically known as the Han Palace or Shu Palace.

Although far smaller than the Han palaces of Chang’an and Luoyang, as the core of the Shu Han regime, it still followed all traditional Han dynasty protocols.

The palace layout was symmetrically arranged along a central axis, stretching from Duanli Gate in the south to the Rear Garden in the north, three hundred meters wide east to west and five hundred meters deep north to south.

The main complex consisted of the Outer Court and Inner Quarters: the Outer Court centered on Chengguang Hall, where Shu Han’s civil and military officials held court and conducted affairs; the Inner Quarters centered on Shou’an Palace, where the emperor and empress resided.

The palace walls stood about six meters high, with gates on all four sides. The southern gate was a three-tiered pavilion-style structure, flanked outside by bronze camels and stone lions symbolizing royal authority; to the northwest stood the Armory, storing weapons, armor, and otherworldly divine arms.

In the southeast corner stood the Imperial Ancestral Temple, honoring Han ancestors such as Liu Bang and Liu Xiu.

In the southwest corner stood the Altar of Soil and Grain, conforming to the Han tradition of “left ancestral temple, right altar of soil and grain.”

Li Shimin scanned the surroundings and realized with a sigh that his earlier boast in the group had been rash.

This Shu Han palace was far too small—nothing compared to his later-life Chang’an palace, five to six li long and three to four li wide—and he couldn’t find any hidden, suitable spot at all.

This was only natural: Zhuge Liang had written in his “Memorial on the Expedition,” “The palace buildings of Chengdu must be kept simple.”

Liu Bei had suffered through the struggle for power; Liu Chan followed Zhuge Liang’s every word—no one would waste Shu Han’s strength on lavish palace renovations.

In truth, beyond the public areas of the Outer Court, the emperor’s private domain was barely a fraction—smaller than the courtyard his former self had allotted to guests and retainers in his Qin Wangfu .

Only now did Li Shimin realize, belatedly, that he had been living in such a cramped place.

Stranger still—he had never felt uncomfortable, even felt energized every day, diligently handling state affairs, never sensing his standard of living had plummeted.

Was this the romance and idealism of Shu Han?

He sighed inwardly, then descended the pavilion with Guan Xing and arrived at the hidden chamber in the southwest corner of Shou’an Palace.

The hidden chamber was a secret room connected to an underground tunnel; within the palace wall’s hollow layer ran oil pipes—should fire spread to the inner palace, the emperor could escape through here and set fire to block pursuers, buying time.

Likewise, if a corrupt minister held overwhelming power and oppressed the sovereign, soldiers could be stationed here, luring the minister to this chamber and executing him in the most brutal manner.

Of course, for present-day Shu Han, this place was unnecessary—built purely out of habit.

Still, though Li Shimin had no use for it, as a fixed portal location, it seemed quite suitable—though he wondered whether the elder might disapprove.

As he thought this, he casually instructed Guan Xing to wait outside the palace to guide the Prime Minister in.

Guan Xing bowed respectfully, asked no questions, drew his sword, and strode off to the palace gates.

Soon after, a rhythmic footstep echoed from outside the hidden chamber.

Li Shimin smiled and stepped forward to greet him.

Soon, a middle-aged man of eight chi tall appeared before him, wearing a silk headband, a crane-feather robe, and holding a feather fan; though his face bore the marks of time, his noble brows still revealed the elegance of his youth.

Without doubt, this was Zhuge Liang—the man who elevated his entire surname!

Entering the hidden chamber, the over-forty Zhuge Liang, feather fan in hand, bowed deeply to Li Shimin.

“Your Majesty!”

“No need for such formalities!”

Li Shimin smiled warmly, grasping Zhuge Liang’s arm and helping him rise.

“How have you been lately, Prime Minister?”

“Thanks to Your Majesty’s blessings, your humble servant is in good health. Recently, I’ve made slight progress in the Qimen Dunjia art—you even mentioned the sensation of Qi—and I’ve felt a warm current stirring within me, perhaps that is what you called Qi sensation…”

“Oh?”

Li Shimin’s eyes lit up. “You’ve already sensed Qi after just a few days?”

Zhuge Liang sighed. “I’m ashamed—Your Majesty’s Qimen Dunjia art is so exquisite, with annotations from generations of predecessors, yet I still took a full seven days to sense Qi. I truly fall short of Your Majesty’s expectations…”

Predecessors?

They’re successors!

Li Shimin bit back a laugh. The Qimen Dunjia art he gave Zhuge Liang was the “Wu Hou Qimen” from the world of “One Man Under,” the legacy left by that world’s Zhuge Liang.

The annotations? Naturally added by generations of Zhuge family descendants.

Watching Zhuge Liang treat his own future descendants as ancestors, Li Shimin found it amusing, yet he shook his head solemnly. “Prime Minister, don’t belittle yourself!”

“The heavens and earth today differ from ancient times; Qi cultivation is no longer the same.”

“You sensed Qi in just seven days—you’re a genius of heaven. Those so-called predecessors in the texts? If they came to this era, they might be slower than you!”

(End of Chapter)