Pei Ming had a similar thought: "It would be more reassuring to have Ji Dengtu do the inspection. Everyone knows that the old man is always unassuming and doesn't like to fight with anyone."

Bi Qi pondered, "The Empress's move is mostly to win over Zu An. Alas, it's a pity that Linglong's cultivation is far inferior to hers, and she couldn't get here immediately. As a result, this open scheme cannot be resolved, and she can only let her win over Zu An."

Zhao Yuan: "I definitely can't let Zu An examine me, but I can accept Ji Dengtu's examination. Speaking of which, why does the Empress trust Zu An so much? Isn't she afraid that he will find out all the secrets of her cultivation?"

These men were all cunning old foxes in the political arena, so they all thought about the complicated aspects. None of them guessed that the Empress's actions were not so complicated; she simply allowed Zu'an to touch her body.

After all, in the eyes of most people, the two are from two different generations, and it is difficult to associate them with romantic feelings.

Only Zuan guessed her little scheme, thinking to himself that this woman was quite wild, flirting with me in front of so many people, interesting.

He walked over and touched her with his fingers, pretending to examine her. In reality, he knew her level of cultivation perfectly well, so there was no need to check her cultivation secret.

Having witnessed Zu'an successfully touch the Empress's body, Eunuch Lü naturally stepped aside and did not stand up to stop him as he had done before. Ji Dengtu was a little depressed. Why? Just because he was more handsome?

I had no choice but to check the other old men, and it turned out that everyone was fine.

Liu Ning breathed a sigh of relief: "It seems that those demons haven't successfully invaded yet. It's not too late to take precautions now. From now on, everyone should conduct a regular check every now and then."

The group nodded. Ji Dengtu had been very discreet during his examination and hadn't taken the opportunity to probe their cultivation levels, so they felt that his actions weren't entirely unacceptable.

After all, they could only be superior to others in their original world. If demons were to invade, how could they still live such a comfortable life?

After a brief discussion, everyone hurried back to the capital, as there were still many details to be studied and implemented with various departments of the court, and they probably wouldn't have much free time afterward.

At this moment, Ji Xiaoxi suddenly said timidly, "Brother Zu, I need to stay here for a while longer."

"What are you staying here for?" Zu'an was taken aback. This place had been so terrifying just now; she shouldn't have liked it.

Ji Xiaoxi pursed her delicate lips, staring at the corpses of Yao Fang and the others not far away, her eyes instantly reddening: "I want to take them back and give them a proper burial. They saved me before."

If it weren't for these academy students protecting her, she would probably have been killed by that purple monster long ago. But now, they have left their lives here forever.

Zuan sighed: "It's my fault. As the academy's chief priest, I should have taken them back."

However, they cannot be buried here. If any demons manage to escape and take control of their corpses, they will not find peace even in death.

Zu An suddenly spoke up, saying to Yan Xiangu, who hadn't left yet, "I plan to erect a monument in the academy. In the fight against the demons, many academy disciples will surely sacrifice themselves. I will inscribe the names of these brave students to inspire the living and to ensure that future generations of academy disciples will always remember them. Yao Fang and the others, as the disciples who first discovered the demons and sacrificed themselves, should also have their names inscribed on it."

"Brother Zu, thank you!" Ji Xiaoxi said, her eyes filled with tears.

A strange light flashed in Yan Xiangu's eyes. Ji Xiaoxi was too young to understand, but he, who had lived in the capital for many years, knew all too well that erecting such a monument in this era was no small matter. First of all, neither the royal family nor the court would agree to it. This was often a privilege reserved for the court, or even just the royal family.

Only someone of Zuan's current status and position has the power to push this forward.

He bowed to Zu An and said, "On behalf of the countless disciples of the academy, I thank the Chief Instructor."

Even Ji Dengtu changed his usual confrontational attitude and respectfully bowed to him.

Zuan was taken aback, not expecting them to be so agitated, and quickly helped the two up: "It's what I should do."

Ji Dengtu and Yan Xiangu exchanged a glance. They had previously thought it was a bit of a joke to let such a young kid take over the position of chief priest, but now it seemed that he was indeed a good chief priest.

Next, Zaun and his group found the two surviving academy disciples and together they brought the bodies of the fallen back to the academy.

Not long after they left, some blurry, ethereal figures seemed to appear and disappear in the sky, as if some unimaginable being was casting their gaze upon them, whispering among themselves:

"That war priest was so arrogant all the time, I never expected him to die in this native world."

"I never imagined that such a powerful being existed in this world. Even if we managed to descend into this world, our strength would be limited, and we might not be much better off than the War Priests. It's hateful that the barrier to this world can't be broken anytime soon."

"It seems we have to change our previous plans. A direct invasion is not appropriate. We should first try to weaken the world's barrier."

“That’s right. War, turmoil, and disasters are the best ways to weaken the world’s barriers. We should secretly send some weaker but clever people in to infiltrate and stir up chaos in their world. That way, we’ll have a better chance.”

"But that would take at least several decades."

"A mere few decades is but a blink of an eye for us."

"Okay, it's decided then."

...

Soon those phantoms disappeared completely, as if they had never existed.