I work as an editor at Marvel.

Just as Xiaoyu was being affectionate, her father suddenly appeared at the second-floor window behind them. "Jackie Chan~ what did I tell you~ don't practice martial arts in the yard, you'll break things! You never listen to me~"

"There's one more thing~ It's almost time for our appointment, hurry up and get ready to leave."

“Okay, I’ll go right away,” Jackie Chan replied.

"Uncle Jackie Chan~ Where are you going! You haven't taught me yet!" Jade tugged at Jackie Chan's clothes and wouldn't let go.

Jackie Chan squatted down and said, "I'm going to apply for a teaching position at the school you're planning to apply to. If you get in, I'll definitely teach you!"

After finishing his sentence, Long patted Xiaoyu's head and walked away quickly. Xiaoyu picked up her notebook of incorrect answers with a bit of regret and muttered to herself.

What kind of school is this? It seems so mysterious. I hope it's okay for me to visit it beforehand.

Several tens of minutes later, Jackie Chan got into the car that had come to pick him up to register, and was somewhat surprised to find his father sitting next to him with a cup of tea.

"Dad, didn't you register either?" Jackie Chan asked in surprise.

"No, Professor Cheng is an associate professor we invited. He's going to discuss curriculum design with Principal Li and the others," the driver explained perceptively for his father.

The old man glanced at Jackie Chan, as if to say, "Young man, you're still a bit green."

Jackie Chan scratched his head and fell silent. He hadn't really cared about being a lecturer, but his father's promotion to associate professor made him want to take it more seriously. It would be even better if he could surpass his father in rank.

As Jackie Chan pondered this, he began to imagine himself as a professor sitting behind his desk, waiting for his father to come in and give a report.

Snapped!

Dad tapped his finger on the dragon head, "We're almost there, stop thinking nonsense."

"Oh, oh." Jackie Chan rubbed his head, watching the car twist and turn as it entered a courtyard gate. At the same time, a teleportation array flashed before his eyes, and in a daze, they arrived at the China Cultivation Preparatory Academy. The registration point was also located in this school because there were simply not enough people.

After entering the school, the car slowed down to 10 km/h, and then drove for a few more minutes before stopping in front of a building.

A woman dressed in a silk dress embroidered with lotus flowers stood at the door. Her long hair was naturally draped over her shoulders, and even from this distance, Jackie Chan could almost smell the faint fragrance of lotus flowers.

"Hello, I am Zhao Ling'er, the vice principal. On behalf of Huaxia Cultivation Preparatory Academy, I welcome you to join us."

Zhao Ling'er's voice was light and melodious, and with her perfect face, no one would doubt that she had just come of age. However, her demeanor also revealed a graceful and generous feeling. These two somewhat contradictory qualities coexisted perfectly in her.

"You're too kind. I'm honored to receive the school's invitation," the old man said, straightening his back and gently shaking his fingertips.

Jackie Chan glanced at his father with surprise. In the past, his father would have just been an ordinary old man when he wasn't fighting, but now he looked like a big shot.

The old man shook his head, seemingly dissatisfied with Jackie Chan's performance. "Principal Zhao, this is my son, Jackie Chan, an archaeologist, a junior professional, who is here to apply for a lecturer position."

"I've heard of that name before. Welcome." Zhao Ling'er greeted Jackie Chan politely, then tilted her head slightly to look behind them. "That little girl came with you, right?"

A little girl?!

Jackie Chan turned around abruptly and found Jade standing next to the car with her hands behind her back and a sheepish smile on her face.

Xiaoyu didn't want to come out of her hiding place either, but a gentle but irresistible force had just carried her here.

"Jade!" Jackie Chan ran over. "How did you run away from home?!"

"Hmm... let's take the stairs." Xiaoyu said, grinning at Zhao Ling'er. The shrewd girl could tell at a glance that Zhao Ling'er was the one who had the most influence here.

Jackie Chan looked at Zhao Ling'er with embarrassment, "Principal Zhao, I'm really sorry, she's my niece, I'll take her back right away."

"It's alright, it's alright. There's nothing wrong with wanting to visit. Little friend, stay with your uncle and don't run around."

Zhao Ling'er said softly, "An eleven-year-old girl who can evade the teleportation portal and the school's entrance detection without any cultivation experience—she's a top-tier student."

Chapter 115 The Beginning of John's Destructive Recklessness

A few hours later, when Jackie Chan and his father left the school, they didn't look too happy. On the contrary, Jade kept jumping around, excited and unable to stop.

Jackie Chan realized that after taking Xiaoyu around the school, his standing in Xiaoyu's eyes dropped significantly.

After all, a mere archaeologist who can't even fly is far less impressive than these cultivators.

The father was angry because of the curriculum, as the school planned to schedule seven classes a week for him.

However, there was only one class on air magic, and that class was a small elective. The rest were basic knowledge classes, which was a big blow to the father who wanted to promote air magic.

Inside the principal's office, Li Xiaoyao put down his pen with a hint of helplessness; not looking old can sometimes be a disadvantage.

He was clearly much older than his father, but when they were discussing things, he subconsciously respected his father's age. In fact, he didn't even want to arrange an elective course in Qi Magic.

This is just a preparatory school for spiritual practice, used to learn basic knowledge and build a foundation. There's not much point in having these specialized courses.

Moreover, if everyone were to offer specialized courses, given their current teaching team of 120 people, each with their own unique spells or skills, what kind of basic knowledge would the incoming students learn?

After all, basic knowledge is nowhere near as interesting and attractive as those cool, powerful, and specialized professional skills.

However, professional skills without basic knowledge are like castles in the air; they will collapse completely with the slightest breeze.

When Li Xiaoyao was troubled, Zhao Ling'er pushed open the door and walked in. The moment she closed the door, Zhao Ling'er's temperament became much more lively, and she was no longer as aloof as before.

"Brother Xiaoyao, I just saw Old Master Cheng leave with a gloomy face. What happened?" Zhao Ling'er walked behind Li Xiaoyao and pressed his head.

"Ugh, I really don't know what to say. Just because he looks a bit older, I didn't speak very harshly to him, even though we're both over a hundred years older than him... ugh..."

Li Xiaoyao suddenly felt that Zhao Ling'er's strength had increased significantly, so he quickly corrected himself, "I'm clearly more than a hundred years older than him."

"It's alright, he already understands, didn't he? Otherwise, he wouldn't have left like that," Zhao Ling'er said, sitting down opposite Li Xiaoyao.

"Yes, by the way, Ling'er, is there something you need?" Li Xiaoyao asked.

At this point, Zhao Ling'er's expression became much more serious. "Indeed, there is something. We were just instructed by our superiors to closely monitor the actions of the United Kingdom of John and to try to contact King Arthur, Artoria."

Li Xiaoyao put down his pen. He had been dealing with matters related to the school's construction lately, and hadn't really paid attention to this. "What happened?"

"The propaganda from the United Kingdom has gone even further, and they've started attacking King Arthur's personal morality, trying to destroy Artoria from a moral standpoint. They've also put forward a new theory: a king abandoned by the Knights of the Round Table is naturally no longer worthy of being called King Arthur!" Zhao Ling'er said, waving her hand in the air, and a stack of documents landed on the table.

"Furthermore, they attribute all of Britain's failures over the past few centuries to King Arthur. The prevailing opinion is that since King Arthur is still alive and has such great power, he should assist Britain in conquering the world, rather than watching Britain fail."

Li Xiaoyao was already enraged just hearing these few words. This was a deliberate attempt to provoke conflict between the mystical and the ordinary worlds! This was creating internal strife at this crucial juncture of development! This was disrupting the peaceful integration of the mystical and the ordinary worlds! This was stirring up conflict between mortals and cultivators! This was a conspiracy targeting the mystical side!

"How dare they do this?! Is it the United States pushing this from behind again?!" Li Xiaoyao slammed his fist on the table, his anger rising.

The Heavenly Emperor and the sorcerer Jilan have reached a consensus on the policy of peaceful development and common progress. This has only been agreed upon for a short time, and someone is already trying to cause trouble?!

"It shouldn't be. During the last Casillas incident, when the Eagle Kingdom tried to steal Hextech's T-800 adaptive mechanical body, they were already taught a lesson by Heimerdinger, and they've been much more well-behaved lately."

Zhao Ling'er began to analyze, "Even though Hextech Adult Vocational College doesn't have a national symbol, they haven't said anything. Moreover, according to the analysis report, the Eagle Nation's fleet has withdrawn from the waters of the British Nation."

“No, there must be someone behind this!” Li Xiaoyao frowned. “Politicians can sell everything, but they won’t do anything that doesn’t benefit them. They dare to provoke the Knights of the Round Table, so they must have something to rely on while asking for something.”

“The elders think so too, but Mr. Lin Zhengying’s team of diviners hasn’t found the mastermind yet. They’ve only narrowed down the possibilities. They think someone might be covering for those people,” Zhao Ling’er said.

Li Xiaoyao tapped his fingers on the table twice. "What about Artoria? What's her situation now?"

"Disappeared."

"Disappeared?!"

"Yes, we can't get in touch with them, whether through official channels or private channels. They've remained silent. This situation might not be good."

Li Xiaoyao stood up abruptly, his first thought being to go to the United States of America.

Logically speaking, he shouldn't be so worried about someone who has lived for two thousand years being impulsive, but that's King Arthur. If she weren't impulsive, the Knights of the Round Table wouldn't have disbanded. This is quite different from those mythological stories. Artoria is a woman, and there's no possibility of her having conflicts with her subordinates due to emotions.

But he can't leave here now either. The Heavenly Court is too busy, and he's the only one with the authority to handle things on Earth.

“Ling’er, hand over your work and go to the United States. You’re both girls, so you’ll have more in common. You have only one task: persuade Artoria to stay. The bottom line is that the conflict cannot be brought into the open!” Li Xiaoyao said, taking out a box from his pocket. “Inside are the Five Elemental Pearls. Also, take the Nuwa Staff. If necessary, use force to stop Artoria. I will take responsibility for any international disputes that arise as a result!”

"I understand. The handover was already underway when I arrived. If all goes well, I can go there this afternoon," Zhao Ling'er said, nodding as she accepted the treasure.

The Nuwa clan is considered a large clan in the Heavenly Court, and the related blessings distributed among each individual are not many. Therefore, Zhao Ling'er has not yet broken through to the legendary rank. However, with two supreme treasures, as long as Artoria does not completely lose her mind, stopping her should not be a problem.

Chapter 116 The Hydra Branch Seeking Survival Against All Odds

While Zhao Ling'er was traveling to the United States, in an underground facility in Northern Ireland, two men were pointing and gesturing at a map.

"Boss, do we really want to continue? This matter has gotten out of control. If things go wrong, not only will those national powers and mystical forces come after us, but even our superiors might deal with us," a Hydra underling said worriedly.

"Stop kidding me. 'Superiors'? You don't actually believe they can go back to how they were a hundred years ago, do you?" Ryan took a puff of his cigar, exhaling a smoke ring as he watched it dissipate. "They've been hiding for so many years. Besides basically infiltrating S.H.I.E.L.D., what else have they done?"

"This... Boss..." The underling still hesitated.

"Stop with the 'this' and 'that'. Don't you understand yet? Right now, those people don't care about us. They have other things to do. Otherwise, we would have been eliminated long ago. Who knows, all those S.H.I.E.L.D. undercover agents might already be on our radar. At this point, we have no choice but to act boldly! Fight for survival!"

Ryan slammed his hand on the table. Besides the map of the United Kingdom, there was a portrait of Artoria on their table. The most prominent feature of the portrait was the crown of the British Empire on Artoria's head.

"But boss, can we really force the legendary King Arthur to give up his title of the King on which the sun never sets?" The younger brother was still a little hesitant. "If it were me, I definitely wouldn't give up. It's just some insults. We can just suppress them with force."

"What do you know? What are we? We're a criminal organization, bad guys! And what are they? They're an official organization, good guys. Don't you understand the principle of a gentleman deceiving others in a righteous way? I told you to read more books, but you just won't!" Renn was getting impatient, but he didn't have many people he could trust. Although this underling had a bad personality, his loyalty was guaranteed.

"I understand. I'll have those congressmen continue to push public opinion." The underling scratched his head. Since his boss had made up his mind, he could only obey orders.

"Once we get the crown of the British Empire, the United States will be completely in our hands, and we'll be able to clean up our act. Then, everything will be alright." Ryan repeated the bright future to his underling, brainwashing him.

The younger brother nodded. "Boss, I understand. I will obey your orders!"

"Well, there's one more thing. Have you prepared the list of S.H.I.E.L.D. undercover agents that I asked you to?" Ryan continued to ask.

“We did make preparations, but that area is quite independent, and we don’t have enough authority. We only got the files and information of some of the lower-level personnel,” the underling said.

"That's enough. If we don't have enough time later, we'll release this information. Such a big scandal involving an international organization should buy us enough time to transfer the funds." Ryan closed his eyes and reviewed his plan in his mind. The plan wasn't very good, and many parts depended on luck, but this was the only option for now.

The room fell silent for a moment after Renn spoke. After a while, Renn waved his hand, signaling everyone to leave.

After these people left, Ryan stood up from his chair, turned a hidden button on the wall, and opened a downward passage.

The whole thing about controlling the British Isles is a lie. If the British Empire had that kind of power, would King Arthur have been forced into this situation?

He just wanted to get the crown and hide on another planet. As long as he had that thing, he could raise a team on another planet, and he wouldn't need the name Hydra anymore.

What the hell? Hydra? Cut off one head and two grow back? All they do is brag. They even said Hydra and aliens are their backers. Pshaw! If they really had a powerful backer, would they have been hiding in the shadows for a hundred years? Renn stopped believing in this stuff a long time ago.

As for how to leave this place after obtaining the crown of the British Empire, Renn also had a plan, which would rely on the "ally" he had just found.

In the secret base beneath the secret base, crackling electric sparks flickered constantly, their blue light rendering any artificial lighting unnecessary.

Halfway down the path, Ryan put on a special insulating suit and continued downwards until he reached a huge, specially designed secret chamber.

"There's no need to try. The surrounding area is filled with materials that contain vibranium. It's impossible for you to break through this place with electricity in your current state. Why waste your energy? Once the plan is complete, I will release you naturally."

Raine stood outside a transparent window, looking at Xerath inside, and said softly.

Xerath in the secret chamber was much smaller than when he fought Azir and the others; he was smaller than a child, but the violent electricity emanating from him still proved that he was not someone to be trifled with.

Xerath suddenly became this size because he had just been resurrected. Beneath this secret base is a magical energy vein created by the rise of the world's energy. Dead spirits will naturally revive in a place with high energy concentration, but newly resurrected spirits are very weak, so weak that they can be captured by Raine.