The approaching Xiang Yu gave a calm command.
"Yes."
Without hesitation, the soldiers put away their muskets and retreated with meticulous discipline.
It seemed the sisters truly had been seen.
But being noticed by Xiang Yu alone would have been one thing. Now even ordinary humans could detect their presence. That should have been impossible; ordinary humans could not see them on the other side of the spacetime barrier.
This situation was practically as if they had truly entered this era.
Entered this era? Brunhilde's expression changed drastically at the thought.
No way, could that really be it?!
Only that possibility could explain it.
Was this some kind of joke? Had they entered this era for no reason at all?
And had this era suddenly leapt into the Industrial Revolution?
It was as if yesterday had still been a normal era Before Christ, yet today it had directly entered the Industrial Revolution.
If it had skipped ahead more than a decade, that might barely have made sense. But Brunhilde had also seen the several hundred cavalrymen following Xiang Yu. They had clearly only just escaped the Han Army's pursuit, and most of them were equally bewildered by the abnormalities around them.
That was why she could not understand it.
Perhaps she had already vaguely realized something, but simply could not believe it.
As Xiang Yu's imposing body drew closer, Brunhilde tensed to the limit. With her fists clenched, she was ready to defend herself and counterattack at any moment.
When Xiang Yu stopped three meters before her, an amused expression appeared on his face.
"Welcome to the Qin Empire, Valkyrie Brunhilde."
She had glossy black hair adorned with a wing-shaped hair ornament, and a pretty, heroic face that needed no makeup. Her tall body was dressed in what looked like a knightly gown.
She looked like someone who had experienced bloody battlefields, radiating an aggressive, murderous aura.
She looked just like a Valkyrie from legend.
In truth, she was indeed a Valkyrie, named Brunhilde.
At this moment, this Valkyrie appeared to be trying to remain calm, but the cold sweat constantly forming on her face showed just how terrified she was.
Her originally sharp eyes and steadfast gaze now revealed unease as well.
Her body was taut, like a startled bird.
Seeing her reaction, Xiang Yu—Bai Yue—could not help curling his lips into an amused smile.
He had scared this valiant woman again.
Oh, the one beside her was no longer that little girl who looked as though she might wet herself from fright, but another beautiful woman.
Her brown hair gleamed brilliantly. Her delicate features were so gentle, and her fair, translucent skin was especially striking. She was a woman overflowing with a tender aura.
"Welcome to the Qin Empire, Valkyrie Brunhilde."
Those intriguing words made Brunhilde's pupils contract sharply, and she became even more tense.
"The Qin Empire? Where is that?"
Brunhilde's voice carried unease and disbelief.
"Where? Perhaps you already have some idea in your heart."
At those words, the Valkyrie's pupils contracted again. Her body trembled involuntarily, and she lightly shook her head.
She still looked unable to believe something.
That reaction made the other woman beside her grow uneasy as well.
"Then why do you know that I am Brunhilde?"
No matter how shaken she was, it would do no good. She might as well calm down, so Brunhilde voiced her confusion.
Facing that question, the Western Chu Hegemon King Xiang Yu narrowed his eyes slightly.
"The Akasha System told me."
His words shook Brunhilde once more.
The Akasha System had told him?
How could that be?!
No, it was not impossible!
Thinking back to when she had first used the Akasha System, she had intended to go directly to 221 BC, the year when the First Emperor began establishing the imperial system.
Yet she had somehow jumped to the time when Xiang Yu was defeated at Gaixia.
Then, after witnessing the Wujiang suicide incident—which differed greatly from historical records—she had used the Akasha System again to jump to the point in time when the Great Wall was being built. The result had become the current situation.
It looked as though the Akasha System had malfunctioned, but Xiang Yu saying that the Akasha System had told him meant someone had tampered with it.
From the end of the last Solomon selection until they entered, only the Valkyries had been in Akasha's Chamber. No second person had touched the system, so how could anyone have tampered with it?
Wait, perhaps the other party had entered Akasha's Chamber before she began selecting humanity, then made some sort of setting in the Akasha System. When she entered a certain time and country, that setting would be triggered, resulting in the current scene.
Yes, that seemed the most likely possibility.
With that thought, Brunhilde gave him a resolute look and parted her lips.
"Then what is your purpose?"
At a time like this, she could not show weakness. She had to face everything fearlessly, to live up to the name of Valkyrie.
"My purpose, you say?"
He laughed in response, his laughter making the air tremble with sheer dominance.
The next instant, his sharp, intimidating gaze shot toward the two women. They immediately held their breath, and even more cold sweat appeared on their faces.
"You were given to me as a gift."
His words stunned Brunhilde for a moment before her expression turned even colder.
"Given to you?"
"That's right. Come to think of it, didn't history record that I had a devastating beauty named Yu Meiren? Unfortunately, I never met anyone like that at my side, so they gave you to me as Yu Meiren."
Those teasing words made the Valkyrie's expression change repeatedly, growing increasingly grim.
So was it really as Bai Yue had said?
Of course not. He was merely teasing this cold Valkyrie, whose personality seemed so strong and unyielding.
"But I've changed my mind now."
"Changed your mind?"
So he did not intend to make her Yu Meiren after all?
His gaze shifted to the woman beside her—Lantigreese?
After freezing for a moment, Brunhilde's face turned even more livid.
"I want her. Then I'll let you leave. How about it?"
Just as she had expected.
"Don't even think—"
"If that happens, neither of you will be able to return. What will become of Ragnarok?"
Those interrupting words made Brunhilde grit her teeth.
"Think it over carefully. Do you see that portal? It's closing. Once it closes, you truly won't be able to go back."
Looking toward the portal, they saw the curtain of light gradually shrinking and turning transparent.
"Then please let my sister leave, Lord Xiang Yu. Lantigreese will stay behind."
Having said that, Lantigreese stepped forward to the other side and came to stand beside him.
"Lantigreese!"
Brunhilde wanted to say that she should not leave her behind, but she had something more important to do. So could she only sacrifice her younger sister?
She was unwilling, but she had no choice.
Bai Yue grinned as he faced the gaze that seemed ready to pierce through his body. He looked every bit like a great villain.
Come to think of it, compared to Brunhilde, he should have been a character in the holographic movie she was watching. How could he suddenly see her directly and speak with her?
Had Brunhilde suddenly been pulled into the world of the movie? Had she truly traveled through time to his era?
The answer was both wrong and right!
The reason it was wrong was that Brunhilde was not in 202 BC, but in the twentieth year of the Great Qin Calendar.
What difference did that make? It did, because in a certain sense, these were two parallel spacetime continuums.
For Brunhilde, 202 BC was history that had already happened. But the twentieth year of the Great Qin Calendar was history she had never experienced, history that did not exist in the Akashic Records of this universe.
"Well then, have a safe journey~"
As he spoke, he waved a hand. A mysterious mark struck Brunhilde before she could react, and she instantly vanished from where she stood.
At the same time, Lantigreese beside him was likewise struck by a mark and disappeared.
The two women had been kicked out of this place by him.
Behind him, in the direction of Xianyang, the clouds in the sky happened to drift apart, revealing a towering tree that pierced the heavens.
First, the Fusang Tree was a sacred tree in the myths of Eastern nations, a classic symbol in ancient creation myths.
"Records of the Ten Continents Within the Seas": "The Fusang changes in countless ways, having no fixed form, and can also divide itself into a hundred bodies."
"Classic of Mountains and Seas: Overseas East": "Above Tang Valley stands the Fusang, where the ten suns bathe, north of the Black Teeth." Guo Pu's annotation: "Fusang is a tree."
"Taiping Imperial Reader: Records of the Mysterious Center": "Among all things beneath heaven, the tallest is the branchless Fusang Tree. It rises to heaven, coils downward, and connects the three springs."
Judging from various historical documents, this tree was connected to the sun and served as the sun's resting place.
The sun rested in the heavens, and the ancients believed the heavens to be where Immortal Gods dwelled—an immortal land beyond the reach of mortals. Thus, there was also a saying that this tree bore the heavens, and that the legendary Heavenly Realm was upon it.
Therefore, as long as one found this sacred tree and climbed it, one could reach the world where the Immortal Gods resided.
There was also a saying that the Fusang Tree was the gateway connecting the Heavenly Realm, the human world, and the underworld, bearing the Three Realms.
In other words, the Fusang Tree was a World Tree that bore the world.
Then there was Yggdrasil. Many people did not understand this name, but it was the name of a sacred tree from Norse Mythology.
The "Ygg" in its name carried the meaning of something fearsome, and it was also another name for Sovereign Odin in Norse Mythology.
As for the other part of the name, "drasil," it referred to a horse. Thus, the name combined meant "Odin's horse." It was said to originate from the time Odin hung himself from this giant tree and pierced himself with the Eternal Spear, Gungnir, thereby discovering the miraculous runes.
Odin thus described the act as "riding a horse," and from then on, this giant tree came to be called Yggdrasil.
In Norse Mythology, the branches of this giant tree stretched high into the sky, and its trunk formed the entire world. It was said that nine kingdoms had grown from this tree.
The tree was divided into three levels and nine realms. The legendary realm of Asgard and the Aesir, the giant realm of Jotunheim, the elven realm of Alfheim, and others were all upon this tree.
It was said that the tree's three massive roots extended deep into different realms. The first root reached Asgard, where the Well of Urd lay beneath it. Every day, the gods gathered beside the spring to hold meetings and discuss matters.
The Norns also lived there—the goddesses who governed fate.
Its second root extended deep into Jotunheim—the realm of giants. Beneath it was Mimir's Well, the spring of wisdom and knowledge.
The third root extended deep into Niflheim—the land of mist, a realm of ice and snow, the destination of those who died from illness or old age. Beneath it lay Hvergelmir, along with the renowned poisonous dragon Níðhöggr, which coiled there and endlessly gnawed at the roots.
It would keep biting at the roots until one day, when it bit through the tree, Ragnarok would descend and the world would meet its end.
Thus, this tree that supported everything was also a World Tree.
Then, it was said that a tree stood at the center of Eden, called the Kabbalah Tree of Life, also known as the Inverted Tree.
Before you continue