Shen Hao blinked twice.
"You want me to tell you about… Earth?" he repeated, unsure if this was a trick question or the start of a galactic interrogation.
The man nodded, still calm.
"I like to learn about things I've never encountered. It's a habit," he said. "Now… your planet. Tell me."
Shen Hao scratched the side of his head.
"Uh… well, Earth is mostly water. Big oceans. Lots of trees. We've got tall mountains, deserts, islands, snow, forests, and a lot of animals that try to eat you if you look at them wrong."
The man raised an eyebrow. "Interesting. And people?"
"We've got… a lot of them," Shen Hao said. "Some good. Some not. Kinda like everywhere, I guess."
"You're doing fine," Mo Han said in his mind. "Keep it simple. Don't overexplain."
The man gave a small hum and sipped his tea.
"Sounds like a planet worth preserving."
Shen Hao blinked again. "Huh?"
"I respect beauty," the man said. "Natural worlds. Calm planets. Most don't last long once war touches them. I've seen too many turned to ash."
There was a moment of silence between them.
Then, casually, the man gestured toward Shen Hao's chest.
"I see you're wearing a visitor badge."
Shen Hao glanced down. The glowing hexagon on his chest still pulsed softly, marking him as a clueless outsider.
"Yeah… this is my first time leaving Earth. First time stepping into another realm, too."
The man gave a thoughtful nod.
"Then allow me to offer something more useful."
He reached into his robe and pulled out a small black card — sleek, smooth, and etched with faint glowing lines. With two fingers, he slid it across the table.
Shen Hao looked down at it like it might explode.
"…What is it?"
"A temporary VIP access badge," the man said. "Use this while we get your Universal Identification sorted. It'll allow you to walk freely, trade, rent, access upper city levels… even pass through certain checkpoints."
Shen Hao stared at it.
"Wait… I can do everything with this?"
"More or less. Though don't get used to it — it's temporary."
Shen Hao carefully picked it up. It buzzed faintly with heat, like it had its own energy source.
"…Thank you."
"You'll need it," the man said. "Especially considering where you are."
He leaned back, folding his arms calmly.
"Let me explain."
The man tapped his fingers lightly on the table, his silver eyes calm and focused.
"This city — Void Gate — is a special place," he said. "It doesn't belong to any one realm or world. It's a neutral bridge between many. Traders, cultivators, mercenaries, scholars, all pass through here."
Shen Hao nodded slowly, still turning the black VIP badge in his fingers like it might vanish if he blinked.
"Right… and you live here?" he asked.
The man let out a small breath — not quite a sigh, more like a "here we go" kind of sound.
"I don't just live here."
He smiled faintly.
"I run it."
Shen Hao froze.
"…You what now?"
"I am the appointed overseer of Void Gate City," he said smoothly. "I was placed here by the Universal Accord itself — to manage everything that happens within these walls."
Shen Hao's brain flatlined for a second.
"He's the what?" he screamed internally.
"You may want to offer another salute," Mo Han said calmly.
Shen Hao gave a quick, respectful fist-in-palm.
"Apologies, sir—I mean… honored sir—I mean, uh… should I stand up?"
The man waved a hand casually. "No need. Relax."
"Right, relaxing. Totally doing that," Shen Hao muttered, barely managing to stop his hand from trembling.
The man continued. "Every district, every trade license, every guard squad… even the laws themselves — all fall under my jurisdiction."
"You mean… you wrote the rules?"
"I enforce them. And yes — I may have written a few," he added with a slight smirk.
Shen Hao stared.
"Master," he thought. "This man runs the whole city."
"Yes."
"I asked if he had a job like I was talking to a normal cultivator!"
"You also told him about ducks."
The man sipped his tea again.
"Void Gate falls under the Universal Accord's territory. It's one of the three great powers in this universe."
Shen Hao's eyebrows rose. "There are three?"
"Yes. All equal in strength. All locked in a quiet but endless war for influence."
He raised three fingers slowly.
"One — the Universal Accord, also known as the Accord Empire. Oldest. Most organized. We believe in structure."
"Two — the Dominion Spiral. Ruthless. Efficient. Technology mixed with spiritual law. They care more about results than mercy."
"And three — the Eclipsing Flame. Cult-like, scattered, dangerously powerful. Led by figures who believe in cleansing the cosmos."
Shen Hao swallowed hard.
"And all of them are… fighting?"
"Not openly. Not everywhere. But the tension is constant."
The man lowered his hand.
"Void Gate — and this realm — falls under Accord territory. I work for the empire. My title is Administrator, but functionally… I act as its voice here."
Shen Hao didn't respond right away.
He just stared at his tea.
"Master… this is a lot."
"Yes," Mo Han said quietly. "And it's time you knew — I once served the Accord too."
Shen Hao's eyes widened slightly.
"You what?"
"Long ago. I was part of their higher military division. But… that chapter of my life has closed. I never thought I'd return to their territory again."
The man raised an eyebrow.
"You seem surprised."
Shen Hao looked up slowly.
"I feel like I just found out my teapot runs a country."
The man laughed — a quiet, amused sound.
"You're fun. That's rare around here."
The room fell into a strange silence.
Shen Hao stared at the administrator — this soft-spoken man who had just casually admitted to running the entire city and working directly for the most powerful faction in one-third of the universe.
He wasn't sure whether to sip his tea… or throw it out the window and run.
"So," Shen Hao said slowly, "if you don't mind me asking…"
The man gave him an encouraging nod.
"What's your cultivation level?"
There was a pause.
The man set his teacup down with a soft clink.
Then he smiled.
"Would you like to find out?"
Shen Hao blinked.
"…I'm sorry, what?"
"I haven't had a proper match in a while," the man said casually, standing up as if they were going for a walk. "And I'm curious what kind of strength Earth produces. You have potential — I'd like to test it."
Shen Hao laughed nervously. "Haha, yeah, me too — test things. Very educational."
The man started walking toward the door.
"Come," he said. "Let's go to the arena. A friendly match. Nothing too serious."
Shen Hao didn't move.
"Wait—you're serious? Like, an actual sparring match? Right now?!"
The man turned, raising an eyebrow.
"Don't worry. I won't go hard on you. Just give me your best. I want to see what you can do."
Shen Hao stood up slowly, stiff as a board.
"Master," he whispered mentally, "please tell me this is a joke."
"It is not," Mo Han replied.
"What do I do?"
"You fight."
"WHAT?"
"It would be more offensive to decline."
"More offensive than getting thrown into a wall?"
Lingfeng chuckled.
"I'll bring the flowers to your hospital bed."
Shen Hao clenched his jaw and took a deep breath. He clipped the VIP badge back onto his chest and followed the man out.
The guards at the hallway entrance gave a light fist-in-palm salute as the administrator passed.
As the door closed behind them, Shen Hao glanced back at the room one last time… like he might never see it again.