After a thousand years of cultivation, he returns at the pinnacle!

Chapter 126 Ice Xuan

The morning light pierced through the last wisp of sulfurous mist in the East African Rift Valley, landing on the makeshift helipad at the edge of the rift valley.

The private jet's engines were still cooling down, and the metal skin crackled softly in the sunlight. Jiang Chen stepped off the last rock at the edge of the rift valley. The hem of his school uniform was stained with white salt from dried swamp mud, and there were several scorch marks on the corners of his clothes left by the power of chaos. But his steps remained steady, his breathing even, and the half-gold, half-red flame pattern on his right palm was slowly disappearing beneath his skin.

Ye Wuhen followed behind him, his silver-white longsword hanging quietly at his waist, the faint scratch on the hilt gleaming warmly in the sunlight. His steps were lighter than when he entered the rift valley, and his back was straighter than ever before.

"Should we send someone to collect the remains of Ancestor Burning Heaven?" Ye Wuhen asked.

"No need." Jiang Chen stopped and glanced back at the swamp deep in the rift valley, which was being illuminated by the sun for the first time. "He guarded it for 30,000 years. Now the seal is broken, and the fragments of the Demon Ancestor have been burned away. If he wants to sunbathe, let him. When he's had enough, we'll reserve a spot for him on the back mountain of Qingyun Academy. It's next to the Primordial Ancestor's place, both sunny slopes."

Chen Beiyuan stood at the edge of the tarmac, his white hair slightly disheveled by the high-altitude wind, but his eyes remained as steady as ever. Behind him stood several researchers in white hazmat suits, huddled around a portable energy detector, discussing something in hushed tones. Seeing Jiang Chen and Ye Wuhen approaching from the direction of the rift valley, the old man stepped forward, his gaze lingering for a moment on the scorch marks on Jiang Chen's school uniform before shifting away.

"Did you obtain the inheritance of the Burning Heaven Immortal Emperor?"

"Got it." Jiang Chen raised his right hand, palm up. A dark red flame pattern emerged from beneath his skin, condensing into a tiny, almost transparent flame phantom in the center of his palm. The edges of the phantom were dark red, gradually turning crimson gold inwards, with a point of almost white blazing light at its core. "The Flame of Burning Annihilation, ranked third among the nine great heavenly flames of the cultivation world. Combined with the seed of the Celestial Star Flame within the Primordial Sword, the Primordial Sword can now wield two heavenly flames simultaneously."

Chen Beiyuan looked at the small, illusory flame and felt as if an invisible heat wave was burning the surface of his eyeballs. But the burning sensation was not unpleasant; instead, it brought a strange warmth, like the warmth of standing in the sun in winter.

"How much lower is it than the temperature at which the fragments of the Demon Ancestor's primordial spirit were burned completely?"

"The difference isn't significant." Jiang Chen clenched his fists, the flame patterns disappearing beneath his skin once more. "Ancestor Burning Heaven said that, theoretically, the combination of two heavenly fires could push the temperature back to the origin of chaos. That temperature could burn the very will of chaos itself. Now, all I lack is time."

The old man's voice deepened slightly: "Time. Kahn gave you three months. Is that enough?"

Jiang Chen looked up at the clouds above the rift valley, tinged with a pale gold by the morning light. The clouds were thin, so thin that one could vaguely see the bottomless void above them. The Void Temple of the Apostle Realm was located at a certain coordinate in that void, the First Apostle Temple was at the deepest part of that coordinate, and Kahn was waiting for him on the hundredth floor of the First Apostle Temple.

"That's enough," Jiang Chen said. "Three months from now, I will not only reach the hundredth floor of the First Apostle Hall, but I will also bring the first batch of formal students from Qingyun Academy with me."

Chen Beiyuan's eyebrows twitched slightly: "Three months, from the first level of Qi Refining to being able to participate in battles at the Apostle Hall level? Wasn't what you said to Wang Kai about 'peak Foundation Establishment' at the bottom of the East African Rift just to comfort him?"

Jiang Chen's lips curled slightly upward: "My spirit-gathering array can expand its coverage area from three thousand acres to ten thousand acres. The spiritual root aptitude of the first batch of students, after being screened by the General Administration and personally retested by me, all have spiritual root purity of at least medium level to be able to enter the orthodox cultivation class. Among them, a few geniuses with single spiritual roots even have a purity level that reaches the level of a superior spiritual vein in the cultivation world."

He paused for a moment, then looked away from the clouds and onto Chen Beiyuan's black eyes, which had been smoothed and rounded by the passage of time.

"Three months, with the blessing of the Spirit Gathering Array, is enough for them to break through from the first level of Qi Refining to the middle stage of Foundation Establishment. With the practical training from Sword Saint Ye and several S-level Awakened from the General Bureau, a cultivator in the middle stage of Foundation Establishment, equipped with the basic sword techniques left by the Primordial Immortal Emperor, is enough to protect himself in the first thirty levels of the Apostle Hall."

Chen Beiyuan was silent for a moment: "Then where were they when you faced Kahn on the hundredth level of the Apostle Hall?"

"On the ninety-ninth floor," Jiang Chen said. "Kahn said that awakened humans can participate in defense, and cultivators can also go to the battlefield. This is not just his declaration of war, but his war training for human civilization. During those three months, the ice flower storm will continue to hit human cities. I have to go to the First Apostle's Hall for the appointment, and the Dragon Kingdom's defense line needs someone to hold it up. The ninety-ninth floor is the farthest distance they can reach on their way to the appointment."

Ye Wuhen's fingers tapped lightly on the hilt of his silver-white longsword, producing a crisp sound. "Ninety-nine floors, that's enough." His voice was calm and resolute. "Thirty years ago, I stormed the First Apostle's Hall alone, only to be defeated on the thirty-seventh floor. Now I have this sword, I have you all, and I have three months. Ninety-nine floors, that's enough."

Chen Beiyuan looked at the two men, remained silent for a moment, then turned and walked towards the private jet. He took a few steps, then stopped without looking back.

"The General Administration will fully cooperate. The Awakened Ones of the General Administration will handle the Ice Flower Storm defense systems in 63 cities worldwide; you don't need to worry about it. You only need to do one thing. Three months from now, let those Apostles see that humanity doesn't only have one Immortal Emperor."

On the morning of the second day after Kahn's arrival, long queues reappeared on the long street outside the main gate of Qingyun Academy.

Black ice flowers still drifted down from the sky, sparser than yesterday, each one evaporating into nothingness upon landing on the golden light shield. The world outside the shield had entered a state of war; the streets were filled with patrols of Awakened in combat uniforms, and military transport planes frequently swept across the sky, their engines roaring continuously over Jiangzhou City. But the world inside the light shield was as quiet as another dimension.

There were even more people queuing on the street than yesterday.

Those who had been evacuated to the underground shelter yesterday did not leave after the all-clear was lifted. They huddled in the shelter's narrow passageways, sitting against the walls; some munched on compressed biscuits, some closed their eyes to rest, and some repeatedly flipped through the crumpled documents in their hands. No one complained, no one backed down. When the last batch of shelter doors were opened from the outside before dawn, they almost simultaneously stood up, brushed the dust off their clothes, and walked back to the long street, now pitted and cratered by frost flowers, and lined up again.

At the end of the line, Wang Kai stood in the same spot as yesterday. Today, he was wearing clean training clothes, and the pale gold sword on his cuff gleamed faintly in the morning light. His right hand still held the jade slip for detecting spiritual energy, and on the folding table to his left, there was an insulated bag containing freshly made dumplings that Jiang Xueqin had brought at four in the morning. The filling had been changed from pork and cabbage to chives and eggs.

"First batch, Dragon Kingdom District, those whose names are called, please step forward."

His voice was more steady than yesterday, and his eyes held no fatigue, only composure. Last night, Jiang Chen summoned him to the dispatch room, where Jiang Chen only said three sentences: "How long will it take to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage?" "One month." "Too slow. The Spirit Gathering Array will cover the entire academy by noon tomorrow. You cultivate at the array's core; half a month, is that enough?"

He clenched his fists so tightly his knuckles turned white, gritted his teeth, and said, "Enough."

"Zhang Ziming".

The boy with thick-rimmed glasses stepped out from the crowd. Today, he wasn't carrying his backpack with the broken strap; instead, he was carrying a brand-new canvas tote bag with the Qingyun Academy emblem printed on it—one of the student supplies distributed during registration yesterday. His eyes behind his lenses were still bright, but today there was something more to them.

"Single Earth-type spiritual root, purity Grade A. Assigned to the Earth-type cultivation class, room 203, East District, dormitory building." Wang Kai handed him a jade plaque engraved with a number. "The first class of the Earth-type cultivation class will be at 2 PM this afternoon, taught by Zhou Tianze, a visiting professor at Qingyun Academy."

Zhang Ziming was stunned for a moment: "Zhou Tiance? Thunder Emperor Zhou Tiance?"

"There's only one Zhou Tiance in the Dragon Kingdom," Wang Kai said, looking at him. "He can't teach you lightning-based techniques, but he can teach you close-quarters combat. Before breaking through to the Golden Core stage, earth-based cultivators have sufficient defense but insufficient offense, so close-quarters combat is a required course. Go."

Zhang Ziming took the jade pendant, clenched the pendant engraved with "East District 203" in his palm, and then walked deeper into the academy.

"Zhao Tieshan".

The veteran, dressed in old camouflage and sporting a prosthetic left leg, stepped out from the crowd. Today, he was wearing the dark blue training uniform issued by the academy; the metal joints of his prosthetic leg made a slight mechanical grinding sound under his trousers, and he stood ramrod straight.

"You've passed the Ice Tempering Bone stage assessment by Instructor Shen Qingxue and are now moving on to the Fire Refining Flesh stage. Instructor Shen Qingxue has set a training plan for you—run ten kilometers with weights every morning, temper yourself with the residual heat of the Burning Soul Fire at the edge of the Spirit Gathering Array at noon, and engage in combat sparring in the evening." Wang Kai paused, looking at Zhao Tieshan's eyes, which were clouded by time and battlefield experience yet remained calm. "She said that your physical cultivation potential ranks first among all the current physical cultivation students. If you complete the Fire Refining Flesh and Thunder Forging Tendons within three months, you will be qualified to participate in the Apostle Hall battle."

Zhao Tieshan fell silent. He supported his body with his intact right leg, shifted the center of gravity of the prosthetic leg back half an inch, and then gave a standard military salute.

"clear."

The line on the long street continued to move slowly forward. More and more people stopped in front of Wang Kai, placed their palms on the jade slips for detecting spiritual power, and then received their own jade tokens before turning and heading deeper into the academy. These people had different faces: eighteen-year-old high school students, retired awakened individuals in their thirties, veterans in their forties, and foreign volunteers who had rushed from the border crossing overnight. But when they received their jade tokens, they all had the same light in their eyes.

It is the mind of the Tao.

In the distance, behind the window of the dilapidated dispatch room on the second floor of the factory, Jiang Chen held a cup of reheated coffee, watching the long queue outside slowly shorten. The rose on the windowsill had grown taller again, its leaves increasing from three to five, the tender green leaves glistening with morning dew. He placed the coffee cup on the windowsill and picked up the encrypted fax that Chen Beiyuan had just sent.

The fax contained only one line of text, along with eleven coordinates attached below.

"The remaining eleven coordinates on the star map have all been confirmed. Among them, six coordinates exhibit energy fluctuations of the same origin as those found in the Kunlun and East African ruins. It is recommended to prioritize the exploration of the following coordinates: Central Asia, South America, and Siberia. In addition, the Dragon Kingdom Academy of Sciences has deciphered the second layer of the star map—the Daoist titles of the remaining ten Immortal Emperors, excluding Tai Chu and Fen Tian, ​​have all been confirmed."

Jiang Chen stared at the words, at the weighty 30,000 years behind each Daoist title on the list. His gaze lingered at the end of the list—there was a coordinate where he had never sensed any energy fluctuations when scanning the globe with his divine sense.

Antarctica, the deepest part of the ice sheet.

The Immortal Emperor's Dao title corresponding to those coordinates is—

"Ice Profound".