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

Chapter 158 Gathering of Demons

The Abyss, the seventh level.

Beneath the eternal, dark red sky, seven thrones, constructed from solidified lava and the bones of ancient behemoths, are arranged in a ring. The base of each throne is deeply embedded in the void, connecting to the endless primordial chaos at the bottom of the abyss.

The Seventh Throne was empty. Balthazaron's soul fire was still slowly gathering in a corner of the abyss, but at the current rate of recovery, it would take at least a hundred years to reform into human form.

On the sixth throne sat a being covered in ice-blue bone armor. He was three times the size of a normal human, his body covered in ice-blue bone armor with fine, dark red vein-like patterns flowing across its surface. His skull was human-shaped, but two ghostly blue flames burned in his eye sockets. The sixth pillar demon god, "The Abyss of Eternal Freeze"—Frost.

"Nesario," Frost spoke, her voice icy and chilling, each word causing the surrounding temperature to plummet. "You stood guard at Liangzhou Fortress for so long, and couldn't even kill a human at the early Golden Core stage?"

Neltharion sat on the first throne, his half-human, half-dragon head bowed, his dark red eyes half-closed. He did not answer.

On the fifth throne sat a being without a fixed form. His body was a constantly churning black mist, within which countless distorted human faces could be vaguely seen wailing. The fifth pillar of demons, "Shadow of Souls"—the Shadow Demon.

"Frostbite, shut up." The Shadow Demon's voice came from the black mist, hoarse and murky. "Nesario isn't incapable of killing that early-stage Golden Core human, he's just afraid to. Jiang Chen's sword is still hovering over Liangzhou Fortress."

On the fourth throne sat a skeleton engulfed in dark red flames. His frame was forged from abyssal black iron, with constantly pulsating dark red crystals embedded in his joints. The fourth demon god, "The Remains of the Burning Heaven"—Emberbone.

"Jiang Chen." Jin Gu's voice squeezed out from the skull's jawbone, accompanied by the crackling sound of burning flames, "He decimated the Apostle Realm, and forced Kahn's true form back into the depths of the void's origin. Now his sword hangs above Liangzhou Fortress, his students guard his academy, and his successor stands behind him."

He raised his head, two dark red flames burning in his empty eye sockets.

"Nesario, tell me. What's the next step for our Demon Realm?"

Neltharion finally raised his head. His dark red eyes slowly rolled, sweeping over every demon present. Then he spoke, his voice aged and calm.

"I'm not playing anymore."

A deathly silence fell over the void. The eerie blue flames in Frostbite's eye sockets flickered violently, the Shadow Fiend's black mist churned violently, and the skeleton of Emberbone emitted a grating metallic scraping sound.

"Not fighting?" Frost's voice was shrill and pierced eardrums. "Nesario, what are you saying? One of the Seven Pillars of the Abyss, forced to back down by a human?"

Nesario looked at him, his dark red eyes reflecting Frost's face covered in ice-blue bone armor.

"It wasn't that we were forced to stop fighting by a single human, but rather that we were forced to stop fighting by human civilization. The Apostle Realm conducted an experiment over three hundred years to see how much power humanity could unleash in despair. What they saw was—humanity unleashed the Dao Fruits of one Immortal Emperor, six Immortal Emperors, 1,100 cultivators, and a successor possessing the Chaos Spiritual Root and the Life-Giving Dao Fruit."

He stood up and stepped down from the throne. Each step he took pierced the void, creating a ring of dark red ripples.

"From the moment we, the Demon God Realm, awoke from the abyss, we have regarded humanity as prey. For three hundred years, we have sent waves of demons to attack human defenses, dispatched demon generals to harass the borders, and sent demon kings to test human strength. We thought humans were the prey, and we were the hunters."

He walked to the center of the circular arrangement, stopped, turned around, and looked at the six demon gods sitting on the thrones.

"But in the battle of Liangzhou Fortress, Balsalon's Abyss True Body was shattered by Jiang Chen's sword. In the battle of the First Apostle's Hall, Cain's true form was forced back into the depths of the void's origin by Jiang Chen. Now, Jiang Chen's sword hangs above Liangzhou Fortress, his students guard his academy, and his successor stands behind him. Can we, the Demon God Realm, still treat humans as prey?"

In the void, there was a deathly silence.

Frost lowered its head, looking at its hands covered in icy blue bone armor. The dark red flames in Emberbone's eye sockets extinguished. The Shadow Fiend's black mist ceased its churning.

Nesario looked at them and remained silent for a long time. Then he spoke, his voice softer and deeper than before.

"So, we're not fighting anymore. It's not admitting defeat, it's waiting. We'll wait until Jiang Chen's injuries don't heal, until his golden core can't bear the Dao fruits of six Immortal Emperors, until his students suffer from qi deviation during cultivation, until his successor is backfired by the Chaos Spiritual Root. We'll wait until he collapses on his own."

He raised his head and looked at the endless dark red sky deep in the void.

"Then, we'll get to work."

A month later.

Jiang Chen's injuries hadn't fully healed. To be precise, they were mostly healed, but not completely. The cracks in his skin had completely closed, leaving no scars. The charred skin on his right arm, burned by the dark golden flames, had all been replaced by new, rosy-white skin. But his golden core was still throbbing wildly. After the Dao Fruits of the six Immortal Emperors fused within him, his golden core swelled from the size of a fist to the size of an infant's head, changing from a pale gold to a strange hue of six interwoven colors. The patterns on the surface of the golden core were more complex, denser, and closer to some indescribable essence than a month ago. But with each throbbing, a six-colored light would surge from his dantian, spreading along his meridians throughout his body. Wherever the light passed, the meridians would ache slightly, and the blood vessels would bulge.

This isn't an injury, but a side effect of the fusion of Dao Fruits. The Dao Fruits of the six Immortal Emperors awakened within him, requiring a vessel to contain their power. His Golden Core was that vessel, but it was still too weak, barely able to suppress the power of these Dao Fruits within his dantian, preventing them from running rampant.

Jiang Chen sat in the dispatch room on the second floor of the factory, with the Primordial Sword floating in front of him, six stars slowly rotating on its blade. He closed his eyes, placed his hands on his knees, palms facing the sky, and compressed, solidified, and settled the six-colored light within his body layer by layer.

The door to the dispatch room was pushed open. Wang Kai stood in the doorway, holding a thick list in his hand.

"Brother Chen, the results of the spiritual root tests for the third batch of trainees are in. The number of applicants worldwide has exceeded 100 million, and more than 200,000 of them have spiritual roots. The headquarters has suggested that the number of students admitted in the third batch be increased from 5,000 to 10,000."

Jiang Chen opened his eyes, took the list, and turned to the first page. It was densely packed with names, ages, nationalities, spiritual root attributes, and spiritual root purity. The first name listed was "Li Chenxi," twenty years old, from the capital of the Dragon Kingdom, possessing a mutated lightning spiritual root, with a purity of Grade A. In the remarks section was a line of handwritten small print—"His father, Li Gang, was a garrison soldier at the Liangzhou Fortress on the western border of the Dragon Kingdom, who died in an attack by the Demon King's army."

Jiang Chen's gaze lingered on that line of small print for a moment before turning the page.

"Ten thousand people. The spiritual energy concentration of the Spirit Gathering Array needs to be increased from twenty-five percent to forty percent. The Primordial Sword Intent will automatically adjust the array parameters, so we don't need to worry about it." He handed the list back to Wang Kai. "Your current task is to stabilize the Dao Fruit of the Immortal Emperor of Life, not to be the Dean of Studies. Leave the list to Elder Chen."

Wang Kai took the list, but did not leave immediately. He stood at the door of the dispatch room, looking at Jiang Chen, at the six-colored flame pattern that was still slowly flowing on the palm of his right hand, and at his pale, almost transparent face.

"Brother Chen, your injury—"

"Almost done." Jiang Chen interrupted him, putting the Primordial Sword back into his palm. "In another month, my Golden Core will be able to fully bear the Dao Fruits of the six Immortal Emperors. At that time, I will go to the Abyss to find Nesario."

Wang Kai's pupils contracted slightly.

"Brother Chen, I'll go with you."

"No." Jiang Chen stood up, walked to the window, and opened it. Morning light streamed in from the east, falling on the rose bush on the windowsill that had already grown its tenth leaf. The rose's stem was more than twice as thick as it had been a month ago, and its leaves had turned from dark green to emerald green. A few drops of morning dew still clung to the surface of the leaves, glistening in the morning light.

"Your Life-Growth Dao Fruit is not yet fully stable, and your Golden Core has not yet broken through to the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm. If you come with me to the Abyss now, you won't even be able to withstand a single attack from Nesario."

He turned around and looked at Wang Kai.

"Once you break through to the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm, once your Life-Giving Dao Fruit is fully stable, and once your Chaos Spiritual Root enters the third stage, you will come with me."

Wang Kai lowered his head, looking at the emerald green lines on his palm. The lines flowed slowly beneath his skin, brighter and more stable than they had been a month ago, approaching a kind of indescribable perfection.

"Brother Chen, how long?"

"Three months."

Jiang Chen walked up to Wang Kai and gently tapped his chest. A wisp of emerald green light emerged from Wang Kai's chest, condensing at Jiang Chen's fingertip into a tiny, emerald green light core the size of a grain of rice. Fine patterns flowed across the surface of the light core, their rhythm resonating with Wang Kai's heartbeat.

"Three months later, your Life-Generating Dao Fruit will enter its second stage. At that time, you will be able to simultaneously convert and store the enemy's attack energy during battle. Neltharion's Chaos Power will become a part of your power."

Wang Kai looked down at the emerald green light core on Jiang Chen's fingertip, feeling his heart pounding, feeling the emerald green light flowing through his body, and feeling the pure white golden core in his dantian resonating with the emerald green light.

"Brother Chen, I understand."

He turned and walked out of the dispatch room, his steps quicker than when he came in, his shoulders and back straighter than ever before.

Jiang Chen stood at the door of the dispatch room, watching Wang Kai's figure disappear at the top of the stairs, then turned back to the window and looked out at the college illuminated by the morning light.

Students were practicing swordsmanship on the training ground. The silvery-white sword light flashed in the morning light, like countless stars fallen to earth. A dull thud came from the direction of the physical training area; it was Zhao Tieshan kicking an iron stake with his prosthetic leg. The crisp sound of metal clashing carried far on the morning breeze.

In the distance, on the long street outside the main gate of Qingyun Academy, the line of students for the third cohort stretched all the way to the highway entrance. Ten thousand spiritual root holders from all over the world waited in the morning light for the moment they would enter the academy.

Jiang Chen looked at the long street, at the young, expectant, and nervous faces, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

He picked up the now-cold cup of coffee from the windowsill, poured the last sip into his mouth, then turned and walked out of the dispatch room, down the stairs, and into the playground illuminated by the morning light.

"Attention, everyone!" His voice wasn't loud, but it clearly pierced the entire playground and reached everyone's eardrums.

At the same instant, 1,500 trainees stood up straight.

"At ease," Jiang Chen said. "Today is the start of the third cohort of students at Qingyun Academy. It's also the graduation day for the first cohort."

He raised his right hand, and the Primordial Sword emerged from his palm. Six-colored light flowed across the sword, dyeing the entire sky into a sea of ​​light interwoven with gold, red, blue, black, green, and white.

"Wang Kai. Step forward."

Wang Kai stepped out of the queue and stood in front of Jiang Chen.

"From today onwards, you are no longer a student of Qingyun Academy. You are an instructor at Qingyun Academy. The Dao Fruit of the Immortal Emperor of Life resides within you. Your responsibility is not to kill more enemies, but to protect more lives. Wang Kai, are you willing?"

Wang Kai looked at Jiang Chen, at the six-colored light reflected in his eyes, which were like a deep pool, at the light blue hairband on his right wrist that had been washed until it was white, and at the pale gold sword on the cuff of his dark blue uniform.

He knelt down on one knee, his right hand pressed against his chest.

"I do."

Jiang Chen looked at him, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"Alright. From today onwards, you are the head of the Sheng Sheng Hall at Qingyun Academy."

Six-colored light surged from the blade of the Primordial Sword, condensing above Wang Kai's head into a crown woven from pure emerald green light. Countless intricate runes flowed across the surface of the crown, each rune breathing and pulsating as if it were alive.

Wang Kai felt the pure white golden core in his dantian resonating with the emerald green crown above his head. The Dao Fruit of the Immortal Emperor of Life was pulsating wildly within him, pouring wave after wave of warm life energy into his limbs and bones.

His cultivation level broke through from the early stage of Golden Core to the middle stage the moment he was crowned.

He looked up at Jiang Chen, his eyes a little red, but he didn't let the tears fall.

"Brother Chen, thank you."

Jiang Chen looked at him and patted him on the shoulder. The slap was so hard that Wang Kai slumped down.

"What are you thanking me for? You earned this yourself."

He turned around and looked at the 1,500 students on the training ground, at their young, expectant, and nervous faces, at those young people who had survived the battle of the First Apostle Hall, the battle of Liangzhou Fortress, the Ice Flower Storm, and those who had chosen to come to Qingyun Academy despite their despair.

"From this day forward, Qingyun Academy is officially divided into six halls: Taichu Hall, Fentian Hall, Bingxuan Hall, Xuwu Hall, Shengsheng Hall, and Chaos Hall. The Dao Fruits of the six Immortal Emperors have been dormant within the Taichu Sword for thirty thousand years. Thirty thousand years later, their Dao Fruits will awaken in your hands."

He raised his right hand, and the Primordial Sword emerged from his palm. Six-colored light flowed across the sword, turning the entire sky into a sea of ​​interwoven six colors.

"Primordial Hall Master - Ye Wuhen. Heavenly Burning Hall Master - Shen Qingxue. Ice Profound Hall Master - Bing Li. Void Hall Master - Xuan Ming. Life-Giving Hall Master - Wang Kai. Chaos Hall Master - "

He paused for a moment, his gaze sweeping over everyone present, finally settling on the six-colored flame pattern on the palm of his right hand.

"I."

A six-colored beam of light exploded from the blade of the Primordial Sword, piercing the sky and tearing a huge gap in the thin clouds above Jiangzhou City. Sunlight poured down from the gap, shining on the faces of every student.

The shouts of 1,500 students echoed across the sky above Qingyun Academy, carrying far and wide.

As far as Liangzhou.

As far away as the capital.

As far as the depths of the void origin of the Apostle Realm.

The dark red sky extends as far as the seventh level of the abyss.

Kahn opened his eyes in the Void Origin. His amber pupils reflected the six-colored beam of light that had pierced through the human world, and the figure in the dark blue uniform within it.

Neltharion raised his head on the seventh level of the abyss. His dark red eyes reflected the six-colored beam of light that had pierced through the human world, and within that beam stood the boy who stood before the 1,500 students.

They said the same thing at the same time.

"Three months."