Chapter 253: Chapter 252: The Dragon Race’s Will
After the seal was broken, the rules of the Northern Boundary underwent subtle changes. The first time the Secret Realm opened, it was restricted to ten Chosen Ones competing for the ultimate victory, and they all had to be at the Dharma Realm. No one of a higher Realm could enter.
But now it was different. Anyone whose Realm surpassed the Dharma Realm could sense the spatial fluctuations from the Northern Wilderness on Blue Star and enter through the Secret Realm’s portal. To leave, one also needed to reach at least the Dharma Realm. However, it seemed that Jiang Qiu could perceive every entry and exit, and possessed a certain degree of control over it.
After informing the people of the North Snow Tribe about this matter, he gave some other instructions, recharged the defensive Array of the Little Ice Realm, and bowed in a moment of silent tribute to the memorial tablets of the Great Witch Priest and others on the Altar. Then, Jiang Qiu flew high into the sky, leaving behind the crowd who were bowing and kneeling before the Altar and his departing figure.
What he didn’t know was that later, another memorial tablet would be added to the Altar. It bore the name "Hill" and was placed in the position of honor. All the tribespeople who came to pay their respects would look up to this name, and future legends would speak of a "New Ancestor" who had forged a new world.
The Northern Boundary was vast. Moreover, the treasure vaults of the major tribes had inherited treasures from ancient times. Once the Spirit Charm was fully restored, they would return to their Peak state in a short time and continuously seek breakthroughs.
As for the conflicts between the Human Race and the Demon Race within, they would have to resolve those themselves. Perhaps the next time he came, the Human Race would no longer be huddled in a small region in the north.
As for Flower and the group of tribespeople who had fled to the South Mountain Range, Jiang Qiu, despite having reached the Peeping Dao Realm, could no longer sense any connection to them. With Xia Country in grave danger, he couldn’t linger in the Northern Boundary any longer and could only wait to search for them another day.
’If they’re truly all dead, then so be it.’
...
The Northern Wilderness Great Secret Realm closed. Jiang Qiu returned to North Border City with Zhu Weiyi, only then realizing with a shock that a mere three months had passed on Blue Star.
The twenty years he spent starting anew in the Northern Boundary made him feel as if he’d been reborn. He never imagined that only three months had passed on Blue Star.
However, although it had only been three months, the global situation had changed dramatically. Xia Country was now under immense pressure, facing not only an invasion from the meteorically rising Kunlun Demon Clan but also resisting the forces of Sang Island on the East Coast.
The Kunlun Demon Clan, needless to say, had reached a Peak state under the leadership of Chen and were only growing stronger. They had gone from threatening the Northwest Province to threatening the entire country—a deeply alarming and terrifying development.
"Tianshan City in the Northwest Province has been annihilated, following in the footsteps of Kunlun City. A large number of Major Generals have been killed in action, and even a Vice Admiral has fallen. Casualties exceed one million. The situation in the Northwest Province is grim..."
In the command room of North Border City, Zhu Weiyi’s voice was deep and low. His white brows drooped, his expression betraying a powerless fury.
COUGH COUGH—
A sudden fit of rage sent a jolt through him, and he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.
Stunned, Jiang Qiu moved to support him. "Why are you so weak?"
"Just some aftereffects from the battle for North Border City. It’s nothing," Zhu Weiyi said, waving Jiang Qiu away. He puffed out his slightly trembling chest to show his strength. "Now that you and Tang Guang are both back, I can rest a little easier. Go back. The country needs you now.
There are no major threats to North Border City for now. The three great demon clans of the Northern Wilderness were severely weakened last time, and Sang Island has focused all its attention on the East Coast. We don’t need so many people guarding this place.
Come to think of it, you’re still a student at Northwest Martial University. You haven’t graduated, have you?
Go back to the Northwest. It’s time for you to graduate..."
A bony right hand slowly rested on Jiang Qiu’s shoulder. In that moment, he met Zhu Weiyi’s gaze—a gaze that was murky yet held a faint green light, like a lamp piercing the dusk at sunset.
Compared to the imposing, upright figure he’d been when Jiang Qiu first arrived in North Border City, the man now radiated the weariness of his twilight years.
The image of him slaying the Dao Protection Grandmaster Sakai Yoshiei with a single spear thrust in the arena had become history. Taking a blow from Cangyuan in the Northern Wilderness Great Secret Realm had just completely drained his strength.
The Northwest Martial University’s rookie competition was long over. The youth who had returned so late was now, at last, to depart.
"Grandmaster Zhu, take care."
"Take care."
Less than twenty minutes after returning to North Border City, Jiang Qiu was on his way back to the heart of the country. Zhu Weiyi had already arranged a Hundred Machines Giant Kite for him, Tang Guang, and the others, for an immediate departure from the Northern Wilderness.
Through the command room window, one could just see a large, bird-shaped flying machine rising in the distance. It headed south, disappearing beyond the layers of clouds.
Zhu Weiyi stood with his hands clasped behind his back, watching for a long time. His expression held both earnest hope and profound worry. "I hope that with Jiang Qiu’s return, the Northwest Province can find some stability. The disaster Xia Country has suffered this time is too great, far too great..."
...
Inside the Hundred Machines Giant Kite, Jiang Qiu sat by the aisle, his distant eyes somewhat glazed over. His thoughts were still back in the Northern Boundary.
The moment the Dragon Body Casting succeeded, he seemed to have truly sensed the will of a True Dragon—a sacred, ancient will of the Dragon Race.
There were no soul-stirring images, nor were there any remnant Dragon Souls. It was simply that in the instant the Dragon Race bloodline fused with his body, his eyes could perceive the profound stars of the nine heavens, and his Soul sensed a vast, boundless cosmos.
In a single thought, he touched the Origin of the Northern Boundary, and through that Origin, seemed to trace time back to the once-complete Celestial Profound Great Realm.
He saw even further, to countless points of light like fireflies flowing through the Celestial River. The bloodline of the Dragon Race spread throughout the starry sky, and each of those stars was a complete Great Realm.
The ancient era of the Celestial Profound Great Realm was but a single slice in the long river of history. The lifelong pursuit of the Demon Emperors was nothing more than breaking through the barriers of a Great Realm.
From a higher perspective, Great Realms were as numerous as grains of sand, and tens of thousands of years passed in the time it took to doze off for a moment.
This elevated perspective, inherited through the Dragon Race bloodline, weighed upon Jiang Qiu’s Soul. For a moment, he even felt that all his life’s struggles were meaningless. It seemed even a Grandmaster at the Peeping Dao Realm didn’t live for that much longer.
The revival of Secret Realms on Blue Star had only begun a little over a hundred years ago. The oldest Grandmaster was perhaps only just over a hundred years old. It was too short, far too short.
The Human Race was so small as to be almost negligible.
This... was the perspective of the Dragon Race...
’If True Dragons are so powerful, why did they also die?’ Jiang Qiu wondered, recalling these sensations.
He hadn’t inherited the memories of the True Dragon from its bloodline, so he had no way of knowing the full story of how the Celestial Profound Great Realm was shattered. More than once, he found himself thinking, ’There are so many Great Realms... Celestial Profound shattered, but what about the others?’
’So many years have passed, yet all the fragments Blue Star has encountered are from the Celestial Profound Great Realm. Did only the Celestial Profound Great Realm shatter? Is everywhere else intact?’
’If an unbroken Great Realm were to establish a connection with Blue Star through a Secret Realm...’
"Brother Jiang... is your heart supposed to be this hot?"
The clear voice of a young girl came from the seat beside him. Frowning slightly, Ice Lotus pursed her lips, her clear eyes hiding a trace of fear born from her bloodline, as well as a genuine, heartfelt worry.
At the Dharma Realm, she could sense Jiang Qiu’s physical condition at close range through the Ice and Snow Contract.
However, ever since Jiang Qiu returned from the Northern Wilderness Great Secret Realm, she could always feel the aura of the Dragon Race on him, and couldn’t help but be afraid that something was wrong...
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