Chapter 916: The Source of Pollution

Li Yi had barely appeared within the Golden Academy when his formidable aura drew the attention of many; though he revealed no divine majesty, the thunderous power surging within him was truly chilling.

Merely exhaling a breath sent wind and thunder churning, sweeping across the heavens—this alone proved the vastness of his magic power and the strength of his physique.

“Is this aura Li Yi? He’s come to the Golden Academy too?”

Someone immediately recognized him; after all, Li Yi’s performance on the Earth Defense Line a year ago had been astonishing, and many had fought alongside him to repel the three forces—Xuan Immortal Continent, Demon God Realm, and Dark World—securing over a year of peace since.

The elite warriors from the Earth Defense Line had not crossed over to other worlds but chose instead to come to the Golden Academy to exchange cultivation insights and strive for greater strength.

“Compared to a year ago, Li Yi’s strength has grown even further.” A woman named Su Mu appeared atop a floating structure, gazing toward the source of the storm and thunder, her heart filled with awe.

“A year ago, Li Yi could kill a Demon King; with this power now, he’s likely planning something big. I wonder what he intends here at the Golden Academy.” Ye Jingtian, who had been in deep cultivation, was disturbed by the thunderous aura and opened his eyes, a quiet anticipation stirring within him.

Everyone knew Li Yi was no passive man; he cultivated to protect his homeland, grew stronger and gathered experts to drive out invaders, and even when he vanished across worlds, no one believed he had fled—only that he sought opportunities beyond.

Thus, no one was surprised by his appearance.

Li Yi quickly suppressed his aura, stepped upon auspicious clouds, and flew through the Golden Academy with Lin Yue, observing the changes since its reconstruction.

Suddenly.

Li Yi halted his steps, sensing something, and turned his gaze in one direction.

The next moment, a massive, terrifying primordial beast leapt from a grand hall, and atop it sat a familiar figure, heading straight toward them.

“That’s Qiongqi, the mountain lord beast from Chijin Mountain,” Li Yi recognized the beast at once.

And the one who tamed it was naturally Jiang Mingtian.

“Li Yi, long time no see! You’ve finally returned from the Primordial Wilderness.” Jiang Mingtian greeted him warmly.

Li Yi smiled: “You knew I was in the Primordial Wilderness? Why not go there to cultivate yourself? I didn’t see you during the last battle—where were you?”

Jiang Mingtian shook his head with a wry smile: “I had no choice—I took a group of relatives and friends across worlds searching for safety, wasted plenty of time wandering, and eventually sent them to World Six. I originally planned to visit the Primordial Wilderness, but the Golden Academy was rebuilt, and the cultivation environment here is excellent, so I’ve settled here for now.”

“Still, after some deep cultivation, I intend to journey to the Primordial Wilderness soon, trying to tame a second mountain lord beast—it would greatly enhance my strength.”

“You should’ve gone sooner,” Li Yi said with a slight shake of his head. “I could’ve helped you capture a few mountain lord beasts. I don’t know beast-taming techniques, so I’d just kill those with great potential.”

Jiang Mingtian chuckled: “No problem—the Primordial Wilderness is vast, teeming with beasts. Finding a few mountain lord beasts is easy.”

Li Yi now studied the fierce, dangerous beast Qiongqi.

In just over a year, the beast’s strength had grown from ten mountain lord levels to thirty.

With this power, plus its newfound cultivation and mastery of spells, it could likely defeat even Immortals.

“I’ve relied on it to escape countless dangers,” Jiang Mingtian said helplessly. “I had no choice—I poured all my resources into it.”

He’d originally aimed to become a Sword Immortal, but ended up as a Beast Tamer instead.

The mountain lord Qiongqi was simply too valuable; as long as he didn’t act recklessly, he could practically walk with impunity thanks to this beast.

So Jiang Mingtian had already decided: after returning, he’d take Qiongqi to the Primordial Wilderness, capture more mountain lord beasts, tame them, and fully commit to the Beast Tamer path.

Li Yi thought for a moment and said: “By the way, Jiang Mingtian, I’ve come to the Golden Academy to gather a group of experts to launch an assault on other worlds—to avenge what happened before. Interested in joining?”

“Cross-world warfare?” Jiang Mingtian’s gaze sharpened. “Li Yi, isn’t this a bit rushed?”

“Wait until all of us are ready? Revenge loses its meaning if delayed,” Li Yi said. “If you want to join, I suggest you go to Chijin Mountain in the Primordial Wilderness right now. I’ll send several Bloodline Warriors to assist you in capturing mountain lord beasts and boosting your strength.”

Jiang Mingtian knew Li Yi acted swiftly, despised hesitation; once he spoke, he’d act regardless of whether others followed. Everyone knew he’d gathered a large force of cultivation experts in the End-Era World and could launch a cross-world war on his own.

“Fine, I’ll go to the Primordial Wilderness at once and return as soon as possible.”

Jiang Mingtian gritted his teeth, committing to this cross-world campaign, realizing it was also his own opportunity.

With Li Yi’s help, he could acquire a sufficient number of mountain lord beasts in the shortest time.

Li Yi nodded slightly, then pointed a finger—a thunderbolt coalesced into a divine force, forming a token. Once activated, it would manifest as a spectral image to deliver his command.

Jiang Mingtian didn’t hesitate—he took the token and immediately departed, knowing Li Yi wouldn’t linger long at the Golden Academy; the cross-world battle would come soon. Li Yi watched him leave, hoping his journey would go smoothly and that he could tame fifty powerful mountain lord beasts to aid the coming war.

“Li Yi, Deputy Dean Sun Boxiu has arrived,” Lin Yue whispered beside him.

He turned his gaze to the other side.

Indeed, Sun Boxiu was flying toward them with several powerful experts, seemingly here specifically to welcome him.

But Li Yi felt he deserved this reception; after all, he had nearly single-handedly driven off Earth’s enemies and brought this rare peace.

"Haha, Li Yi, it's been a long time since I last saw you—you've finally returned! I've been looking forward to meeting you again. Last year, thanks to you, the Earth's defense line held; without you, there would be no Earth today." Sun Boxiu greeted him with great warmth.

“Haha, Li Yi, it’s been too long! You’ve finally returned—I’ve been looking forward to this reunion. Last year, thanks to you on the Earth Defense Line, Earth has today.” Sun Boxiu greeted him with great warmth.

Li Yi replied: “Deputy Dean, you’re too kind. Even without me, when crisis came, experts would have risen to turn the tide.”

“It’s not the same,” Sun Boxiu shook his head. “Only you could have done what you did. I heard from Xiao Jianguo and others—they’d already prepared to flee Earth across worlds, even activated cross-world gates in some survival bases. Had you not crushed those major invaders, there’d be no Golden Academy today.”

Anyone facing Li Yi would acknowledge his merit.

Though many, due to weak strength or other reasons, hadn’t joined the great battle, they still had to recognize Li Yi’s achievements.

“Deputy Dean, I’ve come to the Golden Academy to gather senior figures to discuss cross-world warfare. If you’re willing, could you help initiate it?” Li Yi cut straight to the point.

“Cross-world warfare?” Sun Boxiu paused, then quickly understood Li Yi’s meaning.

This idea wasn’t unique to Li Yi—many of the Earth Defense Line’s elite had entertained it, but without unified opinion or sufficient top-tier strength, nothing came of it.

In plain terms, they simply lacked a leader.

Now that Li Yi had stepped forward, many would surely answer his call.

Sun Boxiu thought briefly and said: “Li Yi, I have no problem taking the lead—but there’s one urgent matter we must handle first.”

Sun Boxiu lowered his voice: "Someone has located the source of the Earth's energy pollution; the higher-ups are deliberating how to handle it."

Sun Boxiu lowered his voice: “Someone has located the source of Earth’s energy pollution. The high command is deliberating how to deal with it.”

“The source of cosmic energy pollution?” Li Yi’s eyes flickered. “Where? When was it found?”

Sun Boxiu looked up at the sky.

Li Yi immediately understood, frowning: “The pollution source is on the Moon?”

Sun Boxiu whispered, while energy barriers flared to life around him, blocking eavesdropping by nearby students.

Sun Boxiu whispered, while activating an energy barrier around them to block eavesdropping from nearby students.

“Finding the source is good—just eliminate it. The Moon? If needed, I’ll go there and blow it up, or use magic power to knock it out of Earth’s orbit, send it drifting far into space.” Li Yi immediately proposed a solution.

Sun Boxiu shook his head with a bitter smile: “It’s not that simple. The high command tried using World Six’s technology to push the Moon away—but failed. The Moon is protected by a natural grand array. Attempts to destroy it also failed.”

He thought of the residual soul of Hua Qing inside the knife coin—back then, Hua Qing had said the Earth's pollution was man-made, not natural. Now, as more powerful cultivators emerge and their exploration expands, discovering the pollution on the Moon is merely a matter of time.

He remembered Hua Qing's lingering spirit, who had claimed that Earth's pollution was artificial, not natural. Now, as Earth's strong ones grow and exploration expands, discovering the Moon's pollution was inevitable.

And this discovery confirmed Hua Qing’s words were true.

“Li Yi, if you plan cross-world warfare, shouldn’t you first resolve Earth’s pollution?” Sun Boxiu said. “As long as it exists, it severely hampers everyone’s cultivation speed and erodes the strength of lesser cultivators.”

“I understand: secure the interior before confronting the exterior.”

Li Yi said: “But the two aren’t mutually exclusive—we can tackle pollution while preparing for cross-world warfare. If we conquer a major cultivation realm, we can resettle and transform it—wouldn’t that be better than staying on Earth?”

“Many worlds are connected to Earth. Conquering one realm is like expanding Earth’s territory.”

[70] “The pollution’s aura has already spread to other worlds. Xuan Immortal Continent’s cultivators are already affected—even if we conquer it, we’ll still face the pollution problem,” Sun Boxiu said.