Chapter 228: World

I don't know how long it had been.

On Shengshan, only Shen Xi remained.

He stood at the cliff's edge, gazing down at the world's mountains and rivers, his eyes deep and dark.

A soft murmur drifted away among the clouds.

"LingTai."

The Four Realms of Earth and Moon, a hundred billion living beings.

Only a dozen or so had reached LingTai.

Countless Divine Palace prodigies strained desperately, yet could not glimpse even a trace of LingTai.

Shen Xi was merely one of them.

Suddenly.

He spun around, staring at the World Gateway, his expression rare with astonishment.

Under his gaze,

the massive, sky-sized gateway of the Earth-Moon Academy World began to rumble and tremble!

BOOM!

The deafening roar echoed across the heavens!

On the World Gateway, blazing light ribbons wove together, forcibly sealing shut!

"What is this?"

Shen Xi's heart recoiled in shock; he stepped forward and appeared instantly beneath the gateway.

Turbulent air currents swirled around him as he held his identity artifact and moved toward the gateway's exterior.

CLANG!

The crash of A rang in his ears!

Shen Xi swiftly retreated, shedding the immense counterforce, then looked up at the World Gateway, his expression growing even more grim!

Meanwhile,

his golden identity artifact flared with brilliant light!

Countless messages flooded in without pause!

"Moon Realm in turmoil!"

"Surface Realm barrier trembling!"

"Realm Gate squeezed shut by the barrier!"

The messages blazed into Shen Xi's eyes.

His heart sank.

The Moon Realm's turmoil intensified further.

Now, it even affected the Surface Realm!

Both the Earth Alliance and Chang'an Prefecture sent messages in succession.

They ordered Shen Xi to hold the Realm Gate.

The Surface Realm would find a way to restore Chang'an Prefecture's Nine-Layer Realm Gates as soon as possible.

The disturbance to the Nine-Layer Realm Gates would have far-reaching consequences.

The Earth-Moon Academy would temporarily halt admissions.

Graduates could no longer leave the Second Layer Realm.

On Shengshan,

all academy instructors and staff had come outside.

They gazed up at the World Gateway, stunned into silence.

The Second Layer Realm, compressed by the Surface Realm barrier, had been completely sealed off.

In other words,

the academy world was now cut off from the outside world!

This shocking news spread like wildfire among Surface Realm beings in an instant.

Like a massive boulder hurled into a stream, it sent up a thousand splashes.

Great Zhou, Zhenhaizhou.

Demon-Slaying Office.

"Moon Realm in turmoil. Surface Realm barrier compressing. World Gateway forcibly closed."

"Second Layer Realm temporarily isolated."

The same message appeared on the Regional Military Commissioner's official seal.

It was a message sent by Xu Chaolu to Jiang Jian.

These past days,

Jiang Jian had noticed that the Great Zhou official seal resembled the Surface Realm's identity artifact.

If a Surface Realm being held this artifact, they could connect to the Qi-Yun network and send messages to all living beings within it.

Native beings could not do this.

Through the Qi-Yun network, Jiang Jian could clearly see which Surface Realm beings currently held office in Great Zhou and had not yet left.

He further discovered

that nearly every key position in Great Zhou—from the Cabinet to the Six Ministries—was occupied by Academy students!

The Director-General of the Jingcheng Demon-Slaying Office also sent Jiang Jian a message via his official seal.

He informed him the World Gateway had closed, urged him not to panic, and advised him to focus on cultivation and wait for restoration.

Though this message was broadcast to all,

it clearly stated:

In recent days, Great Zhou's Qi-Yun had surged dramatically.

He would do his utmost to help students serving in the Demon-Slaying Office secure more Imperial Edicts.

Jiang Jian had originally possessed four Imperial Edicts; within less than a month, he had used half of them.

In the meditation chamber,

"Converting Qi-Yun into spiritual energy—cultivation is indeed swift."

Jiang Jian ended his cultivation and put away his official seal.

Beside him lay two scrolls of brocade, their color gray, their spiritual energy entirely gone.

They were the two used Imperial Edicts.

"The resources I brought are nearly exhausted."

Jiang Jian lowered his gaze to the crystal in his hand.

Water Spirit Stone.

His fingers brushed it lightly—the crystal, clear and luminous, dissolved into glowing dust, crumbling silently.

This was the last Water Spirit Stone he had brought from Qiushuigong.

Over the past month,

Jiang Jian spent two days with thunderous force, clearing every disaster-stricken site in Zhenhaizhou!

Countless civilians cheered, beat drums, and celebrated the Demon-Slaying Office's achievements.

The Zhenhaizhou government, overjoyed, sent him many treasures as gestures of goodwill.

Unconsciously,

Jiang Jian's Regional Military Commissioner seal, linked to Great Zhou's Qi-Yun, unlocked a vast amount of spiritual energy!

After returning to the Demon-Slaying Office,

Jiang Jian took the Imperial Edicts and gathered Qiushuigong's resources.

For over twenty days, he never stepped outside.

Day and night, he trained relentlessly in the meditation chamber.

Qi-Yun spiritual energy was converted via the official seal.

Great Zhou's Imperial Edicts amplified this energy to a terrifying degree!

Combined with Qiushui's spiritual essence, Zhenhai Pearl, and Water Spirit Stone,

within one month,

Jiang Jian's cultivation speed had increased by half compared to when he was in Long Gong!

The reason?

The spiritual energy of Li Hai Long Gong had been severely weakened.

Cultivating there offered no clear advantage.

"Only two Imperial Edicts remain."

"Qiushuigong's scarce resources are also depleted."

Jiang Jian stood up and walked to the meditation chamber door.

A layer of dust had settled on the windows and doors.

This was, after all, an ordinary mortal building—no arrays.

Yet Jiang Jian, clad in the moon-white robe, remained spotless, untouched by a single speck of dust.

Threads of brilliant golden light flickered subtly within the sleeves.

Creak.

Jiang Jian pushed open the door.

Nearby, a Demon-Slaying Guard heard the noise and looked up in delight: "Regional Military Commissioner!"

Although Jiang Jian had ordered that no one disturb him during his quiet cultivation.

But Deputy Commissioner Wang Jian, eager to show his devotion, still sent a squad of Demon-Slaying Guards to patrol day and night outside the meditation chamber.

"Congratulations, Regional Military Commissioner, on emerging from seclusion!"

The Demon-Slaying Guard strode forward, knelt on the ground, and bowed loudly.

"Rise."

Jiang Jian swept past with a flick of his sleeve, crossed the corridor, and headed toward the main hall of the Demon-Slaying Bureau.

Along the way, wherever he passed.

Every squad leader and Demon-Slaying Guard stood at attention, their faces filled with reverence: "Regional Military Commissioner!"

Jiang Jian led the Demon-Slaying Bureau in cleansing over a dozen disaster-stricken sites.

He removed more than a dozen poisons from the people of Zhenhaizhou.

As a result, the Demon-Slaying Guards now received unprecedented respect when walking in public.

Ordinary citizens, upon encountering Demon-Slaying Guards on patrol, would offer fine wine and meat, warmly welcoming them.

Nearby demonic spirits and ghosts all trembled at the name of the Zhenhaizhou Demon-Slaying Bureau, fleeing at the mere rumor of its presence, daring not to enter Zhenhaizhou at all.

Today's Zhenhaizhou, compared to when Liu Ji held power, was truly a land of peace.

The people here had finally gained a rare period of stability.

The reputation of the Demon-Slaying Bureau's Regional Military Commissioner among the common folk grew ever higher.

Many households pooled their money to erect a living shrine in Jiang Jian's honor, worshipping him devoutly.

The Demon-Slaying Guards, too, felt immense pride.

Every time they went on patrol, they walked with chests out, heads high, filled with pride.

In the past, patrol duty was a miserable task, and no one wanted it.

Now, nearly all the Demon-Slaying Guards competed fiercely for the chance to go out on patrol.

What was once a dreaded chore had become a coveted privilege.

"Regional Military Commissioner!"

At the hall's entrance, Wang Jian strode forward, preparing to kneel.

"Come in."

Jiang Jian walked past him, the moon-white sleeve brushing lightly, sweeping him directly into the hall.

Wang Jian stumbled, his body uncontrolled, barely managing to steady himself inside the hall, his face pale with shock.

"Just how high has the Regional Military Commissioner's cultivation reached? It's terrifying."

He stood there, lifting his head to gaze at the white-robed boy above, his spirit trembling.

Wang Jian himself was already at the Spring Flow realm.

Yet facing Jiang Jian.

Wang Jian clearly sensed.

That compared to him, he was but a brook beside an ocean—separated by a chasm as vast as heaven and earth.

"Wang Jian."

The white-robed boy spoke softly.

Wang Jian snapped back to himself and immediately cried out: "Regional Military Commissioner!"

Jiang Jian sat at the desk, flipped briefly through the case files, and said: "You've done well these past days."

Wang Jian was stunned and honored, his face reddening as he hurriedly replied: "Thanks to the Regional Military Commissioner's divine authority, which has elevated the prestige of our Demon-Slaying Bureau, your humble servant, being part of it, dares not fail to give his utmost."

Jiang Jian nodded and said: "There is a task I need you to carry out."

(End of Chapter)