Chapter 229: Heaven

Jiang Jian took out his official seal and stamped it onto the brocade before him.

"Take this brocade, lead a squad of Demon-Slaying Guards, and go to the neighboring Shashi Zhou."

"The Deputy Commander of the Shashi Zhou Demon-Slaying Bureau is called Xu Chaolu."

"She has two imperial edicts; after showing her the brocade, she will naturally let you take them back."

Wang Jian's expression turned solemn as he stepped forward to receive the brocade: "Regional Military Commissioner, your subordinate will spare no effort!"

Jiang Jian nodded and said, "Go."

Wang Jian clutched the brocade and withdrew respectfully.

Through the official seal, Jiang Jian had already made a deal with Xu Chaolu.

Exchange resources from Qiushui Palace for imperial edicts.

By normal logic.

No one in the Great Zhou would dare intercept an imperial edict.

But the spiritual artifacts of Qiushui Palace, Jiang Jian must retrieve himself.

If Wang Jian were to lead the Demon-Slaying Guards straight to Lihai, someone might ambush them en route and seize them.

"Regional Military Commissioner!"

The Demon-Slaying Guards on both sides bowed in unison.

Jiang Jian stepped out of the hall, left the Demon-Slaying Bureau, and rode the dark phoenix toward Long Gong of Lihai.

At this point, after a month of cultivation.

The spiritual essence of Shenque had become tangible and could be maintained for long periods.

When qi was fully saturated, the phantom form of the dark phoenix lasted even longer.

Its speed was terrifying.

One flap of Long Que's wings covered several li.

Zhenhai Zhou and Lihai Long Gong were a thousand li apart—yet he could reach it in fifteen minutes.

Suddenly.

The Regional Military Commissioner's seal trembled violently.

A new aura message had arrived.

The wind howled past his ears as Jiang Jian, riding Long Que, took the seal and checked the message.

The next instant.

His expression froze.

"Senior Jiang Jian, I'm at the Great Zhou's Imperial Astronomical Bureau."

A girl's voice came through—bright and clean.

Hearing the voice,

Jiang Jian's mind immediately conjured a face.

Classmate Nie Zheng.

She had once said she would come to Diyue Academy for further study.

Based on the timeline,

Classmate Nie Zheng should have arrived here a month ago.

"It seems this cohort differs from previous ones—there's no separate cultivation site."

"Instead, they've all been sent en masse to the Great Zhou."

Jiang Jian grasped the key detail and formed a theory about Diyue Academy's situation.

By normal logic,

Every six months, Diyue Academy staff descended from Shengshan to locate new students' cultivation grounds.

Yet Classmate Nie Zheng's cohort had been strangely deprived of this treatment.

"The second-layer realm's output has declined."

"Could this also be linked to the moon realm's instability?"

As he pondered,

Jiang Jian lowered his gaze and continued reading.

The seal carried several messages from Classmate Nie Zheng.

The most critical was the impact of the forced closure of the world gate on academy students.

Students at Yongquan Realm were minimally affected.

But anyone who reached Shengong Realm during this period could not leave the academy world—and thus could not graduate.

Another effect:

Diyue Academy's protection of its students had weakened considerably.

This alarmed many "Holy Chosen."

Previously, before the academy world was squeezed,

the academy, perched atop Shengshan, could track student locations through world aura.

It could also intervene when they faced mortal danger.

But now,

the second-layer realm had been compressed into a sealed, isolated city.

The world aura here had also changed.

Diyue Academy needed considerable time to fully regain control.

During this period,

if a "Holy Chosen"—that is, an academy student—encountered mortal danger,

Diyue Academy far away on Shengshan might arrive too late, resulting in their true death!

This news

caused many academy students to lie low, behaving far more obediently than before.

In the past, some students were bold, relying on the academy's protection to act recklessly, certain they wouldn't die.

But just a few days ago,

a Yongquan Realm student was crushed to death—his corpse horrifically mangled.

The Holy Hall, overwhelmed by the world gate crisis,

did not come to avenge the dead as other students had expected.

Classmate Nie Zheng's warning was simple:

Stay in the Demon-Slaying Bureau, don't wander, and absolutely avoid provoking Shengong Realm cultivators.

In addition,

she also shared some everyday details with Jiang Jian.

For instance, her experiences at Linjiang Academy.

For instance, her interactions with Jiang Zhao.

Classmate Nie Zheng revealed everything openly, without concealment.

At the end of the message, she mentioned another terrifying matter.

This matter originated in the moon realm and spread across all four realms of Diyue.

It was a prediction made by the Earth Alliance based on current conditions.

The moon realm's barrier, battered repeatedly by extraterrestrial beings from Jupiter and Saturn, had already shattered in large part.

It would collapse completely within a year.

The four realms of Diyue were about to face "Heaven's Collapse!"

Neptune had sealed itself off for a hundred years.

Today,

the "Solar System Planetary Accord" had become worthless paper.

The rings of Jupiter and Saturn were expanding rapidly.

With planetary resources insufficient to sustain them,

the two planets reached an agreement and finally bared their fangs toward the rest of the solar system!

Mercury had been fully colonized by Saturn.

The weak Mars and Earth were now the primary targets of both planets.

When the moon realm barrier shattered,

the Earth Alliance designated it with the codename: "Heaven's Collapse."

(End of Chapter)