[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-ascending-to-divinity":3,"chapter-ascending-to-divinity-ascending-to-divinity-chapter-262":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Ascending to Divinity",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2280812,4461,"Chapter 262: Puppet","ascending-to-divinity-chapter-262",262,"\u003Cp>On Shengshan, it was as quiet as before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jian landed, and besides the howling wind, not a single soul was in sight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The world gate shows no signs of damage.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The academy teachers and past students should not have left.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He lifted his head, gazing above the lunar stone carving.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There it was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A vast vortex obscured sky and earth, rotating slowly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At every moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It churned the unimaginable, boundless spiritual energy at the very edge of the heavens.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Previously, the Moon Realm had been in turmoil.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The planetary barrier had been compressed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As a result, all world gates within the Nine Layers of Chang’an Prefecture had closed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They have not reopened since.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The pavilion Shen Xi mentioned should be here.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jian took a step forward, and his form dissolved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The next instant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amid interwoven black light, he appeared before the pavilion door, clad in a snow-white robe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What surprised Jiang Jian was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The pavilion’s door was wide open.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The pavilion was spacious, filled with numerous cabinets, each numbered, and showing no protection at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clearly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What was stored inside was not just his own identity device, but also other students’ belongings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jian fell silent for a moment, then walked toward the pavilion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A shrill, grating screech echoed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A puppet stepped out the door, its eyes glowing with eerie light, blocking Jiang Jian’s path.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The gatekeeper’s order.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Academy students must reach the Divine Palace realm to retrieve their identity devices.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its voice was hoarse, laced with harsh, grating friction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jian frowned, halted his steps, and did not argue with it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He realized.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This puppet was a Divine Palace realm spirit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was ordered to guard here, and would only carry out its command—no negotiation possible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Where is the gatekeeper?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jian paused, then asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The puppet swayed its body and shook its head. “I don’t know.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jian fell silent again, then rephrased his question: “When did the people on Shengshan leave?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The puppet did not answer immediately; instead, it stepped forward on creaking limbs, stopping before Jiang Jian.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It stared intently at him, its eerie light flickering, and asked: “All students of the Lunar-Moon Academy have gone to the Great Zhou Dynasty. How are you still here?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Around the puppet, spiritual aura surged, its tone turning cold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clearly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It had grown suspicious of Jiang Jian.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jian remained calm, dispersing the spiritual aura around him, and said: “As guardian of this pavilion, your records should include my bone pattern.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His spiritual essence, now fully restored, shimmered into a faint glow encircling his body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Concealing his true bone structure, rendering it indistinct to the eye.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ordinary Divine Palace cultivators, without special techniques, could not pierce his spiritual veil.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Jiang Jian revealed his true appearance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The puppet froze, its tone clearly startled: “It’s you!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its expression shifted, and it pulled out a brocade scroll, handing it to Jiang Jian.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The gatekeeper specifically instructed: if Jiang Jian comes, give him this.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As it spoke,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>the puppet’s eyes narrowed in confusion: “Yet in my perception, your spiritual essence is only at the Gushing Spring realm.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your cultivation shouldn’t be below the Divine Palace realm.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The next instant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jian took the scroll without explanation and said: “Please hand me my identity device as well.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The puppet frowned tightly. “But the gatekeeper said students must reach the Divine Palace realm to claim their identity devices.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jian smiled. “According to your own words, the gatekeeper also said: if I come, give me both the scroll and the identity device.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>the puppet stood still, its expression bewildered. “The gatekeeper did say that.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It racked its mind, yet could not comprehend how the omniscient gatekeeper could issue completely contradictory orders.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>if an academy student emerged from the Breaking Realm Hall,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>it meant they had shattered the Divine Illumination barrier and become a Divine Palace cultivator.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If they failed to break through, the Starry Cosmos’ backlash would kill them instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet Jiang Jian here had utterly shattered established norms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though he had not broken through,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>he had forcibly resisted the backlash through various means and survived.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For hundreds of years,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jian was the first student of the Lunar-Moon Academy to leave the Breaking Realm Hall without reaching the Divine Palace realm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m taking the identity device to carry out the gatekeeper’s assignment.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jian said gravely, “If I cannot retrieve it and the mission is delayed, can you bear the blame?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The puppet hesitated, weighed its options, and fell silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It turned and entered the pavilion, rummaging briefly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A few seconds later.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The puppet emerged holding a transparent wristwatch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Linjiang Prefecture, Jiang Jian.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It extended its hand, offering the watch. “Your identity device.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the puppet’s mind,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>the rule that one must reach the Divine Palace realm to claim an identity device\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>was something the gatekeeper had said long ago.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But giving both the scroll and the identity device to “Jiang Jian” was a specific, urgent instruction from the gatekeeper.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though as a tool spirit, the puppet’s intelligence had been heavily suppressed by the array, making it somewhat mechanical.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still, its basic judgment could tell it:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>the gatekeeper’s special, direct instructions carried greater weight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thank you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jian took the watch and fastened it to his wrist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Click!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Earth’s top-tier technology, the identity device glowed faintly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instantly, it confirmed Jiang Jian’s identity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A clicking sound echoed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In an instant, the device fused seamlessly with his wrist!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jian lowered his gaze, staring at the device, his expression grave.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He walked beneath the lunar stone carving, extending his pale, slender fingers to tap the device repeatedly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A holographic screen materialized.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A rapid succession of alerts blared!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thousands of messages lined up in sequence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And at the very top, the most recent message:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sent just minutes ago!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The signatory was none other than his sister Jiang Zhao!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",987,"2026-06-20T01:21:35.424Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","b530e5fb85a90d8adaceb1a9c77e6dc01f411916504516b355470a8cb13004cf","ascending-to-divinity-chapter-263","ascending-to-divinity-chapter-261",306,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fascending-to-divinity-cover.jpg"]