Chapter 1092: May I Still See You Both a Thousand Years Hence

Jiang Ding silently watched An Siyan among the students.

Compared to Jin Jin Lingfeng, who had always served in the military and advanced through its ranks, An Siyan followed the classic path of university teaching and scientific research, engaging in warfare only when necessary.

She had spent all these years developing at Taiyi Qingmu Xianzong's Array Spirit Yan Suan Fa and Immortal Dao Artificial Intelligence Department; the two had collaborated occasionally and seen each other from time to time.

An Siyan received her Dao title, seemingly over two hundred years ago; her magnum opus was "Breakthrough Study on the No. Structure of Array Spirit Yan Suan Fa," advancing the Immortal Sect's Dao-Union Level Array Spirit Yan Suan Fa by a small step.

Of course, it was only a very small step.

This was a massive project, involving the entire Immortal Sect, with lifelong efforts poured into it by Zhenjun Shenji Canghai Tianjun, Yuan, and others; countless schools, teachers, and students across the Immortal Sect participated, carrying the research forward generation after generation.

Even so, such a minor breakthrough in the vast Dao-Union Level Array Spirit Yan Suan Fa project was still considered top-tier contribution among Nascent Soul cultivators, demonstrating remarkable talent and intellect.

For this achievement, An Siyan received the Immortal Sect's Science and Technology Progress Award; after inquiring about her personal wishes, she was granted the Dao title Siyan Master Dinghai Zhenjun.

Thanks to this accomplishment, An Siyan received a Soul Transformation opportunity.

"Hey!"

"Long time no see!"

At that moment, a petite woman with silver hair cascading like moonlight walked over, her ivory fingers waving before the green-robed boy.

She failed to make him blink.

Jiang Ding carefully studied the silver-haired woman before him, whom he hadn't seen in years.

She looked exactly as before, yet deep in her eyes lay far more weariness—she was the famed Jin Ling Master Dinghai Zhenjun of the Immortal Sect, stronger than the former Yue Ling Master Dinghai Zhenjun, having earned her Soul Transformation opportunity through battlefield merit.

She was no obscure figure among the Nascent Soul cultivators of the Jiudaxian Sect; many Nascent Soul cultivators from other Immortal Sects feared her.

"Long time no see, Jin Ling Master Dinghai Zhenjun."

"Long time no see, Dai Ri Master Dinghai Zhenjun."

"Hah!"

The two bowed to each other, then smiled wryly, as if both recalled their youth, pretending to imitate their elders in childish play.

Yet they were both already at the peak of Nascent Soul.

"My Dai Ri Master Dinghai Zhenjun, Dai Ri Dayan Jianzi, Pretender to Emperor."

Jin Jin Lingfeng gazed at the boy before her—shorter than herself, forever preserved at sixteen—and sighed: "Your reputation across the realms is fearsome; Nascent Soul cultivators cannot even look up to you, as if you were ants, while Soul Transformation cultivators revere you with utmost awe."

"When I was in the military, if I accidentally clashed with a Soul Transformation Canghai Tianjun from the Badaxian Sect, I'd simply invoke your name—and they'd silently withdraw, without exception."

"You don't blame me, do you?"

She blinked.

Over these years

?? She had interacted with many Badaxian Sect cultivators, and in their eyes, Dai Ri Dayan Jianzi seemed terrifying, bloody, chaotic, and mad.

Her actions were no different from dancing on a grave.

"How could I?"

"Use it however you like, however you want."

Jiang Ding shook his head and asked: "Have you said goodbye to your comrades? Did you cry? I heard many Immortal Sect soldiers weep uncontrollably when retiring from the military."

"I didn't cry!"

"That's all rumor and exaggeration."

Jin Jin Lingfeng rolled her eyes: "We're old comrades, old brothers—we've seen too much death to be so fragile."

"Our army's blood and storm, we're almost envious of her."

Jin Jin Lingfeng glanced toward An Siyan among the students—still wearing black-rimmed glasses, gentle and quiet, radiating an unmistakable scholarly aura.

"Isn't this kind of scholarly beauty the one men most crave as a partner?"

Jin Jin Lingfeng lamented to herself.

"I'm different—I occasionally let slip a trace of battlefield martial aura, and people immediately picture a crude, sword-wielding brute, strong enough to lift a cauldron, strong enough to drag a mountain…"

"Uh…"

Jiang Ding looked up at the sky.

The clouds above were seven-colored, shifting constantly, their intricate patterns revealing profound truths, expressing a kind of beauty inherent in heaven and earth.

"What are you two talking about?"

An Siyan approached; she had already bid farewell to her students, arranged successors for her lab, and assigned teaching duties for the coming term.

"Nothing."

Jin Jin Lingfeng pouted.

After many years, she had never become a confidante of An Siyan; their relationship remained neither good nor bad.

"Long time no see."

"I've prepared gifts for you."

Jiang Ding broke the subtle silence and handed out two jade boxes containing supreme Soul Transformation Pills; they landed gently on the two women's chests: "You must break through to Soul Transformation—otherwise, we won't see each other again."

The two women opened the jade boxes.

"Supreme Soul Transformation Pills?!!"

An Siyan drew a sharp breath, slightly embarrassed, feigning modesty: "This kind of pill is extravagance—each pill could fund six Soul Transformation opportunities for the Immortal Sect; it's pure, reckless waste."

"You've spent too much, you've spent too much."

Yet despite her words, her slender fingers naturally slipped the supreme Soul Transformation Pill into her storage treasure.

"It's not extravagant."

Jiang Ding smiled gently.

"Of course not."

Jin Jin Lingfeng examined the supreme Soul Transformation Pill with rapt admiration, her eyes half-lidded with delight: "You've destroyed at least dozens of Jiao Mo Emperor Clan royal families—you're a super-rich man, naturally nothing like us poor women."

"Jiang Ding, how about I marry you and manage half your property for you?"

"Nonsense!"

Before the blue-robed youth could answer, An Siyan quickly cut in: "A cultivator should put the Dao above all else. Marriage is the grave of love, a besieged city… So, Jin Jin Lingfeng, stop joking around."

"Heh."

Jin Jin Lingfeng rolled her eyes.

"What are your plans?"

Jiang Ding asked.

Possessing a top-grade Soul Transformation Pill meant already possessing a Soul Transformation opportunity, and a better one than the immortal sect's standard issue — in theory, enough to break through to Soul Transformation.

Besides the two women, he had also mailed the other top-grade Soul Transformation Pills to the slumbering Master Dinghai Master Dinghai Zhenjun, Zhang Zhang Junsheng, Lu Ling Master Dinghai Zhenjun, as well as his deeply bonded immortal sect old friends like his Ideological and Moral Character teacher Teacher Ouyang Hui and his counselor Liu Xiong.

"I still choose to slumber."

Jin Jin Lingfeng said without hesitation: "The immortal sect's Soul Transformation opportunity can be exchanged for several other items that aid Soul Transformation, but that requires waiting in line. Also, slumber can be paired with a secret art to slightly raise the Soul Transformation success rate… In short, this is Soul Transformation we're talking about — it concerns a ten-thousand-year lifespan. Even the slightest chance must be clutched in hand. We can't afford to be careless."

"I feel the same."

An Siyan nodded lightly, sharing the same view.

"That's quite good."

"Being cautious is better; there's no rush."

Jiang Ding smiled and nodded, agreeing with their thoughts, and said: "Teacher Gu Lin and other old friends are holding a gathering. Let's go take a look. These old friends are about to enter slumber too. While we have the chance, let's meet each other and have a chat."

"Then, many years from now, we'll meet again."