Chapter 269 - 268: The Array Has a Solution

The Teleportation Array beneath the Martial Arts Building was in total chaos. A large number of Gao Yuan City’s citizens were stranded, unable to be teleported away, and the scene was a clamorous uproar.

The researchers in charge were frantic with anxiety. Even with the air conditioning running, their faces were drenched in sweat.

At such a critical, life-or-death moment, Gao Yuan City’s most crucial evacuation plan had failed. With so many people yet to be moved, the consequences were simply unimaginable!

"BZZZT—"

"BZZZT—"

A piercing alarm blared, echoing through the basement. Zhao Qian’s face was stern and cold. After finding a staff member to ask about the situation, he looked utterly shocked. "The Teleportation Array is restricted, and all teleportations have been terminated?"

He wasn’t very knowledgeable about things like Arrays, Ancient Inscriptions, or teleportation; after all, his path was that of a combat-focused Soldier Cultivator. However, as the head of the spear department at the Soldier Cultivation Academy and a Grandmaster-level Martial Artist, his breadth of knowledge was by no means poor.

The current situation meant that all the teleport-capable Secret Realms known to Gao Yuan City were now sealed off. The coordinates for more distant Secret Realms weren’t in their database, making it impossible to establish a connection.

If they were to force a teleportation, no one knew which Secret Realm the citizens would be sent to or what terrifying threats might exist there. Furthermore, it would take an immense effort for other cities to locate that Secret Realm, and the resource consumption would be astronomical.

Therefore, the teleportation plan had been brought to an emergency halt!

"..."

Beside him, Jiang Qiu frowned, his eyes fixed on the Ancient Inscriptions carved into the vast teleportation space. Faintly, he could see layer upon layer of Array patterns manifesting, just as he had when he first saw the Celestial Dao Prison Dragon sealing Grand Array.

Of course, this Teleportation Array was far from being as complex as the Celestial Dao Prison Dragon. That Grand Array had enveloped the entire Northern Boundary, devouring such a massive amount of Spirit Charm that it had become nearly impossible for anyone in the Northern Boundary to reach the Jade Sinew Realm.

For an Array of that caliber, teleportation was merely an auxiliary function. It was on a completely different level.

However, according to the description of Array levels in the *Array of the Reversed Sky*, the complexity of the Ancient Inscriptions before him was comparable to a Middle Level Array.

The "Little Ice Realm" he had learned was a Basic Array, one of the foundational types, capable of withstanding an ordinary strike from someone at the Peeping Dao Realm. This Array before him was a tier more difficult than the "Little Ice Realm."

After thinking for a moment, Jiang Qiu spoke up. "Second Senior Brother, can I go take a look at the array’s core?"

Relying on his "Array Intuition," he could easily see through the Array’s structure. He had also inherited a wealth of foundational Array theory during his time in the Northern Boundary. In terms of sheer knowledge on the subject, it was possible that none of the Ancient Inscription experts present could compare to him.

Of course, he couldn’t hope to fully decipher this Middle Level Teleportation Array in a short amount of time; after all, it had taken him about a year just to study the Basic Array, "Little Ice Realm."

But the problem now didn’t seem to be that the Array couldn’t be activated, but rather that they were afraid to activate it for fear of it going out of control.

"Junior Brother Jiang, why do you want to go to the array’s core?" Zhao Qian gave him a strange look, sizing him up and down. It wasn’t that he was looking down on him, it was just... "The core of this Grand Array is considered the very nerve center of Gao Yuan City. Even though I’m a Grandmaster and a department head at Northwest Martial University, I don’t have the clearance to go there."

It was easy enough to figure out. For an Array capable of teleporting hundreds of thousands of people at once, the resources required for activation had to be astronomical. To facilitate the input of those resources, it would surely be built in the area closest to the resource depot—or perhaps even connected directly to it.

Wanting to go to the array’s core was tantamount to not only exposing the Array’s most vulnerable point, but also laying bare Gao Yuan City’s entire resource hub.

Without permission from the highest echelons of Gao Yuan City or even the provincial and ministerial levels, the implications of such an act were incredibly severe. At a time of crisis like this, it could even be charged as treason.

In an instant, all this flashed through Zhao Qian’s mind. His expression grew colder, his posture a little more rigid.

"I think I might be able to help get the Array started. Senior Brother, is there any way you could request clearance for me?"

Jiang Qiu’s gaze was firm, like the rising sun.

He could only see a rough outline of the Array’s architecture; he couldn’t actually operate, crack, or alter it. An invisible boundary separated him from it. He could look, but not touch.

He had to get to the array’s core, its central hub, to gain the access needed to actually operate it.

But based on the information he’d just heard, the issue with the Teleportation Array wasn’t unsolvable. He would have to personally verify his theory to know if he was right, though...

"Junior Brother Jiang, you understand Arrays?" Zhao Qian was stunned. He stared in disbelief at this direct junior disciple of his, whom he had barely just met. It was as strange as hearing that the Spear King knew how to build rockets. "If I remember correctly, you shouldn’t have had any time to get involved with this sort of thing, right?"

As this was his own junior brother—the sixth direct disciple their master had accepted—he naturally had access to Jiang Qiu’s basic file. He had to ensure the young man’s identity was authentic and that he posed no risk.

In fact, this had all been thoroughly vetted already; his entire record, from birth until his enrollment at Northwest Martial University, had been reviewed.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been so easily accepted as their master’s sixth direct disciple.

And as Second Senior Brother, he had seen parts of that file himself. While he couldn’t claim to know everything, he at least had a very clear picture of Jiang Qiu’s life trajectory.

A young man born in the Shantytown, he attended an Outer City High School with no resources to speak of. Then, his talent had suddenly erupted, and he began advancing by leaps and bounds, eventually enrolling in Northwest Martial University and entering the Soldier Cultivation Academy.

Nowhere in that entire timeline was there any mention of him being taught about Arrays!

That was the domain of the geniuses over at the Ancient Rune Academy—an incredibly niche discipline that placed extreme demands on one’s innate talent.

"It’s not something I learned here. You could call it a fortuitous encounter I had in the Northern Wilderness Great Secret Realm..."

Just as Jiang Qiu was about to explain further, with a soft CLICK, the heavy alloy doors outside opened. Someone had arrived on their floor via a private elevator.

"Master, the Array can no longer be activated! Over two hundred thousand people are still stranded in the Array’s space, and we can’t easily get them out."

A white-robed Grandmaster who appeared to be in his fifties or sixties rushed to greet the newcomer. A path was cleared for him, and the researchers who had been hurrying about their tasks all stopped to bow their heads and call out, "Grandmaster Lin." A crowd formed around him as everyone tried to report on the situation.

"The situation is dire! The Kunlun Demon Clan’s grand army is about to attack again. If we can’t fix the Teleportation Array, we’ll have to resort to the backup plan, and that will mean a bloodbath!"

Lin Yu barked an order, directing everyone to their respective duties, while he himself observed the Teleportation Array’s operational status. Even without being physically present at the array’s core, he could still influence its functions.

Clearly, he had been the one to lead its construction, and he possessed certain privileges that others did not.

After a moment of silence, his brow furrowed deeper and deeper, as if he were sinking into a quagmire. Unprecedented pressure mounted on him, and his body, over a century old, began to tremble slightly.

All the nearby Secret Realms that Gao Yuan City could access had become unreachable. The more distant ones belonged to other municipalities, and they didn’t have the coordinates.

’It’s all over!’

When the meeting was forcibly adjourned, Grand General Luo had declared that if the Teleportation Array couldn’t be fixed, they would have to carve a path out by force—break through with their own flesh and blood!

They were facing an ambush from all sides. The odds of a successful breakout were less than twenty percent, and half of that chance hinged on Grand General Luo himself...

It was at this very moment that a respectful shout came from the distance: "Elder Lin, my junior brother also understands the Array Dao! He’s willing to help repair the Array. Could you please see about letting him take a look at the core right now?"