Chapter 284 - 283: Jiang Qiu’s Invaluable Contribution

For the next half a day, the Teleportation Array in the Martial Arts Building transported the refugees away on schedule. Some Martial Arts Teams patrolled the city to ensure all of the Demon Race had retreated.

Moreover, because the Rain Tribulation had dissipated, communications between Gao Yuan City and the outside world were restored. The remaining high-ranking officials from the Military Department and the Martial Education Department sent battle reports to the provincial authorities and the Capital City, inquiring about their next course of action.

When the news spread of the casualties—Luo Beixing dead in battle, seven Grandmasters fallen, forty-two Grandmasters sacrificed, and an estimated six million civilians and Martial Artists lost—both the provincial authorities and the Capital City were shaken.

’With the fall of Luo Beixing, the only admiral in the Northwest Province, the entire provincial force will be weakened. The pressure from the Kunlun Demon Clan will multiply...’

This was the concern of the provincial authorities. In fact, when all communications from Gao Yuan City were cut off, they were panicked. They had organized a second support team of top-tier experts, but a few of the Ten Great Demon Marshals, who had been lying in wait, blocked their path and delayed them for a long time.

In that situation, with no response for so long and no way to send in support, they had pretty much braced for the worst, assuming that Gao Yuan City might have been completely annihilated.

They never expected to receive news now that Gao Yuan City had held, and that casualties had been kept to a minimum!

"Elder Lin, are you saying that Jiang Qiu saved Gao Yuan City by having a timely breakthrough to the Dao Entry Realm and single-handedly holding off the nine Demon Marshals who were already besieging the Martial Arts Building?!"

On the other end of the line, the liaison from the Martial Education Department sounded astonished, unable to believe it.

"That’s right. Without Jiang Qiu’s intervention, Gao Yuan City would have been wiped out by now. Not a single person would have escaped!" Lin Yu’s voice was dry, but it carried an internal Strength that made the liaison’s chest and lips tremble. "Notify the Northwest Martial University committee. Prepare an honorary dean certificate for the Ancient Inscription Academy. I want to apply for Jiang Qiu to have mobilization authority over all Secret Realms in the Northwest Province."

"What?! Elder Lin, that... the position of Honorary Dean of the Ancient Inscription Academy is far too high," the liaison stammered, his heart racing. "Across the entire Northwest Martial University, there are only twelve honorary deans in total right now! And they are mainly in the combat-focused academies. An honorary deanship for the Ancient Inscription Academy, which controls the resource lifeline of the provincial authorities, has never even been established!"

For every province, its Martial Arts University is its lifeblood. The instructors of every academy hold positions in related provincial departments and control considerable resources.

To be precise, a Martial Arts University is a province’s most formidable martial institution. It gathers the province’s top experts, and the greatest authorities in every field of Martial Arts come from the universities. To obtain the status of an honorary dean is to be one of the top figures in that field within the province. The mobilization authority he would have in that area is immense.

An honorary dean is already considered a high-ranking member of the provincial government. In some respects, they have more influence than a Grandmaster-Level Vice Admiral.

"Is the name Lin Yu not good enough anymore? I can’t even get an honorary dean position certified?"

Lin Yu snorted coldly, making the man on the other end of the line shudder. "I’ll convey your wishes to Northwest Martial University right away, Elder Lin."

Although he had been active in Gao Yuan City in recent years, he also held the title of Deputy Director of the Secret Realm Research Department at the provincial level. He was a titan in the field of Arrays nationwide and had trained countless Grandmaster-Level research-oriented Martial Artists.

In terms of seniority, he belonged to the oldest generation in the Northwest Province. He had also previously served as the dean of the Ancient Inscription Academy, and his students could now be found in all the major Secret Realm research institutes throughout the Northwest Province.

Even the Director of the Secret Realm Research Department had to show him a measure of respect.

Besides, there were only a few Grandmasters in the entire Northwest Province, let alone one who had achieved Dao Entry in such an esoteric Realm.

This forceful exchange immediately sent the provincial authorities into an uproar. The committee of Northwest Martial University, in particular, urgently recalled all its members for a general meeting expected in a few days.

The reason was simple: within half a day, two applications for an honorary deanship had appeared in the president’s office. One was for the Ancient Inscription Academy, and the other was for the Soldier Cultivation Academy.

At the same time, as a member of both the provincial committee and the Martial Education Department committee, the president also had to attend an emergency provincial conference to discuss countermeasures against the Kunlun Demon Clan and the commendations for heroes like Jiang Qiu.

In Yongjiang City, the capital of the Northwest Province, the higher-ups were already working nonstop before the general public had even fully received the news from Gao Yuan City.

As for the Capital City, after the initial shock, they were already formulating a refugee resettlement plan. They also dispatched an inspection team to the Northwest Province to offer condolences and to further understand the facts of the battle in Gao Yuan City and the outstanding contributions made by Jiang Qiu.

Jiang Qiu only heard bits and pieces about these developments from Lin Yu, so he wasn’t clear on the specific details. Still, he was genuinely excited. ’Anyone would be thrilled to receive this much attention from the country, right?’

But right now, he had more important problems to solve.

...

In the Northern Boundary, after the seal on the True Dragon Skeleton was broken and Northern Boundary Mountain erupted, the land was no longer a vast expanse of white snow, save for the Land of the Far North.

Following the sacrifice of their respective Chosen Ones, the various Demon Race tribes began to gather their strength again, replenishing the clansmen lost during the contest.

Most of them were distributed in the south, below Northern Boundary Mountain, occupying a vast swath of the Northern Boundary. After the ice and snow melted, these areas began to show vigorous Life Force.

More than two months had passed, and vast forests had shot up from the once-barren soil. In some places, the seedlings of rare and exotic fruits had even sprouted, though such things were, of course, very rare.

On the other hand, some Treasures of Heaven and Earth that had adapted to the world of ice and snow had been forced into extinction. Many Demon Race territories lost their control over resources and began to fight over new resource-rich locations. Some were even preparing to migrate!

Their target—the base of Northern Boundary Mountain!

Information from an unknown source claimed that after the last contest of the Chosen, the most powerful and ancient of the clans, the Northern Boundary Mountain Demon Clan, had been completely wiped out, without a single member left.

But their stronghold was still intact, largely undestroyed, and all sorts of resources were still stockpiled in their Treasure Vault. It was precisely the new gathering place the Demon Race tribes coveted.

Now, a white mist once again shrouded Northern Boundary Mountain, and the Spirit Charm at its base was incredibly abundant, nurturing many rare and exotic fruits. It was a truly enchanting sight.

At this moment, in a large stronghold in the southwestern part of Northern Boundary Mountain, over ten thousand members of a Flying Demon Clan had taken up residence. They were half-human, half-bird, and their cultivation Realms were generally above the Copper Skin Realm.

Before the Spirit Charm had recovered, this number of Warriors would have been terrifying. But now, they didn’t dare to roam about. They strictly followed the words of their Leader, [Cold Heaven], guarding this relatively remote stronghold. They relied on the wealth left behind by the Northern Boundary Mountain Demon Clan and the rich resources that had appeared nearby, biding their time to develop and awaiting the day their clan would rise again!

"Lord [Wind] may be gone, but his will shall never perish! The descendants of Cold Heaven Cliff will one day sweep across the Northern Boundary!"

[Cold Heaven], a One-eyed Snow Owl at the Jade Sinew Realm, clutched a jade-like fragment in his talons. His gaze was sharp, his pride soaring to the clouds.

Like the vast majority of the Demon Race in the Northern Boundary, he did not know the specific outcome of the contest of the Chosen. He merely assumed that, like every time before, the Chosen Ones could not return after they left, and what followed would be another struggle between the native factions.

Perhaps the only difference in their eyes was that the Spirit Charm had recovered. The Jade Sinew Realm was no longer a Realm that only the Chosen Ones could step into. Everyone’s suppressed Talent was being fully unleashed, and it wasn’t uncommon for young demons in the clan to go from nothing to the Steel Bone Realm in a single month of Cultivation.

’We’ll bide our time for a few hundred years until our wings are fully grown,’ he thought. ’Then we will utterly crush the Human Race, especially the remnants of the North Snow Tribe!’

At this thought, [Cold Heaven]’s ambition soared. He raised his head and gazed toward the cloud-piercing Northern Boundary Peak. ’The white mist now seems less dangerous than before. After I achieve Transformation, I’ll go to the peak myself to see what happened during the contest of the Chosen, and whether the Enlightenment Fruit Tree is still there...’