We made you practice martial arts, and you've mastered the Great Golden Body?

Autumn of the 347th year of the New Era.

Zhenyuan Universe, Earth Element Star, Northern Border of Great Xia, Tiangang Academy.

It was late autumn, and golden leaves covered the paths, fluttering in the air with the breeze, turning the entire campus golden.

It added a touch of desolation and poetry.

One by one, martial arts students dressed in neat uniforms moved back and forth in the campus where fallen leaves were flying, their steps steady and powerful, and they could leap six or seven meters in a single bound.

With the arrival of the new academic year, Shen Bailian and his fellow martial arts students from the 45th cohort have now become senior students in their third year.

Correspondingly, many new, youthful faces have appeared in the Tiangang Academy today, full of vitality.

The Tianji Building, serving as the logistics service center of the Tiangang Academy, covers tens of thousands of square meters, and martial arts students come and go here at all times.

And in front of the Tianji Building.

There is a statue of a middle-aged man standing with his hands clasped, more than ten meters tall. The man's face is resolute, his eyes are deep, and he exudes an unquestionable majesty.

He gripped a long sword tightly in his hand, its tip pointing straight to the sky, as if to pierce the heavens.

This person is none other than Lin Li, the Dean who once made great contributions to the Tiangang Academy. But at this moment, next to Lin Li's statue, there is another statue of a young boy.

The boy was tall and slender, with small but bright eyes and a face that looked as if it had been sculpted by nature's masterful hand. Just one glance was enough to inspire a sense of awe and reverence.

Many martial arts students can't help but stop and look at these two statues for a few seconds when they pass by.

Especially the statue of that boy.

The former comes from a legendary martial artist from hundreds of years ago, who was willing to burn himself out and have his flesh and blood sublimated for the future of the Great Xia and the future of the Heavenly Gang Academy.

The latter was also a legendary martial artist, but he was the one closest to all the martial arts students.

"The greatest person in the history of Tiangang Academy." Several martial arts students stopped and stood next to the statue. One of them murmured, "I wonder when we will be able to see Senior Brother Shen's true face."

"Yes, I applied to Tiangang Academy as my first choice because I came here for Senior Brother Shen, but I didn't expect that even after several months, I still haven't actually seen Senior Brother Shen once."

"Yes, yes, do you think Senior Brother Shen...could have had an accident? After all, being a martial artist is not a safe profession, but a high-risk one, without exception."

"Mmm... Why are you covering my mouth?"

"If we hadn't covered your mouth, who knows what outrageous nonsense you would have said? Look at the way the upperclassmen around you are looking at you."

"Hiss~" The person who spoke looked around and realized that many martial arts students were looking at him with a faint hint of murderous intent. He immediately scratched his head awkwardly and said rather embarrassedly, "Sorry, it was just my imagination. Well, I won't bother you any longer..."

As he spoke, he quickly pulled a few friends aside and then hurriedly left the place.

Not far away, two young and beautiful women stopped and watched the farce unfold.

"Xuanxuan, you mean Senior Brother Shen?" Feng Yanqiu's face was no longer as innocent as it used to be. After more than a year, the naivety of the past had long since faded.

Instead, it possesses a mature charm.

But what hasn't changed is her beauty; on the contrary, it has become even more radiant and captivating with the passage of time.

As for Wang Yuxuan on the side, she was even better. Her long hair reached her waist, and her slender legs were exposed to the air, attracting nearly 90% of passersby to turn their heads.

Even female martial arts students, who were of the same sex, felt nothing but envy and admiration upon witnessing this scene.

Human beings generally share a common understanding of the definition of beauty.

In the past few years, just over a month after entering her junior year of college, Wang Yuxuan successfully broke through from the peak of the Life-Establishing Realm to the Sea-Opening Realm.

He became a rising star of the new generation in the Great Xia Dynasty.

With both beauty and strength, Wang Yuxuan has become famous in various college martial arts leagues and is expected to become a key figure in recruiting students for the third-ranked Tiangang Academy.

The first and foremost reputation is that of Tiangang Academy. As the top of the six major academies, the line of martial arts students who want to apply to Tiangang Academy is so long it seems to stretch to the heavens.

As for the second living signboard, it is of course the first person in the history of Tiangang Academy.

Many young people in the Great Xia Dynasty have taken Shen Bailian as their role model and want to emulate his path to godhood.

But without exception, to date, no one has succeeded.

Even getting close is difficult.

Because the achievement that Shen Bailian reached at the age of eighteen, the Opening Sea Realm, is something that ordinary martial arts students pursue their whole lives.

Not to mention his achievements in other areas.

Of course, this also, from another perspective, completely solidifies Shen Bailian's honorary title of "the greatest person in the history of Tiangang Academy".

"Don't worry, Senior Brother Shen will be alright." Wang Yuxuan comforted him softly, her voice weak but unusually firm, as if she knew that Shen Bailian was still 100% alive.

"But."

"But what?"

Feng Yanqiu continued, "But Senior Brother Shen hasn't appeared for over a year since that final exam."

Rumors are flying everywhere: Senior Brother Shen died in an accident inside a space tunnel while on a secret mission.

"You still believe the rumors?" Wang Yuxuan smiled and shook her head helplessly, then gently comforted Feng Yanqiu, "Instead of worrying about Senior Brother Shen, you should worry about yourself."

You should know that Senior Brother Shen broke through to the Sea Opening Realm back in the first semester of his freshman year, but you're still at the peak of the Mortal Transformation Realm. When Senior Brother Shen appears, let's see how you'll have the nerve to talk to him then.

"No way!" Although Feng Yanqiu said this, her body language betrayed her words. She immediately grabbed Wang Yuxuan's arm without hesitation: "Let's go, let's go cultivate. I feel like I'm only one step away from the Sea Opening Realm."

"Aren't you going shopping?" Wang Yuxuan asked with a smile.

"Go shopping? What shopping? In the middle of the day, instead of cultivating properly, you're thinking about going shopping. Time is money, and you can't buy back an inch of time. Daytime is for cultivation!"

……

The rooftop of Tian Shu Building.

In the quiet vice principal's conference room, wisps of white smoke from the incense slowly rose, filling the room with a calming atmosphere.

"Hey~" Ji Chenghu finished reviewing the official documents in his hand, glanced at Duan Wuyai in front of the table, and helplessly put down the electronic pen in his hand: "Don't worry, as long as there is news, I will definitely notify you as soon as possible."

"Hmm." Duan Wuyai nodded calmly, his arrogance completely gone, his body still as if rooted to the ground.

They stood rooted to the spot, motionless.

"Then why aren't you leaving yet?" "I won't leave until I receive a message." In front of his mentor and friend Ji Chenghu, Duan Wuyai didn't seem like a mature adult at this moment, but rather like a child throwing a tantrum.

"..."

"Hey~ if I had known you would end up like this, I shouldn't have let Shen Bailian become your disciple." Ji Chenghu looked at the disappointing Duan Wuyai with a face full of disappointment and feigned anger, saying:

"Do you still know the mission of the Great Xia warriors?"

"Defend our homeland!" Duan Wuyai replied without hesitation, his words filled with unwavering determination and resolve.

"Since you still know this, why are you putting on this timid, girlish act in front of me?"

“But he is different. It is his good fortune that he became my disciple, and it is also my good fortune.” Duan Wuyai slowly raised his head, met Ji Chenghu’s angry eyes, and said firmly, “I know that I may not be worthy of the title Canghai Kuangdao now.”

But he is my only disciple, and perhaps my only family in this world. I... I can't be as cold to him as I am to strangers.

This man, who appears as cold and aloof as steel to the outside world, revealed his unique tenderness at this moment.

Due to the limitations of the era and the environment, every martial artist who can reach the Opening Sea Realm has experienced dozens of real battles, faced life-or-death situations, experienced the life-or-death separation of comrades, and also faced situations where they had no choice but to do something.

In such an experience, every martial artist's mind can be said to be very firm.

But Duan Wuyai was different. He was an orphan at birth, which led to his indifferent nature and his extreme stubbornness, unyielding spirit, and arrogance...

Throughout his life, aside from fighting, he basically only focused on cultivation; he had almost no other hobbies.

Even in front of the group from the Heavenly Gang Academy, Duan Wuyai was like a high mountain, never bowing or yielding, his nature proud.

However, after taking Shen Bailian as his disciple, this naturally indifferent man felt a sense of attachment and entanglement for the first time. He worried about Shen Bailian's safety and tried his best to secure cultivation resources for her.

And this kind of giving is done without expecting anything in return.

It doesn't seem like someone who would rather die than regret it.

Such a master-disciple relationship is the purest, the most genuine, and the most irreplaceable.

Therefore, upon receiving the news of Shen Bailian's accident, the most anxious person was Duan Wuyai, who immediately and without hesitation withdrew from his seclusion and sought to verify the authenticity of the news.

He would not assume that Shen Bailian was dead until he received conclusive information about her death.

"Moreover, Shen Bailian's parents may have already guessed something. If I were to meet those two elderly people who have lost their children, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to keep it a secret."

"not dead."

"!" Upon hearing this, Duan Wuyai's pupils dilated sharply, and he stared at Ji Chenghu in disbelief: "Teacher, what did you just say?"

“I’m telling you, your last disciple is not dead.”

"Really?" Duan Wuyai slammed his hands on the table, the veins on the back of his hands twitching slightly as he moved closer to see more clearly.

"Really." Ji Chenghu also put away his feigned anger and gestured for Duan Wuyai to sit down: "You must not look at me like that, otherwise, as you get older, your memory will easily deteriorate when you are nervous."

"Okay." Duan Wuyai gave an awkward smile, then sat down to the side, looking at Ji Chenghu expectantly, eager to know the specific source of this news.

A martial artist at the Embracing Moon Realm would normally have a lifespan of at least several years. Ji Chenghu is not even a hundred years old yet. To say that he is old and has a bad memory would be a joke.

It was just an excuse to let Duan Wuyai calm down.

however.

"You don't need to know the specific source of the information." Ji Chenghu's first words made Duan Wuyai's smile pause for a moment: "You should be familiar with the Great Xia's confidentiality regulations."

"Mm." Duan Wuyai nodded.

The mystery of the extraordinary side of power, coupled with the fact that there are many traitors in the Great Xia territory—of course, such beasts as traitors are not uncommon among the large population, regardless of the era—all contribute to this.

Therefore, minimum access permissions are set for information and secrets regarding breathing techniques, as well as other martial arts realms.

Only after obtaining the corresponding permissions can one acquire some precious resources or cultivation materials.

Therefore, money is not everything in the Great Xia Dynasty. Behind almost every large conglomerate stands one or more martial artists at the Embracing Moon Realm, with the official endorsement of the Great Xia Dynasty.

Otherwise, it will be considered illegal business operation.

“But the accuracy of the information is beyond doubt, otherwise I wouldn’t have given you this vague hope.” Ji Chenghu continued, seemingly oblivious to Duan Wuyai’s expression, “Furthermore, your closed-door disciple is in excellent condition.”

"Now that we can observe Xiao Shen's condition," Duan Wuyai asked eagerly, "can we pinpoint his location in the Star Ring World?"

"Star Ring World?"

"No, no, no, Xiao Duan, don't worry. You may have misunderstood me. I never said he was in the Star Ring World, nor did I say that I could observe Xiao Shen's condition."

"Then what do you mean, teacher?" Duan Wuyai asked, somewhat confused.

Within the Great Xia Dynasty, there are many secrets. There are even rumors that the reason why the Great Xia Dynasty was able to prosper so much in the new era and establish the Zhou Tian Star Array was entirely because a deity stood behind the Great Xia Dynasty.

Of course, this is just a baseless rumor.

Not true.

"The only thing we can be sure of now is that Xiao Shen is still alive and well, but he is neither in this world nor in the Star Ring World."

This detection method is essentially just a general predictive tool, and it's unlikely to be used a second time in the near future.

"Why? I'm willing to pay any price, as long as..."

"Xiao Duan," Ji Chenghu said earnestly, "I know you don't want to face this reality and really want to save Shen Bailian, but reality is just that cruel. Do your best, and you have already done your utmost."

"Isn't it?"

“But…this is Xiao Shen’s home. His friends, his family, everything about him are here…” Duan Wuyai’s voice grew softer and softer, his body trembling uncontrollably.

He hated it, he hated this feeling of powerlessness the most, which is why he went crazy with his cultivation.

But he didn't expect that what is destined to happen will always come eventually, it's just a matter of when.

If it were the Star Ring World, Duan Wuyai would be confident that he could bring Shen Bailian back, but now he doesn't even know which world Shen Bailian is in, so how can he bring her back?

"However, if you look at it from another angle, this might not be a bad thing." Ji Chenghu walked up to Duan Wuyai, patted the latter on the shoulder, and said in a serious tone:

"At least he won't perish like us. He can live on and carry on the torch of the Great Xia Dynasty, can't he? Let the might of the Great Xia Dynasty resound once again in the rest of the world!" (End of Chapter)