Chapter 388 – Tianze City and the Academy

Outside the intermediate Soul Sand Mine, dense trees stood solemnly, burying countless skeletal remains.

The Gnoll Legend, King Blackstorm, stood beneath the shadow of a large tree, his pupils slightly constricted as he stared intently at the seemingly delicate, harmless human girl in the distance, whose eyes were clear yet foolish. He dared not let his guard down in the slightest.

He had never confronted this human Legend head-on.

Nor had he ever witnessed the methods of this Legend with his own eyes.

But battle records do not lie.

This human Legend had once fought against multiple Legendary Realm opponents single-handedly, including the Blackwing King.

During their campaign against human territories, they had even devised a plan to lure this human Legend away, allowing the Blood Tree King to ambush and eliminate this foe. In the end, however, the outcome remained unresolved.

This was enough to prove the human Legend’s strength.

Having encountered this Legend today, it was clear that their plundering and feasting would have to be abandoned.

“Why would a human Legend appear here? Did they just happen to come to inspect the mine?”

“How unlucky for me!”

King Blackstorm had previously felt aggrieved, always thinking of reclaiming some interest from the humans. But upon seeing Dolai, his rationality quickly returned.

He understood that he likely was no match for this human Legend.

Forcing his way through might cause some damage to the mining area, but the cost would likely be his own injury.

It was not worth it.

He also bore the mission of engaging with the Fallen God Force. If he entered their territory in an injured state, he feared he might not return.

“Time to go!”

King Blackstorm took one last deep look at the distant shadow of the mining area, where rows of buildings were faintly visible, then shattered the ground beneath his feet and sprinted away into the distance.

Behind him, fractured space continuously spread.

Along both sides, it devoured everything in its path, like two giant pincers closing in from left and right.

The surrounding space also grew increasingly stagnant.

King Blackstorm expanded his Domain, condensing it to cover only a few hundred meters around himself.

This was a relatively advanced application of the Domain.

As he was the one retreating, the Domain served only for protection. Extending it recklessly over several kilometers would instead hinder his speed.

“No need to panic.”

“The human Legend might be slightly stronger than me, but they absolutely cannot stop me.”

“If Blackwing hadn’t fallen for their tricks back then, they wouldn’t have been completely wiped out.”

If he was determined to leave, even a Peak Legend could not stop him, let alone this human girl.

After all, he was also a king of the Jackal Fang, the second strongest after the Jackal Emperor.

Dolai stared intently at the figure of the Jackalwere king, its two hands stretched forward, fingers spread, each gripping a Space-Tearing Seal.

With a slight manipulation of the seals, spatial cracks spread forward continuously according to its will.

It was indeed difficult for it to slay a powerful foe like King Blackstorm.

After all, it was merely a novice Legend. While it could instantly kill ordinary one or two-thousand-meter-level Legendary Realm opponents, against an existence like King Blackstorm, Space Devour was hard to control precisely, and methods like the Blazing Sun or thunder could not guarantee a one-hit kill, easily risking damage to the nearby mine.

If the enemy was intent on fleeing, it truly was hard to stop them.

But,

this only applied under normal circumstances, during a chance encounter in the wild.

Now, General Dolai had come prepared!

It had long since fused two Space-Tearing Seals into the surrounding space.It had already taken control of the space in this area.

Moreover.

Isloria approached from afar, six magical orbs arrayed on either side of her, while the staff in her hand radiated a brilliant starlight.

She pointed her staff forward, and a vast river of stars surged forth.

This river of stars was like a city wall, like an insurmountable chasm, completely sealing off the space in the area ahead.

“The rest is up to you, Dolai.”

“After all, I’m just a clerical worker.”

Isloria had just made her breakthrough and hadn’t yet had time to familiarize herself with her upgraded abilities.

Her river of stars couldn’t suppress an existence like King Blackstorm.

If she tried to directly seal him, the effect would be limited, and he would break free in just a few moments.

But,

she positioned the river of stars ahead, waiting for King Blackstorm to step into it.

Would King Blackstorm step in or not?

Step in? Then he would be voluntarily throwing himself into the river of stars.

Not step in? On either side were spreading spatial cracks, and behind him was the menacing Dolai.

King Blackstorm had no choice.

His muscles bulged, and beneath his skin, it seemed as though countless small snakes were writhing.

His entire body swelled abruptly, growing one, two, three times larger, with sharp barbs sprouting from his muscles, making him look ferocious and terrifying.

He charged into the river of stars.

Waves exploded, the starry sky rippled violently, and stars shifted, flickering uncertainly.

But at the same time, King Blackstorm’s movements became extremely sluggish, and the domain he had expanded was affected, becoming three parts transparent.

“This…”

King Blackstorm hadn’t anticipated that the river of stars barring his path would be so formidable.

He was already surprised to see another human Legendary appear, but he never expected that this human was also a powerhouse, a king among the Legendary Realm!

Not much weaker than him.

A terrifying sealing force surged from all directions.

He charged forward for a few moments, but far from crossing this river of stars, he hadn’t even covered a tenth of the distance.

This was partly due to his misjudgment and voluntarily throwing himself into the trap of the river of stars.

But who could have guessed that the pink-haired human female would be so strong too!

Her aura clearly wasn’t powerful! It was even slightly unstable, like a newly advanced Legendary!

Who are you trying to fool!

Humans are so deceitful!

This seemed like a trap!

At this point, no matter how thick-skulled King Blackstorm was, he vaguely sensed that something was wrong.

He couldn’t help but regret.

If he hadn’t suddenly lost his mind and decided to attack and plunder humans, how could he have fallen into an ambush?

Wait, suddenly lost his mind? Ambushed?

He had indeed been thinking about plundering humans and teaching them a lesson, but it was only a thought. Why had he suddenly become so bold today?

King Blackstorm vaguely grasped something, and his heart filled with terror.

He took out a communication orb.

But suddenly, space shook, the river of stars trembled, and he fumbled, dropping the orb into the vast river of stars, where it cracked and shattered with a crunch.

The next moment, the spatial cracks spreading from both sides closed in.

Surrounding King Blackstorm within.

The River of Stars withdrew.

King Blackstorm was no longer suppressed or restricted.

But as he looked around, dark spatial folds had encircled him.

Above, below, on all sides, in all directions.

The next moment,

the space within the area enclosed by the spatial cracks shattered and collapsed.

A dark void horrifyingly appeared.

Everything vanished into the black hole.

Including the powerhouse among the Gnoll Legends, King Blackstorm.”What a shame about the treasures on that Gnoll. Let’s put this debt on Jackal Fang’s tab.”

Dolai muttered.

In the distance,

At the mine.

Uta showed a regretful expression, “Is it over already?”

He had wanted to make a move himself.

Although the Lord had told him not to intervene and just stay at the mine as a precaution,

He had been hoping for that “just in case” scenario, so he could have an exhilarating, passionate close-quarters battle with that formidable enemy.

Just thinking about it made him tremble with excitement.

Unfortunately, the “just in case” never happened.

Sario breathed a heavy sigh of relief, “Thank goodness, thank goodness.”

He glanced sideways at Uta.

How did he end up working with such a single-minded, fearless, and recklessly bold guy?

Damn it, how he missed the powerful and steady Dead Bone Boss.

Big brother, save this little dragon.

I really can’t stand staying in this damn mine for another moment.

What? Big brother is also lying in wait to hunt powerful Legends? Then… this little Frost Dragon better continue lying low obediently at the mine.

After all, it’s unlikely this damn mine would keep encountering Legendary enemies.

…

Mu Yuan had been monitoring the battle through the Heavenly Eye.

With both Dolai and Isloria taking action, there were naturally no surprises.

And the results were quite impressive.

King Blackstorm was significantly more powerful than even the Goblin Prince. Such beings are extremely difficult to kill on the battlefield.

During the defense of Tianyuan City, both King Blackstorm and the Jackal Emperor had managed to retreat relatively unscathed.

This time, being able to eliminate such a formidable enemy so easily and without risk was largely thanks to Isloria.

“The Fate Star Weaving of the Legendary Realm is truly terrifying!”

He marveled, “If we can do this a few more times, we might be able to wipe out both Jackal Fang and Blood Serpent Embrace in one go.”

The reason he hadn’t attacked Jackal Fang’s main base wasn’t because he didn’t want to, but because he couldn’t.

They had long since identified the approximate location of Jackal Fang’s main base.

However, if even a small Jackal Fang outpost was equipped with traps capable of killing Legendary beings, who could imagine what weapons and traps might be in the main base of a Monster Overlord that had been established for countless years?

He had to be cautious.

During the defense of Tianyuan City, he had no choice.

But Isloria’s ability seemed to offer them other options?

In the mental network, Isloria said irritably, “You’re dreaming.”

Mu Yuan: “Hmm?”

Isloria: “I mean, you’re overestimating me.”

She continued, “After reaching the Legendary Realm, my Fate Star Weaving can indeed affect Legends, even powerful ones, but there’s a precondition. The precondition is that such a possibility must exist.”

“Like just now, the Gnoll Legend King Blackstorm already had the possibility of attacking our mine. I merely happened to see this thread of fate and facilitated the emergence of this possibility.”

Dolai widened its clear eyes.

Isloria explained, “Simply put, Fate Star Weaving is passive. I can’t use it whenever I want – I can only act when the opportunity presents itself.”

Mu Yuan understood.

They had to wait.

Wait for the right monster to appear.

Isloria added, “Not only that, but through this experiment, I’ve discovered another limitation of Fate Star Weaving. After one instance of fate interference with an individual, if I try to interfere again, the resistance increases by several times, even tenfold.”

“Basically, for any given individual, Fate Star Weaving only works once.””I understand, I understand.”

Mu Yuan nodded.

Even without considering resistance, legendary beings who have fallen for this trick before would certainly be on guard.

But as long as the legendary realm monster that falls for the trick is eliminated on the spot, this flaw can hardly be considered a flaw anymore.

…

At the same time.

At the Jackal Fang headquarters.

“Blackstorm has been gone for over a day now. I wonder how things are going, whether he has successfully negotiated with the Black Crow Clan.”

The Jackal Emperor paced back and forth.

He was about seventy to eighty percent confident.

However, he couldn’t rule out the possibility that the ruler of the Black Crow Clan might be a madman.

If negotiations failed, the envoy he sent might not even return alive.

That’s precisely why he had dispatched King Blackstorm, the second strongest after himself.

As long as Blackstorm remained cautious, the Black Crow Clan likely wouldn’t be able to keep him there.

By now, Blackstorm should have probably reached the territory of the Black Crow Clan, right?

Who would have thought that their mighty Jackal Fang would be reduced to such a state because of humans.

And now they had to beg the Black Crow Clan for help.

The Jackal Emperor stared at the churning Crimson Mist outside the great hall, letting out a low growl of resentment from his throat.

…

Twilight Plains Great Domain.

Boulder City.

Boulder City had been relatively peaceful during this period. Ever since the fall of the Goblin Kingdom, the dominant power in the neighboring Gloomy Forest, the survival pressure on Boulder City had significantly decreased. Explorers venturing outside no longer faced attacks from goblin elites, and they could begin utilizing the numerous resource-rich areas within the Gloomy Forest.

Boulder City had entered a phase of great expansion.

Boulder City, Garrison Headquarters.

“City Lord, both of our elementary academies and the single advanced academy in Boulder City have been completed. All that remains is for instructors and mentors to take up their positions.”

“Our Boulder City currently has 3,122 former residents of Xuan Nation. The two elementary academies are more than sufficient to accommodate them, and we can still reserve about 3,000 slots for local citizens or for other Lords who might request placements through connections.”

“As for the advanced academy, our Panshi Academy might not be very competitive. Firstly, we lack professional mentors for various vocations, and secondly, we don’t have many outstanding students in Boulder City either.”

The adjutant continued, “Should we consider increasing our investment?”

Boulder City Lord: “Maintain it at the standard level.”

Boulder City was, after all, a frontline major city with relatively dangerous surroundings outside its walls. Naturally, very few people from Xuan Nation chose to remain here locally.

Their current focus was also on the development of the Gloomy Forest.

Given that, there was no need to invest excessive effort and financial resources into the academy project.

Meeting the standard requirements set by the higher-ups would suffice.

Let other cities compete for the academy project and the Alliance’s reward funds.

…

There were three major cities in the Twilight Great Domain.

Boulder City, Red Maple City, and Tianze City.

Among them, Tianze City was the main city, located in the heart of the Taixuan Alliance’s Twilight Great Domain.

It had the longest history and the most developed infrastructure.

Somewhere.

On a mountain range several thousand meters high, there existed a vast lake. This was the famous scenic spot of the Twilight Great Domain, Tianze Lake.

Tianze Lake produced numerous rare and excellent-grade Materials, making it the highest-level Treasure Land within the Taixuan Territory of the Twilight Great Domain.

Situated on the shores of Tianze Lake stood a major city.

Heavenly Marsh City.

Tianze City was far larger and more prosperous than Boulder City, and its architecture wasn’t as stark and cold as Boulder City’s.

It was a massive city accommodating over thirty million people.

Surrounding Tianze City, numerous smaller cities were established, encircling it like stars.”As one of the primary resettlement areas for Blue Star residents, our Heavenly Marsh City must also shoulder the responsibility of academy construction.”

“Currently, within the Tianze City region, we have established thirty-six Elementary Academies and three Advanced Academies: ‘Tianze Academy’, ‘Taihu Academy’, and ‘Tianhua Academy’. Among these, Tianhua Academy was funded and constructed by the Tianhua Lord,” an official explained in the conference room.

The Deputy City Lord spoke up, “Our Tianze City possesses numerous advantages. For this academy undertaking, we must achieve the highest standards, particularly for the Advanced Academies. We need to enhance the competitiveness of Advanced Academies to attract outstanding talents.”

“Exactly,” another high-ranking official from Tianze City added. “I’ve heard that after this Fusion, several young people in our Xuan Nation have obtained Epic-tier professions.”

After all, Xuan Nation has a population of over one billion.

With such a large base, there will always be those with extraordinary natural endowments or fortunate individuals blessed by heaven and earth.

These young people with Epic professions are, in some ways, more fortunate than most Lords.

They possess exceptional potential.

Tianze City also wishes to recruit such individuals.

“The information regarding Epic Geniuses is kept confidential. To attract these talents, we can only focus on academy development. We need to recruit more Advanced instructors.”

(End of Chapter)