Chapter 80: Entering the Ruins Together

Yang Fan and Xie Guotao sat beside the campfire, where golden roasted meat sizzled as fat dripped into the flames. Yang Fan watched the roasting meat intently, but his gaze kept drifting to Xie Guotao, who sat there with a serene, inscrutable air.

“Old Xie, tell me honestly—why have you been treating me like this these past few days? What did I ever do to you? You tossed me into the jungle, fine, but you kept setting me up! When I killed a beast, you came to bully me; when I didn’t meet any, you lured them over to me. Come on, who trains like this?”

Xie Guotao listened to Yang Fan’s complaints with a faint smile. “Since you’ve joined the special training program, your path of growth can never be ordinary. The strong are forged through constant battle—no one reaches the peak unscathed. If you want to become stronger, you must keep fighting.”

Yang Fan flipped the roasting meat, then shot Xie Guotao a glare over his shoulder. “Let’s leave all that aside. Tell me this: why did you attack me when I left the forest? And you didn’t even hold back!”

Xie Guotao’s eyes glimmered with amusement. “You realized it was me?”

Yang Fan could barely contain his frustration. He thought, I’m neither blind nor stupid—you practically wrote it on your face that you were the one who beat me up. If I couldn’t tell, what would that say about my intelligence?

“Cut the nonsense,” Yang Fan said irritably. “Give me a perfect explanation, or this won’t end well for you and me!”

Xie Guotao burst out laughing. “‘Won’t end well’? You, a third-rank nobody, threatening me, a seventh-rank grandmaster? Did you not get enough sleep? As for attacking you before, I needed to see what you were really capable of so I could plan your next stage of training.”

Yang Fan fell silent. After a moment, he muttered, “I still think you just wanted to beat me up...”

“Ah, the meat’s ready! Eat, eat, you must be starving!” Xie Guotao cut him off, handing over the meat—still not fully cooked.

Yang Fan was speechless. He wondered if this grandmaster was an imposter.

......

At the ruins’ front line in China, there were three cities: Fortress North, Dragon City, and Dawn.

On the walls of Fortress North stood the city’s guardian, Xiao Deyi, ranked third on the Heaven List among tenth-rank warriors—a Martial Emperor. He gazed into the distance, as though his eyes could pierce dozens of miles to the shattered walls of Broken North City beyond.

After a long silence, Xiao Deyi spoke to those gathered by his side: “Yuan Hua, notify the rear—the great battle is about to begin. Xu Zhen, tell everyone: the whole of Fortress North must prepare to defend against the enemy.”

The two middle-aged men behind Xiao Deyi hesitated. Another great war? And judging by the guardian’s tone, this one would be no small skirmish.

Jiang Yuanhua and Xu Zhen hurried away to carry out his orders.

......

In Dragon City, its guardian Long Tianqiu—fifth on the Heaven List—was also gazing toward the hundred miles distant city of the Dark Realm’s demonic giants. The same urgent orders spilled from his lips: preparations for war.

At the rear of the ruins, the five passageways connecting the battlefield to China were now thronged with people pouring in and out. News flowed in from every direction.

On Earth, in China’s capital, the National Assembly convened.

There, sitting together, were the pillars of the nation—eleventh-rank powerhouses: Xia Qiuming, Li Tian, Han Daohong, and Dongfang Kui. Below them sat the heads of every cultivation academy.

Xia Qiuming began, “Gentlemen, based on the intelligence from the front lines, all signs point to an imminent war with the Dark Realm. This time, it won’t be a minor conflict. Guardian Xiao Deyi reports that massive enemy forces are mustering behind Broken North City. Our spies confirm significant mobilization across the Dark Realm—countless warriors and armies are heading into the ruins and toward our front lines.”

“Damn it! After years of skirmishes, those bastards can’t hold back any longer!” Dongfang Kui’s booming voice rang throughout the hall.

The seventy-two academy heads, along with the leaders of three Awakened training camps, erupted with anxious debate.

“If it’s war they want, then let’s give them war—hit those mongrels hard and see if they dare covet our lands again!” Principal Dongfang Shuo of the Capital Cultivation Academy was the first to speak, his face flushed with excitement.

“That’s right! Let’s show them! We’re nothing like we were ten years ago. We don’t just rely on technological weapons anymore—there are ten times as many cultivators and martial artists now. If they couldn’t conquer us back then, they have no hope today!” Zhang Daoyi’s face was flushed with indignation.

Ten years ago, when the ruins first linked the two worlds, the Dark Realm struck first. But their internal divisions and the devastating power of technology left them reeling, and they never dared a full-scale invasion since. There had been sporadic skirmishes, but never a true war.

But this time, with so many elite warriors entering the ruins and vast armies moving to the front, the scale was unprecedented.

Xia Qiuming said, “From today, all academies across the nation will begin large-scale recruitment. Anyone with cultivation potential must be admitted. Furthermore, notify all current students to be ready to enter the ruins and join the battle at any moment!”

Zhang Daoyi spoke up at once, “Secretary Xia, all students? Even the new ones? Some first-years haven’t even reached first-rank martial apprentice. Sending them into the ruins could be disastrous!”

Han Daohong, who had been silent until now, finally spoke. “There’s nothing disastrous about it. Most of our soldiers have no cultivation, yet they still guard our borders. Let these new students see blood—it will help them grow. A plant kept in a greenhouse can never become a towering tree. There’s nothing we can’t do; in extraordinary times, we take extraordinary measures. If these were peaceful days, I’d agree to let them grow slowly. But the situation has changed. The world won’t allow it. This is the only way.”

His words left the assembled principals uneasy, but there were no further objections.

Indeed—when the nest is overturned, how can any egg remain unbroken?

If the front lines fall, and the war reaches Earth, there will be no hope left.

......

The meeting soon ended, and the principals and leaders departed, their hearts heavy with worry.

Shortly after, all the cultivation academies sprang into action. Messages and orders spread swiftly among the students.

At the Cultivation Academy in the Magic Capital, in the freshman dormitory area, Zhou Ting stood lost in thought before dormitory 0001, empty for a long time now.

Yang Fan had been missing for almost a month—vanished without a trace.

Not far away, Jiang Chao, Jiang Xiaoyi, Xie Sihua, Mu Qingshan, Tan Hao, and Zhou Yiyi entered the dormitory zone, each of them bearing a heavy expression.

Zhou Ting glimpsed Zhou Yiyi and the others approaching. Steeling herself, she hurried away.

At the entrance of the Combat Arts Building, Li Tian looked up at the sky, then glanced around him.

The campus, once lively, would soon be even quieter. All students were to enter the ruins to prepare for battle.

How many would return alive?

And then there was his little disciple—who knew how the boy was faring now? Most likely still cursing his name.

Looking back, Li Tian wondered why he’d ever deceived him. He’d only wanted to push him into the ruins for his own good, but who could have foreseen that war would break out in only a month? If he had known, he would have chosen to be a kinder master.