High Martial: I Grind Professions

"That is true," Xingxuan Venerable agreed, his voice tinged with gravity.

"If the Four Emperors could truly set aside their differences and attack in unison, I'm afraid our only remaining option would be to defend the Fire Hall Ancestral Vein to the death."

"They're here." The Headmaster suddenly looked up, his gaze piercing the pavilion's eaves to stare at the sky.

The once-clear blue sky suddenly roiled with change.

A massive black vortex, seemingly capable of devouring light itself, silently unfurled high in the sky, causing space to twist violently.

Immediately after, three interstellar starships, as colossal as mountains, slowly emerged from the vortex, carrying the majestic aura of a journey across the endless Star Sea.

Distinct emblems were clearly etched onto the ships' gray metal hulls.

The intertwined swords and stars of the Mercenary Alliance, the archaic coin-and-galaxy sigil of the Galaxy Bank, and the high-tech quantum matrix symbol of the Virtual Cosmos company.

These three symbols represented the other three great powers who, alongside Blue Star's Fire Hall, served as pillars of the Human Race. They came from Red Flame Star, Ice Soul Star, and Cangwu Star, respectively.

Like prehistoric behemoths, the three great ships slowly landed on a mega-sized landing pad carved into the Fire Hall Ancestral Vein's mountain, stirring up invisible ripples of energy.

The massive bay doors slid open without a sound, and three groups of figures, each exuding a powerful aura, flew out in succession to land on the platform.

The contingents from the three great powers were clearly distinct. At their head were the King of the Nine Netherworld, his aura as deep as an abyss; the resolute-faced Yan Dan King; and the Myriad Phenomena King, with his ethereal and unpredictable bearing.

They, along with the King-level and Marquis-level experts behind them, all bowed in unison toward the approaching Headmaster and Xingxuan Venerable.

"Greetings, Venerables."

A gentle yet authoritative smile appeared on the Headmaster's face as he made a gesture to help them rise.

"Thank you all for your hard journey. The Human Race of Blue Star will forever remember this gesture of friendship and aid."

The King of the Nine Netherworld stepped forward, his voice deep and powerful.

"You speak too gravely, Venerable. With the demon scourge upon us, the Human Race is united as one. It is our duty to watch over and support one another."

Yan Dan King and the Myriad Phenomena King also nodded in agreement.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the Headmaster and Xingxuan Venerable personally led the core of the reinforcement army up the stepped path toward Enlightenment Peak.

The three contingents followed close behind, the solemn atmosphere thick with the gravity of the impending war.

The arrival of the reinforcements injected new strength into this sacred land of the Human Race, but it also meant the countdown to the final battle had begun in earnest.

...

After settling in the reinforcements from the three great powers—led by the King of the Nine Netherworld, Yan Dan King, and the Myriad Phenomena King—the white-haired Headmaster and Xingxuan Venerable did not pause to rest.

The two exchanged a grave, knowing look. With a slight flicker of their forms, they vanished.

The next moment, they reappeared in the deepest recesses of the Fire Hall Ancestral Vein.

The environment here was profound and tranquil. Energy was so condensed it felt tangible, and the air was permeated with an indescribable sense of ancient majesty.

This was the most sacred, forbidden ground of the Fire Hall. No one was permitted to approach unless both Venerables came together—not even the Headmaster himself.

They proceeded down a corridor that emitted a faint, fluorescent glow, passing through layer after layer of invisible yet resilient energy barriers.

Finally, the entrance to an ordinary mountain cave appeared before them.

However, the closer they drew to it, the stronger a strange sense of disharmony became.

The very fabric of time and space felt chaotic.

The surrounding light seemed to twist slightly. The air would sometimes feel viscous and stagnant, only to become light and swift the next moment.

Near the cave entrance, the flow of time grew erratic, speeding up and slowing down, inducing a slight sense of dizziness and a pulling sensation.

Above the cave entrance, a single word was carved deep into the stone wall in an ancient script: "Time."

Stopping before the cave entrance, the Headmaster and Xingxuan Venerable each produced half of a Jade Pendant.

The Jade Pendant was a pale, antiquated cyan. Its material was neither gold nor jade, and a fine, sand-like luster of energy flowed across its surface.

They held the two halves flat in their palms. As if drawn by an invisible force, the pieces slowly floated into the air and joined together seamlessly, forming a complete, circular Jade Pendant.

The complete Jade Pendant began to glow with a soft yet profound light, flying automatically toward the sealed stone door of the cave.

The instant the Jade Pendant touched the stone door, the door—silent for countless ages—emitted a low rumble and slowly began to open inward.

VMMMM—!

As the stone door opened, a torrent of temporal energy, thousands of times more concentrated than what they felt outside, surged forth as if a floodgate to the very depths of the river of time had been thrown open.

This torrent carried with it a sense of endless ages and chaos, enough to instantly plunge any being below King-level into temporal dislocation.

However, just as the torrent was about to touch the Headmaster and Xingxuan Venerable, the hovering Jade Pendant shone with an even brighter light, forming a thin shield that enveloped the two of them completely.

The chaotic temporal energy washed futilely against the shield, unable to penetrate it in the slightest.

The door swung fully open, and the Jade Pendant split back into two halves, each flying back into the hands of the Headmaster and Xingxuan Venerable.

Holding their respective halves of the pendant and still shrouded in the protective light, the two stepped shoulder to shoulder into the "Time Cave."

The inside of the cave was exceptionally sparse, with no furnishings to be seen.

In the center of the cave, a dozen or so figures sat cross-legged, as silent and still as ancient monoliths.

Their eyes were shut tight and their auras were dormant, as if they had merged with the very stone of the cave.

The moment they stepped inside, the Headmaster and Xingxuan Venerable could clearly feel that the flow of time within the cave had slowed to a near-standstill.

A century could pass in the outside world, while perhaps only a single moment elapsed in here.

If not for the protection of the Jade Pendant's shield, their movements, their thoughts, and even their very life force would have been frozen by this extreme time-slowing effect.

The Headmaster took a deep breath and slowly raised the half of the Jade Pendant in his hand.

...