My Arts Evolve When Perfected

Since entering the Northern Boundary, the refugees from Gao Yuan City began to put down roots at the foot of the Northern Boundary Mountain. Unable to send messages out or find a way to leave the Secret Realm, their core mission became establishing a settlement—for the sake of survival.

Hundreds of thousands of new refugees were transported in every few days. The settlements they had painstakingly established would quickly face trouble from food shortages. Out of desperation, the men of each family hunted rat-like Demon Beasts to survive, while the women foraged for any edible fruits they could find nearby.

The foot of the Northern Boundary Mountain was a fertile land. As long as a family’s men and women were willing to work, they wouldn’t starve to death.

But if a family was left without any able-bodied adults, the eighty-odd days were enough to wear down and kill a great many people. Even with the kindness and help of others, they would freeze to death for lack of warm clothing and shelter.

Besides, those were things everyone was short on.

A sprawling, chaotic settlement took shape in the northern part of the Northern Boundary Mountain. Since its back was to the numerous Demon Races of the south, it had yet to face any harassment from them. However, packs of unintelligent Demon Beasts would occasionally wander nearby.

The few thousand Martial Artists who had been transported in were powerless to watch over millions of people. Instead, students with some exposure to Martial Arts surprisingly stepped up to act as Civilization Guards.

As the high school that had once produced the provincial champion, Jiang Qiu, the Outer City Eighth Middle School occupied a stronghold left behind by the Northern Boundary Mountain Demon Clan and now presided over the order of the "Outer City."

"Old Zhao, do you think we’ll ever get out of here?"

Li Ang, dressed in simple clothes, asked as he strolled toward a wooden cabin on the mountainside. His face was ashen, and he looked as wretched as a civilized man suddenly thrown into a primitive society.

’Yes, everyone knew it. Faced with that kind of assault on Gao Yuan City, you either escaped or you died.’

But now they had fled to a place completely cut off from information. The surviving Secret Realm Experts couldn’t explain what was happening, and the higher-ups in their country had yet to open a path into the Secret Realm to retrieve them.

Under the pressures of governance and survival, the millions of people had splintered into dozens of smaller settlements. Contacting any of them was now a hassle—they didn’t even have a single complete map!

"We should be able to get out. Didn’t news arrive from the Initial Land a month ago? Gao Yuan City held. Jiang Qiu forced the Demon Emperor [Chen] and tens of thousands of Great Demons to retreat. We just need to wait for orders from above."

Zhao Gongzheng pushed his glasses up his nose. With his hands clasped behind his back, he gazed out at the vast green forest and the layered shadows of the mountains in the far distance.

This was a vast world. An endless stream of Spirit Charm flowed down from the mountain peaks, allowing everyone to continue their Cultivation. Crucially, they had yet to encounter the Demon Race.

More importantly, the students were finding meaning in their Martial Arts practice here. They used their own strength to hunt plump, juicy Demon Beasts and carve out a place for their stronghold, and they reveled in it.

The dense cluster of wooden cabins now covering the stronghold was built on land cleared from the forest, but only after the students had eliminated the threat of Demon Beasts.

The stronghold, temporarily codenamed the "Outer City," sheltered over eight hundred thousand refugees. With its crisscrossing wooden cabins and a crudely built Workshop Market, the students’ contributions had been significant.

They were growing.

"Orders from above?" Li Ang’s voice was gruff, the scar on his face making him look menacing. "How are we supposed to receive any orders from above? This Secret Realm is nothing like the shattered ones we’ve dealt with before. The experts say there might not be any of the usual fluctuations that would expel us from this place."

’He was well aware of the current situation. The first ones transported in were all the elite families of Gao Yuan City, or organizations led by the powerful, like the Inner City High Schools.’

’The best stronghold had already been seized by the Inner City factions, led by Inner City First Middle School. They named it the Initial Land—the very area everyone was transported into. They control the population, the resources are plentiful, and there’s even a nearby ruin with a Treasure Vault full of diverse items.’

’The evacuation plan had been designed that way, nothing wrong with it. The most valuable people escape first, and they always have inextricable ties to the powerful and the city’s top brass.’

’Their Initial Land is already the size of a small city. Rumor has it that over five million people are gathered there, all hoping to one day be transported back to the Xia Country.’

’As for the Outer City High Schools, their school, Eighth Middle School, didn’t even get transported in until the second month. It was only by relying on Jiang Qiu’s fame that the provisional committee at the Initial Land assigned them their current stronghold. Sure, it has resources, but it’s over a hundred kilometers from the Initial Land!’

’Information is completely cut off. No one knows what’s happening at the Initial Land. All the Dharma Realm Martial Artists are stationed there, while the strongest in the other settlements are merely at the Bright Soul Realm—and most of them can’t even fly.’

"As long as we’re alive, we’ll go back one day." Zhao Gongzheng narrowed his eyes, his words resolute. "And if we truly can’t go back, then we will endure and continue on here."

"It’s easy for you to say, you’re all alone! My son, Juefeng, is still back in our country!" Li Ang said indignantly, his brow furrowed. "This talk of ’enduring and continuing’ has nothing to do with me. You and I aren’t the only ones with the highest Realm in the ’Outer City.’ The deans from the other high schools have been eyeing the leadership position for a long time. The only reason they’re civil to us from Eighth Middle School is because of Jiang Qiu’s immense influence.

Several of my teachers have already noticed them covertly winning people over, spouting nonsense about expanding our territory, exploring the Secret Realm, and teaching Martial Arts to become self-sufficient in this world.

If we don’t do something, Eighth Middle School will exist in name only."

"So you’re saying we should also expand our territory?" Zhao Gongzheng’s brow knitted. He turned a meaningful gaze on the colleague he’d worked with for over a decade. "And here I thought you wanted to discuss making a trip to the Initial Land to ask about the situation."

"Ask about the situation? There’s nothing to ask. Three months have passed, and there’s been no news from them either," Li Ang narrowed his eyes, his right hand gesturing toward the vast scenery Zhao Gongzheng had been looking at. "All the powerful people from the city organizations who escaped Gao Yuan City have gathered at the Initial Land. They’ve practically become the new order here. We can’t compete with them. There’s no Martial Education Department or Military Department to protect our interests anymore.

But here in the ’Outer City,’ we must at least secure the authority of Eighth Middle School.

Old Zhao, don’t forget, our school produced a figure like Jiang Qiu. It’s because of him that we became the only key high school in the Outer City, and his name still influences countless citizens of the Outer City even now.

You just mentioned it yourself. The news from the Initial Land was that Jiang Qiu defended Gao Yuan City. As his alma mater, our Eighth Middle School deserves corresponding respect and status.

If others won’t give us what we’re due, then we’ll take it ourselves. We’ll proactively mark out Eighth Middle School’s administrative territory, teach Martial Arts to the younger generation who believe in Jiang Qiu, and dispatch our best students to explore the Secret Realm."

TAP.

Li Ang’s large hand clapped onto Zhao Gongzheng’s shoulder. "Old Zhao, the system in Gao Yuan City is gone. The only one we can rely on is Jiang Qiu.

If we don’t tie ourselves to Jiang Qiu, what will become of us?

If we do go back one day, is the country really going to let us re-establish a high school in the name of Eighth Middle School? Nothing will carry over. The youth you dedicated to the cause of martial education will all be for naught.

And I... I won’t be able to use my convenient position to effectively help my Juefeng’s development."