My Arts Evolve When Perfected

After a quick survey of the Initial Land’s basic layout, Jiang Qiu didn’t linger. He had more pressing matters to consider—namely, the current state of the Northern Boundary.

He didn’t know where the will of the Northern Boundary resided, but ever since he had broken the seal on the True Dragon Skeleton, this world had become inextricably linked to him.

And that connection was growing stronger by the day.

But with the constant influx of Spirit Charm from Blue Star, the world’s ecosystem was undergoing a massive transformation, and many things were already spiraling out of his control.

His understanding of the Northern Boundary was already incomplete. Now, he sensed an ominous premonition about reopening the Secret Realm’s exit. It was an inexplicable feeling, as if countless eyes were peering down from a higher plane, waiting for a lone lantern to be lit in this pitch-black forest.

’The Celestial Profound Great Realm was shattered because of a True Dragon, and the Northern Boundary is just one small fragment. In the long river of time, it’s impossible for only one Great Realm to exist. Just as the True Dragon possessed the ability to traverse many Great Realms, from its perspective, Great Realms are as numerous as the sands of the Ganges.’

At this thought, Jiang Qiu once again flew toward Northern Boundary Peak. His figure moved with incredible speed; in the flash of a single spark, he had already crossed a thousand meters.

To learn more about the Northern Boundary, he would need to find legacies or ruins left behind from ancient times.

’Such a vast sea of Great Realms... they can’t all be completely isolated from each other. There must have been some that maintained contact with the Celestial Profound Great Realm. It’s just that when this realm’s Spirit Charm withered, those connections were severed.’

’Now that Spirit Charm is gradually becoming plentiful again, will those connections be re-established?’

’If they are, what kind of posture will those on the other side take when they arrive in the Northern Boundary...?’

Lost in his tangled thoughts, Jiang Qiu once again reached Northern Boundary Peak. The lava here had long ago cooled into rock, and a layer of white snow blanketed the surface, making it look like a giant, snow-filled crater. A dense ring of white clouds surrounded it, acting like a filter that isolated it from the living creatures on the ground below.

The True Dragon’s residual aura was no longer as dense, but it couldn’t dissipate completely, as if it had been branded into the very fabric of this world.

The *Celestial Dao Prison Dragon* Grand Array had already shattered. Only a few of its nodes could still function, such as for teleportation.

The Dragon Vein, drained for thirty thousand years, was gradually being revitalized by the nourishment of Blue Star’s Spirit Charm. Near the core region of Northern Boundary Mountain, special zones had already begun to generate their own Spirit Charm, ten times richer than anywhere else.

’The Northern Boundary is like a vast Treasure Vault with gradually awakening potential. After being tempered by the ages, it will one day nurture all kinds of Treasures of Heaven and Earth. Perhaps I should exploit these resources before other, unknown Great Realms discover this place?’

The war between the Human and Demon Races was proving too difficult. Gao Yuan City had been utterly destroyed by the Kunlun Demon Clan, and the root cause was the poor efficiency of cultivation. What Jiang Qiu wanted was to enhance the potential of countless Human Martial Artists so they could all advance together!

**[Bloodline Talent: Dragon Lake]**

**[Description: Nurture one’s own spirituality within a dedicated domain. A pure-blooded member of the Dragon Race can use this Talent to create an exclusive territory, absorbing nearby Spirit Charm and potentially giving birth to a Spirit of the Dragon Lake.]**

The Dragon Race bloodline legacy of the [Dragon Lake] had numerous functions; it was practically the cornerstone of a noble dragon’s existence. Those who controlled a Dragon Lake were typically figures at the Monarch level.

Cultivating within a [Dragon Lake] was something countless races could only dream of. A single [Dragon Lake] with a prime location and astonishing potential was enough to found a powerful new branch of the Dragon Race.

Of course, a dragon could only control a single [Dragon Lake], making it as vital as their own heart.

Soon, Jiang Qiu found the center of Northern Boundary Peak and began the Refinement of the surrounding world to create the [Dragon Lake]!

...

When news about Gao Yuan City finally spread, the citizens of Xia Country were shaken to their core. No one had expected that yet another city in the Northwest Province would be destroyed by the Kunlun Demon Clan.

A city with a history spanning millennia, destroyed in a single day. Even the strongest expert of the Northwest Province, Luo Beixing, was dead.

The only silver lining was that Jiang Qiu, the peerless prodigy who had inherited Luo Beihe’s Great Dao, had broken through to the Grandmaster realm mid-battle. He had forced Demon Emperor [Chen] and the nine Demon Marshals leading their ten thousand Great Demons into retreat.

The embers of Gao Yuan City had been saved. Millions of refugees had reportedly been teleported to a Secret Realm and were temporarily safe, but...

"According to reports, the Teleportation Array beneath the Gao Yuan City Martial Arts Building has reached its operational limit and cannot currently be activated. Surviving researchers from the Secret Realm project claim that the heroes, including Jiang Qiu and Lin Yu, entered the Northern Wilderness Great Secret Realm. They say that all that’s needed is for experts from North Border City to open the entrance."

"Unfortunately, after a full week, the authorities in North Border City have made no progress. The Northern Wilderness Great Secret Realm remains inaccessible, and the millions of refugees and their heroes have yet to return..."

"CLICK—"

In a secret underground laboratory of the Shangguan Family in Jiangnan Province, a slender finger tapped the screen, and it went dark. The voice of the newscaster was cut off mid-sentence.

"Sigh..."

A faint sigh echoed through the empty laboratory. Shangguan Yue, who stood at just one-point-four meters tall, stuffed her phone into her pocket. The soft patter of her footsteps led her toward a nutrient pod.

Her face, as youthful as a middle schooler’s, lacked its usual vigor. Her complexion was sallow, her gaze was downcast, and her eyes were cold.

"Zili, Jiang Qiu is a Grandmaster now, heir to Luo Beihe’s Great Dao. It’s a shame Gao Yuan City has been destroyed. It can’t be rebuilt until the Kunlun Demon Clan is annihilated." Shangguan Yue stopped and reached out to touch the surface of the glass pod, murmuring, "My Direct Disciples... why are all of you so ill-fated...?"

’My first disciple was an orphan who grew up in the slums of Jiangnan Province. If I hadn’t found him stealing Refined Medicine from the black market to save his adopted sister—no blood relation—he would have been beaten to death.’

’But his adopted sister ended up dying of an incurable disease anyway.’

’My second disciple... has also been dead for many years.’

’And now my third disciple, Liu Zili... born in a Shantytown in the remote city of Gao Yuan, in a border province. Her Martial Arts aptitude wasn’t bad, but her Talent in the Refining System was simply unparalleled. After studying with me for just a few months, she was already able to start creating Middle Level Su Fragrance.’

’And it took me, hailed as the refining prodigy of the Shangguan Family, a full year to accomplish that.’

The Jiangnan Province had the most developed Refining System, with a level of expertise that rivaled even the Capital City. The Shangguan Family, based in the provincial capital of Changming City, was a prestigious and renowned clan in the world of Jiangnan’s Refining System!

Most of the clan’s younger generation possessed a Talent for refining that far surpassed ordinary people. But even among them, Shangguan Yue was considered a true genius—a top-tier refining prodigy in the entire Jiangnan Province!

But now, her most promising Direct Disciple, Liu Zili, showed no signs of waking. The affliction on her body was something that even the Grandmasters of the Refining System from her grandfather’s generation were powerless to remove.

"Why did it turn out like this...?"

Shangguan Yue clenched her small fists, feeling both indignant and helpless.

Her gaze passed through the glass of the pod, through the translucent, fluorescent blue liquid, and settled on Liu Zili’s naked form.

Strange, purplish-black patterns emerged on the surface of her well-developed, virginal body. They were like Other Shore Flowers inlaid into her snow-white skin, spreading across her entire frame.

The markings had inevitably spread to the girl’s White-Jade-like cheeks as well, exuding a dark aura.

The red, spider-shaped mark on her forehead blazed like a Flame—scorching, bizarre, dark, and latent...