After receiving the message, Jiang Qiu turned on his phone’s GPS and set off for the Belli Family’s villa district in North Border City, armed with only his long spear.

According to Grandmaster Wang, the Blizzard that had encircled the outermost Settlements of North Border City had ceased. The Three Great Demon Clans of the North Wilderness had all been grievously wounded, and of their three Leaders, only the Wolf King managed to escape, though he lost a leg in the process.

However, the Xia Country Martial Artists had suffered devastating losses, with nearly half of their ranks wiped out. The valiant Grandmaster Zhu Weiyi, who had fought heroically, was ambushed by a coalition of Grandmasters from the Belli Family and Sang Island. He was severely injured and is now on his way back.

The strongest combatants joined the battle, so it began and ended with shocking speed.

But it wasn’t over yet. The Belli Family had to pay the price for their betrayal.

...

An hour passed, but Jiang Qiu had yet to return. Grandmaster Wang, guarding the Xia Country Management District, paced by the window of the command room with his hands clasped behind his back.

He had informed Jiang Qiu the moment he received the firsthand intelligence from the front lines. After all, to the Xia Country Management District—and indeed, to North Border City as a whole—Jiang Qiu was a powerhouse who couldn’t be ignored. As one of Xia Country’s most talented Martial Artists, he had a right to be among the first to learn of such developments.

’I was hoping he would just lay low.’ Now that the situation had improved and the Demon Race encircling the outermost Settlements of North Border City had begun to retreat, all they had to do was protect the Inner City of the Xia Country Management District. Once Grand General Zhu returned, the Belli Family wouldn’t dare make a move.

But then, unexpectedly, a message arrived from Wu Hua, who was guarding the north of the Inner City. It said that Jiang Qiu had already neutralized the threat from the Belli Family’s Grandmaster, Belijie, and had left the Xia Country Management District.

When he tried calling him, the call wouldn’t go through. It was as if Jiang Qiu was too busy to even look at his phone.

"This calamity... North Border City..." Grandmaster Wang sighed.

Just then, his phone vibrated. Seeing the two words "Wu Hua" on the screen, his eyes lit up, and he quickly answered the call. "Is Jiang Qiu back?"

"Reporting, General! He’s back. But a Martial Arts Team on a mission in the north reports that the Belli Family’s villa district suddenly exploded! There’s a massive fire!"

...

On the day North Border City was besieged by the Three Great Demon Clans, most of the outermost Settlements were annihilated. Tens of thousands died, succumbing to the Blizzard or the fangs and claws of the Demon Race. The tide of Demon Beasts even flooded into the Settlements bordering North Border City itself.

Fortunately, on the front lines, Zhu Weiyi had slain two of the three most powerful leaders of the Great Demon Clans. The Grandmasters from the Belli Family and Sang Island who had ambushed him were also grievously wounded, and the tide of battle turned swiftly.

Meanwhile, Jiang Qiu had charged into the Belli Family’s villa district alone. He cut down the resisting Belli Family Martial Artists and also eliminated all the martial artists who had just fled back from their assault on the north of the Inner City.

He slew three of the Belli Family’s Grandmasters who were guarding the villa district. In the process, he "accidentally" unleashed a Flame that set the entire district ablaze, detonating a secret laboratory in the ensuing inferno.

WHOOSH...

A biting wind swirled the thick smoke overhead. Waves of scorching heat occasionally washed over Jiang Qiu’s face as he strolled out of the main gate of the villa district. The Belli Family servants he encountered along the way shrieked in terror, dropping to their knees to beg for their lives.

Jiang Qiu glanced at them but walked on without a word. His cheeks, stained with black blood, were even colder than usual. His normally searing Dragon Eye was now unnaturally frigid, though steam still rose from his body.

"As long as the Demon Race exists, the Human Race will never know peace," he whispered.

The scene he had witnessed in the depths of the Belli Family’s compound replayed in his mind’s eye: deep within that laboratory, the corpses of various grotesque creatures were being rendered down in vats.

’North Border City was founded to shelter the defenseless members of the Human Race, to be the safest Great Settlement in the Northern Wilderness. But a city that doesn’t foster its own Martial Artists is fundamentally insecure.’

’The Belli Family never possessed a complete Martial Arts Cultivation System. Their ancestors first embarked on the path of a Martial Artist thanks to a fortuitous encounter within a Secret Realm, and the family had struggled to muddle through ever since.’

’But once their members reached the Dharma Realm, their progress mostly stagnated. Xia Country, of course, wasn’t about to hand over its own system for free. So, they began to research Demon Race bloodlines.’

’For nearly a hundred years, through generations of experiments, they pushed their Human-Demon hybrid system on the city’s Martial Artists. They even attracted people from all over the world who lacked Martial Arts Talent to become their test subjects.’

’But this wasn’t something the Belli Family developed on their own. They had no real foundation in Martial Arts, and their understanding of the Demon Race was superficial at best.’

’And looming behind it all was the shadow of the Church...’

"So the Western Church is this ruthless. And here I thought they were all noble Knights."

Jiang Qiu casually pulled out a copy of the "Experimental Summary and Analysis Notes." He let out a dry chuckle, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

...

In the aftermath of the Demon Race’s disastrous assault, many of North Border City’s streets lay in ruins from the chaos and fighting. The Ancient Inscription system that provided heat to the entire city had been damaged, and the rune-inscribed floors and buildings no longer instantly vaporized the falling snow.

Within hours, the relentless snows of the Northern Wilderness blanketed the entirety of North Border City. A whistling, mournful wind blew against everyone, a somber dirge to welcome the city’s returning warriors.

When the remaining members of the Belli Family learned that their villa district had been razed to the ground, they scattered. The high-ranking members in the know abandoned the city and fled, while the ignorant lower-ranking members surrendered in hopes of survival.

Zhu Weiyi was stunned upon his return, not expecting to find the internal situation in North Border City already stabilized. He quickly ordered the Xia Country Martial Artists and senior officials to assume full control of the city, taking charge of sheltering the refugees and repairing the infrastructure.

For the next few days, the rumble of transport vehicles echoed through many parts of North Border City. On the streets, refugees shoveled snow with feverish energy.

Jiang Qiu met with Grandmaster Zhu Weiyi again in the command room. The old Grandmaster had just received initial medical treatment. His once-powerful frame was now slightly stooped. His left arm was gone, the stump sealed by white bandages.

His frost-white hair looked dry and brittle, and his face was etched with deep wrinkles.

"Jiang Qiu, thank you for stepping in. The situation in North Border City has stabilized now. Barring any surprises, the Three Great Demon Clans of the North Wilderness won’t be able to recover from this for decades."

A sharp glint appeared in Zhu Weiyi’s cloudy eyes, reflecting Jiang Qiu’s young, resolute face. "I was right to give you the Domain Disc. With your talent, you might just be able to obtain an Enlightenment Fruit in the Great Secret Realm. If you do, you’ll be able to break through to the Grandmaster Realm in no time."

Jiang Qiu stood ramrod straight, his posture as sharp as a spear point, listening intently to the old Grandmaster’s words.

Currently, North Border City was in the process of purging various "harmful" Martial Artists. A new legal framework was being established, and Xia Country’s administrative authority would soon extend over the entire city. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

In other words, North Border City would become Xia Country’s northernmost city, a bastion standing tall in the Northern Wilderness.

"You were previously told you’d have to fight Tang Guang for a spot from the Golden Token. That’s no longer necessary. I have acquired North Border City’s other Golden Token from that old codger in the Belli Family."

Zhu Weiyi took the Golden Token from his Storage Ring and handed it over, his voice deep and sonorous. "No one is more suited than you to have this chance to enter the Great Secret Realm. Furthermore, you will be appointed to the rank of North Border City Committee Member. I’ve already submitted your appointment request to Central.

I have also requested a great deal of resources for you, all suitable for enhancing your Dharma Aspect. For the next half-month, you can focus all your energy on preparing for the Great Secret Realm.

I hope that once you enter the Great Secret Realm, you will successfully obtain an Enlightenment Fruit and return to us having broken through to the Grandmaster Realm..."