After a thousand years of cultivation, he returns at the pinnacle!

Jiangzhou Airport, 6:00 AM.

This is a small regional airport, usually with few passengers, and its busiest times are the two flights to Beijing in the morning and evening. But today, the atmosphere at the airport is noticeably different.

Three black sedans were parked outside the terminal, their markings drawing the attention of passersby—Awakened Ones Affairs Bureau, Jiangzhou Branch. Not one, but three. And not ordinary license plates, but the special kind reserved for officials at the bureau level or above.

"What important person is coming?"

"I don't know. Look over there, aren't those people wearing the Bureau of Extraordinary Affairs uniforms?"

"Goodness, it seems even the director of the Jiangzhou branch of the Public Security Bureau is here..."

At the entrance of the terminal, Su Ze stood at the front, dressed in a dark gray Zhongshan suit, his hair neatly combed. Behind him, several staff members from the Bureau of Extraterritorial Affairs wore formal uniforms with badges of swords and gavels embroidered on their chests, gleaming coldly in the morning light.

Su Ze held a phone in his hand, the screen displaying his chat history with Jiang Chen from the previous night. He read those lines of text over and over again—

"Let's go to the capital and make some arrangements."

"Great! I'll arrange it right away! The private jet will arrive at Jiangzhou Airport first thing tomorrow morning, and I'll pick you up personally!"

Jiang Chen didn't reply after that.

Su Ze wasn't sure if Jiang Chen would really come. He had experienced that boy's style of doing things before—he would leave whenever he wanted, disappear whenever he wanted, completely disregarding other people's arrangements and expectations.

But he still came.

They arrived at the airport an hour early, bringing with them the elite of the entire Jiangzhou branch of the Public Security Bureau.

"Director Su," a young staff member approached from behind, lowering his voice, "the special plane has landed and is taxiing."

Su Ze nodded and took a deep breath.

special plane.

Last night, he used his maximum authority to arrange a private jet from the headquarters in the capital. Normally, a city of Jiangzhou's caliber wouldn't qualify for a private jet, but when he submitted the application, the headquarters only replied with four words: "Fully cooperate."

Su Ze stared at those four words and remained silent for a long time.

We will fully cooperate.

He understood better than anyone what those four words, issued by the General Administration, meant. It meant that the boy was no longer just a "special individual" that Su Ze was paying attention to, but a "strategic existence" that the entire Awakened system of the Dragon Kingdom was focusing on.

A small business jet taxied to the terminal, the cabin door opened, and the gangway was lowered.

Su Ze straightened his collar and stepped forward.

Then he froze.

Only one person came down the gangway.

A boy in a school uniform.

No luggage, no attendants, no extra equipment. Not even a backpack, empty-handed, just like leaving home for school.

Jiang Chen stepped down the gangway and glanced at Su Ze.

"Good morning, Director Su."

Su Ze opened his mouth, but for a moment he didn't know what to say.

He had imagined many scenarios of Jiang Chen's appearance—he might step out of the void, descend from the sky, or appear silently behind him. But he never imagined that Jiang Chen would arrive in a private jet, descend the gangway, and walk down like an ordinary passenger.

"You...you really came by private jet?" Su Ze's voice was a little hoarse.

Jiang Chen glanced at him, his expression calm: "If you arrange this and I don't sit, wouldn't all your arrangements have been for nothing?"

Su Ze: "..."

He suddenly realized that all his tension, preparation, and carefully chosen words from last night seemed superfluous in front of this young man.

"Let's go." Jiang Chen walked towards the three black cars. "Tell me about the situation in the capital on the way."

Su Ze quickly followed and personally opened the door of the middle car. Jiang Chen bent down and got in, while Su Ze got in from the other side and sat next to him.

The convoy drove out of the airport and onto the highway.

The car is well soundproofed, blocking out the sounds of the wind and traffic, leaving only a faint hum from the air conditioning vents.

Su Ze carefully chose his words before speaking, "In the capital, the General Administration's idea is to meet first, to have a chat. It's not formal, it's just..."

"I know," Jiang Chen interrupted him, looking at the scenery rushing past the window. "It wasn't an interrogation, it wasn't an investigation, it was a conversation. Shen Qingxue told me."

Su Ze was taken aback: "Shen Qingxue contacted you?"

"Um."

Su Ze remained silent for a moment, his heart filled with complex emotions. Shen Qingxue was from the Shen family, one of the four great families of the capital. Jiang Chen's connection with the Shen family was both a good thing and a bad thing for him, the director of the Jiangzhou branch. The good thing was that Jiang Chen had a stronger backing; the bad thing was that Su Ze's status as Jiang Chen's "only contact person" might not be as important anymore.

But he quickly suppressed those thoughts.

"Shen Qingxue is a good girl," Su Ze said. "That night, she took a bullet for you."

Jiang Chen did not respond.

Su Ze tactfully changed the subject: "At the General Administration, the person in charge of receiving you this time is Deputy Director Chu Tianxiong, a Lightning-type S-rank Awakened. The real Director—you may have heard of him, Sword Saint Ye Wuhen—is not currently in the capital."

Jiang Chen finally turned his gaze away from the window.

"Ye Wuhen?"

"Yes." Su Ze lowered his voice. "The strongest Awakened One recognized by the Dragon Kingdom, with SSS-level swordsmanship talent. Thirty years ago, he single-handedly stormed into the Apostle Hall with his sword and came out alive. He is the only person in the Dragon Kingdom who has challenged the Apostle Hall and returned alive."

A hint of interest flashed in Jiang Chen's eyes.

"The Hall of Apostles?"

Su Ze glanced at him, his heart skipping a beat. The boy's expression changed so subtly that Su Ze would have missed it entirely if he hadn't been observing closely. But that slight change confirmed one thing for Su Ze—Jiang Chen was responding to the words "Apostle Hall."

"They'll tell you the details about the Apostle Hall when we get to the capital," Su Ze said, not elaborating further. "I'm just a messenger."

Jiang Chen nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

The convoy continued its journey on the highway, the scenery outside the windows changing from farmland to factories, from factories to buildings, and from buildings to skyscrapers. The outline of the capital gradually emerged on the horizon, the vast city resembling a sleeping behemoth beneath the hazy skyline.

Jiang Chen looked at the city, his eyes calm as still water.

Three hours later, the convoy entered the Third Ring Road of Beijing.

Jiang Chen saw the traces left by the apostle's attack through the car window.

Huge claw marks were visible on the exterior wall of a residential building. Five deep trenches stretched from the sixth floor to the third, exposing the steel bars and brickwork beneath. A ring of charred marks surrounded the claw marks, as if corroded by something. Scaffolding was erected below, and workers were attempting repairs, but the claw marks were too deep to be simply filled with cement.

A cluster of white tents had been erected in a small square by the roadside. Wreaths and elegiac couplets were placed outside the tents, and people were burning paper money, with wisps of smoke rising in the morning breeze. The banner on the tents read, "Deepest condolences to our compatriots who perished in the apostolic attack."

Jiang Chen's gaze lingered on the white tents for a moment.

Then move it away.

The convoy continued its journey, passing through streets under repair, navigating piles of construction debris, and finally entering a quiet, tree-lined avenue. The plane trees lining the road were tall, their branches intertwining to form a green dome in the air, sunlight filtering through the leaves and casting dappled shadows on the ground.

At the end of the tree-lined avenue was a large black iron gate.

On either side of the iron gate were high gray walls covered with dense runes—defensive barriers, which, judging from their complexity, were at least set up by an S-rank Awakened.

Above the iron gate hangs a huge badge.

The crossed sword and gavel bear an inscription below: "Guard the order, define the abnormal."