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

Jiang Chen seemed to have expected Ye Wuhen's visit and was not particularly surprised.

To be honest, before Jiang Chen transmigrated to the world of cultivation, this awakened one who stood at the pinnacle of the Dragon Kingdom was also striving to be like Ye Wuhen.

But now, looking at this person who used to only be seen on TV, Jiang Chen seems much more indifferent.

Ye Wuhen sat in the old sofa that was worn in from being sat on so many times, his back straight and his hands on his knees.

Jiang Xueqin poked her head out of the kitchen, her apron smeared with scallions: "Mr. Ye, have you eaten? There are still ribs in the pot, shall I get you a bowl?"

"No need to trouble yourself." He smiled calmly, revealing a gentleness he didn't show to outsiders.

Jiang Xueqin didn't say anything, knowing that the two had something to say, so she quietly stayed in the kitchen.

Ye Wuhen got straight to the point; his first purpose in coming here was naturally to find out the source of Jiang Chen's power.

"Jiang Chen, I have a question for you."

"Those powers—the power that healed Zhou Tianze's eyes, the power that shattered Astra's attack, and that sword domain. All of it." His voice lowered slightly, not intentionally, but as an instinctive restraint when asking a question one truly wants to know, "Where did they come from?"

The living room fell silent. The wall clock ticked away, and steam rose from the casserole dish in the kitchen, the aroma of star anise mingling with the scent of soy sauce wafting through the crack in the door.

Jiang Chen put down his water glass and looked into Ye Wuhen's eyes. Those deep, weary eyes, honed by time and battle, reflected the dim light of the living room. He stared for a moment, then a couple more, and then the smile on his lips deepened slightly.

"The world of cultivation," he said. "The legendary world of cultivation, do you believe in it?"

He said it so casually, as if he were talking about something he dreamed about last night. He even picked up his water glass and took another sip, his gaze passing over the rim of the glass to look at Ye Wuhen, his eyes carrying an almost playful ease.

Ye Wuhen looked into his eyes.

The air in the living room seemed to freeze for a moment. The second hand of the wall clock ticked three ticks.

"letter."

His thumb moved off the guard and landed on the cord at the end of the hilt. The protruding end of the cord trembled slightly in the lamplight.

"I've seen too much in the Apostle's Hall." His voice was low, as if he were speaking to himself. "Laws, the origin of the void, reversing cause and effect. None of the things Astra could do conform to the rules of this world. But he did it because his power came from beyond the heavens." He raised his head and looked at Jiang Chen. "Your power also comes from beyond the heavens. Just not the beyond the heavens of the Apostles."

Jiang Chen put down the water glass, and the bottom of the glass made a soft sound as it tapped against the glass tabletop.

He hadn't expected Ye Wuhen to believe him so readily.

He simply accepted those outrageous events that only happen in novels.

That's understandable, though. Three hundred years ago, humans probably never imagined that extraterrestrial apostles existed in this world.

"I won't tell anyone about this," Ye Wuhen said.

Jiang Chen glanced at him.

"It doesn't matter." He leaned back in the sofa. "It's okay if you tell anyone."

Ye Wuhen was stunned for a moment.

"Do you think anyone would believe that?" Jiang Chen's tone was calm. "The world's first person without any abilities suddenly claims to be a Celestial Emperor who returned from the cultivation world. You believe it because you've seen things at the level of laws in the Apostle Hall and know that there are other worlds beyond this one. But what about those you haven't seen?"

His gaze passed over Ye Wuhen's shoulder and landed on the pencil marks on the entryway wall. From knee height, year after year, to the top of the door frame, each mark was marked with a date and height written crookedly next to it.

"They'll just think I'm crazy. Just like a month ago, they thought I was a piece of trash."

The living room was silent for a few seconds. Then Ye Wuhen nodded, and after a while, he continued.

"Astra is dead." He spoke, his voice calm, but each word seemed carefully considered before uttering. "The Thirteenth Apostle Temple is cleared. For the first time in three hundred years, humanity has killed the Apostle Temple's guardian apostle. It was broadcast live globally, and billions of people watched the entire process of you killing him. Now the whole world is asking the same question—when are we going to attack the remaining twelve Apostle Temples?"

He looked up at Jiang Chen.

"The headquarters has received information that there's already movement in the Apostle Realm. Astra's death is more than just the loss of an Apostle for them. The Apostle Temples of the Thirteen Apostles are distributed globally, interconnected through the Void Origin. The death of the guardian Apostle of one temple will be sensed by the other twelve. They now know of your existence, and that a power not belonging to the spiritual energy system is threatening them. What they will do next, no one knows."

His thumb rested on the deepest part of the guard.

"But one thing is certain." He looked into Jiang Chen's eyes, "For the first time in three hundred years, humanity has the opportunity to take the initiative. Not to defend, not to resist, not to prolong our lives. To fight back."

His voice lowered slightly.

"The Bureau has virtually no information about the remaining twelve apostles. We obtained information about Astra at the cost of countless awakened beings. As for the other twelve—what their laws are, what trials are held in their apostle halls, whether they are stronger or weaker than Astra—we know nothing. If you challenge them, you are facing a completely unknown enemy. No one can guarantee whether you can win."

He paused for a moment.

"But what if you could win again?"

His thumb moved off the guard, his fingers slightly curled up, forming a loose grip as if he were holding a sword.

"Just one more win. Let the whole world see that Astra's death was not an accident, let everyone know that the Apostles can be killed one by one."

He looked into Jiang Chen's eyes. Those deep, weary eyes, honed by time and battle, reflected the dim light of the living room and the boy in the white T-shirt under the light.

"Humanity has been afraid for three hundred years. From the first day the Apostles descended, we have been afraid. We established the Awakened system because of fear, we built fortifications because of fear, we sent generation after generation of young people to the battlefield because of fear. We fear the Apostles, we fear the Demon Gods, we fear those things from beyond the heavens that we can never truly understand. But today, Astra is dead. For the first time in three hundred years, it's not just us who are afraid."

"The Twelfth Apostle's Hall," he repeated.

"Located deep in the Scandinavian Mountains of Northern Europe."

He looked at Jiang Chen.

Jiang Chen didn't answer immediately. He leaned back in the sofa, his gaze shifting from the sword to the pencil mark on the entryway wall. It was a line that had climbed year by year from knee height at age seven to being taller than him. Next to each mark were crookedly written dates and heights.

At seven, I was 1.2 meters tall. At eight, I was 1.3 meters tall. At nine, I was 1.4 meters tall. When I was ten, I got a new ballpoint pen, and the ink changed from pencil gray to dark blue.

"Okay," he said.

Just one word. The tone was as flat as if he were saying he'd have pork ribs for dinner.

Ye Wuhen's breath caught in his throat for a moment.

"When?" he asked.

"One week later!"

This is the answer Jiang Chen gave.