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

"This world has no spiritual energy."

Jiang Chen's voice wasn't loud, but every word clearly reached the ears of everyone in the conference room. He picked up his teacup, took another sip to moisten his throat, and then continued speaking.

"The essence of cultivation is to absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and condense it into true essence within the body. Spiritual energy is the foundation of cultivation; without spiritual energy, there is no true essence. Without true essence, all talk of Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, and Golden Core is just castles in the air." His gaze calmly swept across the faces of everyone present. "This world has no spiritual energy. Since I returned, I have sensed every inch of this world—it's not in the air, not in the soil, not in the ocean, and even the spiritual power used by you Awakened Ones is not spiritual energy in essence, but a completely different form of energy."

The conference room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Zhou Tianze's lips twitched, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he just crossed his arms over his chest, his knuckles turning white.

"So, it's not that I don't want to teach," Jiang Chen put down his teacup, "it's that this world doesn't have the basic conditions for cultivating immortality. It's like trying to grow rice in the desert; it's not a problem with the seeds, it's a problem with the soil."

Chen Beiyuan nodded slowly. His dark eyes, smoothed and rounded by time, held no disappointment, only a thoughtful understanding. He didn't speak immediately, but instead picked up the now-cold teacup in front of him, took a small sip, and gently placed the cup back on the table. The bottom of the cup tapped against the mahogany table, making a very soft, almost inaudible, crisp sound.

"And what's the second reason?"

Jiang Chen looked at him and remained silent for a moment.

"The second reason is that even if there is spiritual energy, humans cannot cultivate it."

This sentence was even more serious than the first. Chu Tianxiong frowned, Su Ze leaned forward slightly as he stood at the door, and even Luo Qinghe, who had been silent all along, put down his teacup.

"Why?" This time it was Ye Wuhen who spoke. His voice was deep and hoarse, and his thumb had somehow returned to the thirty-year-old wear mark on the sword guard, rubbing it repeatedly.

Jiang Chen looked at him, then at the others. These people were the strongest Awakened Ones in the Dragon Kingdom, the sharpest swords in humanity's fight against the Apostles for three hundred years. Ye Wuhen's Sword Dao Returns to One, Zhou Tiance's Thunder Emperor Heavenly Strike, Luo Qinghe's Eternal Silence Zero—the power of each of them was honed over thirty, fifty, or even longer years through countless life-and-death battles.

But at this moment, they are like a group of eager students, waiting for him to give an answer.

"Cultivation requires spiritual roots," Jiang Chen said. "Spiritual roots are innate, not cultivated. In the cultivation world, only one or two out of every hundred mortals possess spiritual roots, and among those one or two, the vast majority have the worst mixed spiritual roots. They can only reach the third or fourth level of Qi Refining in a lifetime, not even touching the threshold of Foundation Establishment. Those who are truly qualified to embark on the path of cultivation are one in ten thousand."

He paused for a moment, his gaze sweeping from Ye Wuhen's face to Luo Qinghe, from Luo Qinghe to Zhou Tianze, and then back to Chen Beiyuan.

"After I returned, I scanned many people with my divine sense. Wang Kai—my classmate—he has spiritual roots, and good ones at that, the five elements. But apart from that, all the awakened ones I scanned, including everyone here—"

He didn't finish his sentence. But everyone understood.

Zhou Tianze paused for a moment, then suddenly laughed. The laugh was soft, barely even a laugh, just a short exhale from his nose. He reached for the broken spear shaft leaning against the chair, and gently rubbed his thumb against the silver metal foil at the break.

"It means we can't even cross the threshold of cultivating immortality."

Jiang Chen remained silent. His silence implied tacit agreement.

A long silence filled the conference room. The second hand of the wall clock ticked several times, and the wind blowing in from the window turned a page of the documents on the table, making a rustling sound as the paper rubbed together. Chu Tianxiong took off his glasses, wiped the lenses with his cuff, and put them back on. Su Ze leaned against the doorframe, head down, hands in his suit pockets, his expression unreadable.

It was Luo Qinghe who broke the silence.

"Jiang Chen." Her voice was as cold as ever, but a few decibels softer than usual. "You just said that Awakened Ones don't have spiritual roots. What about Apostles? The Apostles' power system is different from ours. Their core laws, soul screams, reversing cause and effect—are these things related to spiritual roots?"

Jiang Chen glanced at her. It was a very accurate question, exactly the kind of question Luo Qinghe would ask.

"The power of the Apostles is not cultivation," he said. "The core of their laws is something etched into the origin of the void; essentially, it's a power at the level of rules. Spiritual roots are a medium used to perceive and absorb spiritual energy. The Apostles don't need spiritual roots because they don't use spiritual energy at all. They come from beyond the heavens; their power system doesn't belong to this world, nor does it belong to the cultivation world."

He leaned back in his chair, his right hand resting on the table, his fingertips lightly tapping the surface.

"The power of the Apostles, and my power, are both things that should not exist in this world. The difference is that my power is something I brought back from another world, while their power is something they forcibly embedded into this world from another world."

Luo Qinghe nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

Chen Beiyuan finally spoke again. He raised his bright eyes and looked at Jiang Chen, his voice still calm and unhurried, like the deep warmth of a winter fire burning at its brightest.

"Thank you. I know you probably anticipated these questions, and I know you may have prepared a longer explanation. But for me, these two reasons are enough."

Jiang Chen looked at the white-haired old man. He had seen too many people lose their composure in the face of disappointment—some flew into a rage, some became dejected, and some transferred their disappointment into resentment towards him. But Chen Beiyuan did not. He simply accepted the fact calmly, and then, in the same calm tone, said, "It's not your responsibility."

This clarity of mind surprised Jiang Chen more than any other force.

"Jiang Chen." Chen Beiyuan's voice deepened slightly, but it remained gentle and solemn. "I invited you here today to ask this question because all of humanity is asking it. Yesterday, you admitted to cultivating immortality in the Apostle Hall, and billions of people witnessed it. Countless people will try every means to find you—those who want to become your disciples, those who want to interview you, those who want to win you over, and those who want to exploit you. If we find out the truth, we can also act as a shield for you."

He placed his hands folded on the table, his back straight, and his tone conveyed the solemnity of a promise made after careful consideration.

"Starting today, the General Administration will announce an official stance: The cultivation system, as confirmed jointly by the General Administration's Research Center and Jiang Chen himself, is currently not ready for widespread adoption by ordinary people. The specific reasons involve core technological secrets and cannot be disclosed. Any attempt to harass Jiang Chen and his family under any pretext will be considered a challenge to the authority of the Dragon Kingdom's Awakened Persons Affairs Management General Administration."

Ye Wuhen's thumb stopped on the sword guard, Zhou Tianze's hand, which was playing with the broken spear, froze for a moment, and Luo Qinghe's hand, which was holding a teacup, was suspended in mid-air.

"This isn't a discussion, it's just a notification," Chen Beiyuan said, looking at Jiang Chen. "You helped humanity kill two Apostle Halls and eliminate two Apostles. The Bureau will remember this kindness. From now on, we won't bother you, and you don't need to report anything to us. You can go to school if you want, stay home if you want, and if you want to fight the Apostle Halls, just let us know, and we'll arrange a live stream for you, clear the area, and provide all the necessary support. If you don't want any of that, that's fine too. It's all up to you."

The conference room fell silent for a moment. Chu Tianxiong lowered his head slightly, and Su Ze nodded silently at the door. These were the five most core members of the entire Awakened Affairs Management Bureau, and in just a few words, they used their authority to build an invisible barrier for Jiang Chen.

Jiang Chen's lips curled up slightly. The curve was so faint that it was almost imperceptible, but Chen Beiyuan noticed it.

"Okay," Jiang Chen said. Just one word. His tone was as flat as if he were saying the weather was nice today.

Chen Beiyuan nodded, then stood up and extended his right hand to Jiang Chen.

"Then, let's use tea instead of wine." He picked up the completely cold cup of tea in front of him with his left hand. "Jiang Chen, thank you. Thank you for killing Astra, thank you for killing Morgiana, thank you for making humanity feel for the first time—that we still have a tomorrow."