Volume 3: Global Vanguard & The Advanced Pinnacle
Chapter 250
Return to the Ancient Capital, Commissioned as Major General of the Shenzhou Military
The tempest that had raged for half a month across the Western Regions’ great desert finally fell silent.
The sky, previously shrouded in layers of crimson sand clouds smelling of the foul stench of demonic blood, was torn open in massive patches, revealing a pristine, jade-blue firmament reminiscent of a clear post-storm sky. At the foot of West-Town Ancient City, the sea of golden sand that had once buried tens of thousands of corpses and swarms of demonic scorpions now lay flat and serene like a gigantic silk scroll rolling out toward the distant horizon.
The harsh midday sunlight beat down upon the pitch-black granite ramparts, which still bore countless deep claw marks left by feral beasts alongside bloodstains baked dry through the years.
CREAK... BOOM!
The thousand-pound stone doors of the closed-door cultivation chamber deep beneath the forward fortress slowly lifted.
As the rough grinding sound of massive stones died away, an imposing aura akin to a primordial beast awakening suddenly flooded the underground defense corridor. This aura did not carry the bloodthirsty savagery of desert monsters; rather, it was a pure, haughty, and profound majesty like a bottomless deep sea, interspersed with tiny tendrils of dark purple lightning dancing and crackling in the air.
All the border garrison officers standing guard along the passage felt an oppressive weight on their chests. Intermediate-level mages instinctively clenched their magic staffs as the magic power within their nebulae spontaneously contracted like frightened sparrows trembling before a hawk’s talons.
From the darkness of the chamber, a tall, upright figure strode out steadily into the light.
Lin Feng wore a black tactical cloak trimmed with silver thread, his slightly disheveled dark hair fluttering in the dry desert breeze. Compared to his appearance when entering the Ancient Imperial Mausoleum days ago, he did not seem drastically altered, yet a closer look into his deep eyes revealed dark purple arcs of lightning flickering like small dragons coiled at the bottom of an abyss.
Every inch of his skin and muscle seemed to have undergone a thorough, radical rebirth. The ancient Monarch’s essence soul, combined with the millennium-old spiritual energy within the Primordial Dragon God Temple, had completely tempered his meridians, forcibly expanding the capacity of his Lightning Star Sea to an entirely new realm: the Advanced Stage 2!
Now, with a mere flick of his intent, the Annihilation Lightning Seed within his star sea could instantly erupt into a violent Thunder Torrent capable of leveling an entire stone ridge!
“Brother Lin Feng! You... you actually succeeded?!”
A booming, astonished voice echoed from the head of the corridor.
Lieutenant General Meng Zhan—the fiercely stern commander of the Western Regions Military Region, whose combat armor was still fractured from the life-or-death battle with the Blood-Sand Flame Demon Emperor—was striding forward. Right beside her was Ye Qingwan, clad in an elegant light-blue battle robe with her hair tied up to reveal her flawless, delicate face. Seeing Lin Feng emerge unharmed, her slender eyebrows relaxed slightly, and the corners of her lips curved into a relieved smile that lifted a thousand-pound burden from her heart.
“I’ve kept General Meng and Qingwan waiting anxiously.” Lin Feng nodded slightly, retracting the invisible dragon majesty surrounding his body. “The Lightning Star Sea has firmly consolidated. My injuries from the battle have also fully healed.”
Meng Zhan stepped forward, his heavy, thick palm—resembling a guardian deity’s—thudding against Lin Feng’s shoulder with a dull smack. Feeling the sturdy shoulders built like titanium alloy before him, the veteran military general could not help letting out a booming laugh:
“Good! Excellent! Truly a hero emerges from youth! Not even twenty years old yet you smashed an Ancient Monarch’s heart with a single blow right here in the forward outpost, and even broke through your cultivation realm! Do you know, the news sent back over the past few days has shaken all of Shenzhou!”
Lin Feng raised an eyebrow: “The Ministry of Defense has received the report?”
“Not just received it!” Meng Zhan lowered his voice, his eyes flashing with utter admiration. “The moment I used the SSS-level secure magic communications line to transmit all battlefield logs and ruin imagery of the Blood-Sand Flame Demon Emperor to the capital, the Forbidden Curse Council and the Ministry of Defense immediately convened an emergency session lasting twelve hours! An ancient Monarch that had sealed the blood sands for three hundred years and buried countless elite legions was wiped out by you in a single night... This is the most glorious military achievement of the Shenzhou armed forces in the past two decades!”
Ye Qingwan stepped forward half a step, gently handing Lin Feng a dark-red leather-bound document sealed with a Golden-Winged Roc magic wax stamp:
“A special military transport aircraft is waiting at the landing pad. The General Staff Headquarters and Grand General Xiao Zhen have personally issued an emergency summons: demanding that you and I return immediately to the Ancient Capital Headquarters to receive national awards.”
“General Xiao Zhen?” Lin Feng lightly stroked the magic seal on the folder.
Grand General Xiao Zhen—the legendary figure heading all ground armed forces of Shenzhou, one of the rare surviving Forbidden Curse Mages, wielding supreme military authority second only to the nation’s Supreme Speaker. For a figure of such caliber to personally sign a summons for the Western Regions victory demonstrated just how earth-shattering its impact truly was.
“Very well, let’s set off.” Lin Feng tucked the letter into his pocket, his gaze shifting toward the airstrip outside the fortress. “It is indeed time to return to the Ancient Capital.”
WHOOSH... SWISH!
The supersonic military transport aircraft designated “Xuanniao” slashed a white streak across the desert sky, pointing straight toward the central plains of Shenzhou.
Inside the luxurious and silent command cabin, Ye Qingwan sat opposite Lin Feng, holding a steaming cup of herbal tea and offering it to him. The pure lotus fragrance quickly dispelled the lingering dryness of the sandy desert.
“Lin Feng, this return to the Ancient Capital... matters likely won’t be as simple as an award ceremony.” Qingwan’s voice carried a hint of contemplation. She looked out through the aircraft window, where rolling white bands of clouds hurtled backward at terrifying speeds.
Lin Feng took a sip of the warm tea, calmly asking: “Did you catch any wind of things from the clan?”
Ye Qingwan sighed softly, her slender fingers tapping lightly against the metal table:
“Intelligence from my father arrived this morning. Your feat of slaying a Monarch is undeniable fact, but rumors that the Ministry of Defense intends to specially confer general rank upon you have triggered fierce opposition among the noble clans and conservative veteran officers in the Ancient Capital.”
“Oh? Opposition?” Lin Feng’s lips curled into a cold, indifferent smile in his eyes.
“Indeed.” Ye Qingwan nodded. “Within the Shenzhou military, the rank of Colonel is already the peak for combat mages. To step into the ranks of Generals, aside from possessing Peak Advanced or Half-Step Super strength, one must accumulate campaign merits over thirty to forty years of bloody, life-or-death battles. Historically, the youngest Major General was thirty-five.”
She paused, looking straight into Lin Feng’s eyes:
“And this year, you have just turned nineteen! A nineteen-year-old Major General standing equal to military region commanders and great clan heads... They argue this shatters a centuries-old precedent and undermines military dignity. The Ling family, Zhao family, and various conservative factions in the Ancient Capital are even suspecting that General Meng Zhan exaggerated your exploits to boost you, and they are gearing up to make things difficult at today’s welcoming ceremony.”
Hearing this, Lin Feng’s expression remained as flat as an unrippled lake.
He leaned back into the plush leather seat, his fingers gently turning the storage ring containing the ancient dragon-hide star map he had retrieved from the Ancient Imperial Mausoleum.
Precedent? Seniority?
In the eyes of those who reaped without sowing in the luxurious manors of the Ancient Capital, military achievements were mere numbers on paper to balance factional power. How could they understand the feeling of confronting the world-extinguishing flames of an Ancient Monarch? How could they know that deep beneath the East Sea and under the Ancient Capital’s earth, two terrifying calamities were lurking to devour this entire country?
When catastrophe strikes, can rules and seniority stop the claws of monsters?
“If they wish to speak of rules...” The corners of Lin Feng’s mouth curved into a sharp arc: “I will show them that fists and true strength are the supreme rules of this world.”
Two hours later, the “Xuanniao” transport began losing altitude, piercing through the thick cloud cover blanketing the skies over central Shenzhou.
Below, the Ancient Capital loomed formidably like a primordial behemoth crouching upon the earth. The thousand-year-old dark basalt ramparts, standing over sixty meters tall, enclosed millions of ancient tile roofs interspersed with modern skyscrapers. Towering magic watchtowers pierced the high skies, radiating a light-blue defensive barrier that completely enshrouded the space.
The transport circled widely before landing directly on the military airstrip located right in the center of the Shenzhou Military Region Headquarters.
BANG!
As the aircraft wheels touched the tarmac, military brass horns blared resoundingly across the tens-of-hectares grand parade square.
The aircraft cabin door slowly lowered into a boarding ramp. Lin Feng and Ye Qingwan stepped out into the open air.
Striking their eyes was a scene of utmost solemnity and magnificence!
Along both sides of the tarmac lined with deep crimson carpets, over ten thousand elite soldiers of the National Guard Magic Corps stood in neat square blocks. Their dark gold armor shone brightly under the sun, magic spears held straight like a forest of trees, their soaring murderous aura dispersing the clouds in the sky.
Along the central viewing platform, hundreds of high-ranking generals holding ranks from Colonel to General of the major military regions had gathered in full force. Behind them sat councilors of the Supreme Mage Council, deans of prestigious academies, and representatives of the Ancient Capital’s most prestigious magic noble houses.
Yet, the atmosphere in the stands was hardly pure celebration.
Countless sharp, probing, and even skeptical and defiant gazes from veteran clan seats locked directly onto the young figure descending the aircraft stairs.
“Is that Lin Feng? He looks like nothing more than a wet-nosed brat!” A middle-aged elder of the Ancient Capital’s Zhao clan coldly scoffed, his voice low yet laced with mockery: “The rank of Major General is the highest honor of a military career; how can it be bestowed upon someone from the border slums who merely relied on a few lucky matches in Venice and the desert?”
“Indeed, I heard Meng Zhan reported that he punched the Blood-Sand Flame Demon Emperor to death. How could the Ministry of Defense believe such absurd tales? Just how powerful is an ancient Monarch? Even a team of Super mages facing one would face nine deaths and one life; how could an Advanced kid pull that off?” Several conservative faction generals standing nearby whispered in agreement, casting provocative glares at Lin Feng.
To test this young upstart, a veteran Major General within the Ancient Capital defense establishment—noted for his Advanced Stage 3 Psychic Element—narrowed his eyes.
WHOOSH!
An invisible thought force like a steel whip tore through the air, carrying the heavy mental pressure of someone tempered by decades of warfare, silently hurtling straight toward Lin Feng’s chest!
This malicious probing strike was not meant to kill, but it was enough to make a young mage lose balance, stumbling and falling right onto the red carpet before the eyes of ten thousand troops, turning the honor ceremony into a humiliating joke!
Ye Qingwan beside him instantly sensed that vicious psychic shockwave; her expression sank as she prepared to raise her magic staff to intercept.
However, Lin Feng raised a hand to stop her.
His face remained entirely unchanged, his stride maintaining the leisurely rhythm of a stroll through a garden.
Yet, the exact moment that psychic whip reached within three paces around his body...
BOOM!
A dull explosion echoed in the invisible space!
The Primordial Dragon Amulet on Lin Feng’s chest vibrated rhythmically. The third-layer ancient Dragon God majesty combined with the Annihilation Lightning aura of the Advanced Stage 2 Lightning Star Sea erupted backward like an angry divine dragon descending!
CRACK!
The Major General’s psychic whip was crushed into tiny fragments in an instant!
Without stopping, the terrifying backlash carrying ancient imperial majesty smashed like an invisible steel wall straight into that general’s chest!
HACK!
The Psychic Element Major General’s face instantly turned as pale as paper, stumbling backward five steps in a row, violently crashing into the VIP desk behind him and shattering teacups into a clattering mess. A stream of fresh blood spilled from the corner of his mouth, his eyes bulging as he stared at Lin Feng in utter terror!
What kind of majesty was this?!
That was absolutely not the magic power of an ordinary Advanced mage!
In that brief counter-attack aura, he seemed to see a gigantic golden Ancient Dragon trampling over tens of thousands of bolts of thunder, glaring down like a god upon ordinary ants!
The parade square fell dead silent!
The whispers of the clan elders and conservative officers instantly choked in their throats. Those who had just mocked him felt their scalps go numb and their backs drenched in cold sweat upon meeting Lin Feng’s cold, razor-sharp gaze sweeping across the representative seats.
Not a single soul dared utter a peep!
A single invisible backlash had thoroughly crushed all the arrogance and suspicion of the conservative old guard!
Tump... Tump... Tump...
Amidst that suffocatingly stagnant atmosphere, resolute footsteps echoed from the top of the viewing platform.
An elderly man with graying hair yet a robust physique like a millennium-old pine tree, clad in a dark green dress uniform adorned with sparkling medals, slowly stepped to the edge of the platform railing. On his shoulder boards, four pure gold stars glistened under the sunlight—Grand General Xiao Zhen!
The eagle eyes of the Forbidden Curse Mage swept across the entire assembly, pausing briefly on the injured Major General before fixing on Lin Feng. The solemn corners of his mouth twitched upward into a rare, appreciative smile.
“The welcoming ceremony concludes!” Xiao Zhen’s voice did not require a magic megaphone, yet it rolled across the plaza like thunder: “Invite Major General Lin Feng to the platform!”
Lin Feng straightened his collar, taking steady steps up the white jade staircase leading to the highest viewing platform.
Before him stood Grand General Xiao Zhen, holding a tray covered in dark crimson velvet. On the tray rested a pair of officer shoulder boards inlaid with pure gold and a five-pointed star sparkling with diamonds, alongside a four-foot command sword engraved with the Shenzhou Dragon Map and a jade seal radiating mysterious dark light.
An adjutant Major General stepped forward, loudly unrolling a golden military order and reading it across the land:
“By order of the Defense Council and the General Staff Headquarters of the Shenzhou Military!
Mage Lin Feng, native of Bian’an, student of the Shenzhou Magic Academy!
At the Venice World Tournament, single-handedly suppressing heroes, defeating Western powers, bringing the World Championship Trophy back to the motherland, and reviving national prestige!
At the Western Regions Desert battlefield, facing perils hanging by a thread, bravely charging the frontline, slaying the ancient Monarch Blood-Sand Flame Demon Emperor, shattering the blood-sacrifice plot of the Heretic Sand Church, and saving millions of citizens and the entire western border defense line from annihilation!
Merits shaking heaven and earth, majesty overawing the eight directions!
Hereby specially conferring upon Mage Lin Feng the rank of: MAJOR GENERAL OF THE SHENZHOU MILITARY!
Simultaneously, appointing Major General Lin Feng to the post of: SUPREME COMMANDER OF THE NATIONAL RAPID RESPONSE MAGIC SQUADRON!
Granted full authority to deploy special combat forces, with the right to intervene and urgently handle all monster and cult threats across the entire territory of Shenzhou without intermediate approval!
Let this be obeyed!”
As the reading ended, the entire square shook with an intense explosion of emotion!
Nineteen years old!
A nineteen-year-old Major General, unique in the thousand-year history of the Shenzhou military!
Not merely an honorary rank, but holding the supreme executive power of the “National Rapid Response Squadron”—a top-tier special magic force with the right to execute first and report later, operating entirely independently of local military regions!
Grand General Xiao Zhen personally picked up the gold-inlaid Major General shoulder boards, stepping before Lin Feng. The veteran general’s eyes were filled with immense trust and great expectation. He carefully pinned each shoulder board onto Lin Feng’s uniform shoulders, then firmly patted his shoulder:
“Kid, this is the glory your own blood and fists won on the desert battlefield; no one has the qualification to strip it away or doubt it! This realm of Shenzhou... from this day forward, relies upon your generation!”
Lin Feng stood straight, his right hand rising to salute in standard Shenzhou military protocol:
“I shall not fail the trust of the Grand General and the Motherland!”
Xiao Zhen nodded with satisfaction, placing the National Suppression Magic Sword and the jade Commander Seal into Lin Feng’s hands.
Lin Feng turned around, facing the tens of thousands of soldiers and thousands of guests below the platform. He drew the National Suppression Magic Sword half an inch from its scabbard.
CLANG!
A crisp sword hum pierced the air, purple-black lightning channeling from his palm into the blade, shooting up into the sky into a brilliant thunder pillar hundreds of feet high!
“LONG LIVE! MAJOR GENERAL LIN FENNG, LONG LIVE!”
“THE SHENZHOU MILITARY IS IMMORTAL!”
Over ten thousand soldiers below stomped their heels in unison, holding their magic spears high, their roaring cheers rolling like a tidal wave across the skies of the Ancient Capital! Tens of thousands of citizens outside the square fence also cheered wildly, applauding thunderously. The halo of the young hero shone across the plaza, completely crushing all petty calculations and jealousy of the elite clans beneath the platform!
Splendid glory, supreme majesty!
Yet, right in the midst of that triumphant chorus resounding across the Ancient Capital...
RUMBLE... RUMBLE... CRASH!
The ground beneath everyone’s feet violently swayed!
A terrifying tremor from thousands of meters deep beneath the Ancient Capital’s earth surged upward, causing the sturdy ramparts to tremble while jagged cracks split the paved plaza square!
The smiles on the generals’ faces instantly froze.
The surrounding air plummeted drastically. An ice-cold, piercing wind carrying the musty stench of corpses and millennium-old graves poured into the city from all directions. The grass on the lawns surrounding the platform was covered in a layer of black frost in an instant, withering and rotting at visible speeds!
“What... what is happening?!”
“An earthquake? Or is there something wrong with the city defense magic array?!”
Panicked screams began to erupt from the guests.
Lin Feng suddenly snapped his head upward to look at the sky.
In broad daylight, the brilliant sun was slowly swallowed by a layer of blood-colored mist. Within a few breaths, the sky over the northern Ancient Capital turned an eerie crimson red, hanging like a gigantic blood moon over the mortal world!
The Omen of the Blood Moon!
HOWL! HOWL! HOWL!
Crimson-grade air defense sirens—the highest level of extinction alert in Shenzhou—simultaneously pierced the skies of the Ancient Capital! Hundreds of magic watchtowers across the four ramparts turned blood-red in unison, their alarms ringing incessantly without pause!
SCREEECH... SCREEECH...
A communications officer whose face had drained of all blood rushed frantically onto the viewing platform, dropping to his knees before Xiao Zhen and Lin Feng:
“REPORT... REPORT TO THE GRAND GENERAL! REPORT TO MAJOR GENERAL LIN FENNG!”
“Stratum observation station No. 1 emits an emergency signal! The wilderness fifteen kilometers north of the North City Gate... the Slaughter Abyss, which has remained fixed for a millennium... is suddenly moving toward the city at thirty kilometers per hour!”
“Not only that... Across the entire northern plain... tens of millions of ancient tombs underground are exploding simultaneously! The undead tide... THE UNDEAD ARMY OF THE ANCIENT CAPITAL HAS AWAKENED AHEAD OF SCHEDULE!”
BOOM!
That news detonated upon the viewing platform like a nuclear bomb!
The expressions of Grand General Xiao Zhen and all high-ranking generals instantly shifted completely. The elder aristocrats retreated in trembling steps, utter terror manifest on every single face.
The Underworld Ancient Emperor awakens! The Slaughter Abyss swallows the living!
The prophecy carved in dragon blood upon the animal-hide map within the Ancient Imperial Mausoleum... had come true sooner than anyone could have ever imagined!
Amidst the utter panic gripping the entire Ancient Capital, Lin Feng did not step back a single inch.
He slowly lowered the National Suppression Magic Sword, his gaze fixed straight upon the towering blood mist in the north. The purple-black lightning in his eyes burned fiercely, his Major General cloak snapping in the deadly wind.
He turned to Ye Qingwan and his entourage of officers, his calm, cold voice ringing out like a military command issued from eternity:
“Transmit my order!”
“All members of the National Rapid Response Squadron immediately enter Level 1 combat readiness!”
“Deploy... Advance straight to the North City Gate!”