On the spiritual peak, the atmosphere was warm and joyous.
For the most part, it was Dong Suzhu doing all the talking. Fourth Master Yang was a man of few words, but what he did share were amusing anecdotes from the Star Boundary over the years — like how an Elder from one Blessed Realm had gotten into a physical fight with an Elder from another Blessed Realm over the recruitment of a talented Disciple, only for a bystander to swoop in and reap the rewards.
Such things had happened before, of course, but back when Yang Kai was still around, the World Tree sapling's nourishing effects had only just begun to manifest — nothing like the terrifying extent they'd reached now.
Then there was the story of a locally born Disciple from the Star Boundary whose exceptional talent had allowed him to ascend to Great Emperor rank at a remarkably young age.
And then he mentioned a female Disciple from Lingxiao Palace whose beauty was so breathtaking that it had sent a whole group of senior and junior brothers into fits of jealousy.
Yang Kai listened quietly with a warm smile on his face.
The Lingxiao Domain was the last bastion of the Human Race. Feeling that long-lost warmth, Yang Kai suddenly found himself able to understand the feelings of those Ninth-Order Old Ancestors as they had gone to their deaths that day.
No matter what, this last sanctuary had to be protected — because it was the future hope of all humanity.
Warm moments were always fleeting, making them all the more precious.
Yang Kai did not stay long with his parents. After sharing a family meal, he left Yu Rumeng and the others to keep his mother and father company, then vanished in a flash.
He had much to attend to.
In the Council Hall of Lingxiao Palace, Yang Kai sat in the seat of honor, listening as Hua Qingsi laid out the current situation of the Star Boundary.
The Star Boundary was now, by all accounts, the most critical rear base for the Human Race. Thanks to the World Tree sapling, it had truly become a cradle for Open Heaven Realm cultivators. Every year, a large number of Open Heaven Realm practitioners were born within the Star Boundary, every single one among the most prodigiously talented.
Among them, directly advancing to the Fifth or Sixth Order was commonplace, and occasionally one or two would even jump straight to the Seventh Order. All of them were treasured as priceless assets by the various Blessed Realms.
As far back as a thousand years ago, the Blessed Realms had established their own training grounds within the Star Boundary, carving up territory among themselves. Over the years, the overall arrangement had remained stable — Lingxiao Palace at the forefront, with the other local forces and Blessed Realm outposts playing supporting roles — with no major changes.
Several decades ago, the Human Race had suffered a devastating defeat in the Kong Domain battlefield. Martial artists from every major domain had poured in en masse during a great migration, all converging on the Lingxiao Domain.
The situation at the time had been somewhat chaotic, given the sheer volume of people arriving in waves. Fortunately, the Blessed Realms had contingency plans in place, or the Star Boundary would have descended into complete bedlam.
The Star Boundary's reputation had long since spread far and wide. Every displaced martial artist dreamed of putting down roots there, but the Star Boundary was only so large — there was no way it could accommodate everyone.
In the end, the powerhouses of the various Blessed Realms stepped forward and permitted major factions to establish temporary residences on nearby floating islands within the Star Boundary, organized by domain.
If they couldn't get inside the Star Boundary itself, staying on the outskirts was the next best thing. At least there they could absorb some of the sapling's nourishing energy.
They also promised that among the migrating factions, any Disciple of truly outstanding talent could, upon passing an examination, freely choose to enter any Blessed Realm's training grounds to cultivate.
The examination was neither impossibly difficult nor trivially easy — only genuine prodigies stood a chance of passing.
Over the years, a number of people had successfully passed the examination and entered the various training grounds, though the numbers were not particularly large.
With these arrangements in place, the initial chaos had finally been brought under control.
Yang Kai's expression cleared with understanding. "No wonder there are so many floating island fragments around the Star Boundary. Those are all the temporary residences built jointly by the domain factions?"
He had noticed it when he'd returned — countless floating islands of all sizes dotted the space around the Star Boundary, covered in sprawling palace complexes clearly occupied by martial artists. He hadn't been sure what they were for at the time, but now, after hearing Hua Qingsi's explanation, it all made sense.
The Blessed Realms were feasting on the Star Boundary's resources, while the migrated factions could only settle for whatever scraps trickled down. There was nothing to be done about it — the training grounds had only so much territory, and far too many factions had migrated in. The Star Boundary simply wasn't big enough to go around.
Hua Qingsi nodded. "That's right." She paused, then added with a bitter smile: "If the environment in the Demon Realm weren't so unsuitable, they might actually prefer to go there instead."
The entire Lingxiao Domain didn't have many habitable and cultivatable World-type realms. Apart from the Star Boundary, there was only the Demon Realm — and the latter had been shattered long ago. It was Yang Kai who had used his Dharma Idol to activate the Heaven Devouring Battle Law and piece the broken Demon Realm back together.
In terms of cultivation environment, the Demon Realm naturally couldn't compare to the Star Boundary. Plus, with its dense demonic energy, it would be quite appealing to disciples of Myriad Demons Heaven, and martial artists who practiced demonic arts wouldn't mind it either. But for the majority of martial artists, the Demon Realm was no pleasant place.
"The numbers still don't add up, though," Yang Kai said, somewhat puzzled. "With all the migrated martial artists, how can there be this few?"
Hua Qingsi replied: "The ones staying at the outlying residences around the Star Boundary are the minority. Most of them have been settled in the New Great Domain — there are many fine World-type realms there, suitable in terms of both the Heavenly Dao's level and natural resources. It's well-suited for those factions to develop."
Yang Kai understood.
The New Great Domain — it was from there that he had found the Little Stone Clan. This great domain had been accidentally discovered over a thousand years ago and had never before appeared in the Human Race's awareness. The Void was vast, and undiscovered domains like this were not unheard of.