Volume One, Chapter 147: The End.

"What is the meaning of this? Are you trying to stop us from capturing this black dragon?" Dong Changeng demanded.

Jiang Chen nodded. "That's right."

Dong Changeng looked around, seeing no one else. "You alone intend to stand against our entire group?"

Jiang Chen: "Exactly."

Dong Changeng: "I think you’ve truly lost your mind, kid."

Jiang Chen: "Indeed."

At that moment, Master Kongshan of the Shaolin Temple stepped forward. "Let my disciple, Zhiqing, test his mettle."

Beside him, the monk Zhiqing was young, likely around the same age as Jiang Chen.

Master Zhiqing. Jiang Chen smiled. He remembered that during a past Shaolin exchange, this very master had hosted him. Seeing him at such a young age felt truly surreal.

*But Master Zhiqing, I’m afraid I’ll have to go easy on you.*

Jiang Chen’s strength had already surpassed Zhiqing’s back when they first met, and that was long before all the time that had passed since. The thought of raising a hand against him made him hesitate. Yet, this was not the time for sentiment. He did not belong to this era; while he could hold respect for the timeline, he had to set that aside for now.

"Master Zhiqing, please enlighten me." Jiang Chen bowed.

Zhiqing was puzzled. "You know me?"

"I do, but you certainly don't know me," Jiang Chen admitted.

Zhiqing loosened his wrists. "Forgive me, but I must follow my master’s orders. Even if you know me, I cannot hold back."

Jiang Chen did not waste words. "Please."

Zhiqing lunged forward with a stomp. Jiang Chen simply flicked his hand, and a powerful surge of energy erupted. Zhiqing’s footing faltered, and the shockwave sent him reeling backward.

"Impossible. This person’s strength is immense," Zhiqing gasped. It wasn’t just a guess; the ability he had just witnessed was absurdly powerful. He considered himself no weakling, yet against this young man, he was utterly outmatched. Zhiqing had already reached the Vajra Realm, a level where he usually ignored common rabble, but he could clearly sense that he was no match for this man.

*Powerful. Extremely powerful.*

Dong Changeng asked suspiciously, "Who exactly are you? Are you a spy sent from abroad?"

Jiang Chen wondered how he had ended up with such a label. "Ahem, you’re overthinking it. I have no ulterior motives. I simply must take this black dragon. I can guarantee that if it ever does any harm, I will be the one to deal with it. You don't need to worry."

Dong Changeng shook his head. "I'm sorry, we cannot take your word for it. If you want to take it, you’ll have to go through me."

Jiang Chen sighed. He had hoped to avoid a fight, but he had no choice. Just as Dong Changeng raised his hand, Jiang Chen appeared right before him.

*Too fast!*

As Dong Changeng felt a finger pressed against his throat, everyone around them froze.

"Master Dong, can you let us go now?" Jiang Chen asked.

Dong Changeng realized the truth: they stood no chance against this man. His strength was terrifying, perhaps even greater than that of their own Grandmaster. With no other choice, Dong Changeng conceded: "You may leave, but you must take responsibility if any trouble arises. If that happens, I will rally every master of the righteous path to hunt you down!"

Jiang Chen looked at him seriously. "Very well. Farewell, everyone."

In the face of absolute power, all rhetoric was merely an illusion. After Dong Changeng and his group departed, Jiang Chen felt a strange sensation in his body, but he didn't dwell on it. However, when he stepped inside the room, Li Changsheng began to dissipate, starting from his feet.

Chen Xingchen cried out, "Brother Jiang Chen, come quickly! What is happening to him?"

Realizing something was wrong, Li Changsheng said, "I feel as if I am slipping away from this world."

In an instant, Jiang Chen understood. They weren't dissipating; they were returning to their original world. While it was a relief, he felt a pang of sadness at having to leave Chen Xingchen so soon after meeting her. History suggested that it was he who had brought her into the world of cultivation, sparking her journey.

Jiang Chen felt his own form beginning to fade as well. "Chen Xingchen, we are returning to our own world. Live well here. Do what you want to do, and don't be constrained by the expectations of others."

"You are a beautiful and brave girl—most importantly, brave. That is not to say you aren't beautiful, but your courage is your defining quality. You will become incredibly powerful in the future. There is too much I cannot say, but you will understand in time. Remember: my name is Jiang Chen, and his is Li Changsheng. We will meet again."

With those final words, Jiang Chen vanished completely. Only Chen Xingchen and the black dragon remained.

...

In a daze, Jiang Chen opened his eyes. Li Changsheng looked at him; they were still on the high-speed train, and everything was exactly as it had been. Liuli was still sleeping, Shen Huaizhu was watching him, and Ye Zhi was dozing off while clutching her arm.

Everything seemed perfectly normal, yet Jiang Chen knew deep down that what had happened was real. He couldn't explain the cause, but he was certain the experience was not a dream. Li Changsheng sat there, breathing heavily, clearly trying to process the same realization. The spiritual energy Jiang Chen had expended was truly gone from his body—it was real.

A bold hypothesis struck him: perhaps the train had intersected with a time tunnel, sending them back to the era of the ancestor Chen Xingchen, specifically to set her on her path. If so, it all made perfect sense.

"Whew, what a dream—unfinished, yet forced to an end."

...

Watching the two disappear, Chen Xingchen turned to the black dragon. "I’ll take you somewhere."

In the years that followed, Chen Xingchen searched for them. She abandoned her studies and turned to cultivation, hoping to see them again. But she soon discovered that the world was far more complex than she imagined. Its true face was slowly revealed to her. She searched every mountain and every noble family, but they were nowhere to be found.

*Perhaps... they never belonged to this world at all.*

Together with other powerful peers, she founded the 509 Institute to maintain order in the Great Xia. Though she longed to find Jiang Chen, duty kept her bound. Fifty years passed, and she finally retired.

The young girl had become an old woman, her face lined with wrinkles, but her kindness and courage remained unchanged. Three years into her seclusion, a mysterious visitor arrived at her quiet courtyard outside of Kyoto.

As if sensing the presence, Chen Xingchen walked out to greet him.

"It’s been over a decade. Starting your retirement?" the man asked with a smile.

Chen Xingchen poured tea. "I’m old. Even though I reached the Land Immortal Realm like you, I am still human and have a limited lifespan. You are different; you can keep ascending. Perhaps you will succeed."

"Jiang Chen... he has been found."

Chen Xingchen sat up abruptly. "Found?! Where is he? Did you ask why he was hiding from me?"

"Is he a true immortal now?"

The black dragon couldn't answer her barrage of questions. He just shook his head. "I can only say this: when you see him, you will know."

Chen Xingchen made a call. "Hello? Please make arrangements for me."

That day, the Jiang family in Kyoto welcomed an old woman. No one knew her true identity, but the noble families of Kyoto warned their children not to provoke the Jiang family. Inside the house, everyone was cleared out, leaving only an infant in a cradle.

"So... this is who you are," Chen Xingchen said with a bittersweet smile. She pinched the baby’s cheek as he stared at her.

The black dragon stood by. "We searched for so many years and couldn't find him because he hadn't been born yet."

Chen Xingchen looked at the infant Jiang Chen with affection. "I thought he had hidden from me on purpose, but he had no choice. He was the one who set me on this path. Now that he is a baby, it is truly fascinating."

The black dragon knew that finding Jiang Chen had been the goal of the old woman’s entire life. "Brother Black Dragon, did Jiang Chen reach the Land Immortal Realm back then?" she asked.

The black dragon replied: "His strength was unfathomable. He was likely beyond the Land Immortal Realm, but the world wouldn't allow such power, so he was capped. If the world could break through those limits, his power would be far greater."

"Time and space are truly wondrous things. What has happened will happen again. I have come at the right time." Chen Xingchen placed her hand on the infant’s forehead, and a vast surge of energy flowed into him.

"You... well, never mind. Is it too early to give him such power?" the black dragon fretted.

Chen Xingchen shook her head. "It is not too early. My time is running out, and I won't have this strength for much longer. Let him have it; it will give him a head start."

The black dragon took her back to her courtyard. "Go back, Brother Black Dragon. I suspect she will come looking for me after that event occurs," she said.

"Take care of yourself," the black dragon replied. "By the way, if you see him, tell him where I live so he can find me."

"I don't think I will have any reason to look for you anymore," she said. "Keep this to yourself. Wait for Jiang Chen to board that train and meet me, then you can go find him."

...

The high-speed train stopped at the foot of Mount Longhu. As Jiang Chen and the others stepped off, the girls felt something was off, but couldn't put their fingers on it. Jiang Chen and Li Changsheng remained silent until they reached the base of the stairs.

In a trance, they saw a figure.

Jiang Chen narrowed his eyes. "Changsheng, does that figure look familiar to you?"

The black dragon looked at them and waved.

Li Changsheng gasped. "My goodness, it really is him! Black Dragon, how are you here? Am I dreaming?"

After returning from the 50s, Li Changsheng had felt caught between reality and a dream, but seeing the black dragon—now fully transformed—shattered that sense of unreality.

The black dragon looked at them like an old friend. For Jiang Chen and Li Changsheng, it had been two hours; for the black dragon, it had been seventy years. He had spent seven decades thinking he would never see these two saviors again.

Jiang Chen didn't say a word; he just hugged him. "You’ve worked hard."

"It was nothing," the black dragon replied. "I live a long time. But someone else worked much harder. She waited for you for many years, but because she was mortal, she gave up on further cultivation."

He was speaking of Chen Xingchen. She had been in her twenties in the 50s; she had long since retired, and perhaps, by now, she was no longer of this world.

"By the way, she left a letter for you," the black dragon said, handing Jiang Chen an envelope.

*Dear Jiang Chen: I never managed to wait for you both on this timeline, but that is alright. By the time you read this, I will have long since departed.*

*Haha, I don't know how you are doing, but I suspect your character remains as good as ever.*

*Now that you are back, don't forget me. I am your friend.*

*The Black Dragon has reached that realm, but unless it is an emergency, do not let him fight, or he will suffer a backlash.*

*I’ll say no more. Be well. We shall meet again if fate allows.*

...

The End.