Spring passed and summer arrived. All of Yunqin Empire became blistering hot. However, in the northern extreme, within Heaven Ascension Mountain Range’s Green Luan Academy, it seemed to always be spring, not experiencing many changes at all.
Inside the training valley, Luo Houyuan[1] was still like usual, standing in the cave he normally resided in, looking at the flowing clouds in the sky and slowly making some movements.
Below the cave he was in, within the forest, there was a similar aged elder dressed in professor robes, his head covered in silvery wispy hair. He slowly walked over.
The elder’s hands were like white jade, what was also within his hands was a white jade scabbard sheathed longsword.
“Long time no see.” Luo Houyuan lowered his hands. He didn’t walk down the cliff, only calmly looking at this elder and saying this with a dull voice.
The entirely silver haired elder whose hands were as white as jade nodded towards the elder in respect. “Long time no see.”
Luo Houyuan said, “Who would have expected that you were still alive.”
The entirely silver haired elder said with a sigh, “The principal doesn’t like me, so it is meaningless even if I remain in the academy. I wandered the world, yet still haven’t died from old age.”
Luo Houyuan replied, “But you still came back.”
“Indeed. The principal hasn’t appeared for sixteen years, so I had to return and take a look.” The entirely silver haired elder sighed with emotions, hanging his head. Only a moment later did he slowly say, “I only came back to take a look… to see you. When some matters end, I will leave. I don’t have many years left to live. I don’t want to die… so the two of us dying together is also meaningless. That is why we might as well just wait for the results here.”
Luo Houyuan nodded. “In the past, among those seventeen individuals, you were the most arrogant one. Now that you’ve aged, who would have thought that your temperament would experience this type of change.”
“One’s nature will always change, but one’s views towards this world and faith are instead hard to change.” This entirely silver haired elder sat down with a bitter smile, sitting within a pile of dried leaves.
Luo Houyuan chuckled in self-mockery, also sitting down, looking towards the peaks of the mountain range to the side.
…
Within Green Luan Academy’s peaks, there was a peak to the east that was a bit lower than all the others.
There were no ziplines leading to that peak, only a single craggy mountain path.
On a tall peak adjacent to this one were palaces built on a cliff. The ziplines leading to the other peaks had also already been cut off.
Beneath this peak and that lowest peak within Green Luan Academy’s peaks was a wide valley.
Inside this valley were large amounts of trees, as well as many stone residences that those predecessors in the academy cultivated and resided in a long, long time ago. They were now long abandoned, serving as historical sites and references for those curious students.
More than twenty black robed Green Luan Academy lecturers and professors appeared in this valley, slowly and coldly walking towards that lowest peak.
Normally, every single Green Luan Academy lecturer and professor were like lone eagles, proud and untamed, icily arrogant. That was why even though there were those who didn’t know that this lowest peak was a restricted land in the academy, when one saw this many Green Luan Academy lecturers and professors gathered together, they would feel that the atmosphere was different.
A bit of transparent snow suddenly fluttered over from the warm forest.
This expanse of snow that seemed to have drifted over from extremely far away ignored a lot of the power that suddenly erupted, drifting over to the shoulder of a black robed professor, penetrating deep inside.
Then, all of the bones in this black robed professor’s body released an explosive noise at the same time. A bit of bloodiness erupted from this individual, and then his body quickly and strangely collapsed.
A Green Luan Academy black robed professor who was detached from the mundane world died just like that.
There was blood that splashed onto the face of a black robed lecturer next to him. However, this black robed lecturer and the other silent and cold lecturers and professors were the same, the expressions on their face not showing the slightest change.
In that instant, a silver scorpion that was only the size of a thumb slid out from his sleeves. As if it was diving into water, it easily made its way into the earth below.
At the same time, sounds of trees quickly snapping sounded next to a black robed lecturer. A demon faced spider that was even larger than a person appeared in front of this black robed lecturer’s body, starting to continuously spew outwards. Countless threads instantly spread out in the air, forming webs one after another.
At the same time, there were many visible and invisible weapons that descended upon these trees. Some of them were transparent flying blades, flickering with all types of brilliance, while some of them were crossbow arrows, all of them tearing at this extremely strong web like moths.
A streak of bright sword radiance that carried a bit of a berserk aura flew out ferociously from the forest.
At the same time, pitch-black darkness quickly enveloped this already chaotic forest.
All types of strange noises sounded from within the darkness shrouded forest. Under the sapphire blue Green Luan Academy skies, they seemed indescribably bitter and miserable.
The sounds didn’t stop even after a long time had passed.
A black robed professor with dishevelled hair, his appearance extremely beaten, a bit of blood flowing from the corners of his lips, was the first to walk out from the edge of the darkness.
A flying sword flew out from the darkness. With a chi sound, it fell to his side, nailing itself diagonally into the ground. However, this scattered black long haired black robed lecturer didn’t look at this flying sword at his side, instead raising his head to look at the sky.
In the dark blue gemstone-like skies, there were some white clouds, as well as a crane that flew past.
This crane wasn’t a living crane, but rather a wooden crane that could carry many people, its surface carved with runes that were currently shining.
“Turns out Natural Arts Department’s Divine Wood Flying Cranes had already been truly completed.”
The scattered haired black robed professor revealed a weary smile. While looking at the profound wooden crane that flew towards the lowest peak, he released a heartfelt sigh of praise.
…
There was a small courtyard on the shortest peak that seemed to be made from joining four small courtyards, hidden within clean and neat ginkgo trees.
In the past, Tangcang’s most powerful spy Nangong Mo who was dressed in academy robes with silver stars embroidered on his collar and sleeves set off a fire in Green Luan Academy precisely for the sake of entering this four part courtyard.
Right now, Vice Principal Xia, Gu Xinyin and Xiao Mingxuan[2] were all inside this four part small courtyard.
There were also Bian Linghan, Jiang Xiaoyi, Meng Bai, Li Kaiyun, Qin Xiyue and others who were also in this small courtyard. They were all gathered within a room, inwardly alarmed, confused as to what was currently happening today in the academy.
The wooden crane whose entire body flickered with radiance landed in the ginkgo trees. An elder who was just as aged as Vice Principal Xia, his eyelids already completely drooping entered this small courtyard with Xu Shengmo and three other black robed instructors.
The stooped elder was already extremely aged, but the aura his body gave off was instead as powerful as a sea. Just from his slow breathing, the mist above this entire small courtyard would be affected, continuously undulating.
He looked at this ordinary small courtyard with an indifferent gaze, his eyes landing on the bodies of Bian Linghan and the others, and then on Vice Principal Xia, releasing a light sigh. “Old Xia, could it be that this group of students is truly worth you attaching this much importance?”
Vice Principal Xia’s eyes passed through half the courtyard, calmly landing on this stooped elder’s body, slowly saying, “This is a new generation, an opportune time. What accomplishments can a single person have? It isn’t just related to his ability alone, it also depends on whether he is in an age without any changes or right at the brunt of the storm. Our Green Luan Academy has produced many outstanding students every generation, just like Changsun Wujiang’s age. Changsun Wujiang[3] was also someone who I believed could change many things, yet he died in Jadefall City. These youngsters here don’t seem like much right now, but in my eyes, they are the academy and empire’s future hope.”
“I have never believed in the so-called opportunity and destiny.”
The stooped elder said coldly, “I never believed that that person is precisely the so-called fate, a so-called age. I only know that Changsun Wujiang still died.”
Vice Principal Xia shook his head. “The emperor does not understand, believing that we didn’t make any considerations for him. However, you should understand that I already sent out the most important people in our eyes to personally escort him, I already had a ‘Divine General’ personally escort him! I already placed our fate and his fate together. The reason why Lin Xi could live is only because there was Jiang Yu’er, there was this first year new student who wasn’t worth anything in your eyes.”
“You do not believe in opportunities, but in this type of age, this type of person just happening to appear in our Green Luan Academy, this is precisely our Green Luan Academy’s opportunity.” Vice Principal Xia smiled, slowly adding, “Within this group of students, there is a Windstalker that hasn’t appeared in a long time, someone who can control heaven and earth vital energy, someone who is extremely careful, someone who is devoted and passionate… all of this is the will of heaven, arising at an opportune time, and not a coincidence.”
“This type of person shouldn’t exist in this world.”
The stooped elder’s eyelids jumped, saying with a sunken voice, “Perhaps everyone else in the world might feel that the so-called Divine General talent is merely like flowers in a mirror, moon reflected in the lake, but both you and I have followed Principal Zhang in guarding Meteor Lake, so I understand Principal Zhang’s terror clearly. I also understand that some of Principal Zhang’s ways of thinking are terrifying. Principal Zhang’s existence in Green Luan Academy already made imperial power no longer seem like imperial power…”
“So you must take action.” Vice Principal cut off this stooped elder’s words. “In such a rush to take action.”
“You’ve hidden it well, but in the end, Lin Xi still only has State Knight level cultivation. Even if he can kill an opponent like Xu Qiubai, he still relied on fiend beasts, and it was all because Xu Qiubai was an archery master, a State Master who doesn’t know how to fight in close quarters. He might not even stand a chance before a State Master who is truly proficient at close quarters combat. In this world, he is still extremely weak, still easily killed. However, if he reaches Sacred level, there will be very few people who can kill him in this world. If we want to kill him then, who knows how difficult it will be. That is why what you said is correct, and you’ve also predicted correctly. The faster I make my move, the better it will naturally be. It is because the faster I make my move, the weaker he will be.” The stooped elder looked at Vice Principal Xia and said with a bit of mockery, “Only, you were always worried that we would act against you. This small courtyard doesn’t have anything, so what can you use to stop us?”
Vice Principal Xia gave him a look and released a sigh. “The reason why Nangong Mo could hide here for this long and furthermore even reach this place, it is most likely because of your arrangements as well.”
The stooped elder chuckled, not saying anything.
“Regardless, this is only an academy affair, so why do you involve outsiders? Why must so much blood flow?” Vice Principal Xia looked at this elder who seemed to believe victory was already in his grasp, shaking his head and saying, “Moreover, in this small courtyard, it isn’t truly like what you thought, having absolutely nothing.”
1. Elder who passed on Glorious King Destroys Restraints to Lin Xi
2. Xiao Mingxuan is the main brain of Green Luan Academy’s information network which is known as Milky Way, located in Ailao Peak.
3. The crown prince, also known as Chen Mu
