It was said that several days ago, they had shown their vast strength in a restaurant. Now, even people as highly regarded as Ye Futian were beginning to worry.
The Holy Land of Taichu was too strong. They had come from the Divine Prefecture like a dragon crossing a river.
If the two forces got into a fight, given the strength of the Heavenly Mandate Academy’s current alliance, even the Holy Land of Taichu would not have a chance. But they did not want to destroy the Heavenly Mandate Academy; they just wanted to enter it and become its masters or replace it.
In this situation, it was impossible for the Heavenly Mandate Academy to unite with all their allies to surround and repress them. This was a struggle between the teaching Holy Lands of the Divine Prefecture and the Heavenly Mandate Realm.
Once the Heavenly Mandate Academy came under pressure, then even if they could keep teaching, it would still be a great shock to them.
After all, the Holy Land of Taichu wanted to teach here as well. And this was not short term; they would be here for a long time. Gradually, they would naturally replace the Heavenly Mandate Academy.
Thus, the people Heavenly Mandate City paid close attention to this struggle. At dawn, cultivators from all over would gather together outside the academy like a sea of people.
Everyone was looking at the character inscribed at the top of the academy. The light off of the Great Path covered an endless area, and everyone could feel a marvelous will. They all remembered the character that Lord Taixuan had once inscribed when the academy had been founded.
Ever since the founding of the academy, it had withstood many storms.
But they didn’t know if it would make it through this one.
At that moment, Ye Futian and Hua Jieyu were with Hua Fengliu within the academy. Nianyu was there as well, enjoying the peaceful quiet. After the crisis ended, Ye Futian had taken them back from the Dou tribe.
“Will there be any trouble today?” Although they were in the center of the Heavenly Mandate Academy, cultivators had excellent hearing, and Hua Fengliu could faintly hear the voices outside in the distance. People would occasionally go flying by through the air outside, coming towards the academy. But they did not dare fly directly above the academy but instead descended outside.
“Only a little trouble; otherwise, how could I be your apprentice?” Ye Futian asked Hua Fengliu.
“Mmm,” said Hua Fengliu with a nod. He was used to Ye Futian’s boasting ability. After all, he was his apprentice, and thus the ability came from him.
“I know that Donghuang the Great was very far away from Qingzhou City, but I did not know he was quite this far. Now that you have finally come into contact with the Divine Prefecture, these top forces that come from there will put some pressure on you,” said Hua Fengliu. He was not totally sure about Ye Futian’s identity, but he knew that he was related to Emperor Ye Qing.
Thus, in his view, even those forces that came from the Divine Prefecture could not block his path.
Ye Futian shrugged and said, “You don’t need to worry about any of these things. I will take care of them.”
“Alright.” Hua Fengliu aid no more on the subject. He waved his hand and said, “You and Jieyu can go. Nianyu, stay here.”
“Okay,” said Ye Futian with a nod. He took Hua Jieyu’s hand and left. Nianyu wanted to follow them, but she looked at Hua Fengliu’s expression and just sat there pouting.
Hua Fengliu watched them leave and sighed quietly. Although he looked carefree and unconcerned, how could he not be worried?
After coming here, he had experienced a life and death crisis. The last time that Ye Futian had asked them to leave, he had been worried the whole time. He hoped that what had happened at the Holy Zhi Palace in the past would not happen here at the Heavenly Mandate Academy. Someone of his age could not withstand a shock like that.
…
At that time, there were many people gathered together at the Heavenly Mandate Academy. When Ye Futian arrived, all eyes fell upon him. They were all speechless. The man was actually unperturbed.
“Ah, you’re all here,” said Ye Futian with a smile, looking at everyone. All the people of his generation from each force was there. Dou Zhao, Xiao Muyu, even Nan Luoshen, and others were all present. Nan Luoshen looked at Ye Futian in surprise. Ye Futian was still enjoying the tranquility at a time like this? Was he really so confident?
“Brother, I can’t wait anymore. Why haven’t the people from the Holy Land of Taichu shown up yet?” Dou Zhao seemed eager, wishing to fight as soon as possible.
He was itching for a fight. There were few worthy opponents at the Heavenly Mandate Academy.
Ye Futian smiled at him and said, “Don’t worry about it. Have you forgotten about the battle with Di Wu of the Solar Divine Palace? The Holy Land of Taichu is from the Divine Prefecture, and their core members will likely be no weaker than him. Even when fighting people of your generation, your victory will not be assured. Moreover, we don’t know for sure what tricks they will try.”
“No matter what, don’t try to hold me back this time, brother.” Dou Zhao seemed to hold a grudge about the fact that there had been no battle last time.
“If there is someone suitable for you to fight, you will have the chance,” said Ye Futian. He looked off into the distance. It all depended on what the Holy Land of Taichu did.
However, he knew that they had the advantage in a struggle between powers.
The group around him all had perfect Divine Wheels. They were the preeminent figures from many major realms.
If they could not suppress their opponents, then any other realm would not have a chance.
“Do you remember the Ancestral Land of the Divine Palace?” came a voice. Someone was speaking to Ye Futian.
Ye Futian looked and saw that the speaker was someone he was familiar with. It was Huang Zhong of the Shangxiao Divine Palace. He had come as well.
The Heavenly Mandate Academy and the Shangxiao Divine Palace were allies now. It was only natural that their cultivators would be here.
“Of course I remember,” said Ye Futian with a nod. It had left a deep impression on him.
“The Palace Lord said, there are many wonderful mysteries and divine objects in the world of cultivation. Some of the top forces of the Higher Heavens have rare cultivation resources, making them stronger than the Divine Palace,” said Huang Zhong to Ye Futian. “Thus, we should never take our enemies lightly.”
Huang Zhong was normally very proud, but now, facing the Holy Land of Taichu he seemed to be a bit more calculating. Although he was proud, he knew not to underestimate his opponent.
Back then, at the Shangxiao Divine Palace, he had been the only one to enter the Ancestral Land at that time. Thus, he had the right to be proud.
But this situation was different. There were many people at the Holy Land of Taichu who were his equal. Thus, he had no right to be arrogant in these circumstances.
Ye Futian understood what he meant. There were incredible treasures in the Ancestral Land of the Divine Palace, which could let the cultivator who got them to forge a perfect Divine Wheel.
Would the top forces of the Divine Prefecture not have something similar?
They knew that the 3,000 Realms of the Great Path were now called the Void Realm by the Divine Prefecture. Before the path had been opened, they had been shut off from each other. Over countless years, most of the land’s cultivation resources had been used up.
Ye Futian nodded slightly. A Holy Land of the Divine Prefecture could also train cultivators with perfect Divine Wheels.
At that moment, the winds and clouds changed up in the sky. Brilliant sword light descended from the sky, and the clouds opened up as they were cut by a sword. Then, a group of mighty figures descended, standing in the air above the Heavenly Mandate Academy like a group of gods. They looked down upon the academy.
“They’re here.” The people outside the academy looked up at the cultivators in the sky. At that moment, a group of figures walked out of the academy.
“Let’s go,” said Ye Futian as he and the others stepped up into the air. Soon, they had reached the edge of the academy and were standing atop an ancient temple, looking at the figures in the air before them.
On the other side, the cultivators of Song Imperial Palace had arrived as well and were standing there calmly.
In addition, there were the cultivators of several powerful forces within the crowd. All of them were from the Divine Prefecture. The one who had told Ye Futian that if he needed help, he could seek out his elder was there as well.
In the middle of the crowd of people from Song Imperial Palace, an old man looked up at the cultivators from the Holy Land of Taichu, his gaze falling upon a youth with his hair tied back with a headband. He was suffused with sharp will. As he stood there, he gave off the sense that he was both mighty and overbearing.
“That must be Mu Qingke of the Taichu Sparring Grounds, known as the most powerful contender in the next generation of swordsmen. He has great potential,” said the elder.
The foremost skill that the Taichu Sparring Ground’s taught was swordsmanship. Thus, this Mu Qingke was the leader of his generation.
Beside the elder, the Princess of Song Imperial Palace nodded slightly. They wondered if Mu QIngke would have a chance to show off now.
The great figures of the Divine Palace stood within the Heavenly Mandate Academy, looking at the cultivators in the distance. One of them said, “People are gathering like clouds here in Heavenly Mandate City. There are many forces from the Divine Prefecture here.”
“How large is the gap between the Divine Prefecture and us?” asked Lord Taixuan.
“My Lord, our world has the 3,000 Realms of the Great Path. But in all three thousand realms, how much space does the place of human cultivation occupy?” asked the great figure from the Divine Palace.
“In the 3,000 Realms of the Great Path, every realm is independent of one another, separated by an endless distance. This distance far exceeds the realms themselves, as there is boundless space added to it. The place where humans are active is just a drop in the ocean,” said Lord Taixuan.
“Mmm,” said the great figure from the Divine Palace with a nod. “It is said that many years ago, the Heavenly Path collapsed, creating this situation. But the Palace Lord said that the Divine Prefecture is like an endless continent, not like one of our three thousand realms. The one realm is like a whole world connected together. It is so vast and has countless cultivators. Can you imagine it?”
Lord Taixuan was shocked when he heard this. Although he had reached such a high level, 300 years ago, he had lacked some formative experiences, and thus had never left his realm.
Moreover, for countless years amazing cultivators have taught in the Divine Prefecture from generation to generation. Where we are now is the original land, but in the eyes of the Divine Prefecture, it is just a forbidden land. There is no comparison,” continued the man.
The people of the top forces of the Void Realm could perhaps compete with the great figures of the Outer Realms individually, but all together, the difference in power was far too great. There was no way to make up for their lack. This was just the Void Realm.
Because of this, many ancient, powerful forces had risen in the land of the Divine Prefecture, and all of them had terrifying histories!
