AGM 171 – Confrontation in the Royal Capital
Lincoln was none other than the Disciplinary Student Leader in charge of the Disciplinary Committee of the Royal Academy. Currently, he and ten others belonging to the committee were strolling around the Royal Capital. However, his heart now was filled with worries.
He was naturally very clear about this period of turmoil within the Royal Capital. His action back then, crippling the cultivation of students from the Emperor Star Academy, was forced onto him by the upper echelons in the Royal Academy. In reality, he had not wanted to do so and was unwilling to be pulled into the storm. However, in the face of the orders he received, he had no way defy them.
Hence, at this moment, his heart was filled with worries. He was worried about the revenge the Emperor Star Academy would take. He had already planned to request a transfer from his superiors to see if it was possible for him to temporarily hide away from the erupting storms of conflict.
Sssst~ Abruptly, a surge of monstrously sharp Qi gushed forth, causing Lincoln’s pupils to contract. After which he saw numerous arrows falling down from the sky, shining with resplendent Astral Light, giving testament to the fact that these arrows were all manifested from Astral Energy.
Lincoln instantly released his Astral Souls as the aura of an 8th level Arterial Circulation Base emanated forth. He sent out numerous palm strikes targeting the arrows falling from the skies, wanting to destroy all of the arrows. However, it was as though the arrows had eyes of their own. They actually shifted from the path of their trajectory, dodging his palm strikes and piercing through the other ordinary members of the Royal Academy’s Disciplinary Committee.
Sounds of piercing unceasingly rang out. The fired arrows penetrated through their throats, drawing fresh blood as Lincoln’s emotions instantly plunged to the bottom of the abyss.
He had not expected that revenge would come so swiftly.
An instant later, a sharp sword sliced Lincoln’s neck. His body slumped down to the ground, as his eyes closed in eternal rest. This team of cultivators from the Royal Academy were all dead, and the blood flowing from their throats dyed the entire ground red.
Several moments later, when the citizens realised the death of these cultivators clad in armor, their hearts couldn’t help but to palpitate wildly. Was the incoming storm finally here?
Ji Qing was one of the Elders in charge of the Disciplinary Committee from the Royal Academy. His cultivation base was at the 3rd level of Yuanfu, and he had extraordinary combat prowess. At this moment, his brows were tightly knitted.
Currently, the entire Royal Academy was in a state of tension. Everyone knew that their war with the Emperor Star Academy was imminent and would break out anytime. Not only that, this dispute would be at an unprecedented level because the upper echelons of the Royal Academy wanted to completely eradicate the Emperor Star Academy’s existence.
“Elder Ji.” A student within the academy bowed as Ji Qing walked by, to which Ji Qing only casually waved away since he was currently deep in thought.
“Elder Ji.” Yet another student greeted.
“Mmm.” Ji Qing nonchalantly waved the greeting away. As he continued walking forwards, at this very moment, a strong sense of danger assailed his senses.
The ‘student’ who bowed to him instantly closed the distance between them. And because of the close proximity, as well as the fact that Ji Qing never would have expected that there would people daring to ambush him within the grounds of the Royal Academy, Ji Qing was utterly unable to react in time.
His body glowed with terrifying Astral Light as an armour made from Astral Energy manifested. He only had the time to focus all his strength in defense.
Puchi! A sharp edge of a terrifying black sword penetrated through his armor, right into his heart. After which, the assailant violently twisted the sword and transmitted his Astral Energy into it, causing Ji Qing’s heart to combust. Dumbfounded, Ji Qing could only stare in shock at the cold and unfeeling eyes of his assailant, similar to the god of death.
Even if Ji Qing couldn’t react in time, with his cultivation base at the 3rd level of Yuanfu, in addition to his extraordinary combat prowess, there was no way he would be so easily assassinated. To be able to do this clearly showed that there was only one reason – the strength of his assailant was many times stronger when compared to his own.
The commotion caused those from afar to shift their gazes over, only to see the body of Ji Qing slowly slumping to the ground. Upon seeing this, the hearts of the crowd trembled violently, as panic reflected on their faces. By this time, the unknown figure that was the assailant had already disappeared from the vision of the crowd.
“Elder Ji Qing was assassinated.” A roar rang out, causing the originally already nervous atmosphere to be ignited again. An instant later, several silhouettes appeared next to the body of Ji Qing.
“Lock down the Royal Academy!” someone shouted out in rage.
“It’s useless. Since the other party could easily infiltrate in here and kill Ji Qing in an instant, he would definitely have a way to safely escape,” a person whispered, causing the crowd to turn silent.
Ji Qing was none other than the Disciplinary Elder who crippled the cultivation bases of the students from the Emperor Star Academy. It was obvious as to who the culprit was behind the assassination of Ji Qing.
The Emperor Star Academy didn’t roll out their war drums and hoist their war flags; instead, they directly responded with the most straightforward method. If the Royal Academy wanted to continue playing their little tricks in the dark, the Emperor Star Academy would be most willing to oblige.
Tooth for tooth, blood for blood.
As the news of Lincoln and Ji Qing was spread outwards, that already tight string of tension could snap at any moment.
Finally, on a clear morning, several experts mounted demonic beasts as they flew out from the Royal Academy. Beneath them, there were also crowds of cultivators, all moving towards the direction of the Emperor Star Academy.
The Emperor Star Academy received the news quickly. They were naturally monitoring the movements and action of the Royal Academy extremely closely.
The moment they received the news, those belonging to the Emperor Star Academy also set out.
At the same time, many experts belonging to the Ye Clan and Ou Clan were also making their way towards the Emperor Star Academy.
The intensity of this storm quickly engulfed the Royal Capital. Currently, there were countless gazes watching the Emperor Star Academy as well as the Royal Academy, focused on each and every one of their movements.
Today, both the academies no longer made any movements in the dark. Instead, they openly mobilised all experts they could muster.
Such a news could definitely be compared to the scale of a great earthquake, causing the entire Royal Academy to shake with it.
The Emperor Star Academy wanted to clash directly with the Royal Capital, but everyone also knew that the support behind the Royal Academy was none other than the Royal Clan of Chu.
In the Divine Weapon Pavilion, An Liuyan stood near a window, sighing. Yang Chen stood behind her telling her about the movements of both the academies.
“The crisis the Emperor Star Academy is facing this time around will be many times more difficult to resolve compared to the last.” An Liuyan intoned in a low voice.
“Doesn’t the Emperor Star Academy also have a backer?” Yang Chen inquired.
“I guess the Azure Emperor Palace. But according to what I know, the influence of the Azure Faction, who supports the Emperor Star Academy, within the Azure Emperor Palace is getting increasingly weaker. Back then when Luo Tianya wanted to take action against the Emperor Star Academy, it was also because of the Xiao Clan – one of the three factions of the Nine Mystical Palace. But because of the interference from the Azure Emperor Palace, they had no choice but to compromise. This time around, however, taking into account that Xiao Lan had personally arrived in Chu, it shows that the Nine Mystical Palace already accounted for the interference of the Azure Emperor Palace in their considerations.”
An Liuyan slowly spoke, but Yang Chen was still confused. After all, he only interacted with people of An Liuyan’s level and was unsure of how powerful places like the Nine Mystical Palace and Azure Emperor Palace were. However, he faintly knew that with her capabilities,An Liuyan was no pushover either.
Other than the Divine Weapon Pavilion, the Star River Association as well as the other major powers were all paying close attention.
Within the Royal Capital, on a vast expanse of flat ground, the members belonging to the Emperor Star Academy and Royal Academy all ceased their movements. They were about a few thousand metres apart from each other, each emitting terrifying pressure and their battle intents trying to cow the other.
In the airspace above both academies, flying-type demonic beasts and Yuanfu-level experts hovered in the air. There was a total of over a hundred Yuanfu cultivators altogether, and this was also the first time they would be directly clashing. From this, one could see how strong the two powers were.
Back then when Qin Wentian was still in Sky Harmony City, it was extremely rare to even see a single Yuanfu-level Cultivator.
On the ground, students at the Arterial Circulation realm stood there. Their countenances were solemn and their gazes were heavy as they stood in formation.
The Emperor Star Academy didn’t force their students to participate in this upcoming war. However, cultivators of the martial paths all had hearts full of hot blood. How could they stand aside and watch idly, adopting the behaviour of a coward when the academy was going to war? As long as they were at the 3rd level of Arterial Circulation and above, the majority of the students chose to participate, despite the prohibitions laid down by the Emperor Star Academy.
At this moment, both party had several hundreds of Arterial Circulation Cultivators, akin to a small-scaled army.
Both parties stood there, silent. The atmosphere was so stifling that it felt even harder for the spectating parties to breathe than for those who were present.
For the operation this time around, the leader representing the Emperor Star Academy was Ren Qianxing. Although in the past he rarely appeared in front of the crowds, almost everyone knew who he was at this point. Ren Qianxing’s real designation was one of the three vice-headmasters of the Emperor Star Academy.
The strength level of the leaders representing the Royal Academy couldn’t be compared to Ren Qianxing. However, their statuses were all extremely shocking. They were Xiao Lan from the Nine Mystical Palace, the 3rd Prince of Chu, Chu Tianjiao, as well as the Crown Prince of Snowcloud, Xiao Lǜ.
The three of them stood atop an incredibly powerful demonic beast, gazing downwards with arrogance in the direction of the Emperor Star Academy. Beside them, there were also several powerful figures belonging to the Royal Academy.
The Emperor Star Academy and the Royal Academy were all sizing up each other. Qin Wentian was also there. He stood at the forefront of a square-shape formation on the side of the Emperor Star Academy.
Within the square-shaped formation, the people there consisted of Qin Wentian, Luo Huan, Fan Le, Luo Cheng, Yu Fei and the other elites. They were going to be the vanguards of the academy, and if war really did erupt, they had to strike fast and hard, directly crushing their opponent’s morale.
There was a need to formulate a strategy even in chaotic fights.
A cold glint of light flickered in his eyes as Qin Wentian saw the formations of the Royal Academy. Within one of their formations, he saw Orchon as well as members from the Knight’s Association standing within. They were all nurtured by the Emperor Star Academy, but now, they actually stood on the side of the Royal Academy, wanting to take action against the place that nurtured them.
“I can give the Emperor Star Academy one more chance. If you all are willing to merge with my Royal Academy, the terms will still be the same as what I listed out before.” Chu Tianjiao’s eyes stared at Ren Qianxing with a hint of provocation as he calmly spoke.
Ren Qianxing’s only response was to stare coldly back at him.
Chu Tianjiao gave a cold laugh, as he stared at the students of the Emperor Star Academy below. “If you all leave now, I will leave you untouched. Wanting to clash against us based on your level of strength? That’s not a wise decision.”
As the sound of Chu Tianjiao’s voice faded, sounds of war horses galloping could be heard in the horizon. These new arrivals were none other than those from the Ye and Ou Clan. They were willing to stand on the side of the Royal Academy to do battle.
In terms of numbers, the Royal Academy held absolute advantage.
Everyone was motionless but there were some students of the Emperor Star Academy whose hearts had already started to waver. This didn’t meant that they wanted to forsake the battle, but their initial confidence of winning was definitely already shaken. Originally, after the merger of the Royal Academy and the Godly General Martial Palace, they already had an advantage in terms of numbers, not to mention now that the joint power mustered by the noble clans of Chu arrived. The Emperor Star Academy was surrounded by enemies from all sides.
Only to see that at this moment, a silhouette stepped out, causing those from the Emperor Star Academy to be stunned.
Qin Wentian took a few steps forwards, standing in front of those from the Emperor Star Academy. He inclined his head, his gaze looking at the silhouettes hovering in the air.
“Despite the support the Royal Academy had from the Royal Clan, they were still sorely suppressed by the Emperor Star Academy for over thousands of years. And now, in order to deal with the Emperor Star Academy, they merged with the Godly General Martial Palace and resorted to several underhanded means in a bid to steal our position.” Qin Wentian serenely continued, “Get out of here. There’s no one that can replace our position. We are from the Emperor Star Academy.”
During his speech, Qin Wentian’s ancient halberd was already grasped in his hands as his long hair fluttered behind him, appearing as though he basking in the glory that originated from being part of the Emperor Star Academy. At this moment, those from the Emperor Star Academy could feel the blood in their bodies getting heated up. To deal with them, the Royal Clan cracked their brains and resorted to many underhanded methods. This by itself was already a type of glory.
They, were from the Emperor Star Academy!