When Qin Beihai also accepted Liu Bai's invitation and agreed to join the Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy, someone finally lost their patience.
"Dean Tai Cang, doing this is somewhat inappropriate, is it not?" The Dean Tian Sheng cast a sideways glance at the Dean Tai Cang and spoke coldly.
"Rules? If everyone followed the rules, my Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy naturally would not overstep." Tai Cang's expression did not change, but his words were nearly enough to overturn the table that barely concealed the covert moves happening beneath it.
If rules were truly to be discussed, secret preselection was already a violation. Among the Five Great Academies, the one most fond of such behavior was precisely the Saint Spiritual Academy. Even the Myriad Phoenix Spiritual Academy and Martial Spiritual Academy had begun doing the same in recent times. Any rules had already been shattered long ago.
When they heard Tai Cang, the faces of the other three deans darkened, except for the Azure Heaven Spiritual Academy's Dean Tian Song. Even so, no one continued to criticize Liu Bai's earlier actions.
On the Spiritual Crown Peak, just like in the original timeline, Wen Qingxuan ultimately won the title of Spiritual Crown Holder.
Ji Xuan, who had already recovered quite a bit under the black robed elder's treatment, watched this scene with teeth clenched. He had spent great effort during the Spiritual Road to recruit Yang Hong and Qin Beihai in order to obtain the Spiritual Crown Holder title. Yet in the end, he was dragged into a mutual destruction scenario by a girl, letting someone else take advantage of the chaos.
And that Spiritual Crown Holder happened to be the woman he despised the most.
"Beihai, why did you choose the Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy?" Ji Xuan shot Wen Qingxuan a hateful glare before turning toward the still pale Qin Beihai and could not help but ask.
Back on the Spiritual Road, the three of them had naturally discussed which academy they wanted to join.
There was no need to mention Ji Xuan. He had already been preselected by the Saint Spiritual Academy and held high hopes for Yang Hong and Qin Beihai, wanting them to join the Saint Spiritual Academy as his personal supporters.
Yang Hong's pride was sky high. Although he admired Ji Xuan's strength, he refused to fall behind.
As he said: better to be a rooster head than a phoenix tail.
He had declared early on that he would choose another academy and had even already set his sights on the Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy.
But Qin Beihai was different. Although he was proud, he did not have Yang Hong's fierce desire to stand above all others. Faced with Ji Xuan's invitation, his heart had begun to waver.
Yet now, upon awakening, both helpers he wanted had run away. All that remained beside him were people like Ge Hai. Naturally, Ji Xuan was extremely displeased.
However, he did not know that even in the original world, Qin Beihai had not accepted his invitation. He had chosen the Azure Heaven Spiritual Academy instead. This time, Liu Bai had simply stolen Azure Heaven Academy's future talent.
Qin Beihai looked at Luo Li with unwavering eyes and said in a low voice, "I nearly died in her hands just now. This debt must be repaid. I will defeat her with my own hands. Before that happens, I will not allow her to leave my sight."
Ji Xuan was speechless.
This was absurd, yet it did make a strange sort of sense. To defeat her, he chose to enter the same academy as her. Reasonable enough.
But for Ji Xuan, it was a miserable outcome.
"All right, since the Spiritual Crown Holder has been decided, everyone should descend the mountain. Afterward, you will be brought to the Spiritual Platform to receive the final empowerment."
Liu Bai smiled at the fifty youths.
Thus, this journey on the Spiritual Road had come to a complete end. After receiving the empowerment, these young elites would join the academies they had chosen.
Those heading to the Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy would soon be taken to the Northern Heaven Realm where they would undergo the final new student assessment to officially become new students.
The empowerment was performed through the Judgment Mirror, using the wisp of spiritual essence stored within each youth's blood colored token. This essence came from the spiritual beasts they slew on the Spiritual Road.
The more blood colored tokens one had, the more essence they received. The higher the essence, the greater the quality of the empowerment. Those who achieved the King rank received additional spiritual essence, while the Spiritual Crown Holder received even more. That was the truth behind the empowerment.
Liu Bai and the others escorted all of the King rank youths down from Spiritual Crown Peak, then organized everyone according to ranking to begin the Empowerment ceremony.
In the skies, the Five Deans silently watched. Suddenly, Dean Tian Sheng said, "Regarding the next Great Spiritual Academy Tournament, I have an excellent idea."
The Dean Tai Cang frowned. His instincts told him this old man was up to something troublesome again.
The other three deans had similar thoughts. The lean Wu Tianwang asked, "What idea does Dean Tian Sheng have?"
"That ruins continent we discovered has been observed for quite some time, and we have already completed preliminary exploration. Why not use it as the venue for the next Great Spiritual Academy Tournament?"
The remaining four deans frowned.
They had all considered the ruins continent. Since it was an area jointly discovered and jointly owned by the Five Great Academies, any usage had to be agreed upon by all.
And using it for the Great Spiritual Academy Tournament was indeed suitable.
However...
"We have only conducted a preliminary exploration. There are many dangers inside. Allowing the academy tournament students to enter might be far too dangerous." Dean Tian Song frowned.
"Danger exists, but opportunity is even greater. The continent contains many ancient ruins and numerous ancient inheritances. If the students can obtain such things, they will gain tremendous fortune." Dean Tian Sheng said.
These words drew all four deans into silence.
Finally, Dean Tai Cang thought for a moment before speaking. "It is acceptable, but before that we should send someone in again to clear out major dangers."
"This proposal is good." Dean Tian Song nodded.
Dean Wu Tianwang and Dean Tang Qiu also agreed, so Dean Tian Sheng did not voice objection.
"We may send someone in, but only a single person, with a time limit of one month. Whatever that person obtains within that month will belong entirely to them as reward for completing the task."
"Agreed."
With a few short sentences, the matter was decided.
As for who would be sent to the ruins continent, Dean Tai Cang already had a clear candidate in mind.
Time passed, the empowerment was completed, and everyone selected their desired academy.
Behind Liu Bai stood seventy people, the largest group. This made several elders, including those from the Myriad Phoenix Spiritual Academy, rather unhappy.
Especially the beautiful elder from the Myriad Phoenix Spiritual Academy. Who could have expected that after Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy sent a young, handsome, extremely powerful prodigy like Liu Bai, their academy would lose so many students? Particularly girls caught in their springtime emotions.
"This brat stole at least a dozen of our academy's students." The beautiful elder said through gritted teeth.
Hearing this, Wen Qingxuan could not help laughing. "Elder, that is exaggerated. At most five or six…"
But then she remembered that even one of her own close sisters had been charmed away by that pretty faced Liu Bai. Her smile instantly disappeared.
Of course, aside from attracting girls with his appearance, Liu Bai also used Luo Li and Bing Qing, both beautiful girls at his side, to lure numerous lecherous boys over, causing the Saint Spiritual Academy, Martial Spiritual Academy and Azure Spiritual Heaven Academy to grind their teeth in hatred.
The Dean Tai Cang watched all of this, his lips twitching upwards more than any weapon could restrain. If not for the dark expressions of the other deans, he might have laughed aloud.
"Hmph, the Dean Tai Cang truly calculated well…"
For once, the one who spoke was not his old nemesis, Dean Tian Sheng, but instead the only woman among them, Dean Tang Qiu.
If it had been that old fellow from the Saint Spiritual Academy, Dean Tai Cang would have argued back without hesitation. Yet upon seeing that the speaker was Tang Qiu, he immediately fell silent.
After all, their Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy had clearly profited this time. What he needed to do now was simply maintain a low profile. If others wanted to complain, then let them complain. Besides, she was a woman…
Within such an atmosphere, the Spiritual Road finally came to a complete end and the five academy deans led their respective students out of the space where the Spiritual Road was located.
"This time, not only did a large number of students pass the Spiritual Road trial but their strength was outstanding. Quite a few even broke through to the Heaven Fusion Realm immediately after the Empowerment. It seems this batch of students will be stronger than ours was." Liu Bai said with a cheerful grin.
Back when they entered Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy, their group had been called the strongest batch. Now that new students were enrolling, that title would likely be passed on soon.
The Dean Tai Cang shook his head. "There may be many exceptional individuals in this batch, but I do not believe anyone will surpass the records you left in our academy. The title of strongest is not something they can take away."
Evidently, in Dean Tai Cang's heart, it was impossible for Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy to produce another person comparable to Liu Bai.
Even the extraordinary young girl Luo Li could not.
"Right, I was originally planning to put you in charge of this year's academy recruitment, but that old thing from the Saint Spiritual Academy suddenly made a new suggestion. So I intend to let Elder Zhu Tian continue overseeing the new students and send you to the Ruin Continent instead."
"Ruin Continent?"
A spark flashed through Liu Bai's heart. This name was far from unfamiliar. Wasn't it the very location of the Great Spiritual Academy Tournament in the original story? Liu Bai remembered clearly that the place was full of treasures…
The Dean Tai Cang had no idea that Liu Bai already knew these things. He simply nodded and explained, "The Ruin Continent is a fragment of an ancient continental landmass that the Five Great Academies discovered drifting within the void through the Judgment Mirror. Preliminary exploration has shown that although it is severely damaged and mostly reduced to ruins, many ancient remnants still exist. There are even ancient inheritances and relics buried within. If one can explore it, the harvest should not be small."
"Originally, the Ruin Continent was shared property of the Five Great Academies, but we could never agree on how to handle it. Recently, Dean Tian Sheng proposed hosting the next Great Spiritual Academy Grand Tournament there. Everyone consented, though we will send people ahead of time to eliminate particularly dangerous areas. Any places that cannot be cleared will be marked to avoid large scale fatalities."
"The exploration will last for one month. As a reward, everything you obtain within the Ruin Continent will belong to you. However, you are forbidden from reckless plundering. When you enter, I will give you a special spatial ring. You may only bring that one ring, and everything you acquire must be stored inside it. When you return, the five deans will inspect it together. If you are found engaging in excessive looting, punishment will follow."
Liu Bai nodded. He already understood the Dean's intentions.
Put simply, this was a personal benefit prepared just for him. As for danger, of course there would be some, but for someone with the battle power of a Sovereign like him, the risks were minimal. Otherwise, the place would never have been chosen as the tournament's location.
As for restrictions on plundering… well… that actually made things even more advantageous for Liu Bai.
"Thank you for your guidance, Dean." Liu Bai cupped his fists respectfully.
With how the Dean Tai Cang had nurtured him, saying he was grooming Liu Bai as the successor of Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy would not be an exaggeration. Yet they all understood clearly that Liu Bai's future would never remain confined to a single academy. His future belonged to the entire Great Thousand World.
Patting Liu Bai on the shoulder, the Tai Cang smiled. "Alright, no need to be so polite with me. With your contributions to the academy, everything I have done is deserved. Rest for two days, prepare yourself, and then set off."
Meanwhile, on the Hundred Spirit Continent, within the Northern Spiritual Region, at the Northern Spiritual Academy.
Inside a vast training field, nearly the entire area was packed with Northern Spiritual Academy students. All of them looked toward the center with eyes full of envy.
There, five enormous arrays of radiant light were slowly emerging. A powerful spiritual pressure faintly rippled from them.
These arrays were said to be the teleportation formations leading directly to the Five Great Spiritual Academies. Passing through them meant reaching the sacred grounds they had dreamed of ever since they began cultivating.
In the training field, Tang Qian'er, Hong Ling, Mo Ling, and the others had all arrived. They were among those who had earned the qualifications to enter the Five Great Academies. Of course, the most important person had not yet appeared…
"Sigh, what a pity that the Liu Family left. Otherwise there would be two more people standing here today." Instructor Xi said with some emotion.
Beside him, Dean Xiao and Instructor Mo both nodded in agreement.
"Who could have expected that Liu Bai would possess such terrifying talent. In such a short time, he rose to prominence in Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy and earned such great favor from them. We can only say that we have benefited from their presence."
This time, Northern Spiritual Academy had actually received ten admission slots from the Five Great Academies.
Although half of them came from Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy's generosity, this was still an unprecedented honor since the founding of Northern Spiritual Academy.
"And then there is Mu Chen. Thanks to him, we even received a seeded quota this time." Instructor Mo's deep voice resonated.
"Quite so. The little fellow Mu Chen is exceptional as well. Although he withdrew from the Spiritual Road, he still has a chance to enter the Five Great Academies and even obtained a seeded position. We just don't know which academy he will choose."
"Mu Chen hasn't arrived yet?"
"Oh, there he is…"
...
Hi For access to additional chapters of
Director in Hollywood (40 chpaters)
Made In Hollywood (60 Chapters)
Pokemon:Bounty Hunter(30 Chapters)
Hollywood:From Razzie to Legend(40 Chapters)
The Great Ruler(30 Chapters)
Btth: Ascend to Pinnacle (30 Chapters)
Douluo Dalu: My Martial is Tyranitar (30 Chapters)
Join pateron.com/Translaterappu