Chapter 7129 Internal Strife

The higher-ups of the first academy were in a panic.

They were holding an emergency meeting. Over a hundred members of the senior generation were present, as well thirty-some members of the junior generation. There was also one junior in particular that Long Chen was familiar with: Zhao Yue.[1]

She looked as beautiful and holy as she had when Long Chen first met her. However, there was a different air about her now; rather than youthful arrogance, she now displayed the composure and authority of a queen. Sword-light flickered in her eyes when she blinked; that sharp sword-intent could directly penetrate a person’s soul.

She was seated amongst the young disciples here. They were the top heavenly geniuses of the first academy, and they were not just powerful; every single one of them was the leader of a faction.

The High Firmament Academy had never prevented disciples from forming their own groups. As long as they acted within the academy’s rules, the higher-ups even supported them. They had also been raised in the same kind of environment, after all. By doing this, the youngsters would gain experience leading others. It was good experience for when they eventually became teachers and elders themselves.

This group of thirty youngsters were the leaders of basically ninety percent of the first academy’s disciples. Thus, they were qualified to participate in this important meeting. They could be considered pillars of the academy now.

The person leading the meeting was a white-haired elder. He slowly explained the situation they were in.

“...and the Immortal Ascension Gate has gathered the elites of multiple major forces. They have over a thousand triple-manifestation Divine Sovereigns. We asked the head academy for reinforcements, as well as the branch academies, but we were only able to gather thirty-one triple-manifestation Divine Sovereigns. The power disparity is clear.

“The leaders of the group are the Immortal Ascension Gate, the Underworld Ghost Gate, the Corpse Devil Sect, and the Heavenly Demon Golden Crystal Monkey race, but all of the others have come out in full force. Obviously, they are after our karmic luck dragon manifestation.

“We have sent word to the head academy, and we have also sent word to Dean Long Chen through the Huayun Trading Company. But we have not received any reply from either side. Well, actually, I have received a message from the Huayun Trading Company... The head academy is also in trouble. There seems to be some outsider divine devil from the primal chaos era eyeing the head academy. The Huayun Trading Company’s guess is that this divine devil is after the sweeping elder, so the sweeping elder cannot save us. In other words... we should not expect the head academy to send reinforcements.

“As for Dean Long Chen, the Huayun Trading Company has already confirmed that they have passed the word to him. I am confident that Dean Long Chen will not just watch as we are destroyed. The fact that he hasn’t appeared yet indicates he has either encountered some kind of trouble on the way here, or perhaps he has simply chosen not to reveal himself and is watching how things go.

“In any case, the enemy is fast approaching. We cannot wait. We must come up with a strategy to stall until Dean Long Chen arrives.”

This elder’s name was Zhao Hongfei. He was the vice dean of the first academy, and was also a triple-manifestation Divine Sovereign. But he was not one of the academy’s fighters.

A large portion of the academy’s experts were lecturers and grandmasters who focused on teaching and expounding the Dao. They were focused on comprehending the Heavenly Daos, not on fighting. As a result, their cultivation was high, and so was their understanding of the Dao, but their actual combat capabilities were very low. Zhao Hongfei was particularly well known in this regard; he was extremely well respected and nobody questioned his qualifications as a vice dean, but he was no mighty warrior.

Bang!

An elder slammed the table and angrily said, “The head academy is in trouble and cannot send reinforcements. That is understandable. But as the dean of our branch academy, how is that Long Chen still refuses to appear? Has he gone into hiding? We’re going to be risking our lives, and if we win, he’s the winner. But if we lose, he’ll just blame us?”

Everyone’s expressions changed. In all fairness, Long Chen had not communicated with them in a very long time. They truly were nervous about it. This elder directly picked at this wound.

“Zhang Kangnian, you go too far. Dean Long Chen is not such a person. Do not slander others!” A clear voice rang out through the room. It was Zhao Yue! For some reason, the normally cool and collected Zhao Yue always got angry when anyone criticized Long Chen.

The elder who had just spoken was in charge of the law enforcement hall. He had high authority in the first academy, and he was also a triple-manifestation Divine Sovereign. However, unlike the mild-mannered Zhao Hongfei, this man was rather vicious. As he was in charge of punishment in the first academy, few people in the first academy wished to provoke him. The moment Zhao Yue talked back to him, quite a few hearts quivered.

“Fairy Zhao Yue, Dean Long Chen has always been an absent leader. He doesn’t do anything to help the first academy, and he doesn’t even bother asking how we’re doing. People have long since grown tired of having someone like him as a dean. If Dean Long Chen still doesn’t show himself for this battle, then he should only blame himself if we no longer recognize him as dean. Perhaps it is time for the first academy to have a new dean,” said a muscular young man with thick facial hair.

This man was Du Xinhe, an expert sealed in the ancient era. He was also among the top heavenly geniuses of the junior generation. As his build suggested, he was a physique cultivator, and he was incredibly powerful; the attack of a Divine Sovereign law item couldn’t even break his skin. He was also very arrogant and domineering. But despite that, he had quite a few supporters... or rather, precisely because of that. Everyone from his faction had a similar character. No one liked them.

However, despite his arrogance, there was one person amongst the junior generation that he was wary of. That was Zhao Yue. Sword cultivators were the bane of body cultivators. The steel-like body he had trained over countless years still couldn’t stand up to Zhao Yue’s edge.

However, Du Xinhe had great ambitions. He also wanted to be the dean of the first academy. He wanted to take Long Chen’s place. And within the first academy, other than Zhao Yue, there was no else that he feared.

Hearing his arrogant boast, Zhao Yue sneered angrily. “Oh, a new dean? Who, you? Do you seriously think you’re qualified?”

“If I’m not qualified, do you think you are?” retorted Du Xinhe.

“That’s enough!” Vice dean Zhao Hongfei cut them off. “We have more important things to deal with! We are here to discuss a strategy to deal with the incoming battle, not to hear you argue!”

Although Zhao Yue was genuinely irritated by now, she immediately calmed down. She truly respected Zhao Hongfei.

Just then, another elder spoke up. “With our power, fighting against them would be like trying to smash a rock with an egg. I feel like there’s no need to necessarily use brute force. Maybe... we can come to a compromise....”

“A compromise!? What nonsense are you spouting!? You want to split the blessing of the Heavenly Daos with others? I would rather die fighting than do such a thing!” shouted another elder immediately.

The idea of compromising with these people caused an uproar. Amongst the elders, quite a few were in favor of such a thing. However, the junior generation was firmly opposed to such a thing, to the point where they immediately started cursing at the elders proposing it. Weapons were almost drawn.

Suddenly, an ear-piercing alarm bell wailed through the first academy.

“Our information was wrong! They’re here early!”

Everyone’s expressions changed. They immediately left the meeting hall. When they appeared before the grand gates, they saw that an endless sea of experts had already appeared outside.

1. Sword Dao genius, she first appears in 6489. She sees Yue Zifeng doing what Yue Zifeng does and concludes she is not that great after all. ☜

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