AGM 170 – Incident
In the Emperor Star Academy, within the training grounds Qin Wentian was in, demonic Qi permeated the air. The towering amounts of demonic Qi formed swirls of demonic mist and was so abundant that it could be described as rushing up to the heavens. This entire space seemed as though it was inundated by the presence of terrifying demons.
Within the mist, Qin Wentian sat there cross-legged. At this moment, his countenance looked incomparably demonic as columns and columns of demonic light flickered incessantly. His body seemed to be relentlessly undergoing a transformation.
Abruptly, the swirls of demonic mist in the training grounds frenziedly gushed towards Qin Wentian. The columns of demonic lights around his body were as resplendent as the Astral Lights emitted from the constellations. Deafening rumbling sounds rang out, and in the space of a few breaths’ worth of time, the entirety of the demonic mist dissipated once it was all absorbed into his body. Only now did the columns of demonic lights stopped flickering as they disappeared one after another.
“BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!” A thunderous pounding sound could be heard thumping according to a strange rhythm inside his body. This was the sound of his heart beating. At this moment, Qin Wentian could clearly feel the immense qualitative transformation of his own vitality.
His current vitality, when compared to the past, multiplied by manifolds.
As Qin Wentian opened his eyes, a glint of demonic light could be seen flickering within. His gaze was terrifyingly sharp, and that countenance of his was tinged with a hint of an overwhelming handsomeness that could only be described as demonically bewitching.
“Hu…” Qin Wentian exhaled and flexed his body. Crackling sounds could be heard from within as his bones shifted.
Abruptly clenching his fist, a loud booming sound echoed out. This was the feeling his body being completely filled with strength.
Currently, his physique could already be comparable to a demonic beast. If in the future he chose to condense a Beast-type Astral Soul for his third Astral Gate, he would then be able to advance the Fiend Transformation Art to the second level, obtaining an even more powerful demonic body.
As of this moment, Qin Wentian could feel that just with this, his strength level had soared tremendously. Even without using innate techniques, any casual strikes he made would pack a power that his opponent wouldn’t be able to ignore. He was naturally exceptionally satisfied with the gains he made.
Standing up, Qin Wentian retracted his aura back as he walked out of the training grounds.
“Wentian.” Qin Yao, who was sitting in a nearby pavilion, ran towards Qin Wentian when she noticed that Qin Wentian has ended his close-door seclusion. Tenderly touching his face, she wiped the sweat away as she smiled, “You have to pay attention to your body condition even though you are cultivating. You are not allowed to cultivate 24 hours a day, okay?”
Qin Yao knew that Mountain’s death had a great impact on Qin Wentian. Qin Wentian didn’t have much friends within the Emperor Star Academy. Not to mention Mountain, Luo Huan and a few others were the ones who had aided his escape from the clutches of the Ye Clan back when he had still been in Sky Harmony City.
“Don’t worry sis, the bodies of us cultivators only gets stronger and stronger the deeper our cultivation base is.” A gentle smile blossomed on Qin Wentian’s face. Qin Yao nodded in agreement as she continued, “True, but you have to know your limits.”
“I understand.” Qin Wentian knew that Qin Yao was worried about him.
“How’s the situation out there?” Qin Wentian asked.
“The wind is sighing and the cranes are calling. Everything is in a state of tension. The Royal Academy provoked us a few times but there haven’t been any major clashes yet. However, I fear that it’s only a matter of time.” One could tell that the war between the Royal Clan and the Emperor Star Academy would erupt at any moment from Qin Yao’s reply.
Currently, many of the nobility as well as other clans with sufficient power were all keeping a low profile and spectating from the sidelines. The intensity of the storm this time would surely be at an unprecedented level.
The Emperor Star Academy was akin to an extremely powerful prey that the Royal Clan wanted to swallow. However, it was exceptionally difficult to do so. Currently, there were many flying-type demonic beasts flying in the airspace of the Royal Capital. Only those at Yuanfu possess flying rights, and many of them flew directly to the Royal Palace. However, among the Yuanfu cultivators, there were also some alumni of the Emperor Star Academy as well as students
who had been out for cultivation. Upon hearing the news, those who valued affection and comradeship and weren’t too far away had all returned to support their alma mater.
“Mhm.” Qin Wentian nodded, “Sister, take good care of Father.”
After that, Qin Wentian walk towards the direction of the Heavenly Star Pavilion. In the Heavenly Star Pavilion, the Spirit Beasts Testing Grounds was on the 7th level, while the Fiend Transformation Art was on the 8th level. Then, what exactly did the Azure Emperor leave behind on the 9th level of the pavilion?
This time around, Qin Wentian wanted to unravel the mystery.
Entering the Heavenly Pavilion once again, Qin Wentian bowed low with respect as he stood before the decrepit-looking guardian.
“Do you wish to enter the last entrance?” The old man abruptly asked.
“Yes.” Qin Wentian nodded. If the guardian was willing to guide him, it would naturally be for the best.
“Consolidate your power, muster your strength and unleash the strongest strike you can. Your objective is to force the door to open. If you are unable to open the door before Yuanfu, you don’t need to come back here again after stepping into Yuanfu.” The old man calmly explained, causing Qin Wentian’s gaze to freeze slightly.
Everything the Azure Emperor left behind required one’s cultivation base to be below that of Yuanfu. The Jun Lin Banquet, the Spirit Beasts Testing Grounds, as well as the door to the last entrance. The prerequisite for all of these was for one’s cultivation base to be below that of Yuanfu.
Could it be that the ‘test’ on the last level would be even tougher compared to the Jun Lin Banquet as well as the Spirit Beasts Testing Grounds?
Besides, the current him had already cultivated the Fiend Transformation Art.
At this moment, Qin Wentian didn’t realize that a glow of light was flickering within the depths of the old guardian’s eyes. In these thousands of years, Qin Wentian was undoubtedly the one closest to completing all the tests set by the Azure Emperor. Currently Qin Wentian should have already cultivated the Fiend Transformation Art. If he still wasn’t able to succeed in opening the door the last entrance, no one knew how long it would be for another student to arrive where Qin Wentian was currently at.
Let’s hope the little fellow would succeed.
Qin Wentian stood before the door to the last entrance. It had already been sealed for over thousands of years, but despite this, the exterior of the door was spotlessly clean, dust free and even seemed to gleam with a light of its own.
Qin Wentian’s arterial pathways were seething as the Divine Yuan within his body transmitted to his arms. Erupting forth with a pressure capable of toppling mountains, he slammed his fist into the door.
RUMBLE! A thunderous sound rang out, but that door didn’t show the slightest inclination of being opened. Obviously, the power behind Qin Wentian’s earlier strike was not enough.
A demonic Qi emanated forth from Qin Wentian’s body. His aura transformed completely in an instant. Taking a step forwards, he smashed his fist into the door once again. However, the door still didn’t waver in the slightest.
“Hu… how strong exactly is this door?” Qin Wentian’s eyes were filled with resolution as his blood boiled in his body. His aura transformed yet again; the force field of absolute obedience was tinged with a demonic presence, as though he was a Paragon of all demons.
The Divine Yuan Energy within his body frenziedly surged as he stepped forwards yet again. His left palm executed the Forgotten Imprint while his right palm executed the Falling Mountain Palms .
BOOM! The impact was so great that the entire space shook, causing those who were browsing for innate techniques on the lower levels to stare up at the ceiling, wondering what the hell just happened.
Upon hearing the terrifying noises caused by Qin Wentian’s powerful blow, the old man’s heart trembled involuntarily. This indicated that Qin Wentian had a probability of opening the door to the last entrance.
However, Qin Wentian’s eyes narrowed as his gaze turned incomparably sharp. Even when he output so much power, he still had no way of opening the door.
Clang, Clang…
At this moment, the sounds of a bell tolling permeated the entire Emperor Star Academy, causing Qin Wentian to frown. Ever since he stepped into the academy, he had never heard such a sound before.
Qin Wentian quickly departed the Heavenly Star Pavilion, only to see a crowd of students milling towards a certain direction.
“I’ve enrolled in the academy for three years. This is the first time I heard the bell for summoning all Elders and students of the academy ringing.” A voice sighed. All of the students who heard it could infer that an incident of terrifying proportions just happened.
Upon hearing the bell chimes, Qin Wentian’s eyes had an extremely cold light flickering within.
Is whatever that’s going to happen finally happening?
Qin Wentian followed the crowd and headed over in the direction of the Emperor Star Monuments. After a short span of time passed, crowds of people, numbered about several thousands, gathered underneath the Emperor Star Monuments and formed a magnificent sight.
“F*ck, that bunch of bastards from the Royal Academy are clearly and intentionally trying to stir up conflicts. If they want to fight, let’s fight. Do they think that our Emperor Star Academy is afraid of them?” Someone in the crowd shouted in anger.
“You’re right, the deaths of Senior Mountain and junior brother were most definitely caused by the Royal Clan borrowing the power of the Royal Academy. There’s no need for further proof.”
Very quickly, many voices of discussion rang out as the crowd gradually understood what had just happened.
So it turned out that today, there were a few students of the Emperor Star Academy having their meal in the Royal Capital. Among them, there was a pretty girl that had her liberties taken by someone from the Royal Academy.
The students from the Emperor Star Academy were naturally infuriated, and thus a conflict erupted between both parties. However, those from the Royal Academy obviously came prepared and subjected the students from the Emperor Star Academy to ruthless humiliation and even made their move against the female students. However, a student belonging to the Emperor Star Academy managed to slip away and immediately spread the news and notified the academy. From hindsight, it was obvious that the conflict that arose today was intentional.
The scope of this news got larger and larger and, more and more people from both academies got embroiled within the dispute as fights broke out. Not only that, the Disciplinary Elder of the Royal Academy as well as the members of their Disciplinary Committee actually also went to the scene and crippled the cultivation bases of the students from the Emperor Star Academy.
The students belonging to the Royal Academy naturally didn’t received any punishment.
Those with discerning eyes naturally understood that the Royal Academy was trying to ignite the sparks of anger within the Emperor Star Academy. They wanted to provoke the Emperor Star Academy into starting a war.
In addition to the deaths of Mountain and Zi Jun earlier, if the Emperor Star Academy still continued to tolerate these acts, they might as well forget all about it and disband the academy. If they still took no action, it was highly probable that a similar incident of this nature would occur again.
All the elders stood at the front. The one in the lead was Ren Qianxing, who was seen turning as he faced the crowd. In an instant, everyone turned silent as they waited for Ren Qianxing to speak.
“Recently, many things have happened. I believed that all of you already know the gist of it. The Emperor Star Academy may be facing an extremely difficult and challenging period in the coming days. And thus, if there are students who wish to leave the academy, I won’t force you to stay. In the future, after all the wind and waves die down, you all can come back again. Also, for students whose cultivation levels are below the 5th level of Arterial Circulation, there’s no way for you to help even if you insist on staying within the academy.”
Within the academy, students were the majority. Many of the students didn’t have high cultivation bases and would be of little help in the upcoming war, and hence, the Emperor Star Academy wouldn’t force them to participate. Not only that, students below the 5th level of Arterial Circulation were also directly prohibited from participating.
If they participated, they would only be cannon fodder. The Emperor Star Academy didn’t need cannon fodder. All of their students were the talented elites of the future, and it would be too much of a pity if they died like this.