New Wine Awaits Old Friends

Central Divine Continent, Liji Academy.

A heavy midwinter snow fell while the academy's teachers and students discussed the Dao and pursued their studies. Mao Xiaodong sat alone in a pavilion, admiring the snow. He rubbed his hands gently and silently recited a beloved short essay: sky, cloud, mountain, water, and embankment were each a stretch of white; pavilion, boat, fisherman, and wine drinker were each a single speck.

Mao Xiaodong was not at ease. Cliff Academy's return to the ranks of the Seventy-two Academies had dragged on for years without being settled. Even the excavation of the Grand River and construction of the Great Li Capital on Treasure Bottle Continent had been completed. It seemed he was the one holding everyone back. If his relationship with the Great Li Embroidered Tiger had not been so wretched, and if he had been willing to have anything to do with Cui Chan, he would have written long ago: This is all I'm capable of. Clearly, I'm not up to the task. Hurry and send someone competent to take charge here. As long as Cliff Academy regains its rightful place under the Temple of Literature, I'll owe you one.

But Mao Xiaodong knew perfectly well that writing or not writing would make no difference. Cui Chan, that bastard, never gave a thought to old ties; all he wanted was results. Since Cui Chan had chosen him to lead this journey and then stopped asking about it, Cui Chan must have had his own plans.

Cui Chan could wait. Mao Xiaodong was so anxious his throat nearly smoked.

Tongye Continent had become a pot of boiling gruel. Dispatches circulated daily through Liji Academy. On Fuyao Continent, the coastal battles against the Demon Race Army had gone both ways. Its Upper Five Realms cultivators tried