Outside Lin City, high in the sky.
Lu Chuan once again witnessed the might of Azure Dragon Academy!
Though Chu Feng was merely an ordinary teacher within Azure Dragon Academy, his ride was actually a legendary Flying Shuttle!
These Flying Shuttles resembled sports cars, yet could soar through the skies like airplanes. They had always been high-end products.
Even the cheapest Flying Shuttle was worth tens of billions.
Most Flying Shuttles could not even be measured in terms of money.
It was said that even on the Starry Sky Battlefield, Flying Shuttles were rare treasures.
Yet now, Chu Feng, a mere teacher, actually possessed a Flying Shuttle. Lu Chuan could not help but envy him greatly!
"Jealous, aren't you?"
Seeing the blazing look in Lu Chuan's eyes, Chu Feng smiled. "Once you get to Azure Dragon Academy, you'll understand. A Flying Shuttle is just a means of transportation, nothing special."
"For our faction, this Flying Shuttle is even considered cheap."
"After all, what we cultivate is the Sky Swallowing Art."
"Hm?"
Lu Chuan froze. "From what you're saying, Brother Feng, is the Sky Swallowing Art exclusive to our faction?"
"Of course."
Chu Feng explained, "The Sky Swallowing Art was a cultivation technique our faction's founding ancestor found on the Starry Sky Battlefield only after enduring countless hardships and nearly losing his life. How could it possibly be shared with others for free?"
"Even at ordinary liberal arts universities, a professor's research results would not be shared with others for free."
"Let alone the Four Great Academies, which are called academies but are actually more like sects."
"So that's how it is." Lu Chuan understood.
This was, after all, a world of high martial arts. Cultivation techniques were the foundation of one's standing and could not be passed down except to close direct descendants.
Not to mention Azure Dragon Academy—even Third Middle School only taught basic cultivation techniques for free.
"Oh, right, Brother Feng."
"You're always talking about factions. How many factions does Azure Dragon Academy have in total?" Lu Chuan asked curiously.
"There are far too many to count."
After sorting out his thoughts, Chu Feng began, "According to the academy's definition, as long as you establish a faction, even if you are the only person in it, it still counts as one of the academy's factions."
"The academy is fairly supportive of factions. After all, appropriate competition benefits long-term development."
"Moreover, people from the same faction are more willing to entrust their backs to one another once they reach the Starry Sky Battlefield, which greatly lowers the casualty rate."
"After all, two people who trust each other unconditionally are far stronger together than fighting alone."
"This is the legendary one plus one equals two."
Chu Feng's words gave Lu Chuan a new understanding of Azure Dragon Academy's factions.
Rather than factions, they were more like alliances bound by life and death.
The derogatory connotations of the word "faction" were too strong; it was almost an insult to bonds that could be entrusted with life and death.
"How is this a faction? It's clearly an alliance that can be entrusted with life and death," Lu Chuan could not help saying.
"You're not wrong."
Chu Feng nodded in agreement. "Precisely because the beneficial outcomes far outweigh the harmful ones, the academy supports factions."
"As for why they are called factions, it's mainly because everyone is used to the name and can't be bothered changing it."
"Besides, it's only a name. If I were called Zhang San, it wouldn't change the fact that I'm a Ninth Rank powerhouse."
How domineering!
By looking through a tube at a leopard, one could see a spot of its whole body.
From Chu Feng's words, Lu Chuan could tell that Azure Dragon Academy, from top to bottom, was filled with this same domineering spirit.
So what if it was a derogatory term?
To Azure Dragon Academy, it was merely a designation.
No one dared look down on Azure Dragon Academy because of that designation.
"We've gone off track. Let's continue talking about factions."
Chu Feng continued, "As I said earlier, Azure Dragon Academy has countless factions, but most of them never amount to much."
"There are only seven major factions that can truly influence Azure Dragon Academy's decisions."
"Not only do these factions have large numbers of members, they have also established their own affiliated academies within Azure Dragon Academy!"
"At present, the number one faction in Azure Dragon Academy is the Dragon Guard Department! It established the current top academy of Azure Dragon Academy, the Dragon Guard Academy!"
"As for the origin of their faction's name, it stems from their faith."
"They are willing to use their lives to guard Blue Star! To guard Azure Dragon Academy! Thus, they were bestowed the name Dragon Guard!"
"Of course, there are quite a few smaller factions within the Dragon Guard Department as well, but they are all branches of the Dragon Guard and can be considered part of the same lineage."
As he spoke, admiration appeared in Chu Feng's eyes.
Though the two sides belonged to different factions, the Dragon Guard's conviction still earned Chu Feng's deep respect.
"The faction second only to the Dragon Guard is the Alchemy Faction."
"As its name suggests, it is a faction founded by alchemists. It oversees the Alchemy Academy and holds an extremely high status within the academy. Even the Dragon Guard Department has to show it some respect."
Lu Chuan nodded. No one understood the status of alchemists better than he did.
"As for the third-ranked faction, it is the Mechanical Faction, also known as the Artifact Forging Faction."
"Similar to the Alchemy Faction, the Mechanical Faction is composed of artifact forgers and oversees the Mechanical Academy."
"The Flying Shuttle I bought was made by the Mechanical Faction."
"The fourth faction is the Beast Taming Faction, formed by beast tamers."
"The Beast Taming Faction?" Lu Chuan was stunned. Beast taming could even form its own faction?
After all, beast tamers were merely a minor path among the martial ways. Their numbers were probably only somewhat greater than those of alchemists.
But alchemists enjoyed exceptionally lofty treatment, so it was only natural for them to establish a major faction.
But beast tamers? What gave them the right to establish a major faction?
The status of beast tamers was hardly that lofty.
"Yes, the Beast Taming Faction."
Chu Feng nodded and continued, "But unlike ordinary beast tamers, the beast tamers of the Beast Taming Faction are rather more insane."
"Beast tamers outside merely control Fierce Beasts from Blue Star."
"But our beast tamers control the Ten Thousand Races of the stars!"
"In their eyes, apart from humanity, all the Ten Thousand Races of the stars are Fierce Beasts. Whether they are humanoid races or not, they can all be controlled."
"For example, the faction leader of the Beast Taming Faction, the dean of the Beast Taming Academy, has an angel under his command as a tamed beast."
"Truly insane!"
Lu Chuan could not help laughing. Controlling the Ten Thousand Races meant placing them alongside beasts that drank blood and ate raw flesh.
If that was not insanity, then who dared call themselves insane?
"The fifth faction is the Formation Faction, which established the Formation Academy."
"These people are quite mysterious. They are either researching formations or on the road to researching formations, making them the academy's invisible people."
"As for the sixth faction, it is the Conquest Faction. They originated from the Dragon Guard Department, but eventually broke away because they believed the Dragon Guard Department was too weak."
"Their demand is to proactively conquer the myriad worlds and make the Ten Thousand Races of the stars submit to humanity."
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