The outcome of a negotiation was nothing more than a matter of how many chips each side held. Once one side's scales were pressed down, the other would inevitably ride their face and unleash a barrage.
I was stationed within the battlefield. The artifact spirits of the three great Guardian Academies were all ready, and with the manifestation of the new Immortal-Tier Academy, they would all bring pressure to the opposing side.
Of course, it was best to subdue the enemy without fighting, but the other side held an absolute advantage in numbers. The possibility that they might stake everything on one throw was not nonexistent.
The envoys from both sides soon began arguing fiercely. The atmosphere grew oppressive, and half an hour passed just like that before they finally parted on bad terms.
Wei Geng and the others returned, their faces purple with rage.
"Dean! We didn't exactly fall out with them, but their conditions were so harsh! Do they really think we're easy to bully?" Qunqing ground his teeth in fury.
"Oh? Tell me, what conditions did they demand?" I asked with a crooked smile.
"The Ten Great Academies invoked the Immortal Kingdom's orders and demanded that we surrender. Besides handing over the resources we obtained from the Immortal Kingdom, they also want the Heavenly Curtain Academy restored to its original state and exiled to the ruins of the Immortal Kingdom. Otherwise, the Immortal Kingdom will bring heavenly punishment down upon the Heavenly Curtain Academy!" Wei Geng sighed, clearly unable to muster much defiance.
"Mentor! Why should we?!" Yu Dai hurriedly asked.
"They said we challenged the authority of the Immortal Kingdom and disrupted the order of this tier with Immortal-Tier resources." Wei Geng shook his head.
"But don't they have Immortal-Tier resources themselves? Why are the Ten