The Mysterious Second Dean

With a crisp sound, Lie Xingyun felt as if the seal within his body had been broken. His face lit up with joy, and he took a step back, clasped his hands respectfully, and said, "Thank you for your help, Father."

Lie Huang turned around indifferently and walked down the hill, with Lie Xingyun quickly following.

"Your father is old and only desires to ascend to the Immortal Realm. He has no intention of interfering in the troubles of the mortal world. Yun'er, listen to your father's advice: don't fight with her anymore. You can't defeat her, not even if your father helps you."

"How could that be! Father, you are also Half-Immortal Realm. In addition to your son, the Fourth Dean and Sixth Dean are also the closest to you. How could she, an outsider, possibly fight against you?" Lie Xingyun looked incredulous. The Fourth Dean and Sixth Dean were both at the Peak of the Ninth Stage of Spirit Saint. With him and his father, who had stepped into the Half-Immortal Realm, controlling the Vast Academy was just a matter of a word.

"Da~"

Lie Huang suddenly stopped in his tracks, gazing at the world ablaze with red fruit, and said calmly, "Cang Lan isn't scary, but the Second Dean is."

"Second Dean? Wasn't the Second Dean already dead?" Lie Xingyun asked, puzzled.

Lie Huang shook his head without speaking, but Lie Xingyun suddenly realized and said, "Father, are you referring to the current Second Dean Shui Changjiang?"

Lie Huang nodded and said, "You think the one with the highest cultivation level in the Vast Academy is Cang Lan? Or even your father? You're wrong, the one with the highest cultivation level is him."

At this point, Lie Huang sighed softly and exclaimed, "He's truly a genius."

"Is the Second Dean really that strong?" Lie Xingyun, his face full of doubt. He and the Second Dean were the same dean and had worked together for five hundred years, but in reality, the Second Dean was often elusive, either in seclusion or on his way to seclusion.

Throughout the entire Vast Academy, many students may never see the Second Dean even once from the time they enter the Vast Academy until they leave. This is also true for high-ranking students like them. Lie Xingyun remembers that the longest time he saw the Second Dean, Shui Changjiang, was a full 120 years later.

In the past five hundred years, he has seen the Second Dean no more than ten times.

They talked even less, to the point that even Lie Xingyun, who was also the Fifth Dean, was completely unfamiliar with the Second Dean, Shui Changjiang.

However, in Lie Xingyun's mind, the Second Dean Shui Changjiang should not be stronger than the Grand Dean Cang Lan. After all, Cang Lan is recognized by the higher-ups of the Vast Academy as a prodigy. Among the Grand Dean, she is the youngest but the strongest.

The Half-Immortal Realm is the true pinnacle. The rumors circulating outside about the Five Kingdoms Five Saints, with the Saint Chu being the greatest under heaven, are just a joke.

Compared to Saint Chu, Cang Lan is slightly inferior.

"He came to see me once a hundred years ago." Lie Huang's tone was calm, but for some reason, Lie Xingyun could feel the flames within Lie Huang's body flickering restlessly.

"The Second Dean is looking for you, Father?" Lie Xingyun was even more puzzled. There was an unspoken tradition at the Vast Academy that the new and old deans would generally try to avoid contact under normal circumstances. This was mainly to show the old deans' stance, implying that once they relinquished their deanship, they would no longer get involved in anything at the Vast Academy, which was equivalent to relinquishing power.

Out of respect, the new deans would naturally not easily disturb the old deans, so even though they were only separated by a Nine Abyss, it was possible that they would never have any contact with each other for the rest of their lives.

In other words, Lie Xingyun is Lie Huang's son, which is why he often goes down to the Nine Abyss to look for Lie Huang and remains at peace; otherwise, he would be the subject of gossip.

"Yes, want to spar with me?"

"A friendly spar... so who won?" Lie Xingyun asked in a low voice.

"I lost as your father," Lie Huang said calmly, as if he were recounting something trivial.

"You've lost!" But these words were like a bolt from the Sunny Day for Lie Xingyun. His father was Half-Immortal Realm! A true figure standing at the Azure Dragon's Peak. Even if he faced Grand Dean Cang Lan, who was also Half-Immortal Realm, his father might not lose.

But now, his father, who is Half-Immortal Realm, is telling him that he has lost, lost to the Second Dean, Shui Changjiang!

Does that mean that the Second Dean's Shui Changjiang's cultivation level has also reached the Half-Immortal Realm? Or even higher?

"He's a genius. The curse that the Azure Dragon couldn't become an immortal for 30,000 years might be broken by him." Lie Huang sighed, his tone a mix of relief and regret.

"Give up. You know the relationship between the Second Dean and the Grand Dean better than I do. Don't provoke the Grand Dean anymore."

Lie Huang walked forward slowly, Lie Xingyun stood still, silently watching Lie Huang's figure.

"No, it's impossible. How could the Second Dean be stronger than you, Father? I don't believe it." Lie Xingyun shook his head, unwilling to give up. With a flick of his body, he transformed into a flame and left. He was going to find the Second Dean, Shui Changjiang, who was in seclusion, to investigate the truth.

At the eighth level of the Nine Abyss, Zhen Liang slowly descended, floating parallel to the sky, surrounded by swirling clouds and mist. If he were wearing a white robe instead of a purple one, he would have exuded an air of otherworldly elegance.

"Second Dean, Zhen Liang requests an audience." Third Dean Zhen Liang stepped forward and bowed, speaking slowly.

Eighth Abyss is where the Second Dean secluded himself for training, and this was Zhen Liang's first time here, so she was a little nervous.

There was complete silence inside; there was no response.

"Second Dean?" Zhen Liang, somewhat puzzled. His voice should have been audible to the Second Dean. Although he hadn't spoken to the Second Dean many times, their relationship wasn't bad. Besides, they were both deans of the Vast Academy, so the Second Dean shouldn't have refused to see him.

But there was still no sound from inside. Zhen Liang hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward.

"Pop~"

The sound of bubbles filled the air again, Zhen Liang entered this little world.

Unlike the previous Fifth Abyss, this small world is mostly water, with great rivers crashing against the banks and waterfalls roaring.

In the middle, there was a shady spot with flowers, grass, and thatched huts, but no one was there.

"Strange, where is everyone?" Zhen Liang arrived at this shady spot and looked around in confusion. His divine sense had covered the entire small world, but he did not sense a trace of living people.

"Huh, what's this?" Zhen Liang eyes, noticed something sparkling on the ground under the green shade. She walked over and picked it up, only to find that it was a jade pendant.

"This is the jade pendant that the Second Dean always carries with him." Zhen Liang looked at the jade pendant in her hand and murmured to herself.

He hadn't met the Second Dean, Shui Changjiang, many times, maybe a dozen or so times in five hundred years, but each time he saw the jade pendant hanging from the Second Dean's waist. The fact that the jade pendant had been hanging for five hundred years was enough to prove how much the Second Dean valued it. But now the Second Dean had actually left the jade pendant in the green shade of this small world.

"Could something have happened?" Zhen Liang asked, her face full of doubt.

"Is the Second Dean here?" Suddenly, Lie Xingyun's voice came from outside, which made Zhen Liang frown slightly. He didn't know why Lie Xingyun wanted to see the Second Dean, but at this point he definitely couldn't hide anymore, so he could only wait inside for Lie Xingyun to come in.

"Whoosh~"

Perhaps after waiting for a while and receiving no response, Lie Xingyun, like Zhen Liang, barged in on his own.

"Third Brother, what are you doing here?" Lie Xingyun asked in confusion as soon as he entered and saw Zhen Liang.

"I've come to see the Second Dean; I have something to discuss," Zhen Liang said after a moment's hesitation.

"Oh..." Lie Xingyun gave Zhen Liang a deep look, but didn't say anything more. He turned his head and looked around, as if searching for the Second Dean.

"Is the Second Dean here?"

This statement seemed to be addressed to the Second Dean, or perhaps it was a question directed at Zhen Liang.

Zhen Liang shook his head and said, "We didn't find the Second Dean."

Lie Xingyun then turned to look at Zhen Liang, and was immediately drawn to the jade pendant in his hand. He asked curiously, "This looks like the Second Dean's jade pendant, doesn't it?"

Zhen Liang nodded and said, "That's right, I just picked it up from the ground."

"You picked it up from the ground?" Lie Xingyun asked suspiciously.

As the jade pendant that the Second Dean always carried with him, how could Lie Xingyun not pay attention to it?

Suddenly, Lie Xingyun exclaimed in surprise, "The Second Dean's jade pendant was left here, but he's not here! Could it be that something happened to the Second Dean?!"