"Ji Xuan, is a woman really worth all this?"
The speaker was a long-haired youth dressed in black combat clothes.
His face was cold and stern, his eyes sharp as lightning. He was another Eighth-Level King.
Qiu Beihai, a designated seed candidate from Azure Heaven Spiritual Academy, one of the Five Great Spirit Academies.
Like Yang Hong, he was a trusted aide whom Ji Xuan had recruited with promises of great rewards, and one of his most capable assistants in conquering the Spirit Road.
"No. She is the next emperor of the Luo God Clan, the heir to the Luo God."
Ji Xuan shook his head and murmured absentmindedly.
As the saying went, love at first sight was usually lust at first sight.
Besides, his feelings for Luo Li were mixed with a measure of self-interest.
When he was young, he had accompanied powerful members of his clan to a public gathering and caught a distant glimpse of Luo Li. He had recognized her as the supreme Imperial Princess of the Luo God Clan.
As the old saying went, even a starving camel was bigger than a horse.
No matter how weakened the Luo God Clan was, it was still stronger than the Ji Clan of the Southern Border, which had only a Supreme guarding it.
When Ji Xuan recognized Luo Li on the Spirit Road, his so-called love at first sight had indeed included admiration, but he had also hoped to borrow the Luo God Clan's power to strengthen the clan behind him.
"What? King Luo actually comes from the Luo God Clan in the Lesser Western Heaven Realm?"
Qiu Beihai and Yang Hong couldn't help exclaiming. This was the first time they had learned Luo Li's identity.
They instinctively exchanged a glance, both seeing the shock in the other's eyes.
The Luo God Clan was an ancient power whose ancestors had once produced a Saint Grade colossus. To people like them, born into minor clans, it was an enormous force.
Yang Hong hesitated. "Then should we—"
If Ji Xuan truly had feelings for Luo Li, they really couldn't make a move against her.
"No need. I no longer have a chance."
Ji Xuan took a deep breath. His heart had turned cold, and his mind was clearer than ever.
If no matter what he did, he couldn't draw the girl's attention...
If no matter what he did, he couldn't win her favor...
Then if he couldn't have her, he would destroy her!
The Luo God Clan was powerful, and Ji Xuan feared they would trace the matter back to his clan. He didn't dare lay a hand on their supreme Imperial Princess, but Mu Chen had no such protection.
Luo Li, I'll make sure you remember me forever, whether you love me or hate me.
Mu Chen, don't blame me. Blame yourself for being the one Luo Li likes.
Ji Xuan's gaze grew increasingly gloomy, his expression shifting unpredictably.
Mu Chen and Luo Li were strong as a team, but even the strongest fists couldn't fend off four hands.
He had a large number of human prodigies working for him. There were no shortage of those with Fifth-, Sixth-, and Seventh-Level Spirit Bodies; at least a hundred of them. He could bury them beneath a tide of people.
He had heard that his former defeated foes, the Twin Kings of the Shi Family, also had a grudge against Mu Chen. Perhaps he could bring them into the fold and join forces to surround and attack him.
But before that, he would send someone to test them.
At that thought, Ji Xuan once more became the Spirit Road's King Xuan, confident in his plans and leaving nothing to chance. He barked, "Guards!"
Several figures with formidable auras immediately rose from nearby.
Night fell, and layer upon layer of darkness descended from the heavens, covering the entire land.
Beside the warm campfire, a handsome young man and a beautiful young woman sat facing each other.
"Mu Chen, which Spirit Academy will you go to when the Spirit Road ends?"
The silver-haired girl in a black dress sat with her knees drawn up by the fire, curling most of her delicate body into a ball and revealing only her impossibly beautiful face.
Her question seemed casual, but her little head lifted ever so slightly.
"I've always been a man of iron and blood, devoted to martial arts and born for battle. Therefore, I'll choose—"
"Then I'll choose Wu Ling Academy!"
The girl blurted out before Mu Chen could finish.
"Mm. Therefore, I'll choose Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy."
Mu Chen poked the campfire with a branch, making the flames burn even brighter.
The silver-haired girl's pretty face was instantly filled with astonishment.
Silly girl, you're still too young!
Suddenly, the Hundred Spirits Youth, who had been poking at the fire, cried out and clutched his stomach as he fell to the ground. "Ow, it hurts!"
Luo Li narrowed her eyes and silently slid the long sheath of the Luo God Sword back into place. In a crisp voice, she said, "I'll give you one more chance. Which Spirit Academy will you choose?"
"Northern Heavens, obviously. I already said Northern Heavens."
"I heard there's an Old Kun hiding there. I want to see it for myself."
Mu Chen, who found it fun to tease her, sat up and rubbed his stomach as he grumbled.
Actually, the girl's blow just now had been soft and hadn't carried much force.
He'd mostly been putting on an act when he cried out.
"Originally, the head of Wu Ling Academy, Heavenly King Wu, personally went to the Lesser Western Heaven Realm to visit my grandfather and invite me to Wu Ling Academy. I was rather tempted."
"I'm very interested in Wu Ling Academy's Guardian Beast."
"But since you're choosing Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy, I'll go there too."
The silver-haired girl's red lips moved slightly as she spoke in a cheerful tone.
The Five Great Academies was a shorthand name for the five most powerful academies among the countless Spirit Academies of the Great Thousand World.
It was said that an ancient divine beast dwelled deep within each of the Five Great Spirit Academies. Their cultivation reached the heavens and penetrated the earth, and their lifespans were long. The name "Five Great" had evolved from the five divine beasts.
They guarded the five cardinal points of the Great Thousand World, facing one another from afar.
Holy Spirit Academy, the foremost of the Five Great Academies, was guarded by a Radiant Holy Dragon and stood in the center.
Wu Ling Academy, meanwhile, was home to an ancient divine beast, the Black Tortoise.
In the Five Great Academies' rankings, it and Wanhuang Academy and Azure Heaven Spiritual Academy held a steady place in the second tier. It stood in the south.
Ten Thousand Phoenix Spiritual Academy accepted only female students. Several superpowers guarded by Heavenly Sovereigns, including the North Desert Wen Clan, stood behind it. It also had an ancient lineage and stood in the east.
Its Guardian Beast was a Fire Cloud Phoenix carrying the bloodline of the Divine Phoenix.
Azure Heaven Spiritual Academy had a fully grown Ancient Demonic Bird, the Azure Heaven Roc.
It had been jointly founded by the Wind Spirit Clan and several ancient clans, and stood in the west.
The Azure Heaven Roc, a wind-aspected divine beast and one of the major clans of the Divine Beast Realm, had close ties with the Wind Spirit Clan.
Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy was the newest member of the Five Great Academies, having joined less than a thousand years ago. It had the shallowest foundations.
Among the Five Great Academies, it was unquestionably at the bottom. It stood in the north.
The first four divine beasts were Lower Earth Sovereigns.
The Radiant Holy Dragon might have been a little stronger, at half a step into the Upper Earth Sovereign level, and could overpower the other three.
The Northern Abyss Dragon Kun, however, was a Ninth Grade Perfection Sovereign, just one step away from becoming an Earth Sovereign. That was why Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy, which it guarded, was the weakest.
See? None of the academies ranked among the Five Great was simple.
Each had an ancient divine beast at, or close to, the Earth Sovereign level guarding it, and a superpower with a Heavenly Sovereign backing it. They had endured since time immemorial.
"Good. We'll meet at Northern Heavens in six months."
Mu Chen nodded firmly, as if making a solemn vow.
But in his heart, he said, Sorry, Heavenly King Wu.
The Five Great Academies had gone to great lengths to secure the strongest candidates for the upcoming academy battle.
Holy Spirit Academy had recruited Ji Xuan, the current prodigy of the Ji Clan, a major Southern Border clan.
Wu Ling Academy had offered up its own Twin Stars: Wu Ling and Wu Yingying.
It had also attracted an Imperial Princess from the Luo God Clan, Luo Li.
Azure Heaven Spiritual Academy had borrowed the prodigy Liu Qingyun from the Wind Spirit Clan.
Ten Thousand Phoenix Spiritual Academy had the goddess Wen Qingxuan, sent over by the North Desert Wen Clan.
Only Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy—well, it hadn't gotten a thing.
It had neither exchanged favors to secure a prodigy nor borrowed a clan genius from a superpower.
Wu Ling Academy already had its Twin Stars, but that wasn't enough. It had wanted to play it safe and recruit Luo Li as well. Unexpectedly, Mu Chen had appeared out of nowhere and whisked away the Imperial Princess they had already agreed on, taking her to a rival academy.
Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy, which had all but given up, had won without lifting a finger!
P.S. The Spirit Road storyline is nearly over. There are probably about five chapters left.
The original work only mentioned Northern Heavens Academy's Guardian Beast. I made up the rest myself.
If I got anything wrong, come and hit me!
Before you continue