The Five Great Academies, the Guardian Divine Beasts

"Ji Xuan, it's just a woman. Is she worth it?"

The speaker was a long-haired youth clad in black combat gear.

His expression was cold and stern, his eyes sharp as lightning; he was, without a doubt, another Rank 8 King.

Qiu Beihai, a hand-picked seed candidate for the Azure Heaven Spiritual Academy among the Five Great Academies.

Like Yang Hong, he was a right-hand man recruited by Ji Xuan with the promise of immense benefits, and one of his most capable assistants in his conquest of the Spirit Road.

"No, she is the next Empress of the Luo God Clan, the successor to the Luo God."

Ji Xuan shook his head, murmuring in a daze.

So-called love at first sight is usually just lust.

Furthermore, his affection for Luo Li was tainted with a measure of self-interest.

In his youth, he had once followed the experts of his clan to a public event where he saw Luo Li from afar. Catching a glimpse of this supreme Imperial Princess of the Luo God Clan, he learned of her identity.

As the old saying goes, a starved camel is still bigger than a horse.

No matter how weakened the Luo God Clan might be, it was still stronger than the Southern Border Ji Clan, which only possessed a Sovereign.

For Ji Xuan, who recognized Luo Li on the Spirit Road, his so-called love at first sight certainly contained genuine admiration, but it was equally driven by the desire to leverage the power of the Luo God Clan to bolster his own clan.

"What? King Luo actually hails from the Luo God Clan of the Lesser Western Heaven Realm?"

Qiu Beihai and his companion, learning of Luo Li's identity for the first time, could not help but exclaim in shock.

The two instinctively exchanged a glance, both seeing the profound awe in the other's eyes.

The Luo God Clan was an ancient power that had once produced a Saint-level titan; to them, coming from minor clans, it was undoubtedly a behemoth.

Yang Hong hesitated, "Then should we..."

If Ji Xuan truly had designs on Luo Li, it would be difficult for them to make a move.

"No need. I have no chance left."

Ji Xuan took a deep breath. With his heart turned cold, his mind was clearer than ever before.

Since no matter what he did, he could not capture the girl's attention.

Since no matter what he did, he could not earn the girl's favor.

Then, if he could not have her, he would destroy her!

The Luo God Clan was powerful, and Ji Xuan feared they might trace his actions back to his home clan, so he dared not lay a hand on the supreme Imperial Princess of that clan. However, Mu Chen had no such protective talisman.

Luo Li, I will make you remember me firmly, whether it be through love or hate.

Mu Chen, do not blame me; if you must blame someone, blame yourself for being the one Luo Li loves.

Ji Xuan's gaze grew increasingly gloomy, his expression shifting unpredictably.

Mu Chen and his partner were strong, but they were only two people against many.

He had a large number of human geniuses working for him, with no shortage of Rank 5, 6, and 7 Spiritual Bodies—at least a hundred of them. By using human-wave tactics, he could crush them through sheer numbers.

He had heard that his former defeated foes, the Twin Kings of the Shi Family, also held a grudge against Mu Chen. Perhaps he could coordinate with them and launch a multi-pronged siege.

However, before that, he would first send someone to test the waters.

Thinking of this, Ji Xuan returned to being the wise and calculating King Xuan of the Spirit Road, shouting in a low voice: "Come here!"

Not far away, several figures with formidable auras immediately stood up.

Night descended, and a heavy curtain of darkness draped over the entire earth from the vault of the heavens.

Beside a warm campfire, a handsome man and a beautiful woman sat together.

"Mu Chen, after the Spirit Road ends, which academy will you go to?"

The silver-haired girl in a black dress sat by the fire with her knees drawn up, curling most of her delicate body into a ball, revealing only that exquisite, impossibly beautiful face.

The question seemed casual, but her little head was tilted up in anticipation.

"I have always been iron-willed, fond of martial arts, and specialized in combat, so I choose—"

"Then I'll choose the Wu Ling Academy!"

Before Mu Chen could finish, the girl called out impatiently.

"Hmm, therefore I choose the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy."

Mu Chen poked the campfire with a branch, causing the flames to burn more vigorously.

The silver-haired girl's pretty face was instantly filled with astonishment.

Oh, young girl, you are still too naive!

Bang! Suddenly, the Hundred Spirits Youth, who had been poking the fire, let out a cry of surprise, clutching his stomach as he collapsed to the ground. "Wuwu, it hurts."

Luo Li narrowed her eyes, silently retracting the long scabbard of the Luo God Sword, and said crisply, "I'll give you one more chance. Which academy do you choose?"

"Northern Heavens, I told you to choose Northern Heavens."

"I heard there's an Old Kun hidden there, and I want to go see it for myself."

Mu Chen, feeling quite pleased with his little prank, sat up and rubbed his stomach while muttering.

In truth, the young girl's strike just now had been soft and lacked any real force.

The reason he had screamed was mostly for the sake of being dramatic.

"Originally, Heavenly King Wu, the Dean of Wu Ling Academy, personally traveled to the Lesser Western Heaven Realm to pay a visit. Out of respect for my grandfather, he invited me to join Wu Ling Academy, and I was actually quite tempted."

"I am very interested in the guardian divine beast of Wu Ling Academy."

"However, since you have chosen Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy, then I shall go there as well."

The silver-haired girl's red lips moved slightly as she spoke in a cheerful tone.

The Five Great Academies is the shorthand for the five strongest institutions among the millions of spirit academies in the Great Thousand world.

Legend has it that deep within each of the Five Great Spirit Academies lies an ancient divine beast with heaven-defying cultivation and an incredibly long lifespan; the name of the Five Great Academies is derived from these five divine beasts.

They are positioned at the five poles of the Great Thousand world, facing each other from afar.

Holy Spirit Academy, the head of the Five Great Academies, is guarded by a Radiant Holy Dragon and is located in the center.

Wu Ling Academy is home to the ancient divine beast, the Black Tortoise.

In the rankings of the Five Great Academies, it sits firmly in the second tier alongside Ten Thousand Phoenix Spiritual Academy and Azure Heaven Spiritual Academy, located in the south.

Ten Thousand Phoenix Spiritual Academy only recruits female students and is backed by several super-forces with Earth Sovereign experts, such as the North Desert Wen Clan; it also possesses an ancient heritage and is located in the east.

The guardian beast of this academy is a Fire Cloud Phoenix that carries the bloodline of the Divine Phoenix.

Azure Heaven Spiritual Academy possesses an adult ancient demonic bird, the Azure Heaven Roc.

It was established jointly by the Wind Spirit Clan and several other primordial clans, located in the west.

The Azure Heaven Roc, a wind-element divine beast, belongs to a major clan within the Divine Beast World and shares a deep connection with the Wind Spirit Clan.

Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy is a newcomer that only rotated into the Five Great Academies within the last millennium, possessing the thinnest foundation.

Among the five, it is undoubtedly the one at the bottom, located in the north.

The first four divine beasts are all lower-level Earth Sovereign.

The Radiant Holy Dragon is perhaps slightly stronger, at a half-step toward the upper level, suppressing the other three beasts.

Northern Abyss Dragon Kun, however, is a Ninth Grade Perfected Sovereign, still a hair's breadth away from the Earth Sovereign realm, which is the reason why the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy it guards ranks at the bottom.

You see, those who can rank among the Five Great Academies are certainly not simple.

Not only do they have an ancient divine beast at or near the Earth Sovereign level guarding them, but they also have super-forces with Heaven Sovereigns standing behind them, enduring through the ages.

"Alright, we'll see each other in Northern Heavens in half a year."

Mu Chen nodded heavily, as if making a solemn vow.

In his heart, however, he whispered, Heavenly King Wu, I am sorry.

In order to emerge victorious in the future Spirit Academy War, the Five Great Academies had exhausted all their efforts.

Holy Spirit Academy scouted the contemporary prodigy of the Southern Border's great Ji Clan, Ji Xuan.

Wu Ling Academy's Dean offered up his own twin stars, Wu Ling and Wu Yingying.

They also attracted the Imperial Princess of the Luo God Clan, Luo Li.

Azure Heaven Spiritual Academy borrowed the genius Liu Qingyun from the Wind Spirit Clan.

Ten Thousand Phoenix Spiritual Academy had the Goddess Wen Qingxuan sent down by the North Desert Wen Clan.

Only Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy, ahem, managed to secure nothing.

They had no connections to exchange for geniuses, nor any super-forces to lend them their clan's monsters.

Wu Ling Academy had the twin stars and wanted a double insurance policy, but they never expected that Mu Chen would suddenly appear and snatch away the promised Imperial Princess, running off to their rival instead.

Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy, which had already given up on struggling, ended up winning by doing absolutely nothing!

PS: The Spirit Road arc is coming to an end, with about 5 chapters left.

The guardian beasts of the Five Great Academies were only mentioned for Northern Heavens in the original work; the others are my own invention.

If there are any errors, come and hit me!