"Mu Chen, the Heir of the King of Hundred Spirits."
"His father is Mu Feng, King of Hundred Spirits, a High-Grade Sovereign and ruler of the Hundred Spirit Continent?"
The Heavenly Passage Realm experts from the Five Great Academies all found the matter rather tricky.
Above the Three Days Realm lay the Sovereign Domain.
Sovereigns were divided into nine grades. The King of Hundred Spirits was a Grade Seven Sovereign, unquestionably a High-Grade Sovereign.
Even the leaders of the Five Great Academies were generally around Grade Five, though their strengths varied.
The head of the Holy Spirit Academy, Dean Tiansheng, might be somewhat stronger, approaching Grade Six.
Although each of the Five Great Academies had an ancient divine beast stationed there, one whose strength rivaled—or nearly rivaled—that of an Earth Sovereign, and although there were faint traces of true superpowers standing behind them,
backgrounds were called backgrounds precisely because they were not power of one's own.
Unless one of the Five Great Academies faced annihilation or the threat of collapse, the superpowers that had long kept to the shadows and lent them their support would not come forward.
Heavenly Sovereigns were all super-strong experts who guarded a corner of the Great Thousand World.
Besides, the guardian beasts of the various academies were Earth Sovereign powerhouses.
They were certainly powerful, but they might be sleeping to purify their bloodlines, cultivating in seclusion, traveling abroad, or amusing themselves among mortals. They spent most of their time away from the academies and had no leisure to deal with trivial matters.
These human-shaped nuclear bombs were not usually deployed lightly.
It was like two modern countries: if I harassed your border, you might send troops to fight back, but you wouldn't just go "Boom!" and drop a nuclear bomb.
So the Five Great Academies generally treated major powers nearby with High-Grade Sovereigns in charge with due respect. They wouldn't provoke them, and they'd coexist peacefully.
For everyday disputes, at most they'd argue and trade barbs.
But if you were foolish enough to provoke us, we'd summon a divine beast to trample you into the ground.
For example, when Dean Tiansheng went to recruit Ji Xuan, he personally visited a prominent clan in the Southern Border, where a High-Grade Sovereign was stationed, and extended an invitation, showing the clan's ancestor ample respect.
He didn't rely on the Holy Spirit Academy's ancient divine beast to simply demand that they hand Ji Xuan over.
The King of Hundred Spirits, a Grade Seven Sovereign, was stronger than the leaders of the Five Great Academies.
But that wasn't what had drawn the attention of the five Sovereign experts.
The Hundred Spirit Continent had undergone a change of royal power, and an Earth Sovereign powerhouse had seemingly clashed with someone.
In other words, there was very likely an Earth Sovereign standing behind the Hundred Spirits Royal Clan.
As for the superpower Northern Profound Sect, and whether the expulsion of its sect master Qin Beixuan's son involved a clash at the Heavenly Sovereign level, everyone merely laughed it off.
We, the dignified Five Great Academies, can't even call upon power at that level. What could a petty country bumpkin, a little king ruling some backwater, possibly have done to earn such backing?
If it were true, you wouldn't be ruling over just a single High-Level Continent.
"You said it yourself: it's only a possibility."
"This powerhouse has never appeared in public, and there's not the slightest sign proving his existence. He's entirely a product of speculation."
"Perhaps the Hundred Spirit royal family made up this story to protect themselves, deliberately spreading vague, unverifiable rumors to bluff their way through."
"Would the Five Great Academies really back down because of a powerhouse whose existence can't be proven?"
The white-robed man argued coolly, unmoved.
There were things he hadn't said outright.
Even if such a person did exist, so what?
The Five Great Academies might scheme and compete against one another internally, and even make compromises.
But when it came to outsiders, they had always stood together, sharing the same roots: when one prospered, they all prospered; when one suffered, they all suffered.
One Earth Sovereign couldn't shake the foundations of the Five Great Academies.
Besides, the Five Great Academies had a history spanning countless millennia, reaching back even to the ancient calamity.
The strength of an academy had never lain in its outward show of force, but in the terrifying network of connections and deeper reserves of power built up over its long history.
As the years turned, countless new students enrolled, and countless older students left.
Some of them might become Sovereigns, Earth Sovereigns, or even Heavenly Sovereigns who appeared like shooting stars.
These powerful figures had emerged from the academies and still cherished their old ties. They might rarely keep in touch, but if their alma mater faced life or death, they would never stand by and watch. They would unleash their power.
When mighty torrents converged, even superpowers that had endured since time immemorial would be moved.
"That makes sense. We can set aside the Hundred Spirits Royal Clan's unverifiable backing."
"Let's talk about the King of Hundred Spirits, Mu Feng. Do we give this High-Grade Sovereign the respect he's due, or do we expel his son from the Spirit Road outright?"
Zhu Tian smiled slyly, looking as if he'd just gotten away with stealing a chicken.
The Earth Sovereign behind the Hundred Spirits Royal Clan was like Schrödinger's cat, or the elephant in the room: impossible to confirm, yet impossible to ignore.
Whenever something involving the Hundred Spirits Royal Clan came up, even if they didn't say it aloud, they'd inevitably make concessions, whether consciously or not—raising the matter high, then letting it down gently.
The King of Hundred Spirits, a High-Grade Sovereign, was stronger than the leaders of the Five Great Academies.
But the Five Great Academies' dignity could not be violated, either.
Now that they'd already decided to punish Mu Chen, if they withdrew the punishment because of his background, where would the most powerful academies in the Great Thousand World put their pride?
Since they couldn't withdraw it, they could only reduce it.
And so Mu Chen's punishment had gone through a series of ups and downs, shrinking again and again.
From execution to expulsion, then from expulsion to stripping him of his Level 3 Spirit Body.
"We'll vote now. The Holy Spirit Academy agrees to punish Mu Chen!"
The white-robed man's expression shifted, and he spoke in a low voice.
"The Azure Heaven Spiritual Academy agrees as well!"
"Wu Ling Academy seconds the motion!"
"Ten Thousand Phoenix Spiritual Academy agrees."
"The Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy agrees!"
The ancient great hall then showed a rare moment of harmony.
Even Zhu Tian voted in favor.
Facing the leader of the Five Great Academies, the Holy Spirit Academy, the old firebrand knew he'd done all he could. If he kept pushing, it would only backfire, so he went along with the decision.
Quite a few of the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy's chosen elites had died at Mu Chen's hands.
But in Zhu Tian's eyes, even a hundred Kings were worth trading for Mu Chen.
It was true that Northern Heavens had reached out to Bing Qing of the Ice Spirit Clan and Mu Kui of the Wood Spirit Clan, but all five academies had approached them in private, striving to win them over.
The two had been evasive, keeping their options open and waiting to see what they could get. It was genuinely irritating.
If he told Mu Chen about what had happened today, he didn't believe he'd fail to win over this Heir of the King of Hundred Spirits. Getting an unrivaled King for free without lifting a finger—what could be better?
With Mu Chen in hand, Zhu Tian found Yang Hong more and more disagreeable the longer he looked at him.
Hmm. Should he discuss returning this fellow with the dean?
Watching Zhu Tian's smug expression, the white-robed man's lips curled in mockery.
Naive. You old fool, Zhu Tian—do you think Northern Heavens has won this round?
As soon as Mu Chen and Ji Xuan had clashed, the Holy Spirit Academy had secretly begun investigating Mu Chen's background. They'd acted even faster and earlier than Northern Heavens.
Once they'd figured out the strength of the Hundred Spirits Royal Clan, they'd already settled on how to deal with Mu Chen.
He'd backed down twice, first from execution and then from expulsion. Wasn't that all for the sake of making this final advance? Retreating to advance, he'd successfully gotten Mu Chen stripped of his Level 3 Spirit Body.
After losing his Level 3 Spirit Body, Mu Chen would gain so little from the Spirit Road Empowerment that he'd likely fare worse than an ordinary Quasi-King. Ji Xuan would leave him far behind, and he'd fall into the dust.
Above an unnamed mountain range in the Spirit Road Plane.
Wu Tian, a Heavenly Passage Realm elder of Wu Ling Academy, had the phantom image of the divine artifact, the Mirror of Judgment, floating above his head. His ear twitched, and the artifact suddenly grew deferential, as if it had received an order.
He slowly rose into the air, his spiritual energy surging as a humming sound rang from his chest.
"Everyone, I'll now announce the Five Great Academies' decision on this matter."
P.S. Schrödinger's cat, the elephant in the room—does anyone know what those mean?
It's been 100,000 words already. Time flies so fast. I wonder how far this story will go in the end.
Before you continue