Future Plans

Blade lights and sword shadows flashed, fist winds howling fiercely.

Xia Yu was directly engulfed, shattering into pieces.

The Seventh Princess An Qing, Su Xiang'er, Lin Xulun, and the others cried out in simultaneous grief.

Yet the two elders of the Martial Saint Academy froze.

They clearly sensed that Xia Yu had not been blasted apart, but had vanished.

The few people who were about to charge forward froze as well.

"Don't worry, I'm right here."

Xia Yu's voice rang out right behind them.

The complexions of the two elders from the Sacred Hall Academy sank as their bodies flickered, immediately launching another attack.

Suddenly, two figures appeared before them, directly blocking their strikes.

"I said stop, didn't you understand me?"

An authoritative voice echoed across the arena.

A tall figure then appeared before the crowd.

He had crane-like hair and a youthful complexion, his gaze sharp as torches, his demeanor naturally imposing without anger.

Following his appearance, more than a dozen figures successively descended.

The aura of every single one of them was incomparably powerful.

The Emperor Realm!

More than a dozen experts in the Emperor Realm!

Mid-air, Su Deyu, Yuan Pingtian, and Zhang Xinyi also ceased their combat.

"An Qing pays her respects to the Patriarch and all the Grand Ancestors."

The Seventh Princess rushed over the moment she saw the old man, bowing respectfully.

The newcomer was none-other than the imperial family's ancestral patriarch, the Supreme Emperor's great-grandfather, An Youguo.

An Youguo glanced at An Qing, a smile appearing on his face as he said, "The little girl is not bad, you've comprehended Intermediate Sword Intent. Keep up the good work."

"Many thanks for the Patriarch's praise!" An Qing wore a smile, and after expressing her gratitude, she quietly stepped aside.

She knew very well that since the Patriarch had arrived, naturally he would not stand by with folded arms.

As far as the imperial family's interests were concerned, having the two factions fight each other to the death was naturally undesirable.

Balance was the outcome the imperial family desired most.

"We pay our respects to the Patriarch."

At this moment, everyone present also bowed in succession.

An Youguo said indifferently, "You are all too courteous."

"An Qing, you come and recount what happened."

Suddenly, An Youguo called out to An Qing.

Whether it was the Dao-Seeking Academy or the Martial Saint Academy, he had no intention of letting either side speak first.

Because everyone would state reasons that favored themselves.

As the imperial family, this sort of vicious battle required a strong-handed approach.

Should the two academies fight to the death, the repercussions for the entire imperial court would be extremely far-reaching.

In reality, before he even arrived, he had already understood the events here.

The imperial family's intelligence network vastly surpassed that of the two academies.

Even the ins and outs of Xia Yu's rampage at the Martial Saint Academy today had been thoroughly investigated by them.

The only reason he had An Qing recount the tale was precisely to tell it deliberately for the people of the two academies to hear.

An Qing nodded, recounting everything completely from Xia Yu's rampage at the Martial Saint Academy all the way to the events just now.

Throughout this, she neither favored either side nor exaggerated or distorted the facts.

An Youguo listened quietly, his gaze sweeping across the faces of Yuan Pingtian and Su Deyu.

Then, he swept it across the faces of everyone else once more.

"An Qing's account-Yuan Pingtian, Su Deyu, do either of you have any objections?"

"You only need to answer: yes, or no?"

An Youguo's voice was not loud, yet it possessed extreme authority.

He had once served as an emperor for a century, brimming with royal imposingness.

"None," Su Deyu said immediately.

Yuan Pingtian hesitated for a moment and said, "None."

"It seems both Academy Directors are reasonable men. Since that is the case, you should understand all the more that nothing can be accomplished without rules!"

"From now on, abide by the rules. Junior challenges are fine, but the older generation's face must still be preserved."

"In addition, if any of you older folks have issues, you may challenge directly, one-on-one."

"If everyone reacts to the beating of a junior by having their elders step out to kill them, then how many people could possibly remain in this entire Wasteland Province, or even the entire Divine Continent? How could things be passed down?"

"Certain rules must be obeyed!"

"Understood," Su Deyu and Yuan Pingtian hastily agreed.

In fact, throughout the entire Divine Continent, there was an unwritten rule: in battles among peers and conflicts between juniors, elders must not meddle.

This was because forbidding juniors from fighting would prevent them from maturing.

Yet junior conflicts inevitably involved casualties, so if the older generation popped out every time to beat the juniors to death, total chaos would ensue.

Occasionally, there were people who disregarded the rules, but those actions were always handled in private; no one dared bring them out into the open.

"If there is a next time, my imperial family will strictly punish without leniency!"

An Youguo's expression sank, his tone chillingly cold.

Landing in the ears of the crowd, it felt like a thunderclap.

Many people lowered their heads one after another.

"An Qing, come back with me."

As soon as An Youguo finished speaking, a halo of light enveloped An Qing, and he stepped into the void and departed.

A Half-Sage!

An incomparably powerful Half-Sage!

Yuan Pingtian cast a cold glare at Su Deyu, whose expression remained completely impassive.

He then took a deep look at Xia Yu before turning to leave.

The members of the Martial Saint Academy quickly retreated like a receding tide.

"Treat the injured, and go eat dinner. I'm hungry!"

Su Deyu said indifferently before turning and walking away.

At this moment, quite a few people gazed at Su Deyu with deeply bizarre expressions.

None of them had expected that the Academy Director had actually reached the Half-Sage realm.

For a long time, they had all believed that Su Deyu was overly cowardly, dodging and yielding to the Martial Saint Academy at every turn.

To the point that in recent years, almost no talented individuals had been willing to join the Dao-Seeking Academy.

Today's battle seemed to paint a rather different picture.

However, after today, they had completely torn away all pretense of civility with the Martial Saint Academy.

What the future held was impossible for anyone to predict.

Yet one thing was certain: it would definitely not just vanish into thin air like this.

At the evening banquet, everyone was preoccupied with heavy thoughts, and the meal ended hastily.

"Xia Yu, come with me."

As soon as the meal finished, Su Deyu called out to Xia Yu.

Xia Yu silently rose and followed Su Deyu to the latter's quarters.

Su Deyu stared quietly at Xia Yu for a long time, remaining completely silent.

That gaze made Xia Yu feel extremely uncomfortable.

"Master, if you have something to say, just spit it out. Looking at me like this is utterly torturous."

Finally, Xia Yu could no longer hold back.

"What are your plans for the future?" Su Deyu asked slowly.

"Me?" Xia Yu had never expected Su Deyu to ask such a question.

"I don't have any particular plans, other than curing my sister."

Xia Yu thought for a moment and spoke up.

"If that is the case, then let me point you down a path. Three months from now, a Secret Realm will open. It is entirely possible that there are items in there capable of curing your sister."

"A Secret Realm?" Xia Yu was startled.

"Yes, a Secret Realm. Inside are all sorts of heavenly treasures and rare materials, and perhaps even various inheritances. Once you reach the Secret Realm, you will naturally understand."

"Understood."

"In addition, you can also read books. Perhaps the solutions to your sister's problems can be found within them. And my Dao-Seeking Academy holds the largest collection of texts in the entire Great Xia Dynasty."

"Read books?" Xia Yu paused in surprise.

Su Deyu nodded and said, "The Dao-Seeking Academy possesses not only the Great Confucian Classics, but also texts on artifact crafting, alchemy, array formations, and so on-everything you could possibly imagine."

"No matter how strong you are, or how monstrous your talent, once cultivation reaches its peak, it is all about refining the heart and comprehension: comprehending the heavens and earth, comprehending nature, and comprehending the Heavenly Dao!"

"No person can ever gaze upon all the scenery of the world, yet reading allows one to witness far more of the world's scenery."

"Refining the heart means refining your own mind. Your own mind is your personal will and consciousness. When your willpower grows strong enough-strong enough to know no fear-"

"What in this world could possibly stop you?"

Su Deyu's gaze burned with intense brilliance as he looked at Xia Yu.

Xia Yu froze in place!

A moment later, Xia Yu respectfully straightened and bowed deeply toward Su Deyu.

"Many thanks for Master's instruction!"