Azure Sky Continent, Azure Wood Academy.
Yun Mo, a disciple of the academy, reclined on a bamboo chair, munching on the Spirit Fruit in his hand as he watched the academy disciples spar below. He felt utterly content.
At first, when he discovered that this was the world of The Great Ruler, he had been dumbfounded. But once the bewilderment passed, he began coasting through life.
Honestly, this world was pretty brutal. At its core, it was a world where strength reigned supreme. But knowing how certain events would end and steering clear of them beforehand made it easy enough to live out a safe life. In fact, with reasonably decent strength, one could enjoy an extremely comfortable existence.
No matter how badass that Extraterritorial Evil Clan is, can it beat my Flame Emperor, the Martial Ancestor, and Mu Chen together? And that Heavenly Evil God, that reincarnated Centipede Spirit-what good are all those eyes? He's still going to bite the dust in the end.
The ending's already set, so why the hell should I struggle? What's wrong with cultivating a little and becoming a wealthy landlord?
It was so, so much better than working nine to nine, six days a week in his previous life.
"Mmm, nice, nice. Spirit Fruit really does taste good. Hey, why's that kid so stupid? Go for him! You wasted such a great opening. You deserve to lose!"
Yun Mo sat with one leg crossed over the other, watching the hot-blooded youths shouting below, perfectly at ease.
"Say, as the student with the highest cultivation in our academy, shouldn't you be working hard at cultivating? Don't let me overtake you." An envious voice came from behind Yun Mo. He wanted to live like this too.
"Tch, Qing He, I told you ages ago. If hard work actually paid off, those ascetic monks would've become Buddhas long ago. Living peacefully and enjoying life is the best choice. This world is beautiful. Don't miss out on it."
The Great Thousand World truly was beautiful. Even this tiny Azure Wood Academy had drawn heartfelt admiration from Yun Mo. Had the photographers from his previous life been here, they probably would have fainted from excitement.
Ancient trees hundreds of feet tall, awash in shimmering light; graceful mountains and waters that looked as though layers of filters had been applied to them; and the brilliant starry skies at night-such scenery could only be described as an immortal paradise, a true heaven on earth.
Qing He felt bitter upon hearing that. Why was he forever stuck in second place despite cultivating with everything he had? No matter what he tried, his cultivation realm never caught up to the fellow lounging in that chair.
The Great Dao was unfair, and Heaven was blind!
Just as he was grumbling inwardly, a somewhat youthful-looking student ran toward them. "Senior brothers! The headmaster wants you both to come over. He says he has good news!"
Qing He raised his eyebrows to signal that he understood, then grabbed Yun Mo to bring him along. "Yun Mo, let's go."
"Don't drag me! I don't want to go. It's time for my afternoon nap. I need some sleep. Whatever news that old man has, it definitely isn't anything good!"
Yun Mo had a foreboding feeling. Ever since he began cultivating, almost every piece of "good news" had turned out to be bad news for him.
What good news could there possibly be for someone who just wanted to coast through life?
"Uh... Senior Brother Yun, the headmaster said that if you don't go, he'll come catch you himself. He'll also confiscate the things in your Storage Ring and list them in your student profile. Then he'll lock you beneath that ranking board so every student can come admire you."
Clearly, this student had no idea what was inside Yun Mo's Storage Ring.
The corner of Yun Mo's mouth twitched, and he covered the Storage Ring on his finger. It held treasures he had bought for a hefty sum on the black market, things he couldn't casually let anyone see. If the old man put them on public display, his lifelong reputation would be ruined. Those junior sisters might stop paying attention to him.
How did that old man find out?!
No, I need to find a chance to clean out my Storage Ring first.
"Come on, stop struggling. The headmaster isn't going to let you off." Seeing his hesitation, Qing He used spiritual energy to haul him to his feet.
Yun Mo put up a halfhearted struggle, but could only let himself be dragged to the academy's main hall.
When the two arrived, they discovered several elders already waiting there. All of them were chuckling, their faces indescribably sleazy.
"Headmaster. Elders." Yun Mo and Qing He greeted them. Qing He was fairly respectful, while Yun Mo looked rather unwilling.
Yun Mo actually held a high position in Azure Wood Academy. For one thing, the headmaster had found him and brought him back, and he had lived here since childhood. For another, his talent really was exceptional, earning him considerable attention from the academy's leadership.
"Yun Mo, Qing He, the Five Great Academies have sent good news!" One elder stroked his white beard as he looked at the academy's two finest students, unable to suppress his smile.
"Huh?" Qing He was puzzled. Could he and Yun Mo be entering the Five Great Academies?
He remembered an elder from the Five Great Academies visiting not long ago, only to hurry back after seeing him and Yun Mo.
Yun Mo, however, wore an intensely wary expression. His sense of foreboding grew stronger and stronger, until even his right eyelid began twitching incessantly.
"Yes, that's right. The two of you have been chosen by the Five Great Academies. You'll take part directly in the Spirit Road trial. As long as you pass, you can enter the Five Great Academies directly!" Qing Yilun nodded with a smile.
He was the headmaster of Azure Wood Academy, and his strength was terrifying. Though he wasn't among the strongest beings on the Azure Sky Continent, he was still an overlord who dominated his own region, every bit as strong as the Northern Darkness Dragon Kun of the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy before his breakthrough.
Moreover, Azure Wood Academy had deep foundations and good relations with other major powers, allowing them to rest easy in this region.
Knowing how to get along with others could still take one far in this world, provided one possessed a certain degree of strength and no treasures valuable enough to invite trouble.
Of course, the relatively peaceful disposition of the people on this continent also played a part.
"Huh? The Spirit Road? We're both going to the Spirit Road? Seriously?!"
Yun Mo hadn't caught it at first. Once it sank in, his entire face instantly scrunched up.
Are you kidding me? The Spirit Road is where this world's plot begins. None of the people in there are easy to mess with.
What if I run into Mu Chen, the chosen one? Wouldn't I be completely screwed? In there, he only has eyes for Luo Li, and he'll chase down anyone else with a blade.
Besides, there were no niceties on the Spirit Road, only killing in its purest form. Kill your way to the finish and survive, and you won.
Why should a future wealthy landlord like him have to risk his neck?!
"I'm not going! I refuse! Even if the King of Heaven himself comes, I'm still not going!" Yun Mo roared his refusal. He had no desire to get involved with those walking stars of calamity.
The corner of Qing Yilun's mouth twitched. He had known this lazy little bastard would be unreasonable.
In his eyes, everything about Yun Mo was good, except that he was far too lazy. If he just put in a
little more effort, would his cultivation still be stuck at the half-step Divine Soul Realm?
After all, Yun Mo was, without exception, the most talented person he had seen in all his years.
Cultivation methods and martial techniques posed no difficulty whatsoever for Yun Mo. He could learn most of them with a single glance, then modify them to suit the characteristics of his own cultivation, creating techniques of his own.
Even the mysterious, unfathomable workings of space and time were something he could gain insight into.
If Qing Yilun suppressed his cultivation to Yun Mo's level, he would probably get strung up and beaten.
As these thoughts passed through his mind, Qing Yilun raised his hand and closed it around empty air. Spiritual energy erupted in an instant, shaking the entire hall. Invisible chains bound Yun Mo from head to toe, trapping him before he could use his movement technique to escape.
"Ah... Old man, don't! I really don't want to go! It's dangerous there!"
The eyes of several senior elders in the hall twitched. The headmaster certainly acted decisively when it came to Yun Mo, though they also marveled inwardly at the depth of the bond between them.
Qing He covered his face. He had known this would happen.
It was basically the same every time they came to see the headmaster. First, the headmaster spoke. Then Yun Mo refused. Then Yun Mo ended up trussed up like a parcel.
Qing Yilun glared. He was in the prime of his life, not old at all. "If you refuse to go, I'll take out everything in your Storage Ring and tell all your junior brothers and sisters about it!"
In his eyes, the Spirit Road was practically a training opportunity handed to Yun Mo and Qing He on a silver platter. He knew something of the dangers within, but compared with what the two had already experienced, they really didn't amount to much.
When they were very young, he had taken both of them to fight the Extraterritorial Evil Clan. Though those had been extremely low-level members of the Evil Clan, the danger had still far exceeded that of the so-called Spirit Road.
He didn't believe a word of Yun Mo's nonsense.
"Old man, what's so great about those Five Great Academies? I don't believe you care that much about them!" Yun Mo was unwilling to give in. He really didn't want to go to the Spirit Road this time.
Qing Yilun told him the truth. "Actually, I just can't stand watching you laze around the academy! This time, there's no room for discussion!"
Every old man found it irritating to see a child lounging around at home, idling the days away.
Yun Mo had no rivals in Azure Wood Academy, and that would severely squander his talent. Sending him out to temper himself was the best way to teach him.
With a few motions of his fingers, he placed several seals on Yun Mo, suppressing him completely so he wouldn't vanish when the Spirit Road opened.
"No... I'm not... going!"
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