Yang Podi ignored the increasingly grim expressions on everyone's faces and continued, "There are a few other points to note. Once you join Heavenly Pursuit Academy, all major decisions must be made by a vote of the academy's deans; no private decisions are allowed."
"Finally, there's one more thing. Joining my Heavenly Pursuit Academy is difficult, but leaving is even more difficult, and you'll likely have to pay a heavy price."
Upon hearing this, Feng Xiaotian and the others' faces turned somewhat green.
But Yang Podi didn't care about their expressions. After he finished speaking, he simply closed his eyes to rest and ignored everything else.
To other forces, the Four Elements Academy, with its thousands of Soul Master, might be a considerable force, but Yang Podi didn't care about that at all.
Judging from the current situation, war will begin in five years at most. Both the Spirit Hall and the two great empires are preparing for the future war, which is why they are trying to win over various forces at any cost.
But Yang Podi had no intention of joining the war. Rather than fighting to the death with the major powers, he preferred to leisurely watch the show.
After all, people die on the battlefield. Most of the Heavenly Pursuit Academy are disciples of the four major families, and many are even direct descendants. As long as there is a war, casualties are inevitable. These are their foundations. Rather than letting them fight to the death, it is better to hide. Otherwise, Yang Podi would not have chosen a remote place like Mount Aermo.
Besides, once the war is over, as long as I and Tianyue become gods, the entire Douluo Continent will be our territory. What difference will it make whether the Four Elements Academy joins us or not?
At this moment, Shui Bing'er suddenly spoke up, "Your Yang Podi, if we join Heavenly Pursuit Academy, can you guarantee that we students and teachers will be treated equally? At least we won't be discriminated against?"
Yang Podi smiled and shook his head, "Theoretically, that's how it is. Within the Heavenly Pursuit Academy, everything is governed by the academy's rules, and everyone must abide by them. But you should also know that the foundation of the Heavenly Pursuit Academy lies with our original Breaking Clan, Defense Clan, Jade Phosphorous Clan, and Nine Heart Clan. It's normal for the academy to focus on cultivating some core disciples."
"If you join Heavenly Pursuit Academy, I can at least guarantee equal treatment, and each of your four academies can even send a vice dean. But I don't want any trouble to arise, after all, the four of us moved to Mount Aermo in the Far North simply for peace and quiet."
After hearing these words, Shui Bing'er hesitated for a moment before saying, "I'm sorry, Your Majesty Yang Podi, I need to think about what you've said."
After finishing their conversation, Shui Bing'er and the others left Heavenly Pursuit Academy. This was just a routine negotiation; at least they learned about Yang Podi's conditions. As for the final decision, it would probably have to wait for the deans of the four academies to make the final decision.
After watching the group leave, Yang Wudi seemed somewhat conflicted. " Podi, weren't your demands a bit too harsh? No academy would accept such requests."
Yang Podi shook his head. "Grandpa, we moved to this Far North region to avoid the war between the Spirit Hall and the Upper Three Sects, and even to avoid the conflict between the Spirit Hall and the two great empires, so as not to become cannon fodder."
"The so-called Four Elements Academy is nothing but a bunch of opportunists. Joining our Heavenly Pursuit Academy might allow them to avoid this war, while not joining us means they'll either join the Spirit Hall or the Heaven Dou Empire, and when war breaks out, they'll definitely become cannon fodder."
"Right now, we only seek to live peacefully, not to grow stronger. After all, the so-called Elemental Academy doesn't even have Titled Douluo, at most a few Soul Douluo. They're only good for cannon fodder."
Yang Wudi said with some confusion, "Although the Four Elements Academy is relatively weak, they still have potential, especially these young people, who are already showing signs of becoming Titled Douluo. It would be a bit of a pity to miss out on them."
Yang Podi shook his head. "They're only at the level of Titled Douluo. Judging from the current situation, it will take at least five years, or at most ten, for the entire Douluo Continent to undergo a tremendous change. By then, these people will at most break through to the Soul Saint realm. Does our Heavenly Pursuit Academy really need a few more Soul Saint?"
"Besides, it's not worth getting ourselves involved in this mess for a few Soul Master. We'd be better off developing on our own. After all, the purpose of establishing Heavenly Pursuit Academy is to strengthen our four major families, not to cultivate talent for other forces."
Yang Wudi and the others couldn't help but nod upon hearing these words. Lowering one's stance to attract the four Elemental Academy to join could indeed strengthen Heavenly Pursuit Academy in the short term, but it was putting the cart before the horse. Heavenly Pursuit Academy wasn't aiming for supremacy; it was merely trying to avoid war.
Dugu Bo suddenly spoke up, " Old Goat, Old Rhino, what you Little Monster said is quite right. In the current situation, having more Titled Douluo is useless. Besides, our academy is only for the survival of our four families for ten thousand years, and we don't want to get involved in outside affairs. What's the point of having so many people?"
Yang Wudi:...
Niu Gao:...
After the five members of the Elemental Academy left, they were all considering the issues raised in the conversation, including the future development of the academy.
Lei Dong from the Thunder Academy spoke first, " Heavenly Pursuit Academy's requirements are too strict. I'm afraid Thunder Academy can't meet them. Thunder Academy originally relied on the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, and many people within the academy have various connections with the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan has always been somewhat at odds with the Heavenly Pursuit Academy, so I'm afraid it will be difficult for us to provide fair treatment."
"Furthermore, the fact that Heavenly Pursuit Academy chooses to remain in seclusion is completely inconsistent with the positions of the Thunder Academy and the Spirit Hall. I'm afraid they said those things on purpose, simply because they don't want to accept Thunder Academy, nor do they want to oppose the Spirit Hall."
Feng Xiaotian, standing to the side, hesitated, " Lei Dong, what about your plan?"
Lei Dong shook his head. "I never had high hopes for the Heavenly Pursuit Academy. I plan to lead the academy to Heaven Dou City, which is the Heaven Dou City that can accommodate us now. Besides, Senior Liu Erlong is the dean of the Blue Tyrant Academy, and Senior Yu Xiaogang is the leader of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy. These two are the only remaining members of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, and they can receive some care in Heaven Dou City. So I plan to go to the Blue Tyrant Academy."
The other four nodded in agreement. For the Thunder Academy, going to the Blue Tyrant Academy was indeed a very good option.
Shui Bing'er from the Skywater Academy suddenly spoke up, " Heavenly Pursuit Academy and our Skywater Academy have somewhat similar teaching philosophies, and the Far North region is very suitable for our Skywater Academy. I plan to lead Skywater Academy to join Heavenly Pursuit Academy."
The group remained silent upon hearing this. Compared to the other major Elemental Academy, Skywater Academy Skywater Academy indeed an anomaly, being the only one among all Elemental Academy that admitted commoners as students.
Huo Wu turned to Feng Xiaotian beside her and asked, " Xiaotian, what do you think?"
Feng Xiaotian shook his head. "It's a difficult decision for me too. Heaven Dou City is more suitable for the development of our Godwind Academy, but the Heaven Dou Imperial Family, Clear Sky Sect, and Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect are all eyeing us covetously. Being sandwiched between these three forces will likely be fraught with danger, and we might even be swallowed up by them."
In the original novel, Shrek Academy was actually just Upper Three Sects. All their actions were basically led by Tang San. Ten thousand years later, Shrek Academy no longer had the elemental families that it had joined, at least not the Huo Family, Shui Family, Feng Family.
Suddenly, Huo Wushuang spoke up, " Xiao Wu, I plan to tell Father and Grandfather that I'm leading Blazing Fire Academy to join Heavenly Pursuit Academy."
Although Huo Wu is dazzling and deeply loved by her family elders, the true captain is Huo Wushuang, who is the true direct descendant of the Blazing Fire Academy Blazing Fire Academy. Moreover, throughout the original work, Huo Wu is relatively flamboyant and her behavior is quite extreme and immature, while Huo Wushuang is more composed.
Huo Wu looked puzzled. "Brother, Heavenly Pursuit Academy has so many requirements. I'm afraid our Blazing Fire Academy won't have much of a future after joining."
Huo Wushuang shook his head. "We've fought against the Heaven Dou Second Team Heaven Dou Second Team many times before, so we should understand the strength of their members. But according to the information I found out later, Niu Meng's strength was originally similar to that of Tai Long and Bai Xiaofei from the Heaven Dou Team One, but in a real fight, they were basically on two different levels. This shows that Yang Podi is very good at teaching and research."
"Furthermore, I've recently done some research on the Heavenly Pursuit Academy Heavenly Pursuit Academy. Although its rules are quite strict, their fundamental purpose is to maintain the status of the four major families. If our Huo Family joins, is it possible for us to become the fifth family? Besides, if you receive special training from the Heavenly Pursuit Academy, your future prospects should be even better."
"The situation across the world is extremely tense right now. If we move to the Heaven Dou City area, we'll probably be going to the battlefield sooner or later. It's better to go into seclusion with the Heavenly Pursuit Academy; at least we can avoid losses for our Huo Family."
Huo Wu fell silent after hearing this. Although Huo Wu was arrogant and proud, she still had some self-awareness. She had lost to the Heaven Dou Second Team many times in the Soul Master Tournament and greatly admired the individual strength of the Heaven Dou Second Team members.
Feng Xiaotian remained silent. Although he had worked hard all these years, improving from level 44 in the Soul Master Tournament to level 61 now, he was still inferior to Yang Podi five years later. Not to mention that Yang Podi had already reached Level 98. The gap between the two was like an insurmountable chasm.
Feng Xiaotian, after all, was a rare individual with Innate Full Soul Power, and he was quite confident in his talent. In fact, he was also very curious about Yang Podi and even the way the Heaven Dou Second Team improved back then.
After some communication, Blazing Fire Academy, Godwind Academy, and Skywater Academy of the Four Elements Academy decided to join Heavenly Pursuit Academy, while Thunder Academy decided to move to Heaven Dou City. As for the specific communication matters, the deans of each academy need to make specific decisions, and there are even some specific details that need to be discussed.
However, for Yang Podi, these were just minor incidents. Becoming a god was his true goal, and even becoming the strongest god was his ultimate objective. After all, even gods have varying strengths and are subject to the risk of falling.
Just as Yang Podi was cultivating at home, a very peculiar aura suddenly entered his senses. This aura was unusually calm, and its strength was hard to discern.
However, this aura has a sense of returning to simplicity. If Bo Saixi represents the vastness of the sea, then this aura represents the boundlessness of the sky, or perhaps a sacred aura.
Moreover, the presence of Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo was very familiar.
Yang Podi opened his eyes, which seemed to be filled with golden light. "I didn't expect this old guy to actually come in person. It seems that the Spirit Hall still values me quite a bit."