Northern borderlands of the Central Region of Canglan, Hundred Thousand Mountains.
More than five months had now passed since the Yang Clan announced that it would open its gates to recruit disciples. Throughout this time, the sight of immortal vessels roaming above the mountain forests, clouds gleaming and light flickering, had never ceased.
No matter their motives, nor whether they sincerely wished for the younger generations of their sects to enter Heaven-Clearing Academy, the powers of the Central Region had all attached great importance to the matter.
Apart from the great clans and noble houses of immense renown in the Central Region, the ones bringing the largest numbers of juniors this time were its middle-tier powers.
They accounted for over sixty percent of all forces in the Central Region, and each had at least one Dao-comprehending cultivator of the True Intent Late Stage Realm or above holding down the fort.
A considerable portion of these middle-tier powers had originally stood with the Yang Clan, only to later switch their allegiance to the Dao Academy.
At first, they saw the Yang Clan's rise as unstoppable: peak cultivators stood behind them, while supreme prodigies emerged one after another. Naturally, they had wished to board this swift vessel riding the wind, hoping that if they seized the chance, they too might soar into the heavens.
Yet after the thunder-arts calamity in the Kunxu Secret Realm, they feared being burned by the flames, hurriedly severed their ties with the Yang Clan, changed camps, and sheltered beneath the great tree of the Dao Academy.
Had Lingxiao Dao Academy not spoken out and taken a stance this time, then no matter how excellent Heaven-Clearing Academy's cultivation resources were, they would never have sent anyone there.
Such forces were heading for the Northwest merely to join the