Xin Huo Academy, both inside and outside the dormitory area, was brightly lit.
Compared to the private residences of these students from privileged backgrounds, the student dormitories seemed a bit cramped. However, the students dared not underestimate these small rooms.
These quasi-student dormitories, covering only a few dozen square meters, contained unimaginable technological power. Displayed externally alone were epic-grade hidden rituals, barrier rituals, and recovery rituals. Throughout the entire dormitory area, many epic-grade herbs called 'Awakening Heart Grass,' known for their potent refreshing and calming effects, were planted.
These were merely the visible amenities. The students were well aware that the dormitory area possessed much more magical capabilities. The most significant was that no matter how exhausted they were from training the previous day, a single night's sleep here would leave them full of energy the next morning.
"But even so, Your Highness, as a princess, you should be living in a more spacious and luxurious mansion."
Deep into the night, two figures walked back towards the dormitory area from the training grounds.
One was tall, the other short. The shorter girl had a delicate face like a porcelain doll, with fair skin as smooth as silk. She was adorned with jewelry and accessories that were immediately identifiable as very expensive. Even though she wore a simple quasi-student uniform, it couldn't conceal her noble bearing.
The slightly taller girl was older and followed closely behind, maintaining a distance of one step, like a maid attending a princess.
She was indeed a maid.
The personal attendant of the Sixteenth Princess of the Yuntu Kingdom, who had watched the young princess grow up.
Princess Mia pouted, "What difference does it make? Here, we are all students… er, quasi-students. If I wanted to enjoy luxuries, I wouldn't have run away from the palace."
"But Your Highness, you had the opportunity to study at Luoxia Academy of the Holy Court. Now you've essentially given that chance to your elder sister."
The cultivation academies of the Central Holy Court were the cultivation holy lands that countless people in the Yunhui Great Domain yearned for, possessing the highest-grade awakening rituals and numerous legacy sites.
Cultivation academies typically only admitted top geniuses or children of nobles within the Holy Court. However, as a vassal state of the Central Holy Court, the Yuntu Kingdom also had a few recommended spots.
Mia was one of the candidates, with the chance to attend an academy in the Holy Court.
Princes and princesses of major countries eligible to attend these academies usually did not lack cultivation resources. The cultivation environment of the Holy Court academies was merely a bonus in their eyes; what they truly valued was the opportunity to interact with the children of the powerful figures in the Central Holy Court and build extensive personal connections.
This was the fundamental reason why princes and princesses aspiring to vie for royal power were so eager to attend the Holy Court academies.
Mia had no intention of pursuing the throne. She was born too late, and more importantly, she disliked the arrogant individuals in the Central Holy Court.
The people of the Central Holy Court looked at them as if they were country bumpkins, even though the Central Holy Court was indeed far more prosperous than their Yuntu Kingdom.
"Xin Huo Academy is different. Regardless of background, here we are all just students. Even those who are truly core senior students from the academy don't act superior."
No one belittled her, and no one flattered her… well, there were some flatterers. Upon learning of her identity as the princess of the Yuntu Kingdom, some shamelessly fawned over her, which was quite annoying. Fortunately, the atmosphere at Xin Huo Academy was excellent; most people were diligent in their cultivation. As long as she ignored them, these flatterers wouldn't be numerous.
She looked at her personal attendant, "You don't need to follow me all the time. You should seize opportunities to improve yourself. What if you are expelled from the academy due to neglecting your cultivation… You must also advance to become a formal student with me and then aim to become a core student."
The attendant bowed slightly, "Your Highness, you are right. I will seize my time to cultivate. However, my duty is to protect your personal safety. It is impossible for me not to follow you closely."
"This is the internal secret realm of the academy. Where would there be any danger?"
Mia stuck out her tongue.
But as soon as she finished speaking, a flash of orange-red light erupted in the distance, accompanied by rumbling sounds. The shockwaves of the explosion were dissipated by numerous defensive light barriers.
Immediately after, several figures could be seen soaring through the sky, heading towards the source of the fiery light.
"It's the enforcement team."
"Who's spy from which force has infiltrated and is causing trouble this time?"
"Damn it, can't these people let us cultivate in peace? Don't let them drag us down. If Xin Huo Academy expels us all, I will never forgive these people!"
Many were annoyed.
Especially the scattered powerhouses from ordinary backgrounds.
In the past, they had no way to advance to higher realms. Now that they had such an environment, someone was constantly trying to disrupt it. They would not allow it!
They wished they could eliminate all these individuals.
Eliminating them was the job of the enforcement team; it wasn't their place. Moreover, the true masterminds were colossal powers hidden behind these spies and suicidal operatives.
However, they had no idea which colossal power it was.
This was the helplessness of scattered powerhouses.
Let alone scattered powerhouses, even Princess Mia from the Yuntu Kingdom pouted in anger, feeling helpless.
She also had no clues.
After all, she was just a small princess with limited power. There might be some old figures within the country who would be happy to see Xin Huo Academy make a fool of itself.
"Damn it!"
"Forget it, we can't do anything about it. Let's go cultivate… no, let's go to class. Tonight, there's a class by the Chief Instructor! Let's go, let's go!"
"But Your Highness, isn't your major in elemental magic?"
"What does that matter! The Chief Instructor said that whether it's saber techniques, sword techniques, or sorcery, they are not confined to a specific range and are inconvenient things, hmph hmph~"
...
Xin Huo Academy, Dean's Office.
One person, two spirits, and three figures were staring at the monitoring screen in front of them.
"This is the tenth incident this month, isn't it? What do these people think this place is!"
Miss Ruo, with her hands on her hips, her face flushed with anger.
Fang You, however, was not particularly angry. These situations were all within his expectations.
The emergence of Xin Huo Academy was bound to cause some ripples among the established powers, leading to hostility from old aristocrats and traditional forces. This was very normal, especially since the class structure in the Yunhui Great Domain was quite rigid. Scattered powerhouses here had the opportunity to become titled Six-Awakened individuals, and even gain the status of a newly emerging minor noble. However, their status and position were still worlds apart from the old aristocrats.
A powerful titled Six-Awakened individual would still have to smile obsequiously before a second or third-awakened noble.
This was the Yunhui Great Domain!
Moreover, it was exceedingly difficult for individuals from ordinary backgrounds to cultivate to the Six-Awakened level. In the mortal world, nobles still controlled the vast majority of top-tier combat power.
And now, the intrusion of Xin Huo Academy was like a catfish disrupting a small pond, stirring up a storm.
This was not surprising.
Making all of humanity engage in intense competition, stimulating progress through competition, was also one of Tutor Fang's objectives.
The impact on the class structure was one aspect. Envy of Xin Huo Academy's legacy sites and various precious facilities was another significant reason for the frequent incidents within the academy.
What surprised Dean Fang somewhat was that these repeated thefts and sabotage incidents had fostered a sense of shared purpose among many preparatory and new students, invisibly increasing their sense of belonging.
This was also the root of Dean Fang's not being overly enraged.
However, not being overly enraged did not mean he was not angry at all.
He looked at Xiao Huan, "Has the intelligence department's interrogation yielded any results?"
"Some have."
Xiao Huan conjured a map of the Yunhui Great Domain and marked the names of various forces on it, "Black River Merchant Association, Heaven and Earth Pavilion, Thorn Count's Domain…"
She listed several behind-the-scenes forces.
"But these are just minor players. It is not ruled out that they are acting under the orders of higher powers, and… a few of the suicidal operatives cannot reveal their specific identities."
"Oh?"
Fang You raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised.
The intelligence department was personally cultivated by Qian Mian and possessed rich interrogation techniques for the mysterious side. They did not need to resort to physical means or psychological attacks but directly used illusionary techniques to break through the mind or skills like thought stealing and memory reading to obtain information.
So-called tough guys and suicidal operatives were meaningless in front of the Xin Huo intelligence department.
Even if a person died, fragments of information could be extracted from their brain cells and then integrated.
"These suicidal operatives died silently after being captured. Their entire bodies gradually became waxy until they completely disappeared… This must be some sort of mysterious method!"
Just as there were methods to pry into memories, there were also methods to prevent prying.
And when a person died completely and turned into water, naturally nothing could be investigated.
A rather ruthless method.
"What are our losses?"
"Currently, there have been 29 incidents of espionage, theft, or destruction of academy equipment. Twenty-three of these were intercepted just as they were about to occur, and the remaining six were quickly brought under control by the enforcement team. Fortunately, there were no significant losses. It's just so frustrating!"
Xiao Huan stamped her foot.
"Master, we should establish some strongholds in the Yunhui Great Domain to gather information on various forces, so we can find out who is hiding in the shadows and give them a good beating!"
It was a good suggestion, but Fang You dismissed it.
They did not have that much time.
Let them cause trouble. Most areas of the entire secret realm world were under the surveillance of the Eye of Detection, so no major issues could arise. He and Miss Ruo could also direct their attention to any corner of the secret realm at any time.
Of course, human energy and time were limited.
But Miss Ruo's energy and time were unlimited.
Even if mythical beings infiltrated the secret realm, there was no need to worry. This secret realm had been modified with special technology from the Kandra Empire and possessed a one-button expulsion function. As long as Miss Ruo willed it, mythical beings and demigods would be instantly expelled, thus ensuring absolute safety within the secret realm.
"No need to rush. We can assign the task of counter-attack to these new students who share a common enemy, using an old-to-new approach. This will also help them integrate into the academy faster… These are minor matters."
"The current urgent task is still to cultivate and select suitable students."
Regardless of whether they were preparatory students or formal students, they were essentially temporary personnel at Xin Huo Academy.
Only core students could enter the organization.
And his goal was to select suitable students for pacts. The number did not need to be large, because one core student was equivalent to a quasi-mythical being.
Spies and suicidal operatives were just moths drawn to a flame; they could not cause any real trouble.
He was not worried about hidden moves; he was worried about overt ones.
The Yunhui Great Domain had demigods.
And the Central Holy Court was even more unfathomable!
If they made a move openly, with Xin Huo's current scale, they might not be able to withstand it.
Of course, he could strategically retreat, but that would only be a last resort when there was no other option.
"Our top-tier combat power is still too weak."
"I could choose to delay for a few more years, waiting until Xin Huo has many powerful individuals before starting to lay out plans, but who knows when the evil gods will truly revive? There is no time to waste."
"Cultivating more mythical beings now will allow us to have more personnel, obtain destiny points and resources faster, and thus continue to snowball and grow."
Delaying development was unacceptable.
It was a case of meeting force with force and blocking water with earth.
At this moment, Tutor Fang showed a look of joy. After handing over the monitoring task to Miss Ruo and Xiao Huan, he went to the back mountain of the secret realm, to a secluded area protected by layers of ritual formations.
In the swirling mist, the sound of clanging sword cries could be heard, and a slender figure emerged from the sword shadows.
"The sixth wisp of divinity has indeed condensed."
"Hahahaha, as expected of me! In this life, I will surely walk the path of invincibility."
"Uh…"
Liu Feng, who was laughing heartily, seemed to have his throat choked.
He widened his eyes and looked at the figure standing in the distance.
It was Teacher!
When did Teacher arrive? Wait, did Teacher hear everything he just said?
He was no longer a child in his awkward phase; he had brought up many disciples and was an old man who had lived for over a hundred years.
Emmmm…
Liu Feng suddenly understood what social death meant.
In this regard, he had to learn from Yi Luoxi. As long as I don't think I'm socially dead, I'm socially adept.
While Liu Feng was feeling awkward, Fang You was oblivious to his feeling of social death. In his memory, Liu Feng was still a young boy, and it was quite normal for teenagers to be a bit dramatic.
He just wanted to inquire about Liu Feng's cultivation progress.
"Six wisps of divinity have been condensed. Next, you can attempt to break through to the demigod realm. The number of powerful individuals in this era is far less than in the Kandra period. You need to grow up quickly and shoulder the banner of humanity."
After all, he, Tutor Fang, was still a beginner with only two wisps of divinity.
"I understand, Teacher! This time, I won't let those evil god's minions run rampant anymore!"
Liu Feng recovered from his awkwardness, speaking with a mix of remembrance and determination, "However, I still need to stabilize my realm and explore the opportunity to break through to demigod. This might take a year, or a year and a half."
That was a bit too long.
Fang You frowned.
He opened the panel and pulled up Liu Feng's information.
Upon returning to the present world, Liu Feng had been promoted from a secondary apostle to a destiny apostle, and the panel information was much more detailed. The character model was also more refined than before.
Most importantly, destiny apostles could better receive the pull of destiny power and grow stronger and advance within the great trend of destiny.
「Liu Feng (Seven-Awakened Mythical Being)」
「Divinity: 6 wisps 0%」!
「Skills: Myriad Transformations Sword Art (Gold), Myriad Beasts Body Tempering (Gold), Mountains and Rivers Contemplation (Gold), Sharp Sword Intent, Sharpness Accumulation, Sword Commands the Nine Heavens, … (59 types)」
「Equipment: Omitted (2 Legendary, 4 Epic)」
「…」
Fang You skimmed through most of the information and moved on.
He clicked on the "!" behind Divinity.
「Ding!」
「Prompt: Do you wish to perform the 'Guidance·Awakening' for the eight-awakened demigod on destiny apostle 'Liu Feng'？」
「Prompt: The basic cost for this guidance is '100,000 Destiny Points', '1,000,000 Mystic Crystals', currently judging awakening conditions…」
——
「1. Accumulated Mystery Value greater than or equal to 10,000,000.」(x)
「2. Possess more than 30 strands of additional divine factor.」(x)
「3. Divinity count greater than or equal to 3.」(√)
「4. Sixfold control of body and energy.」(√) (This item can be below standard, but will greatly reduce breakthrough probability)
「5. Willpower can manifest.」(√)
「6. Possess more than 3 additional abilities.」(√)
「7. Corruption level less than or equal to 10%.」(√)
「8. Ascension Ritual: 300,000 Destiny Points, 20 Divine Crystals, accompanied by a 'Sword' rule fragment item x1 (missing), compatible divine-infusing object x5 (choose), compatible legendary material x5 (choose), and other materials…」
(End of this chapter)