Xin Shan trembled with anger; when had he ever been treated with such disdain?
No matter how much importance he held in the academy before, ultimately, it couldn’t change his lacking background. The only reason he was valued was that he was the only one who could score a point for Dayuan Academy in the academic competition.
Because of the academy’s reputation, he could achieve his current status. But with the sudden ergence of Zhou Heng and Geng Xinnuo, his role sharply diminished. Does the academy still need to uphold him?
Without the academy’s support, what does he amount to?
The Geng Family is a powerhouse in Dayuan Academy, and Geng Xinnuo herself is a genius. She is qualified to bang the table at him, but he is not qualified to retaliate!
This is the gap!
After Yu Sichen and Mao Zixing discussed it for a while, they agreed with Geng Xinnuo’s approach. After all, an award of a Yunluo Boat had to be given to the students; otherwise, it wouldn’t make sense, and the academy would be satisfactorily accounted for if they received two boats.
Among the three contestants, although Zhou Heng’s realm was the lowest, his contribution was irreplaceable. Since Geng Xinnuo voluntarily gave way, rewarding a Yunluo Boat to Zhou Heng was in line with expectations.
Watching Zhou Heng put the Yunluo Boat into his space artifact, Xin Shan’s eyes were filled with jealousy and hatred as he snorted heavily and stord off.
He made a decision to imdiately leave Dayuan Academy and join Great River Academy—he could have entered Great River Academy thousands of years ago, but he chose to stay at Dayuan Academy for more cultivation resources.
But now with the rise of Zhou Heng and Geng Xinnuo, the academy’s attention to him would undoubtedly decline steadily. If he doesn’t leave now, should he wait to be kicked out in disgrace later?
Moreover, he has reached the limit of the Star Emperor. Now, forming a new star is as difficult as reaching the sky! Without a more advanced Starry Secret Array, he would have to challenge the Milky Way King.
But becoming a Milky Way King is even harder than increasing the number of stars!
Pills that can increase the chance of breaking through a great realm, whether in the Milky Way Realm, Cot Realm, or Black Cave Realm, can be called Holy dicine! The term Holy dicine itself indicates its rarity and difficulty!
Aside from Holy dicine, the only option is the Heavenly Mysterious Spirit Crystal, which contains the secrets of heaven and earth that can help martial artists comprehend the mysteries of a great realm.
But whether it’s Holy dicine or Heavenly Mysterious Spirit Crystal, can Dayuan Academy provide it? Even if they have it, would they give it to him?
It’s ti to leave. With his strength as a Four Thousand Star Emperor, as long as he renders great services to Great River Academy, there’s a chance he might receive Holy dicine or a Heavenly Mysterious Spirit Crystal as a reward!
The only regret is that he hasn’t managed to win over Yang Yuhua!
That night, Dayuan Academy held a celebration banquet, widely inviting people from other academies to join, but few responded. Naturally, which loser would want to see the victor’s triumphant smile?
However, Great River Academy gave face and sent two Milky Way Kings to convey their congratulations, though halfway through the banquet one of the Milky Way Kings approached Zhou Heng, asking if he intended to join Great River Academy.
Join Great River Academy?
It’s inevitable. Dayuan Academy is rely a corner of the royal mansion, while Great River Academy is the true power center. If he wants to learn about everything happening in the Bright Realm, he must extend his influence outward.
Of course, it’s not him personally acting as this influence, but by supporting the Qi Family, letting them expand their business into a broader star domain, he can receive the information he needs.
And this requires Zhou Heng to wield considerable power; otherwise, the shares of the Duyang Star smuggling business have already been divided up, and attempting to force the Qi Family’s involvent would surely result in massive backlash.
The principal of Dayuan Academy does not possess such power, so he must enter Great River Academy to open new avenues!
Initially, Zhou Heng wanted to wait until he reached the Star Emperor before going to Great River Academy, but on second thought, going earlier wouldn’t hurt. At Dayuan Academy, he was nearly invincible, too lacking in challenges.
So, he decided to go!
Zhou Heng agreed and even secured an extra spot. However, he needed to return to Dayuan Academy first because he had earned a significant amount of contribution value this ti, which would be a waste not to spend thoroughly. Moreover, he had to secretly consult with Qi Yuan to have the Qi Family cooperate with him, and the extra spot was reserved for Qi Yuan.
The visitor left contentedly and gave Zhou Heng an identity token, which would take effect once his blood dripped into it, allowing him to freely enter and exit Great River Academy in the future.
After the celebration, the group from Dayuan Academy embarked on their return journey, teleporting across thousands of mountains and rivers via Teleportation Arrays, yet it still took them ten days to finally get back to Dayuan Academy.
Upon learning that Zhou Heng and his party had secured first place, the academy’s leadership was greatly pleased and organized a grand welcoming ceremony for these "heroes." The scale was imnse; all the students of the academy were mobilized to line the roads in welco, and the overwhelming cheers even made Zhou Heng’s heart skip a beat.
But it was only that. Having ascended to the pinnacle in both the Mortal Realm and Immortal Realm, he was long accustod to standing at the top and being revered. However, Geng Xinnuo had been observing him closely and, seeing his calm and composed deanor, understood even more profoundly—what else could you expect from soone from the Great Star Domain, so used to it?
With nearly twenty thousand Contribution Points gained this ti, Zhou Heng spent it all on Spiritual dicine. Although a few main ingredients were still missing, making it impossible to refine the Flying Star Pill, he had significant resistance to dicines in his body, so taking the Flying Star Pill now would not fully utilize its dicinal power.
Besides, Spirit Grass wouldn’t spoil if left alone. Refining them after arriving at Great River Academy wouldn’t be too late. Having spent all his Contribution Points, Zhou Heng finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Since Qi Yuan had not yet erged from seclusion, Zhou Heng stayed a few more days.
The news that Xin Shan had transferred to Great River Academy had already spread. Geng Xinnuo also ca over to gather information, asking if he intended to go to Great River Academy, as she had once again received an invitation from them, and she was sure Zhou Heng had as well.
But Zhou Heng had no interest in entangling with her further—his beloved wife already had to be put aside, where would he find the ti to provoke other won? He casually deflected her questions, neither confirming nor denying, leaving it ambiguous.
Seven days later, Qi Tian finally exited seclusion, rushing excitedly to Bright Immortal Courtyard to find Zhou Heng, only to be told that he had already been promoted to Star King Court, leaving Qi Tian distressed—he had thought that breaking through to Star King first would allow him to overshadow Zhou Heng for five hundred years, but it was all for naught.
However, upon eting Zhou Heng, he was instantly elated, as he learned that Zhou Heng had secured him a spot at Great River Academy.
The admission standards of Great River Academy were truly stringent; even with the background of a Milky Way King, Qi Yuan could not be exceptionally admitted. Entering there was a form of validation. But this wasn’t the true reason for Qi Yuan’s happiness; it was because Tai Nianning would soon enter Great River Academy to study at the Heavenly dicine Institute there.
—Although Dayuan Academy and other secondary academies also had a Heavenly dicine Institute and a Heavenly Array Institute, their levels couldn’t compare to Great River Academy! Tai Nianning had a natural talent for Refining dicine, and staying at Dayuan Academy held little more to teach her, not to ntion the olive branch extended by Great River Academy, which she readily accepted.
Qi Yuan had initially worried about the inconvenience his pursuit would face due to the long distance between the two places. He had not anticipated that Zhou Heng would deliver such a grand gift, moving him nearly to tears.
"If you’re really moved, just call brother from now on!" Zhou Heng laughed.
"Get lost, I’m much older than you!"
"Then let’s have a fight; whoever wins will be the elder brother. Didn’t you say before you went into seclusion that you’d spar with after breaking through?"
"...Not fighting!"
No matter how Zhou Heng tried to entice him, Qi Yuan was no fool and refused to agree to "spar" with Zhou Heng. After their banter, they steered the conversation to the main topic, which was the Qi Family coordinating their actions with Zhou Heng.
Every family has its sphere of influence; reaching too far could get you cut off, let alone extending into the sphere of Great River Academy? That place was reputed to have many Milky Way Sovereigns, rumored to even include a Milky Way Emperor!
To the Qi Family, this would be a high-stakes gamble. Qi Yuan had the audacity to bet, but that didn’t an the Qi Family shared that boldness. They could potentially face annihilation if things went wrong!
Ultimately, Zhou Heng was still just a Star King, a being who could be crushed with one finger by an expert from the Qi Family. To place an entire family’s hope entirely on him requires serious deliberation.
This matter wasn’t within Qi Yuan’s decision-making power, so he imdiately consulted the higher-ups of the Qi Family—the Deputy Dean of the Qi Family at Dayuan Academy. Finally, Qi Yuan returned with the ssage: the Qi Family did not dare make this bet, at least not while Zhou Heng’s power was still so weak. However, Qi Yuan was free to allocate a third of the Qi Family’s wealth to run a small independent business at Great River Academy. Of course, this was unrelated to the Qi Family and rely Qi Yuan’s personal interest.
Though the outco wasn’t as perfect as expected, for the Qi Family to be willing to invest a third of their assets to accompany Zhou Heng on a gamble already demonstrated considerable boldness! Of course, Qi Yuan’s persuasion was a key factor; without it, Zhou Heng’s devilish performance so far would not have sufficed alone.
With matters settled, Zhou Heng imdiately completed the withdrawal formalities with Qi Yuan. Although they could go directly to Great River Academy, they felt it necessary to give due respect, avoiding needless offense.
With the pressure from Great River Academy, Dayuan Academy naturally didn’t dare refuse to let them go. The academy’s leadership only regretted acting too late, missing the opportunity to draw Zhou Heng into their fold earlier.
But who could bla Zhou Heng for frequently coming and going, leaving them without a suitable chance to approach him? Now they could only watch him leave. When soone wanted by Great River Academy ca knocking, they dared not obstruct but could only make discreet offers, hoping students would refuse on their own.
Though Dayuan Academy indeed extended rather favorable terms to Zhou Heng, nothing would sway his resolve.
It wasn’t just him leaving, but also Yang Yuhua, who likewise received an invitation from Great River Academy for her outstanding abilities in Array Patterns. Finally, Geng Xinnuo also agreed to enter Great River Academy. (To be continued... If you enjoy this work, please visit Qidian (qidian) to vote for recomndations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian to read.)
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