At the time, when Curo was going through the training from Hell, the news of war spread out like wild fire. With that, another pieces of news shocked the whole Realm, “The Nine Ancient Clans weren’t native to the Realm.”
This piece of news caused countless powers, big or small, to furrow their brows as they pondered on their future actions. With a heavy heart, they all knew that once the Realm fell into the Nine Ancient Clans grasp, only death or slavery waited for them. However, the Nine Ancient Clans had managed to take down the Realms Lord before and their true strength was unknown.
If they took a side, they had to make sure that at least their legacy didn’t die out. While many powers could only grit their teeth and join the Five Academies, there were some Clans and Sects that were closely tied to the Nine Ancient Clans. Through luck, they had managed to either marry someone from the Clan or managed to get them as a part of their Sect. When before this was a good thing as it helped them solidify their power and gain the backing of the Clan, now it seemed as though it was a double edged sword. Due to their close ties with the Nine Ancient Clans and the Meng Clan’s Sovereign’s statement at the Exchange, they were hard pressed to choose a side.
To them, if they chose the Nine Ancient Clan’s side, they would be traitors to the Realm, to their own home. Even if in the end they won, it would be a hollow victory. However, if they chose the Five Academies side, would the other even trust them? Although, they can’t change the past, that doesn’t mean that they did not regret it.
However, no matter how much they regretted it, the Five Academies had no idea whether they truly were sincere or just people sent by the Nine Clans to spy and disrupt them. This war was something that decided the fate of everyone inside he Realm, the Five Academies could not take any chances or risks with this. So all these people ended up between a rock and a hard place.
No matter which side they would choose, it would end badly for them.
***
Inside a luxurious hall, over thirty figures were kneeling in front of the nine shadowy figures standing at the front. Among these thirty people were the Three Meng Clan Heavenly Sovereigns. They all had pale faces as one of the shadowy figures said, “Not only did you let the Realm’s Will slip away, you also managed to drag a Wanderer into this.” Hearing this accusation, only silence reigned in the hall. They couldn’t refute them even if they wanted to.
The man then sighed, “We can not provide you with any more assistance regarding this Realm.” Hearing this, it was as though a rock had been dropped to their shoulders as a Sovereign from the Meng Clan hurriedly said, “But Ancestor-” However, his words were cut short by the snort of another shadowy figure, “If it were any other Wanderer, then we would be able to handle him, however, the one you managed to provoke was the Heavenly Fiend. Even if our Nine Primordial Clans joined hands, we would be hard pressed to tie him down.”
Hearing this, all of the Sovereigns present paled. Next, they glared at the three Meng Clan Sovereigns with extreme rage. It was only thanks to them that they were stuck in this mess. Had it been only that the Realm’s Will escaped, they could explain it with Long Heng having hidden a fragment of his Soul inside and using some methods taking it away. However, now also their identity was uncovered and the whole Realm was against them.
They were strong but they weren’t strong enough to fight the entire Realm themselves. Now, thanks to the Meng Clan having dragged the Heavenly Fiend Wanderer into this mess, their only chance of survival, the Nine Primordial Clans, sending some people to help them was gone as well.
Another shadowy figure then said, “If you manage to win this by yourselves and subjugate the Realm’s Will without us lending a helping hand, the Clan that succeeded will be promoted to Inner Clan Members. No matter which Clan they are from.” Hearing this, the eyes of the Sovereigns present turned sharp.
To become Inner Members of their Primordial Clan’s meant that they would become a part of the Clan. Currently, they were all Outer Members, people that had the Blood of the Clan however, they weren’t regarded as true members of the Primordial Clan. After that sentence was said, the shadowy figures dissipated at the same time. Silence then filled the hall until a person rose up and cupped his hands, “If we wish to survive this ordeal, we need to work together here. As for the Realm’s Will, we can decide the methods and rules when we find it again.”
Hearing this, the various Sovereign’s present nodded their heads before glaring at the Meng Clan for a moment before they left. When the three Meng Clan Sovereigns were the only ones left, one of them grit his teeth and said, “They are going to try and push this all onto us. Our chances of being able to obtain the Realm’s Will again will be close to non existent.”
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The other two nodded their heads grimly before they too left the hall.
***
Inside another Realm, at the top of luscious mountain brimming with life, a young man with blue hair was watching over a sleeping red haired youth. The young man was drinking wine ass he appreciated the beauty all around him. This tranquil peace was broken when a me
lodious laughter rang out next to him, “To think that you would step in to help out like the Shi Hao.” The young man slowly raised his head and stared at the breath taking beauty in front of him with a smile. He took out another cup and poured some wine for the lady as he said, “He is an interesting fellow. If he manages to break the Limits of the Realm, we can finally break the shackles of our Realm verse and join the rest of the Cultivation World.” Hearing this, the young woman sighed as she accepted the wine cup. Her eyes then turned slightly serious as she asked, “Will we be able to survive there? Although, the resources and opportunities there are something we can only dream about, the danger that comes with it is also grave.”
The young man still had a thoughtful look on his face as he said absentmindedly, “We will be able to survive. Even though the opponents out there are strong, don’t we have the legacies from before our Realm verse lost the War and was sealed?” Hearing this, the young woman sighed heavily as she finished her cup. The young man then continued, “When we break the Shackles, we break the Seal that suppresses our Realm verse. Once we break that, more people that have lingered at the Heavenly Sovereign Stage will be able to break through the Limits.”
The enchanting woman took a glance at the young man and seeing his face, the she shivered. She placed down her cup and said, “I still have matters to attend to, so I will leave you alone now.” Hearing this, the young man fixed his expression and smiled gently, sending her off. When the young woman had left the vicinity of the young man, she shivered as she thought back to the eyes of the man. “He is still hell bent on getting revenge….” as she murmured to herself, her eyes wandered to another place.
As if her eyes could pierce through the space, she smiled and muttered, “He truly is an interesting fellow.”
***
Inside a well lit hall, there was a giant round table with nine people sitting around it. Two of these people would be familiar to Curo, they were Qing Zhao and Jing Fang. On the table, there were various maps and currently, there was a serious discussion going on. Jing Fang said, “First we need to cut off their resource supplies. Each of the Academies can pick One of the Top Grade Qi Stone Mines and the others are not allowed to touch it. As for the remaining four, we will each take charge and claim them for ourselves.”
Hearing this distribution of resources, everyone present nodded their heads. Although, all of them wanted that one more Qi Stone Mine, they had to admit to the fact that the Nine Ancient Clan’s only possessed nine of Top Grade Mines. Who would be the one to be left without one, how would it be decided? They had to admit that Jing Fang’s distribution was the fairest.
Besides that, the Four Heavenly Beasts were their Trump Cards. Jing Fang and the rest could tie down and probably annihilate one Clan each. This relieved a great deal of pressure from them. Another burly man with white hair with black stripes mixed in said, “Since the distribution of resources is done, next we need to decide on which locations who is in charge of.”
Hearing this, everyone nodded their heads again as they started to distribute their tasks. The nine people at the table did not want to leave anything up to chance with this. If they lost, their whole Realm was affected by this. The various Alumni had already contacted their Academies and pledged to help them out with however they can during these wars and currently, while the Founders were deciding on who does what, the Headmasters and Headmistresses of the Five Academies were coordinating their own forces with the various Alumni Clans and Schools.
This organization of forces was in no way an easy task and it would only take time to sort it out. At the same time, they had to pay attention to the relationships of the Clans. Although, they were all Alumni of the Academies, not all of them had harmonious relationships with one another.
To make sure that these kinds of Clans didn’t get stationed in the same place was what caused the biggest headaches.
***
The Ji Clan was no exception to all this. Ji Long himself was an Alumni of the Hidden Dragon Academy and for now, Jing Fang was a part of the Ji Clan. Essentially, the Top Grade Qi Stone Mine that Jing Fang claimed, would fall into the Ji Clan’s hands. However, for that to happens, they needed to first obtain it. The blue haired young man had given Ji Long a mysterious chant that helped raise his cultivation several folds. Within a few months, he had managed to reach the Peak of Saint Realm and was closing in on the Earthly Saint Realm.
If he managed to break through to the Earthly Saint Realm, his prestige and strength would increase several times. He had left organizing their forces to Uncle Zheng while he wholeheartedly focused on cultivating the mysterious chant. With the help of Nether Dragon Blood in him and the Top Grade Qi Gathering Formation Jing Fang had set down, his cultivation speed was extremely fast. It even surprised Jing Fang when he first saw the results.
However, he only nodded his head and after giving him a few pointers, left him to train. Jing Fang wanted to see whether Ji Long would be able to break through to the Heavenly Saint Realm before the war started or not. If he managed to do that, coupling the battle experience he had, he would be able to take control of the Top Grade Mine without the helping hand of the Hidden Dragon Academy.
However, in Jing Fang’s eyes, Ji Long being able to reach the Heavenly Saint Realm within nine to ten months was something that was unlikely to happen. He was someone truly talented however, he wasn’t as monstrously talented as Curo was.