The summit of the towering Spiritwood Peak was shrouded in mist formed by spiritual energy. As Lin Yun made his way back to his residence, he would occasionally raise his head to look at the clouds. He no longer had the same shock from before because this peak was no longer imposing in his eyes.

It didn’t take long for Lin Yun to see two figures standing before him. It was naturally Mo Ling and Liu Yunyan. Aside from them, no one else in the academy had elegance that could compare to them. Perhaps Mu Xue could be considered comparable, but it was impossible for her to appear before his residence. Then again, Lin Yun also didn’t wish for her to be here.

“It’s been a few days and you’re even more charming now. It looks like the pellet did a lot of work,” said Mo Ling as she looked at Lin Yun. She could sense that he had undergone a drastic transformation in just ten days.

“Of course. It was something that the dean refined personally,” said Lin Yun as he turned to look at Liu Yunyan. It had been about a month since they last met. Back then, he had questions to ask, but she wouldn’t answer them.

Now, he knew what sort of pressure she had been bearing. She held the weight of her father’s failure on her shoulders. The failure resulted in the Heavenly Province Academy being heavily humiliated. It was a heavy burden for Liu Yunyan to live with.

“Lin Yun, it has been some time,” smiled Liu Yunyan on her haggard face. She had spent the past month comprehending a lesser divine ability. Although she couldn’t make it her trump card, she benefited greatly from it.

“It has… My words from back in the Library Hall are still true today,” said Lin Yun. He would never forget a promise made between friends.

Liu Yunyan’s eyes flashed. She had a feeling that Lin Yun knew something and replied, “Thank you.”

“Let’s go to the Imperial Study Hall,” smiled Mo Ling. “It won’t be good to be late.”

The Five Academies Competition was about to start. Everyone in the academy was treating this seriously as they didn’t want another loss.

“Lin Yun, you should know about the competition. The incomplete divine rune is extremely important to the academy. The humiliation two decades ago placed the academy in a low position. If we lose again, we might lose the divine rune, but more importantly, it will be a huge blow to our reputation. We might even have issues staying in the Nether Prefecture,” said Mo Ling.

Reputation has always been important to a major force, especially for a quasi-overlord force like the Heavenly Province Academy. A hit to their reputation would shake their foundation.

“Do you guys know about our opponents?” Lin Yun nodded his head.

“All four academies also have a quota to invite outside help. All four of the invited guests are from various overlord forces, just like Cao Xiu. You already saw him, but he’s considered a genius of the Blackflame Sect. He’s an inner disciple, which is the same for Mu Xue.”

Cao Xiu? Lin Yun nodded his head. He had a deep impression of Cao Xiu since he could unleash a tiger with the flick of his finger.

“Aside from him, there’s also the Azurefoot Academy’s Jiang Yi and Flowing Cloud Academy’s Bai Yuchen. They’re both from overlord forces and their cultivation isn’t any lower than Cao Xiu’s.”

“There’s one more,” reminded Lin Yun.

“The Violethut Academy…” Mo Ling’s face changed and Liu Yunyan’s face became unusual when the Violethut Academy was mentioned. This was the academy that defeated Liu Yunyan’s father two decades ago and humiliated the Heavenly Province Academy. Even now, the Violethut Academy was the strongest among the five academies.

“The four academies have been developing swiftly in the other prefectural cities. The guest with the greatest reputation is naturally the Violethut Academy’s Cao Zhen. He also came from one of the overlord forces, the Northern Snow Manor. For a while now, he has been in the lesser Yang stage. Rumor has it that he’ll reach either the greater Yang stage within a year or the pinnacle Yang stage,” said Mo Ling with a grave expression.

Lin Yun now understood why the Violethut Academy was so confident two decades ago. He also realized that the Northern Snow Manor was familiar. It was where the monstrous genius, Nangong Wanyu, who also grasped the xiantian sword intent before reaching the Violet Palace Realm, belonged to. This meant that Cao Zhen wouldn’t be an easy opponent.

“Cao Zhen isn’t just proficient in spiritual runes, but he is also proficient in saber techniques. He has cultivated the Northern Snow Manor’s Absolutecloud Sabre to a high degree…” Even Mo Ling felt helpless when she mentioned Cao Zhen. “But that doesn’t mean that we don’t have an opportunity. They can only invite one outsider, so we just need two out of three wins. Mu Xue is from the Heavenly Sword Sect and she’s also the dean’s granddaughter. So she can naturally be considered someone from the academy. With you included, we might actually have a chance.”

Mo Ling had acknowledged that Lin Yun was comparable to the disciples from the overlord forces.

Lin Yun smiled, but he didn’t say anything else. Mo Ling had simplified it too much because Mu Xue didn’t welcome him to the team. She even asked him to leave several times.

Lin Yun always had an indifferent personality. It was fine if he wasn’t going to compete, but if he was, then he would naturally give it his all. If Mu Xue continued to be unreasonable, then she would see the limit to his patience.

It didn’t take long for them to arrive at the Imperial Study Hall. The sky was covered in thunderclouds, signifying that it would rain soon. Coincidentally, it matched the gloomy atmosphere of the academy. Many of the core disciples gathered here were anxiously waiting because they knew that this competition involved the life and death of the academy.

After all, it was only natural for the disciples to stand together with the academy.

“Senior Sister Mo is here!”

“There’s also Liu Yuynan and Lin Yun. Liu Yunyan will definitely take one of the quotas. Is the academy going to give the other quota to Lin Yun?”

“Lin Yun isn’t weak, but I heard that the helpers of the other academies are all elites from the overlord forces.”

“I can't say for sure. I heard Senior Brother Mei also invited a disciple from an overlord force. The Imperial Study Hall’s elders are still deciding on the quota.” Discussions began to ring out when Lin Yun’s group appeared.

Ten days ago, it felt great to all of them when Lin Yun humiliated that disciple from the White Jade Academy. It gave them a positive image of Lin Yun. But the disciples naturally thought it was more reliable to get an overlord force’s disciple as the outside help.

After all, who didn’t know about the nine overlord forces in the Ancient Southern Domain? When Mo Ling heard the surrounding discussion, she peeked at Lin Yun with the corner of her eye. When she noticed that Lin Yun had treated it rather calmly, she felt relieved.

“Big Sister Mo, Big Sister Yunyan, over here.” Mu Xue waved her hand towards them. Anyone could tell that the three ladies had a good relationship. Sadly, Lin Yun was the only one that Mu Xue didn’t greet.

“It has been a long time, Yunyan.” A youth walked over as he looked at Liu Yunyan. Next to that youth was Lin Yun’s old friend Mei Ziyan.

Facing the youth’s passion, Liu Yunyan’s face changed as she replied to him briefly.

Mo Ling smiled as she looked at Mu Xue, “Lass, you should know that I’ve recommended Lin Yun.”

The moment Mo Ling said that, the youth beside Mei Ziyan stopped smiling and his gaze became weird.

“Huang Yan is an inner disciple that Senior Brother Mei invited from the Profound Yang Palace. I’m optimistic about him,” whispered Mu Xue softly as she didn’t dare to look at Huang Yan. But when she mentioned the Profound Yang Palace, she quickly glanced at Lin Yun.

The Profound Yang Palace was the absolute monarch in the Nether Prefectural City. It was well known throughout the Ancient Southern Domain. Lin Yun knew what Mu Xue was trying to do and he sneered inwardly at her. This lass clearly knew that Mei Ziyan had invited someone over, which was why she looked down on him. This was why she wanted him to let go of the quota.

Mei Ziyan smiled, “There aren’t many in the Profound Yang Palace who can become an inner disciple before the age of twenty while being a third grade spiritualist. Brother Huang is naturally more suitable!”

“Someone who hasn’t even reached the Yang stage wants to help? Isn’t that a little too laughable?” A piercing voice sounded out the moment Mei Ziyan finished. It was from Huang Yan, who looked at Lin Yun coldly with disdain.