Divine Wilderness Dragon Emperor

Celestial River Academy was relatively close to Xiling County, so they were the first to arrive.

After sensing the fluctuations from the ancient ruins ahead, the group waited where they were.

On the adjacent mountain peaks, people from Tianyan Academy and the Royal Academy were also waiting.

These people not only represented the various academies, but also included elders from different factions.

For example, although Shangguan Hong had come with Celestial River Academy, he was also a member of the Shangguan Clan.

The Three Great Academies had agreed to let their students enter the ruins together for training.

Therefore, the people from Celestial River Academy were waiting here for the other two academies to arrive and gather.

The people from Celestial River Academy relayed information about the ruins to the academy's deans and instructors, who then informed their respective students.

First, the ancient ruins were vast, and no one had fully explored them yet.

Second, the core region was home to many Innate Realm Demon Beasts.

Furthermore, there were also venomous insects, poisonous miasmas, and other dangerous areas inside.

This information was the result of scouting by some of Celestial River Academy's Innate Realm and a few Celestial Spirit Realm Cultivators.

Each academy had some older students who stayed on to hold positions, and their ages were also coincidentally under twenty.

Of course, reaching the Celestial Spirit Realm by the age of nineteen made one a rare genius. Such individuals were uncommon even among the great academies.

After all, a favored daughter of heaven like Shangguan Wan'Er was a rare sight.

Soon, the students of all grades had a general understanding of the ancient ruins.

Everyone began to wait with faces full of anticipation, eager to enter and explore.

Shangguan Wan'Er, however, was indifferent. She took out a Beast Hide Rug, closed her eyes, and appeared to be cultivating in silence.

Her diligent appearance filled Ling Fei with admiration.

Ling Fei then also sat cross-legged nearby and began to cultivate.

Although there wasn't a dense concentration of Heaven and Earth Essence Qi here, Ling Fei could still use his Cold Chi True Qi to temper his soul and enhance his Soul Power.

「Two days later.」

Suddenly, a piercing sound tore through the air. A fierce wind kicked up across the mountain range, carrying a scorching hot aura.

'What a scorching air current!' Ling Fei's eyelids twitched as he snapped his eyes open, looking toward the source of the airflow.

In the distant Void, a flock of Red Simurghs was flying toward them.

The wings of these Red Simurghs were crimson, glittering with a dazzling light like gemstones. As the light blossomed, it seemed to dye the floating clouds red. From a distance, the rosy glow painted the sky, turning that patch of the Void into a breathtakingly beautiful scene, like a mortal paradise.

Several hundred Red Simurghs flying together created an extremely magnificent formation.

Immediately, all the students of Celestial River Academy turned their heads to gaze at the Void ahead.

Even the instructors were slightly moved by the sight.

"The people from Tianyan Academy have arrived!" Shangguan Hong said from the side, a glint in his eyes.

"Tianyan Academy?" Ling Fei's gaze sharpened as he murmured, "Legend says some Spiritual Birds can absorb Fire Essence Qi, then generate Fire Dao True Qi, and eventually gestate a Pill Fire to become a Great Demon. The way these Red Simurghs stir up scorching air currents with a flap of their wings, they must be able to absorb Fire Essence Qi!"

Ling Fei had been well-read in the *Divine Demon Chronicles* since childhood, so he had some understanding of such things.

"The ancestors of Tianyan Academy once raised some Spiritual Fire Simurghs. These Red Simurghs are the descendants bred from them," Shangguan Hong explained.

It was just like Celestial River Academy's Profound Eagles, which were also bred from Spiritual Birds.

However, due to extensive breeding over time, very few with truly dense bloodlines remained.

The Red Simurghs flew over and came to a stop on a nearby mountain peak.

However, a few giant simurghs with two-zhang wingspans flew toward Celestial River Academy's encampment.

"Heh heh, your Celestial River Academy certainly arrived early. However, the Supreme Treasure in these ancient ruins isn't something you can get just by being the first one here!" As the Red Simurghs flew over, their shadows fell like clouds, covering the area. Before they even landed, an extremely discourteous voice boomed from above.

Then, a round-faced elder in a Fire Robe leaped down from the leading Red Simurgh.

Behind him were several middle-aged men and young students.

As soon as these words were spoken, the faces of Celestial River Academy's instructors darkened.

'These people are pretty arrogant!' Ling Fei's brow furrowed, a look of disgust appearing in his eyes as he watched the newcomers from Tianyan Academy.

At this moment, Shangguan Wan'Er, Liu Rulong, and the others also rose to their feet and looked toward the people from Tianyan Academy.

"Wang Tianba, look how smug you are. Do you really believe the Supreme Treasure in the Xiling Ruins will fall into the hands of your Tianyan Academy?" Seeing how arrogant the newcomer was, Vice Dean Zhou's brow furrowed as he retorted, his words giving the man no face whatsoever.

"Heh heh, I don't know if the Supreme Treasure will be obtained by a student from my Tianyan Academy, but I am certain of one thing: it definitely won't be your Celestial River Academy." Wang Tianba chuckled, the disdain for Celestial River Academy in his tone completely undisguised.

This caused all the students from Celestial River Academy to frown.

"Is Tianyan Academy really that high and mighty?" Ling Fei couldn't help but murmur with a suspicious look.

"Originally, there wasn't much difference between Celestial River Academy and Tianyan Academy. However, Celestial River Academy has produced very few geniuses in recent years, putting us at a slight disadvantage," Shangguan Qingmu whispered from the side. "More importantly, at Tianyan Academy, the Wang Clan are the Celestial Emperor's in-laws by marriage and have his favor. As a result, Tianyan Academy's momentum is currently unrivaled."

'So that's how it is.' Upon hearing this, Ling Fei understood. It was all because a woman from the Wang Clan had married the Celestial Emperor that they could act so arrogantly.

In the Empire, the Celestial Emperor was supreme. He gathered the fortune of heaven and earth and possessed world-shaking might. However, to win over the hearts of the people, the Celestial Emperor would also arrange marriages with the great clans.

Take the Shangguan Clan, for instance. The current Celestial Emperor had originally intended to bestow a marriage upon Shangguan Wan'Er.

However, Shangguan Wan'Er was unwilling to marry into the Royal Family.

Besides, the Celestial Emperor hadn't decided which Prince she should marry.

Of course, the most important thing was that the current Celestial Emperor was wise and benevolent. Knowing Shangguan Wan'Er's wishes, he didn't bring up the matter again.

Otherwise, in the Empire, no one could defy the will of the Celestial Emperor!

Ling Fei's gaze shifted slightly as he looked at the five youths behind Wang Tianba.

'To be able to follow behind this man, they must be the geniuses of Tianyan Academy.'

"Of these five, two are from the Wang Clan and three are from the Wu Clan. But in terms of talent, they are all a bit lacking compared to Liu Rulong," Shangguan Qingmu said, his eyes flashing. "Even so, Tianyan Academy does have a genius who has already stepped into the Celestial Spirit Realm."

"Oh!" Hearing this, Ling Fei's interest was piqued.

"That person's name is Wu Tongxuan!" said Shangguan Qingmu. As a disciple of a great clan, he was well-informed and knew a few things about the other academies.

'Wu Tongxuan?' Ling Fei mentally filed the name away.

"Heh heh, Vice Dean Wang, you speak with such certainty now. If the Exotic Treasure is obtained by a student from my Celestial River Academy, I'm afraid you'll have nowhere to put your old face!" Faced with Wang Tianba's contempt, Vice Dean Zhou stroked his beard and smiled. In the past, he might not have had much confidence.

But at this moment, he felt an inexplicable surge of confidence.

Because Celestial River Academy now had two prodigies.

Forget Tianyan Academy; even the geniuses of the Royal Academy wouldn't necessarily be stronger than these two.

"Heh heh, Zhou Tao, the only reason you're so confident is because your Celestial River Academy has produced a couple of geniuses, isn't it?" Wang Tianba raised an eyebrow and glanced behind Vice Dean Zhou. His gaze naturally fell upon Shangguan Wan'Er and Liu Rulong. "Not bad, two young geniuses. But obtaining the Exotic Treasure from the ruins won't be so easy. Heh heh, the people from the Royal Academy have yet to arrive!"

"My Wang Clan also has geniuses in the Royal Academy!" Wang Tianba said with a smug expression.

Many great clans, in order to curry favor with the Royal Family, would send some of their geniuses to the Royal Academy.

The Shangguan Clan did, and so did the Liu Clan.

Even the Pang Clan, Zhou Clan, and Han Clan sent their geniuses there.

Hearing this, Vice Dean Zhou couldn't help but frown.

Among the younger generation of their faction at the Royal Academy, there were no powerhouses.

"Heh heh, we'll just wait for our friends from the Royal Academy to arrive!" Wang Tianba left after giving the people from Celestial River Academy a cursory glance.

After that, the people from the two academies rested separately.

「Two days later.」

In the Xiling Mountain Range, light and shadow flickered, and a sudden gust of wind rose.

'Someone's here!' As the gust of wind swept by, Ling Fei immediately opened his eyes, his Heart Spirit Sensing extending outward.

At that moment, the people from both academies followed the fluctuation with their eyes.

Then, everyone turned to see a twelve-zhang-long Winged Serpent flying through the Void.

The Winged Serpent's Scale Armor was cyan, and its eyes were enormous. When its pupils flashed, they seemed capable of piercing through the Void, and a soul-stirring pressure emanated from it.

'This is a Winged Serpent!' Ling Fei's heart trembled after sensing its aura. 'Its presence far surpasses the Innate Realm. Could it be a Celestial Spirit Realm existence?'

"The Royal Academy!" Shangguan Qingmu gazed into the distance with a solemn expression, then said, "That is indeed a Celestial Spirit Realm Cyan-Scaled Python."

"That Cyan-Scaled Python is huge!" At this moment, everyone who looked up at the Void had a shocked expression on their face.

'So they've arrived!' Facing the Royal Academy, Vice Dean Zhou also felt a sense of powerlessness.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

The giant Cyan-Scaled Python flew over, stirring up a powerful air current in the Void.

Only Cyan-Scaled Pythons with extremely dense bloodlines could grow wings and inherit their ancestral blood.

The Royal Academy's contingent had only eighteen of them.

However, a single Cyan-Scaled Python could carry nearly a hundred people.

The Royal Academy's contingent was not large, numbering just over twelve hundred people.

Because the Royal Academy's entrance examinations were extremely strict and not just anyone could get in, the number of students participating in this training was relatively small.

The giant python circled and slowly descended toward the mountain peak.

At this time, the vice deans and some instructors from Tianyan Academy and Celestial River Academy all hurried toward the area where the Royal Academy was about to land.

It was clear they were going to respectfully welcome the newcomers.

Seeing this, Ling Fei's brow arched slightly. 'It seems the Royal Academy is a cut above the rest.'

WHOOSH!

From the back of the twelve-zhang-long giant python, a middle-aged man wearing a Python Robe and a Jade Crown leaped down.

The man had a square face, his gaze as sharp as an eagle's, and his build was burly and imposing. When he landed, the very atmosphere on the mountain peak seemed to freeze.

This was clearly a powerhouse.

"Greetings, Marquis Yun!" Vice Dean Wang of Tianyan Academy immediately stepped forward and clasped his hands in a salute to the man in the Python Robe.

"Greetings, Marquis Yun!" Vice Dean Zhou followed suit with a salute.

The other instructors also paid their respects one by one.

Even Shangguan Hong went forward to offer his respects.

'Who is this person?' Ling Fei was startled by the sight.

"His name is Li Yunyi. He's the vice dean of the Royal Academy and a Primordial Pill Realm expert. Seven years ago, he was ennobled as Marquis Yun by the current Celestial Emperor," Shangguan Qingmu said, his voice laced with reverence. "A Primordial Pill Realm cultivator... that's one of the top experts in the Empire!"

'So this is a Primordial Pill Realm expert?' Ling Fei couldn't help but stare at Marquis Yun.

'There's a familiar aura about him... It seems to be Dragon Qi!'

Sensing it for just a moment, Ling Fei's heart stirred.

His spine began to throb restlessly, as if it wouldn't be satisfied until it had absorbed the Dragon Qi from the man's body.