War Sovereign Soaring The Heavens

In the Zhong clan's estate.

Although night had fallen, the main hall remained brightly lit.

The high-ranking members of the clan, led by Zhong San and Zhong Si; the respective third and fourth masters of the Zhong clan, gathered in the hall.

The brothers of the Zhong clan had always been a topic of discussion for the people of Skywind City.

The Clan Leader of the Zhong clan was also the eldest among the brothers; he was known as Zhong Da. His second brother, Zhong Ke Qi's father, was known as Zhong Er. The following were Zhong San and Zhong Si. They had a sister who was known as Zhong Wu, but she had changed her name when she had gotten older. She was now married to an inner elder of the Hidden Fog Sect.

Although the position of an inner elder was not high in the Hidden Fog Sect, Zhong Wu's husband was the son of a Supreme Elder of the sect, a Lord of Gods. For this reason, Zhong Wu was considered to be the Zhong clan's hidden ace.

Although there were many people from the Zhong clan who held high positions in the Hidden Fog Sect, due to Zhong Wu's husband's background, their status was lower.

At this moment, Zhong San and Zhong Si sat side by side.

Zhong San looked at the members present with a dark expression on his face as he asked in a deep voice, "All of you should have heard of the news, right?"

Everyone nodded.

"Although Zhong Da and Zhong Er aren't in the estate, they've already heard the news as well. We've been ordered to win that young man, Duan Ling Tian, over to our side. Failing that, we'll destroy him," Zhong San said.

Upon hearing Zhong San's words, the others were slightly surprised. They had assumed they would be ordered to deal with the new student immediately. They did not expect the new student would be given a chance to join them.

At this moment, Zhong Si, who was sitting at the side, shook his head and said, "I'm afraid we won't be able to win him over. Based on what that kid, Zhong Ke Qi, told me, and what I heard from the academy, Duan Ling Tian is rather smart. Moreover, the other king-rank forces will definitely try to win him over as well. Don't forget that kid, Zhong Ke Qi, threatened him as well. All things considered, it'd be difficult for us to win him over to our side."

Zhong Si, the fourth master of the Zhong clan, had bid against Duan Ling Tian in the Zhou clan's auction half a month ago for three divine pills. In the end, Duan Ling Tian won the three divine pills. At that time, he had been determined to seek revenge from Duan Ling Tian. However, when he witnessed Yu Qiu Xuan's strength that alluded to Duan Qiao Yu's identity, he hurriedly dismissed all thoughts of revenge. Naturally, he was unaware that the young man who had bid against him half a month ago was the new student who had evicted his nephew from the prominent-grade courtyard in the Hidden Fog Academy.

"No matter what, we have to try. Like I said earlier, if he refuses, we'll destroy him!" Zhong San said in a deep voice, "According to the rumors, Duan Ling Tian has a high innate talent and comprehension skills. Murong Sui Feng will definitely take a liking to him. We can only hope Murong Sui Feng doesn't accept him as a disciple. Otherwise, we won't be able to lay a hand on him at all."

"That's right! Murong Sui Feng is known to be overprotective!"

"Back then, after his disciple was killed by a King of Gods from a king-rank bandit group, he spent 100 years hunting them down before killing all of them. Not even one person survived the massacre. It's better for us not to provoke such a person," Zhong San said.

The expressions of the members turned grim when they heard Zhong San's words.

"I think we're worrying over nothing," Zhong Si said as he shook his head, "After the death of his disciple, Murong Sui Feng had declared he was not going to accept a disciple anymore. The news came from the Hidden Fog Sect itself so I think the information is credible."

"I've heard about that as well…"

An elder nodded. "It's said that he volunteered to come to Skywind City to serve as the dean of the Hidden Fog Academy because of that matter. Apparently, he needed a change in environment since the sect held many memories of his disciple."

"Based on Murong Sui Feng's character, I doubt he'd go back on his words and accept a new disciple now."

Everyone nodded.

There were not many people in Skywind City, or even the Hidden Fog Academy, whom the Zhong clan was afraid of. However, Murong Sui Feng was one of the few they were fearful of. However, as long as Murong Sui Feng did not accept Duan Ling Tian as a disciple, there was not much Murong Sui Feng could do even if they killed Duan Ling Tian. Moreover, without evidence, it would be even more difficult for Murong Sui Feng to act. They could easily find a scapegoat to bear the consequences of their crime.

…

At the same time, the other king-rank forces in Skywind City, including the Zhou clan, were also holding meetings to discuss the new student of the Hidden Fog Academy.

"We should try to win Duan Ling Tian over to our side. With a genius like him, he'll definitely achieve great things once he joins the Hidden Fog Sect!"

"As long as he's willing, we'll agree to any of his conditions."

The king-rank forces were determined to win Duan Ling Tian over to their sides. After all, considering his innate talent, comprehension skills, and age, he was a top-notch prodigy even in a sect like the Hidden Fog Sect. Duan Ling Tian was not even 2,800 years old, but he had already comprehended a triple Fused Profundity, one of the Four Daos of Heaven and Earth, and was also an intermediate god.

The only person who was comparable to Duan Ling Tian was the candidate who had been selected to be the future Sect Leader of the Hidden Fog Sect.

…

While Skywind City was still in an uproar, calm gradually returned to the Hidden Fog Academy.

At this moment, in the depths of the Hidden Fog Academy, a figure could be seen sitting at the top of a pavilion. The figure was drinking wine straight from the bottle and showed no signs of stopping.

The figure belonged to a handsome middle-aged man dressed in an elegant white robe. His long hair was loose, fluttering in the night air. The handsome middle-aged man was none other than Murong Sui Feng, the dean of the Hidden Fog Academy.

"Quan'er, an amazing prodigy joined the academy today. The first day he joined the academy wasn't even over yet, but he had already proven himself to be the strongest student of the academy. He's really outstanding, even more so than you. If you were still around, I'd definitely accept him as my disciple so he'd be your junior brother. Alas… No matter how Elder Yun Hui persuades me, I won't accept him as a disciple. I'll let those old men in the sect fight over him in the future. In fact, he probably won't even enter the sect yet before those old men send their people here to win him over first…."

The Hidden Fog Academy was founded by the Hidden Fog Sect. Murong Sui Feng, as the dean, was naturally responsible for all of the academy's affairs.

There were rules in the academy. No matter how outstanding a student was, they had to be at least 3,000 years old before they could join the Hidden Fog Sect. Members of the sect were also prohibited from recruiting the students in advance for fear of distracting them from their cultivation. Nevertheless, there were many who would find ways around the rules. For example, some of them would send their people over to recruit the students. This had happened many times in the history of the Hidden Fog Academy.

…

After obtaining the right to live in a prominent-grade courtyard, Duan Ling Tian returned to cultivate. He could not hear what was going on outside nor was he interested in hearing what was going on outside. No one bothered him for a long time until…

Knock! Knock!

Duan Ling Tian who was abruptly awakened from his cultivation frowned. He muttered, "I don't think it's time for the Ten Stars students' trials, right?"

The Hidden Fog Academy had trials for students of all ranks. They were held quite frequently to improve the students' combat abilities. Usually, these trials would be held outside of the academy in a mountainous area that was overrun by beasts and monsters.

As far as he knew, the last trial for Ten Stars students was held rather recently so it was impossible for there to be another one now.

Creak!

When Duan Ling Tian opened the door, he saw two people hovering above the courtyard's entrance.

The first person was a tall man dressed in a blue and brown robe who looked to be in his thirties. His complexion was jade-like, and he had a pair of bushy eyebrows. He stared at Duan Ling Tian intently as Duan Ling Tian walked out.

The second person was a young man dressed in a green robe. Upon seeing Duan Ling Tian, he asked with a hint of contempt, "You're Duan Ling Tian?"

Duan Ling Tian glanced at the green-clad young man and asked, "How can I help you?"

The green-clad young man looked at Duan Ling Tian expressionlessly and said, "I'm Tu Feng, an inner disciple of the Hidden Fog Sect. My master is the second inner elder of the Hidden Fog Sect. He wants to accept you as a disciple. When you enter the sect, you can use this Soul Pearl to contact me, and I'll bring you to meet him."

After Tu Feng finished speaking, he tossed the Soul Pearl to Duan Ling Tian.

However, Duan Ling Tian waved his hand, sending the Soul Pearl back to Tu Feng before he said, "No, thank you. Even if I join the Hidden Fog Sect in the future, I have no plans to acknowledge a master. Please thank the second inner elder for his offer.."