Chapter 142: The Four-Man Squad with Formidable Background

"Did you just lift the Serene Void's seal?" Shan Long asked softly. "Do you really think the power released by its two hundred disciples could harm the Serene Void Academy?"

"Just wait and see," Jun Wudi replied, retracting his palm. "I've only mentioned Little Jun. I haven't even spoken of the other three yet. Those two children bear the Nantian surname. Tell me, who across the entire Eastern Pole Continent dares use it?"

Jun Wudi paused briefly. He recalled something and continued, "And then there's the Lu surname. Do you know who tore open the passage to the Outside tens of thousands of years ago, and who ultimately adopted the Lu surname?"

"The Nantian surname belongs solely to the main branch of the Nantian Sect. Anyone else who dares use it will be hunted down. Over the course of tens of thousands of years, there has been no precedent."

"As for tearing open the passage to the Outside, wasn't that the work of the Eternal Green Emperor? I don't know his surname. The records in the ancient manuals are rather vague."

Shan Long looked at him. "All I know is that he gathered the continent's prodigies and sat in the Central Continent for three thousand years, discussing the Dao and opening the path to the Outside. He was the first emperor to inherit the past and lay the foundation for the future."

"Old Jun, what are you trying to tell us?" Shan Long leaned closer, lowering his voice. "Could these children be connected to them?"

"Nantian Wan'er is the direct granddaughter of Nantian Xiu, the wielder of the Dragon-Slaying Sword of the Nantian Sect, and Nantian Yijian carries the Wish Power of the ancient Shaman Clan with him."

Jun Wudi's spirit qi churned in his Heavenly Pool. "As for the Lu surname, the Imperial Lord of Rituals under the Green Emperor eventually changed his surname to Lu.

"I've met someone, and although he never revealed his name, I've felt the murderous intent and seen the peanut-eating ferret recorded in our clan annals. He even told me he had just returned from the Outside. Who else could he be if not the Imperial Lord of Ritual?

"Lu Chen is likely his descendant. His arrival in the Heavenly Mandate Hall was pre-arranged by him. Does that explain why I'm so confident?"

Jun Wudi let out a long sigh. Dead leaves drifted slowly from the tree behind him, landing on his shoulder like dying butterflies. "It feels unreal, but my injuries remind me every moment that what happened on the Sky-Pillar Airship that night was real."

"The Imperial Lord of Rituals... really returned from the Outside?" Fang Yuan whispered. "Could he, or they, have caused the red sky in the Nantian Region?"

Jun Wudi laughed, but did not answer directly. "Who says one cannot fight fiercely despite being outnumbered? Who says overwhelming power cannot be unleashed at low cultivation? You've surely read in the records about the Imperial Lord of Rituals slaughtering a million by himself."

He gently picked up the leaf on his shoulder, twirling its stem between his fingers. "I am still unsure if the person behind Lu Chen is truly the Imperial Lord of Rituals. But there is no doubt that Lu Chen possesses an extraordinary background.

"He healed my injuries with just a few cups of fine wine. My cultivation foundation was fully restored, and he even helped me make a tremendous leap in my cultivation. Tell me, across the entire Eastern Pole Continent, what kind of wine could achieve that?"

He tossed the withered leaf in his hand and released his spirit qi. The power of a peak Earth Core Realm cultivator radiated from him. When the spirit qi reached the tree two zhang away, it swirled continuously around it.

Fang Yuan's eyes widened. "Peak Earth Core Realm?! When did you become this strong?"

"A few days ago, he gave me three cups of wine. The first restored my cultivation foundation, and the remaining two let me bypass the Heavenly Fire Tribulation entirely, stepping into the Earth Core Realm."

Jun Wudi ceased releasing spirit qi. The tree behind him had turned vibrantly green. "My cultivation is fully restored. In a few days, I'll set off for the Western Mountain. Yan'er is waiting for me there, and my spear is calling to me.

"I'll leave the Serene Void Academy's disciples in your care. As for what I've told you, keep it among the three of us. No one else should know Lu Chen's true identity."

Shan Long sighed. "Alright, Old Jun. You need not worry."

He then laughed heartily. "I'll keep watch here. These young ones won't be bullied under my guard."

"That won't be necessary. True growth comes through life-and-death trials. As long as they survive, that's enough," Jun Wudi said, glancing toward the Serene Void Academy. "It's already starting. Have a look..."

***

Inside the Serene Void Academy, other than a few thousand of Yun Ping's trusted followers, the rest of the disciples from the three academies had already moved en masse toward the main gate.

"Senior Yun, are we really not going in?" A scarred cultivator behind Yun Ping asked. "So many people have already entered. There shouldn't be any accidents now, right?"

"Wait a bit. I'm feeling unsettled just approaching the main gate," Yun Ping said, hesitating as he looked at the crowd. "Let them test the waters first. We'll guard the gate. As long as they don't leave the Serene Void Academy, none of the resources can escape."

***

In the teleportation chamber, Lu Chen sat cross-legged at the center of the Spirit Gathering Formation with his eyes closed. "Yun Ping is really cautious. All the defensive barriers are gone, yet he still won't enter."

"Big Brother Song mentioned it before. Among the chiefs of the six academies, Yun Ping is known as the strongest and most cautious." Nantian Wan'er sat by the Spirit Gathering Formation, watching the image projected from the chief disciple identity token. "But do we really have to let them in? After all, those are tens of thousands of Qi Regulation Realm cultivators."

"Everything will be fine. If Yun Ping refuses to come in, so be it. I'll let him off this time," Lu Chen said, gently placing both hands on the Spirit Gathering Formation. "As for the others... I'll let them crawl back to where they came from."

Lu Chen opened his eyes and shouted, "Serene Void, Unite!"

He unleashed a torrent of primordial spirit qi from his palms, pouring it into the chief disciple's identity token, which quickly swelled in size. The spirit qi also spread into the Spirit Gathering Formation.

The spirit qi within the formation thickened instantly, gradually transforming into spirit liquid that enveloped Lu Chen. "This Spirit Gathering Formation is incredibly powerful. When combined with the chief disciple's identity token, it can fully absorb my spirit qi, and even generate this much spirit liquid."

"

Heh

, that's thanks to me altering the formation's inscriptions," Wind Dragon said, crossing his dragon claws over his chest. "If it were the previous formation, it would have been a miracle to hold even a thread of your spirit qi. There's no way it could condense spirit liquid like this."

Jun Laoye stared at the thick fluid, his expression full of shock as he looked at Lu Chen. "Spirit liquid? And it's so viscous... Even the Heavenly Pool beneath the Serene Void Academy wouldn't have such high-quality spirit qi. Lu Chen, who are you exactly? Could you really be some sect's secret heir?"

Nantian Yijian responded, "

Uh...

the spirit qi is indeed highly concentrated, but the boss is really just a simple village boy, not some secret sect heir."

Part of the reason for his reply was his lack of knowledge about spirit liquid. The other was absolute trust in Lu Chen. "But he's just this powerful. Like the main characters in novels, you never know what's in his hand."

Jun Laoye remarked, "With this much spirit qi, we could probably forge three hundred Sunken Core-level Serene Void Spears."

"Little Jun, Little Jian, step back," Lu Chen said. He slowly rose to his feet as the chief disciple's identity token enlarged, taking a step forward to stand on top of it. He ran through a series of intricate hand seals. "With such immense spirit qi supporting me, it's time to give them a real show."

Lu Chen pressed his palms together and recited inwardly,

Green Sovereign Divine Tree, Serene Void! Unite!

The moment he thrusted his hands toward the sky, the ground cracked open, and from beneath the Spirit Gathering Formation, a towering Green Sovereign Divine Tree emerged. It absorbed the spirit liquid and grew.

Lu Chen gradually faded away as he merged into the Green Sovereign Divine Tree.

Lu Chen said through the tree. "Wind Dragon, protect them. I'm going to deal with these intruders. Be careful, don't let the attacks reach you."

As he spoke, the tree voraciously absorbed the spirit liquid, rapidly expanding upward. By the time Jun Laoye and the others came back to their senses, the tree's branches had already filled the entire teleportation chamber, forcing Wind Dragon to lead everyone outside.

***

Outside the teleportation chamber, the Green Sovereign Divine Tree had grown into a colossal tree. It was five zhang in diameter and twenty zhang tall.

Everyone present froze at the sight, stunned by its sudden appearance.

Watching the growing tree, Yun Ping muttered, "So he has been hiding his cultivation all along? I knew Jun Wudi wouldn't be foolish enough to let a level-one Qi Regulation Realm disciple take over the position of chief disciple."

His expression hardened, but he made no move. It was as if this power barely registered before him.

"What is that? Did it come from the Demonic Beast Forest too?" a cultivator at the Academy's gate asked, forgetting even to advance.

"That's Senior Martial Brother Lu's divine ability, the Green Sovereign Divine Tree," Sun Xiaohu said, staring at the massive tree with a mischievous smile. "I knew it. Pure-hearted Lu Chen has always been hiding his true strength."

"Could this be the counterattack Senior Martial Brother Lu mentioned? He's incredible," murmured the onlookers in the plaza, instantly joining Sun Xiaohu in becoming Lu Fans themselves. "The spirit qi he's releasing alone surpasses tens of thousands of cultivators over there. He must be holding back even more strength on the airship."

Similarly, Song Ping also had his eyes fixed on Lu Chen. "Is Lu Chen really just a Qi Regulation Realm cultivator? The power of this technique must have far surpassed that of the Qi Condensation Realm."

Among the disciples, he was supposedly the only one with a clear grasp of Lu Chen's strength. Just days ago, on the airship, he could still overpower Lu Chen. But now, in the face of the towering Green Sovereign Divine Tree, even he felt an unfamiliar sense of helplessness wash over him.