Chapter 971: Battle of the Rising Suns: Begin

Based on the note left by Xiang Shaoyun from two lives ago, there was an icesoul heart, some equipment in the Armament Pavilion, and some other items left behind. For him from two lives ago, these things weren't anything special, but they were absolute treasures for the current him.

But while he was in the coffin, the other disciples had stolen them all. Xiang Shaoyun searched around and found nothing. He felt like crying.

"No, there's still a saint soul tree. I hope it's doing fine," muttered Xiang Shaoyun as he started rushing toward the tree.

When he arrived, he found that a part of the saint soul tree had been chopped off as well. Fortunately, the roots and a large part of the tree remained. Obviously, the tree had been protecting itself. Otherwise, the disciples would have probably dug it up completely from the ground.

"Those thieves!" Xiang Shaoyun cursed furiously.

Before this, he did not care if the entire secret space was robbed clean, but after learning that everything here was meant for him, his heart started aching.

"Young master, do you want us to chase after them and get everything back?" asked the toad, taking this as an opportunity to display his loyalty.

Not willing to be left behind, the turtle also hurriedly said, "That's right! Those little fellows are nothing special at all. Both of us are more than enough to crush all of them!"

"You really think you are undefeatable? There are Saints waiting outside. You will only get yourself killed," replied Xiang Shaoyun.

The toad and the turtle shut their mouths. They might be powerful Demon Sovereigns, but it wouldn't be easy to become Demon Saints. The gap between the two realms was unimaginably large.

There weren't many things left in the secret space, but this place was now Xiang Shaoyun's personal property. He was thinking of a way to move the Celestial King's Palace and the saint soul tree, but how was he supposed to? It was a hard question to answer.

His astral cosmos sea might be able to store everything in existence, but the Celestial King's Palace was incredibly large. He doubted that his astral cosmos sea could withstand the burden of storing the entire palace. After all, there were still a lot of things left in the Celestial King's Palace.

As for the saint soul tree, it was a sentient tree. Convincing the tree to come with him wouldn't be easy.

He returned before the Celestial King's Palace in a stressed manner. There, he took out the book on formations and started studying it, hoping to find the true essence of the formation enveloping the palace. Finding the true essence would solve his current predicament. When he had controlled the formation earlier, he had merely utilized a small part of the formation's abilities. In truth, he hadn't even fully grasped the formation.

As he went through the book, more memories awakened, and his understanding of the formation deepened. This was, in fact, a massive formation of 10 parts that enveloped almost the entirety of the secret space, which was how the secret space had stayed hidden for so many years.

It didn't seem possible that he would be able to move the entire secret space. His only option was to fully activate the formation. Perhaps he could then hide the secret space once again. The spirit crystals powering the formation had lasted for a long period of time. If he hid the secret space once again, the remaining energy would probably last only 10 more years.

"So be it. I'll return for the Celestial King's Palace in 10 years and turn it into my personal palace," muttered Xiang Shaoyun. He started controlling the formation and deepening his understanding of it. He also started combing through all the formation nodes carefully. That way, he would prevent any mishaps when he proceeded to hide the secret space later.

Afterward, he brought the turtle and the toad with him and headed for the exit. While stepping through the exit, Xiang Shaoyun turned and pointed the Holy Spirit Banner in a certain direction. There was a sealing formation eye there, and with the Holy Spirit Banner, the secret space would remain sealed for 10 years. Unless a top-tier Saint or a stronger expert came here, nobody would be able to unveil the secret space.

The three then rushed out of the secret space, and the Holy Spirit Banner activated the formation's sealing power. Once again, the secret space vanished from existence.

The final fight of the four academies was already in progress. Four stages had been erected on Lonesoul Island, and disciples were fighting on each stage. The final survivors of the four stages would be crowned as the Four Blazing Suns. This was the highest honor a cultivator of the younger generation could achieve.

After the Four Blazing Suns were crowned, the decisive battle would be held and the ultimate champion would be determined. The current disciples standing on all four stages were True Martial Academy disciples. Around the stages, the disciples of the three other academies were wearing unsightly expressions.

Although the True Martial Academy had always been known as the strongest of the four, nobody wanted to see them dominate the rankings to this extent since it would be a source of great humiliation.

"Are there none from the Nine Palace Academy capable of taking a spot on the stage? This is embarrassing!" shouted an unhappy overseer from the Nine Palace Academy.

As he spoke, his gaze landed on a certain youth sitting cross-legged to the side. That youth was none other than Jiu Tian, the Nine Palace Academy's trump card. He was a prodigy that had formed a resonance with the Nine Palace Sword Formation at his birth.

Jiu Tian sensed the overseer's gaze and nodded before saying, "Give others a chance to fight. A fight at this level does not require me."

Not even the overseer dared to say anything. He could only send a different disciple onto the stage. The Dragon Phoenix Academy naturally also wished to have someone take one of the spots on the stage and increase their prestige.

Huang Tianji took the initiative to charge onto one of the stages, and he roared, "Piss off. This stage is mine now."

The moment he stepped onto the stage, he activated the Royal War Aura. A dragon appeared and charged the True Martial Academy disciple with a crushing might.

"Someone from the imperial court? Fine, let me experience the Royal War Aura," said the True Martial Academy disciple as he faced Huang Tianji fearlessly.

Huang Tianji lived up to his status as the crown prince. After the blow Xiang Shaoyun had dealt him previously, he had been cultivating arduously. He was now a peak ninth-stage Dragon Ascension Realm cultivator, and with the Royal War Aura, he was one of the strongest disciples present.

The True Martial Academy stood no chance and was forced off the stage. From the fight, Huang Tianji's fame rose. The Dragon Phoenix Academy disciples viewed him in a new light after witnessing the performance of this crown prince who had always remained relatively low-profile. Perhaps he had been hiding his strength all along.

Right after obtaining his first victory, Huang Tianji pointed at Ouyang Chuanqi and shouted, "Ouyang Chuanqi, get up here if you have the guts. Since Xiang Shaoyun is not around, I will vent my anger on you instead!"