Chapter 1178: Who Does He Think He Is?

When the cloud ship shattered and exploded, Sima Feng's face changed drastically.

Just then, a streak of light descended.

There were three people within the stream of light, with Ye Guan and Fang Yu at the forefront. Fang Yu raised his right hand high and held a seal in his palm. The seal emitted streams of light, which transformed into a light screen that protected them.

The Department Chief Seal!

This was the seal designed for him by the Guanxuan Academy, and it contained immense power. However, Fang Yu was too weak, so he could not fully unleash the seal's power.

When they landed, Fang Yu's face instantly turned as pale as paper, and he looked extremely weak. Activating the Department Chief Seal had drained an enormous amount of energy from him.

However, he couldn't care less as he looked up at the sky to find six people in midair. The leader was a middle-aged man dressed in a clean black robe, exuding an air of nobility, and he had a gloomy gaze.

Upon seeing them, Zhou Ling immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

The middle-aged man dressed in a clean black robe was Zhou Yuan. He was the clan leader of Zhou Ling's clan.

Although his surname was Zhou, his imperial bloodline was extremely diluted.

Of course, if one had traced back several generations, they would find that his family had some sort of relation to the Great Zhou Imperial Family, but of course, the connection was extremely distant.

Nonetheless, they had been publicly claimed to be descendants of the Great Zhou Imperial Family.

Zhou Yan's gaze fell on Fang Yu, and his expression darkened. He knew who Fang Yu was as the story between Fang Yu and Ye Guan had become a well-known affair.

Zhou Yan said to Fang Yu, "Department Chief Fang, my Great Zhou holds no grudges against you. Why must you push matters this far?"

Fang Yu met Zhou Yan's gaze directly. "Am I the one pushing matters to an extreme, or are you the ones forcing things to come this far?"

"It seems this matter cannot be resolved peacefully," Zhou Yuan remarked.

Two powerful figures behind Zhou Yan rushed toward Fang Yu. He understood the risks of killing a Department Chief, but he had no choice. He had to silence Fang Yu.

The Main Guanxuan Academy was far away. It would be easy to frame someone once Fang Yu was dead. After all, as far as Zhou Yan knew, Fang Yu had just risen through the ranks and had no real influence within the Main Guanxuan Academy.

Regarding the Academy Master, Zhou Yan didn't believe that he treated Fang Yu as a brother. In his eyes, the Academy Master was acting on a whim.

Fang Yu's expression darkened at the sight.

There was no doubt that he had gained a lot of insights today. He originally thought that the shady manipulations behind examinations were dark enough, but only at this moment did he truly realize that it was nothing compared to the actions of the people before him.

Personal interest!

When the benefits aligned with their personal interests, people could go utterly insane for the sake of it.

Just then, a wave of overwhelming righteous energy swept across the battlefield, forcing those charging at Fang Yu to retreat.

Sima Feng appeared in front of Fang Yu and the others. He was radiating an incredibly strong aura of righteousness that was far more powerful than earlier.

Sensing the mighty aura of righteousness emanating from Sima Feng, Zhou Yan's eyes narrowed.

Zhou Ling appeared next to Zhou Yan, glancing at Sima Feng with a face full of displeasure.

Sima Feng locked eyes with Zhou Yan, and without a word, he opened his palm. Waves of righteous aura surged forth like a tidal wave.

At this point, he knew that it would be pointless to exchange any words. Both sides had completely torn off their masks of civility. This was now a battle to the death.

Zhou Yan stepped forward, and a terrifying aura exploded from within him. In an instant, the overwhelming aura crushed Sima Feng's righteous aura.

Great Sovereign Realm! he was a Great Time Sovereign!

Upon sensing Zhou Yan's aura, Sima Feng's face darkened. Zhou Yan's cultivation base was two realms above his. He was merely in the Time Immortal Realm and had yet to step into the Great Sovereign Realm.

Meanwhile, Chen Xiao, the clan leader of the Chen Clan, let out a sigh of relief. Given how things had developed so far, he was more eager than anyone to see Fang Yu and the others dead. If Fang Yu and the others somehow made it back alive to the Guanxuan Universe, the Chen Clan would be doomed.

The Inner Committee was ruthless, and if the Chen Clan's actions were exposed, no one would be able to save them. After all, even the Heavenly Dragon Clan was dealt with quite harshly.

Of course, Chen Xiao believed that as long as their actions remained hidden, there would be no issue at all.

Just as Zhou Yan was about to make his move, a dozen powerful auras appeared from the horizon. Soon, more than a dozen cultivators broke through the sky and rushed toward them.

Upon seeing them, Sima Feng's face lit up with joy. They were from the Guanxuan Academy of the Cangyun Continent. Li Jun, the Academy Chief of the Cangyun Continent's Guanxuan Academy branch, stood at the helm of the group.

Zhou Yan's brows furrowed deeply at the sight.

When Li Jun arrived, he frowned, realizing that the situation was far more complicated than he originally thought.

Just then, Chen Xiao smiled and said, "Academy Chief Li, long time no see."

Li Jun glanced at Chen Xiao and replied, "It's you, Master Chen. You're here too?"

Chen Xiao nodded slightly and introduced, "These two beside me are Zhou Yan, a clean leader from the Great Zhou, and Master Zhou Ling."

Great Zhou!

Li Jun was taken aback, and his gaze turned to Zhou Yan. "The Great Zhou?"

Zhou Yan nodded slightly. "Academy Chief Li, it's been a long time."

Sima Feng suddenly said, "Li Jun, aren't you going to greet Department Chief Fang?"

Department Chief Fang!

Li Jun turned toward Fang Yu, who was standing next to Sima Feng. When Li Jun saw the Department Chief Seal in Fang Yu's hands, he was stunned. Of course, he quickly regained his composure and bowed.

"Greetings, Department Chief Fang," he said.

Fang Yu nodded slightly. "Academy Chief Li, I'm afraid we will need your assistance today."

Li Jun glanced around the battlefield. At this point, he understood that this was an internal conflict within the Guanxuan Academy. Choosing a side was ot a decision that he could easily make!

Although Fang Yu was a Department Chief, they were surrounded by people from the Great Zhou. The Great Zhou was at its peak strength right now, with its power surpassing even that of the True Universe.

Furthermore, the Empress of Great Zhou, Zhou Fan, had just taken control of the Guanxuan Committee and the Immortal Treasures Pavilion, becoming the true ruler of the Guanxuan Universe.

Who would dare to offend Great Zhou?

Seeing the look of hesitation on Li Jun's face, Sima Feng immediately understood why he was feeling conflicted. "Li Jun, in such a crucial moment, don't make the wrong choice."

With that, Sima Feng recounted the events that led up to this conflict.

After hearing what happened, Li Jun was silent. He then glanced at both sides, and with a faint smile, he asked, "Could this be some kind of misunderstanding?"

Fang Yu's expression darkened.

Sima Feng stared at Li Jun intently. He wasn't angry. Instead, he was disappointed. They had once been classmates when they studied at the Main Guanxuan Academy.

Later, they became Academy Chiefs of two different branches. They both had lofty ambitions to bring improvements to their respective areas, and they dreamed of realizing their great ambitions.

Now, Sima Feng felt nothing but disappointment toward Li Jun.

He knew that Li Jun didn't want to offend Great Zhou because he feared it could jeopardize his future.

However, what was right was right, and what was wrong was wrong! If everyone sought to please both sides without caring about their principles, what would the world become?

Li Jun felt Sima Feng's disappointed gaze, but he chose not to speak.

Li Jun needed more time to think. He knew that this matter was the fault of the Zhou Clan. However, he understood that it was uncertain whether they could defeat the Zhou Clan with just Sima Feng and Fang Yu.

Forget about defeating them; it was even uncertain whether they would live to see another day.

Right? Wrong?

Having been in the Guanxuan Academy for so many years, Li Jun understood one fundamental truth—if someone with a powerful background had done something wrong, there was a high chance they could turn that wrong into right.

He knew that if Fang Yu and Sima Feng died, the truth of the matter could easily be manipulated by the Zhou Clan. They would claim that Fang Yu and Sima Feng had orchestrated everything.

To put it simply, one could easily distort the truth as long as one was powerful enough.

Li Jun regretted getting involved in this mess. He regretted coming here and jumping into the muddy waters.

Seeing Li Jun's hesitation, Zhou Yan chuckled from afar. "Academy Chief Li, today's matter is a private grudge between the Zhou Clan, Academy Chief Sima Feng, and Department Chief Fang Yu.

"The Zhou Clan will reward you greatly as long as you don't interfere."

Not far away, Chen Xiao also smiled and added, "The same goes for my Chen Clan. In the future, just give the order if you need anything from us."

Li Jun glanced at them but remained silent.

A favor from the Chen Clan and the Zhou Clan!

He clearly knew what this meant. The Zhou Clan's favor could easily bring him tons of privileges.

Sima Feng's expression gradually turned cold, and his gaze became icy as he slowly shook his head while complex emotions stirred within him.

Just then, Zhou Yan commanded, "Attack!"

Zhou Yan stepped forward, and a terrifying wave of power erupted from him, rushing toward Sima Feng like a raging torrent.

𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Sima Feng's eyes flashed with killing intent. He stepped forward as well, raising his hands in the air. In the blink of an eye, waves of powerful, righteous energy surged from him. However, his righteous energy was unable to withstand Zhou Yan's overwhelming aura.

Sima Feng was forced to retreat, and he struggled to stay on his feet.

Swoosh!

Zhou Yan disappeared into thin air.

Sima Feng's expression changed drastically, and he swung his fist ahead of him.

Boom!

A deafening roar echoed, and Sima Feng's righteous energy shattered. He was blasted over a thousand meters away. When he stopped, a mouthful of blood spilled from his lips.

Seeing that Sima Feng was at a disadvantage, Fang Yu quickly turned his gaze to Li Jun. He reached into his robes and pulled out the Guanxuan Token that Ye Guan had given to him. "Li Jun, this is the Guanxuan Token, issued by the Academy Master. Do you dare to defy his orders?"

Li Jun's face darkened at the sight of the Guanxuan Token.

From afar, Zhou Yan sneered and asked, "The Academy Master? Who does he think he is?"