Immortal Academy’s founder was Ouyang Wudi.

As early as several hundred years before Yunqin was established, this cultivator who came from a private school background wandered the world, perfecting his sword skills and becoming one of that age’s most powerful swords masters. When he returned to a nameless Yunqin mountain because of his old age, he took in several disciples. Eventually, these leaves and branches he established gathered together, ultimately forming Immortal Academy.

During these decades before Yunqin Empire was established, even though Immortal Academy always produced many swordsmen and sword controlling Sacred Experts, their sword skill always followed a swift and direct approach, like a stream of stars descending from the heavens. However, in this age where even Ni Henian had to humbly lower his head, where powerful individuals emerged in great numbers, Immortal Academy still didn’t stand out from the others, still no different from some of Yunqin’s great sects.

After Yunqin was established, Immortal Academy instead relied on its own backing and support from the royal court to rise above others, becoming one of Yunqin Empire’s three great academies[1] .

That originally nameless mountain range had long been renamed to Immortal Mountain, becoming a feudal fiefdom bestowed to Immortal Academy by the imperial city.

Immortal Academy’s students all mainly trained in sword skills. The first four years were respectively one year cutting grass, one year cutting wood, one year cutting waterfalls, and one year blind sculpting.

The first year was continuously drawing the sword within the mountains to cut weeds. The weeds could only be cut at the stem, an inch above the earth, the roots cannot be cut. They would quickly grow again, so they needed to continuously be cut. For all of Sword Training Mountain Forest to not have any weeds, who knew how many swords had to be drawn each day.

The second year was in the forest. According to the academy’s demands, they would trim trees and flowers with the sword. This would prevent the forest from being overgrown, granting it an air of elegance. Some of the trees were large and tall, so they had to be climbed and jumped over. After this year, the sword stance of those who were accomplished made them several times more nimble than even the mountains’ apes and monkeys.

In the third year, the students would practice the sword under several waterfalls in order to train one’s body until it became as steady as a mountain peak. This way, when they faced an incoming great army or the might of a powerful cultivator, they could still calmly and steadily brandish the swords in their hands.

After these three years, the outstanding Immortal Academy students would already become powerful swordsmen, possessing exceptional calm-headed temperaments. Even during a great army’s sudden attack, they could still become powerful assassins. Even when facing cultivators whose levels were higher than their own, they could still pose great threat to their opponents.

The fourth year was precisely to change from the swift, fierce and smooth into the agile and graceful dao, becoming more free and unconstrained.

…

Under the continuous sculpting of Immortal Academy cultivators, Immortal Academy’s mountain forest became extremely beautiful and elegant, becoming like the most beautiful painting scroll painted by a superb painting master. Flowery butterflies flew within the flower clusters, clear springs flowing between rocks, white cranes flying between the clouds and waterfalls.

However, because all of this was sculpted by who knew how many years of sword techniques, within this beautiful and secluded beauty, between it all vaguely flowed endless astonishing sword intent. Every single flower and every single tree seemed to hide some invisible longswords.

Ni Henian walked through this picturesque mountain corridor.

The robes woven out of many types of metal strands had crane runes, small golden coiling dragons on the collar and cuffs,while the dragon scale patterns on the shoulders fluttered about gently in the mountain winds, the sound like melodious wind chimes.

Many of Immortal Academy’s people already rushed out from the various palaces and forests behind this mountain gate.

Ever since the emperor and Chen Family broke off relations, all of the cultivators in Immortal Academy understood extremely clearly in their hearts that even Immortal Academy would definitely become like Thousand Devil Nest, facing a round of purging from the emperor. Only, Immortal Academy’s people weren’t as clearly divided as Green Luan Academy, so most of them couldn’t even clearly distinguish between Chen Family, the emperor, and Yunqin.

At this time, most of Immortal Academy’s cultivators knew that Ni Henian’s arrival was definitely to take over Immortal Academy and wipe out Chen Family’s powers, but as as for who exactly was going to be dealt with, most people in Immortal Academy had no idea. It was to the extent where they were in shock, wondering to themselves, in this this type of extremely tense Central Continent City situation where most people in Immortal Academy wouldn’t go against the emperor’s orders, just who was it that was worth Ni Henian risking the danger of leaving Central Continent City, and coming to this place?

Within an extremely short amount of time, these doubts and shock were summed up to one point.

In Immortal Academy, the one who had the ability to decide the trajectory of all of Immortal Academy, someone who left even Ni Henian with no choice but to come, just who exactly was it?

…

Ni Henian reached the end of the white mountain corridor.

The several hundred Immortal Academy people who gathered at the two sides of the mountain gate stood respectfully to the two sides like a tide.

At this time, within Immortal Academy’s masses, the hands of a white clothed middle-aged man with a complexion like jade trembled slightly, turning his head towards the back of the mountain gate in disbelief, looking towards a certain forest’s depths.

He was an Immortal Academy Sacred Expert level cultivator.

Immortal Academy naturally also had powerful Sacred Experts, but this Sacred Expert’s soul force cultivation was still far inferior to Ni Henian’s. Only, because he was extremely familiar with his own academy’s forests and natural energy, that was why he immediately sensed a powerful aura which was entirely different from normal.

When he turned around and raised his head, Ni Henian and that gray-robed, masked slender and tall cultivator behind him also immediately sensed that strand of extraordinary aura.

Ni Henian raised his head.

After his eyes were injured by the radiance, his black pupils produced a bit of ashy grayness, these areas within his eyes forever burned and could not be healed.

Right now, within his eyes, Immortal Academy’s extremely elegant forest was only an extremely blurry expanse of colors, a radiance made of countless small windows.

However, that hint of extraordinary aura was still extremely clear within his perception.

That forest was quite far from where he was right now.

There was no way a natural soul force surging could stir up such an aura, an aura that they could sense from even such a great distance.

That was why that person definitely released this type of aura on purpose, as if issuing a challenge for battle, waiting for them to arrive.

A hint of an expectant expression appeared on Ni Henian’s face.

He looked like he only took a few leisurely steps, yet after just a few steps, all of Immortal Academy’s people discovered that he already passed by everyone, now already quite far from the mountain gate.

Everyone from Immortal Academy suddenly reacted, all of them following behind him.

Within the forest by the rear mountain was a small river waterfall.

Underneath the waterfall was a jade colored pool where quite a few red fish swam.

On the jade pool was a white clothed bare footed middle-aged man, his hair bound with a simple cloth strip.

“He Baihe?”

When many Immortal Academy people clearly saw this calm faced middle-aged man, they released low cries of alarm.

He Baihe was a teacher who taught etiquette, gardening, and feng shui dao in Immortal Academy.

This was a teacher who only taught miscellaneous courses, only teaching the new students etiquette, when teaching students sword training, only teaching them how to make the forest a bit prettier and more elegant. It was to the extent where he couldn’t even be considered an Immortal Academy teacher who taught sword skill. In the eyes of most Immortal Academy students and teachers, he was only an extremely ordinary cultivator who would slowly spend the rest of his life in Immortal Academy.

On their way here, all of these Immortal Academy students knew that there was a cultivator who could face Ni Henian. However, none of them expected that the one who would be here would actually be this miscellaneous courses teacher.

…

“That is why you are the true disciple Ouyang Shang is most proud of.”

Ni Henian looked at this middle-aged man who was sitting on the poolside rocks. There was no sword in this middle-aged man’s hands, no sword within his sleeves either.

While looking at this originally ordinary barefooted middle-aged man’s body which began to naturally flow as if a seal was lifted, forming streaks of sword-like clear wind streams around him, his presence becoming more and more powerful, Ni Henian slowly spoke these words.

When that jade faced Immortal Academy Sacred Expert with a white jade sword behind his back heard the name Ouyang Shang, his expression immediately changed greatly, his eyes instantly filled with respect and reverence.

Ouyang Shang was the most powerful sword master from Immortal Academy’s last generation cultivators.

In these past few decades, their most famous cultivators in this world all experienced his personal guidance and teaching.

For Immortal Academy, Ouyang Shang’s inheritance even more so represented the true orthodox inheritance of Immortal Academy’s Ouyang Clan, related to some of the most profound secret arts.

Just the status of being an Ouyang Clan’s true inheritance receiver was already enough to place him on equal footing with Immortal Academy’s principal.

Meanwhile, at this moment, when his eyes shifted to the swimming red fish in the jade pool, this Immortal Academy Sacred Expert’s expression of reverence and shock increased a bit.

The red fish in the jade pool still acted naturally, swimming in an extremely leisurely manner.

In this situation where the aura on He Baihe’s body already rippled to the point where swords were condensed in the air, the fish swimming in the pool still didn’t feel any fear. This could only mean that He Baihe’s sword dao was already close to Immortal Academy’s so-called heaven law domain, his perception and grasp over the vital energy around him already completely exceeding the notion of ordinary Sacred Experts.

This type of sword cultivation level, the sword wind produced by a single slash had a chance of possessing powerful destructive force. Moreover, by the time he approached his opponent, his enemy might not even notice anything.

“What Great Consecrator said is correct, this one is indeed the last disciple teacher has accepted.” He Baihe smiled, calmly nodding his head and replying.

“Every powerful cultivation land has some formidable figures. That is why your appearance isn’t something I didn’t expect.” Ni Henian slowly shook his head, calmly saying, “It is just like when I fought against Zhong Cheng in front of Yellow Sparrow Temple… Regardless, both you and Zhong Cheng are Yunqin cultivators, moreover cultivators who are unique, enough to establish a sect or pass on dao. Since Ouyang Shang didn’t choose to take in anymore disciples after you, he should have felt that you could already truly pass on the sword skill true inheritance he possesses. Only, by taking me on as your enemy, do you not fear that this inheritance will be cut off here?”

He Baihe looked at Ni Henian, calmly saying, “I understand what Great Consecrator is implying. However, because of different dao, this battle is unavoidable in the end.”

Ni Henian’s brows furrowed slightly, but a bit of excitement instead appeared on his face. “Then let me take a look at your sword, let me see Immortal Academy’s most powerful sword for myself.”

He Baihe nodded with a smile.

His eyes shifted towards the jade pool beside him, looking at those red swimming fish.

Everyone naturally felt that his sword should be hidden beneath the red fish, at the bottom of the pool.

However, when his eyes lowered, this was merely a secret sword technique of Immortal Academy, Sight Distraction.

Right now, his sword wasn’t in the pool at all, only in his heart, between this heaven and earth.

The instant Ni Henian’s mind and perception were drawn by his shifted gaze, he reached out a finger. A wave of soul force condensed into a longsword, piercing the world before him.

1. Green Luan Academy - backed by Principal Zhang and his reputation, Thunder Academy - established by the join efforts of Yunqin Emperor and Chen Zhaoli - B12C55 , Immortal Academy - established by Ouyang Wudi and