Bidding War

"Huo Long, if you join the Great Xuan Institute and marry into our Duan Imperial Family, not only will I make you a Gold Class student and let you travel to the Central Continent, but I will also make your father a Duke and can guarantee he will enter the Xiantian Great realm!" Duan Zhen yelled out, stunning everyone.

Those conditions were lucrative, to say the least.

The Great Xuan Empire, of course, had its own faction for nurturing genius, and it was called The Great Xuan institution. And the Gold Class student that Duan Zhen talked about was its iteration of a Core Disciple.

There, poorer nobles or commoners were allowed to join and receive training and resources that didn't lose out to the Three Great Sects.

And unlike the Three Great Sects, in The Great Xuan Institute, the only requirement to join was to be a citizen of the Empire and be loyal. Other than that, the institution had its doors open to anyone who could cultivate and pass the entrance exam.

Of course, the lower class with only Low Yellow-grade Martial Veins wouldn't amount to much and could only stay the lowest form of student. Still, even then, anyone who could join it would also have a stronger combat power compared to their peers, making it a haven for the less talented.

Gold Class students, however, were the heaven's chosen of The Great Xuan Institution. They were given top-class training by Law Engraving realm teachers, were fed pills like candy, and were also allowed full access to the Institution's Library, where all of the Martial Techniques were stored.

And should they desire to, they were also allowed to travel to the Central Continent whenever they'd like to further their studies.

For any faction other than Three Great Sects and The Great Xuan Empire, a Central Continent ticket would cost a fortune. After all, a ship that could protect itself and travel across the Baishen Ocean Ring was a High Black-grade treasure the least.

But as the leader of the Southern Continent, the Duan Imperial Family controlled the ships entering and leaving the continent, so letting Huo Long onto one didn't cost anything to them.

It was the second and third promise that everyone was shocked about.

Duan Zhen knew that Huo Long was an extremely filial son who always felt guilty about his father's lackluster life.

Even though Huo Ming was a Marquis himself, he didn't gain the title out of strength but rather inherited it from his father.

And that also made him the weakest Marquis in the entire empire, with his cultivation only being in the early stages of the Law Engraving realm. And from how impoverished the Huo Clan was, it wasn't likely that his cultivation would improve much anytime soon.

In recent years thanks to Duke Xue, the Huo Clan had certainly had a slight reemergence, but since Huo Ming hadn't cultivated peacefully in years, his cultivation had not only stagnated but started showing signs of decline.

So the past few years, Huo Ming hadn't truly started cultivating to advance his cultivation base but instead to reinforce his foundation and make up for years of decline.

But now Duan Zhen offered to not only make Huo Ming a Duke but even to make the man a Xiantian Great realm expert!

It was well known that Huo Ming only had a High Yellow-grade Martial Vein. So for Duan Zhen to bring his cultivation into the Xiantian Great Realm, he would have to break past his innate not once but twice!

The cost had to be astronomical.

Even Xue Bai was surprised. In the game, Huo Long would usually rejoin Wushen Academy during the normal yearly entrance exam that was in about four months at the start of the new year, so there wasn't this bidding war scene.

Of course, Xue Bai knew that Huo Long would ignore Duan Zhen's offer, but it was still interesting to see an emperor put so much down on the table for one youth.

"Duan Zhen, this a disciple of my Wushen Academy. Isn't it rude for you to turn this into a bidding war?" Dean Guo spoke with a frown.

"You're the ignorant fool who expelled Huo Long back then. How can you have the face to still call him your disciple." Duan Zhen snorted, shutting the man up.

After that, the stage descended into a short silence as everyone waited for Huo Long to make his choice. However, as Xue Bai predicted, Huo Long didn't take long to reach a conclusion.

Giving a respectful bow to the emperor Huo Long spoke, "I'm sorry, Emperor Duan, I have some unresolved karma with Wushen Academy and would like to sever it."

Though Huo Long wasn't sure who had organized the attack that left him crippled, he knew that there had to be an inside man that relayed his whereabouts.

And he already had a few suspects in mind for such a role. But if he joined the Imperial Family, he wouldn't be able to get his revenge, so he refused the luxurious offer.

Also, with his Master on his side, bringing Huo Ming's cultivation into the Xiantain Great Realm wouldn't be hard at all. All he needed was time.

Hearing the refusal, Duan Zhen's original confident and content face crumpled.

"Huo Long, are you sure? While Wushen Academy is a place where countless geniuses have been made, it's also a place where countless have fallen. The academy walls are cruel, and the students are known to be vicious." Duan Zhen couldn't help but say.

But as he did, he felt Dean Guo's aura subconsciously rise.

"Duan Zhen, clean up the interior of your school before you dare badmouth my Wushen Academy. Your Great Xuan Institute is even worse than mine. Every student there is a snake that would backstab even their parents. At least in my academy, things are decided by strength." Dean Guo erupted, holding back no insults.

He was already a man quick to violence, so when the faction he had led for so long was talked down upon, he couldn't help but get angry. Thankfully he was still able to hold back his fists and used his mouth instead.

historical

Duan Zhen only shrugged at the insult. Dean Guo wasn't wrong with the accusation at all.

Students of The Great Xuan Institution were indeed known to be smiling tigers. However, he was proud of that.

In order to be a good noble, strength was only one of the requirements. As without overwhelming strength that suppressed all competitors, focusing on only cultivation would eventually lead to your downfall.

"I'm sorry, Emperor Duan, but I still wish to stay at Wushen Academy. I know it is a cruel environment, but cruel environments also facilitate quicker growth." Huo Long replied with a determined look.

To say he wasn't tempted would be a lie, but no matter how tempting the offer was, he would never be able to cultivate peacefully if he didn't get revenge on whoever orchestrated his injury.

Feng Huang had told him that he was destined for great things and would be able to ascend to an even higher plane. But before he did, he would need to sever all karma in this lower plane.

If he didn't, then he would develop Mental Demons and either have his future cultivation path cut off or even die! Mental Demons weren't something to joke around about, and since Feng Huang told him that he could develop one, Huo Long had to snip it in the bud.

And the only way to do so would be to stay at Wushen Academy.

"I see," Duan Zhen wasn't too disappointed about it all, "However, I know that Body Cultivators like you sometimes have trouble releasing the excess vitality within you. So if you ever need some time to release, my Duan Imperial Family has more than enough princesses to keep you refreshed." Duan Zhen spoke with an ambiguous smile.

Following the tempting words, Duan Zhen gave Huo Long a pat on the back and flew off. Since he failed to recruit Huo Long, he didn't need to stay any longer.

The person he left to register the winners was trustworthy enough to complete his goal without supervision.

After Duan Zhen left, Dean Guo also left as well. Huo Long had agreed to join Wushen Academy once again, and he believed that the protagonist would keep his word even without his presence,

However, before he left, Dean Guo also gave Huo Long a gift. It was a spatial ring filled with a few medicinal pills that would help Huo Long stabilize his 1st stage Qi Sea realm cultivation base and quickly start cultivating into the later stages.

Since after reaching the Qi Sea realm, one couldn't just rashly advance while stuffing themselves with resources and would need to focus on both their cultivation progress and foundation.

Huo Long wasn't polite and accepted the gift gratefully. In the past few weeks since he had first completed all nine nirvana, he had struggled on the border between life and death, fighting for resources that could awaken his Master earlier.

He knew that while he had many advantages in his cultivation journey, he also had many disadvantages. And the lack of resources was one of them.

Thankfully with Feng Huang's teaching, he had begun to step onto the path of an alchemist and could supply his own pills. Still, without medical herbs and a good furnace, he couldn't truly supply himself with pills and needed extra help.

Sect Leader Zi also soon left but not before giving Huo Long a few extra looks. However, she didn't say why she looked so thoughtful but instead left quietly.

But Xue Bai and Huo Long knew that her weapon's item spirit had sensed something in Huo Long.

Most likely, it hadn't sensed his true Heaven-grade Phoenix bloodline since Feng Huang concealed it well but rather felt an instinctual suppression just from Huo Long standing near it.

Sadly since her eyes were much worse than the Luan's, she couldn't see through Huo Long and left with a mind full of curiosity.

Yue Zifeng gave his disciples a few looks, and after seeing that none of them planned to leave just yet, he left by himself.

He could tell that his disciples were curious about Huo Long and most likely would converse with the boy for a while. And since his staying any longer would make the kids uncomfortable, he left them alone.

And now, with only Yue Zifeng's lineage and Huo Long still on the stage, the atmosphere became odd.