Read Novel Full Chapter 1254: Chapter 1248: The Martial Academy
Chapter 1254: Chapter 1248: The Martial Academy
In a secluded mountain area, there lay a sprawling courtyard.
Devoid of luxurious decorations, it resembled the estate of a prominent mortal scholarly family.
Pedestrians on the cobblestone paths dressed elegantly, their expressions polite and courteous; occasionally, cultivators could be seen holding books, reading aloud.
Suddenly, the peach trees planted throughout the courtyard shook violently, shedding their leaves due to a powerful tremor in the ground.
The scholar-garbed individuals in the courtyard all turned toward Grandhaven City in shock.
They watched as a pillar of light shot straight into the sky, surrounded by layers of grand arrays meant to contain the leaking spiritual power.
The beam of spiritual power blasted the clouds apart, sending a shockwave rippling in all directions.
“A Tier-4 Talisman Master?!!”
“It seems a great storm is about to sweep through our Sage Master Martial Academy, sigh.”
An unknown disciple let out a long sigh and lightly flicked a finger toward the outside of the courtyard.
Every disciple present twitched their ears and similarly cast techniques outward.
A flick of a finger initiated the technique, transforming their methods into text.
Outside the Sage Master Martial Academy, characters brimming with powerful spiritual power materialized one after another.
Sure enough, the wind blowing from Grandhaven City toppled trees, stretching from the academy far into the distance, yet it couldn’t shake the Sage Master Martial Academy in the slightest.
They were unhurried and unpanicked.
Not long after, watching cultivators returning from Grandhaven City to deliver the news, they acted as if they had anticipated it all along, calmly allowing the panicked cultivators to fly toward the Masters’ reading pavilions.
Among them was a bearded, saber-wielding cultivator from a minor sect vassal to the Martial Academy.
He rushed into a courtyard steeped in a scholarly scent, startling the birds in the peach trees.
Under a peach tree at the head of a long table stood a man in hemp garments.
His rough face had sharp, distinct features, yet exuded tranquility as he continued to wield his brush on a long scroll painting.
The saber cultivator didn’t dare disturb the First Master. It wasn’t until the First Master finished painting—a landscape—that he dared to take a glance.
Instantly looking away, a wave of lingering fear rose in his heart; just one glance had nearly ensnared his mind within the painting.
He quickly bowed in greeting, “First Master, it’s the Azure Cloud Li Clan. They rescued Prefecture Lord Banshu.”
“Li Tianming, that madman… used despicable methods. The Grand Elder of Jade Mist Valley was subjected to consecutive sneak attacks by over twenty talismans and lost his life.”
“They are not letting the Second Master leave.”
The First Master did not respond. He repeatedly admired his own painting as if detached from the mundane world, then asked the saber cultivator,
“Take a look at my ‘Picture of the Withered Bones of the Mortal Realm in Grandhaven’. Does it compare to the works of the Painting Ancestor, Dongfang Xuan?”
“Yes…” The saber cultivator turned his head to look. With that single glance, he ceased all movement, freezing exactly like a stone statue.
The First Master turned around, leaving the saber cultivator to stare blankly at the painting.
A stream of white qi visibly seeped from the cultivator’s body and was absorbed into the artwork.
The First Master then walked outward. The sparrow that had just been startled away flew onto his hand.
Gently stroking it, he said softly, “The people of the Martial Academy do not like panic. Karma cycles; he disturbed you, so he must repent properly.”
The sparrow chirped. Looking back, the saber cultivator had been reduced to a mummified corpse.
The reading pavilion was quiet and elegant. The First Master walked straight into the depths of the Martial Academy. Like phantoms, four other figures emerged from the four directions.
One was built like a nine-foot iron pagoda, yet wore neat white clothes with flowing hair.
Another was a petite, exquisite woman who elicited tender affection; carrying a basket, she lowered her head, threading a needle to weave cloth, looking exactly like a simple peasant girl.
A pale-faced young man walked with his hands behind his back, reading a book silently, his brow furrowed as if encountering a puzzling passage.
The last person was an elderly master with a stern expression, holding a wooden ruler that dripped steadily with fresh blood.
The five people walked in a chilling silence.
Reaching the depths of the Martial Academy, they arrived at its Scripture Library.
For some unknown reason, the rustling sound of flipping pages emanated from within.
As the main doors opened, revealing a library containing all the books of Grandhaven Prefecture, books were piled up like staircases.
At the very pinnacle sat a tranquil young man. His figure was ethereal.
Anyone who saw him would silently sigh in admiration that this person seemed completely untainted by the mortal world; how could such a being exist?
A book suddenly materialized on the floor. An attending servant boy hastily picked up the newly appeared book and climbed to the top of the towering book piles.
The noise made the five masters of the Martial Academy slightly displeased. When the book was finally placed beside the young man, his expression subtly shifted.
“The most ridiculous thing in this world is mortals wanting to fight immortals. What’s even more ridiculous is that the immortals lost.”
The young man spoke quietly, and the five masters listened quietly.
“Immortals are in the world; this matter will soon be known to all under heaven.
The Dao Seed in the Western Frontier is a reckless brute who doesn’t know restraint.
She never understood that if our era is to begin anew, taking such a high-and-mighty stance like the Blood Moon simply won’t work.”
“She is too domineering and eager for success. One Western Frontier isn’t enough; in her eyes, Grandhaven Prefecture is just a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.”
“The little immortal in the Banshu family is a watchdog of the Immortal Court. If even a watchdog refuses to join the Western Frontier, where does she derive her prestige?”
“Laughable Jade Mist Valley. The founding master of that hidden sect, Linghu Xian, willingly reduced himself to a running dog after receiving merely a single Immortal Seed from the Western Frontier.
A half-immortal will never become a true immortal. How is he any different from the Banshu family’s watchdog?”
The young man turned his head, gazing out the window at the lingering aftershocks.
No matter how vast the distance, he could somehow see Li Zhiheng and Li Tianming standing by the abyss created by the talismans, as well as the people from the three prefectures gathering and hiding within a grand array at the border.
The corners of his mouth curled up slightly. “Compared to a stray dog or the fangs crawling before an Immortal Seed, I actually appreciate these mortals more. It seems there will be a great slaughter in Grandhaven.”
“The Second Master is in their hands,” the First Master noted. “Li Zhiheng has discovered our method of ‘educating’ the common people.”
“The Li Clan is ruthless. By forcing the people from the major factions to leave, there will be nowhere left to hide in Grandhaven.”
The Third Master looked rough, but his eyes were full of wisdom, his voice deep and resonant.
“Originating from a small village in Azure Cloud Region and reaching this level today, they must have immortal assistance. They act decisively and never leave any room to maneuver.”
“In the end, they are still mortals. Grandhaven is an immortal domain… my immortal domain.”
The young man smiled warmly.
Picking up the book brought by the servant boy, he said faintly, “Let them know this. The Li Clan, Jade Mist Valley, and that watchdog—they all need to know.”
“Yes.”
The five masters departed, their murderous intent chilling the air. The young man slowly opened the book.
A white light flashed in his eyes.
Between the lines of the text, things actually began to squirm. Within the book, mortals wandered aimlessly in a pale, blank world, forever unable to find a way out.
Among them, a middle-aged man and woman holding a little girl’s hand looked around anxiously, pounding against the white walls.
“Don’t be afraid, Niuniu, we’ll find our breakfast stall…”
As the young man flipped through the book, the mortal realm trapped between the lines transformed into a white mist and fell into his chest.
The rustling sound of flipping pages echoed in the Scripture Library, accompanied by the young man’s murmurs, “Gaze upon the mortal realm, all contained within a single scroll.”