Chapter 111 Crisis is Imminent
In the main square, Dean You Kunpeng sat on a temporary platform in the center, looking solemnly at the more than two thousand students and mentors below.
"Ladies and gentlemen! The last time our Ten Directions Academy rang the Haotian Bell was sixty-three years ago."
That massive beast tide is something that all the mentors present here who experienced it must remember vividly.
At that time, more than half of the Five Elements City's city guards were killed or wounded, and the city lord was also seriously injured and unconscious. Our Ten Directions Academy could not remain unscathed.
That time, 30% of our trainees were killed or wounded, and 17 of our instructors also died in battle.
Our Shifang Academy has lived up to the high expectations of its founder, Venerable Zhuang Xingfeng, the head of the Confucian Hall.
They have also lived up to the founding principles of our Shifang Academy—to innovate and develop new techniques and skills, uphold traditions, and protect the world and all living beings.
Sixty-three years later, our academy is once again facing a major decision.
I believe some of you who are well-informed already know about the Gray Mist invasion. The latest news from the academy is that a great war across realms is about to begin.
As the headmaster of the academy, I will do my best to protect each and every one of you, but I cannot guarantee that I will ultimately be able to protect each and every one of you.
The reason I've invited you all here today is to inform you that if any of your family members are experts at the Tongtian Realm or Wentian Realm who can guarantee your safety, you can apply for a long leave of absence from school.
If you are willing to stay and stand with the academy and the Five Elements City, we will provide you with three times the usual amount of cultivation resources.
Whether you choose to leave or stay, the academy's doors will always be open to you after the great war ends.
You are too young to bear this war, but war is always cruel and will not spare the old, weak, women and children.
Next, you will have three days to make a choice. Those who choose to leave should submit their application within three days.
Three days from now, the academy will activate its ultimate defensive array. At that time, you will not be able to leave unless there is a special reason.
That concludes my presentation. I have already distributed detailed information about the gray fog to each class, and your instructors will provide you with a thorough explanation later.
"Meeting adjourned!" After saying this, the dean decisively announced the end of the meeting, leaving the students standing there in a daze.
After a long while, the trainees began to discuss among themselves, and the square became bustling with noise.
The discussion was very heated, but no conclusion could be reached. After all, none of the top experts had stepped forward, so what could these students, whose cultivation was at most below the Heavenly Inquiry Realm, possibly do?
"Let's go, let's go find our mentor and get the information about the gray fog." Meng Hanhai, a combat major, was the first to leave.
With him taking the lead, the trainees also dispersed.
"Ah Chen, are you going to stay?" Nie Xiaoxiao asked him anxiously.
“Yes, I will stay at the academy.” Achen nodded.
Previously, in the Holy Witch Clan's territory, his mother had already told him about the gray fog. Since his mother wanted him to return to the academy, she must have already discussed it with his father.
During this period, my mom and dad's cultivation has progressed by leaps and bounds, and they have now both broken through to the Heavenly Inquiry Realm.
Both of them were originally cultivation geniuses, but they had just come from the Flowing Light Star System and were unable to adapt to the cultivation system here for a while.
Once they became familiar with the methods of spiritual cultivation, their advancement in realm naturally accelerated at a rocket-like speed, especially since their mother had broken through to the Tongtian Realm in her previous life.
When a peerless expert rebuilds their cultivation, their comprehension of cultivation naturally far surpasses that of ordinary people.
Although Dad wasn't a native of this world, he was a genius from a young age, with extraordinary talent and comprehension.
Ah Chen thought that with their combined cultivation levels, they would most likely be able to protect their sister should a major disaster occur.
He decided to stay at the academy and do his best to contribute to it, since the academy's teachers had taught him so diligently for so long, and his classmates had treated him well.
Nie Xiaoxiao was actually a little hesitant. During the meeting, her father sent her a message, telling her to go home by herself, saying that he couldn't spare the time to pick her up because one of his concubines had finally become pregnant, and it was a boy.
My father is a powerful expert at the eighth level of the Heavenly Realm, so staying by his side was originally the safest option.
But now that he has a pregnant concubine to protect, Nie Xiaoxiao is not so eager to go home.
She wasn't jealous of her pregnant aunt, after all, she was carrying her own brother in her belly, even if they were half-brothers, blood was thicker than water.
But she was afraid that if she went back and faced a critical moment where she could only protect one person, her father would choose to abandon her.
Although Nie Xiaoxiao is young, she is very smart.
Her mother once said that the human heart is the most vulnerable to test. Back when her father loved her, he cherished her like the apple of his eye.
But later, once his heart changed, he became a womanizer, bringing concubines back to his mansion one after another.
Her mother died from severe injuries sustained while hunting a seventh-tier demonic beast alone. At the time, her mother only saw relief, not fear of death.
Nie Xiaoxiao was only three years old that year.
Although her father treated her very well after her mother died, and because of his guilt towards her mother, he practically spoiled her rotten.
But so what?
Nie Xiaoxiao even thought that if her mother were alive today, and they were in a real crisis, her father would definitely choose to protect the pregnant concubine.
She was already hesitant, but when she heard that Ah Chen had chosen to stay, she immediately made up her mind.
"Achen, I'll stay at the academy too. If we really encounter a crisis, you won't abandon me and run away alone, will you?" she asked with a grin.
"No, I won't." Ah Chen nodded seriously.
If that moment really comes, he will still have to protect Aunt Lele. Jin Liu is very strong, so he shouldn't need to worry about him.
When I arrived at my class, my advisor, Dong Ying, was already there distributing materials related to the gray fog problem.
Achen also received a copy, and after reading it carefully, he gained a general understanding of the gray fog.
The gray fog began encroaching on the outskirts 180 years ago.
Because of its remote and even secluded location, it did not initially attract much attention.
More than fifty years ago, a small sect called Qiushui Sect discovered the problem.
The reason is quite simple: the Qiushui Sect mainly cultivates spirit grains and spirit wheat. Although the sect is not large, it has been passed down for hundreds of years.
Behind the Autumn Water Sect, there is a pool with a spiritual spring at the bottom, from which spiritual water has been continuously bubbling up year after year.
The disciples of the Autumn Water Sect then took the spiritual spring water from the pool, mixed it with ordinary water, and used it to irrigate the spiritual fields.
Then they discovered that the pool was getting shallower and shallower, so the sect sent disciples to dive to the bottom of the pool to investigate. They found that the gray mist was eroding the spring's source, causing the spring water to decrease.
This gray mist was invisible and formless; after being forcibly dispersed, it quickly reappeared.
The spiritual spring of the Autumn Water Sect eventually dried up.
The sect reported the matter to the powerful expert in the Asking Heaven Realm whom they were affiliated with, which attracted the attention of the upper echelons of the Misty Heaven Realm.
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