The Great Ruler (Web Novel)

As time passed, under the anticipation of all of the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy students, the starting date of the Great Spiritual Academy Tournament had finally reached within two days.

Within the great hall in the central position of the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy, Mu Chen, Luo Li, Shen Cangsheng, Li Xuantong and the rest of the elite students in the top ten ranks of the Heavenly Rankings were gathered here. Within the front of the great hall, Dean Tai Cang, Elder Zhu Tian, Hallmaster Mo You and all of the important higher-ups of the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy were gathered here. Even Ling Xi had exited her courtyard and had arrived at this place.

Such a line-up could be said to be the grandest scene of the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy.

Sitting at the front, a serious expression was present on Dean Tai Cang’s face as he looked towards the ten greatest students standing within the great hall that would represent their Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy. Looking at the young men and women standing before him, he slowly said, “Two more days and the Great Spiritual Academy Tournament will start. The Great Spiritual Academy Tournament is extremely important to our Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy, and I think everyone should already know why.”

Within the great hall, Shen Cangsheng, Li Xuantong, Mu Chen and the rest all had serious expressions on their faces as they slowly nodded their heads. This time, if they didn’t managed to obtain outstanding results, there’s a possibility that the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy will get stripped of its title as being one of the five Great Spiritual Academies. Such a blow to the name of a Spiritual Academy would be fatal.

“This is also the first time that you all will participate in the Great Spiritual Academy. Therefore, I’ll first brief you all about its rules.”

Sweeping his gaze across the group, Dean Tai Cang said, “According to the rules of past Great Spiritual Academy Tournaments, you will be split up into groups, with five people in one group. This time, our Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy will only send the ten of you. Which means that you all will be split into two groups to participate together in the Great Spiritual Academy Tournament.

“The first group will have Shen Cangsheng as the leader, and Li Xuantong, He Yao, Su Xuan and Yang Lin as members.”

“The second group will have Mu Chen as the leader, with Luo Li, Xu Huang, Zhao Qingshan and Mu Fengyang as members.”

As both Mu Chen and Shen Cangsheng shot a look at one another, both of them cupped their fists solemnly in reply.

“Although I would very much want to group the best and strongest in one group, we’re one of the five Great Spiritual Academies, which means that we have to send out two groups, at the very least. Therefore, there’s no choice but for you guys to split up,” said Dean Tai Cang with a helpless expression appearing on his face. Their Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy could be considered to be the weakest academy of the five Great Spiritual Academies. As of now, they still needed to send out two groups of five, which would result in their strength being further divided.

“Dean, how many groups are there participating in this Great Spiritual Academy Tournament? And how many groups did the other four Great Spiritual Academies send out?” asked Mu Chen after pondering for a while.

“The Spiritual Academies participating in the Great Spiritual Academy Tournament number in the amount of tens of thousands, with every Spiritual Academy sending one group, at the very least. So how many groups, you say?” replied Dean Tai Cang with a smile.

Hearing that, Mu Chen and the group all sucked in a breath of cold air. If those words were true, there should be tens of thousands of groups participating in the Tournament. Furthermore, these weren't just the numbers used to fill up the slots, all of them were the elite of every Spiritual Academy, meaning that each and every person would absolutely possess some skill and ability. To distinguish themselves from tens of thousands of groups wasn’t a simple task at all.

“As for the other four Great Spiritual Academies,” with a helpless smile, Dean Tai Cang continued his reply, “According to what I know, the Saint Spiritual Academy is sending out four groups, with all of them comprised of the most strongest students within their ranks. The leaders of the four groups are all super geniuses that the Saint Spiritual Academy has spent their blood and sweat to nurture and bring up. Also, that Ji Xuan is the leader of one of the groups.”

Hearing that, Mu Chen’s eyes slightly narrowed; however, he didn’t feel that it was anything accidental. Indeed, Ji Xuan was extremely formidable. Even after entering the Saint Spiritual Academy, where the geniuses present there were as numerous as the clouds in the sky, he would absolutely be able to distinguish himself and stand out from the masses.

The base of the Saint Spiritual Academy was actually that strong to be able to send out four groups of elites! Just based on this point could show why their Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy couldn’t compare with the former.

“At the previous Great Spiritual Academy Tournament, the Saint Spiritual Academy had also sent out four groups. However, their line-up then wasn’t as luxurious as this time. From the looks of it, this time, they have set their minds on using this line-up to shock the other Spiritual Academies. After all, the position of Academy Head had been vacant for decades. The Saint Spiritual Academy has been coveting that position for many years, merely that due to the restrain coming from the Martial Spiritual Academy, Myriad Phoenix Academy, as well as the Azure Sky Spiritual Academy, the Saint Spiritual Academy was not once able to obtain what it wanted. However, over the past few years, the prestige and reputation of the Saint Spiritual Academy has grown increasingly stronger. If its able to show an astonishing performance in the Great Spiritual Academy Tournament this time, I’m afraid that the position might really end up in their hands…”

Hearing about this news, the eyebrows of Elder Zhu Tian and the rest started to wrinkle and tighten. The so-called “Academy Head” would mean being the head of all of the academies. Although one didn’t possess the power to abolish other Spiritual Academies, the weight of the words coming from that position was extremely heavy. In the past, while obtaining their title as one of the five Great Spiritual Academies, their Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy had offended the Saint Spiritual Academy. If they were to let the Saint Spiritual Academy obtain the position as Academy Head, their title as one of the five Great Spiritual Academies might not be that stable, something that added danger to the already existing ones.

“Other than the Saint Spiritual Academy sending out four groups, the other three Great Spiritual Academies all sent out three groups each, with every group consisting of their best students. This time, it can be said that they have gone all-out.”

“Other than the five Great Spiritual Academies, there are still quite a few elite Spiritual Academies out there. Of them, there are some that possess solid strength and background, and aren’t weaker than our Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy. Over the last few years, they have been covetly eyeing our Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy, and will definitely do their utmost this time to kick our Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy down from the five Great Spiritual Academies and take over that title.”

Hearing this, Shen Cangsheng and the rest gave bitter laughs. From the looks of it, the situation their Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy was in truly wasn’t good at all.

“Furthermore, the battlefield for this Great Spiritual Academy Tournament is a remnant piece of a shattered continent.” said Dean Tai Cang.

“A shattered continent?”

“In the ancient times, this shattered continent was one of the largest continents within the Great Thousand Worlds. However, due to the great calamity that happened in the ancient times, it had shattered apart, transforming into fragmented continents of various sizes. These fragmented continents are considered to be lands of treasure within the Great Thousand Worlds. That’s because they contain vestiges of the ancient past. People who have good luck might be able to obtain some of the ancient treasures or ancient inheritance present within them.”

With a smile, Dean Tai Cang continued explaining. “This fragment of the shattered continent was found by the five Great Spiritual Academies. However due to this continent being overly fragmented, added with the possibility of having some ancient seals still remaining there, all of us didn’t dare to search in detail with great fanfare. After discussing, we’ve decided to make this the battlefield of this Great Spiritual Academy Tournament. Speaking of this, this is a benefit for you guys. If you’re able to obtain some inheritance there, it would be extremely beneficial for you guys in your future accomplishments.”

As Mu Chen the rest shot a look at each other, everyone could see the sparks of interest appearing within each other’s eyes. Indeed, those ancient vestiges and remnants would brew interest in people. At that time, when they enter the battlefield, they should take note of this point.

“However…” Suddenly, Mu Chen thought about something, causing his eyebrows to wrinkle up as he asked, “If that’s the case, all of the groups will head towards this fragment of the shattered continent… Won’t that lead to a massive massacre?”

In there, other than the group from their academy, everyone else should be considered as enemies. Added with the enticement of those ancient vestiges, this would result in the fights being even more intensified. At that time, which they all took action, the only word that could describe what would happen would be one word: Miserable.

“Indeed, the battles will be extremely cruel and unforgiving,” said Dean Tai Cang as he nodded his head. “Tens of thousands of groups. Do you know how many groups have the qualifications to participate in the final fight?”

Mu Chen and the rest shook their heads.

“Eight groups,” replied Dean Tai Cang with a faint smile. “Other than the eight groups, every other group will be eliminated.”

Shock waves shook through the hearts of Mu Chen and the rest. Of the tens of thousands of groups, there will only be eight groups that will participate in the final fight? This rate of elimination is truly too terrifying, right? For the sake of obtaining the right to be one of that eight groups, exactly what kind of slaughter will take place in the shattered continent to end in that?

The groups that were able to distinguish themselves among the tens of thousands of groups and qualify for the final fight would definitely be the real deal, and would be incomparably fierce and powerful.

“In the previous Great Spiritual Academy Tournament, our Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy had tried our best and narrowly squeezed into the top eight. However, in the Best of Eight fight, we were defeated in the first round… leading to us getting the bottom-most score,” said Dean Tai Cang with a bitter laugh. Being able to obtain such a ranking was due the that bunch of little fellows risking their lives in battle just to obtain the qualifications of the top eight groups, something that didn’t lose the face of their Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy.

Serious expressions appeared on the faces of Mu Chen and the rest. The Great Spiritual Academy Tournament had yet to start, and yet, they were able to smell the cruel and vicious fights and the miserable battles that would occur there.

With a wave of his sleeve, ten glowing shadows shot from Dean Tai Cang towards Mu Chen and the rest, before coming to a stop before them. As they swept their gazes over, they noticed that they were transparent plaques radiating with light. As rays of brilliance blossomed from their surfaces, they radiated with strange fluctuations, with the two words “Academy Plaque” etched on their surfaces.

“This is the Academy Plaque of the Great Spiritual Academy Tournament. Everyone take one. According to the rules, every group will be allocated a basic amount of points. Once a group gets defeated by another, the winner will be able to obtain half of the points from the loser’s ‘Academy Plaque’. When the points on a group’s ‘Academy pPlaque’ can’t be deducted anymore, they will be eliminated, and will lose the qualifications to contend for the final fight.”

The eyes of Mu Chen and the rest instantly contracted as they extended their hands and grabbed hold of the Academy Plaques.

“Furthermore, while the points of your Academy Plaques are ranked in the Top 16 in the Tournament, information about your team will be transmitted to everyone’s Academy Plaques. Even your location and direction of heading will be indicated, causing you to be the target of everyone there.”

In a deep voice, Dean Tai Cang continued talking. “However, being in the Top 16 allows you to possess a benefit. That is the conclusion of the Great Spiritual Academy Tournament. Once more that half of the top 16 groups ignites their Academy Plaques, the elimination will commence. At that instant, the top 8 groups within the rankings will be promoted to the final fight!”

Hearing this, the eyes of Mu Chen and the rest contracted slightly as they thought, The top 16 groups actually have such a huge benefit…

As Dean Tai Cang’s voice rang out, the entire great hall sunk into a momentary bout of silence. Clearly, all of them were reeling in the shock of the cruel and vicious atmosphere that was brought by the Great Spiritual Academy Tournament.

Genius-level figures from various places would come together to stage a heaven-shocking battle.

Dean Tai Cang slowly exhaled, before standing up. Looking towards Mu Chen, Shen Cangsheng and the rest with serious expressions on their faces, he gave a faint smile and said in a soft voice, “These are the rules of the Great Spiritual Academy Tournament. I’ve already said everything I need to say. What’s next will be up to you guys. Everyone from our Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy will be paying attention to you guys, and hoping for the arrival of the final fight, where we’ll be able to see the group of our Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy.

“At that time, our entire Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy will cheer and shout for you!”

“This time, please fight for our Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy!”

Shooting a look at each other, Mu Chen, Shen Cangsheng, Li Xuantong and the rest took a deep breath. Looking towards Dean Tai Cang, they cupped their hands fiercely, before low and deep voices resounded across the entire great hall.

“We’ll fight to the death for the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy!”