Chapter 11674 — The Heavenly Dao Academy Reopens

Shi Wushuang cleared his throat and said gravely, "The Heavenly Dao Academy has reopened."

Wei Zhao's eyes lit up.

The Academy had weathered a top-tier storm not long ago, one that had forced it to seal its gates and go into seclusion—and by his reckoning, well over a year had passed since then.

Now that a new era was dawning in the Inner Royal Court, and the Heavenly Dao Academy was reopening at the same moment, to claim there was no connection between the two—that it was mere coincidence—would be hard to swallow.

Wei Zhao had a vague premonition that in this great upheaval of the Inner Royal Court, the transcendent Heavenly Dao Academy would play a role as well.

And not a minor one, at that.

Shi Wushuang extended both hands and presented a thin sheet of paper to Wei Zhao. "This is the Academy's trial-training invitation."

Wei Zhao reached out and took it.

Thin as the paper was, it weighed more than a thousand catties; had Wei Zhao's physical strength been even slightly weaker, he likely could not have held it.

It had been blank at first, and only after Wei Zhao took it did the contents of the invitation appear—naturally including Wei Zhao's name, and that of his selector and recommender, Shi Wushuang.

Wei Zhao raised an eyebrow. "What does the trial consist of?"

Shi Wushuang shook his head. "Apart from some basic foundational training, the content differs every time. The only certainty is that a batch of people will be eliminated along the way."

Wei Zhao nodded. "Understood. When do we leave?"

"Now."

Wei Zhao wasted no time. He left a message for his subordinates and immediately set off for the Heavenly Dao Academy with Shi Wushuang.

All of this was within his plans.

So long as he could pass the trial and remain at the Academy, he could not only pull himself out of the Inner Royal Court's muddy waters, but also use the opportunity to accumulate strength and await his comeback.

The only thing Wei Zhao could not yet gauge was whether this legendary Heavenly Dao Academy was truly as formidable as its reputation.

Shi Wushuang snapped his fingers, and a single-person spatial passage slowly unfurled before Wei Zhao.

"The other side is the recruit training camp. I'll be waiting for you at the Academy. Good luck."

Wei Zhao stepped through.

The next second, the scene before his eyes shifted abruptly.

An incomparably immense force pressed down on him from all sides—so much so that even with his mid-grade divine body, he could not steady himself for a time, and only after a stagger did he barely manage to hold his footing.

"Well now, another one's here."

Wei Zhao looked toward the voice. Around him was an open ground resembling a martial training field—not large, not small, about the size of a standard football pitch.

At present, seven people sat scattered around it.

Each of them held a Heavenly Dao Academy invitation.

A middle-aged man with a guileless face but a shrewd glint in his brow and eye patted his backside, climbed up from the ground, and walked over to Wei Zhao. "Brother, not bad at all—not many can come in here and not be flattened, let alone find their footing right off the bat."

Wei Zhao glanced at the invitation in the other man's hand.

Di Liankong.

Seeing no reaction from Wei Zhao, Di Liankong went on of his own accord: "This is the Heavenly Dao Academy's independent world. Its world tier is far higher than any world you've ever seen. The gravitational field alone starts at ten thousand times normal. Even the finest elites from other places find it hard to move once they get here."

"Look at them—every last one like so much mud."

As the man spoke, Wei Zhao had already taken note of everyone else present. Though each kept their aura tightly reined in—clearly all formidable and utterly unapproachable masters—their current condition was indeed a sorry sight.

The better off could still sit upright; the weaker ones were simply sprawled flat on the ground, with not a shred of a master's dignity.

After all, to receive an invitation from the Heavenly Dao Academy, one had to be a top-tier prodigy from one's own world—any one of them, dragged out at random, was a terrifying existence that could overawe an entire world.

If this scene were ever to spread, jaws would drop across the board.

Not everyone, after all, had a mid-grade divine body to fall back on like Wei Zhao did.

Di Liankong continued sizing up Wei Zhao. "My physical body's fairly strong, and even I was flat on my face the moment I came in. Can't compare to you, Brother Wei Zhao."

"I'm not much better—just barely holding on."

Wei Zhao smiled and at once sat down cross-legged.

He actually had strength to spare to move about, but in a situation like this, there was clearly no need to be the one who stuck his neck out.

Di Liankong, however, did not leave. He sat down beside him and kept up a desultory stream of small talk.

Were he a slightly more naive sort, suddenly arriving in such an unfamiliar place, he might even have warmed to this man for taking the initiative to chat—but Wei Zhao could clearly sense the probing intent behind it.

Shi Wushuang had said as much: the rules of each trial differed greatly, but one thing never changed—it would eliminate a batch of people.

In other words, everyone present was one another's competitor.

Whether one could stay at the Academy depended not only on whether one's own strength was solid enough, but also on how the other competitors measured up.

In the end, surviving does not necessarily require outrunning the tiger; often, it is enough simply to outrun the companion beside you.

Di Liankong had come over on his own to chat and probe—his intent was easy enough to imagine.

A moment later, a man and a woman were teleported in one after the other.

As expected, the instant the two arrived, they both staggered and dropped straight to the ground, their eyes full of astonishment.

Di Liankong repeated his trick and immediately went over to strike up a conversation.

Wei Zhao frowned slightly.

From the looks of it, the man had likely made a round of small talk with everyone present—quite the go-getter.

Just then, a languid voice rang out above everyone's heads.

A one-armed man wearing a painted-face mask hung upside down from above, his tone lazy: "Everyone's here. The trial begins now."

"I am your instructor, Lord Song."

At that, everyone hurriedly struggled to their feet to pay their respects. Though they could not yet make sense of the situation, this instructor was clearly crucial to the trial ahead.

Even if they could not make a good first impression, they must at least not become a thorn in his eye and get singled out from the very start.

The trouble was, many could not even stand steady—barely getting up before they crashed back down to the ground.

Only Di Liankong was all fawning attentiveness: "Greetings, Instructor Song! This humble one is Di Liankong, newly arrived—please, Instructor, do instruct me as you see fit!"

Lord Song gave a low chuckle. "I'm a cripple. I've nothing to instruct you in."

Di Liankong could not help but feel a little awkward, but he kept up his ingratiating smile all the same, opening his mouth with a whole set of flattering words, his tone and manner screaming streetwise operator.

Lord Song said offhandedly, "Today's trial is very simple. It is to see who can master the True Mandate fastest. Those who master it quickly stay; the last one is eliminated."

Everyone looked bewildered.

"What is the True Mandate?"

Yet Lord Song had no intention whatsoever of explaining. He casually fished ten jade talismans out of his sleeve.

"These contain the basic cultivation methods for the True Mandate. Read them yourselves, comprehend them yourselves."

With that, he made to toss the jade talismans to the crowd.

Di Liankong hurried to curry favor: "Instructor, let me hand them out."

Lord Song lay lazily on the ground, pretending to doze. "Suit yourself."