C43

"Old man Luo, old ghost Lei has gone mad. You have gone mad with him. Don't you know how dangerous the Mountain Sea Painting is?"

"That's right. The Mountain and Sea Painting has been deactivated for more than a hundred years. How can it be reactivated? If something happens, how can we explain it to our families?"

Right when Luo Canglan decided to use the Mountain Sea Painting Scroll as the venue for this competition, a clamor once again arose in the hall. The vast majority of the elders in the hall did not agree with Luo Canglan's decision. Even Yao Yi An, who was very close with Luo Canglan, frowned as he pondered the intentions behind his old friend's actions.

There was a reason why the vast majority of the Elders of the academy didn't agree to open the painting scroll of the Mountain and Sea Realm. Currently, Elder Su, who was at the peak of the learning palace, was either wandering around or searching for a place to cultivate. As long as he didn't do anything big, these people would basically not show up.

These elders of the tribulation realm were constantly suffering, and did not dare to enter the Mountain and Sea Painting. In other words, as long as the students who participated in the fight for the top position entered the painting, everything would be up to them. These seniors of the academy would not be able to help at all.

The Mountain Sea Painting Scroll had a total of nine scrolls and they were all stored in the Nine Universities Palace. This scroll contained three mountains, two rivers, and a lake, each with a radius of over a thousand miles. The jungle was dense in the mountains, and there were many birds and beasts. There was no lack of fierce beasts like the tiger, leopard, and bear wolves among them. Some places even had Earth Class strange beasts roaming about. For those students who were in the Blood Solidification Realm, the danger level was not inferior to that of the Nine Supreme Sects.

However, these were not the most dangerous places in the Mountain Sea Painting Scroll. In this Mountain Sea Painting, there was an irregular, moving Great Illusion Array, when a person enters the array, he would create illusions, he would get drunk on wealth and gas, his fame and wealth would follow him, and many students in the past would be completely immersed in this illusion. Finally, their souls would be exhausted and they would die in the array.

"Stop quarreling. Since this old man is the head of the academy, I will be in charge of everything that goes wrong." Luo Canglan said impatiently as he looked at the bustling hall.

"Since it has already been decided, then so be it." Seeing that Luo Canglan had already made up his mind, Yao Yi An got up from his seat. He glanced at the two quarreling old men Wang and Yu and flicked his finger. The two white pills flew to their noses in an instant. After doing all that, Yao Yian turned around and left without even looking at it.

"Old Man Yao, what is this? "Oh, my stomach."

"Move aside, you bastard. Don't f * cking pull my clothes."

The two old men only felt as if their stomachs were overturning and a warm current was rushing towards their tails. The two of them were like startled rabbits as they rushed towards the nearest Five Valley Reincarnation's location, not daring to even say a word out loud as they were afraid that the warm current would break out and they would really become the laughingstock of the academy. At their age, they could not afford to lose this person.

That afternoon, the Academy issued a notice announcing the opening of the Mountain Sea Painting Competition this year.

How could they not know that it was because too many people had died that year that the Mountain Sea Painting Scroll was banned? This was clearly written in the "History of the Nine University Palace", which was to be studied in the first year of school. Although there were those who did not believe it, no one was willing to use their own life to fight for the name of the Palace of Education.

At this moment, Lu Que and Duanmu Ye were chatting with each other while sipping tea in a pavilion in the backyard. The two of them were discussing about the opening of the Mountain Sea Painting Hall's chief amongst themselves.

"In the sixteen years of the Grand Ancestor's Divine Phoenix, the Scorching Sun Academy opened the Mountain and Sea Painting for the first time. Four people died. Six people from Divine Phoenix Academy had died in forty years. Gao Zong and Jia He had lost nine people in three years to the Great Sea Academy. In the past fifteen years, three people from the Cloud Perching Palace had died. The Wen Zong had experienced a rise in age, with twelve people from the Zhongyang Academy having died. Oh, this is also the first time the number of people who have died has increased. " Duanmu Ye read to Lu Que, who was sipping his tea, while holding a 'History of the Nine University Palace' book and looking for the records on what happened in the Mountain Sea Painting.

"Duanmu, it's better if you don't recite it." Lu Que poured a cup of water for Duanmu Ye, took the book from Duanmu Ye's hands, and placed it on a stone table.

"Lu Que, is this map of the Mountains and Seas really that dangerous?" Duanmu Ye held onto his book and read for a long time. Although there were many records of university students dying in the Mountain Sea Painting, he really could not tell where the danger lay. It was just three mountains with a radius of a thousand miles.

"What's dangerous is not the mountain, nor the formation, but the human heart." Lu Que replied flatly.

He had read this < History of the Nine University > when he returned to the capital, and he had even asked his father where the dangers of death came from. After all, for people like him and Duanmu Ye who had lived in the forest since they were young, even the ferocious beasts in the mountains would find it difficult to harm them.

"The human heart?" Duanmu Ye scratched his head. "You're saying that those who enter the Mountain Sea Painting, not only have to face the mountain forests, beasts, and formations, but also other people who participate in the struggle for the position of chief?"

"Probably." Lu Que nodded his head. Other than being able to stay in the Phoenix Cry, the only good thing about the Head of the Education Palace was that he could borrow twelve Heaven Grade techniques from the library.

However, the four brothers of the C Seventh Institution did not need those Heaven grade cultivation techniques. He had the « True Sutra of the Yuan Great Sect » and his family's history of learning was not small. Duanmu Ye and Lin Qingyu were under the tutelage of General Lei Xuanbang and the Godly Doctor Yao Yian respectively, so they did not need to worry about their own cultivation techniques.

At this moment, Zhuge Yan, who had something to do in the morning, rushed in from outside the door. Seeing Lu Que and Duanmu Ye drinking tea, he walked to the side of the stone table and poured himself a cup of tea. As he drank the tea, before he could catch his breath, Zhuge Yan opened his mouth and said, "Boss, boss, have you heard that something has happened?"

"What can happen? Isn't it just that this year's Champion Competition will be the opening of the Mountain and Sea Painting?" Judging from Zhuge Yan's expression, Lu Que knew that she had run all the way from the entrance of the academy to refill his cup with tea.

"What?" The chief is going to open the Mountain River Diagram this year? " Hearing this, Zhuge Yan was stunned, "Are those old men crazy?" The Mountain Sea Painting has not been opened for over a hundred years. "

Seeing Zhuge Yan's dazed look, Lu Que and Duanmu Ye looked at each other in dismay. Could it be that the matter he mentioned wasn't this?

"Zhuge, didn't you say something big?" Is that not it? " Duanmu Ye asked curiously.

"Of course, that's not what I'm talking about. Hey, let me tell you. Guess what news I heard when I went back home. You definitely won't be able to guess it." Zhuge Yan said mysteriously.

"If you want to say something, say it. If you don't want to say it, then I don't want to hear it." Duanmu Ye said in dissatisfaction when he saw Zhuge Yan deliberately mystifying him again.

Seeing that Zhuge Yan's gaze had once again landed on him, Lu Que picked up the teacup in front of him and gave him a slight smile.

Looking at Lu Que and Duanmu Ye's expressions, Zhuge Yan was like a deflated balloon as he angrily drained the cup of tea in one gulp. "Being with two people who are not curious is really boring and extremely boring."

"Alright, tell me, what happened in the capital?" Lu Que poured another cup of tea for Zhuge Yan and said.

"His Majesty has given the order to destroy the Dark Phoenix." Zhuge Yan slowly spat out the words, but both Lu Que and Duanmu Ye were emotionally moved.

"So fast." Lu Que lamented in his heart. It had only been two days since he had gone to Tremor Lake and the Imperial Palace had sent out the order. This speed was simply too fast, and he was only guessing, why did the Emperor Uncle assume that it was the Dark Phoenix that did it? Or was it his understanding of the names of the eight parts of the Dark Phoenix when he was chatting with Sister Mo Qingcheng?

Duanmu Ye and Zhuge Yan saw Lu Que holding a teacup in his left hand without moving, while the thumb and forefinger of their right hand continuously rubbed a corner of their clothes. Duanmu Ye and Zhuge Yan saw Lu Que holding a teacup in his left hand without moving, and the thumb and forefinger of their right hand kept rubbing a corner of their clothes.

The assassination of Lu Que was something that both of them had personally experienced. Now that half a year had passed, and the palace had suddenly sent out an order to exterminate one of the two major assassination organisations, the Dark Phoenix, the two of them were naturally linked to the assassination of Lu Que. Furthermore, the Duke of Wei's household had been pursuing this matter for a long time, and the Duke of Wei, Lu Chun, had not returned to the capital for several months.

"Why are you guys looking at me like that for?" Only after a while did Lu Que regain his senses. He was surprised to see the both of them staring at him unblinkingly.

"Do you know anything?" Tell me about it? " Zhuge Yan moved closer to Lu Que and asked.

"Do you know of the Eight Tribes of the Dark Phoenix?" Lu Que asked.

"Of course I know."

"Do you know the names of the eight parts?"

"I know, it has something to do with this?"

Looking at Lu Que, both Zhuge Yan and Duanmu Ye were in deep thought. Suddenly, both of their eyes lit up. Lu Que had already reminded them so clearly. If they still could not think of it, then they were no longer worthy of being the imperial academy's students.

Duanmu Ye was so shocked by his answer that he was unable to speak. With the twenty-four guards of the twelve armies, the standing army's strength would exceed two million, and rebelling like this was equivalent to courting death. Duanmu Ye really could not think of where the Dark Phoenix had gotten its confidence from.

The Yu Dynasty had ruled this land for more than two hundred years. If the master of the Dark Phoenix Empire wanted to rebel and claim the throne, regardless of whether it was the hundreds of millions of citizens or the noble clans, none of them would support him. If the Dark Phoenix Clan dared to do such a thing, there was only one path they could take.

"By the way, Zhuge, does the imperial edict say which army His Majesty ordered to destroy the Dark Phoenix?" Lu Que asked again.

"It's the ten great Phoenix Guards." Thinking of the troop transferred under the imperial edict, Zhuge Yan couldn't help but swallow his saliva.

"What?" Duanmu Ye looked at Zhuge Yan in disbelief.

Hearing this, Lu Que's eyes lit up.

The Great Gan Army had twenty-four guards. Twelve of the armies were stationed at the border and twenty-four guards were stationed in the country. The ten great phoenix guards Zhuge Yan spoke of were named after the Rainbow Phoenix. They were respectively: Left and Right Vermillion Bird Guards, Left and Right Blue Luan Guards, Right and Right Green Luan Guards, Left and Right Honghu Guards, and Left and Right Phoenix Guards.

The ten great Phoenix Guards were stationed at the eight great capital, and each of them had thirty-six thousand soldiers. This time, the emperor had dispatched ten great Phoenix Guards to eliminate the Dark Phoenix, which could be said to be a huge feat, because one had to know that it was an entire three hundred and sixty thousand troops. In the entire history of the Greenwood Continent, there had never been a nation that had sent out so many troops, just for the sake of destroying an organization.

Moreover, Lu Que and Zhuge Yan both knew that the Ten Phoenix Guards were just on the surface. The Three Royal Guards would definitely take action in secret to deal with those assassins, and the Shadow Guards, Secret Guards, and Dark Guards were the most suitable candidates.

"Sigh ~ With this, who knows how many innocent civilians will suffer." Duanmu Huanghun sighed emotionally.

Lu Que and Zhuge Yan looked at each other, both feeling depressed. When the Emperor ordered for such a large-scale army to eliminate the Dark Phoenix, the eight tribes of the Dark Phoenix would definitely not wait helplessly for death. God knows how many people would be threatened by this storm and how many would be innocent to the point of death.

Lu Que also did not expect himself to pass the news to his Emperor Uncle through that shadow guard. His reaction was so intense. If it was only because of the assassination, he could have asked his mother to change the situation and secretly investigate. However, the Emperor had already determined that the Dark Phoenix had the intention to rebel and that this matter concerned the Great Gan. Lu Que was powerless and could only hope that the situation would develop in a good direction and not cause any harm to the innocent.

What he did not expect was that it was his mother's idea.

"Hey!" What happened to you? What are you talking about? " While the three of them were silent, Lin Qingyu walked in with a stack of medical books. When he saw their serious expressions, he couldn't help but be taken aback.

"We're talking about the Chief Large Competition." Duanmu Ye was the first to speak. There was no need to mention the matter of the Dark Phoenix to Lin Qingyu. He would find out sooner or later anyway.

"Oh, it's this matter. I just heard from teacher." Lin Qingyu explained.

"What did Elder Yao say?" Zhuge Yan still couldn't understand why the Academy would open the Mountain Sea Painting Scroll this year.

"The teacher said that although the chief chosen from the three stages of talent, military competition, and the arena was upright, he lacked a trace of spiritual energy. Furthermore, he did not gain much from participating in the competition for the top seat."

Even still, there are still a lot of ways. Why did you open the Mountain and Sea Painting? Zhuge Yan continued asking.

According to teacher, many of the academy elders disagree and argue on the peak of character. However, since it was Elder Lei's suggestion, Chief Luo decided on this matter. Moreover, it didn't violate the rules of the academy. As Lin Qingyu spoke, he glanced at Duanmu Ye. Duanmu Ye was the only disciple under Lei Xuanbang after all.

"But teacher still said it." He continued, "Entering the Mountain Sea Painting isn't entirely a bad thing. The environment inside is very complicated and can increase the student's ability to deal with danger. Even if they were to encounter the Great Illusion Formation, as long as they can guard their mind, they won't be in any danger."

"Then what if we are captivated by the formation?" Duanmu Ye asked.

Before Lin Qingyu could say anything, Zhuge Yan explained, "That's fine with me. The strength of the Illusory Heart Array is based on one's cultivation level. People like us at the Blood Pot Realm won't have much strength when facing the Illusory Heart Array.

He had asked the same question before. The teacher had said that those who were trapped in the formation, unable to leave, were all people with malicious intents. Such people would die if they died, otherwise, when these people became officials in the future, who knew how many commoners they would be harmed.

"In that case, does Elder Yao allow you to participate in this round's Champion Competition?" Duanmu Ye thought back to what his teacher Lei Xuanji had told him that morning. Now that he thought about it, his teacher's proposal to open the Mountain Sea Painting was not just a temporary plan.

"Teacher Yao did not allow me to participate in this competition for the top seat." Lin Qingyu shook her head, then looked at Lu Que as she mumbled, "The teacher said that with my current cultivation level, I can't even handle those wild beasts in the mountains. Among the new students, only Lu Que is qualified to participate in the competition."

"Elder Yao is too kind, there are a lot of talents in the academy, how can we generalize about it? Moreover, I just entered the academy, there's still a gap between me and Brother Yun." Lu Que shook his head.

"Although your words are unpleasant, what Elder Yao said is right. Lu Que, are you going to participate in this time's Large Competition?" Zhuge Yan asked curiously.

Lu Que was able to take on so many moves from the Qi Manipulating Middle Stage assassin when he was only at the Foundation Establishment stage. Although he was heavily injured and had fainted in the end, it was still quite rare. After all, there was a difference of two realms. If it was him, he would have been split into two for sure. Therefore, Zhuge Yan was convinced of Elder Yao's words.

"I haven't decided yet." Lu Que shook his head again.

"What's there to think about? If it were me, I would definitely go. Even if I couldn't get the top spot, I would still be able to see for myself. At the very least, I would know what the Mountain Sea Diagram looks like." Duanmu Ye urged.

Duanmu Ye thought that since his teacher had not mentioned this matter to him in the morning, it was obvious that he did not think much of him. Moreover, he knew very well just how powerful he was.

Furthermore, both Zhuge Yan and Duanmu Ye had known Lu Que for more than half a year. They had always felt that Lu Que was too gentle and gentle, so calm that he seemed to be at peace with the world, unlike any other person in the world. It had to be known that whether it was his martial path or the destiny of his country, he had all escaped the pursuit of fate. To fight for the fortune of his country, to fight for his life with the heavens, this was what a poor man should do.

Just as Zhuge Yan and Duanmu Ye were about to continue persuading them, Yu Tian Xiang and Gu Qingcheng arrived together. The four of them hurriedly stood up to welcome them.

"Sister Tian Xiang, Sister Mo Qingcheng, why have you come to the Golden Scale Valley?" Lu Que looked at the two of them in surprise. Golden Scale Valley was the residence of the male students. Usually, the female students were not allowed to enter, so how did the two of them come here?

"Let's not talk about this first. Little brother, did you sign up for the main event?"