Li Changhe looked at the disappearing figure in the sky and remained silent.
He stood in deep thought for a long time before finally turning to leave.
After this small episode, the entire Heavenly Dao Academy fell into chaos.
The students were all whispering among themselves.
What exactly did that sudden phantom and his words mean?
There were actually people in the Overlord Region who dared to provoke Heavenly Dao Academy, and more importantly, Vice Dean Li seemed to have known about this matter long ago.
For the moment, the academy gave no response at all.
If it hadn’t been for this sudden appearance, most people would likely still be completely in the dark.
...
“You really don’t know?” Xu Zimo looked at Rock Solid and asked.
“I don’t know,” Rock Solid shook his head. “I’ve always stayed here on Vermilion Bird Island and have no interest in other matters.”
“Does our Heavenly Dao Academy have any enemies?” Xu Zimo asked.
“What enemies could we have?” Rock Solid shook his head with a smile. “The academy teaches and educates people, we don’t block anyone’s path, so where would enemies come from?”
“Well, that makes it interesting,” Xu Zimo said with a faint smile.
The two chatted briefly before Rock Solid returned to the smithy to continue forging his weapons.
With nothing else to do, Xu Zimo wandered around Vermilion Bird Island.
On the island, the Southern Luminous Fire illuminated half the sky.
Countless flowers, plants, and trees thrived and grew vigorously amidst the blazing flames.
In fact, from the moment he had set foot on the island, he had sensed its extraordinariness.
Strictly speaking, the ground beneath his feet was not truly an island, but the back of the Vermilion Bird itself.
He could feel the faint sound of a heartbeat, the flow of blood, and the almost imperceptible oppressive power coursing through its meridians.
All of these signs allowed Xu Zimo to judge that Vermilion Bird Island was actually the Vermilion Bird’s body.
Xu Zimo wanted to go see the location of the Vermilion Bird’s heart.
Following his senses, he passed through thick bushes, and the further he walked in that direction, the hotter the Southern Luminous Fire around him became.
The temperature continued to rise.
Pushing aside the dense branches in front of him, Xu Zimo finally saw the scene ahead.
It was a sea of fire.
A true sea of flames formed by Southern Luminous Fire.
The bluish flames carried a tinge of red.
It seemed as though the sharp cry of the Vermilion Bird echoed from within.
And beside the flames, a man was sitting at that moment.
The man held a wine flask in one hand and leaned against a gravestone in the midst of the fire.
When Xu Zimo arrived, the man’s previously dull, lifeless eyes suddenly snapped open.
With overwhelming pressure, he looked directly at Xu Zimo.
The surrounding Southern Luminous Fire burned fiercely, crackling loudly.
“Who are you?” the man asked as he slowly stood up, his gaze fixed on Xu Zimo.
“A newcomer. The academy told me to follow Venerable Nu,” Xu Zimo said with a smile.
In truth, he had already guessed most of the man’s identity but chose not to point it out.
“Who told you to come here?” the man said coldly. “Leave now, and never set foot here again.”
“That Vermilion Bird isn’t dead yet. Don’t you want to save it?” Xu Zimo asked.
At Xu Zimo’s words, the man frowned slightly and froze for a moment.
Then he laughed and said, “Kid, do you even know what you’re saying?”
Without answering directly, Xu Zimo took out a leaf from the Tree of Life from the True Fate World.
This Life Leaf not only granted longevity but was also unparalleled in healing injuries.
But the leaf was far too precious.
In the past, only the Celestial Race could possess it. Later, after Xu Zimo found it, the Life Leaf had completely vanished from the world.
Now, Xu Zimo was the only person on the entire continent who possessed it.
He rarely gave it to others, as the leaves were extremely rare, the Tree of Life required a thousand years to grow a single leaf.
The green Life Leaf glowed faintly. When the man saw it, his pupils shrank sharply.
“Can you give it to me?” he asked, breathing heavily, his tone cautious.
“How about we make a trade?” Xu Zimo said.
“You’re the new student the academy brought in today, aren’t you?” the man walked toward him step by step. “I heard you passed the tenth level.”
The Southern Luminous Fire surrounded him, as though he were the ruler of this sea of flames.
“Venerable Nu,” Xu Zimo smiled. “What should I call you? Teacher Nu? Sounds awkward.”
“Just call me teacher, though I have no intention of taking you as a disciple,” Venerable Nu said with a wave of his hand.
Indeed, the man before him was the master of Vermilion Bird Island, Venerable Nu.
On this vast island, besides Rock Solid, there was only Venerable Nu himself.
That much was not hard to guess.
“What trade do you want to make?” Venerable Nu asked.
“I believe teacher knows well the value of the Life Leaf,” Xu Zimo smiled. “I won’t give it to you for free. I want to enter the Treasure Tower.”
“The Treasure Tower isn’t a place you can just enter,” Venerable Nu shook his head.
“Then there’s no deal,” Xu Zimo said directly, putting the Life Leaf away.
“If you’d come before, I really wouldn’t have been able to help,” Venerable Nu said with a small smile. “But recently, there just might be an opportunity. It depends on whether you dare to seek fortune in danger.”
“What opportunity?” Xu Zimo asked in puzzlement.
Venerable Nu looked up and pointed to the sky.
Seeing Xu Zimo frown, he continued, “You saw that phantom that tore open the heavens earlier, didn’t you?”
Xu Zimo nodded.
“In seven days, great disaster will befall Heavenly Dao Academy. When that time comes, anything could be possible,” Venerable Nu said plainly.
He didn’t avoid the subject, speaking of it with a calm expression.
“You want me to use the chaos to rob the place?” Xu Zimo frowned.
“....”
Venerable Nu shook his head.
“I meant help defend the academy. If we hold it, your merit will be great enough for you to enter the Treasure Tower normally. If the academy falls and is overrun, I can take you to the Treasure Tower, and you can take whatever you want.”
“Deal,” Xu Zimo said after a moment’s thought. Then he asked, “Who are these people attacking the academy?”
“What, are you scared?” Venerable Nu asked with a smile.
“Not really,” Xu Zimo shook his head.
“I’m just curious, there’s actually a force in the Overlord Region bold enough to attack Heavenly Dao Academy? Even the Immortal Extinction Sacred Ground would think twice.”
“Just a bunch of jumping clowns,” Venerable Nu snorted coldly.
“But sometimes, you have to admit, little devils can be troublesome.”
“If you don’t want to say, then forget it,” Xu Zimo said, shaking his head.
“It’s not that I don’t want to say. You’ll know when the time comes,”
Venerable Nu replied with a small shake of his head.
“Now, can you give me the Life Leaf?”
“When I’ve entered the Treasure Tower, I’ll naturally give it to you,” Xu Zimo said.
“You don’t trust me?” Venerable Nu frowned.