The Clear Sky Sect's strength is not to be underestimated, and the Lin Clan holds considerable influence in the Heaven Dou Empire.
Therefore, whether Tang Xiao came to intercept Lin Rong or if Lin Rong and the old butler killed him in return, neither of these events could see the light of day.
Both sides knew this clearly, but it was absolutely forbidden to expose it.
The day it was exposed, the situation between the two sides would be one of irreconcilable enmity.
It was like in the original work, when Tang San was ambushed on his way to Spirit City; almost everyone knew it was Spirit Hall's doing, but no one dared to speak about it.
Lin Rong did not want the old butler's strength to be prematurely exposed to the public, so he would not reveal that Tang Xiao had intercepted him.
The Clear Sky Sect, due to Tang Xiao's death, would also be extremely wary of the power in Lin Rong's hands. Tang Yuehua, who was active outside, certainly wouldn't act rashly, lest she attract trouble.
"This matter is of great consequence. None of the outsiders who know about it will leave alive, so..."
Lin Rong's voice echoed through the forest, transmitted by his mental power.
Then, with a flash of silver-white light, Lin Rong and the old butler disappeared from their original positions and reappeared behind a towering tree several hundred meters away.
"Submit or die, you have only one choice!"
Hearing the voice from behind them, the two who were hiding behind the tree immediately stiffened.
Among the two, one was an old man who appeared to be in his seventies, and the other looked around twenty years old and was someone Lin Rong had met before.
"Benefactor, long time no see."
Feng Xiaotian, suppressing his inner fear, forced a smile and greeted him.
As he said this, he secretly felt bitter in his heart.
Not long ago, the twenty-year-old Feng Xiaotian's Soul Power had broken through level fifty. The Dean of Divine Wind Academy was overjoyed when he learned of this.
A Soul King at twenty years old not only broke the all-time record of Divine Wind Academy but also left the second-place finisher far behind.
The fifth Spirit Ring was the first ten-thousand-year Spirit Ring that a regular Spirit Master could obtain, and its importance was self-evident.
To help Feng Xiaotian obtain a high-quality ten-thousand-year Spirit Ring, the dean, who had the cultivation of a high-level Soul Saint, personally led him to the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt for his fifth Spirit Ring.
Originally, things had gone smoothly. The two of them were fortunate enough to encounter a Gale Wolf that was just over ten thousand years old, and it was a Gale Twin Wolf that had mutated like his Martial Soul.
With the Dean's help, Feng Xiaotian successfully hunted and absorbed the ten-thousand-year Gale Twin Wolf's Spirit Ring.
Moreover, the dean also found a head Spirit Bone from the two wolf heads of the Gale Twin Wolf.
The Dean gave this Head Spirit Bone to Feng Xiaotian to absorb, allowing his Soul Power to break through to level fifty-two.
However, they did not expect that this series of good luck would come and go so quickly.
As they were leaving the Star Dou Great Forest, they heard a huge commotion from a battle, and their hearts were filled with curiosity.
If it were any other time, no matter how curious they were, they would have avoided it.
But this time, their good luck had given them the idea of profiting from the situation, and driven by curiosity, they came to investigate.
"Damn it, I wish we hadn't come. Curiosity killed the cat!"
Beside Feng Xiaotian, the dean, who was over seventy years old, heard the words "Benefactor" and his tense body relaxed slightly. He asked:
"Xiaotian, do you know each other?"
Hearing the dean's question, Feng Xiaotian immediately recounted the event from four years ago.
Then, he said to Lin Rong:
"We just arrived, we really don't know what's going on here!"
Lin Rong replied calmly after hearing this:
"I know."
This made the two of them breathe a sigh of relief, but Lin Rong's next words made their expressions change again.
"But so what?"
"Whether you know what happened here or not, it doesn't matter."
"But you saw me and Uncle Yu appear here. For this reason alone, I cannot let you leave."
"I won't repeat what I said earlier. You have one minute to consider, starting now. One second has already passed."
As he spoke, a liquid hourglass made of cyan Soul Power appeared in mid-air, and the liquid Soul Power inside was dripping from the upper layer to the lower layer, drop by drop.
This display shocked the dean. Such fine control over Soul Power was something even he could not achieve.
This made him no longer underestimate the child who looked only ten years old and began to seriously consider Lin Rong's words.
Half a minute passed, and the dean made his choice.
I, Mu Feng, the Dean of Divine Wind Academy, am willing to lead all direct disciples of Divine Wind Academy to pledge allegiance to Duke.
The dean knelt on one knee to show his submission, then quietly asked:
"But one thing, I'd like to ask, what is the current strength of the person by your side?"
Facing this question, Lin Rong did not answer directly but said:
"No need to guess. It's just as you thought, only higher, not lower."
After speaking, Lin Rong continued to instruct:
"I have a task for you: take over the Blazing Fire, Heavenly Water, and Thunder Academies for me. Any problems?"
"This..."
Mu Feng's old face looked quite troubled as he replied:
"Sir, this might be a bit difficult to handle."
"Among our Five Elemental Academies, the Elephant Armor Academy, supported by the Elephant Armor Sect, is excluded. Although the other four academies are allied, each has its own agenda."
"Therefore, I can only do my best, but I cannot guarantee success."
Lin Rong naturally understood what Mu Feng was saying.
Their three academies were dominant in their respective cities, and none of them wanted a new master suddenly appearing above them.
Therefore, Lin Rong acted magnanimous and said:
"It's fine. You don't need to do this directly."
"One day in the future, your four Elemental Academies will retain their direct disciples and teachers, gathering together for mutual support."
"At that time, it will be the best opportunity for you to persuade the other three academy deans."
Mu Feng didn't quite understand these words.
For their four academies to only retain their direct disciples and teachers gathering together for mutual support, what kind of massive upheaval would be needed to reach such a point?
"Only Spirit Hall can accomplish something like this."
"The prestige of our four major academies in their own cities is not easily shaken."
"However, most of the non-direct disciples within the academies have intricate connections with Spirit Hall."
"Only Spirit Hall can force our four major academies to gather their direct disciples and teachers together for mutual support."
"But in the future, why would Spirit Hall do such a thing? What benefit would it bring them?"
Mu Feng wasn't without his doubts about Lin Rong's words.
But then he thought, Lin Rong had no reason to lie to him.
The matter of him taking over the three academies would only be implemented after that future event occurred.
"So, the waters of this continent have long since become murky without anyone noticing, but I simply hadn't realized it before."
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