Chapter 1744: Enfeoffed King Hall
Although Lin Feng had already stepped into his own courtyard residence, he could naturally sense the approach of Qin Wu and the others. Taking a step forward, he looked at the figures descending through the void and nodded slightly at them.
"Lin Feng." Qin Wu and his group landed on the ground and said to Lin Feng, "Shan Meng arranged for the three of you to stay in this courtyard?"
"En." Lin Feng nodded slightly.
"This Shan Meng is too much." Seeing Lin Feng nod, a flash of anger appeared in Qin Wu's eyes. Among these continuous rows of courtyard mansions, there were quite a few that were vacant. Shan Meng and his people had taken advantage of their role in the assessment and guiding new academy students to place Lin Feng in this most remote corner, and even had three people sharing one mansion.
"When he brings the War King Token, I'll definitely demand an explanation from him." Tantai said indignantly, but Qin Wu shook his head slightly: "The ones guiding newcomers have already obtained the War King Tokens, but they deliberately withheld them, probably using this to threaten you all."
"What?" Tantai grew even angrier upon hearing this: "Threaten us with this? Do they dare not give them?"
Lin Feng's brow furrowed slightly as he asked, "Does the academy have no restrictions on this?"
"The academy's supervision of ordinary students is very lax, one could even say it's a laissez-faire attitude, allowing you to temper yourselves into talent. Although this is an academy, it is still a cruel and competitive martial world, sometimes even more nakedly so. In the academy's competition, there are no concepts of family status; they don't recognize identity, only strength. Of course, if someone comes from a major power in the Holy City Central Continent, they can still gain some advantages in the academy, just like the Princess Yu Wen you encountered. You should be able to understand this yourselves."
Qin Wu spoke to them: "New student assessments are very frequent, once every three months. The academy's elders delegate this matter to some powerful factions within the academy, and then it goes down the hierarchy. This time, the Ji Gate is responsible, and it ultimately falls on Yu Wen Hou, essentially giving them full authority to handle it. So, the War King Tokens are also under their control."
"Hmph, we might as well not take them." Great Pest said with a displeased tone.
"That won't do. The War King Token is a necessity for War King Academy. Without it, you can't even step into War King Academy from outside. Also, places like War King Hall and Enfeoffed King Hall require the War King Token to enter. The War King Token is indispensable." Qin Wu said slowly: "You've just arrived and probably aren't familiar with War King Academy yet. Let me take you around the academy and introduce you to some things about it."
"If that's the case, thank you very much." Lin Feng nodded to Qin Wu. The Ji Gate was powerful and overbearing in War King Academy, and Yu Wen Hou and Shan Meng seemed to be members of the Ji Gate. That Qin Wu was willing to help them showed he was a righteous person who couldn't tolerate the petty behavior of people like Shan Meng.
"No need. If I weren't quite impressed by your strength, I wouldn't bother with this idle matter." Qin Wu was straightforward and said with a smile.
Just then, another figure came rolling through the air, seemingly heading straight for Lin Feng and the others' location.
A strange look flashed in Lin Feng's eyes. Having just arrived, he didn't know anyone in War King Academy. This person also seemed to be looking for them, but he didn't know who it was.
"You all are the new students, right?" The newcomer's gaze swept over Lin Feng and the others, his expression arrogant, with a faint sneer in his eyes.
"Yes. Do you have any advice?" Bu Lanshan looked up at the figure in the void and asked indifferently.
"Shan Meng sent me to tell you that he has matters to attend to and can't come. If you want the War King Tokens, you can go to his residence and pay him a visit." After leaving this message, the person flickered away, causing Lin Feng and the others to narrow their eyes, cold light flashing. It seemed that just as Qin Wu had said, Shan Meng was deliberately withholding the War King Tokens from them.
"No need to get angry. The Ji Gate people have always acted tyrannically in War King Academy. This is far from the first time. When the Ji Gate was in charge of assessments before, many similar things happened. Even if you go to get the War King Tokens, they probably won't hand them over easily." Qin Wu said coldly. It seemed the Ji Gate was indeed like this, wanting to intimidate the new students.
"In this War King Academy, can one kill?" Lin Feng suddenly uttered a sentence, making Qin Wu's expression stiffen. He looked at Lin Feng, a strange light flashing in his eyes. He hadn't expected Lin Feng to suddenly blurt out such a thing. It seemed Lin Feng was no pushover either.
"War King Academy doesn't restrain its students and lets them act freely, but there are still some rules. Students are not allowed to kill fellow disciples at will. If there is a life-and-death grudge that cannot be resolved, one can sign a War King Contract, also called a Life-and-Death Contract, before engaging in a life-and-death battle. Otherwise, the academy's law enforcement will not go easy on you." Qin Wu replied: "Since it's an academy, there must be some distinction from the outside world. If killing were allowed freely, the academy would be in chaos. No matter how strong your talent, I could find someone much stronger than you to kill you without mercy. In that case, the disciples of major powers in the Holy City Central Continent would become even more rampant."
"Mm." Lin Feng could understand. The academy didn't emphasize family status, but the major powers of the Holy City Central Continent had been passed down for countless years. Presumably, the four academies all had some outstanding members from these powers. Yu Wen Hou and Yu Wen Jing were good examples.
"Let's talk as we walk." Qin Wu's figure soared into the air, and Lin Feng and the others followed.
"If killing isn't allowed, then conflicts must be unavoidable, right?" Bu Lanshan asked.
"Of course. If conflicts weren't allowed, would it still be called War King Academy? As long as you don't kill or cripple, anything goes." Qin Wu said with a smile: "This way, even if some powerful people want to oppress new students, they have to be cautious. Who knows if the other person won't surpass them in the future? Of course, this kind of thing where the strong oppress the weak still happens often."
At this moment, Lin Feng, looking at the increasing number of figures in the void, realized that War King Academy, with its countless years of heritage, had never lacked strong individuals, generation after generation. He noticed that the residential courtyard area was quite desolate, but as Qin Wu led them toward the central area of the city, the number of people gradually increased.
"Do you see that towering cloud palace ahead?" Qin Wu pointed to a terrifying palace that soared into the clouds, a faint smile appearing on his face.
"So magnificent." Tantai exclaimed. The palace rose straight up, piercing the sky, majestic and awe-inspiring, like a holy land that commanded reverence.
"That is War King Hall. It's one of the places War King Academy students must visit frequently. You need a War King Token to enter. Moreover, an ordinary War King Token only allows you to enter the first floor of War King Hall. As for what's inside War King Hall, you should have guessed by now: martial techniques, divine abilities, array dao, sacred marks, artifact forging techniques, and so on—a vast collection covering all fields. Of course, to get good things, you need to go higher up in War King Hall."
"My Nine Cauldrons Suppressing Heaven Grand Art was obtained from cultivating in War King Hall."
"The cauldron divine ability you used against me?" Bu Lanshan asked.
"Yes." Qin Wu nodded.
"Which floor?" Zu Yan, who had been quiet until now, also spoke. He had also fought Qin Wu before. That Nine Cauldrons Suppressing Heaven Grand Art was extremely terrifying, possessing infinite power to suppress the heavens. He wondered which floor of War King Hall held such a treasure.
"The ninth floor." Qin Wu said.
"The ninth floor?" Zu Yan raised an eyebrow: "You just said that with an ordinary War King Token, you can only enter War King Hall and stay on the first floor. So what conditions are needed to reach the ninth floor?"
"I'll take you to another place, and you'll understand." Qin Wu smiled without explaining, then continued forward. Although Lin Feng and the others were puzzled, they didn't ask further. As they moved, Lin Feng realized they had arrived at the edge of this city. Ahead of them was a water curtain, with pure water flowing down from a mountain, dripping into a pool below the cave dwelling.
At the top of the cave dwelling, there was a line of characters seemingly made of water, with golden light shimmering within.
"Enfeoffed King Hall." Lin Feng and the others looked at the three large characters, a sharp light flashing in their eyes.
Enfeoffed King. Lin Feng was all too familiar with these two words. Just three days before participating in the War King Academy assessment, he had gone with Jun Moxi to the Heavenly God Academy and witnessed Ying Cheng becoming an Enfeoffed King.
For academy students, becoming an Enfeoffed King meant strength and supreme glory. For the academy, it also meant honor. Most who became Enfeoffed Kings had the potential to be remembered for eternity.
Occasionally, one or two figures walked in and out of Enfeoffed King Hall, clearly free to enter and exit. Qin Wu stepped forward and walked inside: "Come in with me."
Passing through the water curtain, Lin Feng entered this cave-like Enfeoffed King Hall. Inside, it seemed made of water, with pure light reflecting in the cave, making it crystal clear and transparent.
On the three surrounding heavenly walls inside Enfeoffed King Hall, many characters were carved.
"War King, Proud King, Heavenly Origin King, Divine Elephant King..." Lin Feng and the others scanned the characters, all of which were ancient kings of War King Academy. Below them were recorded their deeds. At the very top was War King, with a simple biography: founded War King Academy. Proud King laughed at heaven and earth, unruly and untamed, once charging into the Dragon Clan and riding a demon dragon back, shaking the world... and so on. These were all the Enfeoffed Kings who had appeared in War King Academy's history.
"You should have all heard of becoming an Enfeoffed King, right?" Qin Wu said to everyone.
"En. I personally witnessed Ying Cheng becoming an Enfeoffed King. On the Enfeoffed King Platform, there were stone tablets and deeds of those who became Enfeoffed Kings in Heavenly God Academy." Lin Feng replied.
"War King Academy is the same. The people on this wall are all those who became Enfeoffed Kings in War King Academy. Those who remained unknown afterward won't be placed on this heavenly wall. Only those who achieved great things later can be carved into the heavenly wall for future generations to admire." Qin Wu said calmly, but there was a slight ripple in his heart. Admiring the deeds of predecessors always stirred one's emotions.
"The four academies of the Holy City Central Continent have nurtured countless geniuses for the Qing Xiao Continent, generation after generation. Many of them remained unknown after leaving, but many also shook the world. And those who became Enfeoffed Kings achieved even greater things. As long as they didn't die, they were at least outstanding figures of their time, some even renowned across the Nine Heavens."
Qin Wu's voice carried a trace of respect for the academy. On the Qing Xiao Continent, only the three main heavenly cities, including the Holy City Central Continent, had academies. The four academies of the Holy City Central Continent, over countless years and countless generations, had produced an unimaginable number of strong individuals. Therefore, the four academies also held a kind of sacred radiance in the Holy City Central Continent.