This meant that Tianshen Academy ignored the plea of those in mortal danger first. Ye Futian hesitated and did not give his all; however, he ultimately still extended his help. On this, Ye Futian could already be considered incredibly kind.

If one were to argue that they were allies on the battlefield, were they not while they were in the Shadow Realm?

Why did Tianshen Academy not help him then?

Many shifted their gaze to where the people from Tianshen Academy gathered, particularly towards Jian Ao. The Tianshen Academy preached in the Central Emperor Realm. They were regarded as the number one holy land throughout the Three Thousand Realms of the Great Path. They had cultivated numerous disciples, had countless cultivators, and were admired by many.

After all, who in the land of the Nine Realms had not heard of the Tianshen Academy name before?

However, in a holy land like this, the college chief of the Tianshen Academy was actually a hypocrite?

If what Ye Futian said was true, then in comparison, the actions of Tianshen Academy was indeed quite despicable. Ye Futian repaid cruelty with kindness, whereas the Tianshen Academy repaid kindness with cruelty. Moreover, the Tianshen Academy college chief actually announced their participation in the battle in the name of justice so that he could join the others in getting rid of the Heavenly Mandate Academy and Ye Futian, claiming that he would restore the Original World to its order.

However, the thing no one could understand was… Why would Jian Ao do this?

With his position and status, there was no need for him to lower himself to deal with Ye Futian using a method like this. After all, the Tianshen Academy held no grudges against Ye Futian. Even if Ye Futian were to rise, a holy land like the Tianshen Academy would not be affected in the slightest.

That was unless they were afraid that the Heavenly Mandate Academy would replace the Tianshen Academy as the number one holy land?

That should not be the case.

Some people shifted their gaze to Jian Qingzhu. They could gander a guess. After all, one of the things, or perhaps more accurately, people, that Jian Ao prized most was his son. The son was regarded as Tianshen Academy’s most outstanding person among the new generation. If it were for him, it was certainly possible.

Without Ye Futian, Jian Qingzhu would become the number one proud son of the Original Realm. Perhaps, the attention he would gain would be on a whole other level. At the moment, all the attention in the Original Realm was focused on Ye Futian.

Jian Qingzhu also noticed the gaze of the people. He looked at his father. He did not understand.

Tianshen Academy actually ignored someone on the verge of death. He had a feeling that Ye Futian was not lying.

This made him feel quite embarrassed.

“On that day, the Shadow Realm was filled with powerful cultivators. The scene was extremely chaotic. Indeed, I did see you back then, but I did not have the time to provide assistance. With regard to you helping the people from our Tianshen Academy during the battle, I am indeed very grateful.” Jian Ao was actually quite calm. He then continued and said, “However, the disturbances in the Original Realm needs to be concluded. If the disturbances dispersed and vanished, the Heavenly Mandate Academy will remain the Heavenly Mandate Academy. No one will move. It is fine, even if you hate me. I understand.”

Jian Ao’s answer was the equivalent of admitting to it. It was disappointing to many.

While his words remained pretty, many people were already feeling that the college chief of the Tianshen Academy was posing as a person with high morals.

Moreover, he was scheming. To make his move on Ye Futian at a time like this, to stand and oppose the Heavenly Mandate Academy… For the Heavenly Mandate Academy and Ye Futian, this was undoubtedly a disaster that could very well end them. After all, a situation like this would have already been extremely disadvantageous for Ye Futian and his allies.

“It looks like I will not get an explanation,” Ye Futian said after hearing Jian Ao’s answer. It was clear that Jian Ao would not tell him the reason. Was it because of the Heavenly Mandate Academy? Or was it because of Jian Qingzhu? Maybe it was something else entirely? He would not find out.

Princess Donghuang also glanced at Jian Ao. After that, she returned her gaze at the others and said, “Since all of you have no objections, we will decide the two sides taking part in this battle. After one month, the battle will take place in the Heavenly Mandate Realm. Both sides will select their own combatants. They are not allowed to raise even a hand against non-participants. The battle will end with one side’s defeat. No one is allowed to exact revenge on anyone outside the battle. Do you have any objections?”

“The words of the princess will be remembered. We will only kill Ye Futian. We won’t touch the people from the Heavenly Mandate Academy or their allies,” said Shen Gao. As long as Ye Futian died, the enemy’s side would crumble. Many people would die; however, the dissolution of the enemy alliance would naturally reduce their strength. It was a matter of time before they were annihilated. He was not going to be impatient.

The remainder of the cultivators also nodded to agree with it.

Ye Futian saw that Princess Donghuang was looking at him. So, he nodded and said, “Ye Futian has received his orders. If I die, this debacle will end. I do not hope to involve the innocent. As such, I would like the princess to help take care of them.”

He was also preparing for the worst.

“I will promise you that.” Princess Donghuang nodded.

“Thank you, Princess.” Ye Futian bowed slightly. He then said, “This issue has concluded. We will have to start our journey back. Could I borrow the space teleportation grand matrix within the Empty Imperial Palace?”

Due to the latest incident, teleportation grand matrixes that could access the factions of the Nine Realms were built in the Empty Imperial Palace so that backup and support could be provided to the cultivators of all sides in the least amount of time. Among them was, naturally, a way to reach the Heavenly Mandate Realm.

The reason Ye Futian did not use the typical way and, instead, asked to borrow the teleportation grand matrix was that he was wary of the Dark Court and Evil Emperor Realm. He was worried that those two factions would make a move against him. As such, he decided to leave directly.

Before Princess Donghuang could answer, the Palace Lord of the Empty Imperial Palace standing not far in front of the princess announced, “You’ve worked hard in the battle today. All the factions can return by using the teleportation grand matrix directly.” Ye Futian nodded and replied, “Thank you very much.”

As he finished speaking, he led the cultivators from the Heavenly Mandate Academy towards the matrix. Factions that were his allies also headed toward the matrixes that led to their homes, their expressions solemn.

However, they still had a month to prepare.

Based on the rules of the princess, and since both sides had made an agreement, no one would make any moves beforehand. One month was sufficient, but in front of absolute strength, one month was, in reality, not enough to be meaningful. It would not make much difference.

After all, cultivation is not something that could be achieved overnight. They could not realistically increase their strength by a lot in one month’s time.

The teleportation matrix lit up with bright lights. The Heavenly Mandate Academy, along with the other cultivator factions, left one after another. The Shen Clan, Golden Divine Nation, and many other cultivators did not leave immediately. They still had issues to discuss, like how they would destroy the Heavenly Mandate Academy and kill Ye Futian.

The boy was growing too fast. His battle prowess and potential too high. They would always be worried if he were left alive.

If he were to be regarded highly by Donghuang the Great, entered the Imperial Palace, and reached the top quickly in the future, not to mention getting the opportunity to kill Ye Futian, but they would find it difficult to get rid of him. What awaited them in a situation like that would be to await Ye Futian in getting his revenge.

That was the reason why they were so decisive and resolute, to the point where they even put pressure on the princess so that another battle would ensue. All this to get rid of future troubles.

This time, more than half of the top factions in the Nine Realms wanted Ye Futian’s life.

Whoever helped Ye Futian would die.

The conclusion was set. No one could change it.

“How interesting…” Shi Xie from the Evil Emperor Realm laughed. He looked at Princess Donghuang and said, “I sure opened my eyes today. We will meet again in the future.”

After finishing his sentence, he led the cultivators from the Empty Divine Realm and left. This time, Ye Futian killed a lot of his people, among them several heirs to top factions. This determined that there was no longer a possibility of recruiting him. Otherwise, he would lose the hearts of the people and, at the same time, displease many others.

Since he could not obtain and use him, the only other option was to remove him. However, at that moment, it seemed like the Original Realm was in a state of internal turmoil, which might also end with Ye Futian losing his life. With that, they only needed to stay on the sidelines as observers. If needed, they certainly did not mind doing other things.

The cultivators from the Dark Court also left. Only then did the darkness subside. The practitioners of the Empty Imperial Palace were in a complicated mood.

The people who watched the battle outside the Empty Imperial Palace were also the same. It was not what they had in mind, and it was certainly not the conclusion that they wanted to see.

…

Ye Futian and the others returned to the Heavenly Mandate Academy. Everyone was in a bad mood.

They had just achieved a great victory and defended the Original Realm, preventing it from being divided. However, apart from getting the halo, the one who made the biggest contribution, Ye Futian, was faced with a life or death situation.

The people from the Heavenly Mandate Academy were in a very bad mood. Their faces were cold and hard, a tinge of anger mixed within.

“She should know just how bad this situation is for you, but she did not try and stop it,” Yaya, who was sitting beside Ye Futian, said. Naturally, the person she was referring to was Princess Donghuang.

Princes Donghuang rewarded Ye Futian and did not give him a sentence. However, not protecting Ye Futian after he showed his true strength meant that Ye Futian was now in an extremely precarious situation.

Even though it seemed like she was helping Ye Futian, the reality was that she did not do so.

“Perhaps she was indeed dissatisfied with Futian hiding his strength,” said Lord Taixuan.

“Perhaps,” said Ye Futian quietly. “However, this princess is hard to comprehend.”

“Indeed.” Lord Taixuan nodded. “The Princess never shows her emotions. It is impossible to know what she is thinking. This time, it is very dangerous. Futian, why don’t you…”

Ye Futian looked at Lord Taixuan. From Lord Taixuan’s gaze, he knew his intention: to ask Ye Futian to leave and head to the Divine Prefecture to train and cultivate his powers.

Staying there would impede him.

He shook his head. “The timeline is set by the Princess. She was also a witness when the battle was agreed upon and set. How can we go back on our words in that? If we were to break our promises, it would be hard to find our feet ever again, even in the Divine Prefecture.”

Lord Taixuan nodded. Going away was also difficult. By then, the academy was most likely already surrounded by spies from the enemy.

“Then, head to the other realms.” Yu Sheng was extremely dissatisfied. At worst, he could go train in the Devil World, away from the Divine Prefecture.

“There’s still some time. Let’s put this aside for now. Didn’t the Princess reward me with a treasure? Now is a good time to take a look at it. Let’s see just how generous the Princess is,” said Ye Futian with a laugh. He seemed to be intentionally trying to soothe the tense and somber atmosphere.

However, he was indeed quite curious as to what treasure did Princess Donghuang give him!