Chapter 4867 — The Plain Island of Thunder
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 3
"Master Lin, you cannot go down now!" the Morning Star libation officer hastily urged. He dared not show Wei Zhao the least disrespect—not only did all three Overlords of the academy regard Wei Zhao with special favor, but the alchemist Qing Xuanzi alone, as a seat-holding alchemist, held a position no lower than his own. If he offended Wei Zhao, his days would be miserable ever after.
"Hm? Why is that?" Wei Zhao asked in surprise. Beside him, Wang Xinyan and Huang Xiaotao exchanged looks; it was their first time here, and they did not know the rules.
"It is explicitly stipulated: without the permission of the trial's organizers, no disciple of any academy may disembark without authorization. All must remain aboard and await summons, or else their trial qualification will be revoked," the Morning Star libation officer explained.
"Oh? So strict?" Wei Zhao frowned, but on second thought he let it go. The Overlord's Road was no ordinary place after all. Without strict restraints, if disciples of every academy were allowed to move about freely, the scene would inevitably descend into chaos—perhaps even into large-scale mutual slaughter—and then the situation would be beyond control.
"Mm, it is a helpless measure. Long ago there was no such rule, but after one chaotic battle, all the trial disciples of every academy were wiped out, including several highly regarded geniuses!" the Morning Star libation officer said with a sigh.
"That serious?" Not only Wei Zhao, but the other Morning Star disciples around him were visibly shocked. Total annihilation—that was simply too absurd!
"It was precisely because of that incident that the Yellow-Rank Academy Alliance learned its bitter lesson and imposed strict controls on the Overlord's Road. Competition between parties is not forbidden, but any large-scale melee between academies must be nipped in the bud early. Forbidding disciples of all academies from setting foot on Thunder Plain Island before the trial is one such measure, lest grudges be formed in private before the trial even begins," the Morning Star libation officer explained to them all.
Everyone nodded. These genius disciples from various academies were each prouder than the last. If they were truly allowed to mingle freely, conflict would be inevitable. Then, with a little instigation from interested parties, it could easily escalate into an academy war, and from there spiral beyond all control.
"The Yellow-Rank Academy Alliance? Is that the official organization of the Eastern Continent's academies?" Wei Zhao asked in turn. This was the first he had heard of the Yellow-Rank Academy Alliance—after all, he had not been in the Eastern Continent long, and apart from Wang Xinyan and his other close companions, he rarely dealt with outsiders, so he knew little of such matters.
"Indeed. Within the Yellow-Rank Academy Alliance, besides a full-time alliance president, there is also a council of elders formed by a number of elders, and these elders are the sitting principals of the various Yellow-Rank academies. They hold the final say over all matters great and small throughout the Yellow-Rank sea region—it is the highest official body of the Yellow-Rank sea region. Just as with this Trial of the Overlord's Road, it was organized personally by the Yellow-Rank Academy Alliance," the Morning Star libation officer explained patiently, without tiring of it.
The other academy disciples had long known all this; only Wei Zhao was hearing it for the first time, and so he came to a realization. No wonder academy principals and city lords were nominally of equal rank, yet whenever people spoke of them, the academy principals were clearly placed first.