Chapter 361: Old Friends Gathering

Sword Pavilion Master Wu immediately stood up from his chair. "If that is true, then I must return to the Eastern Realms immediately and inform the Righteous Alliance. They need to mobilize their full forces before the ritual can be completed."

The Grandmaster shook his head, leaning on his desk. "There is no point in relying on the Righteous Alliance anymore. They have consistently failed to subjugate or even locate a single major cultist base. Meanwhile, Solomon, who was a first-year student who had never even stepped foot in the Eastern Realms before this, was able to find two of their bases and completely destroy them on his own."

Wu pondered the harsh truth for a moment and nodded in reluctant agreement. "It is true. Even the pavilion masters and leaders of the Azure Dragon Sect managed to locate dozens of their hidden branches and destroy them independently. Zhan Bai was even able to track down the primary stronghold of the Nether Fiend Sect and annihilate it single-handedly."

"Which simply means that the so-called ’Righteous Alliance’ and the current rulers of the Eastern Realms are incompetent and should not be ruling," Balzac remarked lazily, leaning against a bookshelf.

"I also received a diplomatic report from our academy embassy stationed in the Lumiere Dynasty," the Grandmaster added, pulling another parchment from his stack. "They informed me that the Lumiere vanguard stationed in the Azure Moon Kingdom was officially credited with destroying the Crimson Bone Sect. Furthermore, the Dynasty is actively preparing to deploy a massive new batch of elite knights to the East to systematically eradicate the rest of the evil sects."

Cedric suddenly stroked his long white beard, his eyes narrowing in genuine curiosity. "Why is Alexander getting so involved in this? The Emperor usually never interferes in foreign territorial matters unless he is certain of a victory."

"His daughter, Princess Lune, was supposed to be studying at the Azure Dragon Sect as an exchange disciple," Wu answered. "But after the initial attacks on the sect and the rising threat of the evil alliance, she was forcefully ordered to return to the capital. So this military deployment might not actually be a diplomatic conquest at all. It might just be a personal mission orchestrated by the Emperor solely so his daughter can eventually return to the Eastern Realms and live peacefully without any lingering danger."

The Grandmaster groaned loudly, rubbing his temples in profound frustration. "I would rather hope it was a calculated diplomatic conquest and not a personal vendetta. Because if his deployed battalion fails the mission, or takes too long to secure the territory, Alexander will personally step into the Eastern Realms to handle it himself. And that will not be good for anyone... unless we are all fully prepared for a bloody reform of the entire Eastern Realm under a brand new imperial leadership."

Wu let out a sigh, resigning himself to the political nightmare. "I will call for a private meeting with the leader of the Righteous Alliance the moment I return to the East."

Cedric suddenly raised a single, glowing finger.

The oak doors of the Grandmaster’s office slammed shut with a loud thud. The velvet curtains automatically drew themselves across the windows, and the ambient magical lighting dimmed significantly. The atmosphere in the room instantly turned incredibly serious, the playful banter completely vanishing.

"It seems incredibly weird to me that the Grandmaster of the Live Streaming Academy is suddenly getting so deeply invested in the political affairs of the Eastern Realms," Cedric observed, his voice dropping to a low, scrutinizing register.

"Even though the Azure Dragon Sect was directly attacked, the academy administration usually never gets involved in local disputes. You always let the affiliated institutes handle their own regional problems. So why are you getting so desperate and visibly frustrated over this specific incident, Gustav?"

Balzac immediately spoke up from the corner. "Because it directly involves his favorite student, Solomon."

The Grandmaster instantly bristled, attempting to defend his professional integrity. "That is not true! I worry about the safety and well-being of every single student enrolled here equally!"

"You have blatantly abused your administrative authority quite a few times whenever it came to Solomon," Balzac pointed out dryly. "And even right now, you are actively stopping him from live streaming, which, by the way, is the entire fundamental purpose of this academy."

The Grandmaster flushed a brilliant shade of red. He pointed an accusing finger furiously at the Sword Pavilion Master. "He should be the one blamed for that, not me!"

Wu simply shrugged his shoulders, offering a perfectly innocent expression. "I have no idea what you are talking about, Gustav. I never asked you to stop Solomon from streaming. I merely asked you to hold him at the academy for a month. Whatever questionable, bureaucratic methods you utilized to achieve that delay was entirely your own doing."

"Ohohoho!" Cedric laughed heartily, the tension breaking slightly. "Speaking of Solomon, I actually just met the boy a few minutes ago. He was fighting against one hundred senior nobles alone in the grand junction."

The Grandmaster shot up from his leather chair so fast he nearly knocked it over. "WHAT?!" he exclaimed, pure panic washing over his face. He leaned over the desk, his eyes wide with frantic concern. "Is he alright?! Was he injured?!"

Balzac, Wu, and Cedric all turned and looked at each other in silence. They slowly turned their heads back to stare directly at the Grandmaster, their expressions making it painfully clear that Balzac was absolutely right about the blatant favoritism.

Cedric laughed out loud once again, thumping his wooden staff against the floor. "How could the esteemed Grandmaster of the academy possibly favor one single student over all the others?"

"If one hundred high-tier mages suddenly ambushed you in a hallway to fight you alone, Cedric, I would be incredibly worried about you too!" the Grandmaster defended himself, his face still flushed with embarrassment.

"No one in this entire realm would be stupid enough to try and fight me," Cedric responded smoothly, stroking his beard with supreme confidence.

The Grandmaster slammed his hands onto the desk in utter frustration, realizing he had completely lost control of the conversation. "All of you can leave my office right now!"

Cedric raised his hands, gesturing for the Grandmaster to calm down, though the old wizard didn’t stop chuckling.

"Peace, Gustav, peace," Cedric soothed. "I only tease because I saw Solomon fight with my own two eyes. He is more incredible than the rumors suggest. He just instinctively knows exactly what to do and how to fight. Even before his first strike lands, his body is already perfectly positioned to pull the second attack. He keeps his eyes on everyone. He constantly tracks what is happening around him, what his opponents are doing, how they are moving, and how they are coordinating their attacks. It is as if he was literally born for war."

Cedric paused for a brief second, his expression turning inquisitive. "Who trained him to fight like that?"

The Grandmaster frowned, still slightly flustered. "As far as I am aware, and according to his official files, he has no formal master."

"Fascinating," Cedric added, stroking his beard. "Although Solomon fights like a seasoned veteran, his actual attacks are unrefined and barbaric. He wastes far too much physical strength and stamina in unnecessary, wide movements. If he learns to properly master hand-to-hand combat and unarmed martial arts, it will be greatly beneficial for his overall foundation."

Sword Pavilion Master Wu listened carefully and nodded in agreement. "If that is the case, I will refer Solomon to the Beast Pavilion Master. Zhan Bai is the absolute pinnacle of unarmed combat in our sect."

"Also..." Cedric tapped his wooden staff against the floor, his tone suddenly shifting to a deeply serious register. "When did Solomon awaken his divinity?"

The entire office plunged into dead silence.