"We're here," Yang Junming said, looking at Zhou Yan.
"I'm here," Zhou Yan replied.
Yang Junming: "You're finally here."
Zhou Yan: "Should I not have come?"
"Don't you know you're ten minutes late? Everyone's been waiting for you," Yang Junming said to Zhou Yan, speechless.
"I know," Zhou Yan nodded. Ye Bufan had been urging him for a long time.
Looking at the person leading the team, Zhou Yan's expression soured.
It was the Phantom Night Rakshasa, Chu Luoyan, leading them again. He was speechless; how could this woman be everywhere he went?
Chu Luoyan shot Zhou Yan a cold glance, ignoring him.
However, besides Chu Luoyan, Leng Yue was also present, along with other elders. There were about a hundred people in total, indicating that the academy had made thorough preparations for their safety.
"Zhou Yan, where did you go? How dare you be late?" Leng Yue quickly pulled Zhou Yan over and said, "Don't say anything, lest you get scolded."
She then glanced at Chu Luoyan, relieved that Chu Luoyan hadn't confronted Zhou Yan. Otherwise, Zhou Yan would have been in trouble.
"Depart!"
Chu Luoyan's face was cold, her aura like ten thousand years of ice, enveloped in a faint killing intent. She was the first to board the academy's airship.
Ye Bufan also said, "I'm really worried you'll get beaten again."
"It's fortunate you're participating in the Grand Competition of the Four Great Academies this time; otherwise, it's hard to say," Zhuge Kaiming chimed in.
"I'm not afraid of her anymore," Zhou Yan replied.
Chu Luoyan was not known for her good temper. The last time, she had openly dealt with Zhou Yan in front of them and even taken him away to beat him up. They all believed Chu Luoyan could do anything at Ziwei Academy.
"Let's go, let's go. It's just being late. As they say, the protagonist always makes the grandest entrance. I am that protagonist," Zhou Yan said nonchalantly.
"You mean 'pig's trotters,' right? I ate some yesterday," Luo Yushuang said.
Everyone chuckled and boarded the airship, heading towards Longqing Academy.
Among the Four Great Academies, Longqing was the foremost.
As the leading academy of the Four Great Academies, Longqing Academy's foundation was only slightly inferior to Ziwei Academy; otherwise, it was no worse than the other three great academies.
Upon boarding the airship, they entered one of the rooms.
Han Li emerged and briefly explained the basic situation of the other three academies, along with some specific details.
"Leng Yue, please show them the student profiles of the other three academies," Han Li instructed Leng Yue.
"Alright." Leng Yue took out ten files and handed them out one by one.
Everyone looked at the files, which contained basic information about these students. Those who could break through the ranks of academy disciples to become their opponents were naturally not simple individuals.
Zhou Yan and the others studied the profiles carefully. Then, Ye Bufan said, "Feng Qingyang of Longqing Academy needs to be watched carefully. This guy is not simple, far more than what's described in his profile."
"Oh, you know him?" Everyone turned to look at Ye Bufan.
Ye Bufan nodded and said, "This fellow is from the Phoenix family and is very low-key. He didn't participate in the Newcomer Trial Competition in our cohort. If he had, he would definitely have entered the top ten newcomers."
Ye Bufan was not one to joke. Even he was concerned about Feng Qingyang, indicating that the man's strength was likely not much inferior to Ye Bufan's, and even Ye Bufan didn't have absolute confidence in defeating him.
The Phoenix family was also one of the top families in the Divine Dragon Kingdom.
"What kind of format will this competition use?" Luo Yushuang asked curiously.
"We don't know yet. The Grand Competition of the Four Great Academies is decided by random draw each year, so don't expect to know in advance. Just perform to the best of your abilities. Oh, no, it should be about letting your subordinate soldiers perform well."
"As lords, what you need to do is manage your subordinate soldiers well, win this competition, and ultimately become the victor," Han Li said.
Ziwei Academy had individual combat because of its teaching method. For lords, the most important thing was their territory.
Lords themselves did not need to personally go into battle; they only needed to develop their territories well and possess excellent command and combat abilities.
Or, like Zhou Yan, they could have outstanding subordinates and delegate all combat matters to them. However, such individuals were rare.
For a moment, everyone looked at Zhou Yan, making him feel speechless. He asked, "Why are you all looking at me like that?"
"If you can't get first place this time, it would be hard to justify," Ye Bufan said to Zhou Yan.
"Are you that confident in me?" Zhou Yan asked.
"I just think your chances of winning are higher," Ye Bufan replied.
"I've studied your territory. If it were a direct confrontation, almost no one could break through," Zhuge Kaiming added.
"If there were no cost considerations and various scrolls were used for restrictions, there might be a chance, but such things won't appear in this competition," Ye Bufan also said.
"Save it. This competition won't allow direct territory battles between you. As for the specifics, I'm not very clear either," Leng Yue interjected directly.
Everyone asked curiously, "Then do you know the general rules of this competition, Teacher?"
"I'm not one of the organizers, how could I know the specific rules? Prepare yourselves well," Leng Yue replied.
These individuals, representing their respective academies, were undoubtedly extraordinary. After a general review of their profiles, except for Zhou Yan, who was full of confidence, the others did not feel overly assured.
Each of these individuals' territories had unique aspects. Knowing this information beforehand would allow for targeted strategies when encountering them.
They were all communicating and strategizing how to deal with these opponents. The people from other academies were also studying them.
Especially Zhou Yan's information. While ordinary people might not know about Zhou Yan, for the people from the other three great academies, his activities on Lord Continent could not be hidden from them.
Seeing the immense strength of Zhou Yan's territory, capable of eliminating so many enemies, many regarded Zhou Yan as their primary adversary. After all, their own territories had fewer than a hundred thousand soldiers, and they would undoubtedly be crushed by Zhou Yan's army of over a million.
However, this competition clearly had limitations on army size, and the rules would be relatively fair; victory wouldn't be solely determined by the number of soldiers.
As noon approached, Ziwei Academy's airship finally arrived at Longqing Academy's location.
Longqing Academy was not an entire world, but its area was still considerable. At this moment, the airship had landed on a spacious platform outside Longqing Academy.