"What is it?” asked Long Chen.

“That person really is your father. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have clashed with the Heavenly Province,” replied Bai Zhantang. “When we entered the Sovereign Emperor Heaven, we heard about a major affair that had just occurred—the Heavenly Desolation Long clan’s clash with the Heavenly Province. On his own, Long Zhantian slaughtered seventy-six violet-gold assassins of the Heavenly Province, which caused quite the disturbance back then.”

“Violet-gold assassins? What are those?”

“They are one of the highest-ranking assassins in the Heavenly Province, and normally they are Sage Kings. Rumor has it that your father was attacked by over three hundred of them. Remarkably, he managed to vanquish seventy-six while the others fled. This feat instantly elevated him to become one of the Long clan’s Four Heavenly Sages, kicking out the previous Heavenly Sage.”

Hearing that his father was so lively, Long Chen was relieved. His father was now at a height that even he admired. He fondly remembered his father’s words:

“The weight of the snow presses the branch to the ground. But when the sun rises, the snow melts, and the branch springs back to the heavens.”

In his youth, Long Zhantian had been an unrivaled genius, never encountering anyone who could match him in the same realm. Yet, he was suddenly imprisoned for many years. Despite this, he never lost his resolve.

Now, in Long Chen’s era, he once more displayed his brilliance, dimming the light of other experts in this world.

Long Chen could sense a certain majesty emanating from Long Zhantian, a presence he had only felt from the Sovereigns. Hearing about his exploits, Long Chen was so emotional that he almost roared.

At the same time, Long Chen understood Bai Zhantang’s meaning. The Heavenly Province was the violet blood race’s mortal enemy. As Long Zhantian had married someone of the violet blood race, he naturally wouldn’t have any mercy on the Heavenly Province.

In response, the Heavenly Province had sent people here, using Nine Revolution Heavenly Doyen Pills to create a batch of pseudo-Doyens for a sneak attack on the High Firmament Academy. Now, everything had become clear to them.

“Then how is my father now?” asked Long Chen excitedly.

“I’m not sure. I only heard that the Heavenly Desolation Long clan sent people to the academy, and the dean personally received them, but I don’t know what happened. I was then sent here,” replied Bai Zhantang.

“The dean didn’t tell you to warn us about anything in particular?” asked Long Chen again.

Bai Zhantang thought about it. “I don’t think he did. I only came here to deal with matters of the family and see the sweeping elder.”

“You saw the sweeping elder?” asked Long Chen.

“I did. I relayed the message from the dean. However, he only nodded and remained silent,” answered Bai Zhantang.

When it came to the sweeping elder, Bai Zhantang felt a headache. In all his recollection, it seemed that the sweeping elder had never spoken to him, only ever nodded or shook his head at him.

That was why Bai Zhantang felt irritated when Long Chen was capable of speaking with the sweeping elder. What was that supposed to mean? Wasn’t the elder clearly looking down on him?

However, he refrained from showing even the slightest hint of rudeness toward the sweeping elder, knowing that his own father held the elder in the highest regard. Even the palace master, whom Bai Zhantang deeply respected, treated the sweeping elder with the utmost deference.

Long Chen wanted to ask Bai Zhantang about the message. Given Bai Zhantang’s slow wits, Long Chen was quite confident that he could get it out of him. However, such a thing was rather taboo, so Long Chen held back.

Bai Zhantang was in a particularly good mood now, enjoying his first amicable conversation with Long Chen. Long Chen, too, was generous, bringing out his finest wine. The two of them then sat by the waterfall, drinking together.

Rather than chatting, it was more accurate to say that Bai Zhantang wanted to know about Long Chen’s past. As Long Chen was an open person, he told Bai Zhantang about how someone stole his Spirit Root, Spirit Blood, and Spirit Bone, tossing him into the Phoenix Cry Empire. After that, he told Bai Zhantang how Long Tianxiao had taken him in and how he had risen one step at a time. Other than the Nine Star Hegemon Body Art, the Pill Sovereign memories, the dragon expert, and those other secrets, Long Chen didn’t conceal anything from him. Whatever Bai Zhantang asked, he answered.

Bai Zhantang found himself gradually moved. He had always viewed Long Chen as a reckless youth, arrogant and reliant solely on his talent.

Yet, as he reflected on Long Chen’s experiences, including those of his father, Bai Zhantang couldn't help but feel a sense of pity for the father and son. His animosity toward Long Chen started to wane.

Originally, Long Chen had hoped Bai Zhantang would tell him more about the Sovereign Emperor Heaven. However, he found that this person really couldn’t be entrusted with anything big. No matter the question, Bai Zhantang seemed clueless, only possessing knowledge of a few specific treasures and minor changes in Heavenly Daos.

When Long Chen asked about the treasures Bai Zhantang had gifted Bai Xiaole and Bai Shishi, Bai Zhantang said that Bai Xiaole’s treasure was something that Bai Shishi’s mother had found in an ancient ruin.

As for the bracelets, they were something he had found when scouting the academy’s foundation stone. In a clash with the devil creatures, he had noticed the bracelets in the hands of a particularly powerful devil.

According to Bai Zhantang, those devil creatures were a group of devil corpses from the immemorial era. When they were alive, they were powerful cultivators. After dying, they mutated, becoming terrifying devil corpses.

These devil corpses were eternal; their soul essence remained intact, allowing them to retain their combat prowess. It seemed that they didn’t know of their demise, so they continued to fight to defend their home.

Seeing those golden bracelets on one of them, Bai Zhantang immediately knew that they were a pair of treasures and thought of his daughter. He wanted them for Bai Shishi.

However, the wielder was the leader of the devil creatures and was incredibly powerful. He almost died at its hands. Back then, his two wives weren’t by his side. If the palace master didn’t come in time, he would already be dead.

After that battle, he learned that these corpse devils could not be judged by their outer auras. It was only possible to determine their strength once the fight actually started.

In essence, determining their power beforehand was impossible, posing a significant challenge for them. This uncertainty was one of the factors that deterred the dean from making hasty decisions.

Moreover, many of these devil creatures belonged to races and branches that remained elusive to the experts of the Sovereign Emperor Heaven. It was all too easy to accidentally misjudge their power.

Such errors could prove fatal; something they thought was only a rabbit could become a ferocious tiger once you got close. At that time, they wouldn’t even be able to run.

If the High Firmament Academy wanted to gain a foothold in the High Firmament Academy, they had to get the support of some factions. Ignoring the support of the resources, they needed information about the resource distribution in this world, the levels of devil creatures, the taboos of the world, and other stuff.

That was why after considering all the factors, Bai Letian had no choice but to be conservative. They couldn’t make any mistakes that could result in huge casualties.

“However, you don’t need to worry. We are still the High Firmament Academy. While we have enemies in this world, we also have friends. It’s just that the news that the High Firmament Academy has entered the Sovereign Emperor Heaven hasn’t fully spread. For now, time is our friend,” said Bai Zhantang.

Long Chen nodded. The title of the world’s number one academy was not for nothing, and Long Chen also trusted in the dean’s wisdom. They wouldn’t have entered the Sovereign Emperor Heaven with no preparations, so the dean had to be waiting for the opportunity to ripen.

Suddenly, the tablet on Long Chen’s waist buzzed, causing killing intent to flash in his eyes.

“They really don’t learn their lesson. Vice Palace Master, let’s go deal with the vermin of the Lifehunter race.”

With a flash, the two of them instantly vanished.