Ultimately, Mu Shang stepped out of the sourcebox array and stared at Skymender. "I don't remember an Array Grandmaster like you."
Skymender answered from within the sourcebox array, surrounded by the Undying Bird and the Dark Undying Bird’s flames. "I’m from the Fifth Mainland. I am the imperial advisor of the Celestial Beast Empire. Skymender is here on behalf of the Heavens Sect."
Mu Shang felt puzzled. "The Heavens Sect?"
He glanced over at Xia Ziheng and the others in bewilderment.
The expressions of Xia Ziheng and the others turned ugly. "Lu Xiaoxuan is involving himself in Virtue Archives’ affairs? Why would he do that?"
The Progenitor of Bloodlines casually replied, "We have nothing to do with Virtue Archives. We simply came to deliver a list of applicants from the Fifth Mainland who wish to take the entrance exam to join Virtue Archives."
The man then raised a hand and sent a sheet of paper floating towards Headmaster Wen .
Headmaster Wen took the page and glanced at it. It was truly a list of applicants. "Are these people the Fifth Mainland’s elites?"
The Progenitor of Bloodlines replied, "We have heard that Virtue Archives teaches talented youths and that this place even houses Progenitor Wen’s inheritance. I wonder if the children of my Fifth Mainland can enroll here?"
Headmaster Wen laughed. "Of course! They can take the entrance exam at any time. Where are these children?"
The Progenitor of Bloodlines smiled. "They are still on their way, and they should arrive within a few days, though I’m not sure how many will be able to pass the exam."
Ce Donglai was ecstatic, and he straightened up. "Don't worry about that. If they were able to receive Senior’s acknowledgement, they will definitely be able to pass the entrance exam. I must thank you, Senior, for regarding our Virtue Archives so highly."
The Progenitor of Bloodlines just smiled. The truth was that, before receiving Lu Yin’s request, the old man had never even heard of Virtue Archives. He was now realizing that the academy was quite famous in the Perennial World, and he genuinely did not know if the Fifth Mainland’s geniuses would qualify to join.
On the rear battlefield, on the fourth array base, Lu Yin was waiting to receive news regarding Zhou Tang and the other vassals of the Lu family.
Since Lu Yin had already taken over the fourth array base, Zhou Tang and other surviving vassals of the Lu family were supposed to be released into his care. He had remained at the fourth array base just to receive them.
The Lu Elite Troops, the Redemption Army, and the Astral Beast Army had already spread out across the fourth array base, and their presence had drawn the attention of all the other array bases.
The five array bases were the defenses that protected the rear battlefield, and they each helped each other. However, they also competed with each other. The most obvious way in which they competed was in the amount of territory that they were able to claim in the New World. This had long since been a standing contest between the five array bases.
The competition on the rear battlefield was different from how the various powers of the Perennial World competed with each other. The competition between the five array bases had nothing to do with families or affiliations. All that mattered was which array base one belonged to.
However, such competition had vanished for a long time. Ever since the Lu family had been exiled, the Perennial World had lost the ability to enter the New World. At best, they had been able to keep control of a single city.
Even with the competition to retake control of the New World gone, there remained a certain rivalry between the five array bases. This was further aggravated by the fact that the fourth array base had been taken over by people from the Forsaken Land. Knowing that, none of the other array bases wanted to fall behind the outsiders.
"Those four Semi-Progenitors are certainly ruthless enough." On the first array base, General Bai Chi looked over with cold eyes. There were corpse kings everywhere on the first array base, and the defensive sourcebox arrays were never deactivated.
A colonel beside the general respectfully commented, "There isn’t a single corpse king anywhere on the fourth array base. Those four Semi-Progenitors came from the Forsaken Land itself, but given their strength, as well as the presence of the Xia family’s jiao, the Aeternals won’t be able to touch that array base unless a Progenitor arrives to help them. Any assault on the fourth array base will only result in death."
Bai Chi responded in a contemptuous voice, "For the Forsaken Land, those four Semi-Progenitors must be more than half of their strength, if not all their strength. Once those four fall, I want to see just how the Forsaken Land will continue protecting the fourth array base. Keep an eye on things, and let me know the moment anything at all happens to the fourth array base."
Despite Bai Chi’s dislike for the people of the Forsaken Land, as a general, he could not allow anything to happen to any of the array bases.
Nothing could be allowed to happen to any of the five array bases. If one fell, the other four would not be able to remain standing for long.
On the second array base, Xia Yan took personal action. There were no corpse kings anywhere at all on the fourth array base, while they filled the sky around the second array base. This was basically proof that the second array base could not measure up to the strength of the fourth array base, which was completely unacceptable to General Xia Yan.
Glancing around, the general suddenly noticed Luo Fang, the second array base’s Array Master. The sight of the Lockbreaker made Xia Yan feel ill. It was information from Luo Fang that had convinced Xia Yan to confirm to the Xia family that Yu Hao was Grandmaster Gu Yan’s apprentice. After it had been revealed that, not only was the information that Xia Yan provided false, but that Yu Hao himself was an imposter, Xia Yan had been scolded by the family’s Progenitor himself!
Xia Yan was the general of the second array base on the rear battlefield. Given his status, he had never once been reprimanded by a Progenitor. Recalling the humiliation caused Xia Yan’s face to twist, and he even wanted to attack Luo Fang. This Array Master had actually helped Lu Xiaoxuan.
Luo Fang also happened to see Xia Yan, and the two men looked at each other for a moment. Then, the Array Master panicked, turned around, and left.
Xia Yan let out a disdainful snort, and he suddenly tore through the void to instantly appear directly in front of Luo Fang. The shockwave from the warp struck Luo Fang, and it knocked the wind out of the man.
"Master Luo, why did you run away after seeing me?" Xia Yan demanded in a cold voice.
Luo Fang held his head, as he had just fallen. He looked up at Xia Yan with an offended and indignant expression. "Why did you just attack me, General?"
Xia Yan's eyes flickered with a cold glint. "Do you really think that I don’t know what you did?"
Luo Fang looked up. "You are the general and a Semi-Progenitor, so while there is nothing wrong with you attacking a junior like me, you do need to have reasonable cause. Even if I, Luo Fang, am not from a powerful family, I am still an Array Master. Have you considered how you will answer to the other Lockbreakers for your actions against me?"
"Do you actually dare to threaten me?" The pressure from Xia Yan increased yet again, rising to a level that Luo Fang could not endure. He spat out a mouthful of blood as he crumpled to the ground.
At this moment, Master Deng Guo happened to pass by, and he saw what was happening. He quickly appeared in front of Xia Yan. "General Xia, might I ask what Luo Fang has done to offend the general and anger you so?"
Xia Yan replied in a glacial voice, "He helped Lu Xiaoxuan deceive the four ruling powers. Such a crime is enough to warrant his death 10,000 times over!"
Master Deng Guo was taken aback, and he turned to stare at Luo Fang. "You aided Lu Xiaoxuan?"
Luo Fang remained laying on the ground, and he struggled to even speak. "No."
Master Deng Guo looked back at Xia Yan.
Xia Yan then proceeded to recount his previous conversation with Luo Fang, word by word. "If this man hadn't verified that Grandmaster Gu Yan had accepted an apprentice and had even said that the apprentice was good-looking, my Xia family would never have believed that Yu Hao was Grandmaster Gu Yan's apprentice! How could you allow Lu Xiaoxuan to deceive us?"
Luo Fang coughed twice and then wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. "Might I be so bold as to ask the general, throughout that entire conversation, did I ever once mention that the Grandmaster Gu Yan’s apprentice was named Yu Hao?"
Xia Yan was taken aback.
Deng Guo stared at Xia Yan. "General, was that ever said?"
Master Deng Guo was a Realm Array Master, and as such, he enjoyed a status on par with Semi-Progenitors. There was no need for the man to show any deference to Xia Yan.
Xia Yan took a deep breath. "No."
Luo Fang continued, "Then, might I be so bold as to ask the general if I ever said that Grandmaster Gu Yan’s apprentice was part of the four ruling powers?"
Master Deng Guo stared at Xia Yan.
The general’s eyes narrowed. "Not once."
"In that case, why is the general convinced that I helped Lu Xiaoxuan deceive the four ruling powers? I merely visited Grandmaster Gu Yan and overheard a bit of news. Could it be that the person who spread that news elsewhere should be responsible for what people interpreted? I, Luo Fang, admit that that I heard rumors being spread, and while I heard them, how can the general accuse me of trying to deceive the four ruling powers?