Warrior’s Promise

As Su Mo was about to return the tower, he discovered that two persons had arrived.

 They were Nie Qian and Han Ying.

 “Brother Su!” They greeted him, cupping their fists at Su Mo.

 “What are you doing here?” Su Mo smiled. They were nice and he had already treated them as friends.

 “Brother Su, we heard that you are going to duel with Leng Jiang!” Nie Qian said with a grave and worried face.

 “Come in and talk!” Su Mo nodded and showed them into his tower.

 There was a small hall in his tower. The three of them took their seats.

 “Brother Su, you must not fight Leng Jiang in one month’s time!” Nie Qian said hastily after seating himself.

 “Why?” Su Mo was puzzled.

 “Brother Su, you are very powerful but you are no match for Leng Jiang!” Nie Qian warned him. He understood Leng Jiang’s strength very well.

 “Don’t worry. We won’t know until after the duel!” Su Mo shook his head and was not very concerned. He had realized that no one in the Shenwu Academy believe in his ability to fight Leng Jiang.

 “Brother Su, there is something else you don’t know!”

 Han Ying had a serious look on her beautiful face. “Leng Jiang has a Lvl 3 Martial Emperor Realm cultivation, but his true strength is closer to a Lvl 4 Martial Emperor. He is extremely powerful!”

 “Really?” Su Mo’s heart sank when he heard Han Ying’s words. Was Leng Jiang’s cultivation closer to the Lvl 4 Martial Emperor Realm?

 “What’s worse, Leng Jiang is cruel and vicious. He killed his opponents after two duels in the Fighting World!”

 Han Ying sighed and continued. “So, if you fail in the duel, you will die in the Fighting World!”

 Both of them were not for Su Mo fighting Leng Jiang, lest he lose his life.

 They already knew the whole story. Leng Jiang had challenged Su Mo because of the blackmail during their Demonic Clouds Sea trip.

 Therefore, they could not sit by and watch Leng Jiang kill Su Mo.

 “Will the Academy just do nothing about the killing?” Su Mo asked.

 “Usually, the Academy will not intervene if both parties are willing participants of a duel!” Han Ying said.

 “I see!” Su Mo nodded. The Fighting World was a place where the Shenwu Academy disciples could do battle. It was also a place filled with murderous intents.

 After pondering for some time, Su Mo stared at them and assured them in a deep voice, “Please don’t worry. I have my own plan and will not go to the Fighting World if I am not confident.”

 Nie Qian and Han Ying felt relieved on hearing his words.

 They all knew how powerful Su Mo’s Martial Soul was. It would be a pity if he was killed in a duel!

 After much pondering, Nie Qian spoke again. “Brother Su, since you’re a freshman to the Academy, I need to remind you of something!”

 “What?”

 “The factions in the Shenwu Academy are very complex. They contend with one another, openly and secretly. You’d better not get yourself implicated!” Nie Qian said.

 “Oh? What factions are there?” Su Mo wondered.

 “The Shenwu Academy is made up of thirteen superpowers so there are thirteen factions. Among the 18 Holy Sons, 13 are of a different faction. Leng Jiang is from the Chixia Caves!” Nie Qian said slowly.

 “The Chixia Caves!” Su Mo exclaimed and frowned. It seemed that the Shenwu Academy was complicated indeed.

 “Does it mean that a disciple must join the superpower backing them?” Su Mo asked.

 “Yes. Each of the 13 superpowers will send their outstanding geniuses to the Academy. Some of their geniuses will become a Holy Son and draw people to their Sect. A Holy Son will back his supporters and these supporters will end up joining his faction!” Nie Qian explained with a nod.

 Su Mo suddenly understood. This large Academy had cultivated so many geniuses that each faction wanted to rope in as many talents into their ranks as possible.

 After graduating from the Shenwu Academy, these geniuses would choose and join a faction. The 13 superpowers had to garner their support before their graduation.

 But it was not appropriate for the Instructors to recruit these disciples openly. Otherwise, the Academy would end up in a big mess.

 So every superpower tried to nurture thier genius to be a Holy Son. The Holy Son would then do the recruiting.

 “How about the other five Holy Sons?” Su Mo raised another question.

 “On the surface, they do not belong to any faction. No one knows which faction they will join!” Han Ying said.

 “I see!” Su Mo nodded. Since these five powerful Holy Sons had not joined any faction, they would targeted by superpowers trying to recruit these talents.

 It was possible that they had already joined a faction in secret, but had not announced the fact in public.

 Only now did Su Mo realize the fierce struggles within the Shenwu Academy!

 As soon as he showed his talent, they would doubtlessly try to rope him in.

 “Well, which faction is the Divine Son from?” Su Mo asked suddenly. Everyone knew that the Divine Son was more powerful and elevated than a Holy Son.

 “This generation’s Divine Son has not joined in any faction!” Han Ying said.

 Su Mo was surprised by this fact. Since the Divine Son had not joined any faction, there would be a fierce battle for him among the 13 superpowers!

 The Divine Son was an invincible genius who could reach the Empty God Realm. Each faction had to cozy up to him.

 Han Ying sighed and said, “The Divine Son hasn’t joined any faction and has been in the Academy for 25 years. He has five more years to go. The superpowers are all terribly anxious over the last two years!”

 “Last year, many elders from these superpowers came here to meet the Divine Son and try to recruit him. But he hasn’t express his stand openly!”

 “If the Divine Son doesn’t state his preference two years later, the superforces will do everything to force him to make a decision!”

 Han Ying said this, her face full of envy. The Divine Sun was the brightest presence in the Academy thanks to his extraordinary talent and strength.

 If a Divine Son had not hailed from these 13 superpowers, he would be cherished and pampered, his every requirement met without any question.

 Centuries ago, these superpowers had even fought brutally over a Divine Son.

 Su Mo marveled. This was the only way to treat an invincible genius!

 After some time, he shook his head and stopped dwelling on the matter.

 It had nothing to do with him. He would have to think about how to defeat Leng Jiang a month later.

 Leng Jiang had come from the Chixia Caves. The problem was somewhat thorny.

 Su Mo asked them about the Chixia Caves to have a better understanding of its current situation.

 Nie Qian and Han Ying bade farewell and left only two hours later.

 Then, Su Mo left the tower and headed for a traders’ market at the Southern Yard Square.

 He would like to see if treasures like Beast Souls were on sale—they could help him raise his Martial Soul level.

 His duel with Leng Jiang was a month away. He could only try and break through the Martial Emperor Realm. If he did not succeed, he was likely to lose.