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*****
The cooperation between the Academy and the Five Great Sacred Lands was a long-term endeavor. Providing a batch of Rubbing Books to the Five Great Sacred Lands every year was also a way for the Academy to express its stance.
Regardless of whether the Academy harbored the great ambition to become the sixth major Sacred Land or not, there would be no conflict of interest between the Academy and the Five Great Sacred Lands.
In fact, that was exactly how things stood. In any case, Su Wen had already conveyed his attitude.
At the same time, Su Wen hoped that the Academy's development model would mirror the one on the Douluo Continent. That meant the Rubbing Books would serve as the Academy's exclusive resource, which could be traded with various factions. The factions would provide secret techniques and technology, while the Academy would provide the Rubbing Books to complete the transaction.
Su Wen's words caused the expressions of the other twelve people present to shift dramatically.
They looked at Su Wen, their eyes filled with an indistinguishable mix of admiration and wariness.
A person like this was the most difficult to deal with.
Without a doubt, in their eyes today, Su Wen had already become a "saint" who strove for the overall development of the Heavenly Jewel Master world!
He had actually decided to offer up such a unique resource just to exchange for the exclusive secret techniques of other forces, all so he could bring them to the Academy and allow those Heavenly Jewel Masters who lacked the qualifications and resources to practice them!
At least up until now, every step Su Wen had taken since founding the Academy was for the sake of all Heavenly Jewel Masters.
One could not help but admire this.
Did such a saint truly exist in this world?
It was unclear.
The Heavenly Emperors present had lived for many years, yet each of them had to admit that their experience fell short in this moment.
However, they could be certain of one thing. A person like Su Wen, who appeared to be a saint, would be the most terrifying of all if he wasn't actually a true saint silently sacrificing himself for others, but instead revealed an immense ambition later on.
Long Shiya frowned, pondering what Su Wen stood to gain from the Academy.
Unfortunately, he couldn't figure it out either.
The other Heavenly Emperors who didn't belong to the Academy were even more baffled.
Since they couldn't figure it out, they stopped thinking about it.
In any case, Su Wen was currently only a Heavenly Emperor, and possessed merely the strength of a low-tier Heavenly Emperor at that. He had even cultivated anew through special means.
Even if his foundation became richer after recultivating, and even if he was full of ambition, he could at most ascend to a Heavenly God. While a Heavenly God was terrifying to the continent, it was not as if they could just run rampant at will.
The Five Great Sacred Lands wouldn't grow wary of a mere low-tier Heavenly Emperor over a hypothetical ambition.
They might as well take the benefits first.
After the second round of discussions, the actual terms of cooperation were settled, and the eight envoys prepared to depart.
The Lion King, Guster, did not leave immediately; he waited outside Midheaven City.
Within just half a day, Su Wen appeared outside Midheaven City.
"Lion King."
"Grandmaster Wen."
As the two met, the Lion King revealed a look of confusion.
He and Su Wen had never crossed paths before, and he hadn't even known of Su Wen's existence until recently.
Therefore, he was extremely curious about what this unfamiliar fellow had meant earlier.
"I have heard that the direct bloodline of the Divine Earth Spirit Lion clan inherits the Saint attribute of the Divine."
"Oh?" Guster's eyes flashed. Hearing Su Wen bring this up, a faint hint of pride surfaced on his face.
Clearly, being born with a Saint attribute was the pride of the Divine Earth Spirit Lion clan.
This was an advantage of their bloodline.
He was curious as to why Su Wen was bringing this up.
Naturally, Su Wen wasn't coveting the Divine attribute of the Divine Earth Spirit Lion. After all, as long as he step-by-step completed the third trial of the Red Level Seven Trials, he would obtain this attribute himself.
Stopping the Lion King at this moment naturally served a different purpose.
"I have heard that Prince Lionheart possesses extraordinary talent, and apart from the Divine attribute, he has also awakened another Saint attribute--the Spiritual attribute?" Su Wen looked at Guster, seeking confirmation on this point.
He wasn't actually entirely sure about this.
However, since Tian'er had awakened two Saint attributes, the prince of the Divine Earth Spirit Lion clan should have them too, right?
Otherwise, on what grounds would Xue Aotian betroth Tian'er to that guy?
Guster narrowed his eyes, looking at Su Wen as a faint hostility emerged.
Clearly, he had misinterpreted Su Wen's meaning, assuming that Su Wen harbored ill intentions or designs against Prince Lionheart.
"Please do not misunderstand, Lion King. I merely wish to confirm. If it can be confirmed, I can point out a bright path for you."
Guster laughed out of sheer exasperation.
Point out a bright path?
What was that supposed to mean?
"And what if he has?"
"I have also heard that a marriage contract has already been set between Prince Lionheart and the daughter of the current Lord of the Snow God Mountain?"
Guster narrowed his eyes, nodding patiently to see what Su Wen's true purpose was.
Su Wen shook his head and sighed.
"You've taken the wrong path."
"What do you mean by taking the wrong path?" Guster questioned.
"The intention of the Lion King and the Mountain Lord should be to use the two geniuses of your respective clans to ensure that the next generation continues to inherit the two major Saint attributes, correct?"
A cold light flickered in Guster's eyes.
He felt that Su Wen knew far too much.
Knowing too much was never a good thing.
Furthermore, what did it mean for him to say this right to his face?
"Please speak plainly, Grandmaster Wen," he said, taking a deep breath and finally holding back his impatience to ask.
Seeing this, Su Wen stopped beating around the bush and spoke directly, "I am saying that such a mindset is too conservative. Since you already possess two major Saint attributes, why not aim for more? For instance, gathering all three Saint attributes."
Su Wen smiled as he looked at the Lion King.
His smile made the Lion King's heart skip a beat.
This could no longer be considered an underhanded plot; it was an open strategy!
Did this guy want to instigate a war between the Snow God Mountain and the Passion Valley?
The Lion King looked at Su Wen, cold light flashing in his eyes, though a trace of contemplation also surfaced.
What this guy was saying did seem to make some sense.
Gathering all three Saint attributes...
"Lion King, have you never thought about the benefits of gathering all three Saint attributes?"
As Su Wen spoke, four elements manifested in his hand.
Water, Fire, Earth, and Wind.
These were the four basic elements.
As these four elements interwoven in Su Wen's hand, without the aid of any other attributes, they actually directly birthed a spatial fluctuation. Suddenly, it was as if an earth-shattering transformation occurred within Su Wen's palm, where a small space seemed to be nurturing inside.
"This is?" The Lion King Guster's face changed drastically.
"When the four basic elements fuse together, they can open up space, allowing one to master the Space element. If you then introduce the changes of Light and Darkness, stabilize it with Space, and blend in the Life attribute, there might be hope of perfecting the laws of space, thereby creating a minor world." Every single word Su Wen spoke struck heavily at the Lion King Guster's heart.
"Unfortunately, I have not mastered the Life attribute," Su Wen sighed.
"If gathering the four basic elements yields such results, and the four upper attributes share these connections, then what about the three Saint attributes?"
Su Wen raised his head, looking at Guster.
Guster swallowed hard, his breathing becoming slightly hurried.
At this moment, he finally realized Su Wen's meaning.
Su Wen wasn't just after the mere title of gathering the three Saint attributes; what he looked forward to were the benefits--or rather, the future prospects--after gathering these three Saint attributes!
If one could fuse the three major Saint attributes...