Lin Feng sighed inwardly. Since he had already refused Huo Yuan Saint Master, how could he turn around and agree now?

If he did that, he would really look spineless!

"Teacher Mu Li, please help me inform Senior Huo Yuan that I appreciate his kindness!" Lin Feng cupped his fists slightly toward Mu Li and spoke sincerely.

"Don’t blame me for not reminding you—this is your last chance. If you don’t go to Fire Element Peak within a month, there will never be another opportunity!"

Mu Li said faintly, then turned and flew away.

Seeing this, Lin Feng let out a helpless sigh. The last chance, huh?

Unfortunately, for other Artifact Refiners this would be an enormous blessing, but he simply didn’t need it!

Lin Feng pondered in his heart: if he didn’t agree, would he end up offending Huo Yuan Saint Master in the end?

After all, that would be a blow to the other party’s face.

Should he talk to Huo Yuan Saint Master and see if, after following him, he could major in Martial Arts and minor in Artifact Refining? That shouldn’t be a problem!

Just after Mu Li left, as Lin Feng was preparing to return to the pavilion, two more people arrived at his residence.

These two were precisely Nie Qian and Han Ying.

"Brother Lin!" Nie Qian and Han Ying came before Lin Feng and cupped their fists slightly to him.

"What brings you here?" Lin Feng asked with a smile. These two were pretty decent; he already regarded them as friends.

"Brother Lin, we’ve all heard about your agreement to duel Leng Jiang!" Nie Qian’s expression grew solemn, his face full of concern as he spoke.

"Come in and talk." Lin Feng nodded and invited the two of them into the pavilion.

Inside the pavilion was a small sitting room, and the three of them sat down in host-and-guests positions.

"Brother Lin, one month from now, you absolutely must not go to that duel!" As soon as he sat down, Nie Qian spoke out anxiously.

"Why?" Lin Feng asked in puzzlement.

"Brother Lin, granted your strength is very great, but there’s no way you can be a match for Leng Jiang!" Nie Qian warned. He understood Leng Jiang’s strength.

"You don’t need to worry about that. Whether I’m a match or not, you only know after fighting!" Lin Feng shook his head indifferently. He knew that probably none of the Divine Martial Academy disciples believed he could contend with Leng Jiang.

"Brother Lin, there’s something you don’t know."

Han Ying spoke up, her pretty face grave as she said, "Leng Jiang may only have Third Layer Martial Emperor Realm cultivation, but he has strength close to the Fourth Layer Martial Emperor Realm. He’s extremely powerful!"

"Is that so?" Hearing this, Lin Feng’s heart couldn’t help but sink slightly. Leng Jiang had strength close to the Fourth Layer Martial Emperor Realm?

"That’s still not the main point. The most important thing is that Leng Jiang is ruthless and vicious. He has twice agreed to duels in the battle realm, and both times he completely slew his opponents!"

Han Ying sighed and continued, "So if you fight him, as long as you lose, you will definitely fall in the battle realm!"

She and Nie Qian had come precisely to dissuade Lin Feng from fighting Leng Jiang, so he wouldn’t lose his life for nothing.

They already knew the ins and outs of the matter: the reason Leng Jiang wanted to deal with Lin Feng was that extortion incident at Demon Cloud Sea last time.

So they couldn’t just stand by and watch Lin Feng die at Leng Jiang’s hands.

"If he kills someone, the academy won’t intervene?" Lin Feng asked.

"If both parties voluntarily duel in the battle realm, the academy generally doesn’t interfere!" Han Ying said.

"So that’s how it is!" Lin Feng nodded. The battle realm was the place where Divine Martial Academy disciples sparred; it seemed it was also a place filled with killing intent.

After pondering for a moment, Lin Feng fixed his gaze on the two of them and said in a low voice, "You two can rest assured, I have my own plans. If I’m not confident, I won’t go to the battle realm when the time comes. You don’t need to worry!"

Hearing this, Nie Qian and Han Ying both let out a sigh of relief.

They both knew Lin Feng’s Star Talent; it would be far too great a pity if he died!

After thinking a bit, Nie Qian spoke again, "Brother Lin, I heard you haven’t been at the academy for long. There’s one more thing I need to remind you of!"

"What is it?"

"The power structure inside the Divine Martial Academy is extremely complex. The various Sects openly and secretly struggle against one another. You’d best not get drawn into it!" Nie Qian said.

"Oh? What Sects are there?" Lin Feng asked curiously.

"The Divine Martial Academy was formed by thirteen super powers. Naturally, there are also thirteen Sects within it. Among the academy’s eighteen Saint Heirs at present, thirteen are each aligned with one Sect, and Leng Jiang belongs to the Red Cloud Cave Heaven Sect!" Nie Qian said slowly.

"Red Cloud Cave Heaven!" Lin Feng frowned at this. The waters in this Divine Martial Academy were not shallow at all!

"If a disciple joins a Sect, does that mean in the future they have to join the backing power behind it?" Lin Feng asked.

"Exactly. These thirteen super forces send quite a few super geniuses into the academy every generation, who then become Saint Heirs and draw people to their side. Those disciples who pledge themselves to a given Saint Heir will join that power in the future!" Nie Qian nodded as he spoke.

Realization dawned in Lin Feng’s heart. In such a vast Divine Martial Academy, the number of geniuses it nurtured was countless, and each of the thirteen great powers wanted to gather more talent.

Once these talents finished learning at the Divine Martial Academy, they would voluntarily choose one of the powers to join, so naturally the thirteen great powers had to win hearts in advance.

And as for the mentors, it wasn’t convenient for them to recruit openly; otherwise, the academy would fall into chaos.

So the various great forces had their own super geniuses become Saint Heirs, who would then draw in talent.

"Then what about the other five Saint Heirs?" Lin Feng asked again.

"The remaining five Saint Heirs, on the surface, don’t belong to any Sect, so which power they’ll join in the future is still uncertain!" Han Ying said.

"I see!" Lin Feng nodded. These five Saint Heirs had such powerful Talent; since they didn’t join any Sect, all the Sects were surely scrambling to recruit them!