Chapter 480: Joining the War

Myriad Heavens.

Gu Nan heard some breaking news when he returned to this side.

"Academic Heaven raised the banner of war against the World of Gods, which gained popular support from a group of weak Star Lords, while Weapon Martial Heaven unilaterally withdrew from this war and is more popular among Star Rulers above Realm Level."

Red Tail truthfully reported this side's situation to Gu Nan. It wasn't really a secret; it was the biggest discussion topic in the Myriad Heavens these days.

Academic Heaven declared that the World of Gods harbored ambitious designs and had wanted war for a long time, so they must deliver a frontal assault. Weapon Martial Heaven, on the other hand, accused Academic Heaven of going to war over a personal vendetta, sweeping innocent people into their feud.

There was even news that Lord Zou Jiming, one of the Thirteen Heavens, personally went to Academic Heaven to argue with Song Fei as soon as he returned, and the two ended up parting on bad terms.

"If they weren't in Academic Heaven, I'm afraid a big fight would've broken out." Gu Nan shook his head, laughing in spite of himself.

Song Fei screwed over Zou Jiming, causing him to fall into an ambush by the greater gods. These two now had a serious grudge against each other. Unless there was a situation where their interests were highly aligned next time, there was no possibility of joining forces again.

Song Fei himself probably also knew this, so he decisively hid inside his own astral world as soon as he came back.

Even though the astral world's influence on Star Rulers was no longer as great after reaching Unified Dao, they would still be strengthened slightly when inside their own astral world.

On the contrary, Zou Jiming's injuries in the World of Gods were certainly not shallow, and it was still a toss-up as to what the outcome of a real fight would be.

Of course, the Star Rulers below them would never learn the truth about what actually happened in the World of Gods.

Red Tail also didn't intend to ask further questions and directly said, "Then My Lord, we…"

"Of course we're on Academic Heaven's side," Gu Nan answered without hesitation. "We may have a grudge between us, but in front of the greater good concerning the survival of the Myriad Heavens, personal grudges can be put aside!"

These words were spoken so righteously that the corners of Red Tail's mouth twitched a couple of times before she nodded. "Understood, I'll go make arrangements…"

...

With the great war on the horizon, the entire Myriad Heavens entered a state of war preparation, of which the most active group was naturally forces allied with Academic Heaven.

Academic Heaven also had every reason to be furious. After all, two of Song Fei's disciples died at the hands of despicable gods, so they had to return the favor—a tooth for a tooth.

Moreover, after Shi Yeyan's death, even the ones unwilling to go to war didn't have a reason to blame Song Fei anymore.

Academic Heaven decisively became the vanguard of the attack on the World of Gods, not only sending out a large number of powerful cultivators to lead the way, but also sending out a call to the entire Myriad Heavens.

They hoped to consolidate the powerful and unify their dispatch in order to utilize the maximum power of the entire Myriad Heavens.

Lu Wen had actually done something similar back when he fought the God of Time, Valen.

Back then, Lu Wen motivated people with benefits, and now Song Fei was doing the same.

For some of the weaker Star Rulers who wanted to obtain Godheads but were struggling to make it on their own due to lack of connections, this was the perfect opportunity!

With Academic Heaven as a guarantor, the possibility of infighting was avoided to the greatest possible extent, and there was even less need to worry about the distribution of loot.

A large number of Star Rulers began to converge on Academic Heaven, and some people even referred to the order issued by Academic Heaven as the "God Hunt Order", implying that these people were all here for the God Hunt.

Of course, Academic Heaven wouldn't officially acknowledge this, but the name "God Hunt Order" still became widespread.

"What did you say? Gu Nan also accepted the God Hunt Order?" Fang Chaoyun was dealing with the matters at hand when he heard a disciple's hurried report and immediately looked up.

Upon hearing the grievous news that his own Second Martial Brother had also perished, the evil-hating Mr. Fang voluntarily ran to Academic Heaven to assist his master with affairs.

Currently, he was responsible for none other than vetting and assigning outside Star Rulers.

Most of the outside Star Rulers actually didn't need to be vetted, since there was no reason to stop those willing to contribute to the Myriad Heavens. What was more important was assigning and registering them to prevent them from betraying their own people.

"Yes." That disciple was Fang Chaoyun's direct disciple, equivalent to Song Fei's grand-disciple. He was currently wiping the cold sweat from his face. "Our subordinates received his information and didn't dare neglect this, so they sent it directly to me."

Fang Chaoyun silently nodded. After thinking about it, he said, "Gu Nan has a grudge against me and is himself a member of the Heaven-God Alliance…"

"Then should we reject his request?" That disciple hastily interjected. He couldn't wait to draw a clear line with a scourge like Gu Nan.

However, Fang Chaoyun glared at him. "On what grounds? Personal grudges can't jeopardize the greater good. Since Gu Nan is willing to contribute to the Myriad Heavens, how can we refuse?"

That disciple nodded resentfully while thinking, 'Master, isn't it because you get angry every time he's mentioned?'

Fang Chaoyun added, "There's no need for special treatment. Just treat him as a normal Realm Level Star Ruler… How many Star Rulers at Realm Level or above are willing to participate in the war right now?"

Academic Heaven had no shortage of weak Star Rulers, so their most important task was to rope in those Realm Level and Heaven Level bigshots to join the war.

The disciple answered without any hesitation, "Excluding Gu Nan, there are now six Realm Level Star Rulers and two Heaven Level ones."

This figure only included people who weren't part of Academic Heaven's forces in the first place. They were originally neutral and were roped into the war by Academic Heaven.

However, Fang Chaoyun still frowned heavily. "That's far from enough… The other side is gathering the power of their entire world. We have too few people in comparison!"

His disciple didn't dare respond and could only remain silent.

A few moments later, Fang Chaoyun spoke again on his own, "Now that the gods have already assembled at the frontlines, we are at a numerical disadvantage. That's why it's even more important for us to strike first!"

...

Gu Nan calmly sat in the lobby without a hint of awkwardness, waiting for the earlier disciple to return.

On the contrary, the few disciples of Academic Heaven keeping him company were very much on pins and needles.

Fortunately, the disciple who'd gone to report to their superiors soon returned and came before Gu Nan, respectfully saying, "Lord Gu Nan, Master has approved your request to join the combat squad. Please follow me to register."

Gu Nan didn't mind and followed the young disciple to register his name before another person showed up.

This was none other than the direct disciple from Graceful Heaven named Lin Huan who had reported directly to Fang Chaoyun earlier.

Lin Huan guided Gu Nan to a seat, then smiled again. "Your Excellency Gu Nan's willingness to come to Academic Heaven is indeed out of Master's expectations. However, Master has said that personal grudges must not jeopardize the greater good—"

"What do you want me to do?" Gu Nan interrupted bluntly, having no intention of wasting words on him.

The corners of Lin Huan's lips twitched slightly. After considering that the other party was a powerhouse who could fight against his master, he forced himself to suppress his ire again.

"For Star Rulers willing to participate in the war, we will always provide two options." Lin Huan explained, "Participate in a frontal battle and accept our dispatch, or form your own squad, directly invading the World of Gods and hunting down targets in fixed locations."

"I'll choose the second one," Gu Nan decided without much hesitation.

Lin Huan slowly nodded. This wasn't out of his expectations. On the contrary, if Gu Nan was actually willing to accept Academic Heaven's dispatch orders, then he would have to go back and ask his master how to respond.

However, he then got up again. "That is certainly not a problem, but we still have a presumptuous request…"

"What?" Gu Nan gave him a puzzled look.

"Please make sure you hide your identity."