At this moment, Mu Yang saw his aunt, Mu Xiyue, along with Feng Zhen and Qiu Shuping, approaching.
Mu Xiyue walked at the front, while Feng Zhen and Qiu Shuping trailed half a step behind, positioned slightly behind her on either side.
From their positioning alone, it was evident that Mu Xiyue was the highest in status among them.
It was understandable—his aunt, Mu Xiyue, was a Title Douluo with nine rings. Meanwhile, though Feng Zhen and Qiu Shuping were the heads of the Godwind Academy and the vice-head of the Sky Water Academy, respectively, and held significant authority, their status was nowhere near that of a Title Douluo, who was addressed with the honorific Your Eminence.
Even though they were all familiar with each other, formal etiquette and proper protocol had to be maintained, especially when representing their respective academies.
'The question is, when will the Elemental Academy finally be established?'
Seeing how Feng Zhen and Qiu Shuping appeared like subordinates, Mu Yang couldn't help but ponder.
Since the day his martial soul awakened, he had entertained the idea of merging Blazing Academy with Sky Water and Godwind Academy to form the Elemental Academy.
As for the remaining two of the so-called "Five Elemental Academies"—Thunderclap Academy and Elephant Armored Academy—unless the Spirit Hall and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan fell, these two academies were not worth taking in.
Once the merger was complete, Mu Yang planned to contribute certain watered-down versions of secret techniques to serve as the academy's foundation, allowing the academy's higher-ups and potential elite students to train in them.
However, if they were to merge with Thunderclap Academy and Elephant Armored Academy, then these secret techniques would inevitably end up in the hands of the Spirit Hall and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. That would be like handing over valuable treasures for nothing—a deal he had no interest in making.
Even so, just merging Blazing Academy with Sky Water and Godwind Academies would be more than sufficient.
Unlike soul master clans and sects, soul master academies were much easier to merge because they did not operate on an inheritance system where leadership was passed down from parent to child. Instead, leadership was based on merit and ability.
Take Blazing Academy, for example—if Huo Wushuang or Huo Wu lacked the necessary talent and their future potential was limited, then even if Huo Lie and Mu Xiyue were both Title Douluo, neither of them would inherit the position of academy head.
After all, the academy head was the face of the institution. While there might be some flexibility in other areas, strength was an absolute necessity.
In most advanced soul master academies, the minimum requirement for an academy head was at least the level of a Soul Sage with seven rings. However, for institutions like the Elemental Academy and the Imperial Academy, this threshold was even higher—one had to be at least a Soul Douluo with eight rings.
Without an 80th-level cultivation, even if one were a king, they could only take on a deputy position at best.
Since the position of academy head was based on merit and did not come with substantial personal benefits, it was unlikely that Shui Yanyu and Feng Zhen would strongly resist the idea of merging their academies.
Moreover, based on the current situation, merging Blazing Academy with Sky Water Academy was a straightforward matter.
Not to mention his relationship with Shui Bing'er—after learning that he possessed twin martial souls, there was no way Shui Yanyu would oppose the merger.
Why did so many factions willingly become subordinates of the Spirit Hall? Even among the Seven Great Sects, the Elephant Armored Sect and the Holy Dragon Sect were no exception.
It was simple: the Spirit Hall was strong. Not only did they have numerous Title Douluo serving as elders, but they were also backed by Qian Daoliu, the continent's strongest expert, who could provide protection in times of crisis.
Furthermore, from another perspective, once they became subordinates of the Spirit Hall, they no longer had to worry about being targeted or suppressed by this dominant force in the soul master world.
The correct method for cultivating twin martial souls had already been hypothesized by scholars long ago. The reason most soul masters were unaware of it was simply that it had not been definitively proven—it remained a theory.
However, based on his absurd soul ring configuration of yellow, purple, black, black, black, neither Huo Lie, Mu Xiyue, nor Shui Yanyu doubted that the correct cultivation method for twin martial souls was more than just a theoretical concept—it was an achievable reality.
Ultimately, the reason twin martial soul users perished was that they could not withstand the burden of twice as many soul rings.
Yet, with a first ring of around 400 years, a second ring of 1,000 years, a third ring at the 10,000-year level, a fourth ring exceeding 27,000 years, and a fifth ring approaching 50,000 years, his five rings collectively had over 87,000 years of cultivation—more than double the standard allocation for a five-ring Soul King.
If he could withstand such an extreme soul ring configuration, then having double the number of optimally allocated soul rings was hardly an issue.
With the ability to attach high-year rings to his second martial soul, he essentially had nine additional chances to forcibly break through bottlenecks using the vast energy of his rings. For talented twin martial soul users, the 99th-level Peerless Douluo realm was not some unattainable dream.
As long as one accumulated enough soul power, they could attach a high-year soul ring whenever they encountered a bottleneck and break through.
With such a golden opportunity in front of them, given their already friendly relationship, how could Shui Yanyu and Sky Water Academy refuse?
As for Godwind Academy…
'If I offer Feng Zhen an opportunity to become a Title Douluo, that should be enough to win him over, right?'
Glancing at Feng Zhen, Mu Yang contemplated.
Feng Zhen was undoubtedly a genius—otherwise, he wouldn't have reached the realm of an eight-ring Soul Douluo.
For him, reaching the peak of level 89 should not be difficult; the challenge lay in breaking past this bottleneck.
And this bottleneck could be overcome by condensing a soul core.
If Feng Zhen became a Title Douluo, then adding Shui Yanyu, who had yet to return from hunting a soul beast, the new Elemental Academy would have four Title Douluo.
Four Douluo in one academy—on the surface, they would be second only to the Spirit Hall in terms of Title Douluo numbers. This would grant them a real opportunity to become the second most powerful faction in the soul master world. Surely, the other higher-ups in Godwind Academy wouldn't reject the merger.
After all, the merger wouldn't turn Godwind Academy into a subordinate of Blazing Academy; rather, it would make them part of an entirely new academy. The latter was much easier for people to accept.
If you can't be the number one, then why not become part of the number one?
By merging these three academies, even without considering his own influence, the new institution could very well surpass all others and claim the title of the strongest soul master academy on the continent.
Of course, merging these academies wasn't just about getting them to agree—one of the major challenges post-merger would be how to construct the necessary mimicry cultivation fields.