Chapter 180: Zenith Moon Academy

He searched through his spatial storage with his divine sense while pretending to watch the scenery outside.

"We have a Lycan Emperor, and he is crippled. It’s not like you would know. You were imprisoned inside Vaelis all this time," Ugo said naturally from the side.

He didn’t mention how long Moon had been imprisoned.

"Hmm. Now that you’re free, you can slowly learn about the outside world," Axe added.

Moon nodded.

"If you need anything, you can buy it from me. I have maps and historical documents in my merchant guild," Levi offered.

He then leaned forward again, returning to the table and the ledgers he had been working on.

Moon looked at Levi’s perfectly natural expression, unable to tell whether the diversion had worked or not.

But since Levi had chosen not to probe further, Moon would certainly take the opportunity.

Moon rested his chin on his hand and watched the scenery pass.

The road gradually widened.

It was wide enough for several carriages to travel side by side. The wheels rattled as they reached a path made of mixed stone and earth, occasionally swaying when they bumped over rocks.

The forest was not as dense as the one they had passed through earlier.

They passed a trail along a ravine, and soon the road began to slope downward. The magnificent sight of glittering lights and rows of winter pine trees caught Moon’s eye.

From here, everything looked so tiny. Who could have guessed that this vast land contained thousands of inns and shops?

As they continued down the road, their path crossed another, and Moon heard howls mixed with the sound of horse hooves.

The caravan halted.

From outside, the guards shouted, "The Zenith Academy convoy is here!"

The merchant caravan stopped in its tracks. They had to show respect to this academy. Not to mention, Zenith Academy was the largest academy in Monalis.

As the caravan stopped, a large trail of ten wolves appeared amid billowing dust and winter snow, followed by magnificent horse-drawn carriages, glamorous carts, and a large number of guards and servants.

They passed along the road in front of them and headed straight toward the lights Moon had seen far ahead. At the rear came another group of large wolves.

Their fur was so sleek that it glistened in the moonlight.

"Wah! I still can’t get over Zenith’s Vanguard Wolves! They’re so hot!" someone from the opposite carriage exclaimed, her eyes sparkling with admiration.

Moon’s eyes were also fixed on those wolves.

They were different, and he had to admit that they looked as though they had descended from the moon itself, bathing in its light.

He had seen many beasts in his world, some contracted and some not.

But he had to admit that these wolves could rival those spirit beasts in his world, perhaps even surpass them.

When the dust settled, Levi clicked his tongue in annoyance. "All bark and no bite! A bunch of rubbish."

"..."

Moon, who had been admiring the view, suddenly felt speechless.

He became curious about what Levi looked like in his wolf form.

"Hey, what do you look like in your wolf form?" he asked.

He seemed to know very little about this partner of his.

Levi chuckled. "You can ask Master Ugo what I look like. He had seen all of me."

Moon raised his eyebrows and looked at Ugo.

"Don’t look at me like that. I didn’t see anything of his. As for his wolf form, it was the ugliest I’ve ever seen," Ugo said indifferently.

He would never admit that he had been intimidated and dragged around by this man. No matter how gentle Ugo acted, he still had his wolf pride.

"Ugly? I thought you quite liked my embrace when I..."

Ugo quickly stuffed a piece of apple into Levi’s mouth. "Don’t make things up. I was busy protecting Rio and didn’t get a clear look at what you looked like."

Levi took a bite and spat out the remains. "Tch! Whatever."

"So, you can shift whenever you want?" Even through their banter, Moon had caught the main point.

Levi could already control his wolf form. That could only mean his wolf was certainly no ordinary one.

"You are..." he began.

"No need to guess. He is Eclipse. Otherwise, why would this big mercenary group follow me?" Levi shrugged.

"Hmm, that makes sense. So, which academy are you in?" Moon asked.

Levi seemed annoyed by the question. Not with Moon, but with the question itself.

"Zenith Academy," he said with utter disdain.

"You don’t like Zenith?" Moon was confused. It was at the top of the academy list in the information he had received.

"What’s so great about Zenith? A bunch of brutes with no tactics. All they do is show off." He paused, then added, "Don’t go to Zenith. In fact, the others aren’t much better."

Moon’s lips twitched. So, in Levi’s eyes, nothing was good enough.

But then Levi added, "Actually, I think Eclipse Fang still deserves some respect. The greatest warriors have almost all come from Eclipse over the past hundreds of years."

Seeing Moon’s interest, Axe nodded with admiration.

"Yes, Eclipse has that in its ranks. Even the Lycan princes visit from time to time to train there."

"Hmm. But nobody gives Moonveil any credit. They work their asses off every year to fix all the boundary problems, and almost all the weaponry comes from them. Yet the first academy people think of is Zenith," Nox snorted.

"It’s not that people don’t want to give them credit. They’re just too passive. And what wolf doesn’t want to show off their strength? Zenith gives them that opportunity," Ugo said in a low voice.

Moon had read about these academies in the information Margarita had sent him. But written information was never the same as practical experience.

He had a plan to register for the trials and try his luck on behalf of the five brothers, to see if they could enter an academy.

Only by entering an academy could he gain access to ancient history and information about spirit awakening.

But that depended on whether they could even half-awaken their wolves the following night.

He suddenly felt a little tense, so he looked outside again.