Chapter 633

Chapter 633: Fighting with His Eyes Closed

Silence.

Everyone rubbed their eyes forcefully, thinking that their eyes might be playing tricks on them.

That was a Transcendent Mortal 5-dan Consonant Spirit realm advanced stage expert! Despite executing an attack utilizing his full might, he was actually sent flying back with a light flick of the other party’s finger…

How much strength did that flick harness?

“How could a Consonant Spirit realm expert be sent flying with a single flick…”

Hong shi widened his eyes, and he subconsciously swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

To achieve that feat with a flick, one must have perfect understanding of the force and trajectory of the attack. Even Hong shi himself would find it hard to accomplish such a feat in a real battle!

Yet, the other party managed to do it so easily… Could the other party’s Clarifying Turbidity realm be feigned? Could the other party actually be at the Cosmos Bridge realm just like him?

But that couldn’t be! He was around when the other party achieved a breakthrough to Clarifying Turbidity realm pinnacle. To reach Cosmos Bridge realm within a short month? Impossible!

Bi Jianghai widened his eyes in shock at the scene as tears threatened to flow down his eyes.

“It seems like… he didn’t use his full strength when he fought with me back then. To think that I thought that I would be able to surpass him as long as I put in some hard work…”

He had thought that luck had played a huge factor in the other party’s victory over him, and as long as he cultivated diligently, he would be able to catch up very quickly. But at this moment, he realized that… he couldn’t be any more mistaken than that.

The other party probably didn’t even use a tenth of his true strength when fighting with him!

Putting everything aside, even ten of him wouldn’t survive that flick!

Luo Xuan also felt his throat turning dry.

He had bragged before his teacher, Luo Huang, that Zhang shi was nothing when the other party induced Ten Li of Vacuum with his Spirit Gathering Dictum at the next moment. Now, the other party even defeated a Transcendent Mortal 5-dan Consonant Spirit realm advanced stage expert with a single flick of his finger…

How could he ever match up to him?

It felt like they existed in completely different dimensions!

“How in the world did that fellow do it?” Crown Prince Ye Qian uttered in disbelief.

Narrowing his eyes, Wu Zhen analyzed the move.

“That single flick from Zhang shi… probably harnesses a might of at least 5,000,000 ding!”

“5,000,000 ding? This… Isn’t he just a Clarifying Turbidity realm cultivator?”

Ye Qian swayed feebly from astonishment.

A typical Clarifying Turbidity realm pinnacle cultivator should only possess 1,600,000 ding of strength. In fact, even a Consonant Spirit realm pinnacle cultivator would only possess 3,200,000 ding of strength. 5,000,000 ding, that was a might comparable to a Cosmos Bridge realm intermediate stage cultivator! How could a Transcendent Mortal 4-dan harness such force?

“I’ve no idea either. However, the Master Teacher Continent is extremely big, and there are many unique constitutions out there. Based on what I know, there are indeed some people who possess the talent of Herculean strength. While their cultivation may not be particularly high, they are able to exert strength far beyond their cultivation realm!” Wu Zhen said.

Ye Qian suddenly recalled something and asked, “Senior is saying that he might have a unique constitution that augments his strength? Then… could he be just like that person?”

“Indeed, he’s probably just like that senior!”

Wu Zhen nodded. Turning back to look at Zhang Xuan, he said, “Seems like a formidable figure is about to rise from your Huanyu Empire!”

“If he really does possess that kind of talent, then indeed!” Recalling ‘that person’s’ extraordinary and fearsome abilities, Ye Qian couldn’t conceal his agitation.

Given that Zhang shi originated from Huanyu Empire, if he were to make it big, the standing of the empire would also rise proportionately.

Ignoring the other party’s agitation, Wu Zhen said, “It’s still a little too early to come to a conclusion now. Let’s watch on first!”

“Un!” Ye Qian replied as he turned his sight back to the dueling ring anxiously.

…

Zhang Xuan’s feat of defeating Xiulian gongzi in a single blow had left everyone flabbergasted. Luo shi and the others had their mouths widened, unable to utter a single word.

It took a while before Luo shi recovered, and he immediately instructed anxiously, “There is something unusual about this fellow. The rest of you should attack together!”

All of their slots for the Cleansing Lake, which came only once every decade, were at stake here. It might seem a little underhanded, but there was no other choice now!

Hu!

Hearing those words, the remaining eight members immediately stepped forth and surrounded Zhang Xuan.

“You’re all coming at me together? Good!”

Zhang Xuan stretched his back lazily.

Previously, when he offered instructions to Hong shi in his battle, he suddenly thought of something. This group of people came at a perfect moment; he could use them to verify his doubts.

Hu!

With a quick dash, Zhang Xuan immediately appeared before one of the eight. Without any intricate movements, he raised his palm and thrust it toward the man.

“Damn it!”

Seeing that he was the first one to be attacked, the young man’s face darkened. Howling furiously, he gathered his strength from every muscle in his body and struck back.

Just as the fist and palm were about to collide with one another, Zhang shi’s figure suddenly swayed before him. Before he knew it, a leg suddenly flew toward his abdomen.

“The heck!”

The young man’s eyes nearly popped out from his sockets upon seeing the leg. Before he could even exclaim in shock, he was sent flying. Huge mouthfuls of blood spewed from his mouth.

He was on the verge of tears. Wasn’t this way too underhanded! Given how the other party looked as though he had put all of his strength into that palm, he could have never guessed that it was only a feint, and that the real threat was lying beneath!

After sending one flying, Zhang Xuan immediately stepped backward. His movement had allowed him to dodge the fist of another master teacher who was attempting to backstab him while his attention was preoccupied. Following which, he jerked his arm and struck the other party’s lower jaw.

Hu!

That master teacher immediately saw his vision darken before he flew into the air.

Peng peng peng peng!

After dealing with the two, Zhang Xuan treaded around the remaining six as though a phantom. It was as if he could foresee how his opponents would collaborate with one another and how they would attack. Every single time he launched an attack, someone would surely be sent flying.

“As I expected!”

As the group was being cleared one by one, the gleam in Zhang Xuan’s eyes gradually brightened.

When he instructed Hong shi on how he should deal with Luo shi and the others, he attempted to use the Library of Heaven’s Path to see their flaws. He thought there would be a total of three books compiled on Luo Zhao, Feng Yu, and Chen Yue respectively, but to his surprise, only one was formed.

Written in it was the flaws of the collaboration among the trio.

In other words, the Library of Heaven’s Path had viewed their collaboration as an entirety and evaluated the three of them as a whole.

Through exploiting the flaws written on the book, not only would one be able to interrupt one’s opponents’ momentum, one would also be able to predict one’s opponents’ movements and defeat them easily.

In other words, with this ability, it mattered not to Zhang Xuan how many opponents he had to face.

This was precisely the reason why he wanted to challenge all nine of them at once to test it out.

And the effects really didn’t let him down. Despite fighting eight opponents whose cultivation bases were significantly higher than his, he didn’t feel the slightest pressure at all.

“Un. I’ll exploit this flaw this time. Move left by three chi and launch a back kick…”

While Zhang Xuan’s consciousness was immersed in the Library of Heaven’s Path, his body was moving accordingly to exploit the flaws written on the books, thus dodging every single attack of his opponents and counterattacking at every possible opportunity.

After kicking another one flying, Zhang Xuan rubbed his glabella stressfully.

“These fellows’ collaboration is really poor. There are flaws here and there. Sigh, I’m finding hard to decide which flaw I should exploit from this huge list… How frustrating!”

The other party had only formed a team on the spot, so there were a lot of flaws in their collaboration. There were several hundred listed throughout the entire book. It was fortunate that Zhang Xuan didn’t suffer from decidophobia or else he would surely faint from stress!

But even so, the huge range of possible flaws to exploit and counterattacks he could make still made him feel a little troubled.

Instead of getting tired from fighting, he was suffering due to the astounding number of ways to defeat his opponents. If his opponents were to learn of this, they would surely cry themselves to death.

“Forget it, I’ll just point randomly at the flaws. Whichever I point on would be the one I’ll exploit!”

Closing his eyes, Zhang Xuan randomly pointed at a part of the book, and the flaw he was pointing at immediately surfaced in his mind.

“Alright, this will be it!”

Having decided on the flaw to exploit, Zhang Xuan swiftly analyzed the way to best exploit it before diving into the crowd once more.

Peng peng peng peng!

Yet another scream of agony echoed in the hall.

…

In the royal palace located not too far away from the crown prince’s Eastern Palace.

Emperor Ye Wentian was seated on his high throne.

Standing before him was a green-robed elder with snowy-white beard. He carried an exceptional aura that reflected both erudition and composure.

If Hong shi were here, he would surely be able to recognize the other party as his teacher, the pavilion master of the Huanyu Empire Master Teacher Pavilion, 5-star high-tier Master Teacher Wei Jiang!

“The Cleansing Lake will be opening tomorrow, I wonder how the matter regarding the distribution of the slots is going on!” Ye Wentian muttered with a frown.

It was Ye Qian’s initiative to befriend the Sixth Princess and the others. As such, he decided to leave this entire matter for Ye Qian to handle. It had been awhile since the banquet had begun, so he began to wonder if the matter had been decided already or not.

“Your Majesty, there’s no need to worry. His Highness has always been a composed and reliable person, not to mention, he’s also a genius master teacher as well. A matter as small as this can’t possibly trip him up!”

Wei Jiang smiled. “Besides, didn’t you send someone to look into that matter? He should be coming back to report on the matter very soon.”

“You’re right!” Ye Wentian smiled. “It might be my age catching up with me, I’m finding myself worrying over the smallest matters nowadays…”

Ye Wentian sighed deeply. At that moment, a guard suddenly walked into the room with a dumbstruck face.

“How is it? Is the matter regarding the distribution of slots confirmed yet?” Ye Wentian asked with a frown.

The guard hurriedly clasped his fist. “Reporting to Your Majesty, the matter has been settled…”

“Oh? How was it settled? Tell me about it!” Ye Wentian asked in curiosity.

“The matter regarding the slots to enter the Cleansing Lake was decided by a duel among the Four Great Vassal States,” the guard said.

“A duel? That is a wise decision. It would indeed be good to have the young geniuses from each Vassal State interact with one another…” Ye Wentian chuckled.

“That’s not it… it was not the young geniuses from the Vassal States who fought with one another but… Hong shi from Hongfeng Empire singlehandedly facing Luo shi, Feng shi, and Chen shi! Furthermore…”

At which, the guard suddenly paused for a short moment. It seemed as though he was still trying to convince himself that he wasn’t dreaming. “Hong shi managed to defeat all three of the pavilion masters… And thus, the three slots are to be contributed by Hongfeng, Qianfeng, and Zhuyue Empire!”

“You mean that… Hong Qian singlehandedly defeated Luo Zhao, Feng Yu, and Chen Yue?” Jiang Wei widened his eyes in disbelief. “Describe the duel to me in detail!”

“Yes!” The guard hurriedly recounted what he had seen previously.

“H-how can this be?” Hearing the other party’s recount of the story, Jiang Wei and Ye Wentian trembled in shock.

They were well aware of how strong Hong Qian was. To singlehandedly defeat three opponents of the same fighting prowess… How could that be possible?

After a moment of shock, Ye Wentian suddenly thought of something and asked, “Putting that aside, so the matter regarding the slots have been decided… Then what about the five Lake Eyes?”

As the emperor, he also knew that the allocation of the Lake Eyes was the crux of this matter.

“The young master teacher from Hongfeng Empire that I just spoke of, Zhang shi, fought against all nine young master teachers from Fengyuan, Qianfeng, and Zhuyue simultaneously… and he emerged victorious. As such, Hongfeng Empire is now in possession of all of the Lake Eyes…” the guard said.

“He fought against nine master teachers simultaneously? Didn’t you just say that this Zhang shi only possesses a cultivation of Clarifying Turbidity realm pinnacle, and is the weakest among all of the master teachers there?”

Ye Wentian couldn’t help but exclaim. “Given that all nine opponents are stronger than him, how in the world did he fight? Did he use some kind of special means?”

A Clarifying Turbidity realm pinnacle fighting against nine Consonant Spirit realm experts? How could he possibly have won? How in the world did he fight against them? Did he use some kind of special trick?

“He… he…”

The guard swallowed his saliva, and a bizarre expression appeared on his face. “He fought with his eyes closed…”

Chapter 634: Combat Master

Fought with his eyes closed?

Ye Wentian and Wei Jiang were stunned.

What kind of trickery was this? Could this be… some kind of secret art?

“That’s right! His eyes were closed, and he had a difficult expression on his face. It was as if his opponents were too weak, to such an extent that he was reluctant to lay his hands on them… and in a moment, all nine of his opponents were already lying on the floor…”

The guard recounted the sight that he had just seen a moment ago.

Ye Wentian and Wei Jiang stared at one another…

This was possible as well?

A Clarifying Turbidity realm fellow actually defeated nine Consonant Spirit realm with his eyes closed, and even felt troubled at his opponents being too weak for him…

The heck, are you sure you aren’t telling us a joke?

“It’s true…” The guard’s face flushed in agitation. He knew that no one would believe his story, but it was the absolute truth.

“To fight against a stronger opponent without any difficulty, could it be…” Jiang Wei narrowed his eyes.

“Has Wei shi thought of something?” Ye Wentian asked.

After a moment of hesitation, Wei Jiang slowly said, “Has Your Majesty ever heard of ‘Combat Master’?”

“Do you mean the sub-occupation of master teachers which specializes in fighting, combat master?” Ye Wentian asked.

“That’s right!”

Wei Jiang nodded his head. “While master teachers are known to be unrivaled among those of the same cultivation realm, their primary purpose is still to educate and nurture experts, thus strengthening the might of the human race. However… to fight against Otherworldly Demons and other forces that threaten the human race, we need a fighting force of the highest tier. As such, the sub-occupation combat master was born!

“Combat master is a branch of master teachers that specializes in combat. While they could be considered as master teachers as well, there’s a huge difference between them and a typical master teacher. For example, master teachers would require a fixed number of supporting occupations to be promoted to the next rank while combat masters have no such requirement—as long as they can pass a combat examination, they will be promoted to the next rank… Of course, the difficulty of the combat examination is staggering as well! Among ten thousand master teachers, it would be hard to tell if even a single one could pass such an examination. As such, most combat masters possess a unique constitution or special bloodlines that grant them innately superior fighting prowess…

“And given how this Zhang shi was able to fight nine Consonant Spirit realm experts despite being at Clarifying Turbidity realm, could it be possible that… he possesses the talent to become a combat master?”

Wei Jiang’s eyes gleamed in excitement.

If the statistics of becoming a master teacher were one in ten thousand, the statistics of becoming a combat master would be one in ten thousand master teachers. Every single one of them could be said to be truly invincible in their tier, and they possessed the strength to challenge even those stronger than them.

Despite the millenniums of history behind Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy, the number of master teachers who had been promoted to combat masters could be counted with one’s fingers.

If… a combat master could emerge from Huanyu Empire, the entire empire would prosper because of the individual.

“Now that you speak of it… it might really be possible!” Ye Wentian froze for a moment before his eyes slowly widened.

“Let’s hurry over to take a look. If it’s true, this is great news for our Huanyu Empire!”

Wei Jiang stood up and hurriedly walked over to the crown prince’s Eastern Palace.

Ye Wentian also quickly got up and hurried over.

…

Exhaling a deep breath, Zhang Xuan clapped his hands and shook his head.

At this moment, the nine master teachers from Fengyuan, Qianfeng, and Zhuyue were lying on the floor, moaning in pain.

Actually, without the Library of Heaven’s Path, given Zhang Xuan’s superior soul cultivation, the nine of them still wouldn’t be a match for him nevertheless. However, since the other party had flaws he could exploit, there was no reason for him not to do so.

“You all lost…”

Ignoring the injured group, Zhang Xuan turned his sights to Luo Zhao and the other pavilion masters and said, “Now, all five of the Lake Eyes belong to our Hongfeng Empire!”

“…” Luo Zhao, Feng Yu, and Chen Yue staggered. At this moment, they felt as though they were going mad.

Those were the top three in their respective Master Teacher Tournaments!

In order to raise their strength, they even bought a Consonant Spirit Pill for each of them… And yet, the nine of them couldn’t even rival a Clarifying Turbidity realm cultivator?

This should have been an easy win for them, and yet, they didn’t even manage to nick the other party’s clothes…

They thought that their alliance could allow them to push all of the bad things to Hongfeng Empire, but in the end, it simply left them without any Lake Eyes at all…

What the hell was this?

The more they thought about it, the more stifled they felt.

If only they had known earlier, they would have never created such a farce. If they had just gone down the conventional route, they would have at least gotten a Lake Eye!

Putting aside how their plan had failed utterly, every member of their team, be it the elderly or the young, were also thoroughly wounded on top of that. Their faces had swollen to almost double the size. How were they supposed to face the others like that?

After a long moment of silence, Ye Qian coughed and spoke up.

“Cough cough. Zhang shi, Luo shi and the others meant no harm. They only did these in hopes of obtaining the best for their juniors. No matter what, Hongfeng Empire is an ally of Huanyu Empire and the other Vassal States. Since there are five Lake Eyes and only three people in your group, why don’t you give the remaining two to them? This way, they can at least be accountable to their countrymen when they return.”

If three Vassal States that traveled all the way here were to return empty-handed without getting any of the slots, it would surely cause great discontent.

He wouldn’t be able to explain this farce to his father and Pavilion Master Wei either.

But… Hongfeng Empire did win all of the slots through fair means. All parties had agreed to it, so it was inappropriate for him for advise Zhang shi otherwise. As such, he felt extremely embarrassed.

“Give two Lake Eyes to them? That’s fine by us. However, the master teachers from the other empires are to share the Lake Eyes with each other as well so that our members can enjoy a Lake Eye each!” Knowing that he would be putting the crown prince in a spot if he were to claim all of the Lake Eyes, Zhang Xuan nodded his head in agreement.

Since there were only three of them, three Lake Eyes were sufficient. Rather than letting the other two go to waste and potentially incurring the hostility of everyone else here, he might as well generously give them away.

“Thank you!” Not expecting the other party to be so agreeable to the matter, Ye Qian nodded his head in approval. He gestured for a guard to come over and instructed, “Bring me that Gold-scaled Armor!”

“Yes!”

The guard turned around and left, and not too long later, he brought a resplendent armor back.

“This is a Spirit intermediate-tier pinnacle armor crafted by the skin of a Transcendent Mortal 6-dan Avalanche Gold-scaled Beast. In awe of Zhang shi’s magnanimity, I would like to give this to you!”

Ye Qian waved his hand, and the guard immediately passed the armor over.

“This… How can I accept this?” Zhang Xuan was taken aback.

“There’s no need to stand on ceremony!”

Ye Qian waved his hands. “I will be embarrassed if you do not accept it!”

“Thank you, Your Highness!” Knowing that this was the compensation the other party was giving him for the two Lake Eyes, Zhang Xuan knew it would be inappropriate for him to turn it down. Thus, he nodded and placed the armor in his storage ring.

“Zhang shi, you have my gratitude for giving the two Lake Eyes to us. Here are two Consonant Spirit Pills. I hope you can accept them as a token of goodwill!”

Luo Zhao also stepped forward and passed a jade bottle over.

Since even the crown prince had offered a gift as compensation, they couldn’t possibly just sit still and accept the two Lake Eyes without any reciprocation.

The three Vassal States had bought a total of eleven Consonant Spirit Pills. After giving one each to their men, there were two remaining.

“Un!”

Grabbing the pills, Zhang Xuan casually put them in his storage ring.

Luo Zhao, Feng Yu, and Chen Yue had accepted the bet and lost fair and square. If the other party were to refuse to give them the Lake Eyes, there was nothing they could do.

Under such circumstances, it was indeed a great favor for them to be given two Lake Eyes. Taking two Consonant Spirit Pills from them in return was nothing much in comparison.

Besides, accepting the Consonant Spirit Pills also meant that the other party had already repaid their debt, so it was beneficial from the other three’s point of view as well. As for Zhang Xuan, he had no interest in having them indebted to him either.

“Since the distribution of the slots and Lake Eyes have been determined, I hereby declare the start of the banquet. I hope that everyone can enjoy themselves tonight!”

Ye Qian gestured grandly, and beautiful court ladies immediately came in with many delicacies in hand.

This crown prince was indeed a man who knew how to enjoy himself. Every single dish in the banquet was worth a huge sum, and this entire feast could probably leave even the wealthy bankrupt.

“Luo Xuan and Bi Jianghai, you should take these Consonant Spirit Pills. Consume them after we return from the banquet!”

Flicking his wrist, Zhang Xuan passed the two Consonant Spirit Pills that he had just received from Luo shi and the others to them.

While this pill could raise a Consonant Spirit realm expert’s cultivation by a small realm unconditionally, this effect could be said to be negligible to him

As long as he could gather sufficient Consonant Spirit realm cultivation technique, achieving a breakthrough was not much different from eating and drinking to him. It would be a waste for him to consume it, so he might as well put it to better use.

“You’re giving them to us?”

Luo Xuan and Bi Jianghai were taken aback.

It was not like they didn’t know how valuable the pill was. To think that the other party would be giving the two pills received to them, this…

“Un. Quickly raise your cultivation before entering the Cleansing Lake. Don’t waste the slot that I’ve obtained for you all with great difficulty!” Zhang Xuan said calmly.

“Thank you, Zhang shi!”

The duo’s eyes turned red, and they quickly bowed in gratitude.

While the others were scheming against one another to obtain the best resources for their cultivation, Zhang shi was generously offering such a valuable gift to them… and this gesture left them touched from the bottom of their hearts.

Luo Xuan and Bi Jianghai was still thinking of pitting it out with the other party to see who was better in the Master Teacher Academy. Only now did they realize that they didn’t just lose out to the other party in terms of cultivation, even their magnanimity was paling far in comparison to the other party.

If the thoughts of the duo were to be known by Luo shi and the others, they would surely burst into tears.

This fellow—magnanimous?

Magnanimous your head! Can’t you see how badly we were done in?

Those slots and Lake Eyes should have been ours, and yet we still had to thank the other party humbly for them… You actually call such a despicable and shameless man magnanimous?

…

Outside the crown prince’s Eastern Palace…

“Your Majesty, Wei shi!”

The two figures who walked over from the distance left the guards on duty leaping in shock.

“I’ll inform His Highness right now to have him welcome Your Majesty and Wei shi…”

The two most authoritative men in Huanyu Empire had come to visit late at night abruptly, there was no one who wouldn’t be scared out of their wits.

“There’s no need for that, you should just continue remaining on duty. Wei shi and I are just going in to take a casual look!”

Ye Wentian waved his hands casually before walking in with Wei Jiang.

As the duo navigated through the Eastern Palace, Ye Wentian asked, “If… Zhang shi really possesses the talent to become a combat master, what should we do?”

“What else can we do? Of course, we should immediately report it to the Master Teacher Academy and have them groom him specially! This kind of talent is extremely important to the Master Teacher Pavilion. You should be aware of it as well!” Wei Jiang said with a grim expression.

“Un!” Ye Wentian nodded.

While he wasn’t a master teacher, he did know a thing or two about combat masters.

Dubbed as the Emperors of Combat among the master teachers, if Zhang shi were to become an official combat master, his standing might immediately soar above that of the principal of Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy!

“Just that… the conditions to becoming a combat master are extremely stringent, one has to go through many difficult tests to be qualified as one. How can we ensure that he’s really capable of becoming a combat master?”

Ye Wentian frowned.

There were many specific tests that a master teacher had to undergo before he could be officially accepted as a combat master. It was an extremely troublesome process.

“This… Let’s take a look first before deciding on anything…” Wei Jiang hesitated for a moment before speaking. Halfway through his words, he suddenly heard footsteps ahead of him. Taking a closer look, he saw three figures just ahead of him.

Getting a clear glimpse at their appearance, Ye Wentian quickly rushed forward. “Ye Wentian pays respect to Sixth Princess! I see that Luo shi and Xing shi are here as well!”

They were no other than Sixth Princess Yu Fei-er, Luo Qiqi, and Xing Yuan, who were here for the banquet.

“So, it’s Emperor Wentian. I just happen to have something I need to talk to you about.”

Upon seeing that it was Ye Wentian, Princess Fei-er’s eyebrows shot up. “How in the world do you govern your Huanyu Empire? If you’re sick of your job, just give the word…”

Chapter 635: Paying Respect to Zhang laoshi

“I…”

Ye Wentian leaped in shock at those words, and cold sweat immediately started trickling down his back.

He might be the emperor of Huanyu Empire, but before the other party, he dared not pull his weight.

Huanyu Empire was only one of the many Tier 2 Empires beneath Hongyuan Tier 1 Empire. If the other party really wanted to replace him with someone else, not even Wei Jiang would be able to help him.

“Pardon me, but may I know the reason behind Your Highness’s anger? I might not be talented, but I have worked hard in governing this country… If Your Highness thinks that I might have failed in certain aspects, I’ll definitely do my best to correct my flaws so as to not let down Hongyuan Empire’s trust in me…” Ye Wentian quickly said.

This Sixth Princess was still fine earlier this morning, why would she be chastising him all of the sudden?

“Humph, to think that there would be hooligans even within the capital…”

Recalling that shameless young man, Princess Fei-er gritted her teeth in anger.

To think that a princess like her would actually lose a bet and become the maid of another, this was truly the greatest humiliation she had ever suffered!

“Hooligan?” Ye Wentian was taken aback.

He thought that the other party was dissatisfied with his governance, but hooligan… what was with that?

What kind of hooligan could possibly provoke this princess like that?

“Indeed. It’s a young man in his twenties. Just from that shameless look on his face, one can tell that he’s no good person. I met him in the Mystical Treasure Hall!” Princess Fei-er said.

“Mystical Treasure Hall? Alright, I’ll send my men to look into the matter right now…”

Knowing that the other party’s dissatisfaction didn’t originate from a problem in his governance, Ye Wentian heaved a sigh of relief. He hurriedly clasped his fist and bowed. “When I find him, I’ll capture him and send him over to Sixth Princess so that you can deal with him as you deem fit!”

“Who wants to deal with him?”

Princess Fei-er stomped her feet in frustration. “Did I tell you to capture him?”

“I…”

Ye Wentian suddenly felt his head blowing up. He had no idea how to respond to the other party’s words.

He had long heard that Princess Fei-er had an eccentric personality, but to think that there would come a day that he would be subjected to it!

He was the emperor of Huanyu Empire, a Transcendent Mortal 8-dan pinnacle expert! To be chastised to his face as though a child, just the thought of him left him light-headed.

But even if someone were to inflate his guts, he would never dare to talk back to the other party.

Putting aside the other party’s identity as the Sixth Princess of Hongyuan Empire, just the fact that she was accepted as the direct disciple by the principal already made her a figure that few would dare to offend.

“What I? How can an emperor like you not know his own men?” Flinging her hands, Princess Fei-er harrumphed coldly.

“…” Ye Wentian looked as though he had eaten a bitter gourd.

Huanyu Capital extends for several hundred kilometers, and the population exceeds a hundred million… No matter how formidable I am, I can’t possibly know every last one of my citizens!

“Alright!” Seeing the situation turn awkward, Luo Qiqi stepped forward and smiled. “Emperor Wentian, Fei-er just has an eccentric personality, so you need not take this to heart! It’s truly nothing much, so you need to worry about it!”

After which, she turned to the lady beside her and sent a telepathic message over. “Didn’t you get Ye Qian to look into the matter already? When he finally uncovers that fellow, I’ll help you get back at him for you and win you back…”

Princess Fei-er was already an adult, but she still retained some of her childishness. Sometimes, her behavior could really leave one at a loss as to cry or to be mad.

Losing a bet and becoming another’s maid wasn’t an honorable affair, so you shouldn’t be going around telling others about it. Besides, it’s your own personal matter, why are you venting your anger on Emperor Wentian instead?

“Alright!”

Hearing the promise from her best friend, Princess Fei-er felt her rage subsiding a little. Ignoring the emperor, she puffed up her chest and said, “Let’s go to the banquet!”

“Un!”

Luo Qiqi and Xing Yuan hurried forward. Ye Wentian and Wei Jiang glanced at one another and shook their heads together. Afterward, they followed behind the trio to the banquet hall as well.

The Sixth Princess was famous for her eccentric personality. It was fortunate that his son, Ye Qian, didn’t have any intention of courting her. Otherwise, he would probably suffer a great deal. Putting everything aside, Xing Yuan had pursued her for many years already, but he was still subjected to the rapid emotional changes of the latter.

…

As the group over here headed for the banquet hall, the guard at the entrance took a detour, rushed to the banquet hall, and informed Ye Qian of this matter privately.

“Father and Wei shi are here? Sixth Princess, too? Why are they together?”

Taken aback, Ye Qian quickly stood up and announced, “Everyone, Sixth Princess, my father, and Wei shi will be arriving very soon, so let’s stand up to welcome them!”

“Sixth Princess is coming?

“I didn’t expect Wei shi and His Majesty to be coming here too!”

Upon hearing that the Sixth Princess of Hongyuan Empire and the others were coming, everyone immediately stopped what they were doing and stood up.

Just like the others, Zhang Xuan also got to his feet and turned his gaze to the doors. At that moment, a few figures walked into the hall.

The one leading the way was a lady dressed in a purple dress which accentuated her beautiful figure. Paired with pale, smooth skin, her beauty was indescribable.

“She is the Sixth Princess?”

“How beautiful!”

“I think I’m falling in love with her, what should I do…”

“Falling in love with her? Why don’t you take a good look at yourself? With a face swollen like a pig’s head, I think you should pray that your appearance won’t disgust her instead!”

“Talk about yourself! Your nose is entirely crooked, you aren’t anywhere better than me…”

Upon seeing the beautiful lady, the eyes of the master teachers in the room suddenly glowed in excitement.

The Sixth Princess resembled a goddess who had stepped out of a painting, and her presence sent the blood of young men running.

Just that, with the exception of the crown prince and a few others, all of the young men in the banquet hall had been beaten up badly by Zhang Xuan, and the sight of a group of disfigured men staring at one in agitation seemed more like a scene of horror instead.

“Sixth Young Mistress? Sixth Princess?”

Zhang Xuan was also taken aback.

He never thought that the Sixth Princess would actually be the Sixth Young Mistress whom he met at Mystical Treasure Hall.

It was no wonder why she could afford to take out several hundred middle-tier spirit stones in a single go…

On the other hand, as soon as the Sixth Princess and the others entered the banquet hall, they were immediately met with bruised and swollen faces, and this left them confounded.

Shouldn’t a banquet involving master teachers be refined and dignified?

Why did all of them look as though they had come from a butchery instead then?

The swelling on their faces were so severe that their eyes could hardly open, and some of them even had an arm sling hanging before their chest… What was going on?

In fact, why were the 5-star master teachers in the room severely wounded as well?

“Sixth Princess, it’s him…”

Just as Princess Fei-er was completely baffled by the scene before her, a voice suddenly sounded by her ear. Frowning, she traced the other party’s finger, and the sight she saw immediately caused her to stagger.

It was the fellow who nearly angered her to death back at the Mystical Treasure Hall! He was actually here!

The other party was holding a wine glass in his hand casually, creating a leisurely atmosphere around him.

“Qiqi, it’s that fellow…”

Gritting her teeth tightly, Princess Fei-er turned to point out her mortal enemy to her close friend, only to be stunned by the sight before her once more.

The eyes of her cold and composed close friend were actually shining in agitation, as though they had caught sight of a treasure chest.

Princess Fei-er was stunned.

Could her close friend be fond of men who were beaten up?

“It’s him…”

Amidst her confusion, Luo Qiqi suddenly pointed her finger toward a young man.

“That… Qiqi, I know that he’s my enemy, but surely you need not… get so agitated!”

Upon realizing that it wasn’t due to some bizarre taste in men, Princess Fei-er became even more speechless.

I was the one who was forced to become the other party’s maid. The one who should be getting angry and agitated should be me, right? Then why are you getting so excited all of the sudden?

Perplexed, Princess Fei-er was just about to ask about the matter when her close friend suddenly started charging up to that hateful fellow.

“Qiqi, even if you want to teach him a lesson for my stead, you need to take note of the occasion…”

Princess Fei-er nearly fainted on the spot.

Qiqi has always been a reliable and dependable figure, why would she suddenly get agitated and act so recklessly?

There are so many master teachers in the room. If she were to teach the other party a lesson here, won’t the matter of me being the maid of the other party be exposed as well?

Just as Princess Fei-er was about to rush up to stop her, her close friend was already standing right before the hateful fellow. Following which, her close friend clasped her fist and bowed respectfully. “Student Qiqi pays respect to Zhang laoshi!”

“What?”

All of the words Princess Fei-er wanted to say suddenly jammed in her mouth, and her eyes widened in shock.

What is this situation?

Aren’t you going to teach him a lesson in my stead?

Student… Zhang laoshi?

Could it be that… this hateful fellow is that… refined, magnanimous, intelligent, and awe-inspiring young talent you spoke of?

But he is a shameless hooligan, right? Why would he suddenly turn into such an impressive figure in your mouth?

What is with this situation?

Princess Fei-er’s face twitched intensely, and she nearly burst into tears.

She was still thinking of having her close friend teach that fellow a lesson, but who knew that the latter would betray her as soon as the both of them met…

Where’s your loyalty to your friend? Shouldn’t you at least show some hesitation in your betrayal?

On the other hand, the others in the hall petrified instantly.

“The lady who’s with Sixth Princess… should be Luo Qiqi Luo shi!”

“The famed ice beauty of the Master Teacher Academy is actually… Zhang shi’s student?”

“What’s going on?”

…

Luo Zhao and the others were aware of Luo Qiqi’s nickname.

While the latter might be beautiful, she was known for being cold and distant… And yet, she was currently bowing excitedly before a person who was even younger than her, addressing him as teacher…

Did reality really need to be so exaggerated?

“…”

Wu Zhen and Xing Yuan’s mouths twitched at that sight.

In terms of familiarity, they were relatively closer to Luo Qiqi than the others in the room, and they knew much more than about her as well.

Hongyuan Academy Apothecary School’s most talented genius, as well as a cultivator possessing a fighting prowess far above them, she was ranked in the top few amongst Grade 2 students, and her fame far exceeded the Sixth Princess in the academy.

For a proud phoenix like her to actually acknowledge Zhang shi as her teacher…

Are my eyes playing tricks on me, or are the both of them pulling our legs?

“Oh, Little Qi, it’s you! Why are you here?”

Zhang Xuan was taken aback to see Little Qi here.

Wasn’t this lass at the Apothecary Guild earlier?

But after giving it some thought, he suddenly came to a realization.

The fact she came from the headquarters of the local Apothecary Guild meant that she came from Hongyuan Tier 1 Empire… On top of that, given that she was a master teacher as well, it was highly likely that she was a group with the Sixth Princess and Wu Zhen. It was precisely due to these people that he had to fight over the Cleansing Lake slots that should have belonged to him in the first place.

“Little Qi?”

Dang lang!

The wine glass in Wu Zhen’s hand fell to the ground.

The Sixth Princess and Xing Yuan suddenly felt their legs turn weak, and they nearly fell to the ground.

Luo Qiqi nodded before hurriedly introducing her close friend to her teacher.

“I came here with my friends. Teacher, this is Hongyuan Empire’s Sixth Princess, Yu Fei-er!”

“Un, I’ve met her before!”

Zhang Xuan nodded. “I see, so your name is Yu Fei-er… What are you waiting for? Hurry up and pour me a cup of wine!”

“Zhang shi, you do know that she’s the Sixth Princess of Hongyuan Empire…” Hearing Zhang shi’s words, Ye Qian nearly fainted on the spot.

Ye Wentian also found his vision turning dark.

Even he dared not breathe loudly before the Sixth Princess. What is a 4-star master teacher like you acting so arrogantly for…

Chapter 636: Silence Restraint

“You…”

Princess Fei-er nearly spurted a mouthful of fresh blood.

Pour you a cup of wine? Pour your head!

Didn’t I redeem myself for ten days already?

I’m not your maid now, alright?

“I know!” Zhang Xuan nodded. “We’ve met previously, and we can be considered friends, right, Sixth princess?”

Glaring at Zhang Xuan with a look that exclaimed that she would strangle the other party if she could, Yu Fei-er clenched her teeth tightly and replied, “Of course!”

She had no other choice. By saying that she was his friend, the other party was already sparing her dignity. If the other party were to say that she was his maid, she would really die of shame.

“I’ll pour it for you!”

Yu Fei-er stomped her way to the closest bottle and poured Zhang Xuan a bottle of wine while insulting the latter in her mind. If she could, she would really want to skin this hateful man alive.

But of course, she would never do that. She did lose the bet fair and square, and her master teacher emblem was the other party’s hostage as well. She couldn’t do anything even if she wanted to!

“Alright!”

Seeing the reluctance on the other party’s face, Zhang Xuan shook his head.

Back then, when we were having the bet, you tried to make me kneel before you! So what if you’re a princess? This is just returning a little bit of the favor to you.

“Teacher… Fei-er is my good friend, so is it possible…”

Seeing that her good friend had turned so red that she might explode at any moment, Luo Qiqi didn’t know whether she should laugh or cry at this situation.

She could never have expected that the rotten fellow her close friend wanted to strangle so badly would actually be her apothecary teacher.

She regarded the both of them highly, so she wished to resolve the conflict between them.

“She’s your friend? Alright then, I’ll give her ten days off…”

Zhang Xuan nodded.

On the other hand, Princess Fei-er thought that with her good friend intervening in her stead, the other party would drop the matter entirely. Who knew that it would only be ten days? Her face immediately flushed in anger, and she raged, “Qiqi, there’s no need no need to plead with him. Isn’t it just spirit stones? It’s not like I don’t have any…”

Zhang Xuan’s eyes gleamed as he said, “It’s good that you have spirit stones to repay me. Since that’s the case, I believe there’s no need for me to offer you any discount. The ten days off shall be voided!”

Ten days was equivalent to around 700 middle-tier spirit stones! If he could save it, he should definitely do it.

“You…”

Princess Fei-er nearly spurted blood on the spot.

“Teacher is just jesting with you, calm down…”

Seeing that her good friend was on the verge of collapsing from anger, Luo Qiqi shook her head and said, “Right, didn’t you say that you want to learn pill forging from Zhang laoshi? He’s right here…”

“Humph! I’d rather learn from a pig than from him!”

Princess Fei-er gritted her teeth.

“Alright then!”

Knowing that it was impossible to resolve the conflict between her good friend and Zhang laoshi at the moment, she could only try to pacify both of them in the future.

With the arrival of the guests, the banquet resumed.

However, with Emperor Ye Wentian and Wei shi in the room, as well as the Sixth Princess who could just erupt at any moment, the atmosphere grew visibly tenser, and the merry atmosphere from before dampened.

A while later, Luo Zhao and the others couldn’t stand it any longer and bade their farewell.

Considering how their entire group was beaten up so badly, they had to return quickly and recuperate. Otherwise, considering how the Cleansing Lake was opening tomorrow, the two slots that they had might just go to waste!

“Your Highness, we’ll be taking our leave as well!”

Seeing the others leave, Hong shi also stood up and clasped his fist.

“Wait a moment!”

Just as the group was about to leave, Wei Jiang stepped forward and approached them.

“Wei shi!”

When the group entered, Crown Prince Ye Qian had introduced the other party to be the pavilion master of the Huanyu Empire Master Teacher Pavilion, a 5-star high-tier master teacher. Not daring to pull his weight before such a figure, Zhang Xuan clasped his fist and greeted him.

“Zhang shi, may I speak to you for a moment?”

Wei Jiang smiled.

“It’s my pleasure to do so!”

Seeing that the other party wanted to talk to him privately, Zhang Xuan smiled in response.

Gesturing for Hong shi and the others to return to their living quarters first, Zhang Xuan followed behind Wei shi, and the pair walked into a room.

“May I ask if… Zhang shi is a combat master?”

There was a formation set up in the room that prevented anyone from eavesdropping on the conversation inside.

“Combat master? What is that?”

Zhang Xuan was perplexed.

Combat master was a higher order secret of the Master Teacher Pavilion. As such, the books that Zhang Xuan had access to didn’t have any details on them, so he wasn’t too clear on what it was.

“Err… it’s a sub-occupation of master teacher that specializes in combat…”

While explaining the matter regarding combat masters to the other party, Wei Jiang carefully examined the other party’s expression.

Noting that the other party didn’t seem to be putting on a front, he felt a little perplexed.

He did harbor some doubts that the other party was a combat master before—after all, how else could he possibly defeat nine cultivators with a cultivation higher than his?

He had seen the pitiful state of the master teachers the other party had beaten up. But while their faces were swollen, and it looked rather appalling on the surface, he could tell that the person who pummeled them went easy on them.

As long as they were to apply some medicine to their wounds, they would be as good as new in a day or two.

To be able to go easy while fighting nine master teachers with higher cultivation levels than him… how powerful must he be?

“There’s such a branch of master teacher?”

Hearing that there was actually a sub-occupation known as combat master, Zhang Xuan was astonished.

He thought that all master teachers were responsible for imparting knowledge to the masses. To think that there would actually be a branch specializing in combat as well!

It did intrigue him how master teachers could drive away Otherworldly Demons when most of them were immobilized just by the killing intent of the latter.

What Wei shi said had addressed his doubts… the ones in charge of defending mankind weren’t the average master teachers but a specialized group that possessed superior fighting prowess!

“Why would Pavilion Master Wei think that I’m a combat master?” Zhang Xuan asked curiously.

“I heard that you were able to easily defeat nine other people who possess higher cultivation than you…” Wei Jiang replied.

“I see!” Coming to a realization, Zhang Xuan shook his head. “I’ve only heard of this sub-occupation, so I can’t possibly be one of their members!”

“Then… do you have a unique constitution?” Wei Jiang asked.

“The reason why I am able to defeat the nine of them is because I was able to see through the flaws in their battle techniques and exploit it against them,” Zhang Xuan replied. “It wasn’t because of a unique constitution!”

Speaking of unique constitutions, he had three students who possessed them. Honestly speaking, he was a little envious of them.

“Alright then!”

Seeing the other party admitting that he wasn’t a combat master and didn’t possess a unique constitution, Wei Jiang was slightly disappointed.

If a combat master were to come from Huanyu Empire, it would surely strike its name across the entire world.

Unless awakened, a unique constitution was nearly undetectable. Not even a 5-star high-tier master teacher like him would be able to detect it.

The duo chatted a little longer, but the questions that Wei Jiang had were all adeptly sidestepped by Zhang Xuan.

The reason why Zhang Xuan was able to defeat multiple opponents far above his current cultivation was due to two reasons, the Library of Heaven’s Path and Heaven’s Path Divine Art, and his ability as a soul oracle.

But these two were secrets that mustn’t be made known.

As such, despite Wei Jiang’s questions, Zhang Xuan admitted to nothing at all.

A moment later, after realizing that it was impossible for him to gather any useful clues from Zhang Xuan, Wei Jiang could only clasp his fist and bid farewell.

“I’ve bothered Zhang shi!”

“Don’t worry about it!”

Zhang Xuan chuckled lightly in response before walking away.

Not too long after Zhang Xuan left, the door to the room was opened, and Emperor Ye Wentian rushed in with an anxious look.

“How is it?”

“It’s unlikely that he has a unique constitution, but… I’m not sure whether he’s a combat master or not!” Wei Jiang shook his head.

“Not sure?” Ye Wentian was perplexed.

After a moment of contemplation, Wei Jiang said, “Un. To qualify as a combat master, one has to pass through multiple exams. Zhang shi might be able to defeat those with cultivations above him, but I feel that he’s still rather lacking in comparison to a real combat master… Forget it, let’s not think about it. I’ll report this matter to Hongyuan Empire Master Teacher Pavilion and leave it to Pavilion Master Mo to make a judgement on this matter!”

With his current standing, he was indeed unqualified to make such judgement.

As such, he decided to simply report this matter and allow the headquarters to make a decision on it.

Ye Wentian pondered for a moment before nodding his head.

“Indeed, it would be best for this matter to be reported to the headquarters!”

Wei Jiang flicked his wrist, and an object that covered his entire palm appeared on his hand. He wrote his report on the object. Then, with a flash of light, the words written disappeared.

The effects of a Communication Token were similar to a Communication Wall, just smaller in scale, thus allowing one to carry it around easily.

Back then, Hong shi also made use of this object to send a message to Mo Gaoyuan.

Weng!

A few moments after the information was sent over to the other side, the Communication Token glowed once more.

“This…”

Seeing the words on the token, Wei Jiang’s eyes narrowed in disbelief.

“What did Pavilion Master Mo say?”

Seeing the bewildered expression of his old friend, Ye Wentian frowned.

“Look…”

Swallowing a mouthful of saliva, Wei Jiang passed the Communication Token over.

Ye Wentian lowered his head to look at the message written on the Communication Token, and he immediately froze in place as well.

There was only a single line of words written on the Communication Token.

‘For the matter regarding Zhang Xuan, do not discuss, ask, or speak of it!’

Hu!

Right after he looked at the words, the words on the Communication Token faded.

“A silence restraint… Could it be that Pavilion Master Mo is acquainted with Zhang shi?”

Ye Wentian narrowed his eyes in shock.

A silence restraint was usually a form of respect a lower ranked master teacher would show to a higher ranked master teacher. Given that Zhang shi was only at 4-star, why would Pavilion Master Mo issue such an order?

Could it be that… Pavilion Master Mo knew Zhang shi beforehand?

Otherwise, why would such a situation occur?

“He must have known the other party in advance. Otherwise, it would be impossible for him to give such a response so quickly…”

Wei Jiang nodded in agreement.

While Mo Gaoyuan did pay Myriad Kingdom Alliance a visit, he left right after paying Yang shi a visit. Other than Zhang Xuan, Hong shi, and a few other people, no one was aware of the matter.

Wei Jiang might be Hong shi’s teacher, but he wasn’t informed of this matter either.

“Then… What should we do?” Ye Wentian asked.

“Since Pavilion Master Mo has made such a decision, let’s not speak about it. In any case, Zhang shi is going to enter Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy. If my memory serves me well, the academy has a Combat Master Selection once every five years. It should be starting very soon… If he does possess potential in that aspect, he will surely do well then!” Wei Jiang said.

Ye Wentian nodded his head and sighed.

“Combat Master Selection? Now that you speak of it, there is indeed such a matter… However, for an outsider to join the ranks of the combat masters, he must be a half 5-star master teacher at minimum. Considering how Zhang Xuan is only at Clarifying Turbidity realm pinnacle currently, who knows how long it would take for him to reach Consonant Spirit realm pinnacle!”

Wei Jiang nodded. “Regardless of when he can qualify as a combat master, since Pavilion Master Mo has already sent a silence restraint, let’s just remain silent and watch on!”

“You’re right!” Ye Wentian replied.

…

While the duo was having their discussion behind closed doors, Zhang Xuan found himself intercepted as soon as he left the crown prince’s Eastern Palace.

“Zhang shi, I would like to talk to you privately!”

A slender figure blocked his path.

“Sixth Princess?”

Upon realizing the other party’s identity, Zhang Xuan frowned.

It was the Sixth Princess whom he had taken as his maid. Why was she looking for him at such an ungodly hour?

“Un! This isn’t a convenient place, follow me!”

Princess Fei-er harrumphed before dashing off in one direction.

But a moment later, she realized that there was no movement behind her. Perplexed, she turned her head around and her body immediately shook in rage.

The young man didn’t follow behind her at all! The other party simply placed his hands into the pockets before walking in a completely different direction.

“You… Why didn’t you follow me?!” She hurriedly turned around and harrumphed angrily.

“I’m not interested in whatever you have to say!”

Zhang Xuan shrugged.

“You…”

Princess Fei-er’s breathing grew agitated, and yet again, she found herself on the verge of erupting.

Chapter 637: Library of Yellow’s Path

To think that despite her standing as a princess and her beautiful appearance, the other party would actually ignore her entirely and walk away. Could a person like him even be called a man?

“Fine, we’ll talk here then!”

Fearing that the other party would walk away once more, Princess Fei-er gritted her teeth and began talking telepathically. “I didn’t know of your aptitude in deciphering stone pillars and lost to you. On that, I’ve nothing much to say. I did lose the bet fair and square, and I’m willing to acknowledge them… However, I wish to propose another wager. Do you dare accept it?”

Given this fellow’s shameless face, how could she have ever expected for him to be a master teacher of such astounding capability?

She was willing to acknowledge her loss in the bet, but what angered her was the other party’s demand afterward.

If she didn’t rid herself of this ‘master-servant’ relationship soon, who knew when would this fellow suddenly go insane and command her to serve him wine or massage his legs?

Her pride as her princess would never allow her to do such things. If that was going to be the case, she might as well commit suicide this very instant.

“You still want to wager with me?”

Seeing how this lady refused to give up, even going to the extent of proposing another bet, Zhang Xuan stopped and turned to look at her with a peculiar expression. “As a maid, what rights do you have to propose a wager against me? Also, are you sure you have the capital to do so?”

“You…” Princess Fei-er glared at Zhang Xuan with eyes burning with rage.

If not for this fellow being a master teacher and winning a wager against her, she would have just smacked him to death.

“Alright, if you don’t have anything else, I’ll be taking my leave. It’s already late at night, and I’m exhausted. I don’t have the strength to be playing with you!”

Waving his hands casually, Zhang Xuan continued walking toward the living quarters of Hongfeng Empire. However, barely after taking two steps, a gust of air carrying a slight aroma suddenly blew behind him. The Sixth Princess had rushed forward and blocked his path yet again.

Due to her rage, her chest was expanding and contracting rapidly, seemingly intent on squeezing their way through her dress.

“Stop it right there!”

She waved her hands and zhenqi immediately gushed into the air, forming a wall.

“Just because I refused your bet, you decide to force me into it? Despite being a maid, you tried to lay your hands on your master. Don’t you have any basic etiquette?” Seeing the lass getting anxious, Zhang Xuan chuckled lightly.

“I’ve paid you 700 spirit stones to redeem myself for ten days. At the moment, I’m not considered as your… maid!”

Harrumphing coldly, Princess Fei-er waved her hands. “If you provoke me any further, as your senior, surely it is within my rights to teach a junior a lesson!”

The top ten of the respective Master Teacher Tournaments were all given the opportunity to study at Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy. As a Grade 2 student, Princess Fei-er could be considered as Zhang Xuan’s senior.

Going by this logic, it was indeed acceptable for her to teach Zhang Xuan a lesson.

After which, Princess Fei-er closed her hands, grabbing at the surrounding air.

She was simply too enraged at the fellow before her.

No matter what, she was determined to teach this fellow a lesson today so that he would know some manners!

Huala!

Through the might of a Transcendent Mortal 6-dan Cosmos Bridge realm cultivator, the surrounding spiritual energy seemed to be drawn in by a bridge, forming a tight barrier that isolated the duo from the world.

She was clearly embarrassed at laying her hands on the other party after losing a bet. Thus, she sealed the space so that no one saw it.

“It’s indeed nothing much to teach one’s junior a lesson, but… are you sure you want to do this?”

Seeing the other party seal the space, Zhang Xuan glanced at her with a bizarre gaze.

It was just a moment ago that he pummeled a bunch of Consonant Spirit realm cultivators into shouting for their parents. This lady should be well aware that his true fighting prowess was far beyond Clarifying Turbidity realm. To intend to lay her hands on him before such uncertainty, she must be very confident in her strength!

“Stop spouting useless stuff! I’ll make sure you obediently have this bet with me!”

Harrumphing coldly, Princess Fei-er rushed up to Zhang Xuan and thrust a palm at him.

Huala!

Zhenqi gushed forth furiously from her palm and formed an intangible horizontal umbrella-like barrier, sealing all possible path of escape for Zhang Xuan. No matter where he tried to escape to, he would only crash into a wall of zhenqi.

Spirit high-tier battle technique, Seal of the Golden Umbrella!

Not only did this technique seal space, it also sealed a person’s zhenqi as well, thus limiting one’s mobility. On top of that, it was also tinged with the might of one’s soul, causing one’s opponent to feel immense lethargy.

It seemed she knew that even though her ‘junior’ may seem weak on the surface, his fighting prowess was astonishing. As such, she immediately executed her strongest attack at the very start of the battle.

“Hehe!”

Zhang Xuan’s soul had been tempered by his cultivation of the Heaven’s Path Soul Art. Even a Transcendent Mortal 8-dan expert couldn’t faze his soul, so how could he possibly be afraid of the other party’s attack?

Swiftly flipping through the book compiled on the other party’s flaw in the Library of Heaven’s Path, Zhang Xuan shook his head and stomped his feet on the ground.

Huala!

Under the might of the stomp, a crack swiftly crept across the ground, causing Princess Fei-er’s to lose her balance. This caused the trajectory of her palm to shift slightly, thus creating an opening for Zhang Xuan to avoid her attack.

With a slight tilt of his body, Zhang Xuan dodged the other party’s palm. Following which, he clenched his fist tightly and immediately counterattacked with a punch.

While the other party was a Cosmos Bridge realm cultivator, she was still at primary stage. Given that the combined might of Zhang Xuan’s soul cultivation and zhenqi cultivation far surpassed the other party’s strength, it was hard to tell who would win at this point.

Not expecting the other party to deal with her Seal of the Golden Umbrella with just a simple stomp, Princess Fei-er was taken aback. But even so, she recovered quickly and swiftly returned the other party’s fist with another palm strike.

A head-to-head collision!

In her view, no matter how powerful the fellow before her was, he was only a Clarifying Turbidity realm pinnacle cultivator. As a Cosmos Bridge realm cultivator, she couldn’t possibly lose to the other party.

Peng!

The collision of the two fists jolted Zhang Xuan’s body, and he was forced to retreat several steps to nullify the force. On the other hand, while Princess Fei-er managed to stand her ground, her face was filled with horror as though she had seen a ghost.

She had put her full might behind her battle technique, and she thought that the sheer force would inflict grievous injuries and send the other party flying several dozen meters. Who knew that he would be completely unscathed after taking several steps back…

Was he really at Clarifying Turbidity realm? Why did he seem no weaker than her, a Cosmos Bridge realm primary stage cultivator?

While she was overwhelmed with shock, Zhang Xuan shook his head.

“Seems like it’s time to upgrade my Heaven’s Path Fist Art…”

His Heaven’s Path Fist Art was flawless and invincible among those of the same tier… but its might was severely limited by the tier of fist art manuals that he collected.

While he could easily destroy a Spirit low-tier battle technique with his current tier of Heaven’s Path First Art, it was hard for him to match up to a Spirit high-tier battle technique.

It was just like how even though a genius in a first grade could achieve full marks even in the hardest exams each time, he might not even pass an average seventh grade exam.

Heaven’s Path battle techniques were indeed formidable, but they still had its limitations, especially against battle techniques of a far higher tier than it.

As such, despite his strength being superior to the other party, he was still forced back.

But even so, with this collision, he also got a good grasp on the other party’s strength… and he could confidently say that it would be extremely difficult for the other party to defeat him as well.

“Humph!”

Seeing how her younger ‘junior’ was actually able to stand on equal grounds as her, Princess Fei-er harrumphed coldly and charged forward once more.

“This lass…”

The other party’s attacks gradually became faster and more forceful, but at the same time, more reckless as well, as though she had become desperate. Zhang Xuan shook his head. Aiming right at a flaw, Zhang Xuan raised his foot and kicked straight at the other party’s chest.

“You… Shameless!”

Seeing that the other party was going to attack her chest, Princess Fei-er cried in anger. She subconsciously cowered backward, causing the divergence in the attack she had just launched. Naturally, yet another flaw appeared with this mistake.

Hu!

Her palm which should have struck Zhang Xuan ended up striking thin air. Panicked, she quickly looked around, but the young man had already vanished from her sight.

“What? Where did he go?

In the blink of an eye, the other party simply vanished from her sight. Taken aback, she quickly tried to look around when her eyes suddenly narrowed. She hurriedly turned around.

However, it was already too late. As the other party’s feet connected with her bottom, she felt a dull ache there.

Hu!

With a cry of pain, she flew twenty meters into the air before falling back to the ground. The impact from the fall had created some tears in her elegant clothes, and her face was covered in mud.

At this moment, rather than a princess, she seemed more like a beggar instead.

“You hooligan…” Princess Fei-er cried.

Carrying the royal bloodline, the others wouldn’t even dare to defy her words, needless to say, disrespect her.

And yet, this fellow kicked her chest to push her away, and making use of the chance in the opening of her zhenqi barrier, he maneuvered to her back and kicked her bottom…

The heck!

Don’t you know that a lady’s chest and bottom are not to be hit?

And yet, you actually struck the both of them consecutively… How much more shameless can you get?

The stinging pain on her bottom left her both embarrassed and enraged. Pressing against the ground, she immediately got to her feet and charged forward in a rampage.

At this moment, her anger had already turned into frenzy.

But before she could reach the other party, the other party had sent yet another kick toward her.

Upon seeing where the kick was headed for, Princess Fei-er’s lips twitched violently.

The trajectory and timing of the kick were precisely timed to seal off her attack. If she were to continue charging on, she would definitely crash into the other party’s kick.

Furthermore… as well as most importantly of all, the region where the kick was headed for was once again… her chest!

“You thug!”

Gritting her teeth tightly, Princess Fei-er thrust her palm against the ground instead, and making use of the momentum, she leaped into the air. Just as she was considering how she should launch her next attack, she felt yet another stinging pain on her bottom.

“You…”

Hu!

Once again, she was sent flying and fed another mouthful of soil.

This time, she crashed much more heavily, and her clothes were torn even more badly. Her face and hair were completely covered with mud.

“Can’t you… fight fairly?”

Princess Fei-er was on the verge of tears.

As a man, you shouldn’t bully a lady like that! To kick two times consecutively on the bottom, how am I supposed to face others in the future?

Don’t you have the slightest morals or etiquette as a master teacher?

“If I were to say that I didn’t do it intentionally… would you believe me?”

While she was on the verge of tears, cold sweat was also flowing down Zhang Xuan’s back.

While he did possess strength superior to the other party, he was still at a significantly disadvantageous position due to his lower cultivation. Both his speed and reflexes were far beneath those of the other party. Thus, he had no choice but to move according to the flaws listed on the Library of Heaven’s Path…

But the attacking regions that the Library of Heaven’s Path reflected just had to be the other party’s chest and bottom…

Zhang Xuan scratched his head awkwardly… Did he use the wrong library this time around? Could he have accidentally accessed the Library of Yellow’s Path instead?

“Fine… I’ll have a wager with you, alright?”

Frustrated, Zhang Xuan could only resign himself.

He was better off accepting the wager than continuing with the fight. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be long before the other party’s clothes were completely ripped and the stinging pain on her bottom prevented her from walking.

And if this were to be made known to others, he would die of embarrassment.

“Wager…”

Princess Fei-er’s lips twitched as tears flowed down her cheek.

This is no longer a matter about having a wager or not, alright…

Chapter 638: Unlucky Wu Zhen (1)

Seeing the two clear footprints on the lady’s bottom, Zhang Xuan said awkwardly, “If we were to continue fighting, I fear that… you might sustain more severe injuries. Let’s just forget about it! I’ll wager with you whatever you have in your mind…”

He wouldn’t be a match for the other party in a normal battle, but if he were to continue resorting to the Library of Heaven’s Path, who knew what kind of awkwardness would evolve from it?

He already felt embarrassed kicking the other party twice on the bottom. Even if his skin was thick, he couldn’t bring himself to do it anymore.

“Alright!”

While Princess Fei-er was so angry that she could tear out her hair at this very instant, she knew that she would be the one in a disadvantageous position should the fight continue. Thus, she took a deep breath and nodded.

But even so, the flames in her pitch-black eyes continued to blaze, seemingly searing the hateful man with her gaze.

“Since we’re both heading to the Cleansing Lake tomorrow, let’s have a wager on it!” Princess Fei-er said.

“That’s fine by me. How do you want to do it?” Zhang Xuan asked.

“You should be aware that the Lake Eyes of the Cleansing Lake have a limited pool of spiritual energy. In truth, the three days limit given is only a rough estimation. Due to the differing cultivation speed of different cultivators, those entering the Cleansing Lake will be given a ‘Spirit Cleansing Incense’!”

Princess Fei-er continued, saying, “The Spirit Cleansing Incense can detect the concentration of the spiritual energy in the Lake Eye, and it will burn down at differing rates depending on the rate of depletion of spiritual energy. An average rate is one incense a day, so the three days estimate approximates to three incense sticks. Regardless of which Lake Eye one was in, once the three incense sticks burn out, one must leave its premises immediately.”

Given that there’s a fixed amount of spiritual energy in each Lake Eye and that every cultivator had a different rate of cultivation, the approximation of three days wouldn’t hold for everyone. As such, a more accurate way of detecting the depletion of spiritual energy in the Lake Eye was required so that the cultivators inside wouldn’t be exposed to danger—the Spirit Cleansing Incense.

These incenses would start burning immediately once they are put inside the Cleansing Lake, and based on the rate of depletion of spiritual energy in the Lake Eye, they could burn down at differing paces. Once three incense sticks had burned out, one had to leave immediately. This was a rule that had been set long ago, and no one was allowed to break it.

This had been explained back at the banquet, so Zhang Xuan knew about it too.

“So… our wager is very simple. Tomorrow afternoon, we’ll enter the Cleansing Lake at the same time, and whoever’s Spirit Cleansing Incense burns out first will be the winner!” Princess Fei-er said.

“Whoever’s Spirit Cleansing Incense burns out first will be the winner?” Not expecting this to be the wager, Zhang Xuan was taken aback.

The rate at which the Spirit Cleansing Incense burned down was proportionate to the rate of one’s absorption of the spiritual energy the Lake Eye. And to absorb the spiritual energy from the Lake Eye swiftly, a strong soul was required.

To put it simply… the stronger one’s soul was, the faster one’s Spirit Cleansing Incense would burn.

As a Cosmos Bridge realm expert, the other party’s soul had undergone the nourishment in the Consonant Spirit realm. Clearly, the other party was taking advantage of Zhang Xuan for possessing a cultivation of only Clarifying Turbidity realm and thus having a weaker soul than her…

Just that… She would have never imagined that she was gravely mistaken. Not only was his soul not weak, it was far stronger than hers!

Having cultivated the Heaven’s Path Soul Art, his soul could already operate independently from his body. In a battle of absorption of spiritual energy from the Cleansing Lake, not even a Transcendent Mortal 8-dan expert would be a match for him.

“Are you certain you want to wager on this?”

Zhang Xuan looked at her with pity.

With such a wager, she was destined to lose.

“Indeed! Why? You were still so gleeful a moment ago, are you chickening out now?” Princess Fei-er spoke confidently.

“This…” Zhang Xuan scratched his head. “Fine, let’s talk about the bets then!”

“Simple. If I win, I’ll no longer be your maid anymore, and I won’t owe you any spirit stones either! On the other hand, if you win… I’ll pay you another ten thousand spirit stones… or remain your maid for another five months. How about it?” Princess Fei-er said.

“Remain my maid for another five months? There’s no need for that…”

Zhang Xuan shook his head without any hesitation.

Honestly, he didn’t need a maid at all, needless to say, he definitely didn’t need a proud princess like the other party. Back then, he had only raised the matter to get even with the other party. In terms of practicality, spirit stones were definitely far superior.

Hearing the other party shooting down her offer, Princess Fei-er gritted her teeth in anger.

“What else do you want? Do you expect me to marry you?”

“Marry me?” Zhang Xuan was stunned. “You wish!”

“You…”

Princess Fei-er grabbed her hair in a frenzy.

There were countless master teachers in the Master Teacher Academy who were dying to win her fancy, and yet this fellow actually scorned at the thought of being married to her… Who do you think you are?

“I don’t need you to become my maid for another five months, just give me ten thousand spirit stones if you lose!” Zhang Xuan waved his hands.

“Fine, that’s a deal…”

With clenched jaws, Princess Fei-er stomped away.

She really couldn’t stand talking to this fellow for a second longer. She feared that she might just suffer a heart attack on the spot and die.

Sneaking through the premises, she managed to reach her living quarters without being seen when Luo Qiqi suddenly walked up to her. Upon seeing her unkempt state, the other party was dumbfounded. “What happened?”

At the current moment, Princess Fei-er’s clothes were ripped at several parts, revealing her snowy skin. Her hair and face had clumps of mud sticking onto it, as though she had been rolling on the ground. She looked extremely scruffy at this current moment.

“It’s nothing much… I suffered some injuries, so I might need you to apply some recovery medicine to me later on!” Princess Fei-er said.

She lost a bet fair and square, and yet she went to confront the other party and even attacked him… It would still be fine if she succeeded, but she ended up being beaten up instead. Even her bottom had swollen up due to being kicked…

She would rather die than tell anyone of this shameful affair!

“You’re injured?” Luo Qiqi frowned. “Who did it?”

“I said that I’m fine! Just apply the medicine for me…” Princess Fei-er’s face flushed.

“Alright.”

Seeing that the other party was unwilling to talk about it, Luo Qiqi didn’t push on either. “If it’s superficial wounds, I happen to have a bottle of ‘Bloodwillow Balm’ forged by Dean Lu of the Apothecary School. It is exceptionally effective on external wounds, so it should get you healed up for tomorrow’s Cleansing Lake!”

“There’s no need for that, Wu Zhen just gave up a bottle of Saint recovery medicine. He said that it can heal any external wound, no matter how severe, within moments… Help me apply some!”

Princess Fei-er flicked her wrist and took out a wine gourd.

While she was a little embarrassed to have the other party apply the medicinal wine on her, especially on her bottom, it was much better than suffering and limping around.

“Saint recovery medicine?”

Luo Qiqi was taken aback.

“Un. It’s said to be a gift from one of the Vassal States. They tested it out on the spot and it was shown to be extremely effective. Even a bleeding wound can be healed instantly with it!” Princess Fei-er said. “He insisted that I should accept it. Let’s see whether it lives up to the rumors then!”

“There’s actually such a formidable medicine?” Luo Qiqi commented in awe as she entered the room with Princess Fei-er.

But not too longer later, a shout of agony reminiscent of a pig being butchered echoed out of their room. Following which, Princess Fei-er’s furious howl echoed across the entire mansion.

“AHHH… WU ZHEN, TO HELL WITH YOU!”

With a doubtful expression, Wu Zhen looked out from his door.

“Who called for me?”

…

After parting with Princess Fei-er, Zhang Xuan returned to his own room.

He took out the Glacier Rain Sword and had it acknowledge him as its master. Giving the sword a try, he found it to be very handy.

After which, he put the sword away, sat down, and began conditioning his body to recuperate from the immense exertion from the previous two battles a moment ago. But soon, perhaps it was the exhaustion from flying for more than a month catching up with him, he soon fell into a deep sleep.

When he finally opened his eyes once more, it was already daylight. As soon as he walked out from his room, Luo Xuan and Bi Jianghai immediately walked up to him with an agitated expression which reflected both excitement and gratitude.

After returning back to their rooms last night, they immediately consumed the Consonant Spirit Pill given to them and successfully achieved a breakthrough to Consonant Spirit realm intermediate stage.

While it was only one small cultivation realm, their souls had become much stronger, and their zhenqi had grown denser as well.

And all of this was thanks to the young man before them.

After eating breakfast, Hong shi walked over and said, “Let’s go to the royal palace. The Cleansing Lake is opening today, so we’ll have to hurry!”

Hongfeng Empire had performed exceptionally in deciding the distribution of slots this time around, crushing the other three Vassal States. This had left him excited and motivated.

The royal palace was much grander and larger than the crown prince’s Eastern Palace. Its resplendent design carried a strong hint of authority which brought out a solemn atmosphere in the area. Those who entered would find a pressure pressing down against them, inducing deference in them.

Under the lead of two eunuchs, they walked into the main hall of the royal palace. Luo Zhao, Feng Yu, and the others had already arrived at this point.

After a night of recuperation, everyone seemed to look much better. However, if one were to take a closer look, the swelling and wounds were still visible.

While one’s physical body would grow stronger along with the rise in one’s cultivation, one’s recovery ability would slow in contrast.

While they did possess precious recovery medicine, its effectiveness pale far in comparison to Zhang Xuan’s zhenqi, which could heal any wounds instantaneously.

“Hmm? What’s with that fellow?”

It wasn’t surprising to see injuries on them, but there was one who did leave Zhang Xuan a little taken aback.

For some reason, Wu Zhen, who had sat beside the crown prince last night and accepted everyone’s gifts, had a black eye on his face. There were distinct hints of swelling which indicated that he had suffered a vicious beating by someone last night.

Given that he was a talented student of the Master Teacher Academy, a figure whom even Emperor Ye Wentian and Crown Prince Ye Qian had to regard with the utmost respect, who would dare to lay their hands on him, not to mention, reduce him to such a tragic state?

Zhang Xuan wasn’t the only one who was surprised by the turn of events. Perplexed gazes from the others in the main hall would fall on him from time to time as well.

At that moment, Wu Zhen noticed Zhang Xuan and stomped over angrily.

“Zhang shi… I have something I would like to ask you!”

“Paying respect to Wu shi!”

Zhang Xuan clasped his fist.

“Don’t give me this nonsense. Tell me, what’s wrong with this medicinal wine?” Flicking his wrist, Wu shi took out the wine gourd angrily.

While this fellow claimed that this was a gift from Hong shi, he could tell that Zhang shi was surely involved in this matter.

“This medicinal wine?”

Zhang Xuan froze for a moment before coming to a realization. “You used it?”

This ‘medicinal wine’ was in fact just plain white wine. The only reason why it could heal injuries previously was due to him infusing his zhenqi in. But as time passed, the zhenqi would slowly dissipate, and thus, the healing property would gradually fade.

It seemed like this fellow had used it and it was ineffective.

“I wasn’t the one who used it… but it’s completely ineffective!”

The more Wu Zhen thought about it, the angrier he felt.

When he heard the Sixth Princess calling for him yesterday, he excitedly ran over, thinking that the other party wanted to reward him for giving her the medicinal wine. Who knew that he would only be viciously beaten up instead? Only then did he realize that the medicinal wine was completely ineffective.

The more he thought about this matter, the more furious he felt. Thus, he stomped straight up to Zhang Xuan as soon as he saw him.

“How could it be ineffective? Let me take a look. Alright, since your face is injured, why don’t you give it a try?”

How could Zhang Xuan possibly admit to it, especially given how angry the other party was? Thus, grabbing hold of the medicinal wine, he shook it and infused a surge of zhenqi into it.

“Give it a try?” Wu Zhen thought that the other party would surely tremble in fear upon being confronted, but seeing the calmness on the other party’s face, he frowned.

“Un, here…”

Passing the medicinal gourd over, Zhang Xuan said. “Since you doubt its effectiveness, you should try drinking it!”

Chapter 639: Unlucky Wu Zhen (2)

“Drink it?” Wu Zhen was taken aback. “Shouldn’t this medicinal wine of yours be applied externally?”

Last night, when Bi shi’s arm was stabbed by a dagger, his injuries healed just by applying the medicinal wine externally. Since that was the case, why was he so special that he needed to consume the medicinal wine then?

“Depending on the type of injury, one needs to either apply it externally or consume it. If one chooses the wrong method, not only will it be ineffective, it might even worsen the injury!” Zhang Xuan casually explained.

Since there wasn’t much ‘medicinal wine’ left in the gourd, Zhang Xuan decided to push on with the story. In any case, by the time the other party realized that something was wrong, the medicinal wine would have already finished, so any investigation done was bound to end inconclusive.

“There’s such a matter?” Wu Zhen was in disbelief.

“You did see me use the medicinal wine last night, and it was extremely effective… The only plausible explanation to its ineffectiveness is that you must have used it wrongly!” Zhang Xuan said without the slightest hint of embarrassment on his face. “Like you said, you weren’t the one using it. Most probably, the person who used the medicinal wine must have been confused between the two, resulting in the ineffectiveness of the medicinal wine!”

“Is that the case?” Wu Zhen was still slightly doubtful.

“Please, take a sip!” Zhang Xuan smiled.

“Alright then. If it proves to be ineffective, just wait and see how I take care of you!”

Harrumphing coldly, Wu Zhen picked up the wine gourd and took a sip.

As soon as the wine flowed down his throat, he immediately felt a warm surge of energy flowing through his bloodstream across his entire body. A moment later, the aching and swelling disappeared without a trace.

“This…”

Wu Zhen’s eyes widened in disbelief.

Only upon trying it personally did he realize how incredible this Saint recovery medicine was.

He was beaten up to a pathetic state last night, and he had tried applying the medicinal wine to his injuries, but it was completely ineffective. In the end, he had to use his own recovery medicine, but due to its limited effectiveness, he wasn’t able to make a full recovery. As such, here he was in the royal palace with a swollen eye.

Thus, he thought that Zhang shi’s Saint recovery medicine was a fake, but who knew that it would possess such astounding healing ability?

Within moments of consuming the Saint recovery medicine, his injuries disappeared instantly… This was too incredible!

“I wasn’t lying, see?”

Seeing that the other party’s injuries had healed, Zhang Xuan nodded his head. “Without a doubt, the other party must have used the medicinal wine incorrectly. Why don’t you ask them where they are injured, I’ll help you analyze whether they should apply the medicinal wine externally or consume it.”

“Alright!” After a moment of hesitation, Wu Zhen nodded.

His credibility was at stake here. No matter what, he had to clarify the matter, or else he might just end up being labeled as a ‘fraudster’ for his entire life.

With the medicinal wine in hand, Wu Zhen immediately walked over to the Sixth Princess and clasped his fist.

“Sixth Princess, you’ve blamed me wrongly. It’s not that this medicinal wine was ineffective but that you’ve used it in the wrong manner!”

After receiving Zhang shi’s reassurance, Wu Zhen was filled with confidence.

“Used it wrong?” The Sixth Princess had seen this fellow talking with Zhang shi privately, and she frowned upon hearing those words.

“Indeed. You just have to show me where you’re injured, and I’ll immediately tell you whether you should apply it externally or consume it. I guarantee that you’ll heal in an instant!”

Wu Zhen tilted his head up proudly, glad that he would be winning back his credibility.

“Where I am injured? And I have to show you at that?”

The Sixth Princess’s face immediately turned scarlet in embarrassment.

The heck, are you doing it on purpose?

My injuries were caused by Zhang shi, and after chatting with him, you came over here and asked me to give you a look at my injuries…

In other words, you’re saying that you want to look at my… bottom?

“That’s right. As long as I know the region and severity of your injury, I’ll be able to confirm for you whether you should apply the medicinal wine externally or consume it. You must have used it the wrong way yesterday for it to be ineffective…”

Wu Zhen chuckled as he explained the matter to let the other party know that she had blamed him wrongly for the matter yesterday. However, halfway through his words, his sight suddenly turned dark. A slap was flying straight toward him.

Pah!

The slap caused a crisp echo in the main hall. Wu Zhen spun twice on the spot before regaining his balance. He was completely dumbfounded by the situation before him.

“You want to take a look? Why don’t I send you to meet your maker…”

With a livid face, Sixth Princess sent a kick straight toward the fellow before her.

Peng!

Before Wu Zhen could process what was going on, he was already struck in the abdomen and was sent crashing onto the ground.

“Sixth Princess, why did you hit me? What did I do…” Wu Zhen cried.

He had given the valuable medicinal wine, which he couldn’t even bear to use, to the other party out of goodwill, thinking that he could win the other party’s fancy with this. In the end, he only ended up being beaten up. After clarifying the reason and testing it out himself, he came over to redeem himself, only to be pummeled once more…

Can anyone tell me what is going on?

How in the world did my kind gesture end up like that?

Wu Zhen crawled up to his feet, only to see the Sixth Princess rushing forward angrily to continue beating him up. Frightened, Wu Zhen hurriedly plead for help.

“Qiqi, please help me talk to Sixth Princess…”

“To dare to tease even Sixth Princess, you deserve it!” Luo Qiqi harrumphed.

She had heard the previous conversation as well. The fellow before her actually asked to look at the Sixth Princess’s bottom! Even if he were to be executed on the spot, he would still be getting off lightly.

“Wu Zhen, how dare you tease Sixth Princess! You’re courting death!”

At this moment, Xing Yuan also finally realized what Wu Zhen was up to, and he immediately rubbed his palms, preparing to give the latter the beating of his life.

He was the most loyal fan of the Sixth Princess, and he had followed her everywhere… To dare to tease the Sixth Princess before my eyes, you must be thinking that I’m invisible!

“…” Wu Zhen burst into tears.

I… really intended nothing more than goodwill…

“This…”

Seeing that Wu Zhen was pummeled viciously, Zhang Xuan scratched his head in bewilderment.

As expected of the geniuses of the Master Teacher Academy, their thoughts truly couldn’t be interpreted using common sense.

…

“Cough cough! Since everyone is here, let’s head to the Cleansing Lake!”

Eventually, Emperor Ye Wentian couldn’t watch on any longer so he interjected in the fight among the few geniuses.

“Let’s go!”

Knowing that it was no longer early, everyone hurriedly followed him to the Cleansing Lake.

The Cleansing Lake wasn’t in the royal palace nor within the boundaries of Huanyu Capital. Instead, it was located in the intersection between Verdant Mountain and Dragon-scaled River a distance away from the capital. The location was heavily guarded by the personal guards of the royal family.

The group rode on the aerial beasts prepared for them, and after half an hour of flight, a land filled with spiritual energy appeared before their sight.

The Verdant Mountain resembled an immense dragon lying on the ground whereas the Dragon-scaled River was reminiscent of a river of stars embedded on the ground.

Poets had once described this scenery as ‘a dragon sipping from the winding river of stars’.

It was apparent that this land was a natural Spirit Gathering Formation with just a single look. Furthermore, under the suppression of the majestic aura of a dragon, the spiritual energy in the surroundings was gentle and nourishing to the soul.

“Incredible!”

With just a glance, Zhang Xuan’s eyes immediately lit up.

It was no wonder why this could become the foundation of a Tier 2 Empire. The Cleansing Lake was indeed formidable.

It was far superior to the Spirit Gather Formation that he made.

The spirit beast gradually descended to the ground.

“The Cleansing Lake is up ahead. Before entering, I’ll give everyone a Spirit Cleansing Incense as per the slots and duration agreed on previously!” Ye Wentian instructed.

As he said so, a guard walked over with thirty Spirit Cleansing Incense in hand.

The Spirit Cleansing Incense was made of a material very different from ordinary incense. From afar, it looked like it was made of some kind of metal. It could float on water, and it would begin burning upon coming into contact with the Cleansing Lake.

As the Hongfeng Empire had three Lake Eyes to themselves, they were given nine Spirit Cleansing Incense, and of which, Zhang Xuan took three.

Since one could only remain in a Lake Eye for three days, three incense sticks were sufficient for him.

By the time the Spirit Cleansing Incense was distributed, it was almost afternoon.

Seeing that the Cleansing Lake was just about to be opened, Zhang Xuan followed behind Ye Qian to the Lake Eyes when someone suddenly called out to him from behind.

“Zhang shi, I need to talk to you!”

Turning around, he saw Xing Yuan right behind him.

It was Wu Zhen a moment ago, and now it was this fellow. What were they up to?

But even so, seeing the anxious look on the other party’s face, Zhang Xuan decided to listen to what he had to say.

Thus, the duo moved to a corner beyond the sight of the others.

After which, Xing Yuan jumped straight to the point. “I know that you’ve made a wager with Sixth Princess!”

“Yes!” Zhang Xuan didn’t deny the matter.

The first time they made a bet at the Mystical Treasure Hall, this fellow was right there, and the other party personally saw his beloved Sixth Princess turning into his maid.

“I want you to lose, and make sure that Sixth Princess doesn’t notice it!” Xing Yuan said.

“Admit defeat?” Zhang Xuan frowned.

He was wondering what favor the other party was going to ask of him, but to think that it would be for him to admit defeat.

“Indeed. As long as you admit defeat, I’ll accede to any request you have!”

Xing Yuan harrumphed.

“Any request I have?” Zhang Xuan’s eyes lit up.

Xing Yuan nodded.

“That’s right!”

“Alright. I’m sure you know that ten thousand middle-tier spirit stones are at stake in my wager with Sixth Princess. Since that’s the wager… if you can give me two high-tier spirit stones to compensate my loss, I don’t mind admitting my defeat!” Zhang Xuan said calmly.

The Sixth Princess owed him ten thousand middle-tier spirit stones from the very start, and the bet at stake also involved another ten thousand. As such, that added up to twenty thousand, which was equivalent to two high-tier spirit stones.

He could easily control the speed at which he could absorb the spiritual energy in the Cleansing Lake. If he could earn two high-tier spirit stones from this matter, it would be a huge profit.

While a high-tier spirit stone was theoretically worth ten thousand middle-tier spirit stones, there were very few who would be willing to trade a high-tier spirit stone. As such, even if Zhang Xuan were to obtain twenty thousand middle-tier spirit stones, chances were that he wouldn’t be able to get two high-tier spirit stones in exchange for it.

“Two high-tier spirit stone?”

Xing Yuan’s lips twitched.

Even with his background, it wouldn’t be easy for him to produce two high-tier spirit stones for a bet.

“Since you’re unwilling to accept my offer, forget it then… In any case, if Sixth Princess loses, she will have to compensate me a total of twenty thousand middle-tier spirit stones anyway…” Zhang Xuan said.

Even though twenty thousand middle-tier spirit stones couldn’t compare to two high-tier spirit stone, at the very least, he wouldn’t be making a loss.

“Fine, I’ll agree to your request!”

Xing Yuan gritted his teeth. “As long as you do as you’ve promised, I’ll give you two high-tier spirit stones when we return to the academy. However… as promised, you mustn’t reveal this matter to anyone!”

“Deal!”

Zhang Xuan nodded.

To earn two high-tier spirit stones with less than three days of effort, this deal was highly beneficial to Zhang Xuan.

On top of that, he could also avoid offending Xing Yuan while placating the Sixth Princess.

Just as the duo was done negotiating, a violent rumbling sounded, and dense spiritual energy suddenly gushed into the surroundings. It was as if a massive Spirit Gathering Formation had just come to life.

“Look!” someone amidst the crowd suddenly exclaimed.

Everyone turned their gazes over and saw a pillar of concentrated spiritual energy bursting into the heavens. A refreshing gust of wind infused densely with spiritual energy blew at the crowd. With just a slight inhalation, one could feel one’s soul trembling with excitement, as though the road to achieving a breakthrough was within their reach.

At the empty grounds in the distance, a massive lake slowly surfaced. Spiritual energy currents reminiscent of massive dragons roared furiously in it, as though they were going to soar into the heavens at any moment.

Ten depressions of similar sizes could be seen around the lake. They were all of a radius of two meters, and they sat silently as though massive gemstones embedded on top of a tiara.

“The Cleansing Lake… is open!”

Upon seeing this sight, everyone clenched their fists tightly.