Chapter 875

Chapter 875: Problem with the Myriad Anthive Nest

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

No, something is wrong…

Contrary to the looks of delight on the faces of the crowd, Zhang Xuan had a deep frown etched on his forehead.

What had awakened the spirit wasn’t the Earth Vein Spirit Essence but his Heaven’s Path zhenqi!

The Heaven’s Path zhenqi was so rich in vitality that it could even easily neutralize lethal poison, so naturally, it had the ability to rouse the unconscious spirit within the Bodhi Saint Tree as well.

However, what had left a deep frown on his face was the realization that the spirit of the Bodhi Saint Tree had been unconscious not just because it was injured but because it was poisoned!

The Heaven’s Path zhenqi was incredibly pure, allowing it to travel through the tree unobstructed. As such, he was able to catch a clear glimpse of the state of the Bodhi Saint Tree’s unconscious spirit.

The spirit was indeed injured, but it wasn’t severe enough to drive it into an unconscious state.

What had truly sapped the spirit was a fight against a lethal poison that was ongoing even now.

And most importantly of all, he actually recognized that lethal poison…

It’s the Soul Purging Poison! A peculiar glint flashed across Zhang Xuan’s eyes.

Speaking of the Soul Purging Poison, most, including the school heads of the Master Teacher Academy, might be unfamiliar with the name. However, if one were to define it as the lethal poison concocted using the ‘Green-leafed Heart Nexus Plant’ and the ‘Soulless Flower’, most should understand what it was in an instant.

It was the lethal poison You Xu had given him during the Life-and-Death Physician Duel!

This poison, once consumed, would immediately corrode one’s heart and mind, resulting in a swift death. Not even Saint realm experts would be spared from this tragic outcome.

Even though the Bodhi Saint Tree was a saint herb rich in vitality, it was still difficult for it to stand its ground against the potent Soul Purging Poison. The only reason it was able to survive so long was because Elder Zhao and the others, even though their direction was wrong from the very start, had fed it many nourishing substances, granting it the strength to withstand the onslaught of the poison.

You Xu came here two years ago, and shortly afterward, the Bodhi Saint Tree fell ill… Could You Xu have really been the culprit? Zhang Xuan frowned.

The Soul Purging Poison was extremely hard to concoct, not to mention, the Green-leafed Heart Nexus Plant and the Soulless Flower had gone extinct centuries ago. On top of that, You Xu had an opportunity to strike as well… Following this line of deduction, all of the current evidence seemed to point toward You Xu.

But… if Yu Shenqing was willing to allow You Xu to get close to the Bodhi Saint Tree to procure its seedling, that could mean that there was no conflict between them.

So… what could You Xu stand to gain from poisoning the Bodhi Saint Tree?

Zhang Xuan contemplated over the issue a moment longer, but he was still unable to connect the dots. Shaking his head, he decided to turn his attention away from the matter. Forget it, this should be a matter for Yu Shenqing to worry about…

The only reason he had treated the Bodhi Saint Tree was to borrow it to save Wei Ruyan. As for uncovering the culprit who had poisoned it, that was a job for the others to do.

After emptying out the Earth Vein Spirit Essence in the gourd and pumping a few dozen more surges of zhenqi in, the weak Bodhi Saint Tree began to regain its vitality, and signs of its former glory started to appear.

Exhaling deeply, Zhang Xuan said, “Alright, I’m done.”

“Thank you, Zhang shi!” The agitated Yu Shenqing immediately rushed forward and clasped his fist in gratitude.

The Bodhi Saint Tree was the foundation of their Yu Clan. Once it was gone, the Yu Clan would start falling into decline, eventually disappearing in the annals of history.

Yu Shenqing had thought that it was hopeless, and he had already prepared himself for the worst. He really hadn’t expected the young man before him to be able to easily identify the cause and resolve the problem within less than half a day.

“Zhang shi…”

The faces of Elder Zhao and the others reddened in embarrassment, and if they could, they would have loved to vanish on the spot.

They had doubted the other party, accusing him of only being there for the fame. Yet, they—the ‘knowledgeable’ ones—had spent two years achieving nothing, but he—the ‘ignorant’ one—had solved the problem surrounding the Bodhi Saint Tree in just a few hours.

Just recalling the matter was sufficient to fill them with embarrassment.

An elder stepped forward and said, “Zhang shi, if you are free, do come over and conduct a lecture for us. Our Sun Clan is willing to compensate you with a hundred Spirit pinnacle medicinal herbs in return!”

It was a problem that they couldn’t figure out despite coming together, but the other party was able to find a solution for it with a single glance. His mastery in herbology was far beyond their imagination.

If they could invite him to their clan to lecture them, the proficiency of their clan members would surely rise rapidly, and it would just be a matter of time before they surpassed the other herbology clans.

Another elder stepped forward and offered, “Zhang shi, come to our Chen Clan! We are willing to offer you 150 Spirit pinnacle medicinal herbs and five saint herbs!”

Knowing that Zhang shi could possibly herald in an era of prosperity for their clan, the other elders in the room could no longer hold themselves back either.

“Zhang shi, come to our Zhao Clan instead…”

“Our Liu Clan…”

…

“Thank you for your high evaluation for me, but I don’t have the intention of conducting any lectures for the time being!”

Seeing the previously haughty elders standing before him politely as if young junior school students before a teacher, Zhang Xuan was rendered speechless.

In truth, the offers the elders had made were extremely tempting, but the problem was that he had no idea how to lecture them on herbology!

The reason he was able to cure the Bodhi Saint Tree was due to his Eye of Insight and Library of Heaven’s Path. It had very little to do with his knowledge concerning herbology.

If he were to really conduct lectures for them, it wouldn’t be long before they started pestering him for refunds.

Seeing that Zhang Xuan was unwilling to conduct any lectures, Elder Zhao and the others could only back down in disappointment.

Zhang Xuan turned to the crowd and said, “Your Majesty and elders, I need to borrow the Bodhi Saint Tree to resolve some private affairs, so…”

Understanding the meaning behind Zhang Xuan’s words, Yu Shenqing turned to the crowd and smiled. “You have all worked hard to treat the Bodhi Saint Tree over the last two years. I will have the royal chefs prepare a feast this instant, so please follow me to the main hall!”

“Your Majesty, thank you!”

“We haven’t really done anything much…”

The other elders nodded as they followed Yu Shenqing out.

Soon, Zhang Xuan was the only one left in the residence.

He flew to the air to take a look at the surroundings and saw that Yu Shenqing had deployed the guards in the area away as well, strictly prohibiting anyone from coming close to the residence. Heaving a sigh of relief, Zhang Xuan took out the sickly Wei Ruyan from the Myriad Anthive Nest.

In recent days, he had been bringing her around in case her condition abruptly worsened and emergency treatment was required.

With a healthy Bodhi Saint Tree before him now, it was time to treat her affliction once and for all!

Zhang Xuan first drew his soul out of his body before summoning Wei Ruyan’s soul out as well, and using a secret art, he infused the latter’s soul into the Bodhi Saint Tree.

He had taken a close look earlier, and the Bodhi Saint Tree was indeed extremely effective in nurturing souls.

Zhang Xuan followed Wei Ruyan’s soul into the Bodhi Saint Tree to assess her condition, and he could sense the latter’s feeble soul being nurtured, growing stronger by the moment.

Hmm? She is recovering faster than I thought… Zhang Xuan fell in a moment of thought before the answer struck him.

It is the Soul Purge Poison! To think that the two years of pain the Bodhi Saint Tree suffered under the tyranny of the Soul Purge Poison would become an opportunity for Wei Ruyan instead!

Despite the massive size and greater medicinal potency of the Bodhi Saint Tree, it was just a matter of time before Wei Ruyan’s Poison Soul Constitution poisoned it and rendered its effects negligible just like with the Ten-leafed Flower.

However, after two years of fending against the Soul Purge Poison, this Bodhi Saint Tree had already gained a fair degree of immunity to poison. On top of that, the Poison Soul Constitution had the ability to consume lethal poison, and the lingering Soul Purge Poison left in the tree was greatly nourishing to her!

In other words, not only would Wei Ruyan’s soul not poison the Bodhi Saint Tree in the short term, it would even help to devour the remaining poison left within it.

At the same time, Wei Ruyan’s soul would recover faster as well.

At this rate, it will only take a day for her to regain consciousness… Zhang Xuan’s eyes lit up.

It seemed like it was the correct decision for him to choose to save the Bodhi Saint Tree.

Even though he had used up a fair bit of precious Earth Vein Spirit Essence in the midst of doing so, it would be well worth the cost if he could successfully cure Wei Changfeng’s daughter of her affliction with this.

Heaving a sigh of relief, Zhang Xuan returned his soul to his body, and he stowed Wei Ruyan’s body back into the Myriad Anthive Nest as well.

Shortly after he did so, a voice suddenly sounded in his mind. “Master, I need you to come in here urgently…”

Hearing that voice, Zhang Xuan frowned.

It was the Myriad Anthive Queen.

A while ago, it had devoured Kong shi’s folded space, and it was currently using it to expand its nest. According to its deductions, it would require at least three months to finish the job. Given that less than five days had passed, it must have met with some kind of issue.

Thus, Zhang Xuan quickly entered the Myriad Anthive Nest without any hesitation.

The Myriad Anthive Nest was considerably larger than before, stretching twenty meters from one end to the other. Even with the Byzantium Helios Beast and the Golden Origin Cauldron standing within, there was still plenty of space to move around.

While admiring the incredible ability of the Myriad Anthive Queen, Zhang Xuan walked up to it and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Master… I think I might have underestimated the difficulty of this task. I know that I said that I would be able to succeed in three months, but due to my cultivation being too low… I am already starting to lose control over this space!” the Myriad Anthive Nest explained awkwardly.

It had previously declared confidently that it would be able to assimilate Kong shi’s folded space into the Myriad Anthive Nest within three months, but from the looks of it now, it wouldn’t happen that easily.

With the Myriad Anthive Queen’s current cultivation of Perfect Harmonization realm, it was still within its means to control a space of around ten meters wide. However, when the nest was increased to twenty meters wide, the space became a little too large for it to control properly.

At the current rate, the space might just very well collapse even before the nest could be fully constructed.

“Lose control?” Zhang Xuan said with a grim expression.

Even though the unique constitution of the Myriad Anthive Queen allowed it to utilize spatial manipulation despite only being at the Perfect Harmonization realm, its abilities were still limited by its cultivation. If it were to forcefully expand its nest, it could very well suffer a backlash, and huge trouble would ensue.

“Is there any way to solve the problem?” Zhang Xuan asked.

“There is, but… it will be rather troublesome!” The Myriad Anthive Queen shook her head.

“Speak.” Hearing that there was a solution, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief.

“The problem can be solved by raising my cultivation swiftly. As long as I reach Saint realm, I should be able to retain perfect control of the space and even hasten the assimilation process at that,” the Myriad Anthive Nest said.

“Raising your cultivation? That’s easy, I can easily do that. However, to reach Saint realm…” Zhang Xuan frowned. “Forget it, I will do what I can first.”

If raising the Myriad Anthive Queen’s cultivation was all it took, it wasn’t really a huge issue. With Zhang Xuan’s Heaven’s Path zhenqi, he could cleanse the bloodline of a spirit beast and raise its cultivation.

Kacha! Kacha!

Under the nourishment of Zhang Xuan’s zhenqi, the Myriad Anthive Nest’s body jolted, and its cultivation began rising steadily.

Six hours later, under the nourishment of the Heaven’s Path zhenqi and Earth Vein Spirit Essence, the Myriad Anthive Queen’s cultivation reached Chrysalis realm primary stage, just like Zhang Xuan’s.

Due to the limits of Zhang Xuan’s cultivation, he could only raise its cultivation this far.

Even though Perfect Harmonization realm pinnacle to Chrysalis realm primary stage was a rise in cultivation by slightly more than a realm, the Myriad Anthive Queen was still a significant way off from reaching Saint realm.

After reinforcing its cultivation, the Myriad Anthive Queen contemplated for a moment before speaking.

“Master, I heard that the Beast Hall has a bottle of the blood essence of a Saint realm Myriad Anthive Queen in its inventory. If I can obtain it, I should be able to raise my cultivation to Saint realm swiftly…”

Chapter 876: Master Teacher!

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

“Beast Hall?” Zhang Xuan was taken aback.

“Un. The Beast Hall keeps an inventory of the blood essence of many saint beasts, and as long as beast tamers have reached a certain rank and are able to afford the price, they are able to trade for these blood essences!” the Myriad Anthive Queen said.

“I see… I will take the 6-star beast tamer examination now and trade for some then.”

Knowing that the blood essence of a Saint realm Myriad Anthive Queen had such an effect, Zhang Xuan swiftly left the nest. He took another look at Wei Ruyan to check on her condition once more, and after confirming that she was recovering rapidly and that the Bodhi Saint Tree showed no signs of being poisoned, he heaved a sigh of relief and left the royal palace.

His next destination was the Master Teacher Academy.

To take the beast tamer examination and trade for the blood essence, it would be more convenient to do it via School Head Mo. Besides, he wasn’t too sure where Hongyuan Empire’s Beast Hall was located.

Entering the Beast Tamer School, he quickly found School Head Mo sitting with a deep frown in his office, seemingly troubled by something.

“Principal Zhang!” Upon noticing Zhang Xuan’s presence, School Head Mo quickly got up and clasped his fist politely.

“There’s no need to stand on ceremony. The reason I came over here today is to take the 6-star beast tamer examination…” Zhang Xuan immediately revealed the reason behind his arrival.

“6-star beast tamer examination?” School Head Mo was visibly stunned for a moment before he shook his head. “Principal Zhang, you are pulling my leg. Since you were able to tame even Senior Byzantium Helios, you are qualified to be a 7-star beast tamer. I have already helped you apply for it from the headquarters, and I have received a positive reply as well. I am just waiting for the emblem to arrive now.”

The Byzantium Helios Beast was already at Saint 2-dan Spiritual Perception realm, and under the classification of the Beast Tamer Hall, one who could tame a saint beast of such power was qualified as a 7-star beast tamer. Thus, there was no need for him to go through the effort of taking the examination.

“7-star beast tamer?” Zhang Xuan was surprised.

He had been intending to take the 6-star examination, only to learn that School Head Mo had already applied for a 7-star emblem on his behalf.

This worked fine with him, too; he would be spared from quite a bit of trouble with this.

“I will be thanking you in advance then. Since the headquarters have already agreed to it, it just so happens that there is something I need to request from them… I would like to trade for some Saint realm Myriad Anthive Queen’s blood essence!” Zhang Xuan said.

“Saint realm Myriad Anthive Queen’s blood essence?” School Head Mo frowned.

“Un.” Zhang Xuan nodded.

School Head Mo replied, after a moment of hesitation, “Usually, the headquarters will approve the trade for most saint beast’s blood essence, and the price won’t be too high as well. But the Myriad Anthive Queen’s blood essence… I fear that it won’t be that easy to make the trade.”

“Won’t be easy to make the trade?” Zhang Xuan asked doubtfully.

Since they were all from saint beasts, the difficulty in procuring their blood essence shouldn’t be too different from one another. Why would the Myriad Anthive Queen be an exception?

Noticing Zhang Xuan’s doubts, School Head Mo explained, “In the very first place, the Myriad Anthive Queen is an extremely rare beast, and on top of that, only a small proportion of them manage to achieve a breakthrough to Saint realm!

“More importantly, the Myriad Anthive Queen possesses the ability to create space, making it an extremely valuable beast… Even if the headquarters do have its blood essence, I fear that the price to obtain it will be exorbitant!”

“Exorbitant? Roughly how much will it cost?”

“Even taking into account your identity as a 7-star beast tamer, it will still cost around several thousand high-tier spirit stones, or even more,” School Head Mo said as he shook his head bitterly.

The price to purchase the blood essence of a Saint realm Myriad Anthive Queen was simply too great for them to bear.

“Several thousand high-tier spirit stones?” Zhang Xuan’s lips twitched.

He had thought that he could finally be considered wealthy after receiving several hundred high-tier spirit stones from Wu Xu and Lu Cheng, but to think that it wouldn’t even be sufficient to buy a single item.

Furthermore, this was due to the fact that he was a 7-star beast tamer. If it was an outsider instead, the price could very well be hiked up by twofold.

The occupation guilds like the Beast Tamer Hall would often grant special privileges such as discounts or priority in services to its own members, depending on their rank.

It seemed like what he had wasn’t much after all.

At this point, School Head Mo suddenly spoke up. “Actually, there is a way to obtain it even if one can’t afford the price, but… it will be much harder!”

“Oh?” Seeing that there was a way to work around it, Zhang Xuan quickly turned his gaze to the other party.

“As long as your contribution to the Beast Tamer Hall is high enough, the headquarters could give it to you for free,” School Head Mo said.

“Contribution?” Zhang Xuan frowned at the unfamiliar term.

“That’s right. Donating the blood essence of rare spirit beasts or saint beasts, or accomplishing the missions set by the Beast Hall… all of these will be noted by the Beast Hall as contributions from the individual members,” School Head Mo explained.

“Donating the blood essence of rare spirit beasts or saint beasts?” Zhang Xuan shook his head.

It had been innumerable years since the Beast Hall was established, and it possessed influence all around the Master Teacher Continent. There were only a handful spirit beasts and saint beasts that it couldn’t get to, so very few of them could be considered rare. Even if Zhang Xuan knew where he could find one, he wouldn’t have the time to look for it.

“The first way is indeed rather difficult, most only accomplish it with a stroke of luck. As for the second, the Beast Hall rarely set missions, and even when they do, it wouldn’t reach here…” School Head Mo said with a bitter smile.

Contribution to a guild wasn’t that easily earned. Otherwise, its treasury would have been depleted long ago.

“School Head Mo, we aren’t able to hold on any longer! We need assistance…”

In that moment, flurried footsteps sounded, and an elder abruptly barged into the room.

Upon seeing Zhang Xuan, the elder clasped his fist and greeted, “Principal Zhang!”

It was the head of the Blacksmith School, Zhao Bingxu.

“School Head Zhao, what do you mean by being unable to hold on any longer?” Zhang Xuan asked in bewilderment.

At this point, he couldn’t help but recall the deep frown he had seen on School Head Mo’s face when he first entered. He had thought that it might have been some personal problem, but after hearing Zhao Bingxu’s words, things probably weren’t as simple as they seemed.

“It’s actually nothing much. Principal Zhang, we are just a day away from your inauguration ceremony, so you should focus on preparing for it for the time being. You don’t have to worry about anything else,” Zhao Bingxu quickly replied with a smile.

“Indeed. Principal Zhang, leave the other matters to us,” School Head Mo quickly added in agreement.

Noticing that something was amiss, Zhang Xuan frowned. “Tell me, what is it?”

The two elders before him were the heads of the Beast Tamer School and Blacksmith School, as well as Saint 1-dan pinnacle experts. For such powerful figures to have troubled looks on their faces, something major must have happened.

While Zhang Xuan might not have paid much heed to the matters concerning the Master Teacher Academy, he was still ultimately the principal, and he had to bear the responsibilities that came with that role.

“This…”

Hearing Zhang Xuan ask about the matter, the two school heads glance at one another hesitantly, unsure of what they should do.

But seeing the determination in Zhang Xuan’s eyes, School Head Mo knew that they wouldn’t be able to hide it from him any further, so he sighed deeply and said, “The beasts of the Cloudmist Ridge have launched a beast stampede against us.”

“Cloudmist Ridge? Beast stampede?” Zhang Xuan was taken aback.

“Un. The beasts of the Cloudmist Ridge have always lived isolated from our Hongyuan Empire, never interfering with the business of the other. However, just a few days ago, they suddenly went on a rampage, hunting down all of the hunters and cultivators roaming the mountains,” School Head Mo said.

“Our Master Teacher Academy received a request for assistance, so we sent our men in to warn them against their actions. But instead of backing down, they assaulted our master teachers and even sent their full forces forward, initiating a beast stampede against Hongyuan City. Left with no choice, I sent in all of the students of the Beast Tamer School to fend off their forces at Hongyuan Mountain Range… It has been a day since the battle began, and our line of defense is starting to crumble!”

“Crumble…” Zhang Xuan’s face darkened, and he clenched his fists tightly. “Take me there, I want to take a look!”

The reason the beasts of Cloudmist Ridge went on a rampage was probably related to him taking away their Earth Vein Spirit Essence.

Even though the beasts of Cloudmist Ridge had lived separately from Hongyuan Empire, there had always been some tension between them. Nevertheless, an uneasy peace was established between the two due to the deterrence of the Master Teacher Academy.

Part of the reason Zhang Xuan didn’t hesitate to take away the Earth Vein Spirit Essence despite knowing how much the beasts of Cloudmist Ridge valued it was because he knew that if the other party continued to accrue more power, this could spell disaster for Hongyuan Empire in the long run.

Even so, he hadn’t expected the other party to actually charge out and go head-to-head with the Master Teacher Academy.

Since this matter had started due to him, he couldn’t back out at this point.

“Principal Zhang, you can’t go! You haven’t undergone the inauguration ceremony yet, and your cultivation is still too low. If the others learn of your identity, they will target you!” Zhao Bingxu shook his head firmly.

It was not without reason that they had chosen not to inform the principal of a matter as major as the students being dispatched to battle. At the current moment, Zhang Xuan was simply too weak. If the others were to learn that he was the principal, the beasts of Cloudmist Ridge would surely focus their forces on him.

Should the principal be captured by the enemy at such a crucial period, it would be a devastating blow to the morale of their forces, bringing forth panic and chaos.

Furthermore, they earnestly believed that with Zhang Xuan’s capability, the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy could be brought to greater heights. At least, until the latter’s capabilities matured, they, as elders, must not let any harm come to him.

Thus, they had chosen to take matters into their own hands instead.

“Take me there, or else I will just have to head there myself!” Zhang Xuan’s eyebrows shot up.

The lives of innumerable students were at stake; he couldn’t possibly sit idly at such a crucial moment!

“This…” Seeing the determination in Zhang Xuan’s eyes, the two school heads glanced at one another and sighed. “Alright, we will take you over there. However, I hope that you won’t be hasty, and by no means should you reveal your identity to anyone. This isn’t the first beast stampede from Cloudmist Ridge, so we will surely find a way to suppress it in the end.”

“Un.” Zhang Xuan nodded.

School Head Mo summoned his Inferno Dragon Saint Beast over, and the three of them swiftly got on and flew for Hongyuan Mountain Range.

Standing on the back of the Inferno Dragon Saint Beast, Zhang Xuan asked Zhao Bingxu, “What is the current situation?”

“It isn’t looking too optimistic… The beast stampede is much more severe than the previous cases. In the first place, most spirit beasts possess the strength to rival cultivators stronger than themselves. To make things worse, the spirit beasts are coordinating with one another like disciplined soldiers, and this places our students in a very dangerous position!” Zhao Bingxu said hesitantly.

“Coordinating with one another like disciplined soldiers?”

Zhao Bingxu nodded. “Un. If I am not mistaken, the saint beasts of Cloudmist Ridge have probably gotten involved as well. Only under their leadership can the spirit beasts display such battle prowess collectively.”

“How are the casualties?” Zhang Xuan asked.

“It is rather severe. As the fourth largest school in the Master Teacher Academy, there are over twenty thousand students who chose beast tamer as their main supporting occupation. Other than those who are currently out on missions, all of them have participated in the battle. More than half of them are wounded, but the death toll is still relatively low at around a dozen,” Zhao Bingxu replied grimly.

“There are already around a dozen dead?” Zhang Xuan’s body stiffened.

“That’s right.” The one who replied this time around wasn’t Zhao Bingxu but School Head Mo.

While they were speaking, the Inferno Dragon Saint Beast had already arrived at the air space above Hongyuan Mountain Range. Looking down, Zhang Xuan could see countless spirit beasts charging down from the mountaintop, and innumerable students rushed forth to meet them. The battle was extremely intense.

There were many severely wounded students among the group, but they stood firmly on their ground, not backing out at all. Instead, they seemed to grow more and more courageous by the moment, braving through the hordes of spirit beasts fearlessly.

Zhang Xuan’s body couldn’t help but tremble.

He saw two familiar faces. They were Feng Wu and Yu Cheng, whom he had a conflict with during the entrance examination on Leiyuan Peak. At this moment, their bodies were completely drenched in blood, and Yu Cheng even had an arm of his snapped off. Yet, they still continued to charge toward the enemies fearlessly with reddened eyes.

This posed a stark contrast to the selfish behavior they had displayed while competing with him back then.

Whether they were once friend or foe, at this very moment, everyone was fighting side-by-side, trusting their allies with their back.

Taking a glance at Zhang Xuan’s astonished face, School Head Mo said proudly, “Many of them have grudges with one another, and from time to time, they fought and sometimes even resorted to despicable means against one another, but… in the face of trouble, they will still unite together as one and fight alongside one another fearlessly, even if death is what they will ultimately face!

“This is because this is their mission and responsibility. This is because they bear a common identity…”

“Master teacher!”

Chapter 877: Heart of a Teacher

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

“Master teacher?” Zhang Xuan’s body stiffened.

It had been half a year since his transcension, and he had encountered many different master teachers in his time. Be it a normal 1-star master teacher or a powerful 6-star pinnacle master teacher, be it joy, anger, sorrow, or pleasure, all of them possessed emotions like an ordinary human being, and they had their own desires and goals that they pursued as well.

Despite being a master teacher himself, he had never felt how heavy the occupation was. However, upon seeing this sight, he finally understood what being a master teacher meant to these men.

For mankind, they were willing to put aside their differences and lay down their lives when the time came.

All because they were master teachers!

They were only two mere words, but they carried heavy significance behind them—the hope of mankind.

“That’s right!” Zhao Bingxu nodded. “Being a master teacher is more than about glory, it is a responsibility. Take Lu Feng for example, he has already applied to head for the Subterranean Gallery! Even if he might meet his end there, he is still determined to protect his dignity as a master teacher!”

“Subterranean Gallery?” Zhang Xuan’s body trembled.

He had read about it in the books, so he knew very well what kind of place it was.

The Subterranean Gallery was the passageway connecting the Master Teacher Continent to the world of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe, as well as a dangerous battlefield where one could easily lose one’s life in a moment of carelessness. Lu Feng… had volunteered to head to the Subterranean Gallery?

Even if Lu Feng was stripped of his master teacher license, he could still live lavishly with his prowess as a Half-Spiritual Perception realm expert. Yet, he had chosen to veer down this difficult path to guard his honor instead!

“The reason School Head Lu spoke on You Xu’s behalf was due to their close ties. Such emotions are ingrained in all humans, and it has never been the Master Teacher Pavilion’s aim to destroy human nature. In fact, Kong shi even encouraged the development of each person’s unique character instead, saying that it was the true way to further the prosperity of mankind! If other master teachers lose their individuality and act as if they were cast from the same mold, that would turn into a disaster for mankind instead!” School Head Mo said.

“This…” Words couldn’t express Zhang Xuan’s current emotions.

There are no humans who aren’t born with emotions, and they served as the key to drive us further, allowing us to exceed our limits.

If one were to destroy the human character in pursuit of perfection, even without the intervention of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe, we would have already limited and destroyed ourselves.

Perhaps, this was the reason the Master Teacher Academy condoned conflicts among the students, allowing them to sort things out among themselves.

“Master teachers can be selfish. They may choose to side with their kin and friends against justice, and they may come to blows over a treasure as well, but… in dire times like this, they have to put aside their differences and charge forward bravely. This is the responsibility of all master teachers, as well as the vision Kong shi had in mind when he established the Master Teacher Pavilion!” School Head Mo continued.

“So, this is a master teacher!” Zhang Xuan muttered as he closed his eyes.

He had met many master teachers on his journey. There were those who were kind and upright, but there were also those who were greedy and selfish. He had thought that master teachers were no different from anyone else, but his thoughts had been wrong all along.

Master teachers could be selfish, greedy, and even narrow-minded. But when the survival of mankind was at stake, they would be the first to step forward and shoulder the burden.

This is what a master teacher has to do and must do.

In that instant, Zhang Xuan felt as if his soul had been cleansed and initiated.

He was a transcender, and in the world he had come from, many of the fine cultural traditions had already eroded. Students no longer respected their teacher, and teachers no longer felt pride in their occupation. Some of them even committed unforgivable acts that a teacher should never commit.

After coming to this world, Zhang Xuan had gotten a glimpse of the nobility of the occupation. But nevertheless, his subconscious mind still retained the view he had from his previous life.

It was only in this instant that he realized the responsibilities he shouldered from the moment he had chosen to bear this identity!

Kacha!

A crisp crack sounded from Zhang Xuan’s chest, and as if a caterpillar breaking out of its cocoon, a unique and solemn power fell from the sky and onto him. At that moment, it felt as if he was a divine being descending from the heavens.

“Could this be…”

Noticing the changes surrounding Zhang Xuan, Zhao Bingxu and School Head Mo traded glances, and their eyes abruptly narrowed. With a quivering voice, they uttered simultaneously, “Heart of a Teacher!”

Heart of a Teacher, just like the Eye of Insight, was a unique ability that only master teachers could comprehend. Only those who persisted in their path as a true teacher would be able to comprehend this ability and reach greater heights.

Legend had it that only 8-star master teachers could comprehend this ability, but to think that… Zhang shi would comprehend it despite only being a 4-star master teacher!

A person with the Heart of a Teacher was no longer confined by the boundaries of race. His Impartation of Heaven’s Will would be effective on even savage beasts and spirit beasts, allowing him to turn them into his students, achieving, in the truest sense, enlightenment devoid of discrimination.

Back then, Kong shi had comprehended the Heart of a Teacher as well, as his students didn’t just consist of humans but beasts and even Otherworldly Demons as well.

In a sense, a person who had comprehended the Heart of a Teacher could be considered to be nearly on par with a Celestial Master Teacher!

“Principal Zhang actually managed to comprehend the Heart of a Teacher… It seems like the rise of our Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy is just on the horizon,” School Head Mo said as his body trembled in agitation.

Even in the entire history of the Master Teacher Pavilion, only a handful had managed to comprehend the Heart of a Teacher. Yet, their principal had actually succeeded in comprehend it! Just based on this in itself, he would surely accomplish great things in the future.

Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy would also make its mark on the world, becoming a sacred land where all master teachers desired to head to.

School Head Mo swiftly set up a barrier around him with a wave of his hand to conceal what was happening within before turning to Zhao Bingxu.

“School Head Zhao, the matter concerning Principal Zhang comprehending the Heart of a Teacher has great implications. If he were to be targeted by the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe due to this matter, we would become sinners of mankind!”

It would only be a matter of time for a master teacher who had comprehended the Heart of a Teacher to advance through the ranks, becoming one of the powerhouses of the Master Teacher Pavilion.

Thus, if the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe were to learn of such an existence, they would surely hunt that person down with their full force. For Principal Zhang’s safety, they must keep this matter a secret.

“Don’t worry. I swear on my identity as a master teacher that I will not tell a single soul about this matter,” Zhao Bingxu vowed.

“I also swear to do the same on my identity as a master teacher!” School Head Mo nodded.

While they were talking, the unique power finally vanished, and Zhang Xuan slowly opened his eyes. Unlike before, there as a resolute glint in his gaze.

As one who had comprehended Heart of a Teacher, the confusion that had plagued him before had disappeared, and he understood what he should and shouldn’t do.

Taking a deep breath, Zhang Xuan said calmly, “School Head Mo, propose a ceasefire with the beasts of Cloudmist Ridge. Tell them that the succeeding principal of the Master Teacher Academy wishes to negotiate with them!”

“Negotiate?”

The two school heads were taken aback for an instant before School Head Mo hurriedly exclaimed in astonishment, “You can’t do that! The reason we refused to tell you about this matter before is because we feared that you would do this! None of us can bear the consequences if something happens to you!”

“Indeed! It isn’t easy for a principal who has the approval of Mu shi and the entirety of the Ten Great Master Teachers to appear. You are the one who will unite the Master Teacher Academy and bring it to greater heights; we can’t afford to lose you!” Zhao Bingxu added.

Zhang Xuan shook his head. “Won’t my identity be revealed tomorrow in the inauguration ceremony anyway?”

Since his identity was going to be revealed the following day, what harm would it do if others were to learn of his identity a day before?

“That isn’t the same! After the inauguration ceremony, you will be qualified to wield the Principal’s Seal, and it will help to ensure your safety… No matter what you say, I won’t allow you to reveal your identity now!” School Head Mo exclaimed.

“Principal’s Seal?” Zhang Xuan frowned.

“That’s right. Infused in the Principal’s Seal is the will of the students and teachers of the Master Teacher Academy. Even if the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe attempts to harm you, they will be kept at bay by the power of the Principal’s Seal. Only with that can your safety be guaranteed!” School Head Mo explained.

“If that’s the case… did the missing old principal possess the Principal’s Seal?”

“Of course!”

“Then how did he go missing?” Zhang Xuan asked.

“This…” School Head Mo was unable to answer that question.

Gesturing at the many master teachers charging forth bravely below, Zhang Xuan said, “Danger is always existent. Since even the students below aren’t afraid, what do I have to fear?”

He was a master teacher just like the rest of them. Since they could face death without fear, what did he have to hesitate over?

After a moment of hesitation, School Head Mo eventually relented. “Fine, I will do as you have said. However, I will be proposing a negotiation in the name of School Head Zhao and myself instead. I hope that you can understand our concerns!”

Even if Zhang shi didn’t fear death, they couldn’t allow the Master Teacher Academy to lose its principal once more.

“Un.” Knowing that this was the bottom line of the other party, Zhang Xuan agreed to it.

Retracting the barrier from the surroundings, School Head Mo leaped off the back of the Inferno Dragon Saint Beast and stopped in midair. Taking a deep breath, he roared, “The kings of Cloudmist Ridge. I, Mo Zhu, propose a negotiation with you as the representative of the Master Teacher Academy!”

Hong long!

As if a massive wave, his voice swept across the entire mountain range, reaching the ears of each and every being in the area.

“Negotiate?”

“Why should we negotiate? These beasts have trampled on the dignity of mankind; we can’t let them go so easily!”

“Indeed! How can we face the many master teachers who have been wounded or even killed in this conflict if we negotiate with them?”

…

Upon hearing that School Head Mo was proposing a negotiation, a huge uproar immediately broke out amid the master teachers below.

Proposing a negotiation was a sign of weakness!

If the Master Teacher Academy, facing the onslaught of the beasts, were to choose to negotiate instead of returning the favor back to them, what would become of their dignity?

A powerful voice boomed from the back of the spirit beast stampede.

“You want to negotiate? Fine by us. Come to the Cloudmist Ridge, we will give you a chance to negotiate all you want!”

It was likely that the one speaking was one of the most powerful existences among the saint beasts of the Cloudmist Ridge, their ‘king’.

“They want to hold the negotiations on the Cloudmist Ridge? School Head Mo, you mustn’t agree to their demands!”

“That has got to be a trap!”

“If even our school head is captured by them, we will never be able to raise our heads before others anymore!”

…

The master teachers panicked.

It was clear that the other party was up to no good.

The Cloudmist Ridge was their den, and if School Head Mo were to head over, he would be encircled by countless Half-Saint, Nascent Saint, and Saint realm beasts. Should negotiations break down, he wouldn’t even have the chance to escape!

Moreover, as the side proposing the negotiation, they were already in a disadvantageous position. If they were to negotiate on the other party’s territory on top of that, wouldn’t they simply be exploited?

The Master Teacher Academy served as a pillar of support for mankind, so how could it bow its head to others like that?

If word were to spread, wouldn’t it create a huge uproar among the population?

“Principal Zhang…”

While a huge commotion was going on beneath them, School Head Mo turned his gaze to Zhang Xuan hesitantly.

He also felt that it was too dangerous to negotiate in their territory as well.

“Accept it!” Zhang Xuan said calmly.

Zhao Bingxu hurriedly clasped his fist.

“Principal Zhang, it’s too dangerous. We can think of some other solutions…”

“There is no need for that. If we don’t enter their den, how can we meet their kings?” Zhang Xuan waved his hands resolutely, signifying that this matter wasn’t open for discussion.

“This…” School Head Mo and School Head Zhao traded gazes and sighed.

That was indeed the case.

The saint beasts treasured their lives dearly, or else, they wouldn’t have had the spirit beasts charge at the frontlines in their stead either.

If they were to turn down the negotiation, they wouldn’t have any other opportunity to meet the other party’s kings.

“Fine, we agree,” School Head Mo bellowed back.

Knowing that Zhang Xuan’s mind was made up, the both of them could only resign themselves to it. They solemnly vowed that they would protect and send Zhang Xuan out of the Cloudmist Ridge safely, even at the cost of their lives.

“What? School Head Mo, you can’t!”

“School Head Mo, this won’t do. They are lying!”

Hearing those words, the master teachers below yelled in panic.

“Enough! This is the decision made by the Master Teacher Academy. All master teachers, retreat and assemble at Leiyuan Peak!” School Head Mo roared.

Chapter 878: Returning to Cloudmist Ridge

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

“Yes!”

Even though the master teachers felt indignant and frustrated, they knew that they had to obey the orders made by the Master Teacher Academy or else there would be chaos. Thus, they withdrew from the battlefield and headed to Leiyuan Peak.

Watching as the students retreated, Zhang Xuan instructed, “School Head Zhao, you should remain behind to command the students. They need a leader to unite them at a moment like this. Try to avoid all confrontations with the spirit beasts for the time being if possible. It will suffice for just School Head Mo and me to head to the negotiations!”

Hearing that Zhang Xuan was sending him away, Zhao Bingxu hurriedly shook his head. “That won’t do; I will follow you to the Cloudmist Ridge as well!”

Even though their principal had made huge progress in his cultivation recently, he was still only at Chrysalis realm primary stage. With the other party’s current cultivation, heading into the Cloudmist Ridge, which was filled with saint beasts, was no different from courting death. Even at the expense of his life, Zhao Bingxu was determined to follow the other party to ensure his safety.

“Are you going to disobey my orders right after nominating me as your principal?” Zhang Xuan frowned.

“If you are unwilling to listen to my commands, the two of you might as well remain here. I will head in myself!”

“Principal Zhang…” Zhao Bingxu frowned in worry.

“School Head Zhao, those students do need you with them, so you should go. Don’t worry, I will make sure that no one harms Principal Zhang,” School Head Mo said.

In the next moment, he sent a telepathic message to Zhao Bingxu. “After you return, reorganize our forces and find Mu shi and the others. Four hours; if we don’t return in four hours, launch an attack against the Cloudmist Ridge. I will remain by Principal Zhang’s side to ensure his safety for the next four hours!”

“This…” Zhao Bingxu was taken aback for an instant before he nodded grimly. “Alright then, I will be heading off now!”

Zhang Xuan could tell that the duo had communicated telepathically as well, but he didn’t pay it any heed. Standing on top of the Infernal Dragon Saint Beast, he and School Head Zhao began heading for the Cloudmist Ridge.

Zhao Bingxu watched their departing backs with clenched fists for a moment before rushing back to the Master Teacher Academy.

“Principal Zhang, no harm can come to you…”

He knew that their principal was proposing this negotiation for the sake of the students of the Master Teacher Academy. It might seem as if he was undermining the authority and dignity of the academy, but this battle had come too suddenly, and they were largely unprepared. This was the best solution to preserve their fighting power at the moment.

To bear the blame of failure so as to protect his fellow master teachers from harm, such decisiveness and courage…

They had indeed chosen the right candidate for the job!

Zhang shi was indeed a person whom they could count on, a true master teacher who, just like Kong shi, possessed a heart that was large enough to embrace the world.

Perhaps, they might just become witnesses to the birth of a new legend.

…

The Inferno Dragon Saint Beast flew swiftly, and in just a few moments, they had already arrived at the Cloudmist Ridge.

Standing tall on top of the saint beast, School Head Mo bellowed, “I, Mo Zhu of the Master Teacher Academy, have come as agreed. I ask the kings of the Cloudmist Ridge to meet me!”

A composed voice responded.

“Ride on the Eagle Beast, he will bring you to us. As for your saint beast, leave him outside. I fear that we might end up putting him in a difficult position if negotiations fail!”

School Head Mo’s Inferno Dragon Saint Beast was a beast as well. If negotiations were to break down, it would be cast in a difficult position. If it were to help its master, that would be equivalent to betraying his kin, but if he were to help the beasts, that would be equivalent to betraying his master. No matter what he did, there was no correct decision.

“Alright!”

After issuing some instructions telepathically to his tamed beast, School Head Mo wrapped Zhang Xuan with his zhenqi before leaping over to the back of the gray-feathered Eagle Beast not too far away.

Qiuu!

The Eagle Beast let out a sharp call before it spread its wings wide and flew forward.

The Eagle Beast bore some resemblance to the Viridescent Eagle that Zhang Xuan had tamed before, but it was much stronger. Having reached Chrysalis realm, it was able to move at incredible speeds.

“Principal Zhang, for the time being, let’s just say that you are a student of mine. If they try to make things difficult for us, I will try to find a way to send you out safely,” School Head Mo told Zhang Xuan telepathically.

Zhang Xuan shook his head. “There is no need to go through so much trouble. If I don’t reveal my identity, how can we negotiate with them?”

“That would be too dangerous.” School Head Mo shook his head grimly.

“These saint beasts have always been at odds with us humans, and it was just a matter of time before a battle broke out. In truth, our Master Teacher Academy has been looking for a way to eliminate them as well, but those fellows are constantly holed up in their dens, refusing to come out. Both the Master Teacher Academy and the royal family have dispatched many men to scout the depths of the Cloudmist Ridge over the years, but very few have managed to return alive…”

“Dispatched many men?” Zhang Xuan frowned as he recalled the many corpses he had seen around the lake of Earth Vein Spirit Essence back then.

Most likely, those corpses were probably a squadron dispatched by the royal family or the Master Teacher Academy as well.

“The Cloudmist Ridge is consistently covered in mist all year round, and its terrain is extremely complicated as well, making it a stout natural fortress. The saint beasts gathered in the area are like a thorn stuck in our throat, posing a potential threat to us. We have been wanting to eliminate them for some time already, but it’s a pity that we have been unable to breach their defenses!”

At this point, School Head Mo suddenly recalled something, and his complexion turned grim. “Furthermore, there seems to be a deeper reason behind why the saint beasts choose to dominate the Cloudmist Ridge. The old principal seemed to have uncovered something about them, but he disappeared before he could tell anyone else about it. Also, according to the investigations over the years, it seems like Elder Wu Yangzi’s disappearance also had something to do with the Cloudmist Ridge!”

Hearing those words, Zhang Xuan narrowed his eyes.

He had a rough understanding of the mystery concerning Wu Yangzi’s disappearance, and he had obtained the latter’s treasure as well. If the Cloudmist Ridge was involved in Wu Yangzi’s disappearance too, it could mean that the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe was behind them.

Could… Vicious be involved in this matter as well?

After obtaining Wu Yangzi’s treasure, Zhang Xuan had asked Vicious about this matter, but the latter had lost most of his memories, so he wasn’t able to say much.

However, it was certain that Wu Yangzi’s disappearance was plotted by the Otherworldly Demons… Were these saint beasts involved in the operation as well?

That might really be the case!

For an expert who was nearing Saint 2-dan to be kidnapped discreetly in Hongyuan City, where the Master Teacher Academy was located, it was impossible for the Otherworldly Demons to conduct such an operation by themselves.

“In order to uncover the truth, we have dispatched even Saint realm experts into the Cloudmist Ridge, but none of them succeeded. Seven hundred years ago, I tried to scout this land myself as well, and if not for the old principal, I might have just lost my life here,” School Head Mo said with reddened eyes.

When he was still young and hot-blooded, he had secretly crept into the Cloudmist Ridge in hopes of uncovering the secrets surrounding it. However, before he could get far, he had already found himself assaulted by hordes of beasts.

If not for the old principal lending a helping hand, he would have lost his life then.

“I see…” Zhang Xuan hadn’t expected for School Head Mo to have had such an experience.

He had ventured into the Cloudmist Ridge once as well, and there was indeed something rather bizarre about it.

Were it not for his means as a soul oracle and his Otherworldly Demon puppets, he would have definitely been unable to sneak into the depths of the Cloudmist Ridge and steal the Earth Vein Spirit Essence.

“Thus, you really mustn’t reveal your identity later on. Otherwise, the saint beasts might just attempt to capture you and hold you hostage,” School Head Mo said.

“Un, alright then.” Zhang Xuan nodded.

Considering the many uncertainties and implications surrounding the matter, it would be very dangerous for him to reveal his true identity.

Even with the Byzantium Helios Beast, the Golden Origin Cauldron, and his many Otherworldly Demon puppets, it would still be difficult for him to escape from the hordes of Half-Saint, Nascent Saint, and Saint realm beasts of the Cloudmist Ridge.

While the duo was speaking, the Eagle Beast flew across the mist and arrived on the mountain peak.

Taking a closer look, Zhang Xuan realized that the surroundings looked familiar to him. It was the place where he had procured the Earth Vein Spirit Essence.

Qiu!

The Eagle Beast called out sharply before descending to the ground. After which, School Head Mo and Zhang Xuan leaped off the back of the Eagle Beast.

“I, Mo Zhu of the Master Teacher Academy, have arrived with my student. I beseech the kings of the Cloudmist Ridge to meet us!”

Stepping forward, School Head Mo exuded the impressive aura of a Saint realm 1-dan pinnacle to put up a display of power.

“School Head Mo, come in.”

An impassive voice sounded from the cavern ahead of them. Following which, two Half-Saint Black Spirit Panther walked out and made a welcoming gesture. They seemed to be the guards of this cavern.

“Let’s go!”

Taking a deep breath, School Head Mo took the lead and walked in, and Zhang Xuan followed behind him.

Scanning his surroundings, Zhang Xuan noticed that there were many Half-Saint and Nascent Saint beasts guarding the area, similar to how it had been the last time he was there, except for the significant decrease in their numbers.

It seemed like a handful of them had been dispatched for the battle with the Master Teacher Academy.

Advancing deeper into the cavern, they soon arrived at the area where the Earth Vein Spirit Essence had been stored, and there, they met ten seated Saint 1-dan pinnacle saint beasts.

As soon as School Head Mo and Zhang Xuan approached, they immediately turned their eyes to them, and there was chilling killing intent in their gazes.

One of the ten Saint 1-dan pinnacle saint beasts, a Golden Beartiger Beast, uttered coldly, “Mo Zhu, you sure are arrogant to bring a Chrysalis realm student here!”

As the head of the Beast Tamer School, School Head Mo had a rough idea regarding the various saint beasts that lived on the Cloudmist Ridge.

Paying no heed to the Golden Beartiger Beast, School Head Mo said with a wave of his hand, “Since I am here, we can begin talking about how we can resolve the battle between the Master Teacher Academy and Cloudmist Ridge amicably. I believe that we can both agree that if we continue fighting like that, both sides will just suffer severe losses. There will be no winner in this battle.”

“Suffer severe losses? So what if we suffer severe losses? You humans stole our Earth Vein Spirit Essence, destroying our very foundation! Let me tell you this straight. If we beasts are going to suffer, I will make sure that you humans feel double the pain!” the Saint 1-dan pinnacle Scarlet Blaze Lion roared.

“We stole your Earth Vein Spirit Essence?” School Head Mo frowned.

“Indeed. This is the ground where we store our Earth Vein Spirit Essence, but it has been completely emptied out now. Only you despicable humans are capable of such underhanded actions!” the Scarlet Blaze Lion bellowed furiously.

School Head Mo took a look at his surroundings, and there was indeed a depression in the cave reminiscent of an empty lake. Even though there was nothing in it, he could still feel the lingering spiritual energy, indicating that something extremely rich in spiritual energy had once been stored in the depression.

But this was the very core of the Cloudmist Ridge! Countless Nascent Saint and Saint realm beasts guarded the area. To be able to steal the spirit essence under such circumstances… which expert could it be?

One must know that School Head Mo had already reached a considerable height in his cultivation when he had attempted to scale the mountain back then, but he had nearly been killed before he could even reach the halfway mark of the mountain.

To be able to successfully sneak in, steal the treasure of the saint beasts, and escape alive… That fellow sure had helped mankind vent the countless years of pent-up frustration at those arrogant saint beasts!

“I am unaware of such a matter.”

But even though School Head Mo was full of awe for that anonymous expert, he didn’t allow it to show on his face. Instead, he frowned deeply and asked, “You claimed that it is the doing of a human, but do you have any evidence? Have you uncovered the culprit yet?”

“Hah, unaware of the matter? Do you think that you can cover this matter just by saying that you are unaware of it?” The Golden Beartiger Beast harrumphed.

“I am not trying to cover up the matter. It’s just that if you don’t have any evidence or suspects in mind, there is no way I can help you redress your grievances. I don’t think that we will be able to get anywhere by arguing about that, so let’s talk about the battle instead,” School Head Mo said.

“If it’s just a small skirmish between us, the Master Teacher Pavilion wouldn’t bother getting involved. However, if this matter were to blow up and bring great misery and suffering to the populace, there is no guarantee that the Master Teacher Pavilion won’t decide that there is no need for your Cloudmist Ridge to continue existing in the world and wipe it away with a swipe of their hands. Even if I don’t point it out, I believe that you should be extremely clear of this as well. Since you have already lain low for so many years, why start something now and let your efforts go in vain?”

Hearing School Head Mo’s words, the Golden Beartiger Beast sneered coldly and said, “In the past, we still had the Earth Vein Spirit Essence. It represented hope for us to advance our stagnated cultivation, so we were still willing to lie low back then. But now…

“We won’t take reconciliation completely off the table just yet. As long as the Master Teacher Academy is willing to compensate us fifty thousand high-tier spirit stones and help us set up five hundred grade-6 Spirit Gathering Formations all over Cloudmist Ridge, I will order my spirit beasts to retreat immediately!”

Translator’s Thoughts

StarveCleric StarveCleric

Warning!

The beasts of Cloudmist Ridge have kidnapped Millman to make him slave away for them for all eternity. Furious, Starve decided to pick up his brick to save the damsel in distress, but he realized that he is currently a newbie at Fighter 1-dan only. Thus, he needs power stones to cultivate in order to gain sufficient power in order to save Millie ( ‾ʖ̫‾).

With 100,000 Power Stones, Starve will be able to cultivate to Saint realm 1-dan and save the ten fingers of Millie, which allows him to produce three more chapters for the next week. (n˘v˘•)¬

With 125,000 Power Stones, Starve will be able to cultivate to Saint 2-dan and save the lower body of Millie, which allows him to produce four more chapters for the next week. (•̀ᴗ•́)و ̑̑

With 150,000 Power Stones, Starve will be able to cultivate to Saint 3-dan and save the entire body of Millie, which allows him to produce five more chapters next week. =͟͟͞͞( ✌°∀° )☛

(Anything beneath that, and we will only be able to save the extremely thick epidermis of Millie, which is probably useless ¯_(ツ)_/¯)

---

tl;dr:

If we reach 100k Power Stones this week, there will be a mass release of 3 chapters!

125k Power Stones = 4 chapters

150k Power Stones = 5 chapters

The chapters will be released next week.

Chapter 879: Zhang Xuan’s Means (1)

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

“Fifty thousand high-tier spirit stones? Five hundred grade-6 Spirit Gathering Formations? Impossible, you must be dreaming! Come up with something else!” School Head Mo’s face darkened.

You are clearly trying to take advantage of us!

Fifty thousand high-tier spirit stones? Even if you overturn the entire Master Teacher Academy, you won’t be able to find that much money!

Besides, it is not like our Master Teacher Academy is afraid of you. It is only in consideration of the death and suffering that a full-blown war will bring that we are negotiating with you. If it really comes down to it, we can definitely overthrow your Cloudmist Ridge if we mobilize all of our strength.

“Come up with something else? I’m afraid that those are the only things I want. Accept it or not, the decision is in your hands. But of course, if you turn down the offer, the war will immediately resume. I haven’t mobilized our aerial spirit beasts yet. Once we do, do you think that your students who are still incapable of flight will be able to stop them? Once they reach Hongyuan City, the death toll won’t be just a dozen people or so. I sure would like to see how you will account to your headquarters and the populace once that happens!” the Golden Beartiger Beast sneered coldly.

Master teachers were tasked with the responsibility of ensuring the peace and security of the region. If aerial spirit beasts were to really overrun Hongyuan City and massacre the populace, the credibility of the Master Teacher Academy would surely be destroyed.

At the same time, the trust in the Master Teacher Pavilion’s capability would also waver.

“Are you threatening me?” School Head Mo asked with a cold glint in his eyes.

For the Master Teacher Academy to be threatened by a bunch of saint beasts, what a joke!

The dignity of master teachers could not be sullied.

Those weren’t just empty words. If anyone were to dare do so, the Master Teacher Pavilion wouldn’t hesitate to wipe them off the face of the world.

Back then, the soul oracles had been a very powerful faction themselves, but they had still disappeared in the annals of history.

The poison masters were also known for their fearsome capability to defeat opponents stronger than them, but they still dared not build their Poison Hall openly.

No matter what, School Head Mo couldn’t let this threat pass. But just as he was about to lash out at them, he suddenly heard Principal Zhang’s voice in his mind. “Find a way to uncover the location of their aerial spirit beasts and send me over to take a look!”

School Head Mo was stunned.

Why would Principal Zhang ask this? Furthermore, why would he want to take a look at the aerial spirit beasts?

But since the other party had requested it, he must have had his reasons for doing so. Thus, with a deep frown on his face, School Head Mo turned to the Golden Beartiger Beast and sneered, “So what if there are aerial spirit beasts in the Cloudmist Ridge? We have hundreds of cultivators capable of flight in our Master Teacher Academy, what makes you think that we won’t be able to stop your forces? Even if you wish to threaten us, at least find something that can scare us!”

“Hah, hundreds of cultivators capable of flight? Let me tell you this, our Cloudmist Ridge has three thousand aerial spirit beasts, and each of them is capable of flying at incredible speeds. There might be many Saint realm experts in the Master Teacher Academy, but there is no way they will be able to stop every single one of them. As long as several hundred of them bypass your defenses, they will be able to bring forth devastating destruction. Besides, we can choose to launch an attack on the nearby small towns instead. I don’t believe that you have enough Saint realm experts to clear off each and every one of them quickly!” the Golden Beartiger Beast sneered coldly, his tone dripping with threat.

“Three thousand?” School Head Mo burst into laughter. “Do you take me for a fool? Are you including those Transcendent Mortal 1-dan and 2-dan aerial spirit beasts in your calculation as well?”

Aerial spirit beasts were capable of causing massive destruction as ordinary cultivators were incapable of flying to hunt them down.

However, the strength of the aerial spirit beasts mattered as well. If they were only at Transcendent Mortal 1-dan or 2-dan, what harm could they cause in Hongyuan Empire, which was filled with Transcendent Mortal cultivators?

The Master Teacher Academy could easily destroy them all just by dispatching a few students here and there.

“Transcendent Mortal 1-dan 2-dan? School Head Mo, it seems like you are lacking intelligence on the prowess of our Cloudmist Ridge. Even the weakest of our three thousand strong aerial spirit beast troop is at Transcendent Mortal 7-dan! Do you still think that your Master Teacher Academy has the ability to stop them in their tracks?” the Golden Beartiger Beast scoffed.

“Transcendent Mortal 7-dan? You sure know how to brag!” School Head Mo shook his head with a look of disbelief.

“You don’t believe me?” The Golden Beartiger Beast frowned.

“How can you expect me to believe such blatant lies? Since you are clearly insincere in the negotiations, I think there is no need for us to talk any further!”

At this point, School Head Mo hesitated for an instant before adding, “If you want me to believe your words, there is one way. You can send a saint beast to escort this student of mine to take a look. If you really do have that many powerful aerial spirit beasts, I will immediately send a message to the other school heads and even Emperor Yu Shenqing to ask for permission to negotiate in their stead.”

The Golden Beartiger Beast raised his massive paw and harrumphed. “You obstinate old fogey… Fine! Black Spirit Panthers, take the student of School Head Mo to take a look at our army of aerial spirit beasts!”

Even though he had spoken with great bravado, the truth was that he was also fearful about the might of the Master Teacher Academy as well.

As an organization that had groomed many generations of master teachers, it was surely filled with many experts. If it was just the students, he was confident that they would be able to wipe them out easily. However, if the opponent included the teachers and elders as well, even with the geographical advantage they possessed, it would still be a matter of time before they were overrun.

Furthermore, the Master Teacher Academy still had the headquarters behind it. Even if they were to win the battle against the Master Teacher Academy by some incredible stroke of luck, what they would face next would be an impossible enemy.

In light of this, they couldn’t give up on the negotiations easily either.

“Roar!”

The two Half-Saint realm Black Spirit Panthers answered with a call before heading toward them.

“School Head Mo, try to stall them for as long as you can, and don’t engage them in a battle if possible. Take care of yourself…” Sending a telepathic message to School Head Mo, Zhang Xuan turned around and followed the Black Spirit Panthers out of the cavern.

“Noted!”

Even though School Head Mo was unsure what Zhang Xuan was up to, he still had some trust in Zhang Xuan’s capability. He turned to the Golden Beartiger Beast and said, “If the situation is as you have said, I will report the matter as it is to the Master Teacher Academy before making a decision. I can’t give you an affirmative answer right now, but if you really do have such a powerful army of aerial spirit beasts, it is not entirely impossible for us to give in to your terms…”

“Oh? I will be looking forward to your reply then!” the Golden Beartiger Beast replied with a smirk.

At the same time, a hint of relief flashed through the eyes of the other saint beasts in the area as well.

If they could avoid battle, that would be for the best.

As powerful as they were, they knew that it was utter foolishness to go head-to-head with the Master Teacher Pavilion.

For that moment, the cavern fell silent. Seeing that he had managed to stall for some time, School Head Mo secretly heaved a sigh of relief. At the same time, he couldn’t help but wonder what Zhang Xuan hoped to achieve by paying the army of aerial spirit beasts a visit.

It would be difficult to deal with such a force even if all of the teachers of the Master Teacher Academy were to be mobilized. What could Zhang Xuan do alone?

…

Following behind the two Black Spirit Panthers, Zhang Xuan walked out of the cavern and saw dozens of Half-Saint and Nascent Saint beasts patrolling the area, glaring at him viciously whenever they passed him by.

“Esteemed beasts, my cultivation is still very low… I am afraid that these saint beasts will do me harm if they remain in this area… Can you ask them to back down for the moment?” Zhang Xuan said as he cowered back fearfully.

“Roar!”

Seeing a Chrysalis realm master teacher acting so timidly, the lips of the two Black Spirit Panthers curled up into a disdainful smile.

“It was my teacher who insisted on bringing me over and sending me to check on the aerial spirit beasts. If I had a choice, I would have definitely stayed away as far as I could… I beseech you, just do me this one favor. As long as they can stay away, I am willing to give these two spirit stones to you…” At this point, Zhang Xuan flicked his wrist and threw out two high-tier spirit stones as he scanned his surroundings unwarily.

Grabbing a high-tier spirit stone each, the eyes of the two Black Spirit Panthers immediately lit up.

As Half-Saint beasts, the resources they could access were extremely limited. As such, a high-tier spirit stone was a highly valuable to them.

“Roar!”

Gripping the high-tier spirit stones, the two massive Black Spirit Panthers abruptly roared loudly, seemingly issuing an order.

In an instant, the Half-Saint and Nascent Saint beasts in the area hurriedly backed off, and it didn’t take long for them to disappear from sight.

While the Black Spirit Panthers weren’t the strongest of them all, they were the personal attendants of the various kings of the Cloudmist Ridge, so none of them dared to disobey their commands.

“Roar!” After the beasts in the surroundings left, the two Black Spirit Panthers glanced at Zhang Xuan with a look of superiority in their eyes. What they wanted to express was simple—How did someone so timid become a master teacher?

“Hehe!” Facing their ridicule, Zhang Xuan chuckled lightly as he flicked his wrist.

Hu!

An identical figure abruptly appeared beside Zhang Xuan’s side, and with a step each, they disappeared from the spot and appeared right before the two Black Spirit Panthers in the blink of an eye and simultaneously threw a punch forward!

Peng! Peng!

Everything had happened so fast that the two Black Spirit Panthers had no opportunity to respond before they were sent flying. Crashing into the ground, their bodies convulsed, rendering them unable to move.

“You have two choices before you. Submit, or die!”

The two Zhang Xuans walked up to the two Black Spirit Panthers and stepped on their heads as they glanced down at them coldly.

“Roar…”

They hadn’t expected that they, as Half-Saint experts, would be defeated by a Chrysalis realm cultivator all of a sudden, and they were completely stunned.

It didn’t take too long for them to make a decision. A few breaths later, a droplet of fresh blood flew out from glabellas of each of the Black Spirit Panthers and flew toward Zhang Xuan.

Black Spirit Panthers… tamed!

“Good. Call those Half-Saint and Nascent Saint beasts over here one by one. Tell them that the Golden Beartiger Beast is summoning them over!” Zhang Xuan instructed the tamed Black Spirit Panthers.

“Roar!”

Not daring to disobey Zhang Xuan, the two Black Spirit Panthers hurriedly nodded before rushing away.

After they left, Zhang Xuan summoned the Byzantium Helios Beast and the Golden Origin Cauldron.

“Byzantium Lad and Ding Ding, I will need you to help me beat those saint beasts into submission later on.”

“Yes, Master!” the Byzantium Helios Beast nodded.

“Hehe, this is exactly the kind of thing I like. Master, can I reduce those who refuse to submit to cinders?” the Golden Origin Cauldron said with an excited undertone in its voice.

As the Guardian Saint Artifact of the Master Teacher Academy, it was usually stowed away in the depths of the academy until a major crisis occurred. As such, it rarely had an opportunity to fight.

“You may.” Zhang Xuan nodded, acceding to the Golden Origin Cauldron’s request.

The reason he had chosen to infiltrate the Cloudmist Ridge was to have everyone here submit to him. As for those who refused… the only fate awaiting them was death!

Roar!

Soon, a Nascent Saint beast was escorted there by the Black Spirit Panther. Two minutes later, it was kneeling before Zhang Xuan, submitted.

A few minutes later, three more Half-Saint beasts submitted.

Ten minutes later, all of the Half-Saint and Nascent Saint beasts patrolling the area were under Zhang Xuan’s control.

Heaving a sigh of relief, Zhang Xuan issued several instructions. “Alright. Just like before, scatter yourselves in the surroundings, don’t let anyone else notice any anomaly. Black Spirit Panthers, bring me to the aerial spirit beasts!”

These Half-Saint and Nascent Saint beasts were easier to tame than he had thought. There were only two who had refused to listen to his words, and they had been reduced to cinders on the spot by the Golden Origin Cauldron.

Such an action had a deterrent effect on the other beasts. Knowing that the young man before them wouldn’t hesitate to kill them should they choose otherwise, the others hurriedly submitted as well.

The Black Spirit Panthers obediently led the way forward. “Master, the aerial spirit beasts are gathered in the valley over there…”

Zhang Xuan stowed his clone, the Byzantium Helios Beast, and the Golden Origin Cauldron into his Myriad Anthive Nest before leaping onto one of the Black Spirit Panthers and setting forth.

Chapter 880: Zhang Xuan’s Means (2)

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

The area where the aerial spirit beasts were located wasn’t in close proximity to the cavern. Even with the Black Spirit Panther sprinting at full speed, it still took an entire five minutes before they arrived at their destination.

Beneath their feet was a massive valley with a diameter of around three li 1 .

Activating his Eye of Insight, Zhang Xuan peered into the valley.

Just as the Golden Beartiger Beast had said, there were indeed three thousand of them, and every single one of them had reached Transcendent Mortal 7-dan at the very least.

If such a huge group of aerial spirit beasts were to launch an assault toward Hongyuan City, it would indeed be difficult for any defending force to stop their charge perfectly.

In the event of an attack, even if they did successfully clear away every single one of them in the end, Hongyuan City would probably suffer devastating damage as well.

I have to set up a formation to ensure that none of them manage to escape! Zhang Xuan thought.

There were simply too many aerial spirit beasts in the area. If any of them noticed that something was amiss and escaped to inform the Golden Beartiger Beast of the matter, School Head Mo would be placed in a very dangerous position.

Taking a deep breath, Zhang Xuan began scanning his surroundings to analyze how he should set up his formation. This geographical terrain seems to be suited for the grade-6 Resplendent Helios Illusory Formation! Alright, that shall be it then…

Even though he hadn’t taken the formation master examination yet, his comprehension of formations was already on par with a 6-star pinnacle formation master. With his current capability, he could still easily determine the most appropriate formation to use swiftly by looking at the terrain.

Flicking his wrist, he took out a bunch of formation flags.

After which, he stepped forcefully against the ground and leaped down into the midst of the aerial spirit beasts.

Roarrrr!

Upon seeing that a human was amid them, the aerial spirit beasts roared in astonishment. However, just as they were about to launch an assault to kill the intruder, the two Black Spirit Panthers abruptly leaped up as well and roared, “This is the man who has come here to negotiate with our kings, Zhang shi. He is here to take a look at our aerial spirit beast army camp, as well as set a formation around here. There is no need to be alarmed!”

Those Black Spirit Panthers spoke in the beast language, so the aerial spirit beasts could comprehend what they were saying.

As those speaking were the attendants of their kings, the aerial spirit beasts had no objections whatsoever; they scattered and returned to whatever they were doing before.

Heaving a sigh of relief, Zhang Xuan drove his zhenqi, and the flags in his hands began scattering into the surroundings.

Hu!

As the Resplendent Helios Illusory Formation came to life, a thick mist began to set into the valley, shrouding all of the aerial spirit beasts within it.

Knowing that the young man was going to set up a formation, the aerial spirit beasts didn’t panic, waiting for him quietly to finish instead.

“Time to start!”

With a chuckle, Zhang Xuan brought out his clone, and the both of them dived into the mist.

Roar! Roar! Roar!

In an instant, the cries of the aerial spirit beasts immediately filled the valley.

Even the strongest of these aerial spirit beasts was only at Chrysalis realm pinnacle, so they were no match for Zhang Xuan and his clone at all. As such, there wasn’t even a need to bring out the Byzantium Helios Beast and the Golden Origin Cauldron.

Every few steps Zhang Xuan took, an aerial spirit beast submitted.

…

While Zhang Xuan was busy taming the aerial spirit beasts, in the cavern, School Head Mo’s forehead was covered with sweat.

It had been two hours since Zhang Xuan left, and the saint beasts were beginning to get suspicious.

The Golden Beartiger Beast, who stood at the very center of the room, bellowed with a livid face, “Why aren’t they back yet? Mo Zhu, what the hell is your student doing?”

A trip to the valley where the aerial spirit beast army was located and back should only take twenty minutes at most. For them to be gone for two hours, it was clear that there was something really wrong.

“My student is only a Chrysalis realm cultivator while your Cloudmist Ridge is filled with many saint beasts, what are you worrying about?”

Even though School Head Mo was panicking inside, he didn’t allow any of it to show on his face. With a composed chuckle, he said, “My student is a very meticulous person, so he is probably checking thoroughly to confirm the strength of your aerial spirit beast army. Or… are you worried that he will escape?”

“Escape? Hah! With you here, what can a mere student like him do?”

The Golden Beartiger Beast harrumphed coldly. “Scarlet Blaze Lion, go and check what that fellow is up to! Humans have always been a cunning race, so don’t fall for his lies!”

“Yes!” Nodding, the Scarlet Blaze Lion began to walk out of the cavern.

“Wait a moment…” Astonished, School Head Mo immediately got to his feet. “He is just a student. Are the kings of the Cloudmist Ridge so timid?”

“Timid?” The Golden Beartiger Beast burst into laughter, as if he had just heard a hilarious joke. “Scarlet Blaze Lion, ignore him. Go and take a look!”

Ignoring School Head Mo’s attempt to stall for time, the Golden Beartiger Beast gestured for the Scarlet Blaze Lion to move on.

Seeing that the Scarlet Blaze Lion was really going to head out, School Head Mo suddenly chuckled softly and said, “I have long heard that the great Golden Beartiger Beast King of Cloudmist Ridge possesses extraordinary strength. Do you dare to have a match with me? I am interested in experiencing the prowess of the Beast Tribe myself!”

“You are challenging me to a duel?” Not expecting School Head Mo to make such an abrupt request, the Golden Beartiger Beast frowned.

“Pardon me, did I scare you?” School Head Mo said with a wry smile.

“Scare me? You must be joking! If a duel is what you want, a duel is what you’ll get!” Harrumphing coldly, the Golden Beartiger Beast got to his feet.

“Good! Scarlet Blaze Lion King, why don’t you remain here to watch our battle? You will be next after I am done with Golden Beartiger Beast King!” School Head Mo said haughtily.

Naturally, this was an attempt to stall for time as well. Even though he wasn’t sure what Zhang Xuan was up to, he was determined to accomplish what he had promised the latter.

“Sure!” the Scarlet Blaze Lion nodded.

Both School Head Mo and the Golden Beartiger Beast were the strongest existences in Hongyuan Empire. Naturally, watching a battle between the both of them was much more interesting than looking for a Chrysalis realm fellow.

“Let’s begin then!” Fearing that the Golden Beartiger Beast would notice that he was stalling once he was given time to think, School Head Mo rushed forward and thrust his palm at the saint beast.

The incredible might of a Saint 1-dan pinnacle abruptly permeated the entire cavern. With just a single palm, the ground of the cavern began creaking in protest, seemingly on the verge of breaking under the immense force.

“Hahaha! If this is all you’ve got, I have to say that you are a disgrace to the name of ‘Ten Great Master Teachers’…”

Against the immense pressure, the Golden Beartiger Beast didn’t show the slightest fear. Instead, with a furious bellow, he raised his paw and swiped forward, causing the air to release a painful screech as it was torn in two.

Si la!

Under the powerful might, the strength of School Head Mo’s palm thrust was completely neutralized.

In the next instant, the Golden Beartiger Beast furiously flicked its whip-like tail toward School Head Mo. The strength and speed behind it were so great that even with School Head Mo’s Saint realm 1-dan pinnacle cultivation, he would surely suffer severe injuries if it were to land on him.

Hu!

Not daring to face the tail directly, School Head Mo swiftly dodged with a side leap.

Sou!

But in that instant, the Golden Beartiger Beast sent yet another swipe toward School Head Mo.

In the midst of a leap, he was unable to change the trajectory of his motion abruptly, so he could only face the swipe head-on with a punch.

As the paw and the fist came into contact, School Head Mo instantaneously felt a crushing pressure on his chest, and he was sent flying away. His back crashed heavily into the wall of the cavern, creating a huge hole behind him.

Beasts had always possessed superior physical resilience and strength compared to humans, and the Golden Beartiger Beast was the most formidable saint beast in the Cloudmist Ridge. School Head Mo was, by no means, weak, but it was still impossible for him to face the other party head-on.

“Haha, is this the strength of a member of the Ten Great Master Teachers? Nothing impressive about it at all!”

With a deafening roar that jolted one’s mind silly, the Golden Beartiger Beast charged forward with impressive momentum.

As the saying went, the dragons soared amid the clouds, and the tiger raced against the wind.

Even though the Golden Beartiger Beast wasn’t a tiger in the truest sense, it did possess part of its bloodline. Even before the other party had reached him, School Head Mo could already feel a huge gust of wind blowing in his face. Astonished, he quickly freed himself and whipped out a sword to counterattack.

If he was no match for the other party in terms of brute force, he would have to rely on his weapon then.

Sou sou sou!

Moving at an unbelievable speed, the sword left after-shadows in its wake as it charged toward the Golden Beartiger Beast.

In the face of the powerful stab, the Golden Beartiger Beast didn’t even bother to dodge. Instead, it took in a deep breath, and its fur immediately turned pitch-black, reminiscent of a scale.

Ding ding ding!

The tip of the sword and the fur collided with astonishing momentum, but the sword was unable to pierce through the fur!

“What?” School Head Mo’s face paled.

He had known that it was unlikely that he would be a match for the Golden Beartiger Beast, but he hadn’t expected the other party to be so powerful!

To think that his sword wouldn’t even be able to penetrate the other party’s defense, this was way too fearsome!

It was no wonder that, even though the Ten Indomitable Kings of the Cloudmist Ridge were all at Saint 1-dan pinnacle, they still obeyed his orders without the slightest hesitation. Just this defense itself was sufficient to render most saint beasts and cultivators powerless.

“Thirteen Swords of the Red Leaf!”

However, he couldn’t back down now. The slightest hesitation in his movement could spell his defeat. School Head Mo immediately drove his zhenqi through a unique circulation pathway in his body, and a piercing buzz emanated from his sword.

In that instant, astounding might gathered in his sword, and it felt as if it would tear down anything that stood in its path.

The Thirteen Swords of the Red Leaf, his strongest battle technique!

Back then, the Inferno Dragon Saint Beast had fallen under this move of his and willingly became his tamed beast.

Tzzzzzz!

In that instant, the after-shadows of the sword seemed to form a red leaf in midair as it rushed forward with a might that threatened to shatter everything before it.

“Interesting! However, if you hope to defeat me with just this, you must be dreaming!”

The Golden Beartiger Beast was slightly astonished for an instant when he saw School Head Mo execute his sword art, but his astonishment swiftly gave way to a wry smile. Sharp claws emerged from his raised paws, and he launched a devastating swipe toward School Head Mo’s sword.

Ding ding ding!

The paw and the red leaf collided. The Golden Beartiger Beast was forced to retreat a single step under the immense force, but School Head Mo was sent flying once more as blood spurted from his mouth. His body smashed heavily onto the ground, and his complexion turned ghastly pale from the severe internal injuries he had suffered.

He hurriedly stood up and swallowed a recovery pill, and after a brief moment of recuperation, he finally felt his injuries alleviating slightly.

“How is it? Does my strength satisfy you?” the Golden Beartiger Beast roared with laughter as its gaze fell on the defeated School Head Mo.

Even though it had sustained some injuries from the previous collision as well, its condition was still much better than that of the other party.

This battle had ended with a complete victory on his part.

“You are indeed powerful,” School Head Mo said as he got to his feet.

He truly wasn’t a match for the other party.

Even though they were at the same cultivation realm, it was still too difficult for a cultivator like him to overcome the innate advantages that saint beasts possessed.

Otherwise, the Byzantium Helios Beast wouldn’t have been known as the strongest expert in the Master Teacher Academy.

The Golden Beartiger Beast returned to his seat and commanded, “Alright, since this duel is over, Scarlet Blaze Lion, you can hurry over to see what that lad is up to now. If he is plotting something against the Cloudmist Ridge, you have permission to kill him on the spot!”

“Yes!” The Scarlet Blaze Lion nodded before heading out of the cavern.

“No… wait…”

Hearing those words, School Head Mo panicked. He was going to step forward to stop the Scarlet Blaze Lion, but the Golden Beartiger Beast’s cold words suddenly reverberated through the cavern at this moment. “Why? Does School Head Mo want to have another round with me?”

“I…” School Head Mo’s body trembled.

With the injuries he had sustained, he couldn’t afford to fight against the Golden Beartiger Beast again. Otherwise, he might just lose his life.

He had no idea whether or not Zhang Xuan was done with whatever he was trying to do, but he was already at his wits’ end. He couldn’t stall the other party any longer…

At this point, the Golden Beartiger Beast had also noticed School Head Mo’s motive, and he bellowed furiously, “What are you waiting for? Go!”

“Yes!” the Scarlet Blaze Lion swiftly rushed out of the cavern, and in a moment, he had already disappeared from sight.

Principal Zhang…

Watching as the other party’s back disappeared, School Head Mo’s body fell feebly to the ground. I have already done all I can…

Translator’s Thoughts

StarveCleric StarveCleric

This morning Millman was working well. However, one of the beasts of Cloudmist Ridge holding him hostage then said something that put him off his work.

“So, when is football coming home?” the beast asked.

Millman, unable to find a response, curled up into a ball and cried in the corner.

Having only just recovered, he swiftly finished off this chapter for you all.

(P.S. Remember to vote for LOHP with your Power Stones for bonus chapters!)

Chapter 881: You, Come out for a Moment!

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

The Scarlet Blaze Lion rushed out of the cavern and flew straight toward the valley where the aerial spirit beasts were garrisoned. It didn’t take him too long to arrive at his destination.

The Scarlet Blaze Lion frowned. “Why is there an Illusory Formation here?”

Standing before him was a gigantic formation that shrouded the entire valley. From time to time, the bellowing of spirit beasts could be heard from within. At the entrance of the valley, the two Black Spirit Panthers, who had escorted that fellow to this valley earlier, stood guard, watching the surroundings warily.

The Scarlet Blaze Lion flew toward the two panthers and gazed at them coldly. “Black Spirit Panthers, what is going on?”

“Scarlet Blaze Lion King…”

Upon seeing the other party, the Black Spirit Panthers leaped in shock. They hurriedly explained, “It’s like this… That Zhang shi fellow is a skilled formation master, and as soon as we arrived here, he immediately set up a formation, and before we could comprehend what was going on, he… disappeared! We tried looking around for him, but we couldn’t find him anywhere!”

“You fools!” The Scarlet Blaze Lion glared at them.

It was clear that the other party was up to no good from the fact that he had set up a formation here, and these two fellows actually didn’t attempt to stop him at all… How could they be so dim-witted?

However, as Illusory Formations couldn’t isolate auras, the Scarlet Blaze Lion could clearly sense that the spirit beasts within were still alive and kicking.

If the other party wasn’t intending to deal with the aerial spirit beasts, what was his reason behind setting up this formation?

As the Scarlet Blaze Lion racked his brain to make sense of the situation, the Illusory Formation before him abruptly dissipated, and a young man flew up from the valley.

It was the young fellow he had met earlier, School Head Mo’s student.

At this moment, Zhang Xuan’s face was slightly pale, and he felt light-headed from exhaustion.

Even for a person of his stamina, he was still drained after spending the last two hours taming aerial spirit beasts.

However, it was fortunate that his mission was a success. He had managed to have all of the aerial spirit beasts to acknowledge him as their master.

Of course, there were a few thick-headed ones who obstinately refused to submit to him. Zhang Xuan didn’t have the time to waste his words on them, so he killed them with a single punch.

Upon seeing Zhang Xuan emerge from the valley, the Scarlet Blaze Lion roared furiously, “Lad, what were you doing?”

“It’s nothing much. Byzantium Lad and Ding Ding, help me take care of this fellow. I have to rest for a moment…”

Zhang Xuan didn’t seem to be too surprised to see the Scarlet Blaze Lion at all. He nonchalantly took out a grade-6 pill and swallowed it while flicking his wrist to release the Byzantium Helios Beast and the Golden Origin Cauldron.

Upon seeing that there was a Saint 1-dan pinnacle saint beast to play with, the Golden Origin Cauldron cheered in excitement and charged forward.

Peng!

Before the Scarlet Blaze Lion could even react to the situation, he had already been smacked into the face of the mountain, and large mouthfuls of blood spilled from his mouth.

In the next moment, before he could even catch his breath, the huge fist of the Byzantium Helios Beast had already appeared right before his eyes.

Peng peng peng peng!

A saint beast and a Saint-tier artifact, two experts collaborating with one another, there was no way that the Scarlet Blaze Lion could possibly withstand that. In the blink of an eye, his face was already disfigured with bruises and blood. He tried to escape, but his leg couldn’t move; he tried to scream, but his voice wouldn’t come out.

Not too long later, that fellow ended up obediently acknowledging Zhang Xuan as his master with tears streaming down his cheeks.

What is with my luck? I only came out to take a look, but I ended up being beaten up like this… Where is the justice in the world?

What has happened to respecting the law?

After offering a fragment of his soul to Zhang Xuan, the Scarlet Blaze Lion greeted him with a bruised face. “Master!”

Having recovered from his fatigue at this point, Zhang Xuan commanded as he stretched his back leisurely, “I want you to return to the cavern right now and lure two kings out!”

“Lure two kings out?” The Scarlet Blaze Lion’s blinked blankly in response.

“That’s right.” Zhang Xuan nodded.

There was a total of ten kings in the cavern. Even if he were to draw all of them out at once, there was no guarantee that he would be able to defeat all of them even with the Golden Origin Cauldron, the Byzantium Helios Beast, and his Otherworldly Demon puppets, let alone, tame them.

Furthermore, if too many of them were gathered together, they would try to at least put on a show of bravado of some kind before their comrades, or else it would be too embarrassing for them to face one another in the future.

If that was the case, that could complicate the taming process.

Dealing with them one by one was much easier and simpler.

“Alright, but…” With his soul held hostage in Zhang Xuan’s hands, the Scarlet Blaze Lion couldn’t disobey him. However, he raised his face and said, “… in my current state, I fear that they won’t believe my words…”

The Golden Origin Cauldron had gotten too excited earlier, so it had accidentally gone overboard, causing the Scarlet Blaze Lion to look nothing like its originally majestic and dashing self.

“Drink the contents of this gourd!” Zhang Xuan infused a few surges of Heaven’s Path zhenqi into a gourd of Earth Vein Spirit Essence before passing it over.

Due to the other party’s massive physique and higher cultivation, it would require at least a dozen gourds of wine for the Scarlet Blaze Lion to make a complete recovery.

Even if the other party wasn’t drunk by then, the others might still notice that something was amiss from the strong scent of alcohol on him.

On the other hand, by mixing the Earth Vein Spirit Essence with his Heaven’s Path zhenqi, the restorative effect of the Heaven’s Path zhenqi would be amplified, so a single gourd would suffice.

Taking the gourd, the Scarlet Blaze Lion uncorked the cap, and with a single sniff, it suddenly felt the urge to keel over.

“This is… the Earth Vein Spirit Essence?”

He had finally found the fellow who had stolen their treasure…

But who would have thought that the thief would end up becoming his master?

What was with this turn of events?

It was just that morning that he had been hurling curses at the thief alongside the other kings, swearing to tear the other party into shreds… But a few hours later, here he was, kneeling before the other party respectfully…

Ahhh, the wretched tragedies of a beast life…

But as stifled as he felt within, the Scarlet Blaze Lion drank the spirit essence in the gourd in a single gulp.

As the spiritual energy coursed through his body, the severe injuries he had sustained before swiftly healed.

“T-this…” The Scarlet Blaze Lion blinked in confusion, completely dumbfounded.

He was familiar with the properties of the Earth Vein Spirit Essence. Even at the very most, it should only have replenished his strength. When did it gain healing properties as well?

“I have added some medicinal herbs inside to give it the ability to heal injuries swiftly. As long as you serve me well, it isn’t too difficult for me to raise your cultivation to Spiritual Perception realm!” Zhang Xuan said.

“Yes!” The Scarlet Blaze Lion nodded in agitation.

It could be said to be a miraculous feat to grant the Earth Vein Spirit Essence, a substance formed solely out of spiritual energy, healing properties.

If his master had such means, perhaps it might really just be able to help raise his cultivation to Spiritual Perception realm!

“Alright, you may go now!” Zhang Xuan said with a wave of his hand.

Having tamed the Scarlet Blaze Lion, he could control the other party’s life and death with a single thought, so he wasn’t worried about the other party turning against him.

“Master…”

Watching as the Scarlet Blaze Lion returned to the cavern, the Byzantium Helios Beast walked up to Zhang Xuan with admiration gleaming in his eyes.

The Cloudmist Ridge had always been a lurking threat to the Master Teacher Academy. Even the old principal had been helpless before it, but Zhang Xuan… As soon as he arrived, he had already tamed all of the Half-Saint and Nascent Saint beasts in the area. Now, he had even tamed one of the Ten Indomitable Kings, and it seemed like his streak was still going to continue…

It might not be long before the entire Cloudmist Ridge became a vassal of the Master Teacher Academy…

Zhang Xuan thought that the Byzantium Helios Beast was worried, so he reassured with a smile. “We might not be a match for them now, but with an additional member of the Ten Indomitable Kings tamed, the odds will lean further in our favor. By then, we should be able to achieve an easy victory!”

From the moment he arrived on the battlefield, he had already come up with this plan. Naturally, it was also with such intentions in mind that he had asked School Head Mo to propose a negotiation with the other party.

This was the only way that he would be able to slip into the Cloudmist Ridge to carry out his plan.

The Ten Indomitable Kings were a formidable force when they were gathered together, and not even he was able to do anything about them. However, by luring them out one by one, as long as he could tame four of them, with their force along with the Byzantium Helios Beast, the Golden Origin Cauldron, and the Otherworldly Demon puppets… the remaining members would surely fall to him as well!

…

In the cavern, School Head Mo was still oblivious to Zhang Xuan’s intentions. He stared at the entrance of the cavern worriedly with clenched fists, fearing that the next being to enter would deliver bad news.

Hu!

A figure appeared in his sight as the Crimson Blaze Lion rushed into the cavern.

Seeing the Crimson Blaze Lion return to the cavern without anyone with him, the Golden Beartiger Beast frowned in displeasure. “What happened? Where is the Black Spirit Panthers and that lad?”

He had ordered the Crimson Blaze Lion to find that fellow, so why had he returned alone?

The Scarlet Blaze Lion harrumphed in displeasure. “That fellow is more cunning that I thought. He managed to distract the Black Spirit Panthers for a moment and slipped away. I tried to look around the area, but I wasn’t able to determine which direction he escaped in. Steelbacked Bear and Emerald Bamboo Earth Dragon, follow me to take a look!”

“That fellow escaped?”

“Hahaha! School Head Mo, so that is your student? Abandoning his teacher in the face of danger to escape?”

“The Master Teacher Academy sure has fallen!”

Hearing that the lad had abandoned his teacher and escaped, the other kings burst into laughter.

It was said that the master teachers valued their lineage. But while the teacher was negotiating here, the student actually escaped as soon as he found the opportunity to do so. Disgraceful!

School Head Mo was dumbstruck as well. Principal Zhang escaped?

He could hardly believe those words, but… the Scarlet Blaze Lion shouldn’t have any reason to lie about that!

“Sure, I will go with you to take a look. I sure didn’t expect the Master Teacher Academy to have such a student in their ranks!” The Steelbacked Bear stood up as he laughter uproariously.

“Hahaha, count me in as well!” The Emerald Bamboo Earth Dragon rose from its seat as well.

Just like the Scarlet Blaze Lion, these two fellows were Saint 1-dan pinnacle beasts as well. Their presence felt like an endless abyss, leaving one incapable of gauging how powerful they were.

“Find him quickly; we don’t have much time to spare!” the Golden Beartiger Beast said with a frown.

“Don’t worry!” The Scarlet Blaze Lion chuckled before bringing the two saint beasts out.

After the three saint beasts left, the Golden Beartiger Beast turned to School Head Mo and sneered coldly, “School Head Mo, what else do you have to say? Even your own direct disciple behaves so dishonorably… Tell me, where do you find the confidence to preach about morals and values to others?”

Only a person of upstanding character can win the respect of others. Despite being one of the esteemed Ten Great Master Teachers, his direct disciple turned out to be a reprehensible scoundrel who cared only about his own safety in the face of danger. If others were to learn of this, he could very well die of shame!

“I…” School Head Mo clenched his fists tightly.

Even though he didn’t think that Principal Zhang would actually abandon him, he still couldn’t help but feel apprehensive.

The other party was the one who had proposed the negotiation, but two hours had passed, and the other party’s figure was nowhere to be seen. Even up to this point, he still had no idea what was going on; he felt helpless and frustrated.

“Hehe, there’s no doubt about it. That student of School Head Mo must have been scared out of his wits when he saw our great army of aerial spirit beasts, and knowing that their defeat was imminent, he decided to flee in advance!”

“I have always thought that master teachers are people with backbones, but this incident has truly opened my eyes. To think that they could stoop even lower than our Beast Tribe…”

The kings burst into laughter.

“School Head Mo, there is no need to stall for time any longer. Both you and I know that it is futile. Hurry up and contact the other school heads and have them agree to our terms. Otherwise, you won’t be getting out of here alive!” the Golden Beartiger Beast said with a menacing edge to his voice.

“I…” Sighing deeply, School Head Mo was just about to speak when footsteps sounded outside the cavern once more. Turning his gaze over, the Steelbacked Bear, who had left just a moment ago, had returned.

“There is something really eerie about that fellow! I have no idea where he found those experts from, but even with the three of us combined, we aren’t able to defeat his reinforcements. Tigerhead Beast and Steelfang Wolf, follow me. We shall crush him together!”

“He found experts to reinforce him?”

“What kind of experts did he bring in for the three of you to be unable to defeat them?”

The Tigerhead Beast and Steelfang Wolf both questioned him with a deep frown as they got up from their seats.

“I am not too sure either, but they don’t seem like elders from the Master Teacher Academy. Let’s talk on the way, I fear that the Scarlet Blaze Lion and the Emerald Bamboo Earth Dragon can’t hold on for much longer!” the Steelbacked Bear urged.

“Alright then.”

The two kings of the Cloudmist Ridge stood up, and after bowing to the Golden Beartiger Beast, they hurriedly followed the Steelbacked Bear out.

A few moments later, the Steelfang Wolf returned and exclaimed, “He seems to have brought in even more reinforcements! Bluetrunk Elephant, Crimsonflame Ape, Steelscale Beast, and White-eared Beast, follow me!”

Just who did Principal Zhang bring in here? School Head Mo was confused by the situation before him.

“This…”

Looking around him, the Golden Beartiger Beast suddenly realized, to his surprise, that he was the only remaining member of the Ten Indomitable Kings in the cavern.

Translator’s Thoughts

StarveCleric StarveCleric

Today, Starve has been training in the great Dao of Translation, honing his skills ahead of his confrontation with the beasts. However, he still needs more power stones to break through his bottleneck!