Wu shi’s proficiency as an apothecary was still decent, so not too long later, he succeeded in forging the Grand Intermittence Pill.
It was hard to tell whether it was due to the rise in his cultivation or the incredible maturity of the Grand Intermittence Grass used in the forging, but a total of five Grand Intermittence Pills were produced from that single cauldron.
Vice Principal Tan Qing had to consume three of them before his severed limbs finally recovered back to their original state, granting him the ability to move once more.
“Old principal, you are currently a long way from reaching Primordial Spirit realm, but your soul does possess exceptional resilience due to being bathed in the sacred light for two years. Why don’t I impart to you a soul cultivation technique first so that your soul can enter this puppet for the time being? Meanwhile, I will try to find a way to forge a new body for you!” Walking up to Zhang Yinqiu, Zhang Xuan flicked his wrist and took out an Otherworldly Demon puppet.
Zhang Yinqiu’s soul was far more resilient than ordinary souls due to it being nourished by the sacred energy lingering around the Saint Ascension Platform for two years. While his soul couldn’t be compared to Primordial Spirits, it was still capable of existing outside of its body for an extended period of time.
As long as Zhang Xuan forged him a fitting body within this period of time, he would be able to live on like an ordinary human without any problem.
“This is… an Otherworldly Demon puppet?” Upon seeing the form of the puppet, Zhang Yinqiu immediately shook his head.
He had devoted his life to fighting against the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe, so how could he possibly allow himself to possess the body of an Otherworldly Demon puppet?
“Back then, Grandmaster Wu Yangzi used the flesh of the Otherworldly Demons to forge these puppets. These are the very pinnacle of his craftsmanship!” Knowing that Zhang Yinqiu revered Wu Yangzi, Zhang Xuan quickly added.
“You are saying that… these puppets are personally forged by Grandmaster Wu Yangzi?” Zhang Yinqiu widened his eyes in shock before hurriedly turning his gaze towards the puppet.
His admiration for Wu Yangzi came from deep within his heart, and it was due to that that he was able to uncover so much information regarding the ancient domain while investigating Wu Yangzi’s case.
After examining the Otherworldly Demon puppet for a while, he couldn’t help but nod in admiration at the exquisite craftsmanship. However, he still eventually shook his head and said, “No matter what, I am still a master teacher. To live on using the flesh and blood of an Otherworldly Demon… I really can’t do it!”
“Master, you aren’t dead!” Just as Zhang Yinqiu was about to turn down Zhang Xuan’s goodwill, an agitated voice suddenly sounded.
Zhang Yinqiu raised his head and saw a massive ape-like saint beast diving towards him with teary eyes.
“Byzantium Helios…” Upon seeing the saint beast’s appearance, Zhang Yinqiu’s eyes also reddened.
That saint beast was his tamed beast, the Byzantium Helios Beast!
Both the master and the subordinate thought that they were bound to be divided by life and death, and they hadn’t really thought that a day would come where they would be able to meet one another again.
“Master, I really miss you…” the Byzantium Helios Beast kneeled down and hugged Zhang Yinqiu. Tears streamed freely down his face, and in this moment, he bore no resemblance to the austere Guardian Saint Beast of the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy whom everyone knew of.
“It seems like the old principal truly means a lot to him…” Seeing the state of the duo, Zhang Xuan fell into deep contemplation.
It was apparent from the Byzantium Helios Beast’s reaction that he truly missed the old principal. No matter what, they had still spent several centuries together, and the connection between them wasn’t something that could be replaced that easily.
Thus, with a flick of his finger, Zhang Xuan returned the soul which the Byzantium Helios Beast had offered to him previously.
“Principal Zhang…” Noticing the return of his soul tribute, the Byzantium Helios Beast quickly turned his gaze toward with young man with a look of disbelief in his eyes.
“From today onward, you will be free to make whatever choices you want. If you like, you can remain as the old principal’s tamed beast.” Zhang Xuan said with a smile.
To be honest, given Zhang Xuan’s current strength, it was also pointless to attempt to retain the Byzantium Helios Beast by his side either. Since that was the case, he might as well grant the other party freedom so that the other party could remain by Zhang Yinqiu’s side.
“Thank you, master…” the Byzantium Helios Beast kowtowed to Zhang Xuan in gratitude.
If not for the young man before him, he might have very well never reunited with the old principal ever again.
“Zhang shi, I have made up my mind. I will enter the Otherworldly Demon puppet for the time being. Previously, I had nothing to hold me back. You have already become the new principal of the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy, and I believe that it will be brought to greater heights under your leadership. That’s why I thought that it would have been better for me to die gracefully than to grasp so hideously to life…”
At this point, the old principal looked at his saint beast and smiled, “However… after seeing him, I found motivation within me to continue living!”
Zhang Yinqiu was a man who had devoted his entirety to the Master Teacher Academy, so till this day, he was still without a wife and offspring. On top of that, the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy had already found an incredibly talented individual to take over his place, so he thought that his existence served no purpose anymore. Yet, upon seeing the fondness that the Byzantium Helios Beast had for him, he realized that there was still much more he could do. It was still too early for him to rest.
Sometimes, a person didn’t just live for himself but for others as well.
“Alright!” Hearing his agreement, Zhang Xuan nodded. Reaching forward, he imbued Zhang Yinqiu’s soul with a unique energy and escorted him into the puppet.
Hu!
A few moments later, the puppet opened its eyes.
The Otherworldly Demon puppet didn’t look particularly impressive on the surface, but it was still a true Saint 3-dan expert. In possession of such a body, Zhang Yinqiu’s fighting prowess was significantly enhanced.
After dealing with Tan Qing and Zhang Yinqiu’s affairs, Zhang Xuan led the group towards the entrance of the Saint Ascension Hall, where the seal stood.
With a snap of his finger, the sphere appeared once more. And with another flick of his finger, an opening appeared within the seal.
“Alright, let’s go.”
The group walked out, and before long, they met up with Mu shi, Feng Xun, and the others, who were waiting outside for them.
Upon seeing that Zhang Xuan and the others had returned safely together with Vice Principals Tan Qing and Ji Yan, a wave of cheerings broke out amidst the crowd.
Since the aim of their mission had been met, they decided to head out of the Qiu Wu Palace. Thus, Zhang Xuan raised the sphere up high, and a brilliant radiance shrouded the crowd.
Hu!
In the next moment, the crowd found themselves standing on the volcano on top of the Embracing Swallow Mountain.
Having finally managed to escape from the ancient domain, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief. With a smile, he flicked his wrist, and a pile of treasures appeared before him. “Everyone, here are the treasures contained in the storage rings we have obtained thus far from killing the Otherworldly Demon Kings in the midst of our expedition. Since we have managed to get out from the ancient domain alive, it’s only natural that we should split the spoils of war amongst ourselves!”
As valuable as the treasures from the Skyleaf King, Scarletleaf King, and the others were, it was with the collaborative effort of the entire expedition team that he was able to defeat them. Previously, when they were still in the ancient domain, it was unsure whether they would be able to escape with their life or not, so it made no difference whether they divided the spoils amongst themselves or not. However, since they had managed to overcome the ancient domain safely, it was only right for them to do so now.
“This…”
“Principal Zhang, you were the one who killed the Skyleaf King and the others. We can’t possibly take these items…” Not expecting Zhang Xuan to take out everything within the storage rings, everyone was startled.
They couldn’t help but feel a little moved by his generous gesture.
In the depths of their hearts, they knew that it was thanks to the young man before them that they were able to defeat the Otherworldly Demon Kings and escape from the ancient domain alive. Throughout the whole expedition, they hadn’t accomplished anything much, so they felt embarrassed to take the items before them.
“We have entered the ancient domain as an entire team. Without the rest of you, I might not have been able to survive till now either, so there’s no need to feel embarrassed…” Zhang Xuan smiled.
Upon becoming a Celestial Saint, his state of mind had changed as well.
As valuable of these artifacts were, they would be put to better use if they could raise the cultivation of more people. That would be far better than him monopolizing them alone.
“Alright then. We will be graciously accepting your gifts then…” Seeing that Zhang Xuan’s mind was made up, the crowd decided not to turn him down any longer. Even after splitting the treasures amongst themselves, the gains of every individual was still very substantial.
The expedition team left Zhang Xuan with a huge bulk of the treasure, but these were of not much use to him anymore. After all, his greatest gain in the ancient domain was gaining possession of the Qiu Wu Palace!
Hu!
With a twist of the sphere, the folded space which the ancient domain was located in was secretly transferred to the surface of the sphere. From afar, it looked as if a map was inscribed onto the sphere.
After dividing the treasures, Wu shi and Guild Leader Han walked up to Zhang Xuan, and Wu shi said, “Principal Zhang, since this matter has been settled, we will be heading straight back to the Qingyuan Conferred Empire to report. Thus, we will be bidding you farewell here…”
“Alright. May we meet again in the future.” Zhang Xuan nodded.
“Before we leave, we would like to have a private chat with you. Is that fine with you?” Wu shi sent a telepathic message over.
“Alright.” Zhang Xuan replied.
With a grasp of his hand, he created a seal around him to prevent anyone from listening in. After which, he turned to the duo and asked, “May I know what matter it is that you would have to keep it away from the ears of the others?”
Wu shi and Guild Leader Han glanced at one another hesitantly before Guild Leader Han stepped forward to speak, “Actually, it isn’t anything much, but there’s just one matter which… we would like to advise Principal Zhang on!”
“Advise?” Zhang Xuan frowned doubtfully.
Just what kind of matter could it be for the both of them to offer him advice privately?
“I’ll get straight to the point then. Based on our observations over the past few days, I believe that Principal Zhang is interested in courting Luo shi, right?” After a moment of silence, Wu shi said.
“That’s right!” Zhang Xuan nodded affirmatively.
It was perfectly normal for a gentleman to court a lady, there was no need for him to deny the matter before others.
Not to mention, the lady was the only person whom he had found his heart beating for, and he had intended to spend his entire life together with her.
“Then… Are you aware of Luo shi’s background?” Wu shi asked.
“This… Based on what I have heard so far, it seems like she’s related to Sage Luo Clan?” Zhang Xuan hesitated for a moment before asking.
“That is indeed what the both of us have deduced as well. In fact, we believe that there is a very good chance she’s the little princess of the Luo Clan!” Wu shi revealed his deduction with a grim expression.
“Little princess?” Zhang Xuan was taken aback.
“Un. The little princess is known to have the purest bloodline in the Luo Clan ever since the time of the founder. Not only does she possess unparalleled talents, it’s said that she has also inherited the supreme artifact of the Luo Clan as well, the Dimension Silencer…”
Wu shi hesitated for a moment before continuing, “Sage Clans pay particular heed to the purity of their bloodline, and as such, the choice of partner is extremely important to them. Not to mention, she is in possession of the most important artifact of the Luo Clan… So, under normal circumstances, it’s impossible for her to be wedded to any outsiders!”
“This…” Zhang Xuan frowned. “If she’s not allowed to be wedded to outsiders, is she to remain single for life?”
“For those whose bloodlines are of average purity, it wouldn’t matter whether if they were wedded to outsiders or not. But for those whose bloodlines are as pure as the little princess of the Luo Clan… it would be difficult!” Wu shi shook his head. “Even if she were to get married, it would very likely be a matrimony amongst Sage Clans!”
“Matrimony amongst the Sage Clans?”
“Indeed. The cultivation techniques of Sage Clans mustn’t be leaked to outsiders at any cost, so those of the Sage Clans often opt to marry amongst themselves. Furthermore, if one marries another whose bloodline is as pure as one, there will there be a greater chance for the offspring to possess equivalent or greater talent… Thus, I fear that your wish to get together with her will be fraught with difficulties. It is an arduous path you are treading on!” Wu shi hesitated for a moment before he replied.
He was not opposed to the both of them getting together, but he felt that there were some things which Zhang Xuan should know beforehand.
It was simply not that easy to wed the daughter of a Sage Clan.
“More importantly… according to what I know, the little princess of the Luo Clan is already betrothed to an offspring of a very powerful Sage Clan! It is also for this reason that the little princess fled from the clan, and to this date, no one knows where she is…”
The one who spoke this time around was Guild Leader Han.
After having guessed Luo Ruoxin’s identity, the various rumors he had heard regarding her surfaced in his mind. While it was only secondhand news, so there was a good chance it was unreliable, he still felt that it was important to inform Zhang Xuan of it.
If Zhang Xuan really wished to get together with Luo Ruoxin, he would not only have to go against the Luo Clan but the other Sage Clan which Luo Ruoxin was betrothed to.
Since they had braved through danger together, he mustn’t allow Zhang Xuan to dive into the matter without understanding the risks.
“Betrothed to an offspring of a very powerful clan? What clan is it?” Zhang Xuan couldn’t help but ask.
“It is a clan which shares the same surname as yours!” At this point, Wu shi paused for a moment before continuing on.
“Zhang Clan of the Sage Clans!”
