Hearing that Elder Ge wanted to pin such a heinous crime on him, Zhang Xuan could not help but scoff on the inside. Nevertheless, he still waved his hand and ordered, “Inferno Qilin, stop.”
As awful as Elder Ge’s words sounded, they also made sense.
The Sanctum of Sages was the highest academy on the Master Teacher Continent. Even though its standing was not on par with the Master Teacher Pavilion, and its strength had declined over time, its prestige and rallying power were still not to be underestimated.
In the first place, making a move on the incumbent deputy sanctum head and an elder could already be considered an extremely contemptible action. If it were to be known that he had severely wounded or even killed them, he could be making himself an enemy of the entire upper echelon of the Master Teacher Continent!
Roar!
Upon hearing the command, as infuriated as the Inferno Qilin was, it did not dare go against Zhang Xuan’s order. Thus, it reluctantly retracted its hoof and backed off.
Zhan shi and Elder Ge heaved a deep sigh of relief. It was only at this moment that they suddenly realized that their robes were completely soaked in sweat.
Had the Inferno Qilin continued its attack, even if they walked out of there alive, they could have ended up being crippled for life.
Taking a deep breath, Zhang Xuan suppressed his emotions before stepping forward and clasping his fist. “It’s not my intention to make a move on the two of you. However, I really do have urgent matters to attend to, and I can’t afford to waste any time. I beg your pardon for this.”
He was deeply displeased by Zhan shi and Elder Ge’s actions, but this was not the time for him to fall out completely with them. The Zhang Clan was already on his back; he did not need to add the Sanctum of Sages into his list of pursuers.
Zhan shi shot a slightly apprehensive glance at the Inferno Qilin before harrumphing coldly. “Humph!”
He felt infuriated inside, but there was no way he could vent his rage. All along, he had viewed Zhang Xuan as someone who was within his control, but who would have thought that in a month of absence, the other party had already become a dragon soaring in the sky, far beyond his reach?
“Allow me to reassure you that I’ll personally resolve the unhappiness with the Zhang Clan in the near future, so there’s no need to worry about that. The reason I’m here today is to borrow the 9-star formation flags, and I hope that Zhan shi can grant my request!” Zhang Xuan said.
Zhan shi looked at Zhang Xuan deeply for a long moment before sighing deeply and saying, “Very well then, I’ll take your word for it. I hope that you won’t let me down.”
Following which, he flicked his wrist and took out over a hundred formation flags. Every single one of them was made of a particularly resilient material. It was clear that they were all high-tier.
Grade-9 formation flags!
With the Inferno Qilin and the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast watching from the side, Zhan shi felt that Zhang Xuan would order his tamed beast to snatch the formation flags from him by force if he refused. Rather than suffer for nothing, he thought that it would be wiser to hand them over first.
“Thank you, Zhan shi.”
Zhang Xuan took the formation flags and examined them closely. After verifying that these formation flags were indeed suited for the construction of Teleportation Formations, he heaved a sigh of relief before turning his head toward the collapsed doorway. “Come in!”
It was only upon hearing Zhang Xuan’s words that Zhan shi and Elder Ge realized that there was someone standing by the doorway. She was the genius from the Glacier Plain Court who had just enrolled earlier in the year, Chen Leyao!
At that moment, the young lady was staring at the rubble lying around the place with widened eyes. When she caught sight of the trail of blood trickling down from Zhan shi and Elder Ge’s lips, she could not help but clasp her agape mouth in shock.
They were only there to borrow formation flags, not to raid the place. Was it really necessary to go so far?
How were they supposed to resolve the situation peacefully now that such a situation had happened?
However, she also knew that it was meaningless to think too much about it now—what was done was done. Thus, she quickly walked over to Zhang Xuan.
Paying no heed to Chen Leyao’s shock, Zhang Xuan hurriedly sent a telepathic message over. “Tell me the exact location of the Glacier Plain Court.”
Without any hesitation, Chen Leyao quickly informed Zhang Xuan of the exact location of the Glacier Plain Court telepathically. “It’s located in the extreme north…”
“Got it!” After hearing the location from Chen Leyao, a map swiftly surfaced in Zhang Xuan’s mind as he quickly gauged the distance and direction of the destination from the Sanctum of Sages.
When setting up a Teleportation Formation, especially for ones with intended destinations as far as the one that Zhang Xuan was going to set up, there could be no mistake in the direction at all. Otherwise, even the slightest degree of deviation in the calibration could possibly result in the result being off by countless li.
After calculating for roughly five minutes, Zhang Xuan exhaled deeply in relief before flicking his fingers.
Hu!
The formation flags that he was holding with his other hand immediately flew all over the place.
Weng!
As soon as they took their places, energy ripples began diffusing into the surroundings, forging a rather stable folded space. However, before it could fully take shape, it abruptly exploded.
First attempt, fail!
My strength is still insufficient.
Sensing that single attempt had taken away half of his total zhenqi, Zhang Xuan shook his head helplessly.
There was no mistake in his setting up of the formation flags and manipulation of energy earlier. In fact, the reason behind his failure was not because he had made any mistake but because he was not able to supply sufficient energy for the creation of the formation!
With his Phantasmal Space realm pinnacle cultivation, Heaven’s Path zhenqi, and deep comprehension of space, his fighting prowess was at least on par with Dimension Sundering realm pinnacle experts. However, it was still insufficient for him to construct a Teleportation Formation.
“Now!”
While Zhang Xuan was still deliberating over what alternatives he could use in order to resolve the lack of energy, he suddenly heard a bellow from behind him. The next moment, Zhan shi and Elder Ge charged forward simultaneously.
The cold shimmer of a sword flashed across the room, freeing the two of them of the Inferno Qilin’s control. Following which, the two of them swiftly fled into the air.
The Inferno Qilin and the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast had been so focused on their master that they were caught off guard by the duo’s abrupt movements. They had to block their attacks in a fluster, so they failed to keep them from getting away.
In the sky, Zhan shi flicked his wrist and whipped out a token. Following which, with a resounding voice that echoed clearly to the corners of the Sanctum of Sages, he declared, “All elders of the Sanctum of Sages, hear my words! Zhang Xuan and his tamed beasts have audaciously made a move against me and Elder Ge, so I hereby declare him to be an enemy of the Sanctum of Sages. All of you are to immediately move out and apprehend him, and should he try to retaliate, you are permitted to take extreme actions… even at the cost of his life!”
As the deputy sanctum head, he could be considered the face of the Sanctum of Sages. Even if his pride could take it lying, he could not allow the long history of the Sanctum of Sages to be besmirched in his hands!
Hong long!
As soon as the decree was passed, a huge commotion broke out within the Sanctum of Sages. Countless figures emerged in the air, easily numbering in the tens of thousands.
Earlier, during the battle with the Inferno Qilin, Zhang Xuan had known that things could turn out bad if people started gathering there, so he had discreetly set up an isolation formation in the room in order to prevent any sound from getting out. As a result of that, despite the entire room collapsing, it had not caught anyone’s attention.
However, the decree that had just been passed had reached the ears of every single elder and student in the Sanctum of Sages, so they swiftly flew up in order to see what was happening.
“This is bad… Inferno Qilin, hurry up and knock him down!”
Not expecting Zhan shi to suddenly act in such a way, Zhang Xuan’s face darkened. He hurriedly ordered the Inferno Qilin to make a move.
“Roar!”
With a furious roar, the Inferno Qilin dashed into the sky and raised its hoof, preparing to knock Zhan shi down back onto the ground.
“Guardian Formation!”
Grasping the Deputy Sanctum Head Token in his hands tightly, Zhan shi swiftly activated the power in it, and a blinding burst of light suddenly flashed into the surroundings, seemingly communicating with a dormant ancient power in the Sanctum of Sages.
The surrounding space suddenly seemed to have been frozen solid, such that even the Inferno Qilin ended up freezing in place, unable to move in the slightest.
“Guardian Formation?” Zhang Xuan narrowed his eyes.
The Sanctum of Sages had declined considerably over the years. The lack of a legitimate sanctum head had resulted in its inability to draw in and retain talents, resulting in an endless spiral of weakness. As a result, even the strongest expert within its ranks at the moment was only at Saint 9-dan primary stage.
However, this had not always been the case. There was a period of time when the Sanctum of Sages had stood at the very peak of the Master Teacher Continent, second only to the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters!
After all, every single true sanctum head had possessed the Eye of Insight and was an expert that had exceeded Saint 9-dan, reaching a realm unthinkable to most. Even the First Elder would amount to nothing much before their eyes!
The Guardian Formation that they had left behind was the ultimate trump card of the Sanctum of Sages. Even if the Zhang Clan dispatched all of its forces over, it was questionable whether they would be able to breach it or not, let alone a mere Inferno Qilin!
It was also for this reason that the Sanctum of Sages had been able to remain standing even after all these years, retaining its prestige. Otherwise, given the weakness of the current deputy sanctum head, they would have been destroyed by the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe long ago!
Sensing the despairing power of the formation, the Inferno Qilin anxiously sent a telepathic message over to Zhang Xuan. “Master, I’m unable to breach this formation! At this rate, we might all lose our lives here!”
Tzzzzzzz!
While the formation was trapping the Inferno Qilin, the other elders of the Sanctum of Sages also made their way over, and they swiftly took their positions behind Zhan shi.
“Zhang Xuan, surrender now or die,” Zhan shi said impassively as he gazed down upon the young man below him with utterly cold eyes.
