A matter concerning the Temple of Confucius was already way beyond what Yang shi could access. The matter had happened tens of thousands of years ago, and no matter how carefully the Master Teacher Pavilion passed down its heritage from one generation to the next, there was still bound to be some information that was withheld or lost in the process. With the limited information he knew, all he could do was speculate.
And since it was just mere speculation, it would be better for him to hold his tongue than to spread uncertain information.
On the other hand, seeing that Yang shi was uncertain of the matter, Zhang Xuan decided to ask no more as well.
The two of them chatted a while longer before Sword Saint Xing suddenly walked over and said, “Yang shi, we are very thankful to you for helping us reunite with Xuan-er1. We wish to bring him back home now to acknowledge the ancestors. Would you be interested in following us along so as to witness the process?”
Yang shi nodded. “I happen to have something that I have to do back at the Zhang Clan. Let’s head over together.”
“Great. Let’s set off then!” Seeing that Yang shi was coming along as well, Sword Saint Xing inwardly heaved a sigh of relief before turning to Zhang Xuan. “We’ll first be heading to the Glacier Plain Court to teleport to the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters before teleporting to the Zhang Clan.”
“There’s no need to go through that much trouble. I can just set up a Teleportation Formation straight back to the Zhang Clan here,” Zhang Xuan replied with a smile.
While the power from the droplet had already faded, with his current Dimension Sundering realm primary stage cultivation and the assistance from Yang shi and the Xingmeng Sword Saints, it would not be too difficult for him to construct another Teleportation Formation.
In any case, he had been to the Zhang Clan once before, so he knew its coordinates very well. As long as he calculated carefully, he should be able to arrive at the destination with pinpoint accuracy.
“That would be great!”
It was only after hearing those words that the crowd suddenly remembered the young man’s ability to set up Teleportation Formations with a wave of his hand, and they quickly nodded in agreement.
“Before that, allow me to talk to my students a while first!” Since Zhang Xuan had already decided to head to the Zhang Clan, there was no longer any need for him to hesitate.
He quickly headed to where Zhao Ya, Zheng Yang, and the others had gathered.
“Teacher…”
With the crisis resolved, they were no longer able to suppress the longing that they felt, and they quickly gathered around Zhang Xuan in agitation.
If not for their teacher, they would still have been living their lives groggily in the remote Tianxuan Kingdom. They would never have grown to become the formidable powerhouses that they were that day.
They would never forget what their teacher had done for them.
“Not bad!” Looking at the faces before him, Zhang Xuan could not help but smile hearteningly.
Those immature children that had waddled behind him in the past had become figures who could stand their own ground. There was indeed nothing constant in the world except for the passing of time.
After chatting for a bit, Zhang Xuan turned to the spear-wielding young man and asked, “Zheng Yang, how did you manage to grow so quickly?”
Wei Ruyan had been able to advance her cultivation swiftly due to her Innate Poison Constitution, and the same applied to Zhao Ya, Lu Chong, and Yuan Tao as well. While Wang Ying did improve considerably, her strength was mainly derived from her spirit enchantment art and the puppet that she commanded.
Yet, it was Zheng Yang, who only had hard work to count on, who had improved the quickest among them, such that even Ren Qingyuan would hesitate to face him.
“Teacher, I only managed to improve so quickly due to the Master Teacher Pavilion’s Hall of Spring and Autumn!” Zheng Yang replied honestly.
“Hall of Spring and Autumn?” Zhang Xuan muttered.
“It’s a unique artifact of the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters, and it’s said to have been left behind by Kong shi as well. It’s somewhat similar to the Blood Reservoir of the Zhang Clan, but it’s more advanced than that. A year inside the Hall of Spring and Autumn translates to only the passing of a month outside… I spent a total of three months inside, which is equivalent to the passing of three years, with the Combat Master Hall generously supplying whatever I needed for my cultivation!” Zheng Yang said.
“I see…” Zhang Xuan nodded in realization.
It was no wonder the other party had grown so much within just a couple of months, such that even Zhao Ya and the others were not able to catch up to him. It turned out that the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters still had such a formidable artifact with them.
With the slowing of time, Zheng Yang’s diligence, the heritage of the Combat Master Hall, and the vast resources devoted to him, it was understandable that he had grown so quickly within such a short period of time.
The Zhang Clan’s Blood Reservoir only allowed one to cultivate mentally, but the effects of the Hall of Spring and Autumn applied to the cultivator as a whole. Naturally, there was a vast difference in the effects as well.
As they chatted and chatted, before they knew it, the sky had already begun to dim. Seeing that it was getting late, Zhang Xuan said, “All of you are already leaders of your respective organizations, so you can’t follow me as you did in the past anymore. Your people need you, so return to them. I’m not in any danger anymore, so there’s no need to be worried about me!”
He knew that his students missed him, and he missed them as well. However, their circumstances were different from before, and they could not afford to act willfully. They had each found their own way forward, so it was inevitable that their paths would have to diverge.
“We understand, but it’s just that we can’t bear to…”
The thought of separation after barely reuniting with one another made Zhao Ya’s eyes redden slightly.
She had thought that she would be able to remain with her teacher a little longer, but to think that they would have to separate so soon again.
“Zhao Ya, even though I have helped you reconstruct your meridians, your foundations are still a little weak at the moment. Here is a cultivation technique manual that I have just written. Cultivate according to it, and it’ll do you much good for your future cultivation.
“Zheng Yang, the heritage of the Combat Master Hall isn’t too bad, but due to the swift advancement in your cultivation, you ended up incurring some traumas. I have a prescription over here. Get a skilled apothecary to forge the pills for you according to my prescription. Consume one a day for a week straight, and it should resolve the traumas that you have sustained and advance your cultivation further.
“Wang Ying, your talent is lacking in comparison to Zhao Ya and the others, and you haven’t been blessed with the same fortuitous encounter as Zheng Yang. Here are the cultivation technique manuals that I have compiled for you recently, as well as the insights I have regarding spirit enchantment. I’ll entrust all of them to you, and as long as you practice them diligently, you should be able to improve quickly as well!
“Lu Chong…”
“Wei Ruyan…”
“Yuan Tao…”
Zhang Xuan carefully went through the problems with each of his students’ cultivation, but even after doing so, he still felt a little worried. Thus, he left several surges of Heaven’s Path zhenqi in each of them before finally heaving a sigh of relief.
They might have matured and grown even stronger than him, but somehow, he could not help but see them as children that needed taking care of.
“Teacher, since you are intending to head to the Luo Clan very soon to seal your engagement, let’s meet again in the Luo Clan!” Zheng Yang said with a smile. “I’ll bring a huge present then to celebrate the occasion!”
“Indeed! How can we be absent for our teacher’s marriage?” Wei Ruyan chuckled softly.
“We’ll definitely be there!”
Zhao Ya and the others nodded in agreement.
Seeing the earnest faces all around him, Zhang Xuan shook his head helplessly and said, “Alright, feel free to come if you want to. Right, there’s a matter that I need to entrust you all with. Liu Yang disappeared after leaving Qingyuan City, so I would like you to help me keep a lookout for him. If you find him, make sure that no danger befalls him!” Recalling that disciple of his who had left to venture into the world, Zhang Xuan could not help but feel a little worried.
“Alright!”
The others nodded in agreement.
While they had been chatting, the elders of the Spirit Awakener Guild had already moved the enchanted buildings back to where they belonged, and the experts of the Poison Hall had also cured the poisoned master teachers and released them.
By the time that Zhang Xuan parted with his students, night had fallen.
“Let’s go!”
Knowing that Zhang Xuan was not in a mood to chat, Sword Saint Meng did not bother him too much. She took out a bunch of grade-9 formation flags and passed them over.
Taking the formation flags, Zhang Xuan quickly calculated the coordinates of the Zhang Clan and began constructing the Teleportation Formation.
Due to his lacking cultivation, he still needed Yang shi’s assistance before he finally activated the Teleportation Formation successfully.
Hu!
The group vanished on the spot, and the next instant, they were standing right before the Zhang Clan’s entrance formation.
