Zhang Xuan nodded in realization.
All along, he thought that the Temple of Confucius only contained the Great Codex of Spring and Autumn and Kong shi’s heritage. However, from the looks of it now, it was likely to be similar to most ancient domains out there. There were many unexpected treasures and fortuitous encounters awaiting the cultivators there.
“Not only so, the Temple of Confucius harnesses the academic aura and academic fortune Kong shi has left behind. Even if a cultivator fails to acquire anything at all, he would still be able to make significant progress in his cultivation just by cultivating within. Furthermore, it’s said that Kong shi’s Impartation of Heaven’s Will lingers in the Temple of Confucius. As long as one listens carefully, one will be able to overcome any bottleneck one is facing with ease,” Luo Ruoxin explained.
“The emergence of the Temple of Confucius is a major affair to all cultivators in the world. This is an opportunity that no one is willing to give up on, be it the human cultivators, the Otherworldly Demons, or the Beast Tribe… You must ensure that you are prepared if you wish to acquire anything from the Temple of Confucius. Advancing blindly in the Temple of Confucius isn’t going to work out.”
Hearing those words, Zhang Xuan lowered his head solemnly.
The Otherworldly Demonic Tribe weren’t lacking experts, and there were many formidable beasts in the world too. Considering the allure of the Temple of Confucius, not even the Master Teacher Pavilion would dare to stop them carelessly.
The implications were simply great. Stopping them would mean robbing them of the countless possibilities of what they could become. In the worst-case scenario, it could even lead to a full-blown war there and then!
And if the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe were to make a move then, mankind would really be in trouble.
The best they could do at the moment was to acquire the Great Codex of Spring and Autumn as soon as possible and control the Temple of Confucius. This was the only way they could ensure that the situation wouldn’t run amok.
Kong shi had forged six Subordinate Amulets and a Prime Amulet, which equated to a total of seven Celestial Amulets of Legacy. So far, it was known that the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters, the Zhang Clan, and the Luo Clan possessed a Subordinate Amulet each. As for the remaining three Subordinate Amulets, their whereabouts were a mystery.
However, if Zhang Xuan had to fathom a guess, he felt that it was likely that the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe and the Hundred Schools of Philosophers had a Subordinate Amulet in their possession too.
Furthermore, cultivators who possessed unique constitutions would be able to enter the Temple of Confucius as well. This meant that a considerable number of people would be able to enter the Temple of Confucius. It could really turn out to be dangerous if he didn’t make ample preparations in advance.
Putting everything aside, the cultivators of the Hundred Schools of Philosophers had already shown that they had no lack of formidable artifacts. Even with the recent advancements in his cultivation, he would still have difficulties dealing with them.
He didn’t think that he could be considered weak anymore, but he wasn’t so arrogant as to think that he could easily tower over all of the experts in the world.
“Let’s return to the Zhang Clan and see how their preparations are coming along!”
In truth, Zhang Xuan didn’t know much about the Temple of Confucius and how the Great Codex of Spring and Autumn could be acquired. However, it was likely that the Zhang Clan had some exclusive intelligence and had been preparing for it since a long time ago.
With such thoughts in mind, Zhang Xuan and Luo Ruoxin quickly left the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters and returned to the Zhang Clan.
With the advancements in Zhang Xuan’s cultivation, the spatial passageways he constructed through ripping open dimension rifts had become significantly stabler. It didn’t take long before the massive Zhang Clan appeared before their sights.
As soon as he entered the Zhang Clan, Zhang Xuan could already sense that something was amiss.
The Zhang Clan always had huge crowds walking to and fro, but at this very moment, the entire place felt exceptionally empty. There was hardly anyone within sight.
It took quite a bit of searching around before Zhang Xuan finally found an elder. He asked anxiously, “What happened?”
“Nearly all of the cultivators of Saint realm and above in our Zhang Clan have made their way to the Subterranean Gallery to fend against the invasion of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe. The Xingmeng Sword Saints have already headed over too!” Upon seeing Zhang Xuan, the elder hurriedly greeted him with a bow before reporting the current circumstances.
“They have headed to the Subterranean Galleries?” Zhang Xuan widened his eyes in realization.
He had been too overwhelmed by the emergence of the Temple of Confucius that he had forgotten about the orders he had passed down earlier. Back when he was still at the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters, he had instructed the Three Premier Clans to reinforce the Master Teacher Pavilion in fending against the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe.
“Which Subterranean Gallery they head to? Bring me there!” Zhang Xuan instructed imposingly.
With the opening of the Temple of Confucius just around the corner, it was likely that the invasion of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe would further intensify. After all, there would not want to miss on this once in a lifetime opportunity.
This was truly a quandary. The Temple of Confucius was important, but even if they managed to acquire the Great Codex of Spring and Autumn, it would be meaningless if losing the Master Teacher Continent was the price of it.
The Great Codex of Spring and Autumn could enhance a cultivator’s prowess immensely. However, to fight a war of such scale, they would require the might of countless soldiers. It would be a catastrophe if the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe were to breach their defense at this point in time.
It was no wonder why the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters was in such a panic, even going to the extent of clearing his 9-star master teacher examination in such a slipshod manner.
Otherwise, if they were to go through formal procedures, just proving his philosophy of pedagogy was likely to take several years already.
“Even though there is unrest in all 108 Subterranean Galleries, our scouts found that most of the Subterranean Galleries are only facing minor skirmishes at the moment. The local Master Teacher Pavilions should be able to suppress them. The real threat lies in six of the Subterranean Galleries, namely the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters’ Subterranean Gallery, the Dragon Gate Subterranean Gallery, the Icysea Subterranean Gallery, the Cloudsea Subterranean Gallery, the Zhang Clan’s Dracotiger Mountain Subterranean Gallery, and the Luo Clan’s Starcluster Subterranean Gallery!
“There are many 9-star master teachers to deal with the Subterranean Gallery over at the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters’ side, so they don’t require any assistance at the moment.
“Over at the Dragon Gate Subterranean Gallery and the Cloudsea Subterranean Gallery, the Progeny of Combat, Zheng Yang, has officially assumed the title of the master of the Combat Master Hall and led countless combat masters to quell the unrest in those two places.
“As for the Icysea Subterranean Gallery, the Glacier Plain Court, the Yuan Clan, the Sanctum of Sages, and the Spirit Awakener Guild have liaised with one another and sent their forces over to stabilize the region.
“The other Sage Clans, occupation guilds, and powers are patrolling the other Subterranean Galleries to lend their aid wherever required.
“Last but not least, the Jiang Clan is moving alongside the Zhang Clan and the Luo Clan to guard the Dracotiger Mountain Subterranean Gallery and Starcluster Subterranean Gallery!
“The Otherworldly Demons are particularly rampant in the Dracotiger Mountain Subterranean Gallery and the Starcluster Subterranean Gallery. Even with the seals left behind by Ancient Sage Qiu Wu, our forces are having trouble fending the Otherworldly Demons off. As such, all master teachers ranked 6-star and above in the Zhang Clan are mobilized to the Dracotiger Mountain Subterranean Gallery to bolster the defenses!” the elder explained.
“I am left in charge of taking care of the clan while the others are away. Should the situation turn for the worse, I’m responsible for moving our clan members away so as to preserve the lineage of our Zhang Clan!”
“Dracotiger Mountain Subterranean Gallery? In other words, there is Subterranean Gallery is right beneath us?” Zhang Xuan’s eyebrows shot up.
He knew that some of the regional Master Teacher Pavilion branches were responsible for suppressing the Subterranean Galleries across the continent, such as the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy… He should have known that it would have been the same for the Zhang Clan as well!
The Dracotiger Mountain was right next to the Zhang Clan. Since the Subterranean Gallery was named as such, it was likely to be in the vicinity.
“Un. The entrance is located right beneath our Zhang Clan. If you wish to enter the Subterranean Gallery, I can bring you over right now!” the elder replied.
“Bring me there!” Zhang Xuan instructed.
It was fortunate that there was some time before the Temple of Confucius was opened, but even if it was already fully opened, quelling the invasion of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe would still take priority over that.
“Clan head, please follow me!”
The elder swiftly led the way forward. Before long, they arrived at their destination.
“This is… the mausoleum of the Zhang Clan?” Zhang Xuan was taken aback.
“That’s right. The Subterranean Gallery is located beneath our mausoleum!” the elder replied.
“Using heroic spirits of the Zhang Clan’s predecessors to suppress the Subterranean Gallery…” Zhang Xuan murmured quietly.
This was similar to what the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy practiced. In the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy, the principal of each generation would deposit a sliver of their will at the entrance of the Subterranean Gallery so as to reinforce the seal, thus preventing any Otherworldly Demons from stepping their foot onto the Master Teacher Continent.
“Only the heroic spirits of our predecessors are able to suppress the Otherworldly Demons and prevent them from entering the Master Teacher Continent. Clan head, the Subterranean Gallery is right ahead. I still have other matters to attend to, so I’m afraid that I’ll have to take my leave right now!” the elder bade his farewell before leaving the area.
Should the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe successfully breach the defenses constructed by the Zhang Clan and the Jiang Clan, their first point of contact with the Master Teacher Continent would be the Zhang Clan. In order to preserve the lineage of the Zhang Clan, the elder had to be ready to move the members of the Zhang Clan as quickly as possible once he received the signal to do so.
The younger generation was the future of mankind. If they were to lose even the younger generation as well, mankind would have nothing to oppose the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe in the future.
“Un!” Zhang Xuan nodded before making his way into the Zhang Clan Mausoleum together with Luo Ruoxin.
Innumerable stone tablets were erected neatly along the pathway. Taking a closer look at the stone tablets, he noticed that there was a name inscribed on each of them. These men were the strongest experts of the Zhang Clan in their era, but it was a pity that they were unable to break free of the shackles of time. All that was left of them were fistfuls of yellow dust.
No matter how talented a person was in his lifetime, in the passing of tens of thousands of years, all that would remain of them were just lonely names on blocks of stones.
Not even the annals of history were immemorial. Eventually, people would come to forget who they were and what they did. The only things that remained were their heroic spirits.
