“Is that so? Let’s take it away then!”
Zhang Xuan’s eyes lit up in excitement.
That whole time, he had been thinking that it would be wonderful if he could take the Bodhi Tree away with him. After all, this was an ideal impetus for him to push for a breakthrough in his Soul Depth to 30.0. Who would have thought that the little koi fish would be able to do it for him!
But after giving it some more thought, the matter made sense.
The koi fish was the crux to the poison dimension, and the poison dimension corresponded to the Hall of Lull. It was likely that there was some inseverable connection between the two. There had to be some reason for Kong shi choosing to groom the koi fish and leave it in the poison dimension in the first place.
“Alright!” Hearing Zhang Xuan’s approval, the koi fish immediately flew out, and with whip of its tail, it leaped into the pond located at the center of the backyard.
Gugugugu!
The water in the pond began to swirl into a massive spiral.
Gradually, the water spiral rose into the air and enveloped the Bodhi Tree, pulling it off the surface of the ground.
“This…”
Zhang Xuan did not think that it would be so easy to retrieve this precious Bodhi Tree. His eyes lit up in excitement.
Hula!
He swiftly stowed the Bodhi Tree into the Myriad Anthive Nest, choosing an empty clearing in the area to plant it. Shortly after it was planted, a pond formed in its vicinity, and koi fishes swam delightfully within it, splashing water into the air from time to time.
Zhang Xuan quickly examined the replanted Bodhi Tree and noted that it did not wither due to the movement. Instead, its trees grew even lusher. Furthermore, it seemed to harmonize with the other Bodhi Tree that he had acquired from the Hongyuan royal family, and they swiftly fused together into one body, forming a passageway that could temper one’s soul and Soul Depth.
“With this, I shouldn’t face any troubles trying to push for a breakthrough to Ancient Sage!” Zhang Xuan chuckled softly beneath his breath.
With this tree placed in the Myriad Anthive Nest, he would be able to cultivate whenever he had time. Reaching a Soul Depth of 30.0 was simply a matter of time!
Of course, the fastest way was still to consume a Bodhi Fruit. However, even though his Soul Depth was already on the verge of a breakthrough, his cultivation was severely lacking. He felt that the Bodhi Fruit would be put to greater use with his parents and the others.
“Teacher…”
Seeing that the Bodhi Tree had been taken away, Zhao Ya and the others were slightly bewildered. It was just a moment ago that their teacher had prompted them to cultivate under the Bodhi Tree, but the next moment, he had suddenly taken it away.
In response, Zhang Xuan cleared his throat and said, “You should head into my folded space to cultivate!”
Since he had taken the Bodhi Tree away, there was no reason for them to remain in the area. Thus, he waved his hand and helped the three girls into the Myriad Anthive Nest as well, leaving them to cultivate their Soul Depth.
Then, he quickly made his way out of the Hall of Lull.
…
Huhuhu!
Thrown out of the Hall of Lull with their limbs broken, the nine youths from the Hundred Schools of Philosophers trembled in fury. Frenzied looks covered their faces, and it seemed as if they were on the verge of going berserk.
After consuming a grade-9 Grand Intermittence Pill, their shattered bones had already begun to heal, but their rage only deepened with time.
Unable to take it any longer, one of the youths asked, “Gongxi Qing, what do we do now?”
The young man named Gongxi Qing was the de facto leader of the group, the person who had given orders to Wei Ruyan and Zhang Xuan earlier. He was a descendant of Ancient Sage Zi Hua.
“We can’t let this matter go just like that!” Gongxi Qing gritted his teeth furiously.
As offspring of the Hundred Schools of Philosophers, the populace of the Master Teacher Continent were no different from barbarians in their eyes.
In the first place, those barbarians should have taken pride in the fact that they were of use to them in the Temple of Confucius. Yet, not only did they snatch all of the treasures away, they had even pummeled them into such a state. It was a heinous crime! Unforgivable!
“We have to teach them a lesson so that they’ll know never to cross the Hundred Schools of Philosophers!”
“Zhang Xuan doesn’t seem too strong, but that young lady known as Luo Qiqi is far beyond our means to deal with at the moment!”
“Zhao Ya and Wei Ruyan’s cultivation has reached Sempiternal realm consummation as well. We wouldn’t stand a chance against them in a fight!”
…
The others discussed the situation worriedly.
They were infuriated, but they also knew that their opponents were beyond their means to deal with.
“We might not be a match for them, but the loss of the Bodhi Fruits is a huge matter. The old ancestor will surely intervene. I’ll send him a message right now…” Gongxi Qing harrumphed coldly.
Bearing the excruciating pain from his newly healed bones, Gongxi Qing took out a unique jade token and sent the details of the conflict over. However, he did not go in depths about who the culprit was. He only mentioned that the Bodhi Fruits had been stolen and that they had sustained severe injuries.
A moment after he sent the message, tremendous pressure suddenly weighed down from the heavens. It was so intense that it left the crowd feeling deeply suffocated.
Following which, an elderly figure suddenly appeared before the crowd. Upon seeing the states of the nine youths, the face of the elderly figure turned livid as he demanded, “What happened?”
As he spoke, a droplet of blood oozed out from the tip of his finger. The droplet of blood split into nine portions, with each portion entering the body of one of the nine youths. In an instant, the injuries that they had sustained began healing at a visible rate due to the sheer vitality contained within the blood. It did not take long for them to be restored to full health.
This was one of the abilities that Ancient Sages possessed, Blood Reincarnation!
The elderly figure was an Ancient Sage expert!
“Old ancestor, you must redress our grievances!”
After recovering from their injuries, Gongxi Qing and the others immediately kneeled onto the ground and cried sorrowfully.
“Who’s the culprit?” The elderly figure narrowed his eyes as the aura that he emanated grew even colder.
The elderly figure appeared to be in his sixties, and he did not have a beard. His eyes carried a hint of desolation, but his face was slightly pale. It was hard to tell whether he was exhausted from traveling there through space too swiftly or had met with some danger and been injured.
“The culprit is a master teacher from the Master Teacher Continent!” Gongxi Qing spat through clenched teeth. “We brought Wei Ruyan into the Hall of Lull and had her help us mature the Bodhi Fruit. However, that fellow came over and snatched the ripened fruits from our hands. He even injured us and broke our limbs…”
“Did you tell him your identity?”
“We did! We told him that we are from the Hundred Schools of Philosophers and that these Bodhi Fruits are of vital importance to us. We even offered to give one of the Bodhi Fruits to him as compensation. Yet, that scoundrel still chose to make a move on us!” Gongxi Qing continued indignantly.
“When did the master teachers of the Master Teacher Continent become so arrogant?” the elderly figure sneered in fury.
In an instant, it was as if someone had set his aura ablaze. A rampaging aura poured forth from his body, crushing everything around him. All of those who stood in the face of this aura could only shiver in fear, not daring to speak a word aloud.
The Hundred Schools of Philosophers and the Master Teacher Pavilion both had their roots from Kong shi, and propriety was something of the utmost importance to them. Since their people had already matured the Bodhi Fruit, it was inappropriate for the other party, especially given that he was a master teacher, to snatch it away by force. If one resorted to brute strength for everything, how would one be any different from the Otherworldly Demons?
“Old ancestor, you must redress our grievance! We beseech you to kill that fellow for us!”
“Even if we spare his life, the least we should do is cripple his limbs so that he will learn a painful lesson for his arrogance!”
Sensing that they had successfully invoked the rage of the old ancestor, the crowd roared furiously.
“Rest assured, I’ll surely redress your grievances!” The elderly figure nodded.
Spreading his Spiritual Perception into the area, the elderly figure’s voice boomed in the surrounding area. “The master teacher who has just entered, may I know whose descendant you are? I hope that you can offer a fair explanation as to why you have treated my descendants in such a manner. Otherwise, don’t blame me for being merciless!”
Hu!
A wind blew silently in the area, but there was no response at all.
“From the looks of it, it doesn’t seem like he’s the offspring of any Ancient Sage. Since he isn’t under anyone’s protection, I won’t stand on ceremony…” The elderly figure harrumphed coldly as a malicious aura drifted forth from his body.
At this moment, the descendants behind the elderly figure suddenly exclaimed in agitation. “Old ancestor, that fellow is coming out!”
Shortly after, a slight glow emanated from the entrance of the Hall of Lull, and a figure appeared before the crowd.
“We must make him understand that those from the Hundred Schools of Philosophers aren’t to be trifled with!” Gongxi Qing sneered coldly.
However, the very next moment, he saw the old ancestor’s body stiffening as an incredulous expression crept onto the latter’s face. “The person whom you were referring… The person who stole the Bodhi Fruit from you… is Zhang Xuan?”
“That’s right! He’s the scoundrel who made a move on us!” Gongxi Qing nodded vehemently.
“I see… I forgot that I had some matters that I still have to attend to, so I’ll be taking my leave. A matter as trivial as this doesn’t require my intervention, so settle it among yourselves!”
Hu!
And with a poof, the old ancestor disappeared from sight.
“…” Gongxi Qing.
“…” The crowd.
