Zhang Hongtian gave it a try, but he realized that the cloth-like barrier before him was frighteningly resilient. He immediately realized that the prowess of Ancient Sage Yan Qing was far above his, so with a cold harrumph, he turned around and said, “Since Ancient Sage Yan Qing has spoken up, I’ll spare you for the time being!”
He flicked his wrist to return his sword back to his waist before regrouping with those from the Master Teacher Pavilion, standing quietly on the spot. It was as if he was completely unaffected by the conflict that had just occurred.
At the same time, it seemed as if the White Overlord knew that it was not a match for Zhang Hongtian or Ancient Sage Yan Qing, so it whipped its tail back and quietly returned to its group, not daring to utter a word of complaint.
“Given that the Prime Hall of the Temple of Confucius hasn’t even opened yet, it’s unwise for you to leap at one another to tear each other apart.” Seeing that the two of them had finally calmed down, Ancient Sage Yan Qing retracted his palm and smiled. Turning to the crowd, he said, “Moving back to the topic at hand, since everyone knows how the Prime Hall is opened, let’s discuss how we should allocate the slots to entering the Prime Hall!”
Hearing that the other party was raising the matter regarding the allocation of slots once more, Zhang Hongtian said with a frown, “I’m sure that you already have your own ideas. Feel free to state your suggestion. If we find it appropriate, there’s no reason for us not to agree with it!”
“Indeed, I do have some thoughts in mind!” Ancient Sage Yan Qing admitted with a smile. “Having cleared the six Subordinate Halls, we know that even if the Prime Hall opens, we’ll also have to bypass the seal that Kong shi has personally left on it. Without the corresponding Celestial Amulet of Legacy, there’s no way that we will be able to enter!”
The crowd nodded in agreement.
They had tested the six Subordinate Halls, and there was indeed no way of bypassing the barrier without the corresponding Celestial Amulet of Legacy or unique constitution. This was especially with regards to Ancient Sages. If they attempted to forcefully tear down the barrier, they would only end up suffering a severe backlash!
There was no doubt that Ancient Sages were extremely powerful, but Kong shi was a man known as the World’s Teacher. There was no way an ancient domain left behind by him could be breached through forceful means, even by Ancient Sages!
“To enter the Prime Hall, we’ll need the Prime Amulet. All in all, the Prime Amulet can bring a total of fifteen people into the Prime Hall,” Ancient Sage Yan Qing said.
Some discussions broke out amid the crowd shortly after. They were starting to plan their next moves.
The White Overlord harrumphed coldly. “We don’t even know where the Prime Amulet is at the moment. If it’s not in our hands, won’t we be forced to watch in futility while others harvest the treasures in the Prime Hall for themselves?”
It was pretty much common knowledge who was in possession of the six Celestial Amulets of Legacy at this point in time, but the Prime Amulet had yet to make its appearance.
Most people thought that the reason that Zhang Xuan had been able to enter the Subordinate Halls without any problem was because he was in possession of the blood essence of his students. After all, the Subordinate Halls that he had entered were indeed the ones that corresponded to the unique constitutions of his students.
Furthermore, there was a widespread misconception that the Prime Amulet only granted one entry into the Prime Hall. No one, including the Hundred Schools of Philosophers, was aware that it granted passage into the Subordinate Halls as well.
“The reason I said such words is because I know where the Prime Amulet is!” With a light chuckle, Ancient Sage Yan Qing’s eyebrows shot up proudly. “To be honest with you all, the Prime Amulet is currently in my hands!”
Right after saying those words, an amulet materialized right before him. He flicked it lightly, and an imposing air of authority suffused the area.
“That’s the Prime Amulet?”
“What a formidable aura!”
“It’s clearly much stronger than the other Subordinate Amulets!”
“We’ll be able to enter the Prime Hall with that?”
A commotion broke out in the square as everyone turned to look at the amulet in the sky with a heated gaze.
That was the entrance ticket into the Prime Hall right in front of them! If they could acquire it, they would only be a single step away from the ultimate treasure of the Master Teacher Continent!
“That is…”
While the crowd was staring intently at the imposing amulet in the air, Zhang Xuan frowned slightly before shaking his head speechlessly.
He recognized the amulet in Ancient Sage Yan Qing’s hands. It was the one that he had fought Yan Xue over at the White Creek Mountain. In other words, the Prime Amulet in the other party’s hand was a fake!
Despite being an Ancient Sage, is he really unable to tell that the Prime Amulet in his hands is a fake? Zhang Xuan wondered doubtfully.
Ancient Sage Yan Qing was an individual who boasted strength even greater than Zhang Hongtian. Yet, he was unable to discern the authenticity of the amulet that he had in his possession.
Noticing Zhang Xuan’s doubts, Luo Ruoxin sent a telepathic message over to explain. “The Prime Amulet was personally forged by Kong shi, and not even the seventy-two Sages saw its true form. Even I was unable to see through it when I first laid eyes on it, so how could he possibly be able to discern its authenticity?”
So far, it seemed like Yan Xue and the others still thought that they had taken the real Prime Amulet, which meant that the only ones who knew that the Prime Amulet was a fake were Zhang Xuan, Luo Ruoxin, and Wu Chen.
“You’re right!” Zhang Xuan nodded in agreement as his lips crept upward. “This will be interesting. Even though their Prime Amulet’s a fake, they are still making conditions. Let’s see what they can come up with…”
The crowd had no choice but to follow the arrangements made by Ancient Sage Yan Qing because they thought that the Prime Amulet was in his hands. However, once the crowd realized that his Prime Amulet was actually a fake, there would surely be a huge uproar. In an instant, the Hundred Schools of Philosophers would draw the ire of everyone present in the square.
Zhang Xuan could not help but wonder how they would salvage the situation later on.
But other than that, there was also one thing that piqued Zhang Xuan’s curiosity. If the Hundred Schools of Philosophers truly thought that they had claimed the real Prime Amulet, why did they declare their possession of it and even offer to share the slots with other powers?
Were they not simply asking for trouble?
“The Prime Amulet is the key to entering the Prime Hall, so I believe that none of you will have any qualms with us taking away a third of the slots on the grounds that we are in possession of it, right?” Ancient Sage Yan Qing stowed the amulet back into his storage ring before turning to address the crowd.
“I have no objections to that.” Old Geezer Yu was the first one to voice his approval.
“We are fine with it as well.”
“Sounds rational to me.”
The others hesitated for a moment before expressing their agreement as well.
Without the Prime Amulet, even if the Prime Hall opened, they would only be able to watch helplessly from the outside. It could be said to be a very fair arrangement for the Hundred Schools of Philosophers to only take away a third of the total slots.
Seeing that he had everyone’s agreement, Ancient Sage Yan Qing heaved a sigh of relief inwardly before continuing. “Since our Hundred Schools of Philosophers have taken away five slots, we’ll first distribute a slot each to the four powers respectively as a token of goodwill so as to prevent any unnecessary conflict. It should be fine, right?”
“I have no issues with that,” the White Overlord replied.
Considering how the Beast Tribe had obtained nothing so far, it would take anything that it could get.
The experts of the Master Teacher Pavilion also glanced at one another and hesitated for a moment before eventually nodding in agreement.
They were not in a good position to negotiate either, so they could only make do as well.
“Nine out of the fifteen slots of the Prime Amulet have been taken up so far. How do you intend to distribute the remaining six slots?” Old Geezer Yu asked.
“It’s very simple!” As if expecting such a question, Ancient Sage Yan Qing chuckled softly before replying. “We will have to open the entrance of the Prime Hall in order to enter its premises, and in order to do so, we’ll need the cruxes of the six outer dimensions. Each of these six cruxes will correspond to a slot. Whoever is in possession of a crux will be given a slot. I believe that none of you will have any qualms with such an arrangement, right?”
“This…”
“I guess it’s fair.”
“If we wish to enter the Prime Hall, we’ll have to open it first. It’s only right to reward those who have aided in the opening of the Prime Hall, so they are indeed entitled to a slot each…”
The Ancient Sages nodded in agreement.
In this negotiation, the only ones who had a voice were the Ancient Sages. Great Sage cultivators had no say in the matter at all.
A crux corresponds to a slot each? Zhang Xuan was taken aback. He scratched his head blankly as he pondered, I seem to have quite a few cruxes with me at the moment…
