“That’s true…”
The other Ancient Sages of the Master Teacher Pavilion fell silent.
What Zhang Hongtian had said was the simple truth.
Rules and promises might still carry their weight in small skirmishes, but when the Great Codex of Spring and Autumn was at stake, who would care about such intangible things?
It went without saying that the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe and Beast Tribe had not given up on the codex. The reason that they had not complained despite only being allocated a single slot was because there was no need for them to do so.
As long as one of their personnel got in, they would have an eye within the Prime Hall. With that, they would be able to uncover who had successfully obtained the Great Codex of Spring and Autumn and attempt to snatch it once that person left the premises!
Once the Ancient Sages got involved, all of the Sempiternal realm candidates would be rendered utterly powerless. As such, everything eventually boiled down to the prowess of their Ancient Sages!
“Forget it, let’s just settle it when the time comes. For now, let’s distribute the slots!”
In order to avoid panic, the Ancient Sages of the Master Teacher Pavilion had communicated through telepathic zhenqi.
“Since these slots were earned through Zhang Xuan’s hard work, I think that we should respect his decision no matter what he decides on!”
“Un!”
The crowd nodded in agreement.
As Ancient Sages, given that they had contributed nothing toward acquiring those slots, they felt too embarrassed to impose any demands on Zhang Xuan.
…
Zhao Ya walked over to Zhang Xuan and informed him telepathically, “Teacher, I am unable to contact Zheng Yang and the others. However, based on the accounts of those who have met them, it seems like they have encountered their own fortuitous encounters. They are currently in those minor dimensions and are unable to leave at the moment, so I don’t think they’ll be able to make it here any time soon!”
She had tried to contact Zheng Yang and the others, but there had been no response. So, she had tapped into her information network as the court chief of the Glacier Plain Court, and fortunately, she had managed to uncover some intelligence regarding them.
After all, those juniors of hers were no longer nobodies whom one could simply overlook. They had already become renowned powerhouses of the Master Teacher Continent!
“They won’t be able to make it here anytime soon?” Zhang Xuan repeated with a frown. Waving his hand lightly, he said, “Forget it. I’ll ensure that they don’t miss out on anything even if they don’t enter the Prime Hall, so it doesn’t matter whether they enter the premises or not.”
It went without saying that Zhang Xuan would distribute whatever he obtained from the Prime Hall among his students, regardless of whether they were with him at the time or not. This was similar to how he had given one of the Bodhi Fruits to Yuan Tao even though he did not enter the Hall of Lull.
As long as he was around, he would make sure that his students got a share of everything good within the Prime Hall!
“Teacher, I don’t think that I’ll be able to enter either. My body has already reached the level of an Ancient Sage, and I can feel a powerful repulsion from the seal of the Prime Hall. Even with the Prime Amulet, it doesn’t seem likely that I’ll be able to bypass the seal…” said Yuan Tao, walking over.
“I see…” Zhang Xuan nodded contemplatively.
Even though Yuan Tao had not successfully achieved a breakthrough to Ancient Sage, there was no doubt that his physical body had reached a level comparable to Ancient Sages. At the very minimum, he could already be considered as a Half-Ancient Sage. Due to this, it was little surprise that he was being repelled by Kong shi’s seal.
“So, there’s only me, Ruoxin, Zhao Ya, Ruyan, and Qiqi at the moment… Adding up the other two from the Master Teacher Pavilion, there will only be seven of us…” Zhang Xuan quickly calculated in his heart. “That means that we still have four additional slots…”
Zhang Xuan took a look at the crowd among the Master Teacher Pavilion, and he swiftly shook his head.
It was not that he looked down on those geniuses, but it was likely that they would not be able to do much even if he gave those slots to them. In the end, the slots would only go to waste.
“How is it? Have you chosen your personnel yet?” Seeing that Zhang Xuan was still deep in thought after such a long time, Ancient Sage Yan Qing urged him with a slight hint of impatience in his tone.
“I have already chosen the people whom I want to bring with me. However, I think there’s no particular reason for us to use so many slots, so I have decided that I’ll auction the four of the slots that we have. Feel free to bid for them, and the slot will go to the one who bids the highest. How does that sound?” Zhang Xuan announced as he shot a sweeping gaze at the other three major powers.
“He’s intending to auction the slots?”
“Is that fellow off his rockers? Everyone is trying to claim those slots for themself, but he’s actually intending to sell them off just like that?”
“Is this for real? We might be able to get a chance to enter the Prime Hall!”
A huge commotion broke out amid the crowd.
The announcement that they had just heard was simply too flabbergasting.
Not only were the Ancient Sages of the other three powers stunned, even the Ancient Sages of the Master Teacher Pavilion also felt a little light-headed from the abrupt declaration.
It had not been to claim so many slots, and this was an extremely advantageous situation for them. Yet, that young man was actually thinking of auctioning them off.
Was it really good for him to do this?
“This is a little…”
One of the Ancient Sages could not take it any longer, so he opened his mouth in hopes of dissuading Zhang Xuan from his reckless move.
“There’s no doubt that my senior has his own reasons for making such a decision.” Yang shi swiftly spoke up in Zhang Xuan’s defense. “Let’s just believe in him. That’s also what we decided on just a moment ago, isn’t it?”
“Senior?”
Catching that peculiar words in Yang shi’s response, the remaining Ancient Sages shot bewildered glances at him.
They had met Yang Xuan shortly after their awakening, and there was no doubt that the other party was the most talented master teacher in recent millennia. The fact that he had advanced to Ancient Sage shortly after entering the Temple of Confucius spoke volumes about his potential. Yet, he was actually addressing an Aureate Body realm lad as his senior.
“Indeed,” Yang Xuan said with a nod.
He swiftly erected a barrier around him with his will in order to keep away any eavesdroppers before sending a telepathic message to the other Ancient Sages. “To be honest with you, his identity is a little unique. Even as an Ancient Sage, I’m deeply honored to be given the privilege of addressing him as my senior. Pardon me as I say this, but it isn’t convenient for me to reveal his identity to you at the moment. However, rest assured that I’ll fill you in on the details once we return after dealing with everything here!”
“His identity is a little unique?”
The Ancient Sages looked at one another with intrigued gazes.
Just what kind of identity could it be that even an Ancient Sages would view it as the greatest honor to address that young man as his senior?
Even though they were curious at those words, they could tell that Yang Xuan was unwilling to speak, so they could only suppress their inquisitive minds. They chose to trust Yang Xuan’s judgement and fell silent.
It was also at around this moment that Ancient Sage Yan Qing and the others finally recovered from the shocking news.
“You are going to auction your slots?”
“That’s right. We have simply too many slots with us at the moment, and this isn’t a good thing for us. For one, being the dominant party will easily draw the envy and fury of others. Thus, I’m intending to take out four slots to auction as a show of goodwill, as well as to balance the scales,” Zhang Xuan said with a chuckle. “As long as you are able to fork out a greatest sum of money here, you can be certain that the slots will be yours!”
“Let’s begin bidding then!”
“We must claim at least one of the slots by hook or by crook for the Beast Tribe!”
Hearing that it was possible to obtain the slots through an auction, the Ancient Sages of the three powers glanced at one another before nodding.
Even though the final allocation of the Great Codex of Spring and Autumn mainly depended on the Ancient Sages, it would be advantageous to them if more of their descendants could enter the Prime Hall.
For one, if their descendants just so happened to obtain the Great Codex of Spring and Autumn, they would be able to simply turn tail and run.
The life force of Ancient Sages was frighteningly resilient. Even if they were unable to defeat their enemies, escaping alive was still something that they would be able to pull off.
As such, this was an opportunity that they did not want to miss out on.
“Alright, I’ll determine the starting bid of the first slot. It’ll be… twenty, thirty, no… fifty droplets of Ancient Sage bloo…” said Zhang Xuan, raising his fingers.
Great Sage artifacts were not of much use to him anymore, and it was unlikely that those present had too many Ancient Sage artifacts. Even if they did have a couple, it was unlikely that they would be willing to take them out. More importantly, given the current limitations of his cultivation, it was also questionable whether he would be able to assimilate it.
The reason that he had succeeded with the Infernal Blacksaber was because it had been at Half-Ancient Sage when he tamed it.
As for Ancient Sage Zi Yu’s inkstone, it was because the artifact had dulled over the long course of its existence, causing it to become much weaker than most Ancient Sage artifacts. On top of that, as a non-aggressive weapon, it was much easier to control.
Any sentient being that had successfully made a breakthrough to Ancient Sage was bound to be haughty and egoistical, and this included artifacts. Even with Zhang Xuan’s means, the chances of him taming a fully-fledged Ancient Sage artifact was slim.
Rather than to obtain something that was impractical for him to use at the moment, it would be much more beneficial for him to acquire Ancient Sage blood.
After all, it would become an invaluable resource to fuel his breakthroughs!
Before Zhang Xuan could finish his words, a telepathic voice suddenly arrived by his ears.
“Zhang Xuan, Ancient Sage blood is a very broad term. Similar to spirit stones, it’s also divided into various tiers, depending on the strength of the Ancient Sage. Naturally, the higher the tier of the Ancient Sage blood, the more precious it is.”
It was from the old ancestor, Zhang Hongtian.
“Tiers of Ancient Sage blood?” Zhang Xuan was silent for a moment before nodding in agreement.
He had not really thought of it before, but it did make sense for there to be varying tiers to Ancient Sage blood. After all, the blood of a veteran Ancient Sage was bound to harness much more energy than the blood of a nascent Ancient Sage.
“Just like Great Sage, Ancient Sage is also divided into four different realms. The higher the realm of the cultivator, the more valuable their blood is. In fact, the difference can easily differ by a hundredfold! You have to ascertain the quality of the Ancient Sage blood, or else you could make a huge loss!” Zhang Hongtian advised.
“I see…” Zhang Xuan nodded in response. “May I ask what the four realms of Ancient Sage are?”
