Paying no heed to the frenzied village belle, Zhang Xuan and the others hastened their footsteps. It did not take them long to catch up to the three young men.
While those three youths were not able to sever space to travel through dimension rifts, they seemed to have practiced some kind of unique movement art, allowing them to travel at an incredible speed.
“Shall we stop and question them?” Zheng Yang asked.
“There’s no need for that. Even if we question them, I reckon it’s unlikely that they will be able to answer my doubts. It’ll do for us to just follow them for the time being. Everything should come to light at the Great Phrontistery of Confucianism!” Zhang Xuan replied with a shake of his head.
The information that Zhang Xuan wanted to know was one of the deepest secrets of the Master Teacher Continent, such that there was no way the youths from the younger generation would know a thing. Furthermore, revealing their goals might not necessarily work to their advantage. As such, it would be best for them to trail the youths for the time being and decide on their next move after they reached the Great Phrontistery of Confucianism.
Trusting his teacher’s judgement, Zheng Yang nodded before falling silent.
The group continued heading forward, and three days later, they finally found themselves standing before a humongous mountain. The area in front of the mountain was filled with huge crowds that numbered in the thousands.
Zheng Yang discreetly landed on the ground and blended into the crowd to gather some information whereas Zhang Xuan and Wei Ruyan took this opportunity to swiftly assess their surroundings.
None of those amid the crowd of several thousand around them were older than thirty. All of their cultivation levels were similar to those the three youths from before, Saint 9-dan. In fact, there were some who had reached Half-Great Sage.
Other than Zheng Yang and the others, there was probably no one else on the Master Teacher Continent who had reached Saint 9-dan before their thirties. Yet, for so many of them to appear there all at once… As expected of the Hundred Schools of Philosophers, they were indeed extraordinary!
They possess the bloodlines of Ancient Sages, their constitutions have been refined by the Greensprout Wheat over generations, and they have inherited the entirety of Kong shi’s heritage. Given so, it’s difficult for the youths of the Master Teacher Continent to compete with them, Zhang Xuan thought.
There were plenty of geniuses on the Master Teacher Continent, but even among the Three Great Clans, most of those who were at Saint 9-dan were already in their two hundreds, and they were already esteemed elders in their own clans.
It was spectacular for one to wield such great strength despite only being in their twenties.
“Teacher, I sense a particularly sharp aura from them.” Wei Ruyan sent a telepathic message to Zhang Xuan. “It’s as if they’ve been through countless battles. It’s something that I rarely sense even from the experts of the Master Teacher Continent.”
Hearing those words, Zhang Xuan nodded in response.
This particular quality of those several thousand youths had caught his eye as well.
Most of the experts on the Master Teacher Continent were master teachers. While they boasted remarkable fighting prowess, they were more skilled in imparting knowledge and guiding the later generations. On the other hand, the cultivators who had gathered in front of the mountain emanated the feral aura of the battlefield right from their bones, reminiscent of combat masters.
It was apparent that they had not just focused solely on their cultivation. They had also fought many battles, granting them a deep understanding of fighting techniques.
Some time later, Zheng Yang returned and reported back to Zhang Xuan telepathically.
“Teacher! Based on what I’ve heard, the Great Phrontistery of Confucianism isn’t here. Instead, it’s hidden within a folded space. If we wish to enter the Great Phrontistery of Confucianism, we’ll have to first join their ranks. Apparently, all of the people here are all the descendants of the seventy-two Sages, and they are here to take the examination!”
“I see…” Zhang Xuan nodded contemplatively.
“The examinees have to clear many trials in order to enter the peculiar folded space where the Great Phrontistery of Confucianism is located. Otherwise, the barrier will repel them, denying them entry,” Zheng Yang explained.
Hearing those words, Zhang Xuan activated the Eye of Insight to scan the surroundings, hoping to find the whereabouts of the Great Phrontistery of Confucianism. However, he soon shook his head.
He did find formations in the area around them, but there were no folded spaces or the like to be found. It seemed like he would not be able to sneak into the Great Phrontistery of Confucianism that easily.
Do I have to impersonate an examinee to participate in the examination as well? Zhang Xuan thought in exasperation.
He was someone who wielded fighting prowess invincible beneath the Dimension Shatterer realm. Even the powerful Ancient Sage Yan Qing would be no match for the current him! Yet, he was actually going to have to disguise himself as an ordinary examinee and compete with a bunch of Saint 9-dan and Half-Great Sage cultivators.
Just the notion of it felt extremely embarrassing. It was as if he was an adult marching into a playground to challenge the kids playing there!
However, if he did not do that, it would be difficult for him to get to the Great Phrontistery of Confucianism. He had no idea about its whereabouts or how powerful the barrier around it was, so forceful methods might not work out too well.
Even with his current cultivation, he dared not make a move recklessly when it came to matters relating to Kong shi’s heritage. The barrier that he had to cross in order to enter this dimension was one good example. If the Great Phrontistery of Confucianism had something of the same caliber as well, he could very well find himself cornered even if he had Vicious’ aid.
Zhang Xuan pondered for a moment before turning to instruct his two students. “The Great Phrontistery of Confucianism is likely to be fraught with dangers, and your disguises aren’t perfect. For the time being, you should find a place in the vicinity and stay there till I contact you.”
The disguise amulet that Luo Ruoxin had given him would alter even his bloodline, making it impossible to discern any anomalies. With that, he should be able to impersonate one of the examinees without any issue. On the other hand, while Zheng Yang and Wei Ruyan were able to alter their appearances, they were not able to disguise their fundamentals. Under the inspection of another Ancient Sage, they would be exposed in an instant.
Since that was the case, it would be wiser for them to stay put.
“Yes, Teacher!” Knowing their teacher’s capabilities, the two of them nodded in response.
They swiftly drafted out a plan before Zheng Yang and Wei Ruyan walked away with smiles on their faces. Without much trouble, they managed to lure the other two youths of the Fan Clan away before Zhang Xuan approached the last youth with a bright smile on his face.
“Fan Xiaoxu, it’s a pleasure to meet you!”
After following these three youths for the past three days, he was already well aware of their backgrounds. The youth standing before him was Fan Xiaoxu, and he was also the one deemed most likely to clear the examination and enter the Great Phrontistery of Confucianism.
“You are…”
Even though Fan Xiaoxu was a descendant of Ancient Sage Zi Chi, there was no way that he could have noticed Zhang Xuan and the others’ presence given the difference in their strength. As such, he was perplexed to see that Zhang Xuan actually knew his name.
“I’m aware that you may not know me, but your father is a close friend of mine. He has entrusted me to take care of you, so I would like to have a private talk with you about the upcoming examination!” Zhang Xuan said.
“You are a close friend of my father’s?” A hint of doubt surfaced in Fan Xiaoxu’s eyes.
His father was the incumbent head of the Fan Clan, the middle-aged man who had sent them off three days ago. If his father had any friends here, his father would have told him about it in advance. There was no way that he would not have been unaware of it.
“Indeed. There are too many people here at the moment, so shall we move to the side?” Zhang Xuan could sense that Fan Xiaoxu was skeptical of his identity, but he maintained a nonchalant look on his face.
“Alright then!” Fan Xiaoxu was filled with doubt, but he eventually gave a nod of approval.
Putting aside the fact that he was a Saint 9-dan pinnacle expert, just the fact that they were surrounded by formidable experts made it highly unlikely for anyone to make a move on him directly even if that person did harbor malicious intentions toward him.
Besides, he was just a humble nobody. There was nothing one could get out of him.
They walked over to the back of a nearby building. Fan Xiaoxu was just about to inquire about the reason behind this talk when he saw the other party’s palm expanding right before his eyes.
Struck directly in the face, he fainted in an instant.
Right up to the moment that he fainted, he was astonished that someone actually dared to make a move on him at a place like that!
Zhang Xuan placed Fan Xiaoxu’s body into his folded space before using the disguise amulet to alter his appearance in the form of Fan Xiaoxu. He made sure that even their clothes were identical.
While it had not been too long since he had come to this dimension, he had already grasped some rules regarding the culture there.
Only those who belonged to the clans of the seventy-two Sages were allowed to cultivate. Ordinary civilians were not allowed to access any cultivation techniques at all.
He would not be allowed to take the examination if he disguised himself as a normal cultivator, so he could only wrong this fellow.
Then again, this could be an opportunity for the other party.
At the very least, the other party was sure to clear the examination without any hiccups. It was a golden ticket that guaranteed that he would get into the Great Phrontistery of Confucianism.
Zhang Xuan quickly returned to where he had taken Fan Xiaoxu from earlier. Soon, he saw Zheng Yang and Wei Ruyan returning with the two youths that they had lured away. The two youths had confused looks on their faces, apparently not understanding why they had been pulled away at all.
Zheng Yang and Wei Ruyan made up some excuse about recognizing the wrong people before taking their leave, leaving those two dumbfounded on the spot.
Not too long later, several tall figures flitted over from afar, and a heavy pressure crushed down on them.
The experts from the Great Phrontistery of Confucianism had arrived!
