Zheng Yang and the others were his direct disciples, and they had accompanied him all the way here from Tianxuan Kingdom. They had braved many life-threatening situations together, and Zhang Xuan already viewed them as his closest kin. If anything were to happen to them, he didn’t mind wiping the entire Hongyuan Empire off the face of the world!
If he needed to, he would even punch a gaping hole through the heavens!
Anyone who meant them harm would have to suffer his wrath.
“Zhang shi, don’t worry. They are safe!”
Seeing the latter’s awful expression, Hong shi immediately realized that his hesitation had caused a huge misunderstanding. Thus, he hurriedly explained, “However, they were taken away by the men of the King Huai Manor yesterday, and we dare not stop them…”
Zhang shi had entrusted his direct disciples to his care, only to find them missing upon his return. Anyone would be angry when faced with such a situation.
It was already incredible that Zhang shi could still retain his rationality in this situation.
“King Huai Manor?” Zhang Xuan frowned.
He had never heard of this name before. Why would the other party take his direct disciples away?
“I am not too sure about what’s going on either!” Hong shi said and then hesitated for a brief moment before further explaining.
“King Huai, Yu Longxuan, is the blood-related uncle of the incumbent emperor of Hongyuan Empire, thus making him the Imperial Uncle of the current era. Given his esteemed position, there’s only a single man throughout the entire Hongyuan Empire who stands above him—the emperor himself. Even Princess Yu Fei-er whom we met before would have to address him as Grandpa Xuan!
“The men from the King Huai Manor came over yesterday, and they insisted on taking them over to their manor to stay for a few days. Considering their respectful attitude and their esteemed standing in Hongyuan Empire, it didn’t seem like they were harboring any malicious intentions, so I didn’t stop them…”
“Stay for a few days?”
Zhang Xuan was perplexed.
He was certain that he had no ties with King Huai Yu Longxuan. As for his students, Zheng Yang, Wang Ying, Yuan Tao, and Liu Yang, only Wang Ying came from a distinguished background. However, it could only be considered as a distinguished clan in Tianxuan Kingdom.
Yuan Tao was an orphan, and he had been roaming the streets ever since he was young. Unable to find a proper cultivation technique manual, he could only fumble his way through his cultivation. As a result, even though he managed to pass the Hongtian Academy’s entrance examination back then, his examination results were the very lowest of the entire cohort. The same went for Zheng Yang and Liu Yang as well.
Since none of them could possibly be related to a king of a Tier-1 Empire, why would the latter take them to his manor?
This was way too bizarre!
A thought suddenly surfaced in Zhang Xuan’s mind, and he immediately asked worriedly, “When did you all arrive? Did they cause any trouble?”
His students and his butler were true troublemakers, and this was especially so for the latter. With ‘Yang shi’ serving as his backing, he put on a brazen attitude regardless of whom he was standing before. Could they have offended the King Huai Manor somehow, thus resulting in the latter finding an excuse to take them to the manor?
“We only arrived yesterday afternoon. As soon as we arrived, we immediately headed toward this residence, so there is no way they could’ve caused any trouble…”
Hong shi frowned as he went through his memory to see if he might have missed out something.
“But they did! Did you forget what the plump student of Zhang shi did before arriving at this residence?” Feng shi suddenly interjected.
Under Feng shi’s prompt, Hong shi also recalled the matter and quickly explained it.
“Plump student? Oh! Yuan Tao did fight with someone yesterday, but that was a small matter. Besides, the other party was an ordinary person who had no ties with the King Huai Manor!”
Hearing that Yuan Tao had caused some kind of trouble, Zhang Xuan immediately asked with a livid expression, “What happened?”
“Actually, Yuan Tao is not to be blamed for this matter. Right after we arrived, an itinerant cultivator came to provoke us into dueling with him. Thus, Yuan Tao stood forward to teach that person a lesson. Due to this matter, Yuan Tao sustained some injuries and shed some blood. However, after Yuan Tao defeated the itinerant cultivator, the latter gave him some recovery pills in compensation for the matter. Judging from that person’s dress-up, it seemed like he is a merchant. Could the both matters be related?”
Hong shi frowned as he recalled the happenings yesterday.
The person who fought against Yuan Tao was an ordinary merchant, and his cultivation was also so-so. It was unlikely for him to be related to King Huai Manor, so Hong shi didn’t think too much into the matter.
However, the frown on Zhang Xuan’s forehead deepened after hearing of the matter.
“Duel? And Yuan Tao was injured at that?”
Yuan Tao, Zheng Yang, and the others might be brazen, but they still knew better than to get into conflict with someone in a foreign land, especially when their teacher was not around. Furthermore, with the awakening of Yuan Tao’s unique constitution, his defense had reached an absurd level. Making him bleed was no easy task at all.
Could this matter really be related to King Huai Manor?
Otherwise, there was no other plausible explanation as to why the other party would take his students away.
Unable to come to a conclusion, the frown on Zhang Xuan’s forehead tightened. Eventually, he turned to Hong shi and asked, “Where is King Huai Manor?”
“Zhang shi intends to head to King Huai Manor to find your students?” Hong shi was taken aback.
Given that King Huai was the Imperial Uncle of Hongyuan Empire, his manor would surely be well-protected by top-notch formations and Saint realm experts. It would be extremely dangerous for Zhang Xuan to head there alone without any preparation.
“Just tell me where it is!” Zhang Xuan harrumphed.
While his cultivation realm was lower than Hong shi’s, the legendary feats he had accomplished, his extraordinary disposition, as well as the powerful aura he carried made it difficult for anyone to stand against him.
“Yes…”
Knowing that Zhang Xuan’s mind was made up and that nothing he said could change the other party’s mind, Hong shi could only relent. “King Huai Manor is not too far away from here. After leaving the Academic Sea, turn left and walk several dozen kilometers down the streets. You should see it then…”
Saying so, Hong shi pointed in a direction.
But before he could finish his words, a shrill call suddenly resounded in the air, and the massive Great Violetwing Beast landed on the courtyard. Zhang Xuan leaped onto its back, and the duo immediately flew in the direction in which Hong shi was pointing toward.
“Zhang shi…:
Not expecting Zhang shi to actually dive straight into action, Hong shi’s face paled in fright.
Who was King Huai?
The uncle of the incumbent emperor, the highest standing official in the Hongyuan royal court. Even the emperor would have to show him some respect. And yet, Zhang shi actually rode an aerial spirit beast over to his manor. It wouldn’t be a joke if he were to offend a person of such standing…
“Ruohuan, accompany me to find Princess Yu Fei-er now. She is probably the only one who can salvage the situation now…”
Gritting his teeth, Hong shi beckoned for Ruohuan gongzi to go along with him.
The only royalty they were acquainted with at the moment was Yu Fei-er. The most they could hope for at this moment was for the latter to help Zhang shi on account of the time they had spent together in Huanyu Empire…
…
The Great Violetwing Beast was extremely swift. From the back of the beast, Zhang Xuan scanned the buildings below, and before long, a massive manor came into sight.
The manor was resplendently designed, and many of the guards on the compound were all dressed in golden armor. Even before getting into proximity, Zhang Xuan could already feel an aura of invulnerability from it.
“This should be it…”
After circling around the area to further assess the situation, Zhang Xuan instructed the Great Violetwing Beast to land on the ground.
He didn’t dash right into the other party’s manor—after all, the other party was an Imperial Uncle of the state. Without ascertaining the situation of Wang Ying and the others, it was best not to offend the other party first.
Landing on an empty street several hundred meters away, Zhang Xuan changed into a brand-new master teacher robe before walking to the gates of the manor.
At the entrance, he saw a huge plaque with three grand words, ‘King Huai Manor’, written in gold. The words seemed to be dancing around, as though they would break free of the surface of the plaque and soar into the greater world any moment now.
“This is probably the work of a 6-star painter!” Zhang Xuan assessed.
Considering the incredible skill and astounding disposition behind those words, the painter of it had to be at least at 6-star.
There were four guards standing at the entrance. Each of them was dressed in steel armor, and their presence exuded a strong pressure on one’s soul.
“Transcendent Mortal 6-dan Cosmos Bridge realm experts?”
Zhang Xuan narrowed his eyes.
He didn’t expect even the guards to be Cosmos Bridge realm experts as well. That would mean that their cultivation realms were even higher than his!
An expert of this caliber would at least be an esteemed official or a commander of an army of several thousand in Huanyu Empire. Yet, in Hongyuan Empire, they were only an ordinary entrance guard. Huaiwang Manor was indeed powerful!
It was no wonder Hong shi was worried. Entering this place was no different from venturing into a lion’s den.
But so what if that was the case?
If the other party had malicious intentions toward Yuan Tao, Zheng Yang, and the others, even if he was a member of the royal family, Zhang Xuan was determined to cause a huge uproar.
If it came down to it, he could also bring out his Otherworldly Demon puppets to wreak havoc. With twenty Saint realm experts with nigh-invincible defense and no lack of stamina along with the unfathomable Vicious, he was confident that he could easily destroy the entire King Huai Manor!
Taking in a deep breath, Zhang Xuan walked up to the gate.
Seeing Zhang Xuan walk over, a guard raised his spear and harrumphed.
“Our King Huai Manor forbids the approach of any unrelated personnel!”
“I am Master Teacher Zhang Xuan, and I am here to pay respect to King Huai. I hope that you can relay the message.”
Zhang Xuan took out an identity scroll and passed it over.
Before confirming the other party’s intentions, it was best not to offend them first.
“Master teacher?”
The guard assessed Zhang Xuan doubtfully before grabbing the identity scroll.
There were only four words written on the identity scroll—Master Teacher Zhang Xuan. There was nothing on his rank at all.
4-star master teacher might be the strongest existence in Myriad Kingdom Alliance, but in a Tier-1 Empire, it would be insufficient for him to meet someone of King Huai’s caliber.
If Zhang Xuan were to write it down, it was highly likely that he would be denied entry immediately.
The guards wouldn’t even bother showing his identity scroll to their boss.
“This…”
The guard passed the identity scroll to the other guards to see as well, and they were all perplexed when they saw the content as well. One of them spoke up hesitantly. “May I know what Zhang shi’s master teacher rank is? Are you an acquaintance of our old master? Have you made an appointment with him?”
Since there was nothing written on it, they could only ask the person in question.
Naturally, a person of their master’s standing wouldn’t meet a person just because the other party had provided an identity scroll.
“I have never met King Huai before, but I am a close buddy of Princess Yu Fei-er. Oh, Pavilion Master Mo Gaoyuan is also an old friend of mine!” Zhang Xuan chuckled.
If he were to say that he was a 4-star master teacher, he would immediately be chased away. Thus, he could respond to the other party’s questions in a roundabout manner, hoping that the other party wouldn’t pursue the matter.
But in any case, what he was saying was the truth as well. He had gone through a life-and-death situation with Yu Fei-er, so it wouldn’t be going too far to address her as a close buddy. On the other hand, he had met Mo Gaoyuan, and the latter had expressed goodwill toward him. Thus, it wasn’t exactly wrong to call them old friends as well.
“Mo shi’s friend?”
As expected, upon hearing those words, the faces of the guards immediately turned grim.
Mo Gaoyuan was the pavilion master of the Hongyuan Empire Master Teacher Pavilion, a 6-star pinnacle master teacher. Only another 6-star master teacher would dare to address him as a friend!
Just that… was it even possible for a 6-star master teacher to be so young?
“Zhang shi, this way please. We will report your arrival to our old master!”
Even though the guards were doubtful, they didn’t dare take any chances. Thus, they quickly invited Zhang Xuan into the residence.
The means of a master teacher should never be underestimated. While the fellow before them might look young, it might not necessarily an accurate indicator of his age. Furthermore, regardless of whether the other party was truly a 6-star master teacher or not, just the fact that he was a master teacher would have to make them think twice before offending him.
“Thank you.”
Seeing that the guards were going to report his presence to their old master, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief. With a nod, he followed the guards into the manor.
“King Huai” is a nobility title conferred by the emperor to an individual. Note that Huai refers not to the surname but a Chinese character bestowed along with the nobility.
Imperial Uncle refers to the brother of the incumbent emperor.
