Celestial Master Teachers possessed the recognition of the heavens. Their aura carried the might of the world, forcing all beings to submit to them.
In the long history of the Master Teacher Continent, the only man who was known to have become a Celestial Master Teacher was only Kong shi himself. Even his direct disciples, the 72 Sages, hadn’t reached such a level, and yet the man before him was actually a Celestial Master Teacher…
A freezing chill ran through Mu shi’s body, and the immense fear he felt left him incapable of speaking.
A Celestial Master Teacher was an existence whom even the heavens recognized, and yet he actually doubted such a person…
At this moment, he was really dying to give himself two sharp slaps for the foolishness he had spouted!
Hu!
Amidst his trembling, the figure ahead of him casually waved his hands, and that terrifying aura vanished instantaneously, returning an unnerving calm to the night.
At the same time, the figure turned around as well.
He was a middle-aged man somewhere between his thirties and forties. He had a pair of sharp eyes that were gleaming with wisdom, and vaguely, one could see several thin strings floating within.
“Eye of Insight…” Mu shi’s body trembled in shock yet again.
Even though it was said that a master teacher could comprehend Eye of Insight upon reaching 6-star, the truth was that only the greatest of geniuses were able to do so. Even within the Sage Clans, it was extremely rare to see anyone comprehending the Eye of Insight.
Putting everything aside, even him, a famed genius of the Mu Clan back in his days, didn’t succeed in comprehending the Eye of Insight.
If only he had comprehended it, he wouldn’t have been toyed with by another back then, resulting in his current plight.
Of the Ten Great Master Teachers in Hongyuan Empire, not a single one of them had comprehended the Eye of Insight… Through this, it could be seen how difficult the feat was.
This explained why the other party was able to see through his problems with just a glance and deduce that he was expelled from the Mu Clan…
Probably only someone who possessed the Eye of Insight would be able to do so!
At this instant, the final sliver of doubt that Mu shi harbored finally vanished, leaving nothing but respect for the man before him.
Not daring to pull his weight before the other party, he bowed deeply and said, “I apologize for my insolence. I beseech elder to enlighten me…”
“Alright.” The middle-aged man nodded. “That’s more like it. You should be glad that I don’t have the interest of squabbling with a junior. Stand still and don’t resist it!”
The middle-aged man raised his hand and flicked his finger.
Suddenly, Mu shi felt a jolt run through his body as a zhenqi circulation method suddenly came into his mind. Every single word was extremely vivid, as though they were imprinted right onto his consciousness.
“Soul Impartation?” Mu shi’s face paled.
As a 7-star master teacher, his soul was already sufficiently powerful to conduct Soul Impartation as well. However, to do it from such a far distance away, and for the content to be so clearly imprinted into his mind at that… Not even an 8-star low-tier master teacher could do that!
Fearsome!
As expected of a Celestial Master Teacher!
“The Huaihai and Longzhen acupoints represent water and dragon respectively; those are the acupoints where water attribute spiritual energy usually gathers in the human body. Due to the unique cultivation technique of the Mu Clan, it’s inevitable that you avoided channeling spiritual energy into those two acupoints.
“However, with your wood attribute zhenqi suppressed by the metal attribute energy, you could use these two acupoints to your advantage and resolve your problem. In the elemental cycle, water gives rise to wood. It can empower your wood attribute zhenqi, giving you the strength to overwhelm the metal attribute energy rampaging within your body!”
After imparting the relevant knowledge, the middle-aged man explained it impassively with his hands behind his back.
At this point, Mu shi had also just finished looking through the zhenqi circulation method which the other party had imparted him. Even though the middle-aged man only touched on the very foundation of cultivation, it was directed toward the root of Mu shi’s problem. It was as if the clouds which had veiled his eyes had parted all of the sudden, and before him lay a brand-new world.
If he were to practice the zhenqi circulation method, he was confident that he would be able to suppress the metal attribute energy in his body easily. Perhaps… after a three-hundred-year stagnation, he might finally be able to take another step forward once more!
To be able to see through the problems in his cultivation and offer a solution to it… The man before him was truly fearsome!
Bowing politely, Mu shi asked, “Teacher, I am deeply grateful to you for your enlightenment. If it’s not beyond me, may I ask for your esteemed name?”
As simple as the other party’s teachings might have been, it had resolved the issues which had plagued him for several centuries. Considering what the other party had done for him, it wouldn’t be too much to address him as ‘teacher’.
Besides, if he could acknowledge such a formidable man as his teacher and receive his guidance, he might just be able to return to his clan one day.
“Teacher?” the middle-aged man opposite to him frowned.
It seemed as if he was displeased with that address.
“I apologize, I seem to have been getting ahead of myself. Given that you are a peer of my old ancestor, I should be calling you grandteacher…” Mu shi suddenly realized the other party’s ties with his old ancestor, so he swiftly changed his words with a fearful shudder.
“Ah?” Hearing Mu shi’s words, the middle-aged man seemed to become even more astonished.
Naturally, the ‘middle-aged man’ was Zhang Xuan. The reason he’d assumed Yang Xuan’s identity was in hopes that he could strike fear into the heart of the other party and resolve the current crisis he was in. He’d thought that with the zhenqi circulation method he had imparted, the other party would consider him as a half-teacher, and that would make him abandon all malicious thoughts against him and his students. Who would have thought that under his hoodwinking, the other party would actually end up acknowledging him as his teacher!
No matter what, the other party was a 7-star master teacher! With such prowess, he could be considered a top-tier power in Conferred Empires!
For such a figure to acknowledge him as his teacher, it was no wonder that he would be shocked, so he ended up hesitating for an instant. Who could have thought that the moment of hesitation would cause a misunderstanding that resulted in the other party addressing him as grandteacher instead…
The heck!
This change was a way too fast!
But since the other party had already addressed him as grandteacher, it would be awkward to get him to address him as teacher instead. Thus, Zhang Xuan nodded and said, “I am Yang Xuan!”
“Yang Xuan…” Mu shi nodded as he jotted down the name in his head. “May I know where I can find grandteacher if I have any questions for you in the future?”
“It is the work of fate that we met, and it has come to an end with my impartation. If fate wills it, we will meet once more. Otherwise, it can only mean that our paths aren’t meant to intersect.” Zhang Xuan waved his hands.
It was too tiring for him to put on an act before a 7-star master teacher. He was already exhausted with just a few minutes of disguise, how could he possibly do it in the long run?
Thus, it would be best if they never meet again anymore…
“This…” Seeing that the other party was unwilling to get too involved with him, Mu shi could only clasp his fist and bow to bid the other party farewell in disappointment.
By the time he raised his head once more, the elder before him had already vanished amidst the night sky.
“Yang Xuan, Yang shi…”
Reciting the other party’s name in his heart, Mu shi sighed deeply.
With this matter dealt with, he returned to searching the area for the Byzantium Helios Beast, but with no results whatsoever, he could only return to the academy helplessly.
…
‘That was close!’
After getting out of Mu shi’s range, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief.
He’d never thought that Mu shi would actually be a member of a Sage Clan, as well as a 7-star master teacher.
Why would a person of such strength and standing work for the Spirit Emporium?
‘It seems like he was indeed looking for someone when he met me…’ Zhang Xuan thought woefully.
Just what kind of luck did he have?
To think that even just a casual trip out of the city would end with him meeting such a formidable expert! It was fortunate that he had reacted swiftly to hoodwink the other party, otherwise who knew what would remain of him now.
“Forget it. Since my luck isn’t too good today, I should return to my residence and rest for the day. I’ll think about it after I tear down the Spirit Emporium tomorrow!”
Zhang Xuan was still considering whether he should vent his anger on the Byzantium Helios Beast, but considering the string of misfortunes he’d experienced today, he decided to drop the idea.
Reverting back to his original appearance, Zhang Xuan returned to his residence. When he walked in, he saw that the Great Violetwing Beast had already managed to make the four men bow to it in submission.
Paying it no heed, Zhang Xuan returned straight to his room and cultivated for a short moment. By the time he opened his eyes once more, the sun had already risen.
Even though he hadn’t slept the entire night, he still felt refreshed and energized.
Stretching his back lazily, he walked out of his room.
After eating breakfast, he called Zheng Yang and the others over to decipher some of the intricacies in their cultivation technique before finally heading to the Spirit Emporium with the Great Violetwing Beast, Sun Qiang, and the four masked men.
The Spirit Emporium was the place where most valuable artifacts in Hongyuan City were traded. Even before reaching it, there was already a huge crowd in the area.
“This is a black market, so there is no prohibition on the sales of stolen items as well. On top of that, due to the shady background of these items, their price tends to be lower than the average market price, so it’s quite popular among cultivators,” Sun Qiang explained.
There were laws in Hongyuan Empire prohibiting robbery and related crimes, so it was impossible to sell stolen artifacts openly. As such, they could only be sold at a lower price in black markets, and the Spirit Emporium was the largest one in Hongyuan Empire.
However, the low prices of its goods did attract a fair number of cultivators.
After all, cultivating was an extremely money-burning activity. Just like Zhang Xuan, most cultivators had no financial backing, so they had to find some way to earn their own spirit stones and resources to advance their cultivation. As such, they were more than glad to scrimp wherever they could.
Soon, Zhang Xuan arrived at a majestic building several dozen meters high.
“To think that the building is a complete system in itself. If I’m not mistaken, it seems to be a massive, engineered product by celestial designers!” Zhang Xuan narrowed his eyes.
Despite the immense size of the Spirit Emporium, it felt like a single entity rather than parts placed together. If his deduction wasn’t off, there should be many mechanisms installed within the building to turn it into a massive system of mechanisms.
As expected of the center of Hongyuan City’s artifact market, even the venue was an incredible artifact in itself.
If this building were to be put on sale, there was little doubt that it would fetch an astronomical price. Putting everything aside, it would probably take dozens of 5-star celestial engineers at least a year of hard work even if they were to work day and night without rest.
Zhang Xuan walked up to the wall and placed his hand against it. After looking through the details in the Library of Heaven’s Path, he nodded in commendation before following the crowd into the building.
The interior of the building was nothing short of magnificent.
All kinds of artifacts were laid around the main hall, and each of them was of decent grade. Even though there was no price labeled on them, considering how so many people were rushing to obtain them, they should be at an affordable range.
“Young Master, look!” At that moment, Sun Qiang’s tense voice sounded as he pointed at a certain direction.
Zhang Xuan traced his finger and saw a patrol team walking around the area.
There were six members in the team, and each of them possessed a cultivation of Transcendent Mortal 8-dan at minimum. The one standing at the very front, presumably the leader of the group, was a Transcendent Mortal 9-dan Chrysalis realm expert.
“The patrol team is in charge of maintaining order within the Spirit Emporium. If anyone were to cause trouble in the area, they would be kicked out in an instant,” Sun Qiang explained.
Zhang Xuan nodded slightly in response.
With so many artifacts lying around the room, and not to mention the vile deeds the Spirit Emporium did in the shadows, if they didn’t possess some backing and power, their business would have long been overturned by rivals and enemies.
“This…” Doubtful, Sun Qiang opened his mouth to say something, but he eventually closed it hesitantly.
Wasn’t the young master here to wreak havoc in their place?
But considering how even the patrol team possessed such astounding strength, how were they supposed to cause any trouble?
Most likely, they would be thrown out as soon as they tried to start something.
Knowing what Sun Qiang was thinking about, a chilling smile surfaced on Zhang Xuan’s lips.
“Violence is not the only way to wreak havoc…”
Since the Spirit Emporium dared to lay its hands on his students and his butler, it must be taught a lesson.
But was violence the only way to teach someone a lesson?
They were in Hongyuan City, the capital of a Tier-1 Empire, not some shady underworld city. On top of that, Zhang Xuan was a master teacher himself, the role model of the populace. How could someone as noble as him possibly go around using his fists to beat others up?
On the other hand, Sun Qiang blinked in confusion, uncomprehending of what Zhang Xuan was driving at.
“Just follow me!” Zhang Xuan chuckled as his eyes scanned through the various artifacts placed on the shelves.
There was a wide assortment of items—ores, pills, armor, weapon, formation plates… Anything that a cultivator needed, it seemed as if one would surely be able to find it here.
The cultivators in the area were also busy roaming the area, looking around for items suitable for their use.
After a casual walk around the main hall, Zhang Xuan abruptly came to a halt. With a faint smile, he instructed, “Get an attendant here!”
“Yes!”
Sun Qiang had no idea what the young master was up to, but since the latter had issued an instruction, he dared not hesitate. Thus, he immediately made his way to the front reception.
