“Faction leader, after Zhang shi left School Head Jiang’s residence, he returned straight to the manor which King Huai gave him. After which, he headed to Luo shi’s residence but left shortly after. Since then, he hasn’t left his manor!”
In the courtyard of a vast residence sitting at the very center of the Formation Master School, a young lady reported to a beautiful silhouette before her.
Dong Xin turned around and asked, “He hasn’t left his manor?”
Ever since the affairs at the Physician School, she had been sending her men to trail Zhang Xuan so as to uncover his weaknesses, but the latter had been so busy that it was hard to even catch a glimpse of him. So far, she still hadn’t received anything that she could use against him.
“Yes!” The other lady nodded in response.
“Alright, you may leave now.” Dong Xin waved her hands casually before placing them behind her back.
A slight spring breeze tugged at her robe, highlighting her mesmerizing figure.
She lived up to her name as one of the top beauties of the academy. Her posture and gestures carried a unique charm to them.
If Hu Yaoyao was a thorny rose, she would be an elegant lily, cold but alluring.
“One has to enter the tiger’s den to find a cub. If I wish to uncover that fellow’s weakness, I will probably have to make a move myself!” Dong Xin’s eyebrows shot up.
She was an extremely careful and meticulous person, and she didn’t like to depend on secondhand news. Even though she had heard many things about Zhang Xuan from Hu Yaoyao and the others, she still held her reservations toward the authenticity of their words, choosing to devote significant resources to investigating him herself.
However, perhaps it might be due to Zhang Xuan being far too careful, her subordinates had been unable to obtain any useful intelligence on him yet. It seemed like she would have to make a move herself if she wished to find anything useful.
“Alright, I should head over to take a look!”
Switching to an ordinary robe, Dong Xin flitted out of her residence.
She had already tasked someone with uncovering the location of the manor which King Huai had given Zhang Xuan, so she knew its exact location. It wasn’t located too far from the Master Teacher Academy, so she arrived at her destination within a few minutes.
It seems like there are quite a few formations set up here… However, you are being too naive if you think that this can stop me! Chuckling lightly, Dong Xin infiltrated the manor.
She was one of the top Grade 5 students in the Master Teacher Academy, a Transcendent Mortal 9-dan Chrysalis realm expert. On top of that, she was the direct disciple of Chen Chengxun, the head of the Formation Master School.
The formations in the manor might have been able to stop 4-star and 5-star formation masters in their tracks, but to hinder her passage? Dream on!
Slowly advancing carefully in the manor, Dong Xin soon found herself standing before a vast courtyard.
A formation was currently active in the courtyard. It created a thick layer of mist around the courtyard, preventing one from seeing what was within.
Dong Xin recognized it with a single glance. This is… a 4-star pinnacle Aura Sealing Formation?
The purpose of the formation is to conceal one’s aura… Could it be that his weakness is hidden within here?
Dong Xin’s eyes lit up in excitement.
The Aura Sealing Formation didn’t have much practical use other than concealing one’s aura. For the other party to set up such a formation within his manor, there was no doubt that he was trying to hide something!
I must find a way to get through the Aura Sealing Formation to take a look… Dong Xin clenched her fists tightly in agitation.
Her enemy’s secret, and possibly his greatest weakness as well, was standing right before her. She couldn’t let this opportunity slip through her fingers. Gritting her teeth ferociously, she began analyzing the formation carefully with her beady eyes.
It isn’t too difficult to decipher a grade-4 Aura Sealing Formation, but if I make a wrong move, I might end up shifting the formation flags and cause some unexpected changes in the formation…
As a 6-star formation master, Dong Xin was more than able to overcome an Aura Sealing Formation. However, the tricky part was to sneak in without the other party noticing.
To do so, she would have to study the formation thoroughly and plan out her moves carefully.
With a swift movement, she leaped onto a lush tree in the corner of the courtyard to conceal herself. After which, she took out a geomantic compass and began making her calculations based on the spiritual energy flow in the surroundings.
Li San, Xun Wu…1
Dong Xin swiftly performed her calculations, and the more calculations she made, the more awed she became.
The person who set up this Aura Sealing Formation is a person of great capability. He managed to align the formation perfectly with the entire manor, turning the two into one entity. Even I am unable to achieve such a feat…
Even though the formation before her was only at grade-4 pinnacle, it was perfectly aligned with the surroundings, drawing out prowess that only grade-5 formations could possess.
To be able to bring out such prowess in a grade-4 formation, the other party’s capability as a formation master could only be above hers.
But ultimately, there’s still a limit to how powerful a grade-4 formation can be. No matter how well he might have set it up, as long as I find the Life Gate, I will still be able to get in easily… Dong Xin chuckled softly in confidence.
Her talent in formations was extraordinary, and this was also the reason the head of the Formation Master School had taken her in as his disciple.
The formation might be far beyond the normal scope of an ordinary grade-4 formation, but due to its fundamental limits, she was still able to decipher it easily.
Taking a deep breath, she was just about to confirm the location of the Life Gate and sneak in when the ground suddenly shook intensely. A violent energy burst out from the formation.
It felt as if a powerful expert was trying to break the formation from within to escape.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Dong Xin swiftly hid herself before she heard yet another powerful shockwave striking the Aura Sealing Formation. Under the immense force, ‘pili pala!’, the formation began to crumble.
To be able to destroy a grade-5 formation with brute force… the person trapped inside the formation must be at least a Saint realm expert! Dong Xin narrowed her eyes in astonishment.
While the Aura Sealing Formation was meant to be a grade-4 pinnacle formation, the person who had set it up had done it so impeccably, complementing it perfectly with the surroundings, that it harnessed the prowess only grade-5 formations should possess.
For a grade-5 formation to crumble under brute force, it could only mean that the person trapped within was an unbelievably powerful expert.
Boom!
Amidst her shock, Dong Xin saw an enormous figure emerging from the crumbling formation.
This is… Senior Byzantium Helios?!
Her body immediately stiffened from sheer astonishment.
As a Grade 5 student, she had been fortunate enough to meet the tamed beast of the old principal several times… But wasn’t he kidnapped by the Otherworldly Demons?
How can he be here?
Or could it be…
The thought that just flashed through Dong Xin’s mind filled her with unprecedented horror.
“Trying to escape? Vicious, take it down!”
In the next instant, a nonchalant voice suddenly sounded in the courtyard, and an overwhelming killing intent permeated the area.
Padah!
Before Senior Byzantium Helios could even react, he had already fallen back to the ground, convulsing uncontrollably.
It’s… the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe! Dong Xin was so frightened that she didn’t even dare to move in the slightest.
“The rest of you, get him! Pummel him to death!”
Following which, the nonchalant voice sounded once more, and twenty Saint realm Otherworldly Demons abruptly appeared and charged furiously toward Senior Byzantium Helios.
Pili pala!
Fists and kicks sunk into the flesh of the helpless Senior Byzantium Helios, and in the blink of an eye, he was already bruised all over. He lay on the floor twitching uncontrollably, and it felt like he could breathe his last at any moment.
Covering her mouth firmly to stifle her gasp, Dong Xin felt her blood run cold. In that instant, she dared not to make the slightest movement or noise for fear of being noticed.
The enemy side had twenty Saint realm Otherworldly Demons, and even Senior Byzantium Helios wasn’t a match for them. If she were to be noticed, there was no doubt that she would be slaughtered in an instant.
“It fainted again…”
Through the gaps of the leaves, she saw Zhang Xuan walking leisurely toward Senior Byzantium Helios and harrumphing coldly. He flicked his wrist, and the massive Senior Byzantium Helios abruptly disappeared from sight. After which, he looked at the broken formation and fell into deep thought.
“This formation is too weak… It seems like I should head to the Formation Master School to learn a more formidable formation…” Zhang Xuan muttered under his breath before walking back to his room.
Even after Zhang Xuan had disappeared from sight, Dong Xin didn’t dare to move, fearing that the other party might return abruptly. It was only six hours later, when dusk had finally set in, that she dared to move her stiffened body and swiftly flee from the manor.
The matter she had seen that day was truly huge!
It was so huge that it terrified her to her very core!
It was no wonder Zhang Xuan was so talented, skilled in every aspect… It turned out that he was really not a human!
It was said that the royalty of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe possessed the capability to disguise themselves as humans, and not even Saint realm master teachers would be able to tell the difference. When she’d first heard of it, she had thought of it as utter nonsense — how could such a convenient ability exist in the world? — but to think that… it would actually be true!
For an Otherworldly Demon to disguise itself as a master teacher and even successfully infiltrate the Master Teacher Academy… This news would cause not only a huge uproar in the Master Teacher Academy but the Master Teacher Pavilion as well!
Realizing the implications behind this issue, Dong Xin rushed straight to the Master Teacher Academy as fast as she could. This won’t do, I can’t let his schemes succeed! I have to report this matter to the academy this instant…
This was no longer something that she, as a student, had the power to deal with. She had to inform the top echelons of the Master Teacher Academy as soon as possible.
But… given how astounding this matter was, would anyone believe her?
After all, that Zhang Xuan had earned the deep trust of School Head Mo, School Head Zhao, School Head Wei, and just a few hours ago, even that of School Head Jiang! On top of that, he was also a close friend of Pavilion Master Mo, and he seemed to have an amicable relationship with Luo shi from the headquarters too…
If she were to accuse him of being an Otherworldly Demon without concrete evidence, not only would others not believe her, she might even be stripped of her master teacher license on the grounds of slandering her own peers!
I should first discuss this matter with teacher… Dong Xin thought.
As the person who had founded the Dong Xin Faction and led it to become one of the strongest student factions in the academy, she was by no means a reckless or foolish person.
Even though it had only been a matter of days since Zhang Xuan had enrolled at the academy, he had already won the trust of several dozen thousand students along with four school heads and Pavilion Master Mo… Her current standing was in no way on par with his.
Under the circumstances, since there was no concrete evidence to back her words, she was in a definite disadvantage on this matter. It was highly likely that the tables would turn on her, and perhaps… her life might even be threatened!
Thus, it was imperative for her to act cautiously and even more carefully for this matter.
But even if teacher were to trust me, his standing is still beneath that of School Head Zhao. That won’t be sufficient to overthrow Zhang Xuan…
A figure suddenly surfaced in Dong Xin’s mind. Wait, I can look for School Head Lu Feng!
While it was true that her teacher Chen Chengxun, the head of the Formation Master School, did possess immense prestige in the Master Teacher Academy, his standing was still beneath that of Zhao Bingxu. If Zhao Bingxu were to oppose to the motion that her teacher raised, it was highly likely that the entire matter might fall through.
However… things would be different if she could rally the stand-in principal, Lu Feng, to her side!
Lu Feng and Zhang Xuan had a hostile relationship, so Lu Feng might be inclined to listen to her words.
I should first find teacher and have him take me to School Head Lu Feng… Dong Xin gritted her teeth in determination.
The implications behind this matter were simply too huge. The matter wouldn’t just resolve itself if she only revealed what she had seen. She had to gather sufficient power on her side first.
And at this very moment, the person who wielded the greatest say in the academy was indubitably School Head Lu Feng.
On top of that, the other party had a grudge against Zhang Xuan, so if she were to reveal this news to him, it was likely that the other party would side with her.
Hu!
Having made up her mind, she headed toward the school head office of the Formation Master School without any hesitation.
