In the time that the duo spent talking, the other Otherworldly Demons subdued Lu Feng and the others and forced them to move along with them.
From the very start, they were already depleted from the extended battle they had against so many Otherworldly Demons simultaneously, so they weren’t able to put up much of a fight. In fact, were it not for the fact that they were needed to serve as tribute to bypass the seal, they would have already been killed long ago.
While they were attacked by the Otherworldly Demons, Zhang Xuan didn’t bother saying anything or even spare a glance at them.
Since Tong Yue thought that he was the Goldenleaf King, the other party wouldn’t dare kill any of the master teachers, and as long as they were still alive, he would have a chance to save them.
Proceeding ahead, it didn’t take long before Zhang Xuan saw a vast area filled with massive buildings on the horizon.
Innumerable buildings that extended for over several li were built against a mountain, concealed discreetly amid the darkness. A cold and sinister atmosphere drifted around those buildings, leaving one with a disturbing feeling within.
It’s so big? Zhang Xuan’s eyebrows shot up.
The Subterranean Gallery was the passageway connecting the Master Teacher Continent to the otherworldly battlefield. Under normal circumstances, there shouldn’t have been too many Otherworldly Demons lurking in the area. Yet, the buildings were extended over such an unbelievably huge area that it could even house several hundred thousand individuals simultaneously. Was it possible that a huge army of Otherworldly Demons had already breached the seal and was currently stationed in the area?
If that was the case, Hongyuan Empire was truly deep in danger.
It would already be difficult for the Tier-1 Empire to hold its ground against two hundred Otherworldly Demons. If several hundred thousand were to pop out at once, probably even Qingyuan Conferred Empire would be shaken at its core.
Following behind Tong Yue, Zhang Xuan discreetly activated his Eye of Insight to look into the interior of the buildings.
To his relief, there weren’t any traces of life within.
“Your Highness, this is the base we have built over the past two months, and it is large enough to house tens of thousands of people within it comfortably without any problem! There won’t be any problem with the lodging once our great army arrives!” Tong Yue explained with a fawning smile.
“Un.” Deactivating his Eye of Insight, Zhang Xuan directed a nod toward Tong Yue while heaving a sigh of relief inwardly.
So, the buildings were just prepared by them in advance. For a moment, he had thought that they were already filled with Otherworldly Demons.
From the looks of it, it seemed like something had happened to the seal. However, it hadn’t reached the level where they could enter or leave freely.
Based on Tong Yue’s words, he was able to deduce two things.
Firstly, master teachers had to be offered as tributes for the Greenleaf King guy to come over. From the looks of it, the requirement for his crossing was significantly harsher than others.
Secondly, the group he was with was likely the scouting party. Their main mission seemed to be to prepare for the arrival of the main army, such as building a base and finding ways to undermine the seal. Once they succeed, it wouldn’t be long before the great army of the Otherworldly Demons arrived.
If that was the case, Hongyuan Empire would be in deep trouble.
With such thoughts in mind, Zhang Xuan followed behind Tong Yue and descended among the buildings.
There were significant differences between the Otherworldly Demons’ buildings and those constructed by humans, and it felt like they were carefully designed to enhance the concentration of killing intent in the area. If one were to cultivate the Zhenqi of Slaughter here, one’s rate of cultivation would surely be much faster than normal.
From the looks of it, the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe wasn’t lacking in talent either. At the very least, they possessed means that were on par with the human’s formation masters.
But that was only to be expected. If they hadn’t possessed such immense strength, they wouldn’t have been able to dominate the other races for so many years until Kong shi’s emergence.
Tong Yue turned to Zhang Xuan and said, “I have long heard that Your Highness possesses a deep understanding of architecture and formations. Please do enlighten us if anything is inappropriate, I will have my men alter it immediately.”
“It’s…” Zhang Xuan was just about to say that it was fine and that no changes had to be made when a sudden realization struck him, and he abruptly stopped halfway through his words.
It seemed like Tong Yue was trying to sound him out to verify his identity.
He had no way of telling whether the Goldenleaf King was truly skilled in the field of architecture and formations at all, so he had to be careful with how he answered this question. If he were to come up with a correct alteration but the Goldenleaf King turned out to be unskilled in the field, that would be as good as giving himself away. The same applied if he were to come up with an inaccurate alteration and the Goldenleaf King turned out to be skilled… This was truly a huge trouble.
That fellow sure was a sharp person, laying out a subtle trap for him so easily.
If he were to give the wrong response, he could very well end up turning the two hundred Otherworldly Demons against him in an instant.
On the other hand, if he were to refuse to respond, putting aside how the other party’s suspicions of him would deepen, such attempts would also come time and time again at him, and it would only be a matter of time before he gave himself away.
“Is that how you speak to your King as well?” Zhang Xuan’s complexion darkened in fury.
Since it was impossible for him to come up with a correct answer to the question with any certainty, the only way for him was to change the subject.
“I…” Noting Zhang Xuan’s fury, Tong Yue’s body immediately stiffened. He suddenly realized that the words he had spoken were slightly disrespectful, and his face paled in fright.
As a lofty King, the other party would speak on his own accord if he wished to offer any words of enlightenment. Otherwise, it wasn’t his place as a subordinate to ask about it either.
“Enough! I don’t have time to waste my breath with you. Take those master teachers to a secret chamber and have your men stay away from the area. I don’t want anyone within thirty meters of the chamber while I am interrogating them!” Zhang Xuan roared furiously, turning the other party’s attention away from the previous subject completely.
“Yes!” On the other hand, Tong Yue heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that the Goldenleaf King had no intentions of pursuing the matter. He swiftly left the area to make arrangements, and sometime later, he returned to the room. “Your Highness, I had my men imprison them in the hall just in front.”
“Good.” Zhang Xuan nodded.
“Your Highness, you must be wary. The humans are known to be cunning and scheming, and I fear that they might mean you harm,” Tong Yue advised.
“They are nothing but a bunch of puny insects! They won’t be able to harm me even if I stand on the spot and let them attack!” With his hands behind his back, Zhang Xuan sneered coldly as a powerful aura burst forth from him.
“Yes!” Feeling the incredible power emanated by the other party, Tong Yue’s eyebrows shot up in alarm.
With the strength the other party had displayed, it would take nothing more than a finger for the other party to crush him.
“Tell your men to steer clear. I will be right back!” Harrumphing coldly, Zhang Xuan walked out of the room.
“Yes!” Tong Yue nodded with a lowered head. It was only after the figure before him finally disappeared from sight that he finally turned around with a frown and bellowed, “Men!”
A moment later, an Otherworldly Demon rushed in hurriedly and bowed. “Leader!”
“You, head to the seal right now and check with the personnel stationed there if anyone had arrived today,” Tong Yue commanded.
“Yes!” The Otherworldly Demon quickly nodded before rushing out.
The killing intent and prowess demonstrated by the other party was indeed on par with the Kings, but Tong Yue still felt that there was a need to verify this matter. Too much was at stake, and no mistake could be tolerated.
…
In the hall, Lu Feng and the others were lying feebly on the ground, their bodies bound with heavy shackles. Their cultivation had also been sealed through special means.
“It seems like we won’t be getting out of this alive,” one of the master teachers said with a bitter smile.
“Indeed. The only regret I have is that I did not slay more Otherworldly Demons.” Another old man shook his head and sighed.
“Don’t you think that it is a little bizarre that they are keeping us alive to interrogate us? But regardless of what their intentions are, they sure won’t be getting a single word out of me!” a master teacher spat through gritted teeth.
The Otherworldly Demons and master teachers viewed one another as nemeses. It was perplexing that the Otherworldly Demons would keep them alive even though they served no value at this point.
But even if they were to die, they would never allow themselves to become a traitor of mankind.
One of the elders couldn’t help but ask in curiosity, “Speaking of which… The reason we are here is because our lives are already approaching their limits, but Lu Feng, you still have many years ahead of you. Furthermore, you are the esteemed head of the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy’s Apothecary School. Why would a person like you come to the Subterranean Gallery?”
Hearing the question, the others also turned their gazes over.
Under the furious pursuit of the Otherworldly Demons over the past few days, they hadn’t had the luxury of time to chat with one another. At this moment, however, since their fate was already sealed, they wished to at least unravel this mystery before their deaths.
Those who would descend to the Subterranean Gallery were those who had found themselves nearing the end of their paths. However, Lu Feng was not only the head of the number one school in the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy, he was also at Half-Spiritual Perception realm, which meant that it was highly likely he could advance further to Saint realm 2-dan. Why would a person like him with such a bright future ahead descend into the Subterranean Gallery like them?
“This is truly a long story! I can only say that I have erred…” Lu Feng shook his head.
Had he not provoked Zhang Xuan, he wouldn’t have landed himself in such a state.
“What happened? Did someone frame you?” Another master teacher couldn’t help but ask.
“I offended someone that I shouldn’t have, so I voluntarily applied to come down here!” Lu Feng said.
He had encountered many life-threatening situations since arriving here, but he didn’t regret his decision at all.
He was contributing to mankind back when he was an esteemed head of the Apothecary School, and he was also doing the same down here as well. The only difference was that he would die a silent and unsung death.
“You offended someone?” The others were even more perplexed.
Who in the world did the stand-in principal of the Master Teacher Academy, a powerful Half-Spiritual Perception realm expert, offend to have to be forced to come to these desolate grounds?
“Indeed, I offended a student.” Lu Feng nodded.
“A student?” The others were stunned.
You are a member of the Ten Great Master Teachers and the stand-in principal of the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy! To be reduced to this state from offending a student… Just what kind of student wields such frightening power?
An elder suddenly thought of something and asked, “Was it… an offspring from one of the Sage Clans?”
“No, he is just an ordinary student from Huanyu Empire,” Lu Feng replied.
“From Huanyu Empire?” The group stared at one another in bewilderment.
A student from a Tier-2 Empire was actually able to force the stand-in principal to enter the Subterranean Gallery? What was going on?
“I knew that you all won’t believe me. To tell you the truth, I have been musing over this matter for the past few days, and I still feel as if I was dreaming!”
Taking everyone’s expression into sight, a bitter smile surfaced on Lu Feng’s lips. “Why don’t I tell you about his deeds after entering the academy? You should be able to understand it after that.”
Shaking his head, Lu Feng began to recount the many things that had happened ever since Zhang Xuan enrolled into the Master Teacher Academy. As the matter regarding Yang shi concerned the privacy of a higher ranked master teacher, he neglected to mention him.
“A twenty-year-old lad challenged Vice School Head You Xu to a Life-and-Death Physician Duel, and the latter actually lost?”
“His lecture actually caused all of the teachers and students to leave the Apothecary School?
“He successfully tamed a Saint realm 2-dan beast at his young age?
“The Master Teacher Academy’s Golden Origin Cauldron acknowledged him as its master after he touched it?”
…
Hearing about the various matters concerning Zhang Xuan had left everyone dumbstruck.
Who could have imagined that a student could actually cause such a huge ruckus within several months of enrolling into the academy?
Was this for real?
“How did you end up offending a genius of such caliber?” one of the master teachers asked.
Such a talent would eventually become the pride and honor of the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy. Given so, Lu Feng should have been intent on getting on good terms with the other party. Why would he have a conflict with him instead?
“It is because his talents are too formidable that I suspected that he is… a King of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe. Otherwise, how could a person that young gain such a deep understanding of so many supporting occupations and wield such extraordinary strength?”
At this point, Lu Feng shook his head bitterly and said, “Only a little later did I realize how ridiculous my suspicions were!”
From the moment he met Yang shi, he immediately realized how ludicrous his suspicions that Zhang Xuan was an Otherworldly Demon King were.
How could the student of a Celestial Master Teacher possibly be an Otherworldly Demon? This notion in itself was a huge joke!
“Ridiculous? Why would it be ridiculous? If I was in your place, I would have thought the same as well. After all, no matter how talented a person is, there is a limit to how much he can achieve within a limited period of time. Considering the vast knowledge he has displayed despite only being twenty, it is only natural for one to doubt his origins!”
“I share the same thoughts as well.”
“You were sent here just because you doubted him?”
The other master teachers frowned in indignation for Lu Feng.
Wasn’t it making a big fuss out of nothing to issue such a harsh punish to an esteemed head of the Apothecary School for something as minor as that?
“You don’t understand. Zhang shi is…” Seeing that the others had misunderstood what he was saying, Lu Feng shook his head and began to explain, but at that moment, the doors to the hall abruptly opened, ‘jiya’, and a head popped in through the crack of the door.
A pair of large eyes stared intently at the master teachers.
“Who called for me?”
The bright smile on the large face looked extraordinarily unnerving.
