"Progeny of Combat, what do you mean by this?" Recognizing who the other party was, Ren Qingyuan"s face twitched uncontrollably. Taking a deep breath to calm himself down, he said, "You have to remember that everything you have now was given by the Master Teacher Pavilion. As long as we will it so, the Master Teacher Pavilion can take away everything that you have anytime we wis.h.!.+""Take away everything I have?"
Completely unfazed by what Ren Qingyuan had said, Zheng Yang waved his hand nonchalantly and replied, "Do whatever pleases you!"
After which, he descended toward Zhang Xuan.
"Progeny of Combat Zheng Yang, just what kind of att.i.tude do you think you are showing us?" Unable to tolerate the young man"s unconcerned reaction, Elder Qu dashed forward and blocked his path.
Even though he had been poisoned by Wei Ruyan earlier, as a 9-star master teacher, he had a deep understanding of medicine, and on top of that, he was also a powerful cultivator himself. After recuperating for a moment, he had already recovered enough to move around without any trouble.
"Don"t block my way." Zheng Yang glanced at the elder standing before him with narrowed eyes. "Scram."
"Audacious! Is this how you address a 9-star master teacher?" the infuriated Elder Qu snapped as his face turned crimson.
Every single one of Zhang Xuan"s student was more arrogant than the last.
We might not have the influence to interfere in the affairs of the Poison Hall, soul oracles, and Spirit Awakener Guild, but the Combat Master Hall is a subsidiary of the Master Teacher Pavilion! How dare you bite the hand that feeds you?
"Then how do you want me to address you? Shall I kneel to you?" Zheng Yang scoffed.
"You don"t have to kneel to me, but you should understand that the strength and influence you possess right now is all due to the credit of the Master Teacher Pavilion. You are indebted to us. Don"t bite the hand that feeds you and ruin your own future…"
Halfway through Elder Qu"s words, he suddenly felt his gooseb.u.mps rising up. The next instant, he saw a spear piercing right in his direction, and the powerful aura that it commanded seemed as if it would tear his Primordial Spirit to shreds.
"You…" Alarmed, Elder Qu quickly whipped out a sword to defend against the spear.
Ding!
As the tip of the spear and the sword collided with a metallic clang, Elder Qu felt overwhelming might surging up his arm, seemingly threatening to jolt his meridians into shreds.
Pu!
The sword flew out of his hands, and he spurted a mouthful of blood as he was forced back a couple of steps. But before he could regain his footing once more, he saw the body of a spear flicking forcefully in his direction.
He instinctively cowered in fear, and he hurriedly raised his palms to defend himself.
Kacha! Kacha!
Under the astounding might of the spear whip, Elder Qu"s body slammed right into the ground, creating a huge pit beneath him on impact.
"I am already sparing your pride, but you still want to lecture me?" Zheng Yang scoffed as he clapped the dust off his hands and put his spear back leisurely, as if he had just done something insignificant.
"Elder Qu!"
"Progeny of Combat, just what in the world are you doing?"
Not expecting the other party to knock Elder Qu flying without the slightest hesitation, the surrounding master teachers flew into an uproar. They rushed forward to surround Zheng Yang, seemingly intending to lynch him.
"Are you thinking of making a move on me?" Despite the precarious situation that he was in, Zheng Yang did not show the slightest hint of anxiety. Instead, he lifted his gaze and bellowed, "These people are thinking of killing your Progeny of Combat! If you don"t wish to be without a hall master, stop them!"
Huala!
Right after those words were spoken, the master teachers saw the scene before them blurring. The surrounding s.p.a.ce distorted for a moment before revealing eight elders. Each of them emanated an aura of bloodshed, reminiscent of valiant warriors who had just walked out of a battlefield.
Weng!
The eight elders drew their swords simultaneously, and a ma.s.sive spatial rift created a gap between the master teachers and them.
One of the eight elders swept his gaze across the master teachers before saying in a firm voice, "I"ll have to ask you all not to advance any further than this. It wasn"t easy for the Combat Master Hall to find a Progeny of Combat, and we don"t wish for anything to go wrong at this point."
Hearing the words of the elder, Ren Qingyuan felt blood rus.h.i.+ng into his head as he roared, "Preposterous… This is utterly preposterous! Are you all starting a mutiny here!"
Ever since the founding of the Master Teacher Pavilion many millenniums ago, it had always taken the role of the leader of mankind, standing in a position that commanded respect and deference from the ma.s.ses. There had never been a single power who dared oppose it. Yet, in the course of a single day, four powers had raised their arms against them!
"Mutiny? Just like how water can float the boat, it can also devour it whole as well. If the Master Teacher Pavilion is just and impartial, no one will question its judgement. But if it has strayed from the principles that it embraced, it"ll find many standing up to oppose it!" Zheng Yang replied coldly before turning his attention away from the master teachers altogether.
He descended to the ground and kneeled on the floor.
"Disciple Zheng Yang pays respect to teacher!"
Zhang Xuan looked at his student from head to toe and nodded with a warm smile. "Get up."
Over the past few months, Zheng Yang had grown far more than he had expected, reaching a level that even he could hardly see through.
"Teacher, I heard that the Master Teacher Pavilion has issued an arrest warrant on you due to the Zhang Clan reporting that you have utilized an artifact of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe…" Zheng Yang stood up and asked respectfully, "May I know if that"s true?"
After pondering for a moment, Zhang Xuan nodded. "That seems to be the case."
To be honest, he was not too sure why the Master Teacher Pavilion had chosen to release an arrest warrant on him, but the cause should be tied to the incident that had happened back at the Zhang Clan.
Back then, he had been in a rush to save Zhao Ya, so he had ended up borrowing Vicious" strength to deal with Zhang Wuheng. That could be the reason the Master Teacher Pavilion had ended up taking such a severe stance against him.
After all, the Master Teacher Pavilion had always been wary of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe, and when the security of mankind was at stake, it was understandable that they would rather be safe than sorry.
"Teacher, you have fought against the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe and singlehandedly destroyed an entire Otherworldly Demon Emperor lineage. Yet, due to an inkling of doubt that had to be verified, the Zhang Clan insisted that you are guilty and demanded your punishment. Years of holding onto their t.i.tle as the number one Sage Clan sure has inflated their guts. They seem to think that they can do as they please without facing the consequences!" Zheng Yang sneered coldly before clasping his fist and bowing grandly to Zhang Xuan. "Teacher, please allow me to vent your anger for you!"
"You want to help me get back at them?" Knowing Zheng Yang"s hot temper, Zhang Xuan sighed deeply before nodding. "Don"t take anyone"s life. It will do just to teach them a lesson!"
"I understand, Teacher!" Nodding, Zheng Yang slammed the spear in his hand onto the ground, causing the ground to tremor.
He turned his gaze upward and scanned the crowd above before saying, "Ruyan and Lu Chong, the Zhang Clan, the Sanctum of Sages, and the Glacier Plain Court have framed our teacher and attempted to take our teacher"s life. Are you willing to help me exact vengeance for our teacher and bring honor and dignity back to his name?"
"Of course!" Wei Ruyan took a step forward.
"It"s my responsibility to do so!" Lu Chong replied as he walked forward, too.
"Good!" Zheng Yang replied heartily.
He directed a cold and severe glare toward an old man amid the crowd above and bellowed, "Zhang Wuheng, not only have you injured my teacher, you even issued an order to have him surrounded and killed! For the humiliation that you have caused to my teacher, I, Zheng Yang, shall challenge you to a duel in the stead of my teacher! Do you dare accept my duel?"
Hu la!
Zheng Yang flicked his spear to the side, and spatial ripples appeared along the movement of his spear.
"You are challenging me to a fight?" Not expecting a young lad who was not even in his twenties yet to dare challenge him to a duel, Zhang Wuheng sneered in disdain. "Very well, come…"
Boom!
Before Zhan Wuheng could finish his sentence, a piercing shrill like a sharp blast of wind suddenly echoed from above. He quickly raised his head, only to see a ma.s.sive figure falling from the sky, heading right in his direction.
Kacha!
Before he could even react, a ma.s.sive bottom had already slammed him down all the way into the ground, causing several of his ribs to fracture. A huge number of his teeth scattered all over the ground as he coughed mouthful after mouthful of blood.
"Seniors and Juniors, how can you leave me out for a gathering like this? It seems like I have arrived late to the party," the owner of the ma.s.sive bottom said with a bright smile, revealing his gleaming, white teeth.