Chapter 399: Above the Alliance
Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97
"I won"t stand on formalities then!"
Hesitating for a moment, Su s.h.i.+ started explaining, "I believe you all should have at least heard a little about the standing of our Myriad Kingdom Alliance in the continent!"
Having read through books, Zhang Xuan knew that due to the influence of the master teachers, this continent was known as Master Teacher Continent.
It was a huge continent that seemed boundless.
In which, there were countless kingdoms, sects, and individual influences scattered all over.
The Myriad Kingdom Alliance might be the strongest existence in this region, but when placed against the entire Master Teacher Continent, it didn"t amount to anything much.
Seeing the confusion in the eyes of many master teachers here, Su s.h.i.+ shook his head. "I guess that even if you all know a little about it, your knowledge is probably incomplete. Allow me to explain more then!"
"I"m sure you all should be well-aware of the ranking system of the kingdoms. There is a total of four ranks, Unranked, Tier-2, Tier-1, and Conferred!
"Your Tianwu Kingdom is a Tier-1 Kingdom, and it is considered as a va.s.sal to Conferred Xuanyuan Kingdom. And there are 142 kingdoms of Xuanyuan Kingdom"s level under the jurisdiction of the Myriad Kingdom Alliance!"
"So many?"
Zhang Xuan was taken aback.
The map he saw was only at the level of a Tier-1 Kingdom. As such, he wasn"t too sure about the conditions of the Conferred Kingdoms.
Initially, he thought that the Myriad Kingdom Alliance was just a name, but at this moment, he realized that the number of countries within it had to be at least ten thousand.
There were 142 Conferred Kingdoms, and Xuanyuan Kingdom had twenty Tier-1 Kingdoms like Tianwu under its jurisdiction, and then going down further... The total quant.i.ty numbered so many that it was hard to calculate on the spot.
"That"s right. The presence of the Master Teacher Pavilion and various historical circ.u.mstances formed the present situation, but I won"t touch on that for now. For now, I"ll focus on the Myriad Kingdom Alliance!
"The Myriad Kingdom Alliance governs all of the kingdoms within a certain boundary, and even though it sounds like a ma.s.sive organization, but compared to the scale of the Master Teacher Continent, it is actually just an insignificant droplet within a vast ocean. There are several thousands of similar powers in the entire continent, such as the neighboring Mingxia Empire, Henghai Empire... There are also some powerful third rate sects such as the Cascading Sand Sect and Frigid Gale Sect."
"There are so many similar existences to the Myriad Kingdom Alliance?"
Everyone was shocked.
They knew that the Master Teacher Continent was vast, but they didn"t expect it to be of such a scale.
In their eyes, an existence that gathered over ten thousand kingdoms was already a mammoth. How could they possibly fathom that there were several thousands of such influences scattered throughout the continent?
Just the thought of it was fearsome!
"Myriad Kingdom Alliance might sound domineering, but as the kingdoms within are autonomous and there"s lack of connection between each of them, it"s actually one of the weakest among similar influences.
"Take Mingxia Empire for example, regardless of whether it"s the number of experts they have or their economy, they are way superior to us. Liuyun Sect and Luosha Sect are also filled with outstanding geniuses, and their strength far surpa.s.ses ours.
"But of course, these influential powers also have Master Teacher Pavilions within them, and they"re under the jurisdiction of a headquarter.
"In order to better select talents to groom and glorify master teachers, the Myriad Kingdom Alliance and 26 other similar influences cooperate together to conduct a Master Teacher Tournament!
"It"s conducted once every decade, and all master teachers under twenty are allowed to partic.i.p.ate. The winner will be ent.i.tled to generous rewards.
"This tournament has been conducted 77 times already, but it"s a pity that the Myriad Kingdom Alliance has continued to hover around the bottom! Even at best, we only reached the 23rd place..."
At this point, Su s.h.i.+"s face flushed in embarra.s.sment.
Of 27 similarly influential powers, their best placing was only at 23rd place, or fifth from the bottom.
It was no wonder why he felt embarra.s.sed.
"This time, the newly-appointed Pavilion Master Kang has decided to make some changes and strive for better results... He instructed for the personnel of the Myriad Kingdom Alliance"s Master Teacher Pavilion to pay attention to the other kingdoms and pick out talented individuals to groom for the tournament that would be held three months later..."
Su s.h.i.+ stared at Zhang Xuan expectantly.
"Su s.h.i.+ means that... you wish to ask Zhang s.h.i.+ to join this tournament?"
Pavilion Master Jiang came to a realization.
"That"s right!" Su s.h.i.+ nodded. "Despite his young age, Zhang s.h.i.+ has broken many records of the Master Teacher Pavilion. Even within the Myriad Kingdom Alliance, there is probably none who can match his talents. Thus... I would like to formally invite him to partic.i.p.ate in the tournament!"
"This..."
Not expecting the other party to ask such a request, Pavilion Master Jiang instinctively turned to look at Zhang Xuan.
The gazes of the other master teachers focused on Zhang Xuan as well.
It was Zhang Xuan"s personal decision to choose whether he wanted to partic.i.p.ate or not. No one could force him into it.
"This..." Zhang Xuan was also stunned by the sudden request.
"Zhang s.h.i.+, there"s no need for you to rush to answer the question. You have two days to consider this this matter and discuss it with your teacher. You can answer me once you"ve made up your mind!" Su s.h.i.+ said.
"Alright, then I"ll give it some thought..." Zhang Xuan nodded.
Zhang Xuan had never even heard of the Master Teacher Tournament, and he had no idea what form the tournament would be in. As such, he felt that he should be more prudent with this matter.
His primary focus at the moment was to become a 9-star master teacher before thirty. Everything else was of secondary concern.
"Alright, this is all I have. Zhang s.h.i.+, I"ll be troubling you to on Yang s.h.i.+"s matter then. Ling s.h.i.+ and I are truly interested in meeting your teacher!" Su s.h.i.+ chuckled.
Given how the other party was able to groom a talent of Zhang Xuan"s caliber, his means could only be greater than theirs. Since they were here, it was a breach of etiquette to not pay respects to their senior.
"Once teacher returns, I"ll immediately report to the two elders."
Seeing that the other party hadn"t forgotten this matter, Zhang Xuan felt his head hurt.
Seeing the serious expressions on these two 4-star master teachers, Zhang Xuan knew that it was impossible for him to avoid this affair.
Just that, disguising before 4-star master teachers... Honestly speaking, Zhang Xuan had no confidence at all.
"If there"s no other instructions, I"ll be taking my leave first then!"
Seeing that there was nothing else, Zhang Xuan clasped his fist.
"Farewell!" The others nodded.
Since the 2-star master teacher examination and inauguration were over, it was about time for Zhang Xuan to return back to his residence to meet his students.
Zhang Xuan had disguised himself a little after reaching the capital, so he hadn"t really walked around the city in his original appearance yet.
Walking out of the conference hall, he saw Mu Xueqing, Lu Chong, and his other students from Tianwu Academy walking up to him.
"Teacher!"
Their eyes were filled with admiration.
They thought that their teacher was only an ordinary teacher. Who could have thought that he was the great genius whose name echoed throughout the entire capital, Zhang Xuan!
They couldn"t help but feel proud to have such an esteemed teacher.
"Teacher..."
Zhao Ya and the others walked over, but in comparison to the excitement from the other groups, their heads were lowered as though a rooster who had lost a duel.
This was especially for Zheng Yang and Yuan Tao. As though a rat meeting with a cat, they trembled fearfully.
"See how I"ll teach you all a lesson once we return to the residence!"
This was the Master Teacher Pavilion, and there were many eyes here. If outsiders were to learn that his own student tried to do him in, they would definitely laugh their teeth out.
The prestige he had just earned from becoming a 2-star master teacher would also crumble in an instant.
Such family scandals should be dealt with behind closed doors. He was determined to teach these arrogant brats a lesson once they returned to the residence.
"You all should follow me as well!"
Glancing at Mu Xueqing, Lu Chong, and the others, Zhang Xuan gestured.
Since his two ident.i.ties had converged together, it was time for him to do some reorganization and end the relations.h.i.+ps that needed to be ended.
"Yes!"
The crowd nodded, and they followed behind Zhang Xuan.
Returning to the residence, Liu s.h.i.+, Bai Chan, and the others had already heard of the news. They hurried forward to welcome Zhang Xuan"s return, and admiration glittered in their eyes.
Reaching the main hall, Zhang Xuan sat at the top seat as he glanced at the kneeling Zheng Yang, Yuan Tao, and the others below with a steeled face.
As soon as he arrived, the group immediately explained the matter of the poison.
"Regardless of who Liu laos.h.i.+ is, even if he isn"t me, as a teacher, you should show him the basic respect he deserves. To poison him because of a small contention, how dare you all!" Zhang Xuan bellowed.
These few fellows had indeed gone too far this time.
He was embarra.s.sed by their act of poisoning him, but what truly made him furious was the lack of values in their actions. They disregarded the honor of a teacher and overstepped their moral boundaries.
Once a person loses his values, then no matter how strong he became, he could only be a sc.u.m!
As a teacher, what he should impart wasn"t just knowledge, but morals and values as well.
It was just like grooming a flower. It didn"t just consist of watering and adding fertilizer, one also had to trim its branches from time to time. Otherwise, as its branches started to twist and turn, it would lose its aesthetics.
"Teacher, we don"t dare anymore..."
Seeing their teacher fly to a rage, Zheng Yang and the others paled in fright.
"Don"t dare anymore? You all even dare to make a move on me, what else wouldn"t you all dare to do? I, Zhang Xuan, don"t have a student like you all, and I am not fitting to be your teacher!"
Flinging his sleeves, Zhang Xuan harrumphed coldly.
"Teacher..."
Zheng Yang and their bodies swayed.
This meant that Zhang Xuan was expelling them from his tutelage!
"Teacher, I beg of you to take back your orders. Zheng Yang and the others didn"t do it intentionally..."
Zhao Ya rushed forward and pleaded with Zhang Xuan.
"Don"t plead for them, leave them kneeling. We"ll talk about it once they finally think it through!"
After bellowing at Zheng Yang and the others, Zhang Xuan turned his attention to Mu Xueqing and his other students.
"It"s under my ident.i.ty as Liu Cheng that fate brought us together as teacher and students. However, now that I"m reverting back to my original ident.i.ty, our fate has come to an end. I"ll leave you all with cultivation techniques that will allow you all to reach Zongs.h.i.+ realm, so you all should return for now!"
Zhang Xuan"s connection with these students was only through Tianwu Academy. Now that he had come to the end of his mission, it was time for their relations.h.i.+p to come to an end.
Other than that, Tianwu Kingdom was still way too small for him. It was just a matter of time before he"d leave. Taking care of Zhao Ya and the others was already difficult for him, he couldn"t possibly bring an entire cla.s.s around!
"Teacher..."
The eyes of Mu Xueqing, Meng Tao, and the others reddened.
"Alright, there"s no banquet that doesn"t end. Even if you all aren"t my students, you all must cultivate diligently!"
After issuing them one last instruction, Zhang Xuan waved his hands, "You all should go now!"
"Yes..."
The group kneeled down and kowtowed together once.
"Teacher, I... would like to follow you. I"ll go wherever you go!" Mu Xueqing gritted her teeth in determination.
"You are the sole daughter of Apothecary Mu. If you leave, who will take care of him? You should return!" Zhang Xuan waved his hand.
"I..." Mu Xueqing was tongue-tied.
She had lost her mother at a young age, and her father went through a lot of trouble to raise her. If she were to leave, what would happen to her father?
"If you still wish to follow me in the future, you can first settle the matter with Apothecary Mu before looking for me. Don"t worry, as a master teacher, it won"t be hard for you to track me down!" Zhang Xuan smiled.
"Yes. Teacher, thank you for your tutelage over the past few days!"
Upon coming to terms with the matter, Mu Xueqing bent down and kowtowed deeply several times.
Zhang Xuan nodded. Just as he was about to speak, his head suddenly jolted. A bookshelf trembled, and the golden book appeared once more.