Chapter 565: I p.r.o.nounce All of You Guilty! [2in1]
Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97
Only upon reaching Transcendent Mortal 8-dan Ethereal Treading realm would one be able to step on thin air and ascend. But even so, this "flight" would be limited to vertical displacement and was temporary. As such, it couldn"t be considered as flight.
True flight would require one"s cultivation to be at Half-Saint at minimum!
Beyond the nine dans of a Fighter was Transcendent Mortal.
And beyond the nine dans of a Transcendent Mortal was Saint.
But even a Half-Saint would only be capable of basic flight. The maneuvers would still be severely restricted.
Yet, the person before them was able to walk on air as though there were transparent steps beneath his feet. As though a haughty deity, he stood in the air, inducing immense fear in those that set their eyes on him.
More importantly, that person"s aura was so powerful that they couldn"t even begin to gauge the limits to his strength. A powerful pressure pressed down on their soul, forcing them to lower their heads in submission.
The pressure the other party exerted wasn"t just limited to their physical body. It penetrated all the way down into their souls, and as though a mountain crus.h.i.+ng down on them, it robbed them of all intent to retaliate.
Only one who had surpa.s.sed a Half-Saint, a Nascent Saint or even a true Saint, would possess such strength!
Even in Huanyu Empire was one unable to find a single expert of this caliber... Why would one suddenly appear here?
Not to mention... from the looks of it... the other party was speaking up for Zhang Xuan?
Sect Leader Luo Huang and the others felt as though their hearts had been plunged into a lake of frigid water, and their faces turned ghastly pale in fright. Their arrogance from before had faded completely without a trace.
They thought that Zhang Xuan was an insignificant figure with humble origins. And yet, in the blink of an eye, he had turned into a primordial beast who could rip them apart at any moment.
While everyone"s knees trembled in fear, Sun Qiang"s eyes reddened as he uttered, "Old Master..."
Who else could the powerful person stepping in midair be other than his old master, Yang Xuan?
He had thought that he would truly die in this crisis, but in this crucial moment, the old master had come to their rescue!
"This is... Yang s.h.i.+?"
The heavily injured Xue Yiyao glanced at the middle-aged man standing in midair and her heart jolted, and her face reddened in agitation.
It was no wonder why Sun Qiang was so confident. Yang s.h.i.+ was indeed worthy of his confidence!
With a strength exceeding that of even 6-star master teachers, the other party might truly be able to heal her soul and make it complete once more!
"Su Fan and Ling Yuheng pays respect to Yang s.h.i.+!"
At the moment that the entire courtyard was completely silent, two figures suddenly appeared-Su s.h.i.+ and Ling s.h.i.+.
Even though they had received the news at the same moment as Pavilion Master Kang, due to their weaker cultivation, they had arrived late.
As soon as they arrived, they immediately saw the majestic sight of Yang s.h.i.+ appearing from the heavens, and their hearts immediately jolted. They hurriedly clasped their fists and paid their greetings.
They had already realized that the other party was at least a 6-star master teacher when they first saw the other party"s Eye of Insight, but even so, it was the first time they were seeing the might of a 6-star master teacher and it was indeed frightening.
It was impossible to even gather the will to resist the other party.
"Elder, you"re mistaken. That is not what I meant..."
Calming himself down, Sect Leader Luo Huang clasped his fist. However, halfway through his words, he suddenly felt a surge of soul energy gus.h.i.+ng straight toward him, threatening to tear him apart.
Pu!
Spewing a mouthful of blood, he was knocked eight steps backward.
While he didn"t suffer significant physical injuries, his soul was already grievously wounded.
The soul was different from the body. A wound on the body could be healed by consuming pills and nouris.h.i.+ng with one"s zhenqi. However, a soul could only recuperate slowly with time. This injury would require him at least a century to recover completely!
And... he knew that he didn"t have a century ahead of him.
With just his soul, the other party was already able to inflict such severe injuries on him, terminating any chance of future progress in his cultivation. Was this... the might of a Saint?
With a pale face, Sect Leader Luo Huang trembled in fear.
After wounding Sect Leader Luo Huang, the middle-aged man in the sky scanned the area with his cold gaze.
"I, Yang Xuan, prefer to lead a carefree life, so I rarely involve myself in the matters of the world. I have no interest in the affairs of my juniors, and I can"t be bothered with what you do either... But you seem to be taking my nonchalance as a sign of weakness and seek to climb over my head. To attempt to challenge me... Who gave you the guts to do so?"
The voice was devoid of any emotions, but it carried irrefutable authority that threatened to crush one if one were to show the slightest defiance.
"We dare not to..."
Sect Leader Luo Huang and the others immediately clasped their trembling fists and bowed their heads. Their eyebrows twitched vigorously, and tears were threatening to spill from their eyes.
Was this... Zhang Xuan"s teacher?
Who was the one said that he was only a half 5-star master teacher?
Even a 6-star master teacher wouldn"t be as powerful as he was...
"Dare not to? Then why am I seeing a different picture here..."
Yang Xuan flung his sleeves. "You have already barged into my residence. If I were to remain hidden, were you going to have my butler and my grandstudents killed?"
"This..."
Everyone shuddered.
Truthfully, they did harbor such thoughts.
But... if they had known that Zhang Xuan"s teacher was such a fearsome figure, they would have never made the trip here.
"We... didn"t know that they are related to elder. We beg of you to pardon us for our blindness..." Sect Leader Luo Huang said through gritted teeth.
"Didn"t know? After all you have said and done, you wish to justify your actions with ignorance?" Yang Xuan"s eyebrows shot up.
Panicking, Sect Leader Luo Huang quickly explained, "It"s... it"s this Ding Hong who looked for us! He said that his family heirloom was stolen by Zhang s.h.i.+..."
At this instant, he was cursing Ding Hong countless times in his heart.
If not for this fellow for talking about Kong s.h.i.+"s handwritten letter and provoking their greed, they would have never been here.
If they had never attempted to seek trouble with Zhang s.h.i.+, they would have never met with the other party.
"You are speaking of Kong s.h.i.+"s handwritten letter? You"re right, it"s with me. Do you want it?" Yang Xuan glanced at Sect Leader Luo Huang coldly.
"I dare not to..." Sect Leader Luo Huang replied with a quivering voice.
He did want Kong s.h.i.+"s handwritten letter, but to take it from this fellow? You must be joking!
"Kong s.h.i.+"s handwritten letter is a family heirloom of my grandstudent, Qu Chong. This Ding Hong"s grandson, Ding Mu, injured him, leaving him in a coma. Out of anger, my student, Zhang Xuan, killed him and eradicated the entire Xuanyuan Kingdom Royal Family... To comply with the rules, he conducted a Pavilion Cras.h.i.+ng of the local Master Teacher Pavilion and cleared all of the required tests."
At which, Yang Xuan narrowed his eyes, "How... did it become a willful breach of the master teacher moral code from your mouth?"
Under normal circ.u.mstances, a master teacher was to uphold a high level of morality at all times, and destroying a kingdom was a definite taboo. But Zhang Xuan did have a compelling reason for his actions, and on top of that, he had obeyed the procedures demanded by the Master Teacher Pavilion. Even if the headquarters were to investigate it, there would be nothing they could hold against him for it.
"I..."
Sect Leader Luo Huang went silent.
Given that even Pavilion Master Kang was unaware of the incident, how could he, as a foreigner, possibly know about the ins and outs of it?
But still, given that the other party was a Saint and a high-rank master teacher, it was unlikely that he would lie, even on behalf of his student.
"As a master teacher, not only did you fail to distinguish right from wrong, you were even willing to shamelessly slander and attack your fellow peer just to fulfill your own greed..."
With his hands before his back, Yang Xuan glanced coldly at Sect Leader Luo Huang and uttered, "I p.r.o.nounce you guilty!"
Sect Leader Luo Huang"s body immediately stiffened.
"As for Sect Leader Bai, for laying your hands on my butler and spirit beast and disregarding the honor of a higher ranked master teacher, I p.r.o.nounce you guilty!" Yang Xuan continued.
Sect Leader Bai"s body swayed weakly as well.
He was the one who wounded Sun Qiang and the others. At this point, there was nothing he could say in his defense.
As the saying goes, "a.s.sess the owner before beating up his dog". No matter how weak Sun Qiang was or how infuriating his words were, he was still the subordinate of a Saint. Beating him up was equivalent to humiliating the Saint, disregarding a high-rank master teacher"s honor!
Scanning through the crowd, Yang Xuan declared once again, "And all of you, for allowing yourselves to be blinded by falsehood and abusing your authority to fulfill your own greed... I p.r.o.nounce all of you guilty!"
"We..."
Everyone"s lips went pale.
To be p.r.o.nounced guilty by a Saint meant that there was no way they could make a comeback anymore.
After p.r.o.nouncing everyone guilty, Yang Xuan turned around to look at Garden Owner Xue, who was lying on the ground.
"Not bad. At such a crucial moment, you were still willing to stand up for your benefactor... I noticed that your soul is injured, and it is capping your cultivation. If you acknowledge me as your teacher, I will solve your problem!"
"I can... acknowledge you as my teacher?"
Garden Owner Xue"s face flushed in agitation. This was a hard-to-come-by opportunity, how could she possibly hesitate at such a moment? She immediately fell to the ground and kowtowed. "I, Xue Yiyao, am willing to come under Yang s.h.i.+"s tutelage and command. I vow to never go against your words..."
"Un!"
Yang Xuan nodded his head, and raising his finger, he lightly pointed it toward Xue Yiyao.
Hu!
Garden Owner Xue suddenly felt a will diving straight into her head. It was a cultivation technique to heal one"s soul.
Throughout the years, she had been studying the topic of souls so as to fix her own problem. Even though she wasn"t a match for soul oracles, her understanding of souls far surpa.s.sed the typical Clarifying Turbidity realm pinnacle experts by a significant amount. As such, despite having only glanced at the cultivation technique once, she was able to gauge that not only would this technique heal her soul perfectly, it would even help to forge her path forward and allow her to successfully advance to Consonant Spirit realm.
"Thank you, Yang s.h.i.+!"
Agitated, she fell to the ground and kowtowed.
"Could this be... Soul Impartation?"
Seeing how Yang Xuan imparted a cultivation technique to Garden Owner Xue from midair, Sect Leader Luo Huang trembled even more vigorously.
Soul Impartation was a technique that required profound control over one"s soul to achieve. Other than the soul oracles of the legends, only 7-star master teachers were capable of such a feat.
The person before them was capable of flight, and his aura felt overwhelming powerful... Given that soul oracles had already gone extinct, that would mean that... it was likely that he was a 7-star master teacher!
A master teacher of that level could be considered as an expert even among fellow Saints!
If the other party was just a 6-star master teacher, they could still try to talk their way out of it. But 7-star... this was already a level far surpa.s.sing their expectations.
Zhang Xuan"s teacher... was actually that powerful?
"Demon Cinque Beast, for protecting your owner loyally in the face of danger, you have my commendation!"
Ignoring the shock in everyone"s eyes, Yang Xuan turned to the Demon Cinque Beast, raised his hand, and flicked his finger lightly, sending a surge of zhenqi into the latter"s body.
Honglong!
In the next instant, the Demon Cinque Beast, as if having consumed a divine pill, released a piercing howl, and its strength surged. At the same time, its soul underwent an evolution as well.
A moment later, its growth in its cultivation slowly came to a halt, and an incredibly powerful aura exuded from it. It didn"t pale in comparison to Sect Leader Luo Huang and the others.
Transcendent Mortal 5-dan... Consonant Spirit realm!
After obtaining a surge of zhenqi from Yang s.h.i.+, the Demon Cinque Beast, who had been trapped at Clarifying Turbidity realm pinnacle for many years, immediately achieved a breakthrough and successfully reached Consonant Spirit realm.
Possessing the Dragon Bloodline, the Demon Cinque Beast wielded incredible strength and outstanding defensive capability far above its cultivation realm. Even with the strength of a Transcendent Mortal 4-dan pinnacle, it was able to match a Consonant Spirit realm primary realm cultivator. At its current strength, even a Consonant Spirit realm advanced stage cultivator would find it hard to subdue it.
"To achieve a breakthrough just by receiving a surge of zhenqi, how pure must that zhenqi be? Could he actually be... an 8-star master teacher?"
Sect Leader Luo Huang"s vision went dark, and his despair intensified.
Legend has it that 8-star master teachers would be summoned to the headquarters for an opportunity to further purify their own zhenqi. As such, master teachers of that tier tended to possess extraordinarily pure zhenqi, reaching the level of superior zhenqi.
A zhenqi of that tier, when infused into the body of a spirit beast, could easily induce a Bloodline Evolution, thus allowing it to achieve a breakthrough.
With just a surge of zhenqi, this Yang s.h.i.+ was able to allow the Demon Cinque Beast to achieve a breakthrough, not to mention, Consonant Spirit realm was an extraordinary difficult hurdle to overcome... Indubitably, no 7-star master teacher was capable of such a feat!
Most probably, the other party was a bona fide 8-star master teacher!
A master teacher of that tier was a behemoth-like existence that could cause the entire Huanyu Empire to collapse with just a stomp of his feet...
Realizing this, the faces of all that had come here for Kong s.h.i.+"s handwritten letter here today twitched, and tears streamed down their face.
What the heck was this?
They thought that Zhang Xuan was just a rookie whom they could bully easily. Never in their wildest dreams did they expect his teacher to be an 8-star master teacher!
Before such an expert, even a 6-star master teacher would kneel in deference, needless to say, them!
...
While everyone was about to faint from shock, a distance away from the residence, an elder"s footsteps came to an abrupt halt, and his lips trembled ceaselessly.
It was Hong s.h.i.+, Hong Qian, the 5-star master teacher from Hongfeng Empire who was invited to conduct the Master Teacher Tournament this time around.
He was resting in his residence when he heard of this matter. Thus, he immediately rushed over, hoping to mediate this matter when he saw this sight.
An 8-star master teacher... The number of them could be counted on one"s hands, even across the entire Master Teacher Continent, and every single one of them was an incredible existence that no one could utter their name without deference. Why would such a figure come to such a remote location?
"I must report this matter to the headquarters..."
Harboring this thought, Hong s.h.i.+ took out a palm-sized jade token and wrote the news down. A radiance shone from the jade token, and the words disappeared.
Lower tiered kingdoms depend on the ma.s.sive Communication Wall whereas 5-star master teachers were already granted access to the Communication Jade Token. Through this, they could send messages to the headquarters instantaneously even from the other side of the world.
It wasn"t that he was tattling on Yang s.h.i.+, but that... the appearance of an 8-star master teacher was simply too startling. He didn"t dare to hide such news from the headquarter.
...
At that moment, in Hongyuan Tier 1 Empire"s Master Teacher Pavilion, Pavilion Master Mo Gaoyuan, a 6-star pinnacle master teacher, was in the midst of conducting his lesson. Along with his words, spiritual energy seemed to naturally gather in the surroundings-Spirit Gathering Dictum. Suddenly, he frowned and flicked his wrist. A jade token appeared in his palm.
"A master teacher whose ranking seemed to exceed 6-star... Yang Xuan?"
Pavilion Master Mo frowned.
While Hong Qian felt that it was likely for Yang Xuan to be a 7-star or even 8-star master teacher, he couldn"t verify the matter due to his lacking eye of discernment, and he didn"t dare to make claims about things he was unsure of.
Thus, he chose to write what he had observed instead.
"Flight, Soul Impartation, and inducing a breakthrough in a spirit beast with just a surge of zhenqi?"
After reading the information, Pavilion Master Mo"s face turned grim.
Based the news that the other party had sent to him, there was a good chance that the other party was an 8-star master teacher. But... why would such a high-rank master teacher appear in an Unranked Empire such as the Myriad Kingdom Alliance?
"Mo Chen, bring the Master Teacher Registry here!"
Pavilion Master Mo turned to look at a middle-aged man behind him.
His student, 5-star pinnacle master teacher, Mo Chen.
"Yes!" Mo Chen turned around and left. Not too long later, he brought back a book with a texture that greatly resembled jade.
Detailed in the Master Teacher Registry was countless names of master teachers all over the continent, and it could be considered as one of the most confidential doc.u.ments of the Master Teacher Pavilion. Only pavilion masters of higher branches had the qualifications to browse through it. Furthermore, the book had been enchanted with a unique formation that disallowed anyone from remembering its contents. Even if one had a photographic memory, he would find himself forgetting everything within the book moments after browsing through it.
This was a mechanism created to prevent master teachers from falling into a vulnerable state.
Casually opening the book, Pavilion Master Mo began browsing through the pages one line at a time, and it didn"t take him too long to finish the book.
"All master teachers above 6-star have been recorded in the book, but there"s no one who goes by the name of Yang Xuan..."
Pavilion Master Mo frowned.
If it was just as the other party said, this Yang Xuan was definitely a higher ranked master teacher than him. Even at the minimum, he had to be a 7-star master teacher... But if that was the case, how could his name not be recorded in the Master Teacher Registry?
"Unless... Yang Xuan is a pseudo ident.i.ty, or else... he has never taken any higher rank examinations in the Master Teacher Pavilion!"
Recorded in the Master Teacher Registry were the names of those who had taken the master teacher examinations. If the other party had used a false ident.i.ty, naturally, Pavilion Master Mo wouldn"t be able to identify the other party. Otherwise... it would mean that the other party had never taken higher rank examinations!
There were also plenty of master teachers preferred to wander around freely and chose not to bother themselves with examinations. Even though they had managed to reach an astounding level of accomplishment as a master teacher, they didn"t bother taking the corresponding examinations. Thus, it was possible for some who carried 5-star emblems to actually possess the strength of a 7-star or 8-star master teacher.
Perhaps Yang Xuan belonged under this category as well.
"But regardless of which case it is, there is a need for me to check it out!"
Thinking so, Pavilion Master Mo stood up.
Given the might the other party had shown up, he had to pay respects to the other party and check out the matter himself.
"Mo Chen, bring the Langya Saint Beast here. I"m going to head out!"
Flinging his sleeves, Pavilion Master Mo kept the Master Teacher Registry properly before turning around to instruct.
Langya Saint Beast was his tamed beast, and its speed was as swift as lightning. In just a single day, it could travel more than a million kilometers!
The Myriad Kingdom Alliance was simply too far away. Even though Pavilion Master Mo was capable of flight, his speed wasn"t any faster than a saint beast.
After bringing the saint beast as well, Master Teacher Mo Chen asked, "Where is teacher going? Do you need me to accompany you as well?"
After a moment of hesitation, Pavilion Master Mo replied, "I"m heading to the Myriad Kingdom Alliance. You should follow me too!"
His student was just a step off from reaching 6-star. Since the other party had asked this question, it might be good to bring him along. This way, he could offer some pointers to the other party so that he could reach 6-star faster.
The duo both had spatial rings, so there wasn"t much for them to pack. Leaping on the back of the saint beast, they confirmed the direction of Myriad Kingdom City and set forth.
…
While a 6-star pinnacle master teacher from Hongyuan Empire was making his way to Myriad Kingdom City, on the other hand, Sect Leader Luo Huang was trembling in fear. Knowing that it was unlikely for him to be spared, he gritted his teeth and turned to look at Yang s.h.i.+.
"Senior, I acknowledge my sins, and I"m willing to accept any punishment..."
Since the other party had already p.r.o.nounced him guilty, there was nothing else he could do other than seek the other party"s verdict.
"It"s good that you"ve acknowledged your sins. Everyone here can leave after forking out twenty middle-tier spirit stones. As for Sect Leader Luo and Sect Leader Bai, for audaciously insulting my butler and harming my juniors... I don"t wish to dirty my hands so... just kill yourselves!" Yang Xuan spoke nonchalantly.
"Kill ourselves?"
Sect Leader Luo Huang and Sect Leader Bai Kaizhi"s eyebrows twitched violently.
They thought that the punishment would just be being stripped out their position or suffering grievous torture... They would have accepted as they did deserve it for daring to offend such a high-rank master teacher.
But... death would mean the very end. Once they died, there would be nothing left of them.
"You want me to commit suicide? Dream on! Even though I, Bai Kaizhi, might be weak, I will never do something as foolish as killing myself. Since you are unwilling to do it yourself in consideration of your standing, I"ll just pardon myself and... farewell!"
Howling furiously, Sect Leader Bai Kaizhi stood up and charged out of the residence.
In truth, his thought was simple.
As a high-rank master teacher, it was unlikely for the other party to do something beneath him such as killing him... Since that was the case, there should be no qualms about leaving.
As long as I manage to leave this area successfully, given how large the world is, there would be nothing for me to worry about.
Sneering coldly in his heart, Bai Kaizhi swiftly rushed out.
Using the most formidable movement technique in White Helios Sect in accompaniment with his cultivation as a Transcendent Mortal 5-dan Consonant Spirit realm, he immediately turned into a flash of shadow, and in the blink of an eye, he was already out of the residence.
"This..."
Sect Leader Luo Huang and the others clearly didn"t expect Sect Leader Bai to refuse to admit his sins and even ran away. In an instant, they were all dumbfounded.
To dare to escape beneath the eyelids of an 8-star master teacher... He sure was audacious!
But this was indeed a wise decision. If he didn"t do so, he would have definitely died here. Since he was already doomed, he might as well grasp onto the final straw of hope and make a gamble!
After all, it was indeed unlikely for an 8-star master teacher to actually make a move on his junior personally!
Just as the crowd was feeling impressed by Sect Leader Bai"s decisiveness, the s.p.a.ce before them suddenly blurred.
Hong long!
An incomparably powerful might suddenly came cras.h.i.+ng down from the sky. Before the escaping Sect Leader Bai could come to a realization, he was already crushed into a lump of meat. A huge depression of ten meters radius appeared in his place.
And soon, a nonchalant voice sounded.
"I"ve only said that I don"t wish to dirty my hands... When did I say that I wouldn"t do it myself in consideration of my standing?"