Chapter 891: The Four Emperors
Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97
Back in Hongyuan royal palace…
After Zhang Xuan left, Yu Shenqing hurried to the residence where the Bodhi Saint Tree was and checked the surroundings. After confirming that there was no damage whatsoever, he heaved a deep sigh of relief.
The succeeding Princ.i.p.al Zhang was an outstanding man, possessing superior talent in cultivation, exceptional proficiency in his supporting occupations, amazing eye of discernment, and an upright character… But if one had to point out a flaw with that seemingly perfect man, it would be that he simply loved to cause destruction wherever he went.
Every time the other party paid the royal palace a visit, he would feel his heart beating swiftly in apprehension, fearing that the other party would tear the entire place down.
In truth, he was rather surprised when the other party managed to cure the Bodhi Saint Tree without tearing anything down the previous time.
"Your Majesty!" Shortly after Yu Shenqing returned to the imperial study, the old eunuch, Luo Fu, walked in.
"Un. What is the situation at the Cloudmist Ridge?" Yu Shenqing asked.
Considering the huge fuss at the Cloudmist Ridge, he, as the emperor of Hongyuan Empire, had been keeping an eye on it so that he could prepare swift countermeasures should the situation deteriorate. In fact, he had even commanded for all of the soldiers that could be mobilized in Hongyuan City to stand on guard so that they would be ready to move whenever the situation called for it.
Luo Fu clasped his fist and answered, "Reporting to Your Majesty, the battle between the Cloudmist Ridge and the Master Teacher Academy has already ceased!"
"The battle has ceased?" Yu Shenqing frowned.
Both sides had still been engaged in an intense battle earlier in the morning, neither side willing to give in to the other. How did the battle end so abruptly?
"School Head Mo personally went into the Cloudmist Ridge to negotiate with the enemy"s kings, and shortly afterward, the battle halted," Luo Fu reported.
On the way to the Cloudmist Ridge, Zhang Xuan had been atop the Inferno Dragon Saint Beast all along, so no one except for the school heads and Mu s.h.i.+ knew that he was there.
"Negotiate?" A deep frown surfaced on Yu Shenqing"s face. "Who was the one who proposed it?"
Proposing a negotiation was not any different from admitting defeat, and the side to propose it would be instantly placed in a disadvantageous position in the negotiations.
"The Master Teacher Academy was the one to propose the negotiation!" Luo Fu replied.
"The academy?" Yu Shenqing was taken aback.
The respected Master Teacher Academy admitted defeat to a bunch of beasts?
And School Head Mo had entered enemy grounds personally to conduct the negotiation on top of that?
This was… a little difficult to swallow…
"That"s right. As the negotiation was conducted in the Cloudmist Ridge, our sources aren"t able to get any concrete news on the outcome of the negotiation. However, earlier in the afternoon, the spirit beasts battling with the Master Teacher Academy withdrew from the battlefront!" Luo Fu said.
Most beasts were hostile toward humans, and the Cloudmist Ridge could be considered an embodiment of that trait. Even the elite scouts from the Hongyuan royal family were unable to obtain any intelligence from there.
After a moment of thought, Yu Shenqing nodded in realization. "They are probably making this compromise for the inauguration ceremony tomorrow."
The inauguration ceremony would begin at dawn, and even though the invitation letters had been delivered in a rush, most of the neighboring powers, especially the many Tier-1 Empires, would still send a representative over to attend the ceremony. If they were to witness a huge war between the Cloudmist Ridge and the humans instead, they might lose confidence in the capability of the succeeding princ.i.p.al.
"That is probably the case. I have already sent our scouts to infiltrate the Cloudmist Ridge to look into the results of the negotiation. The scouts should be able to get back to us before the inauguration ceremony!" Luo Fu said.
"Good!" Yu Shenqing nodded. Just as he was about to continue, a young eunuch abruptly rushed into the room.
The young eunuch swiftly kneeled onto the floor and greeted, "Your Majesty!"
"What happened?" Yu Shenqing frowned.
Given that the young eunuch had barged in so abruptly in the middle of the night, it was very likely that it was a matter of grave importance.
"The emperors of Tier-1 Empires Hongchi, Yuanjiang, Baituo, and Chiyao have arrived, and they are currently waiting in the Harmonious Heaven Hall!" the young eunuch reported.
"They have arrived? They sure are fast!" Yu Shenqing was taken aback for a moment before getting to his feet. "Let"s head over to take a look!"
Even though the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy bore the name of Hongyuan Empire, its students encompa.s.sed master teachers from the surrounding Tier-1 Empires.
Hongchi, Yuanjiang, Baituo, and Chiyao were the four closest empires to Hongyuan Empire.
Upon hearing that a new princ.i.p.al was going to be inaugurated, their empires" leaders swiftly rushed over as a show of respect to him.
Walking into the Harmonious Heaven Hall, Yu Shenqing saw four middle-aged men sitting on the guest seats. A majestic aura seemed to linger around them, and with just a look, it was clear that each of them possessed exceptional strength.
To be able to become the monarch of a Tier-1 Empire, their cultivation must have at least reached Saint 1-dan pinnacle.
"Brother Zhu, Brother Han, Brother Shen, Brother Nie!" Yu Shenqing greeted them one by one. "It must have been tiring for you to rush over here in just three days!"
Even though their empires were located closest to Hongyuan Empire, it still must have been quite a rush for them to make it in less than three days.
"How can we be absent for the inauguration of the new princ.i.p.al?"
"The Master Teacher Academy is the foundation that ensures peace in the dozen Tier-1 Empires in the region. Given that a new leader is going to be inaugurated, we definitely had to make it on time for the ceremony, even if we did have to travel through the night!"
"It has been two years since the disappearance of the old princ.i.p.al. I am curious to see what the new princ.i.p.al will be like!"
…
The middle-aged men chuckled politely.
Each of these men wielded indisputable power in their own territories, but before the Master Teacher Academy, they still dared not pull their weight.
As soon as they received the invitation letter, they had swiftly put aside all of their work and rushed over.
After trading some pleasantries, one of the middle-aged men asked, "Oh right, I nearly forgot. I rushed here as soon as I received the letter, so even now, I still don"t know who the new princ.i.p.al is. May I know who it will be? Is it School Head Zhao Bingxu or School Head Lu Feng?"
It was the emperor of Tier-1 Hongchi Empire, Zhu Yi.
After hearing his words, the others swiftly turned their gazes toward Yu Shenqing as well. In truth, the reason they had headed to the royal palace in the middle of the night, as soon as they arrived in Hongyuan City, was to find out who the succeeding princ.i.p.al would be so that they could prepare suitable gifts in advance.
Otherwise, if they were to end up giving, say, the head of the Blacksmith School some medicinal herbs, they might end up leaving a bad impression instead.
Hearing their guesses, a bitter smile surfaced on Yu Shenqing"s lips, and he shook his head. "It is neither of them!"
Just like them, he had thought that the succeeding princ.i.p.al would surely be one of those two. But the outcome sure was unexpected…
"It is neither of them?"
The four emperors were stunned as they traded confused glances with one another. Zhu Yi clasped his fist once more and asked, "Then, may I ask Brother Yu to tell us which elder it will be so that we can make preparations in advance?"
"This…" Yu Shenqing hesitated.
It was not without reason that the ident.i.ty of the succeeding princ.i.p.al had been kept a secret thus far. It was only through pulling some strings that he had managed to uncover it in advance, so he was unsure whether or not it was appropriate for him to reveal it.
One of the middle-aged men frowned. "What? The ident.i.ty of the princ.i.p.al will be uncovered in the inauguration ceremony tomorrow; is Brother Yu unwilling to let us know just a few hours in advance?"
Yu Shenqing shook his head. "It"s not that, but there is a reason the Master Teacher Academy chose not to reveal the ident.i.ty of the succeeding princ.i.p.al in advance… It would be disrespectful of me to disregard the Master Teacher Academy and reveal it in advance…"
"It seems like Brother Yu doesn"t trust us then! Just like you, the fates of our empires are also tied closely with the Master Teacher Academy. Since we are in the same plight, do you think that we will be so foolish as to leak the news to others easily?" Zhu Yi frowned in displeasure. "We only want to know it so that we can prepare some gifts in advance!"
"This… Alright then!"
Knowing that he would only gain the ire of the others if he were to continue attempting to conceal the ident.i.ty of the succeeding princ.i.p.al, Yu Shenqing eventually relented with a nod. "This is a confidential secret of the academy, so I hope that you can remain silent about the matter before the inauguration ceremony!"
Since those present were emperors themselves, they should understand the possible implications that could come from the leakage of crucial intelligence. If some mishap were to occur to the succeeding princ.i.p.al, the Master Teacher Pavilion would surely investigate the matter and severely punish the ones responsible for leaking the confidential information.
As unlikely as it was, Yu Shenqing still felt that it was imperative for him to warn them sternly in advance.
"Don"t worry about this!"
"How many years have we known each other? We aren"t that kind of men!"
The others all replied sincerely.
With a slight wave of his hand, the confidential formation in the hall was activated, and Yu Shenqing informed them through zhenqi telepathy. "Alright. Based on the intelligence I received, the succeeding princ.i.p.al is Zhang Xuan!"
The four emperors glanced at one another in confusion.
"Zhang Xuan?"
They knew the names of the Ten Great Master Teachers, and they had even met most of them before. But Zhang Xuan… this name was extremely unfamiliar to them.
Zhu Yi couldn"t help but ask, "Is Zhang s.h.i.+ from the headquarters?"
The others were also thinking the same thing as well.
The Master Teacher Academy shouldered the heavy responsibility of grooming young master teachers, who would eventually become the future of mankind. It was impossible for a n.o.body without any credentials or outstanding capability to become the leader of such a vital organization.
Since they had never heard of the name "Zhang Xuan" before, it was highly likely that the other party might have come from the headquarters.
But… didn"t the headquarters usually stay out of the affairs of the branches wherever possible?
Why would they suddenly dispatch a master teacher here and even appoint him as the princ.i.p.al?
Seeing the confusion in everyone"s eyes, Yu Shenqing hurriedly explained, "This… He isn"t from the headquarters, and he isn"t an elder of the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy either. He is… a freshman who enrolled into the academy just this year!"
"Freshman?"
"You are saying that a freshman who has just enrolled into the academy… is going to become its princ.i.p.al?"
Hearing that revelation, the four emperors froze in place, struck dumb by what they had just heard.
The Master Teacher Academy is a pillar of support of mankind and an inviolable existence in everyone"s heart… Yet, a newly-enrolled freshman is going to become its princ.i.p.al?
You must be freaking kidding me!
"I know it"s hard for you to accept this news all of the sudden, but this is the truth!" Yu Shenqing said with a conflicted expression.
He had hardly believed it himself when he first heard the news.
But after witnessing the many incredible means that Zhang s.h.i.+ possessed, he couldn"t help but feel awed by Mu s.h.i.+ and the others" decisiveness and keen insight.
After a moment of silence, one of the middle-aged men asked, "What is Zhang s.h.i.+"s background?"
"Zhang s.h.i.+ is twenty this year, and he is currently a 4-star master teacher. Despite his young age, he has achieved a proficiency of 6-star for blacksmith, apothecary, physician, demonic tunist, and terpsich.o.r.e. At the same time, he has shown exceptional prowess in the fields of beast taming, formations, and herbology as well. He is truly an outstanding genius that very few in history can rival!" Yu Shenqing said.
The four monarchs of Tier-1 Empires all exclaimed lividly.
"He has five 6-star supporting occupations? But even if he has that many supporting occupations, he is still a 4-star master teacher. What right does he have to become the princ.i.p.al?"
"Indeed! This world has no lack of talents! As long as he doesn"t possess the corresponding capability required, I don"t think that he is qualified to become the princ.i.p.al of the Master Teacher Academy!"
"I heard rumors on my way here that, for the inauguration ceremony tomorrow, the Master Teacher Academy went to the extent of lowering itself to negotiate with the beasts of the Cloudmist Ridge! Don"t you think that the culture in the Master Teacher Academy has been slowly veering down the wrong path ever since the disappearance of the old princ.i.p.al?"
"I have also heard of the matter as well. How could the respected Master Teacher Academy stoop to the level of negotiating with beasts? This is preposterous! Now, they are even nominating a 4-star master teacher to be their princ.i.p.al… Just how low are they going to fall?"
They had heard about the battle between the Master Teacher Academy and the Cloudmist Ridge, and rumor had it that it was the Master Teacher Academy who had proposed the negotiations.
They had thought that just those rumors were already ridiculous, but to think that something even more ridiculous was awaiting them!
To nominate an immature twenty-year-old brat as the next princ.i.p.al of the Master Teacher Academy…
Just what were they thinking when they made such a decision?
Facing the vehement disapproval of the four emperors, Yu Shenqing had no idea how he should respond.
They had only heard Zhang s.h.i.+"s age and master teacher rank, so it was natural that they reacted in such a manner. One had to meet him in person to realize how incredible he was.
The several emperors stood up and declared their dissatisfaction furiously.
"We must definitely get to the bottom of this matter. Otherwise, our Hongchi Empire will never acknowledge Zhang s.h.i.+ as the next princ.i.p.al of the Master Teacher Academy!"
"Our Yuanjiang Empire also won"t acknowledge Zhang s.h.i.+ as the next princ.i.p.al of the Master Teacher Academy!"
"Our Baituo Empire as well…"