Chapter 1767: The Final a.s.sessment
Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97
Seeing that the crowd had vanished, Ancient Sage Yan Qing turned to the master teachers behind him and telepathically ordered, “Prepare for battle!”
“Un.”
The master teachers nodded in response to his words. All of them had grim expressions on their faces.
As soon as their descendants left the Prime Hall, the battlefield would be pa.s.sed on to them.
Seeing that the Ancient Sages of the Hundred Schools of Philosophers were huddled tightly together, seemingly ready to battle at any moment, the Ancient Sages of the other three powers also quickly got into formation, ready to make a move at any moment.
“Yang s.h.i.+, I’ll need you to arrange for those who haven’t reached Ancient Sage to leave this area,” Zhang Hongtian instructed.
“Yes!” Knowing that any Great Sage cultivators who remained in this area would only become meaningless sacrifices in this battle, he quickly made his way over to Ren Qingyuan’s side and issued some instructions.
From that point onward, it would be the battlefield of the Ancient Sages.
Thus, the cultivators of the Master Teacher Pavilion and the Hundred Schools of Philosophers began making their retreat. Similarly, the Great Sage cultivators of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe and Beast Tribe also began making their retreat.
Soon enough, only the twenty or so Ancient Sages were left within the ma.s.sive square, staring at one another tensely.
It was a very fragile moment of peace that they were maintaining. Once the Great Codex of Spring and Autumn emerged, this peace would shatter into countless fragments, and a battle of unbelievable proportions would break out.
It might seem like there were a lot of Ancient Sages in the square, but they were already the final powerhouses in the world. Who knew how many of them would be able to remain alive at the end of this conflict?
“Zhang s.h.i.+, this is something that my senior entrusted to me earlier. He told him to relay it to you.”
While the Ancient Sages were eyeing one another tensely, Yang s.h.i.+ walked over to Zhang Hongtian’s side and pa.s.sed him a jade token.
“Zhang Xuan told you to give this to me?” Knowing that the ‘senior’ whom Yang s.h.i.+ was talking about referred to the descendant known as Zhang Xuan, Zhang Hongtian was stunned for a moment. He reached out to take the token and lightly tapped his finger on it.
Following which, he felt information surging into his consciousness.
“This is… the flaws in Old Geezer Yu’s cultivation?” Zhang Hongtian narrowed his eyes in shock.
The information that he had just received detailed the various weaknesses and loopholes in the battle techniques that Old Geezer Yu practiced. All in all, there were over thirty of them. As long as he exploited even a single one of them properly, he would be able to slay Old Geezer Yu once and for all!
“H-how did he manage to gather such crucial information?”
Zhang Hongtian’s first thought was that the information was nonsensical. After all, if it was that easy to uncover the flaws in an Ancient Sage’s battle techniques, they would not have been such difficult opponents to deal with.
However, as he simulated those flaws in his mind based on his hundred or so clashes with Old Geezer Yu in the past, he swiftly realized that they were indeed true!
There was no stronger weapon that he could hope for to deal with Old Geezer Yu other than this!
It was a well-known fact that it was nigh impossible to slay a Blood Reincarnation realm Ancient Sage unless another Blood Reincarnation realm Ancient Sage laid out an all-encompa.s.sing trap to corner them. Of course, that was easier said than done.
However, with so many flaws, he was confident that he would be able to corner and kill Old Geezer Yu. From that, it could be seen just how valuable the information was!
“That lad really never fails to surprise me,” Zhang Hongtian remarked.
His curiosity regarding that descendant of his only seemed to deepen with time.
The lad had single-handedly obtained the cruxes of five outer dimensions and even the Prime Amulet. He had placed the slots that the four major powers were dying to lay their hands on up for auction. More importantly, he had been completely devoid of fear in the face of an expert of Old Geezer Yu’s caliber, and he had even collected the flaws relating to him…
Yang s.h.i.+ hesitated for a moment before saying, “Actually, when you were severely injured twenty years ago and needed a purer Zhang Clan bloodline to recover, my senior was the one who offered his bloodline up to you so that you would be able to survive!”
Back then, Old Ancestor Zhang Hongtian had been so severely injured that he had fallen straight into a coma. As he had swiftly gone into hibernation after his condition stabilized, he had not heard the full details of his treatment.
As Yang s.h.i.+ was the one who had arranged the treatment, he was extremely clear about the details.
“What you are saying is that… his blood is flowing through my veins?” Zhang Hongtian was taken aback.
“That’s right.” Yang s.h.i.+ nodded in response.
“No wonder I felt a close sense of intimacy toward him…” Zhang Hongtian widened his eyes in realization.
Previously, he had thought that it was weird how he had felt an inexplicable feeling of affinity with that descendant of his. This perfectly explained it.
His bloodline was pure enough to save me. Yet, despite having his bloodline stripped from him, he was not only able to survive but still possesses talent that ordinary men are unable to compare to. It seems like there’s no need to worry about the future of our Zhang Clan anymore! Zhang Hongtian thought.
Having lived for so many years, it had been a long time since anything was able to pique his curiosity. However, at that moment, he felt like he wanted to know the person known as Zhang Xuan a little better.
…
Hu!
Having entered the Prime Hall, Zhang Xuan was oblivious to the happenings outside, and he did not know the thoughts that were running through Zhang Hongtian’s mind as a result of the jade token that he had given the other party. Instead, with an intense jolt, he suddenly found himself standing in the midst of a s.p.a.cious hall.
This hall was obviously much grander than the other Subordinate Halls, and the spiritual energy that suffused the area was much more concentrated. The paintings on the wall had an extremely high level of artistic conception, and it felt like the figures depicted in them would come to life at any moment.
These paintings are still at a lower level than the Canvas of Four Seasons. It doesn’t seem like there’s any Aeon of Ancient Sage in there! Zhang Xuan shook his head in disappointment.
While the paintings were exceptional works, they did not have a sliver of the world sealed within them, so they did not have any Aeon of Ancient Sage in them. As valuable as they were, they did not appeal to him anymore.
The three Otherworldly Demons were just about to reach out to collect those paintings when a spear suddenly shot ahead of them, blocking their way.
“Gentlemen, hold your footsteps. I have something important that I would like to discuss with you…” Zhang Xuan looked over with a smile.
He had only dared to sell the slots to them because he was planning to get rid of them as soon as they entered the Prime Hall. Otherwise, they would remain an eyesore.
While the three of them were plenty formidable, it would not be too difficult for him, Zhao Ya, Luo Ruoxin, and the others to eradicate them.
“You…” Not expecting Zhang Xuan to turn against them as soon as they got into the Prime Hall, the faces of the three Otherworldly Demons darkened. They glanced at one another and uttered, “Flee!”
One of them took out a jade token and crushed it.
Hula!
A brilliant outburst of light enveloped the three of them before swiftly darting into the distance.
“Freeze!”
Seeing that the Otherworldly Demons were planning to escape, he raised his finger and sealed the s.p.a.ce all around him.
Kacha!
However, the burst of light tore apart the frozen s.p.a.ce with ease. In an instant, the three Otherworldly Demons had already vanished from sight.
“It’s an artifact left behind by the Ancient Sages!” Zhang Xuan narrowed his eyes.
It seemed like Old Geezer Yu knew that he would make a move on the Otherworldly Demons, so he bestowed upon them a powerful life preservation artifact so that they would be able to protect themselves.
If he had brought out the Infernal Blacksaber, he might have been able to slay them easily. However, even though he had managed to bring the Infernal Blacksaber into the Prime Hall, he was worried that he might trigger the restriction if he attempted to use it in the premises. As such, he was intending to keep it as a trump card for the most desperate of moments.
“Forget it! There’s no need to rush into getting rid of them now!”
With everyone on their guard, it would not be as easy for Zhang Xuan to eradicate them. However, he did not think that this would pose much of a problem. With the Little Amulet in hand, there was no way that the others would have a chance of obtaining the Great Codex of Spring and Autumn.
While harboring such thoughts, Zhang Xuan turned to Yan Xue and said, “Since they have escaped, do you want to have a talk with me instead?”
Hu!
Before he could finish his words, the same burst of light erupted around Yan Xue and the others, and they vanished from the spot.
Zhang Xuan was silent for a second before he turned his gaze to the two remaining beasts. Before his eyes could even meet those of the two remaining beasts, they had already growled in a fl.u.s.ter. “Don’t look at us! We’ll leave, alright?”
Hula!
Similarly, the two beasts disappeared from the spot.
“…” Zhang Xuan.
“…” The remaining crowd.