Shortly after returning to his temporary residence at Hongyuan Academy, Zhang Xuan was greeted was greeted by his butler Sun Qiang."Young Master, it gladdens me to see you return home safely." Sun Qiang said as he respectfully cusps his hands.
"From your tone... I take it something happened?"
Though this young master and butler duo have not known each other for long, each have already commanded an impressive grasp of the other"s character. How could Zhang Xuan not realize from Sun Qiang"s tone that some kind of opportunity for profit must have walked up to their front door?
"Yes... reporting to the young master, a few minutes before you returned Luo-shi had knocked on your front door to request a moment of your time."
"Luo-shi? By that you refer to the master teacher Mu-shi had brought with him Luo Ruoxin?" Zhang Xuan as his heart started to beat with a tinge of excitement.
Zhang Xuan first a.s.sumed that it was simply another master teacher with a similar family name visiting at this hour; however he couldn"t help get his hopes up. He cannot be blamed for doing so as Luo Ruoxin despite having been around beauties like his students Zhao Ya, w.a.n.g Ying, and the princesses he"s met on his travels was the first to move his heart by her beauty. After talking to her, Luo Ruoxin was also the first to truly impress him through her intelligence.
"Young master, it was indeed the very same. This servant didn"t know when you would be back, but also thought it rude to send her back outright so I felt it pertinent to invite her into the guest lounge."
"You have done well, and do show me the way." Zhang Xuan said as this news erased the all of the stress gained from the day"s earlier events, "Once I have a free moment, I"ll be sure to reward you for your performance."
After offering words of thanks, Sun Qiang started to lead his young master to the desired location while being lost in his own thoughts.
"I have seen quite well how Luo-shi moves the young master"s heart compared to all of the other beauties around him. With his talent and ability, it is only a matter of time before the young master takes her in as his first wife. Naturally it"s my duty to leave as good an impression on her as soon as possible before I have to deal with any of her own servants who follow in her dowry with courage to boss me around."
Zhang Xuan would likely spit up blood if he were to know Sun Qiang"s thoughts at this moment. His words in response would probably be something like "I haven"t even had a chance to talk to Luo-shi about anything outside of our duty as master teachers, so why are you talking about arranging post-marriage servant relationships? Do I really come across as the kind of person that could make beauties fall for me without even trying?"
"She"s just on the other side of this door young master. If there is nothing else you need, I"ll go and have the servants the academy provided us prepare some tea and snacks for the two of you." Sun Qiang said before politely excusing himself.
Zhang Xuan takes a deep breath before carefully opening the sliding door likely to be a few dozen middle-tier spirit stones. He"s already destroyed quite a few of the academy"s things, so there is no reason for him to add to that list. On the other side of that door he sees Luo Ruoxin wearing a simple dark blue robe instead of the usual master teacher garments sitting on a couch that wouldn"t be out of place in the Qing Dynasty back on Earth. Zhang Xuan thought for a moment that it was a shame this meeting wasn"t taking place outside as the reflection of the night"s sky would be a wonderful compliment to her outfit.
"My apologies for making you wait Luo-Shi as I only just returned from an outing. I hope I didn"t make you wait long." Zhang Xuan said as he walked into the lounge.
Luo Ruoxin was actually about to get up and greet Zhang Xuan, but the latter immediately waved his hand and signaled such formalities wasn"t necessary in the current environment and their difference in rank as master teachers.
"It"s of no consequence as I did come here last minute to.... hmmm. You... you"ve broken through to the Chrysalis Realm?"
Zhang Xuan did try to hide his newfound cultivation level before returning to the academy, but the means of the various sage clans are impressive as expected.
"Now that I"ve been able to put aside the various matters occupying me, I"ve finally been able to devote some time to make up for my slow cultivation rate."
Luo Ruoxin"s face twitched slightly when she heard that comment while also being able to quite easily tell that Zhang Xuan was being completely a serious rather than humble with his words. She wanted to make several comments about the speed of his cultivation compared to others; however, she chose not to after remembering her status as a woman, the offspring of a sage clan, and most importantly her status as a higher ranked master teacher.
"Then it seems I must offer you even greater words of congratulations Zhang-shi."
"Greater words? I don"t recall doing anything in particular that would make me stand out from my colleagues."
The people who have to deal with the various decimated buildings all over the academy would say otherwise.
"Taming both Hongyuan Academy"s ancestral artifact as well as the old princ.i.p.al"s tamed beast, of which can only be considered as minor when compared to becoming princ.i.p.al at your age."
Though Mu-shi had sworn the other elders of the academy to secrecy after "Yang Xuan" had appeared to defend his student, it was easy for Zhang Xuan to deduce that he had likely told Luo Ruoxin what happened given their mysterious relationship.
"I was forced into the role. I"m sure there are others at the academy who would have done a better job right now." Zhang Xuan said in actually humble manner this time.
"Perhaps.... but with your talent... it was only a matter of time before you can surpa.s.s whatever job they would have done." Luo Ruoxin said with a smile, "But onto the reason I"m here before I forget."
"Is it something that requires my Eye of Insight? Or perhaps it has something to do with my status as a Celestial Master Teacher?"
"It is too early to say, but I decided to review the notes I had on Kong-shi after we returned from the Saint Ascension Platform."
"Did you find news on another location that Kong-shi had visited? I don"t mind traveling with you to visit such a place, but at the very least it will have to be after the new princ.i.p.al inauguration ceremony."
"Shortly after becoming a 9-Star Master Teacher, Kong-shi went to a particular forest clearing in order to gather his thoughts. While Kong-shi hadn"t shown the slightest improvement in his cultivation after returning from this place, he did however show a ma.s.sive improvement in his perspective on cultivation as well as several of his supporting professions. In fact some say that this place provided the inspiration for Kong-shi to cure his innate fetal poison. The forest clearing in which I"m referring to isn"t actually very far from Hongyuan Academy."
Hearing news about a potential cure for the innate fetal poison caused Zhang Xuan"s heart to beat even faster than when he was instinctively admiring Luo Ruoxin"s appearance. It took all of his willpower for Zhang Xuan to not beg for greater details on this subject.
"Then why haven"t I heard about such a place? Like with the Saint Ascension Platform, you"d think there would be a countless number of people making a pilgrimage."
"After Kong-shi had returned from this place, he requested that this clearing and the surrounding forest be left untouched." Luo Ruoxin explained, "There were master teachers who explored this clearing after Kong-shi had left this world, but they didn"t find a thing and in the centuries since. This story has faded into the footnotes of history as a result."
"I see…. then that must mean Kong-shi must have found or left something there that he didn"t want anyone to find, and since no one had…. you believe only a Celestial Master Teacher would have a chance at picking up the trail." Zhang Xuan deduced.
"We can be there and back within 3-4 hours if Senior Byzantium Helios Beast allows us to use him as a means of transportation, of which leaves you more than enough time to prepare for the inauguration ceremony."
"Hmmm….. if you allow me a few moments to prepare, then we can depart as soon as I"m done."
The reason Zhang Xuan suggested as such was because his mind registered his current appearance only a moment before he had said that. His robes still show signs of battle with those two foreign master teachers, and he naturally needs to change them as a result. Even if it"s only for official business, Zhang Xuan would rather go out looking his best when compared to a beauty capable of moving him. Living a low key life is preferred after all. Once he changed into a new set of master teacher robes and informed Sun Qiang of his plans, he and Luo Ruoxin set off on the back of Byzantium Helios Beast. Speaking of Byzantium Helios Beast, it takes him slightly less than an hour flying at full speed thanks to his newfound cultivation level.
"Stop here!" Luo Ruoxin declared as she pointed a finger straight down to a forest clearing below them, "That should be the place a.s.suming I haven"t misread the natural landmarks of the area."
"You heard her Byzantium Lad, please land where she had requested."
"Yes Master."
Zhang Xuan and his two compatriots fail to find signs of any other living being save for the gra.s.s underneath their feet and trees at the edge of the clearing. Byzantium Helios Beast immediately volunteers to take to the skies in order to get a better layout of the area while also making sure there aren"t any stealth oriented beasts hiding in the forest around them.
"Eye of Insight!"
Zhang Xuan uses this mythical ability of master teachers to examine the area, but save for now knowing how zhenqi seems to flow through the area (of which in of itself doesn"t seem unusual) he doesn"t find anything new.
"Anything?"
"No not yet, but that"s only because I haven"t finished searching through everything."
Since the Eye of Insight failed to reveal anything , Zhang Xuan must now refer to his other useful ability the Library of Heaven"s Path.
"Flaws!"
The Library of Heaven"s Path reveals unto Zhang Xuan in the form of a book the flaws of any object, person, and or technique placed before them in the form of a book he can review within his subconscious.
"Celestial Spatial Illusion Formation; A naturally occurring 9-Star pinnacle formation whose purpose is to fold s.p.a.ce to a hide a building or object within. 9-Star Formation Master Bai Wei would go on to name this formation after successfully recreating it.
Flaws: 2 Aspects…"
Zhang Xuan was shocked speechless the moment he read that there were only two flaws in such a high grade formation. Provided he had access to enough books concerning 9-Star formations, Zhang Xuan is confident in being able to go beyond such results thanks to aid from the Library of Heaven"s Path, but to think there is someone capable of reaching such heights without its aid. The formation master who placed it must have been an absolute genius in his or her field.
"The Library of Heaven"s Path doesn"t say who it was that placed down this formation, so this must be the original that inspired this Bai Wei. No matter…. let"s see if the flaws reveal a way to crack it." Zhang Xuan thought.
"No.1, Other forms of sentient life can approach the core of this formation if they are with those who have taken the role of guiding humanity."
"It says "guiding humanity" instead of "master teachers", so could this formation have come before the first master teachers? Or does it refer to anyone who earnestly takes up the role of a teacher? Let"s move onto checking out the second flaw before I get too into this."
"No.2, Aura emitted from those who hold a celestial occupation of 3-Star at minimum or above will reveal the object hidden within the center of the formation without using the key."
Luo Ruoxin quickly noticed how Zhang Xuan was in a daze and lost in thought for several minutes. Could this formation somehow have affected him due to his status as a Celestial Master Teacher?
"Are you alright?" she asks.
"Yes I"m fine….. there appears to be a 9-star formation in this place. It took me a bit to recall a few details, but I have seen it before in one of my teacher"s books."
"I know this is likely too much to ask, but can you break it? Or find an opening at the very least?"
"Thankfully it was mentioned in my teacher Yang-shi"s book on how to break it."
"I suppose that was too much to ask, so I suppose we should... wait… did you just say you can break it?"
"Yes and forgive how chauvinistic this sounds, but you should stand next to me. I"ve already called Byzantium lad back, so if something happens we can immediately leave."
"Alright."
Zhang Xuan released the full force of his aura and presence of a Celestial Master Teacher once Byzantium Helios Beast had returned to their side. Both Luo Ruoxin and Byzantium Helios Beast are impressed by the presence Zhang Xuan has put off, however other than that nothing else has happened.
"The library did say 3-Star at minimum, so could it be because my ranking as a Celestial Master Teacher isn"t high enough? Or is it because my understanding of the abilities that come with being a 3-Star Celestial Master Teacher aren"t profound enough." Zhang Xuan thought.
"Crack!"
The sound of gla.s.s cracking at a large scale reverberates throughout this forest clearing. Zhang Xuan could see white lines appear before him as they spread out in random directions.
"Could it be that s.p.a.ce itself within this area is about to breakdown?"
Zhang Xuan has yet to read books pertinent to the concept of "s.p.a.ce" within this world; however he has seen similar things happen through multiple forms of media back when he was a librarian on Earth. Cracks continue to appear until the s.p.a.ce itself in the area can no longer take it, and as a result they burst sending shards in all directions as though a powerful explosion was set off on the other side of an imaginary living room window.
"No!"
If what he has seen in various forms of media back on Earth are to be believed, then there is no way that the three of them could survive an explosion of s.p.a.ce itself. Even so his first thought was to throw himself in front of Luo Ruoxin without the slightest hesitation.
"What are you doing?" Luo Ruoxin asks as she once again found herself confused by Zhang Xuan"s strange behavior.
"We"re not….. dead?" Zhang Xuan mumbled just before his mind registered Luo Ruoxin"s inquiry, "Huh oh? Well this is my first time seeing a 9-Star formation, and when I thought things were going bad I couldn"t help to want to protect you again."
"Ha ha… there was nothing you would have been able to do even if something was really going on, but the thought is appreciated."
"Pardon me master, but look!"
Byzantium Helios Beast pointed his large finger towards where s.p.a.ce in the area first started to distort. Instead of something like an all-consuming black hole, the three of them find an entrance to some kind of underground chamber. The entrance was big enough for two Zhang Xuan and Luo Ruoxin to walk in side by side, but too small for Byzantium Helios Beast to follow.
"I"ll stay here master. If that formation was what was keeping the local beasts away, then there is a chance they might be heading here now that it is deactivated. You will need someone to cover your exit."
"Thank you, but if it gets too much for you then leave. I"m certain Luo-shi and I can find another way to leave the area if need be."
Zhang Xuan felt a little nervous as he and Luo Ruoxin reach the precipice of this entrance to an underground chamber. Who could blame him as he may have found his biggest chance at curing the innate fetal poison that has killed his mother and has been hounding him? Noting happens as he walks through the entrance, of which serves to ease his mood a bit and fill him with confidence.
"Ouch."
Zhang Xuan turns around only to see Luo Ruoxin standing right before the entrance as she rubbed her nose. She then slowly extends her left hand towards the entrance, but it refuses to go any farther then the precipice as though an invisible wall was blocking her way. A more impulsive master teacher would have probably tried punching this invisible wall, however Luo Ruoxin resists this impulse for fear of suffering from what will likely be a severe injury-inducing backlash.
"It seems only a Celestial Master Teacher like you and Kong-shi can enter this place." Luo Ruoxin sighed as she seems disappointed that she won"t get to see this particular secret of the World"s Teacher Kong-shi with her own eyes, "Just go on ahead, and I"ll wait here with Senior Byzantium Helios Beast."
"I shall be sure to pay back this debt."
Zhang Xuan spends about 30 minutes walking down a dark staircase at a pace that would be considered normal for humans on Earth out of fear of accidentally walking into a trap far beyond his current ability. Nothing ends up happening.
"It looks like I finally reached the bottom or the first floor at the very least, however it"s too dark for me to see anything. I should have brought some kind of light source with me…. or perhaps like with the entrance something will happen if I try exuding the aura of a Celestial Master Teacher." Zhang Xuan thought as he no longer feels any more steps beneath his feet in this staircase.
"I would not do that if I were you. I made the same mistake when I first found this place, and it caused me a lot of inconvenience."
Zhang Xuan turned around and saw an illusionary figure formed from light as though it were a hologram. This figure had much more gray in his hair and wrinkles in his skin, but Zhang Xuan was still able to recognize him. Or rather he wouldn"t be able to call himself a master teacher if he didn"t recognize him.
"Kong-shi!"