Chapter 1074: Can't Get Out

"Just follow me and you'll see..." Seeing the confusion of the crowd, Ji Yan gave a wry smile.

Following behind, they walked through the mist for a while and arrived at a room.

The surroundings were filled with seals and traps, all at the peak of the seventh level. It seemed that even a strongman like Tianye King, if caught in them, would be brutally killed.

Seeing this, Zhang Xuan nodded.

It appeared that although both were trapped here, Tianye King clearly held a great advantage. The old dean and the others could not contend and could only hide here to survive. These formations and traps were probably set up to prevent sneak attacks.

Pushing the door open, they entered. The room was only about a dozen square meters, narrow and windowless, with only a single night pearl illuminating the surroundings, making it somewhat dim.

Against one wall, a person leaned askew. His legs were gone, leaving empty hollows, and one arm was also missing. But upon seeing them arrive, he immediately flew up, his eyes full of disbelief.

"Dean Ji, these are..."

There were only a few of them in the Fengsheng Pavilion. Suddenly seeing fellow humans, one could imagine their excitement.

"Dean Tan, they are Master Wu from Qingyuan Empire and the others, who found their way here..." Ji Yan explained.

"Dean Tan? You are Vice Dean Tan Qing?" Zhang Xuan was startled, then recalled a person.

Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy had four vice deans: Mu Renxu, Ji Yan, and Tan Qing were three of them.

"It's me..." Tan Qing nodded and looked doubtfully at Ji Yan nearby: "These master teachers, how should I address them?"

"This... I just encountered them being pursued by Tianye King and rescued them. As for their names, I haven't had time to ask..." Ji Yan said.

The situation earlier was critical, and there was no time for details. He only knew Master Wu; the other three were indeed unfamiliar.

"This is Zhang Xuan Zhang Shi, the new dean of Hongyuan Academy; that is Luo Ruoxin Luo Shi; and that is Han Xu Han Hui, president of the Array Masters Guild of Qingyuan Empire!" Master Wu introduced.

"New dean?"

Hearing the introduction, the two looked over simultaneously, their brows furrowing.

Even if they had come directly here due to the urgent situation without applying to headquarters, Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy was still one of the four academies... How could they let such a young fellow, only at the Saint realm, become dean?

Was this a joke?

"Dean Zhang may be young, but his strength is extraordinary. The reason we could find this place is thanks to his help!" Seeing their expressions, Master Wu quickly explained.

To be honest, Zhang Xuan was really too young. Even he had harbored doubts when first seeing him, let alone the two before him.

"That's true. Being able to come here, how could he be simple!"

Hearing Master Wu's words, the two were startled, then suddenly understood.

They had personally experienced the cruelty of this Qiuwu Palace and knew its dangers. To be able to force their way from the entrance to here, they must have extraordinary qualities.

Moreover, Master Wu himself had spoken.

"Where is Dean Zhang Yinqiu?"

Zhang Xuan frowned and looked over.

Wasn't it said that the old dean was still alive? That there were less than three people? Why wasn't he here?

"Dean Zhang..." Ji Yan and Tan Qing exchanged glances, their eyes dimming simultaneously: "He is already dead..."

"Dead? Dean Ji, didn't you just say that less than three of you were alive? Now there are only two..."

This time it was President Han who spoke. Clearly, he had also caught the implication of Dean Ji's earlier words.

There were only two before them. If it were just the two of them, he could have simply said two. But... he said less than three, which naturally had a reason.

A dignified seven-star master teacher would never make such a slip of the tongue on this matter.

"There is one more, Zhang Yinqiu. He is more alive than dead... However, he is not here. We can only take you to see him at a specific time."

Ji Yan explained.

"Alive? Dead?" Everyone exchanged puzzled looks, but seeing that the other party did not intend to elaborate, they did not press further.

After a pause, Master Wu looked over in confusion: "What happened two years ago? Why did you not report to headquarters, knowing it was very dangerous here?"

In fact, not only was he puzzled, but Zhang Xuan also found it incredible.

The old dean had left a cenotaph in the Dean's Tomb, indicating he already knew the danger here was beyond his power to contend with. If so, he should have reported to a higher-level Master Teacher Pavilion. Why did he choose to remain silent and bring so many master teachers from the academy here, only to... all never return?

"Actually, it's not that we didn't want to report to the Master Teacher Pavilion, but time didn't allow it!"

Ji Yan shook his head with a bitter smile: "Master Wu is familiar with Dean Zhang and knows that his greatest admiration was for Senior Wu Yangzi, and his favorite pastime was investigating his life and deeds... Through extensive investigation, he discovered some things about this relic and also obtained some useful information. Just as he was about to report to the Master Teacher Pavilion, somehow the news reached the ears of the Heterodox tribe. Not only was the item swindled away, but they also learned deeper secrets..."

"Later, learning that the relic was about to open and there was no time to delay, he gathered us overnight and we rushed here."

After hearing the explanation, Master Wu frowned: "Zhang Yinqiu had a communication jade token from headquarters. He could have simply sent a message to inform them of the situation without wasting much time... Why didn't he do it?"

Sending a message—even if it meant recounting the details of this relic—would take no more than a dozen breaths. To summon someone overnight and pursue urgently... sending a message shouldn't be difficult, should it?

Why say that time doesn't permit it?

"If I'm not mistaken, the news wasn't passed to the alien race's ears, but rather... tricked away, wasn't it? And this trickster, is he from the headquarters? Making you distrust the headquarters?"

Zhang Xuan pondered for a moment and quickly grasped the crux of the matter.

If there were no misgivings, they would have sent word long ago.

"This... Master Zhang truly has keen eyes, spotting the problem at a glance..."

Hearing his words, Ji Yan and Tan Qing both opened their mouths wide, unable to help but admire him.

From such simple words just now, he had deduced all this. This Master Zhang indeed possessed astonishing discernment. No wonder he could become the academy head—truly extraordinary.

"Tricked away? From headquarters?"

Master Wu was startled, then clenched his fists.

He too was a clever man and immediately understood what had happened.

Zhang Yinqiu had been deceived by a fake "master" from headquarters, and thus became wary. Unfamiliar with the situation of the Qingyuan Empire's Master Hall, he naturally dared not rashly send word.

Perhaps his original plan was that if he could emerge from the relic, he would go there in person, but... he never returned.

"Who is it?" Master Wu squinted, looking over.

He knew all the masters at headquarters—who could it be?

"Now we're all trapped here, none of us can get out. Saying it would be meaningless..." Ji Yan shook his head.

If no one could leave, what point was there in saying it?

In that case, it was better not to speak, to avoid adding unnecessary trouble.

"Can we really not get out? Are we to be trapped here forever?"

President Han spoke up.

"Yes, the seal outside allows entry but not exit. You must have all noticed—it was likely personally arranged by Qiuyu Gusheng. Unless one obtains his inheritance and understands the secrets of the seal, escape is impossible!"

Tan Qing smiled bitterly and shook his head. Suddenly recalling something, he looked over: "By the way, when we were entangled with Tianye Wang and the others and couldn't break free, we fled here. On your way here, you should have found the gateway to the ancient sage's inheritance, right? Did you obtain the inheritance?"

"This..."

Hearing this, Wu Shi and the others looked extremely embarrassed.

They had entered the portal, seen the statue of the ancient sage, and even passed the assessment, but... in the end, they had not obtained the inheritance!

Such a bizarre thing, if told to others, would probably be hard for them to believe.

"What's wrong? Could it be... you didn't see the traces left by Dean Zhang?"

Seeing the strange expressions on their faces, Ji Yan couldn't help asking.

That mark was so obvious; they should have easily found it!

"So it was you who left them. Since you knew there was an inheritance in the portal, why didn't you go in and take a look?"

This time, it was President Han's turn to be puzzled.

If they had left it, they had naturally opened the portal and confirmed the location. So why didn't they enter? If they had truly entered and the ancient sage had acted, that Tianye King might not have survived until now.

"At that time, we arrived at the portal first and activated it... But just as we confirmed the location and before we could enter to investigate, Tianye King caught up. The ancient sage's inheritance was too significant; if the enemy obtained it, it could potentially bring disaster to all of humanity... We didn't dare to gamble! So the dean left a subtle trace on the ground, leading this way. Tianye King, being suspicious by nature, saw the nine portals and didn't enter to investigate but continued chasing us. In the end, we all ended up here..."

Ji Yan recounted the situation at that time.

Though he spoke lightly, Zhang Xuan and the others could infer the brutality.

Mu Renxu and the others had died not far from the nine portals, their bodies left uncollected, which fully indicated the danger at that time.

"After entering here, everyone was trapped, and we fought many times. The alien tribe members were reduced to just Tianye King, and the master teachers who came with us were mostly dead... Fortunately, the terrain here is complex, allowing us to barely survive. Otherwise, we would surely have been completely annihilated..."

Ji Yan sighed.

"So that's how it is!"

Everyone nodded.

They had all personally experienced Tianye King's power. Even Wu Shi and President Han together could not withstand him. At that time, the others were only at the peak of the first level of the Saint Domain, so naturally they had no chance.

To have survived until now could be said to be already very difficult.

"By the way, you haven't answered us yet: did you obtain the inheritance of Ancient Sage Qiuwu or not?"

After explaining, Ji Yan looked over again. This concerned whether they could leave, and he truly wanted to know from the bottom of his heart.

"Well... the will left by Ancient Sage Qiuwu was shattered by Teacher Zhang, and no inheritance was left behind!"

After hesitating for a long time, Wu Shi had to speak.