Chapter 1196: The War Master Hall Exchange Begins

Before Master Kong disappeared, he left behind six legendary celestial talismans. One was stationed at the Master Teacher Hall, but the whereabouts of the remaining five were unknown to anyone.

Legend has it that if all six were gathered, one could open the Confucian Temple and seek the peerless manual he left behind... the Spring and Autumn Canon!

For this reason, for tens of thousands of years, countless people had searched for them, but unfortunately, no trace was ever found.

Or perhaps they had long been obtained, but no one dared to speak of it.

After all, involving Master Kong, even master teachers could go mad with irrationality.

It was from the Ruthless One that Qingtian Emperor learned of this legendary celestial talisman, and he spared no expense, laying various schemes.

"According to his memories, Qiuwu Palace should have the key to finding the legendary celestial talisman, but... it seems there's nothing..."

Through soul search, he knew that the other party had gone to such great lengths to find Qiuwu Palace not without purpose; through various clues, he learned that not only did it contain Master Kong's will, but also the key to finding the talisman.

Once found, he could use it to locate the talisman, and even have a chance to find the exact location of the Confucian Temple.

The Confucian Temple was personally left by Master Kong, hidden in the void, its exact location unknown to anyone.

"Perhaps... the legends are all false..."

Zhang Xuan shook his head.

He was unfamiliar with other places, but he had entered Qiuwu Palace twice and had never found any key!

There wasn't even anything related to it.

Thus, the information might not be true.

Of course, the key was only an aid. Over two thousand years ago, it was said that a painting master had seen the legendary celestial talisman, imprinting Master Kong's shadow in the sky.

Upon learning this, Qingtian Emperor captured and interrogated that painting master, but unfortunately, gained nothing.

Three years ago, he accidentally found the ruins left by the other party and discovered that eight-realm painting, suspecting it was related to this matter. Unfortunately, it was sealed, revealing nothing.

After studying it for a long time without finding a method, he had to seek help from President Mu of the Appraiser Guild, pooling their efforts.

As for what happened later... Zhang Xuan knew it all.

"Could it be... that the place I saw in the painting is the location of the legendary celestial talisman?"

Frowning, Zhang Xuan speculated inwardly.

If the information about Qiuwu Palace was false, then in this painting, he had personally seen Master Kong's phantom, which should be correct.

"I'll look into it later, find out where that mountain range is, and then... go search there..."

He thought to himself.

After reading all of this, Zhang Xuan also saw the list of spies in the Master Teacher Hall.

There were over a hundred of them, scattered throughout the Qingyuan Empire.

The Otherworldly Demonic race had long lifespans, far exceeding the thousand years of Saint realm experts, so it was quite easy for them to set things up if they wanted to.

Even though master teachers had strong wills and faith, many could not withstand the corrosion of sugar-coated bullets and eventually became puppets under their control.

Copying down all the names, Zhang Xuan transmitted them through a communication jade token, then finally breathed a sigh of relief.

With these things, Master Wu could avoid a lot of trouble and even make arrests directly.

"Ruthless One, he's yours..."

Having learned all the information he wanted, Zhang Xuan couldn't be bothered to continue. He lightly shook his hand, handing Qingtian Emperor's soul to the Ruthless One.

Having lived in human territory for two thousand years, this Otherworldly Demonic being had killed countless master teachers. Merely devouring him was letting him off easy.

"Thank you, Master..."

The Ruthless One was filled with excitement.

Standing up, Zhang Xuan stretched lazily. Just as he was thinking about how to earn high-grade spirit stones, he suddenly twitched at the corner of his mouth, remembering something.

"I promised Hall Master Xing to help train his war masters, and it seems that three days later, people from the other three War Master Halls are coming to challenge..."

He had trained the war masters and arranged the training plan... then went to the Master Teacher Hall, and ended up delaying for four days...

By his calculation, the people from the other empires' War Master Halls had already arrived, and the exchange might have even started!

"I'd better go back and see..."

Leaving the Thousand Ant Hive, he realized it was already high noon, the middle of the fourth day.

Hall Master Xing had said that if the training went well, he would give him half the reward... He wondered how it had turned out.

He hadn't been there to see if those guys had seriously followed the plan. If they lost... he would lose fifty high-grade spirit stones...

Just thinking about it made his heart ache!

Whoosh!

Anxious, he flew straight toward the War Master Hall.

...

War Master Hall, Martial Training Hall.

Countless war masters gathered around, watching several high platforms in the center.

On the foremost viewing platform, four old men sat upright, one of whom was Hall Master Xing.

"Hall Master Xing, I heard that your war masters have all joined some Xuanxuan Society? That seems to be an organization from a first-rate empire, right?"

Before the exchange had even begun, the three old men looked sharply at Hall Master Xing before them, their brows furrowed.

Yesterday, when they arrived, they heard that the strongest combatants among the renowned masters had mostly joined a first-class empire's master organization... Everyone was stunned.

Although the Qingyuan Empire War Master Hall had always been at the bottom and quite degenerate, it shouldn't have sunk to such a level!

Bowing to a group of ordinary masters...

It was a complete disgrace to the dignity of war masters.

"Yes."

Hall Master Xing nodded.

With tens of thousands of people staying in the War Master Hall during the Xuanxuan Assembly, it was impossible to conceal even if they wanted to.

"I'm not criticizing you, but a war master... joining an organization of a first-class empire—what were you thinking? Have you forgotten the dignity and identity of a war master?"

An old man with a goatee snorted, his aura oppressive.

Zhao Yi, Hall Master of the Chongyuan Empire War Master Hall.

"It's not what you think. Although the Xuanxuan Assembly is just a student organization of a first-class empire, their understanding of combat is deeper than ours. Master Kong once said, 'Learn from the best regardless of strength'..."

Hall Master Xing explained.

"Enough, it's useless to tell us this. The quota for the Sword Pool of Qianchong Title Empire is limited; naturally, we hope you are as weak as possible!"

The first old man interrupted him.

Liu Qinshan, Hall Master of the Haohai Empire War Master Hall.

"It doesn't matter if the Qingyuan Empire War Master Hall degrades itself, but don't provoke the headquarters' anger and get disbanded... Then, as hall master, you would be ashamed of your ancestors!"

The third old man also shook his head.

Wei Qianshu of the Qianyun Empire!

Among the eight title empires, the four weaker ones were Chongyuan, Qianyun, Haohai, and Qingyuan!

Originally, Qingyuan ranked third, but unfortunately, the calamity caused by the alien spirit race twenty years ago resulted in heavy losses, and it has not recovered to this day. Whether in national strength or the strength of the Master Hall and War Master Hall, it could only rank last.

"Thank you for your concern,三位. Although our Qingyuan branch has not fully recovered, we have made great progress now, different from before..."

Seeing that the three hall masters clearly looked down on him in their words, Hall Master Xing frowned and was about to explain when he heard a burst of cheers behind him. The contestants for the competition had already entered the arena.

"Indeed, different..."

Hall Master Zhao Yi sneered.

"Hall Master Xing, is this a beggar army? Are you sure you want them to fight against the elites of our three master halls?" Wei Qianshu was also stunned, frowning.

"Beggars' army?"

Hall Master Xing was puzzled and looked forward. The corner of his mouth twitched.

Shi Hao was still wearing his toilet-cleaning work clothes, holding a feather duster in his hand; Jiao Tan had a fly swatter; Xiao Qin carried a birdcage; Dong Rui's head was covered in bumps...

They looked exactly like a group of starving beggars.

"Director Liao, what... is going on?"

He quickly turned his head.

"Hall Master, the training left by Master Zhang was too much... They didn't finish it, and with the competition coming up, they had to go on stage directly..." Director Liao hurriedly explained.

The training plan left by Master Zhang was densely packed; three days were far from enough to complete it. These few people, whether bewitched or brainwashed, once they started training, couldn't stop... The war masters from the War Master Hall participating in the exchange all looked like this—just thinking about it was depressing.

After hearing the explanation, Hall Master Xing's face turned as bitter as a melon.

If he had known it would turn out like this, he wouldn't have asked Master Zhang to train them. Now, not only would the War Master Hall lose face, but they might also be ridiculed for years to come.

Scrubbing toilets, swatting flies, catching birds, jumping from trees... What exactly was Master Zhang trying to achieve with these trainings? Was it really reliable?

"Chongyuan Empire War Master Hall, Ling Xuan, Saint Realm Second Layer Mid-stage, challenges a friend from Qingyuan Empire. Who will step up to fight?"

Just as he was at a loss, he heard a loud shout from ahead. A war master from the Chongyuan Enfeoffed Empire had already leaped onto the competition stage, staring intently over.

"Challenging Qingyuan Empire right from the start... They intend to intimidate us..."

Hall Master Xing clenched his fists.

Originally, according to the exchange competition rules, the matches between empires had a set order. This man, by challenging Qingyuan Empire as soon as he got on stage, clearly wanted to give them a show of force.

And as the host, they had no choice but to accept the challenge.

"It's me..." Jiao Tan leaped onto the high platform.

Jiao Tan was a genius from the Martial Skills Hall, his strength already at Saint Realm Second Layer Mid-stage, and he was the one participating in this level of competition.

"You?"

Seeing him in work clothes, holding a fly swatter, Ling Xuan sneered: "Fine then, let's begin! Let me experience the high skills of Qingyuan Empire's war masters!"

Whoosh!

As he spoke, his aura surged, and his palm rolled as if thunder was hidden within.

"That must be Chongyuan Empire's most famous Thunderclap Palm!"

"It's said that when this move is executed, it's like a thunderbolt, extremely fast, and no one of the same level can withstand it!"

"Yes, it's extremely difficult to master, trapping countless geniuses. This Ling Xuan has managed to learn it, and his palm strikes with wind and thunder, immense power—he's probably already reached the Great Accomplishment level!"

"Not just Great Accomplishment, I've heard he's reached Perfection! This Ling Xuan is the most talented person in the Martial Skills Hall of Chongyuan Empire's War Master Hall. His understanding of martial skills has broken records; before thirty, he has already mastered thirty-four martial skills!"

"So impressive..."

The crowd below buzzed with discussion.

Ignoring the chatter, Jiao Tan stepped forward, still holding his fly swatter.