Chapter 1253: Qianchong Empire

"Let me study it carefully. You practice according to the method I taught you earlier."

Taking the essence blood, his eyes lit up. Zhang Xuan immediately wrapped it with true qi and turned into his own room.

With a grab of his hand, he set up a soundproof barrier and directly entered the Thousand Ants Hive.

Studying this required absolute silence, and it was safest here.

Finding a place to sit, he suspended Zhang Jiuxiao's essence blood before him. Pointing a finger, a drop also flew from his fingertip, approaching the other.

"No resonance... It seems I am not of the Sage Zhang Clan..."

After careful observation, Zhang Xuan shook his head helplessly after a while.

According to his investigation, this drop of Zhang Jiuxiao's blood had no resonance with the blood in his own body... That is to say, the body he had reincarnated into had nothing to do with the Sage Zhang Clan.

It seemed... he had overthought it!

"Not a member of the Zhang Clan, yet afflicted with congenital fetal poison... Just which poison master was this, truly idle enough..."

Such a formidable poison master, going to a small place like Tianxuan Kingdom to poison an unknown little brat... Truly sick.

However, whether he was of the Zhang Clan or not made no difference to him.

If he were... at most, if he later encountered that genius who was to marry Luo Ruoxi, he could beat him up a little less... If not, don't blame him for being ruthless.

"Advancing bloodline is indeed difficult to achieve..."

Knowing he was not of the Zhang Clan, and after studying for a while, he found that advancing the bloodline was too difficult, almost impossible. Zhang Xuan suddenly understood.

Indeed, if it were so easy to advance, probably everyone would have become a core member over the years.

Before leaving the Thousand Ants Hive, thinking of his greatly increased strength, he confidently sought a fight with his clone. Without surprise, he was again beaten bloody-faced and nearly died.

Compared to others, he was invincible at the same level, but compared to his clone, at the same level... he was still far behind.

Just thinking about it was frustrating.

Returning to the beast's back, he continued instructing Zhang Jiuxiao.

As expected of a genius of the Zhang Clan, although his bloodline purity was insufficient, his talent was unquestionable. His learning ability far surpassed that of the members of the Xuanxuan Society.

In just six days, he seemed reborn. Although still at the mid-stage Primordial Spirit realm, in a one-on-one fight, those two auditing students might not be his match.

"His guidance... hits the vital points. Many details, even I might not have noticed..."

Watching the instruction, Zhao Xingmo was filled with shock.

Some of Zhang Jiuxiao's flaws and loopholes, even he hadn't noticed, but the other pointed them out with precision, without error. This insight was terrifying!

No wonder he could succeed in the hall challenge. With such insight and mental state, this Zhang Xuan would stand out and shine even in the Holy Son Hall.

"Qianchong Empire has arrived..."

On the seventh day of flight, a huge city appeared before them.

"According to the timeline, the selected candidates from other empires should have arrived. Let's go directly to the Master Teacher Hall."

Standing by the window, Zhao Xingmo said.

Along the way, Zhang Xuan learned that this Teacher Zhao was responsible for selecting candidates within the eight titled empires. The other empires had gone ahead, and only then did they come from Qingyuan Empire.

Those who had passed the preliminary assessment had already come here on their own. Calculating the time, they had all arrived, and the re-examination could proceed.

"I wonder... how many have passed the preliminary assessment now? And how many will be selected in the re-examination?"

Zhang Xuan looked over.

"Qianchong Empire has three slots, the other three stronger titled empires have two each, while Chongyuan Empire, Qianyun Empire... and your Qingyuan Empire each have one. So the eight empires total thirteen! Within the eight titled empires, there are also ten third-rank Sage clans... each has two slots. So... altogether, there are thirty-three people. After the re-examination, twenty remain."

Zhao Xingmo said.

"Not bad."

Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief.

Thirty-three passing twenty, the ratio was over half, so it shouldn't be too difficult.

"Don't let the high ratio make you complacent. Those who enter these thirty-three slots are all geniuses among geniuses, the strong among the strong. To stand out from them... the difficulty is immense!"

Seeing his relaxed expression, Zhao Xingmo couldn't help saying.

Qingyuan Empire was merely the weakest among the titled empires. Excelling in this empire didn't guarantee an advantage in the re-examination.

"Your strength is invincible at the mid-stage Primordial Spirit realm, and even I cannot defeat you. But the Holy Son Hall requires master teachers under thirty... Some formidable geniuses have already reached the Nascent Soul realm! That is to say, you are not facing mere Primordial Spirit realm experts."

"Nascent Soul realm?"

"Yes. There is a genius in Qianchong Empire who has reached the Nascent Soul realm. Although he hasn't undergone the lightning tribulation, his combat strength is formidable! Among the Sage clans, there are also a few who have reached this realm. They are the true powerhouses."

Zhao Xingmo nodded.

This young man before him was indeed powerful at the same level, but... he wasn't facing opponents of the same level, and they wouldn't suppress their cultivation to the mid-stage Primordial Spirit realm to fight him.

Thus, standing out from thirty-three people was not as simple as imagined.

"I'll deal with whatever comes." Zhang Xuan said calmly.

Not only did he not feel nervous, but for some reason, he was excited.

His current strength, though only at the mid-stage Primordial Spirit realm, was comparable to the late-stage Nascent Soul realm. When fighting Zhao Xingmo earlier, fearing he might strike too hard, he used less than a fifth of his power... If these examinees were strong enough, he could have some fun.

Seeing this expression, knowing he had taken his words as a passing breeze, Zhao Xingmo shook his head and said no more. The sacred beast beneath them suddenly lurched and flew straight toward the magnificent and vast city before them.

Before long, the Qianchong Empire Master Teacher Hall appeared before them.

Slowly descending in the square ahead, as soon as they landed, they saw several elders approaching.

"Teacher Zhao..."

The foremost one, about sixty years old, had a fair face without a beard, slanted eyebrows, and wore a blue robe, exuding a strong aura.

Activating his Insightful Eye, Zhang Xuan secretly looked and saw that the other's strength had surpassed the Nascent Soul realm, reaching the half-step Domain level!

The remaining few were not weak either, comparable to the previous Song Xuan, all at the peak of the Nascent Soul realm.

As expected of the number one titled empire, these few alone could easily overthrow the Qingyuan Empire without resistance.

Acknowledging with a sound, Zhao Xingmo, expressionless as when they first met, said, "Hall Master Yue, these are Master Zhang Xuan and Master Zhang Jiuxiao, selected from Qingyuan Empire."

Then turning his head: "This is the hall master of the Qianchong Empire Master Teacher Hall branch, Yue Yiquan, Teacher Yue."

"Greetings, Teacher Yue."

Hearing that this was the hall master, Zhang Xuan and Zhang Jiuxiao stepped forward respectfully.

"Teacher Zhao, this way."

Glancing at them, Yue Yiquan did not acknowledge them but greeted Zhao Xingmo and led the way.

"If I remember correctly, Song Xuan is related to him, being his brother-in-law. He was sent to Qingyuan Empire to gain experience and aim for the deputy hall master position, but..."

Zhang Jiuxiao transmitted.

Zhang Xuan understood.

No wonder he showed no courtesy; he bore hostility toward them.

As an envoy, Song Xuan should have investigated thoroughly before acting, but he directly wanted to execute Sun Qiang, Elder Xu, and others. There was a major problem with that, and his punishment was justified.

However, with him being dealt with... not only was the deputy hall master position out of reach, but Hall Master Yue's reputation would also be tainted with nepotism. No wonder he had a sour face.

"Let's go."

Knowing the reason, Zhang Xuan couldn't be bothered to dwell on it.

After all, Qianchong Empire was just a stopover on the way to the Holy Son Hall. They wouldn't stay long, so the other's attitude didn't matter much.

At worst, he could just avoid him.

The Master Teacher Hall seemed to have been cleared in advance, with few people around, only the many master teachers who had come to greet them.

At the very least, they were all at the peak of Seven-Star, lined up in rows, several hundred in number.

"Truly profound heritage..."

Walking through the corridors, Zhang Xuan sighed.

A peak Seven-Star master teacher meant cultivation at the peak Primordial Spirit realm. Such strength was rare in Qingyuan Empire, but here, it was as common as cabbage, flooding the place... As expected of the number one titled empire.

"Qianchong Empire's strength comes from its backing of a spirit mine, with abundant spirit stones, plus support from the Master Teacher Hall. It has developed for who knows how many years to reach this scale."

Seeing his shock, Zhang Jiuxiao transmitted.

He had done his homework on the situation of the Empire Alliance and knew it very well.

"Spirit mine?"

Zhang Xuan frowned.

"Yes. It is said that Qianchong Empire has a spirit mine of high-grade essence spirit stones... Because of this, countless experts have been attracted to serve here! Thus forming a virtuous cycle, the national power grows stronger and stronger..."

Zhang Jiuxiao nodded.

Cultivation requires wealth, companions, methods, and land, with wealth being the foremost.

As long as there is money, countless people come to serve. With many experts, naturally more experts are trained, and the country becomes stronger.

If an empire is impoverished... who would come? Even a high-level Master Teacher Hall might not be established.

"There is... a spirit mine of high-grade essence spirit stones here?" Zhang Xuan's breathing quickened.

"Yes. It seems the high-grade essence spirit stones circulating in the other major empires all come from here." Zhang Jiuxiao nodded.

"If I want to earn such spirit stones, where should I go?"

Zhang Xuan asked hurriedly.

He was just short of spirit stones to improve his cultivation. Since there was a spirit vein here, there would be more spirit stones for trade. He could find a way to earn them, instead of having to scrimp and save as before.

"I don't know about that, but... it is said that Qianchong Empire has an underground black market where high-grade essence spirit stones are traded, and in considerable quantities. If you need them, you could go and take a look..."

After thinking for a moment, Zhang Jiuxiao said, "However, these are just rumors I've heard. I'm not sure of the specifics."