Chapter 1370: The Sage Xi's Tortoise Shell

Before he even reached the door, someone came to greet him, and coupled with his identity as a Diviner, he sensed something mysterious in advance. He never dreamed... that they used divine sense!

As long as one surpassed the second level of the Saint Domain, everyone had it—like eyes. Within its range, everything could be seen clearly, so spotting the two of them approaching was easy.

"Well? Are you willing to become my student?"

After explaining, Old Feng looked over again with bright eyes.

The Luo family princess, the Zhang family genius, and that elusive woman—he probably couldn't take them as students. But this one before him had a good chance. Once successful, the Diviner profession would surely shake the world again as before.

"Sorry... I already have a master's lineage; it's inconvenient to change teachers," Zhang Xuan shook his head.

"Your teacher Yang Xuan—I've had the fortune to meet him once. Though his temper is a bit odd, he only teaches the Diviner profession. As a supplementary teacher, he shouldn't have much to say."

Not angered by his refusal, Old Feng continued.

"Yang Xuan? Do you mean... Master Zhang's teacher is that Master Yang from the headquarters of the Master Teacher Academy?"

Before Zhang Xuan could speak, Zhang Chun beside him trembled, and even Luo Xuanqing's eyes widened.

They had mentioned Yang Xuan on the road, but this man hadn't said much... When had he become his student?

If it were really him, it would explain why he dared to beat Zhang Chun so fiercely without any fear.

Although the Zhang family claimed to be the number one family on the continent, they were still far inferior to the headquarters of the Master Teacher Academy. As the first Supreme Elder, Yang Xuan's status was second only to the president, who had been absent for thousands of years.

"Because it's related to Master Zhang, his master-student lineage and such cannot be deduced... However, with my authority, it's easy to check his background. He came step by step from Tianxuan Kingdom, always calling himself Master Yang's student. Besides this man, I really can't think of any other master teacher who could teach such a formidable disciple!"

Old Feng laughed.

He couldn't deduce the other's master-student lineage, but he could look at the records.

This Master Zhang had told many people that his teacher was Yang Xuan; it wasn't hard to find out.

"I..."

Cold sweat broke out on Zhang Xuan's forehead.

When he had pretended to be Yang Xuan's student, he thought it was a fictitious name he could use freely. Now that the man actually existed and held a very high status... it was already giving him a headache!

If he came over and said he had no such student, the lie would be exposed instantly!

Without this protective umbrella, just the fact that he had progressed so quickly in such a short time would have countless people capturing him for research like a lab rat.

"What do you think?"

Seeing his expression change, Old Feng thought he was considering it and smiled again: "If you still have concerns, I can send a message to the headquarters of the Master Teacher Academy to seek his opinion!"

"This!"

His eyebrows twitching, Zhang Xuan quickly spoke: "Thank you for your kindness, Old Feng. I have never been exposed to the Diviner profession. I want to first look at some related books. If I can learn smoothly, I won't refuse. If I can't, I really don't want to damage your reputation!"

He was full of helplessness.

He had only come with Luo Xuanqing to find someone and mess around, but ended up being pulled in as a student, and with such enthusiasm. If he didn't agree, he would be reported to 'Yang Xuan'... Ah, being too outstanding was so frustrating wherever he went!

Was it so hard to just be an ordinary person quietly?

Forget it, he'd read the books first. After he finished learning all of them, it would be uncertain who would take whom as a student!

"Read books?"

Seeing that he no longer refused, Old Feng breathed a sigh of relief, looking as if he was sure of his exceptional talent, and smiled: "The books on the Diviner profession are diverse and numerous. Learning them can't be done in a day or two. Actually, to know if you have talent, there's no need for such trouble. I have a method to test Diviner talent that can easily determine your specific aptitude!"

"Testing method?"

Zhang Xuan frowned.

"Mm, Yuchen, go bring the tortoise shell."

Old Feng waved his hand.

"Yes!"

The young man beside him turned and walked out. Before long, he carefully carried a tortoise shell and entered.

This tortoise shell was very old, covered with dense cracks, showing a bluish-gray color. Before it even came close, one could feel a tremor in space, as if it could record the mysteries of the Dao and deduce the things one wanted to know.

"Could it be... the Sage Xi's Tortoise Shell?"

Zhang Chun beside him narrowed his eyes.

"Sage Xi was a powerful figure even older than Confucius. He observed tortoise shells, comprehended the Heavenly Dao, and created the Diviner profession. Among the many treasures he left behind, the most famous is the tortoise shell..."

Stroking his beard, Old Feng smiled slightly: "This treasure is known as the number one treasure of the Diviners, displayed at the core of the guild, used to divine the continent's fortune and the rise and fall of heaven and earth... Naturally, I am not qualified to use it! This one before you is just a replica made by the nine-star peak Diviner, Old Man Ji Chan."

"But don't underestimate it. Back then, when Bu Shang Ancient Sage chose this site to establish the Saint Child Hall, he used this tortoise shell for divination! The fortune of tens of thousands of years gathered here, enduring without decline—this fully demonstrates its capability!"

Everyone nodded, and Zhang Xuan was secretly astonished.

Gathering spiritual energy and wealth in a short time could be done by a powerful formation master, but maintaining prosperity for thousands or tens of thousands of years, unchanged by mountains, rivers, and the passage of time... was beyond them.

One needed to find a thread of life in heaven and earth, perhaps a point or a region... This tortoise shell, capable of divining this place, was absolutely priceless.

"This tortoise shell has been passed down through 121 generations, and 102 nine-star peak Diviners have used it for divination. It contains the thoughts of successive sages... As long as you touch it with your hand, whether you have talent or not will be known at once."

Gently stroking the ancient tortoise shell before him, Old Feng looked over.

"Just touching it with my hand?" Not expecting him to bring out such a precious item to test his talent, knowing he couldn't avoid it, Zhang Xuan asked.

"Mm, if you don't believe me, I can have someone else test it for you to see..."

Smiling slightly, Old Feng looked at Zhang Chun not far away: "In recent years, you've always wanted to learn from me, but I never agreed, nor even saw you. It wasn't to test your patience, but because you really aren't suited for this profession... Extend your hand, and let this put your mind at ease!"

"This..."

Not expecting to be used as a negative example, Zhang Chun's face twitched. Though displeased, he stepped forward, extended his hand, and slowly reached for the tortoise shell.

The quiet tortoise shell seemed to sense a stranger's touch, and the bluish-gray cracks suddenly emitted a dazzling light.

Crack! Crack!

The light flowed along the crevices like lava, producing a peculiar sound. Soon, two special runes appeared before everyone's eyes.

Seeing these characters, Old Feng smiled lightly.

"Yuchen, please interpret for everyone!"

"Yes!" The young man named Yuchen stepped forward: "These runes mean mediocre talent, no affinity with the Diviner path!"

"It means mediocre? Then what if one has very strong talent?"

Zhang Chun was unwilling to accept.

The current family head and the clan elders were very superstitious about the Diviner profession. If he could learn it and possess strong abilities, he would surely be valued upon returning and might even be promoted to the upper echelons.

That was why he had come repeatedly. He had thought the other was just testing his patience, but it turned out he had long known his talent lay elsewhere.

"The talent of a Diviner is divided into six levels: low, mediocre, passable, good, excellent, and supreme."

The young man Yuchen explained: "If you don't recognize the meaning of the characters, it's also simple to know the talent. The more characters, the higher the talent. One character means low, two means mediocre... and so on. When six characters appear, it's supreme!"

After explaining, he pressed his palm forward.

Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!

The same sound arose, but in greater number. Then, dazzling light shone, and five characters slowly emerged.

"Excellent?"

Swallowing his saliva, Zhang Chun was full of shock.

He had seen this Yuchen many times and had thought he was just lucky to be favored by Old Feng. He never expected his talent to be so high.

With 'excellent' talent, he was only a teaching student, not a direct disciple... His own 'mediocre' was out of the question.

"Let me try too..." Luo Xuanqing stepped forward. As his hand touched, two characters also appeared—same as Zhang Chun, mediocre talent!

"Master Zhang, please give it a try."

Knowing his talent was no worse than Zhang Chun's, Luo Xuanqing was satisfied, laughed heartily, and turned around.

"Alright!"

Knowing he couldn't avoid it, Zhang Xuan had no choice but to step forward.

He had just said that if he had talent, he would take the other as his teacher... Could he really become his student?

If so, it would be really frustrating.

If worst came to worst... could he use the Heavenly Dao True Qi to conceal it?

Seeing him step forward, Old Feng's eyes shone with excitement.

The Derived Void Physique, such a legendary existence—how many runes could it produce? Even he had no precedent to check, but as far as he knew, the number would definitely exceed six.

Whoosh!

In the midst of expectant gazes, Zhang Xuan's hand landed on the tortoise shell.

Hum!

A soft sound, and light flowed like lava over the tortoise shell, just like Zhang Chun's earlier, but even more dazzling.

Crack! Crack! Crack...

Dense, crisp sounds rang out one after another, like popping beans.

"With so many sounds, how many runes will appear?"

His eyes reddening, Zhang Chun unconsciously clenched his fists.

When he had touched it, two sounds had produced two characters; when Yuchen tested, five sounds had produced five characters.

Now, there had already been dozens of sounds—could it be that dozens of characters would appear? If so, that would be heaven-defying...

Full of shock, just as he was about to say something, he saw Old Feng's face suddenly change, and he rushed forward.

But it was too late. With a "Boom!" the ancient tortoise shell before them exploded into powder.