Chapter 1579 Qiqi, I'm Sorry

Everyone looked up at the child in the air, their expressions as if they had seen a ghost.

The Luo family's protective formation, which for tens of thousands of years had blocked countless experts and repelled countless attacks, couldn't hold for even a single breath before a mere child.

How did he do it?

What kind of strength did this guy have?

Countless experts swallowed their saliva, unable to believe it.

“This person… have we seen him before?”

“With this kind of strength, under normal circumstances, he should be very famous. How is it that we have no impression of him at all?”

“I've never seen him either. He seems to have appeared out of nowhere…”

“If even the child is this powerful, what about that young lady? What kind of identity does she have?”

The heads of countless sage clans and noble houses involuntarily stepped back, afraid of being caught in the crossfire.

Their strength, in the eyes of ordinary people, was extraordinary, but before a powerhouse of this level, a single misstep could get them casually crushed, without even the ability to resist.

They were not on the same level at all.

“You…”

Seeing the child suspended in the air, effortlessly defeating the combined attack of many elders and the family's protective formation, the Luo family head's face alternated between red and white. Unable to hold back any longer, he turned and clasped his hands.

“I implore Master Yang to take action!”

Although the Luo family had their deepest trump card, they couldn't use it lightly. Now that Master Yang was right there, they could only place their hopes on him.

“Even without the Luo family head's request, I would have acted!” Nodding, Master Yang looked up at the sky: “When did such a powerful figure appear on the continent without my knowledge? It seems I am truly old…”

Whoosh!

As he finished speaking, he walked step by step into the air.

He walked very slowly, but with each step, a beam of light shot out from under his feet. Under his advance, space became more stable, as if locked tight by a special force.

The child had been indifferent at first, but upon seeing Master Yang's steps, he frowned: “Who are you? The Luo family shouldn't have such a strong expert, should they?”

“I am Yang Xuan.”

Master Yang clasped his hands.

“Yang Xuan of the Master Teacher Hall?” The child suddenly understood, then clasped his hands: “This is a matter between our young lady, Master Zhang, and the Luo family. I hope Master Yang will not interfere.”

“The Master Teacher Hall has a responsibility to maintain the stability of the continent. You are causing a great disturbance in the Luo family, treating the heroes of the world as nothing. Although I am old, as a master teacher, I have a duty to stop you.”

Master Yang smiled faintly.

“In that case, let's fight. Let me see what kind of strength this legendary number one person on the continent truly possesses!”

Raising his eyebrows, the child crossed his palms, ready to strike at any moment. Just then, a faint voice sounded.

“Alright, come down!”

Luo Ruoxi looked over.

“Yes!”

Not daring to say more, the child withdrew his hands and returned behind the girl.

Master Yang seemed to harbor some caution as well. Seeing the other party stop, he said no more.

“Zhang Xuan, let's go!”

With a light snort, without any visible movement, Zhang Xuan felt his whole body relax, and the pressure that had been weighing on him instantly dissipated.

Seeing that the child had not harmed anyone, Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief, nodded, and turned to look at the girl not far away, dressed in bright red but with a somewhat confused expression.

His heart ached, and he could no longer hold back. He walked up to her.

“Qiqi… I'm sorry!”

He truly was sorry to this girl.

The marriage alliance between the Zhang and Luo families had caused such a stir, with countless family heads attending in person, yet he had turned and left. For her, this was undoubtedly a huge hurt.

“Why?”

With a dazed look, Luo Qiqi trembled incessantly, as if she still couldn't believe it.

In the eyes of outsiders, she was a super genius with unparalleled talent who had broken countless records, but those who truly knew her understood that she was just a simple-minded little girl with little sense of security.

That was precisely why Luo Xuanqing protected her at all times, afraid she might suffer or be deceived by others.

“I…”

Zhang Xuan didn't know how to answer.

He didn't want to hurt her, so he had never responded positively to her confession… He had thought their worlds would simply part ways, never dreaming it would end like this.

Not wanting to hurt, yet he had caused the greatest hurt.

Not wanting to get involved, yet he had become the most deeply involved.

“I always thought you were the princess of the Baiyuan Empire…”

Pausing, Zhang Xuan said.

Back when they parted in the Qingyuan Empire, Yu Fei'er had said that Luo Qiqi had gone to the Hongyuan Academy because she had a token from the Baiyuan Empire, suggesting she might be a princess there.

He never imagined she would be connected to the Luo family.

“To keep my clan from finding me, I used the power of the Still Void Pearl to seal my bloodline and cultivation. Although I had refined the Still Void Pearl, I hadn't touched its deeper mysteries. Therefore, some power remained that I couldn't fully control. After being sealed, not only did my strength drop to the Mortal Transcending realm, but some memories were also sealed. Most importantly, I needed to slowly break through in strength, reaching a certain realm before I could break the seal… That's why, in the underground palace, even though I knew you were in danger, I couldn't save you…”

Without directly answering his question, Luo Qiqi murmured.

Zhang Xuan nodded.

Seeing that the person before him was her, he had already guessed quite a bit.

There were indeed some secret techniques on the continent that could seal a person's cultivation and bloodline, but every gain had its loss. With such great power, there must be drawbacks. For example, Zhao Ya's mother had sealed her bloodline, hidden in the ancient land, and married Zhao Ya's father. Even after years of living together day and night, he couldn't detect it.

As for why she was a second-year student at the Master Teacher Academy, the reason was that she hadn't left the Saint Child Hall long ago, less than a year, but at the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy, as long as one's strength and master teacher rank were sufficient, one could advance, not necessarily step by step according to years.

These things were understandable, but there were still some questions he couldn't figure out.

That was… the Luo family's little princess had a Derivation Physique, which couldn't be detected by the library. But he had once probed Luo Qiqi, and it hadn't revealed her identity. Could it be… that this physique could even deceive the library? And even give wrong answers?

If that were the case, it would be too terrifying!

However, since it involved the library, he couldn't ask about it. He would have to slowly find the answer later.

“When I was in the Luo family, I had done a favor for the imperial family of the Baiyuan Empire. Even though my cultivation was sealed, it was very simple for me to have them introduce me into the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy and pretend to be a four-star master teacher. With this identity, my clan wouldn't notice… And most importantly, from birth, I was dazzling. In the eyes of outsiders, I shone brilliantly, but for me, I truly just wanted to be an ordinary person! To live a simple, happy life without having to think about anything…”

Luo Qiqi's expression darkened.

Although she had sealed her cultivation and bloodline to prevent her clan from finding her, with her abilities and means, it was very simple to get the Baiyuan Empire to give her some tokens and write a letter of introduction. Pretending to be their princess, they certainly wouldn't mind.

It was because of this false identity that she had been able to stay at the Hongyuan Academy for so long without anyone discovering her, not even her good friend Yu Fei'er.

Zhang Xuan finally understood.

She was the most talented figure of the Luo family. If she truly didn't want to be found, she would certainly give herself the most suitable identity, just like how he pretended to be Master Yang's student. With such a thing, others naturally wouldn't investigate closely.

“Last time I told you that I already had someone I liked… Actually, it was Master Luo! Before, I always thought she was a member of the Luo family, which led to this misunderstanding…”

Putting aside the doubts in his heart, Zhang Xuan gritted his teeth and said.

Today's matter had to be explained clearly; otherwise, it wouldn't just hurt the person before him, but also make it hard to explain to Luo Ruoxi.

“I guessed as much…”

Nodding, Luo Qiqi's once bright eyes were now filled with tears, as if they might fall at any moment.

“Qiqi, I'm sorry…” Zhang Xuan clasped his hands again.

Knowing that she was the Luo family's princess, he finally understood why she had been able to produce so many thousand-year spirit herbs back then, and why Luo Chengxin had suddenly appeared to cause him trouble after she left.

Now it seemed that Luo Chengxin had found her in Qingyuan City, and knowing she was about to leave and that he lacked items for advancement, she had pretended to refine pills, with the purpose of giving him gifts.

Luo Xuanqing had said before that his sister learned any profession quickly, except for alchemy, which she was only average at. At the time, he hadn't paid much attention, but now recalling it, he understood…

It was her!

He also finally understood why the underground palace containing Wu Yangzi's physical body had gone unnoticed by the Huanyu Empire and even the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy, yet she, a mere five-star master teacher, had easily found it based on the peculiarities of the forging technique…

The little princess's talent was rare in the world. Even with some memories sealed, she was still more perceptive than ordinary people.

That was also why, when teaching the same lessons, her progress far exceeded Yu Fei'er and others, and was no weaker than direct disciples like Zheng Yang.

After arriving at the Qingyuan Empire, her cultivation broke through to the Saint realm… the seal was undone, and her bloodline power could no longer be concealed, leading to her being found… and all the subsequent events.

“You… go!”

Unaware of his thoughts, looking at the young man she cherished, Luo Qiqi's eyes blurred. Biting her lip, she waved her hand.

“Thank you!”

Bowing deeply, Zhang Xuan knew that the more he said, the greater the hurt. Taking a deep breath, he turned and walked away.

“Where do you think you're going…”

Clatter!

He had only taken two steps when cold gleams surrounded him. The injured Luo family elders and Luo Xuanqing drew their long swords, glaring angrily.

“Zhang Xuan, if you dare to leave today, you will forever be an enemy of the Luo family. The Zhang and Luo families will never reconcile!”

The Luo family head couldn't help but shout.

“That's right, Zhang Xuan. If you dare to leave here today, you will be my enemy, Luo Xuanqing. I swear, I will spend my entire life hunting you down!”

Luo Xuanqing gritted his teeth.

Pausing, Zhang Xuan continued walking forward.

“Die!”

Unable to hold back any longer, Luo Xuanqing's palm rolled over and struck at Zhang Xuan again.

“Stop!”

Zheng Yang's spear thrust forward, piercing through his palm force. Wang Ying, Lu Chong, and the others stood firmly behind him.