Chapter 1786: Going to the Underground Cavern with the Mediocre Emperor

“Heaven-recognized master?”

Yan Qing and the other ancient sages felt their throats go dry, utterly incredulous: “You mean… the kind of heaven-recognized master like Confucius?”

No wonder they couldn’t believe it. Since Confucius, there had been no master recognized by the heavens. And this Zhang Xuan was one?

“Yes!”

Master Yang nodded: “A master recognized by both heaven and earth!”

“But he…”

Yan Qing and the others trembled, unable to speak.

A heaven-recognized master, appearing only once in tens of thousands of years, was far more important than the Spring and Autumn Ceremony. And they had driven him to suicide…

If they could choose again, they would rather die themselves.

“A single man annihilating a hundred and ten thousand elite Spirit Race warriors, and every student he taught so powerful… I should have realized it long ago.” With a thud, he sat down on the ground, Yan Qing staring blankly, unable to say another word.

If he had known he was a heaven-recognized master, he would never have forced him to give an explanation to the Master Teacher Hall. But now… it was too late for anything.

“Fortunately, he didn’t die… but where did he go?”

Knowing that this Zhang Xuan had refined Zhang Hongtian’s blood and wouldn’t die so easily, Yan Qing looked over with great confusion.

“I don’t know either…”

Master Yang shook his head, his eyes full of worry.

After his senior brother committed suicide, he had tried to save him, only to find that the “corpse” had vanished without a trace.

Where exactly he had gone remained a mystery.

“Send people to search for him immediately. The matter of the heaven-recognized master must not be leaked for now, unless… he reaches the ancient sage level!”

After a pause, Yan Qing said.

Only at the ancient sage level would he have true self-protection ability. Otherwise, if the Spirit Race found out, they would be even more terrified than when humans obtained the Spring and Autumn Ceremony.

It was very possible they would send ancient sages to assassinate him.

“Mm.” Master Yang nodded.

He had known this for a long time; otherwise, he wouldn’t have kept the news to himself.

“Once he reaches ancient sage and reveals his identity as a heaven-recognized master, all misunderstandings will be cleared up…” said a master teacher.

Because of the deliberate propaganda by Chen Ling Emperor and Chen Xing Emperor, humans now held great prejudice against Zhang Xuan. But once his identity was made clear, all of that would vanish like smoke, leaving no stain.

A master recognized by the heavens—who would dare say he was unworthy to be a master teacher?

“We can only hope so…”

Master Yang sighed.

…

Inside the bell tower, the crowd was indignant, all volunteering to speak for Zhang Xuan in the future, but they didn’t notice that in the dark corner of the room, two figures were leaning against a broken wall.

They were a young man and a child.

The child’s face was pale, as if severely injured.

Hearing the conversation, the young man smiled and shook his head, not joining the crowd. Instead, he turned to the child beside him with concern.

“How are you?”

“Young master, rest assured, I won’t die yet!” The child shook his head, a glint in his eyes: “I should be able to hold on until we find those two traitors!”

This child was Wu Chen, also known as Chen Yong Emperor.

Set up by Star Emperor and Spirit Emperor, he had fought a great battle with Yan Qing and the others, and then been ambushed by those two. Even though humans spared his life, he was already at the end of his rope.

If not for his single-minded desire to kill his enemies with his own hands, he would have collapsed long ago.

“Mm, good.” Hearing that he could still hold on, the young man across from him nodded.

“And you, young master?”

Chen Yong Emperor also looked at him with concern: “Without reaching the Blood Rebirth realm, forcibly damaging your body, though not life-threatening, will cause great harm and be hard to recover from in a short time…”

The young master he referred to was naturally Zhang Xuan.

Even a Blood Rebirth expert, when killed, needed time and power to recover. The other was only at the Golden God realm; forcibly doing so would cause even greater damage.

“After recuperating for ten days, I’m still very weak. Right now, I might not even be a match for a Saint Domain First Layer cultivator. But my injuries are almost healed. Once fully recovered, regaining my strength will be easy…”

Zhang Xuan smiled bitterly.

He hadn’t expected the aftereffects of Blood Rebirth to be so severe.

However, with the Heaven’s Path techniques and boundless spiritual energy, once his injuries were healed, returning to his original strength would be extremely simple.

Chen Yong Emperor said no more and nodded.

The hundred and ten thousand soldiers Zhang Xuan had killed were all subordinates of Chen Xing Emperor and Chen Ling Emperor, not his own. Moreover, the other was the person his young lady favored and his own savior. Despite their racial differences, he held no great resentment.

He was still willing to follow orders.

“Are you sure that the Spirit Race’s Altar to Heaven can communicate with the Spirit God?”

After a pause, Zhang Xuan looked at him.

His suicide at the Master Teacher Hall was not because he dared not face anything, but because he wanted to take the opportunity to resolve the Spirit Race threat and also search for traces of Luo Ruoxin.

So, after changing his appearance and recovering a bit, he had Chen Yong Emperor lead the way here.

“Yes. That’s how I established communication with the Spirit God.”

Chen Yong Emperor nodded.

The Spirit God had returned to her own world. To communicate with her required special sacrifices, which needed a larger altar and specific methods, only possible back in the Spirit Race.

“That’s good…”

Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief.

He wanted to ask clearly where Luo Ruoxin was, and then go find her.

Since that was the case, the Spirit Race became a necessary destination.

“But, young master, this kind of large-scale sacrifice requires the cooperation of many clansmen, even ancient sages. I’m afraid Chen Ling Emperor and Chen Xing Emperor have already announced my death and set up a dragnet…”

Chen Yong Emperor showed concern.

In his prime, he wouldn’t fear any situation, but now…

Once surrounded, he would truly have no way out.

“Let’s take it step by step.” Zhang Xuan shook his head.

Thinking too much now was useless. They could only take it one step at a time and adapt as they went.

He believed that with their disguising abilities, as long as they didn’t actively reveal their identities, infiltrating the Spirit Race’s royal court wouldn’t be difficult!

“Everyone, the blizzard has stopped. We’re about to enter the Ice Cavern. Is anyone willing to join us? I am Wu Kuang, at the peak of the Divine Soul realm. Follow me, and I can guarantee your safety…”

As the two were chatting, the “Brother Wu” in the crowd stood up again and looked around.

Among them, he was the strongest. With the Spirit Race threat gone from the Ice Cavern, a peak Divine Soul realm cultivator could indeed protect many people.

Zhang Xuan looked outside and saw that the blizzard had indeed stopped. The cold air poured through the broken bell tower, making everyone’s clothes rustle.

“I’m willing!”

“I’m willing too…”

A dozen people stood up at once, their eyes shining.

Following him on the adventure would at least ensure their safety.

“We’re willing too…”

Zhang Xuan and the other also stood up.