Chapter 1921: Online Chat and Online Shopping

If she really got slapped, where would her face be?

Her delicate body trembling, Xue Qin quickly turned to look at the gray-clad youth: “Senior Brother, don’t listen to his nonsense. He’s just talking offhand. Not having refined the pill doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the correct answer…”

Before she could finish, the gray-clad youth spun around and, with the back of his hand, delivered three consecutive slaps.

Slap! Slap! Slap!

Each one echoed through the room. In the girl’s terrified eyes, her skin, which had been so delicate it seemed it might break at a touch, instantly swelled red.

“Satisfied?”

After doing this, the gray-clad youth clasped his hands behind his back and looked over coldly.

He was highly proficient in alchemy and had specifically examined the medicinal ingredients. Without needing to continue the refinement, he already understood whether the other party was correct.

Knowing the answer, if he still refused to admit it, he would lose face not only for himself but for the Lingyun Sword Pavilion!

“Slapping her was just my casual remark. She’s a girl, not betrothed to me, and didn’t come specifically to break off the engagement—so there’s no real enmity. That being the case, let it be. The bet is considered fulfilled. Senior Brother, please…”

Zhang Xuan bowed.

The gray-clad youth gave him a cold look, said no more, turned and left. The crowd followed in unison, and the fainted youth was carried on someone’s back.

He had come intending to display his ability and instill fear in everyone in Xuanjiang City, but instead, he had been slapped in the face publicly.

Rage burned in his heart.

Soon he walked out of the trading company, turned to look at the girl with the swollen face, and squinted: “Who is that?”

“Senior Brother, I really don’t know him…” Trembling, Xue Qin quickly said.

“That lame youth!” the gray-clad youth said.

“He, he…” Xue Qin’s face turned pale. She hurriedly explained: “He… and I have a betrothal, arranged by the elders in the clan when we were still in the womb… There’s nothing between us, and we’ve only met a few times!”

“You should know why you were accepted as a menial disciple.”

The gray-clad youth snorted, expressionless: “Inner disciples focus only on cultivation and need someone to attend to their daily needs. You have decent looks, are still a virgin, and have fair cultivation. You were brought into the Sword Pavilion to serve—even to be a concubine!”

“I know…” Xue Qin lowered her head.

“Good that you know!”

Waving his hand, the gray-clad youth turned and walked toward a nearby carriage, stepped inside, and then a voice devoid of emotion came from within: “Handle this matter properly. Don’t let it spread to the Sword Pavilion! Also, that fellow wrapped in bandages—I want to know his background and identity by tonight! In three days, Elder Lu Yun will pass through here. I don’t want any unnecessary complications!”

“Yes…”

Her head bowed to her chest, Xue Qin dared not even breathe loudly.

Clop clop clop!

The carriage drove away.

Only then did Xue Qin feel her back drenched in sweat. She looked again at the Hongyan Trading Company, a fierce murderous intent flashing in her eyes.

“Go back and tell the teacher—we strike tonight!”

The youths behind her nodded in unison: “Yes!”

…

“Thank you, Teacher…”

Seeing Xue Qin, who had insulted him several times, slapped black and blue and speechless on the spot, Shan Xiaotian knew the teacher had done it for him and was filled with gratitude.

“Since you are my student, I naturally won’t let you suffer injustice!”

Zhang Xuan smiled slightly: “Alright, find a quiet room for your teacher. I want to try out this Divine Communication Jade Talisman.”

“Yes!”

Nodding, Shan Xiaotian found the middle-aged man from before, and before long, a quiet chamber was arranged.

Entering the room, Zhang Xuan looked around and saw that it was surrounded by formations, very quiet. Satisfied, he nodded, took out the jade talisman, and held it in his palm.

“Teacher, I’ve heard that this kind of Divine Communication Jade Talisman requires specific steps to enter, and fully activating it costs a great deal…”

Before Shan Xiaotian could finish, he saw the teacher tap the jade token a few times, and then—*hum!*—the token blazed with dazzling light.

Fully activated!

Then a drop of blood emerged, touched the light, and instantly turned into special patterns that imprinted into his brow in the blink of an eye.

Shan Xiaotian was stunned.

According to what he knew, activating a Divine Communication Jade Talisman required not only special steps but also countless Divine Communication Coins, and even the help of an expert. He never expected the teacher to complete activation and binding in one go, as if he had done it many times before.

Ignoring his shock, Zhang Xuan carefully sensed the patterns entering his brow. Confirming there was no harm, he relaxed his mind completely.

Whoosh!

The next moment, his consciousness seemed to leave his body and enter a special space.

“This…”

Looking down, the body before him was both illusory and seemingly real, giving an indescribable feeling.

“Welcome to the Divine Communication Hall!”

Just as he was wondering, a faint voice sounded in the air.

“This voice…”

Frowning, Zhang Xuan’s body stiffened.

He had heard this voice before!

“It’s Teacher Kong!”

Teacher Kong’s voice!

Although he knew Teacher Kong must have come to the Upper Firmament, he never dreamed that he would be connected to the Divine Communication Hall, one of the most powerful forces in the entire Upper Firmament!

Could it be… that the Divine Communication Hall was founded by Teacher Kong?

“Shan Xiaotian said the Divine Communication Hall was founded by a super-strong expert several thousand years ago, but… Teacher Kong left the Master Teacher Continent tens of thousands of years ago…” Stunned, Zhang Xuan’s brows suddenly jumped: “Could it be… that the time flow in the Upper Firmament is different from the Master Teacher Continent?”

He had been unconscious since arriving, then woke up to face many things, and had never experienced the actual time flow of the Upper Firmament.

Thinking about it, the time flow here was indeed completely different from the Master Teacher Continent.

As these thoughts flowed through his mind, the voice just now sounded again: “I founded the Divine Communication Hall solely for cultivators to communicate better. Here, you can change your appearance and aura at will, without fear of being discovered. As long as you pay the appropriate price, you can learn the techniques you desire, without worrying that anyone will know your true identity.”

“Inside the Divine Communication Jade Talisman, every entrant has the same power, the same level. There is no high or low, noble or base. All can communicate equally—true equality for all beings. No need to worry about differences in status or strength…”

“…That is all I have to say. Go, purchase and trade for the items you desire!”

The voice ended.

After hearing this, Zhang Xuan was certain.

Only Teacher Kong could have such breadth of mind and vision—equality for all, every person a dragon!

He had thought that after tens of thousands of years, arriving in the Upper Firmament and finding news of him would take who knows how long. Unexpectedly, a single Divine Communication Jade Talisman revealed it.

Suppressing the excitement in his heart, Zhang Xuan carefully recalled Teacher Kong’s words. A flash of inspiration struck, and a strange thought abruptly emerged in his mind.

“Equal communication, disregarding name and strength—isn’t this… a more advanced version of online chat and online shopping?”