Chapter 2070: Master Kong and Zhang Xuan Meet

The wind roared in his ears, and Zhang Xuan felt the scenes before him jumping incessantly, the familiar sights visibly retreating at great speed.

"Such speed..."

Startled, Zhang Xuan narrowed his eyes.

The man not far away, carrying someone, was still several times faster than him.

"Even the most顶尖 pseudo-gods couldn't be this fast... Could he be a deity?"

Earlier, the pseudo-god he had forced to self-destruct in the waters near Star-chasing Island was presumably at the peak, but compared to this man, he was still far inferior.

As he wondered, the other's voice sounded in his ear.

"I have not yet reached the deity realm. The reason for my speed is the Ethereal Boots!"

The speaker was the very man who had just rescued him.

"Ethereal Boots?" Zhang Xuan looked down and indeed saw a golden boot on the man's foot, constantly emitting a special power that allowed him to cross tens of kilometers in a single step, as if teleporting.

"The supreme treasure of the Ethereal Immortal Sect... Could you be..."

Thinking of a certain person, Zhang Xuan's body stiffened.

Only he, perhaps, could make even the Library unable to see through him.

"We'll talk later. The Heavenly Bridge has been retracted early. If we don't hurry, we might both die here..."

The figure laughed heartily, not answering, but looking ahead with a grave expression.

"Retracted early?"

Zhang Xuan looked down and indeed saw something amiss: the bridge beneath them was slowly retracting toward the divine hall. Shocked, he asked in confusion, "Isn't the Heavenly Bridge supposed to appear for a day? Why is it being retracted so soon?"

According to past patterns, the Heavenly Bridge normally appeared for a full day, that is, twelve hours.

He had entered the divine hall in less than seven hours and stayed there for less than half an hour. How could it be retracting already?

Could it be that the appearance and disappearance of the Heavenly Bridge were not fixed, but could be altered at will by the hall master?

"It has already been a day..."

The figure smiled bitterly. "The flow of time in the divine hall differs from the outside world, with a ratio of ten to one. Didn't you notice?"

"Ten to one?"

As soon as he entered the divine hall, he had been ambushed by pseudo-god realm experts, leaving no time to investigate. Then he was captured and sent to the altar... Recalling carefully, it seemed the flow of time in the hall was indeed somewhat different from the outside.

Ten to one...

That was the same as the time flow between the Upper Firmament and the Master Teacher Continent.

"It is said that the time ratio between the Divine Realm and the Abandoned Continent is also ten to one! The divine hall matches that," the figure said.

"I see..."

Zhang Xuan nodded.

He had spent nearly half an hour in the divine hall fighting and performing the sacrifice. With a ten-to-one time flow, that was close to five hours. Calculated that way, the Heavenly Bridge's one day was indeed almost up.

"Alright, shield yourself with immortal energy. I'm going to perform a spatial jump..."

Seeing that he understood, the figure said no more, smiled faintly, and stamped his foot.

His speed instantly reached its limit, and the space before them became grotesque.

Rip!

Space tore open, and Zhang Xuan felt immense pressure crushing him from all sides, threatening to squeeze him into pieces.

Crack!

His body was compressed into a meat patty, but with a thought, he quickly recovered.

Whoosh!

The crushing pressure vanished. Zhang Xuan gasped for breath and realized he had left the Heavenly Bridge, now appearing in a vast, mist-shrouded palace.

"Where is this?"

Standing upright, Zhang Xuan asked in confusion.

He could tell that although they were still in the Upper Firmament, they were not in any part of the Abandoned Continent. It was as if they had jumped out of the continent and ocean, into a folded space.

"This is the headquarters of the Divine Hall of Passage..."

Smiling, the figure turned around.

Only then did Zhang Xuan get a clear look at his face. It was exactly the same as the one enshrined in the Master Teacher Hall on the Master Teacher Continent: a tall figure, three wisps of beard, and a brow filled with compassion for the world.

"Your junior, Zhang Xuan, pays respects to Master Kong!"

Shaken, Zhang Xuan knelt down.

He had guessed earlier, but now seeing the face and sensing the aura, he confirmed it.

It was none other than the founder of the Master Teacher Hall, the eternal teacher who single-handedly drove away the alien race and saved countless humans!

He had seen his soul imprint many times, but this was the first time he met the real person.

He was even more amiable than imagined, giving a warm feeling.

"Rise!"

With a smile, Master Kong reached out to help him up and looked at him: "How is the Hall of Masters?"

"It's fine, everything follows the rules you left behind, with the mission of protecting humanity..."

Zhang Xuan recounted the situation of the Hall of Masters in detail.

"Hmm!" Master Kong stroked his beard: "Only by uniting can humanity contend with other races and stand at the pinnacle of the world! The purpose of my founding the Hall of Masters was to make everyone a dragon. Now it seems I have not been disappointed!"

Making everyone a dragon is extremely difficult.

But the Hall of Masters, spreading knowledge and resolving doubts, teaching without discrimination, as long as it exists, one day humanity will grow stronger.

"Yes, the Spirit Race has now obediently returned to the ancient battlefield and will not come out again..."

Zhang Xuan also recounted the situation of the Spirit Race in detail.

After listening, Master Kong smiled slightly and looked at him: "Have you noticed that the people of Star Chasing Island and the Spirit Race are very similar?"

"Yes," Zhang Xuan did not deny it.

He had noticed this as soon as he arrived at Star Chasing Palace.

Master Kong said: "In fact, the Spirit Race and the people of Star Chasing Island share the same origin... both are abandoned gods."

"Abandoned gods?" Zhang Xuan frowned: "Don't the sects like Lingyun Sword Pavilion say they are abandoned gods?"

The cultivators under the jurisdiction of the five great sects all claimed to be abandoned gods, and the people of Star Chasing Island were natives. How could it be reversed in Master Kong's words?

Master Kong smiled: "The five great sects merely gave themselves a good origin! If they were abandoned gods, why can only Star Chasing Palace communicate with the divine realm through sacrifices, while they cannot?"

"This..."

Zhang Xuan was startled.

He had never thought about this before. Now that it was mentioned, it did make sense.

If the lives of the five great sects were abandoned gods, why couldn't they communicate with the divine realm, while Star Chasing Palace, which they called natives, could?

Master Kong shook his head: "Everyone wants a better origin. Over time, falsehoods become truths, and truths become falsehoods. Truth and falsehood—who can distinguish them clearly!"

Zhang Xuan fell silent.

Whoever wins the world will propagate the divine right of kings, embellishing themselves with various bizarre myths to show they are the true sons of heaven.

The Abandoned Continent was the same.

The five great sects boasted of being abandoned gods, and over time, later generations believed it.

Instead, the truly abandoned gods became the 'natives' in their mouths...

"Since they are gods, why do they have such strong killing intent..."

Understanding this, Zhang Xuan did not dwell on the issue but asked doubtfully.

Who was orthodox did not matter to him, as he belonged to neither side, merely a passerby in the heavens!

"It should be related to the divine realm... that is beyond our discussion!"

Master Kong shook his head.

"Yes!" Zhang Xuan stopped asking and looked at him again: "There is something else I don't understand, and I hope Master Kong can help clarify."

"Please speak!"

"Master Kong... you have been in the heavens for thousands of years. Haven't you ever broken through space and entered the divine realm?"

This was what puzzled him most.

Master Kong's talent and ability were many times greater than his own.

He himself had been here less than a month and was only one step away from being a false god, about to break through at any moment. How could this teacher of all ages still be stuck here, unable to leave?

"The divine realm... is not as simple as you imagine! Moreover, back then... I alone stormed the divine temple and fought with the gods. Although I won the character 'god' for the Tongtian Temple, I was severely injured and slept until recently before waking up!"

Pausing, Master Kong seemed reluctant to speak more about the past.

"If it's inconvenient to elaborate, I won't ask..." Zhang Xuan continued: "Master Kong, you once gave me a token that could purchase anything in the Tongtian Temple. Why, when I used it, did I get besieged by the temple's experts?"

This was the biggest grievance in his heart.

If he didn't clarify, even though this was the Master Kong he admired, he couldn't trust him completely.

"Regarding this matter, it was my oversight..."

Looking at him, Master Kong showed an apologetic expression: "I slept for too long. The Tongtian Temple has been operating for thousands of years and has long been infiltrated by the divine temple. Many people have already defected to the divine temple, though it's undetectable on the surface! The token I gave you was made by a trusted subordinate of mine. I never expected he was already a person of the divine temple! After learning of this, I had him executed. These days, I have been investigating the traitors within the Tongtian Temple, which is why I didn't come to see you. Otherwise, knowing you came from the Master Continent, I would have come long ago!"

Zhang Xuan understood.

It seemed, as he had guessed earlier, the other party had also been kept in the dark.

"Now that you are the leader of four major sects, you must know about my borrowing of the treasures of Xuanjing Sect and Piaomiao Immortal Sect!" Master Kong said.

Zhang Xuan nodded.

"I borrowed these treasures with my own plans, intending to break the rule of the divine temple once and for all! It was not for personal gain. For instance, the Piaomiao Boots I am wearing now—without them, I could not have saved you from the divine temple! The six great sects' ultimate treasures, though not even reaching the false god level, contain the will of countless lives over thousands of years, with extraordinary power."

Master Kong explained.

Zhang Xuan was enlightened.

So it turned out everything was a misunderstanding.

Master Kong was still the selfless Master Kong, the model for all ages.

"You should now know what you wanted to know. Now I have something to tell you!"

Seeing that he had no more questions, Master Kong looked at him gravely, waved his hand to activate the surrounding formations, completely sealing off the aura: "Do you know... you are now in great danger, and your life is short!"