Chapter 286: Heavenly Martial King City

The Heavenly Martial Kingdom spanned tens of thousands of kilometers in diameter, vast and expansive.

Because it was home to a two-star master teacher, it was rated as a first-class kingdom.

Twelve kingdoms—Heavenly Mystery, Northern Martial, Cold Martial, North Star, Qian Yuan, An Yuan, Bai Li, and others—bordered it, making Heavenly Martial King City a cultivation and trade center for hundreds of thousands of kilometers, a sacred land everyone yearned for.

Princess Mo Yu had long since departed on her Azure Eagle Beast. With only him on the broad back of the Howling Heaven Beast, Zhang Xuan enjoyed the leisure, studying the knowledge in the library while consolidating his cultivation and summarizing his current situation.

"As my cultivation increases, the effect of the Heaven's Path Golden Body is no longer significant..."

The Heaven's Path Golden Body had been highly useful at the Tongxuan realm, allowing him to surpass many of the same level, but once he reached Half-Step Grandmaster, it became insignificant. Upon entering the Grandmaster realm, its effect would be even smaller.

It would almost amount to nothing.

It seemed he needed to find some physical cultivation techniques to continue training.

As for the Heaven's Path Fist, Leg Technique, Movement Technique... though simple, their power was not negligible. It seemed they would not become obsolete before the Sovereign realm, so there was no rush to find secret manuals.

"This time, going to Heavenly Martial King City, the first thing is to take the master teacher examination. Only by becoming a master teacher can I gain status, enter the Master Teacher Hall, and look up records about Confucius..."

On the way here, he had specially written content on blank books and tested it with the Heaven's Path Library. This Celestial Master Confucius, like him, had been afflicted with congenital fetal poison and had ultimately succeeded in resolving it.

In other words, this so-called congenital fetal poison was not incurable; it was just that with his current level, he had not yet found the correct method.

Testing this result put him somewhat at ease, but he was also full of doubts. His previous self was just an orphan—how could he warrant the personal attention of an eight-star or nine-star poison master?

Could he have some extraordinary background?

Though curious, he did not dwell on it. Setting aside the fact that his predecessor was merely an abandoned orphan, even he himself, as a transmigrator, did not wish for suddenly appearing parents, aunts, and such.

Rather than adding unnecessary trouble, it was better to ignore it.

After all, with the Heaven's Path Library in hand, as his cultivation increased, there was nowhere in the vast world he could not go!

After traveling for nearly two days, as the sun was about to set in the west, a majestic city appeared before him, bathed in fiery red sunset glow like a vast mountain range, layer upon layer stretching far beyond sight, with no end in view.

This city was dozens of times larger than Heavenly Mystery King City, with buildings of all kinds standing in close array, magnificent and beautiful. Contrasted with the ancient city walls tens of meters high, it gave a sense of the vicissitudes of time.

Looking down from high above, the city's streets radiated in all directions, bustling with people like shuttles, various carriages and horses streaming in and out endlessly—a perfect picture.

As the trading center of thirteen kingdoms, this Heavenly Martial King City was indeed grand and imposing, incomparable to any city he had seen before.

"Let's go down!"

Knowing that such a large city would certainly have restrictions on large savage beasts like the Howling Heaven Beast, Zhang Xuan did not seek trouble. He landed before reaching it, letting the beast roam freely in the mountains, while he strode toward the majestic city before him.

"Please hold! Entering the city requires paying an entry fee!"

Arriving at the city gate, he was stopped by a squad of soldiers.

"Entry fee?"

Looking around, he noticed that everyone entering the city had to pay a certain fee. Without such a restriction, Heavenly Martial King City would surely expand further, and even the Heavenly Martial royal family would be unable to control it.

"That's right. Unless you are a master teacher or an apprentice, even if you are a master or grandmaster of another profession, you must pay!"

A soldier said.

Master teachers are the foundation of the world's progress, held in high esteem, and receive special treatment everywhere—a privilege no other profession enjoys.

"Alright, why waste so many words with him? At his age, how could he be a master teacher or apprentice?"

"Exactly, hurry up! Others are waiting behind!"

Seeing him dawdling, the other two soldiers grew impatient, and the people queuing behind to enter the city also urged him on.

What's the point of pretending?

Heavenly Martial King City had charged entry fees for thousands of years. Didn't he even know that? Where did this country bumpkin come from?

"How much?"

Ignoring the crowd's stares, Zhang Xuan looked over.

"100 gold coins!" the soldier said.

"100?" Zhang Xuan was taken aback.

As a teacher at Hongtian Academy, he earned only one or two thousand gold coins a month. Here, entering the city cost a hundred—truly exorbitant.

"That's right!"

Seeing his astonished, inexperienced look, the soldier's face showed disdain.

Making such a fuss over a hundred gold coins—clearly a poor wretch.

"I don't have the money..."

Zhang Xuan shook his head.

Hearing this, the soldier's face took on an expression of 'I knew you'd say that,' and he barked, "If you don't have money, don't block the way. Dreaming of entering the city?"

But before he finished, he saw the annoying fellow produce a token in his palm, and with a delighted look, ask, "With this, I don't have to pay, right..."

"Nothing would work... Ah? A master teacher apprentice identity token..."

Halfway through his words, he recognized the token in the other's hand. The soldier's body trembled, and his words stuck in his throat. He almost cried.

"Master teacher apprentice?"

The soldiers who had been cursing also saw the token, their brows twitching and faces turning pale.

They had thought he was a country bumpkin, but he turned out to be a formidable figure.

Brother, since you're a master teacher apprentice, just go straight in. Why ask about the entry fee and put on airs? Are you deliberately making things difficult for us?

"Please enter..."

Suppressing their frustration, the soldiers quickly made way, no longer daring to block him.

Harassing a master teacher apprentice—if the royal family found out, they would lose not only their positions but possibly their lives.

Seeing that the token given by Teacher Liu and the others indeed allowed him entry, Zhang Xuan nodded with satisfaction. "Didn't expect this thing to be so useful. Saved a hundred gold coins just like that..."

"..." The soldiers.

They had seen stingy people, but never this stingy.

A dignified master teacher apprentice, respected wherever he goes, happy to save a hundred gold coins...

Do you even deserve such a noble status?

Ignoring the frustrated soldiers, Zhang Xuan walked through the city gate.

Though his storage ring now held tens of millions of gold coins, he still had a peasant mentality at heart—save every bit he could. As for others' opinions...

None of my business!

...

The city streets were wide, with vendors hawking everywhere and shops lining both sides. Under the setting sun's glow, the tall buildings reflected light, giving a warm feeling.

"As expected of Heavenly Martial King City—even a random stall sells goods far superior to those in Heavenly Mystery Kingdom!"

Strolling along the street, looking at the various wares, Zhang Xuan couldn't help but marvel.

At this moment, he felt like Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden, full of novelty at many things.

Though he had seen many items in books, seeing them in person gave a different feeling.

"Are you also a master teacher apprentice?"

As he looked around, a voice sounded. Turning his head, he saw a young woman in her twenties standing not far away, looking at him with a puzzled expression.

The woman wore a light green robe. She wasn't particularly pretty, far inferior to Shen Biru and the others, but she was still pleasant to look at, considered a beauty.

Beside her was an old man, clearly a guard, with a deep aura and occasional flashes of lightning in his eyes—a Grandmaster realm expert.

A Grandmaster as a guard—this woman must have a high status.

"Mm."

He responded, recognizing that the two had been behind him when entering the city gate. They had seen him show his apprentice token and had caught up to ask.

"I am too!"

With a laugh, the woman flipped her hand, and a token appeared in her palm.

She was also a master teacher apprentice.

"Impressive!" Zhang Xuan exclaimed.

In Heavenly Mystery Kingdom, even someone as outstanding as Lu Xun found it hard to become an apprentice. Here, he met a woman at random who was one—showing the gap.

Hearing his praise, the woman looked pleased. Her attitude toward the young man before her improved noticeably. "I am apprenticed to one-star master teacher Cheng Xuan. Whom do you study under?"

"My teacher isn't famous. Even if I told you, you wouldn't know, so I'd rather not say!" Zhang Xuan shook his head.

He had no teacher at all; this apprentice token was given by Teacher Liu and the others, so he had to fudge it.

Seeing he wouldn't say, the woman didn't press further but looked at him with slight curiosity. "Coming to the king city at this time... are you also here for the [Q&A Session]?"

"Q&A Session?" Zhang Xuan was startled. "What's that?"

"You don't know?" The woman looked at him as if he were a freak. "The Q&A Session is the final step in the master teacher examination. Only by passing the Q&A can one become a true master teacher. Since you're an apprentice, how can you not know this?"

Zhang Xuan was utterly confused.

He had obtained his apprentice token by posing as an apprentice of 'Teacher Yang,' and knew nothing about the master teacher examination process. Teacher Liu and the others had only mentioned the qualifications, not the details, so he had no idea there was a Q&A.

"Yes!" Nodding, the woman hesitated for a moment, then suddenly understood. "I see—you've only recently become an apprentice! As a new apprentice, you still have a long way to go before taking the actual master teacher exam, so naturally you don't know much about the process!"

Zhang Xuan nodded.

Not to mention that he had been an apprentice for only a short time; he had been in this world for less than two months.

Moreover, Heavenly Mystery Kingdom had no master teachers, not even books about them. How could he possibly know the process?

"Don't worry if you've just become an apprentice. Study hard, and as long as you pass the exam within ten years, it's enough to bring glory to your ancestors!"

Hearing that he was a new apprentice, the woman's attitude warmed further. "After all, we don't have the talent of Princess Mo Yu, who passed the master teacher exam at just twenty-two!"

Speaking of Princess Mo Yu, her eyes lit up with intense admiration.