Noticing the bewilderment in the crowd's eyes, Vice Principal Ji Yan smiled bitterly and said, "You will understand once you follow me."
Following behind him, they walked through the mist for a moment before finally arriving at a room.
The room was filled with grade-7 pinnacle seals and traps. It seemed like even an expert of the Skyleaf King's caliber would be torn to shreds if he were to fall into them.
Upon seeing this sight, Zhang Xuan nodded in agreement.
It seemed like even though the Skyleaf King had been trapped here as well, the Skyleaf King clearly had the upper hand. The old principal and the others were no match for him, so they could only hide here to preserve their lives. Most likely, these formations and traps were meant to prevent the Skyleaf King from ambushing them.
Pushing the door open, they walked in. The room was only a dozen square meters in size. Not only was it narrow, there were no windows, only a single Night Illumination Pearl illuminating the surroundings.
By the side of the room, there was a person leaning against the wall. His legs were missing, and one of his arms was missing. However, upon seeing the group, he immediately flew up with a look of disbelief in his eyes.
"Vice Principal Ji, these are …"
There were only a few of them in the Saint Ascension Hall, so it was only natural that they would be agitated to see such a sight.
"Vice Principal Tan, Wu Shi and the others from Qingyuan Empire found this place," Vice Principal Ji Yan explained.
"Vice Principal Tan? You are Vice Principal Tan Qing? "Zhang Xuan was taken aback for a moment before recalling a person.
Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy had a total of four vice principals, and Mu Renxu, Vice Principal Ji Yan, and Tan Qing were three of them.
"That's me …" Tan Qing nodded. Then, he turned to Vice Principal Ji Yan and asked, "May I know the names of these master teachers?"
"This … I saw them being pursued by the Skyleaf King earlier, so I saved them. As for their names, I haven't had the time to ask for them yet …" Vice Principal Ji Yan replied.
Due to the crisis earlier, he didn't have the time to explain the details. As such, he only knew Wu Shi. As for the other three, he wasn't too familiar with them.
"This is the new principal of Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy, Zhang Xuan, Zhang Shi. That is Lozosy, Luo shi, and that is the head of the Qingyuan Empire Formation Master Guild, President Han Xu!" Wu Shi introduced them.
"The new principal?"
Upon hearing the introduction, the duo immediately turned their gazes over and frowned.
Even if they hadn't been able to request permission from the headquarters in time due to the urgent situation they were in, the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy was still one of the Four Great Master Teacher Academies. How could a young Nascent Saint cultivator be appointed as the principal?
You must be joking!
Seeing the expressions on the duo's face, Wu shi could tell what they were thinking, and he hurriedly explained, "Principal Zhang might be young, but he possesses extraordinary strength. It's all thanks to him that we were able to find this place!"
To be honest, Zhang Xuan was really too young. Even if it was him back then, he would still be suspicious when he suddenly saw him, let alone the two in front of him.
"That's right. How can anyone who can come here be simple?"
Hearing Wu Shi's words, the two of them were stunned for a moment, then they understood.
They had personally experienced the brutality of the Qiu Wu Palace, so they knew just how dangerous it was. Given that the young man was able to walk all the way here from the entrance, there was no doubt that he possessed exceptional talent.
Moreover, Wu Shi had personally spoken.
"Where's Principal Zhang Yinqiu?"
Zhang Xuan frowned and looked over.
Wasn't the old principal still alive? Didn't they say there were less than three people? Why wasn't he here?
"Principal Zhang …" Vice Principal Ji Yan and Tan Qing glanced at one another, and their eyes dimmed. "He's already dead …"
"Dead? Principal Ji, didn't you say that there were less than three people alive? Now, there are only two of them left … "
This time, the one who spoke was President Han. Clearly, he had also heard Vice Principal Ji's words.
If there were only the two of them, he would have just said that there were only two of them. Yet … he had actually said that there were less than three of them. Naturally, there was a reason behind it.
As a Seven Star Master Teacher, there was no way he would make such a slip of the tongue.
"The other one is Principal Zhang Yinqiu. Rather than saying that he's alive, it's no different from being dead … However, he isn't here right now. We'll have to wait for a specific time before bringing you to meet him!"
Vice Principal Ji Yan explained.
"Alive? Dead?" Everyone glanced at one another in confusion. However, judging from Vice Principal Ji Yan's expression, it seemed like he had no intention of explaining the matter, so they decided not to pursue the matter.
After a moment of silence, Wu Shi turned to Vice Principal Ji Yan and asked, "What happened two years ago? Why didn't you report the matter to the headquarter despite knowing that it was dangerous here? "
In truth, he wasn't the only one who was perplexed. Even Zhang Xuan found it hard to believe.
The fact that the old principal had left behind a cenotaph in the Mausoleum of Principals meant that he had already known about the dangers of the Mausoleum of Principals. Since that was the case, he should have reported the matter to the higher-ranked Mingshi Tang Academy. Why would he choose to remain silent and bring so many master teachers with him?
"Actually, it's not that he didn't want to report the matter to the Mingshi Tang Academy, but that time didn't allow for it!"
Vice Principal Ji Yan shook his head with a bitter smile. "Wu Shi is close with Principal Zhang, and he knows that the person whom he admires the most is Elder Wu Yangzi. What he loves to do the most is to investigate the other party's life and deeds … Through his investigations, he managed to uncover some secrets regarding the ancient domain and obtain some useful information. But just as he was about to report the matter to the Mingshi Tang Academy, the news somehow reached the ears of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe. Not only did the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe get their hands on the treasure, they even managed to uncover a deeper secret …
"After that, they learned that the ancient domain was about to open, and they couldn't afford to waste any time. Thus, they gathered all of us in the middle of the night and rushed over!"
After hearing the explanation, Wu Shi frowned. "Zhang Yinqiu has a Communication Jade Token from the headquarters. As long as he sends a message, he should be able to inform them of the situation. It shouldn't take too much time … Why didn't he do it?"
Even if Zhang Yinqiu were to explain the matter regarding the ancient domain in detail, it would only take a dozen breaths. To be able to gather all of them in the middle of the night and rush over … it shouldn't be too difficult for him to send a message!
Why did he say that time didn't allow for it?
"If I'm not mistaken, the news probably didn't reach the ears of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe. Instead … it was scammed! And this liar, was he from the headquarters? Could it be that you are worried about the headquarters? "
Zhang Xuan pondered for a moment before figuring out the crux of the matter.
If they weren't wary of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe, they would have long sent a message to the headquarters.
"This … Zhang Shi's eyes are indeed sharp. He was able to see through the crux of the problem with just a glance …"
Hearing Zhang Xuan's words, Vice Principal Ji Yan and Vice Principal Tan Qing widened their mouths in awe.
To be able to deduce the crux of the matter from such a simple conversation, Zhang Shi's discernment ability was indeed frightening. It was no wonder why he was able to become the principal of the academy.
"Scammed? From the headquarters? "
Wu Shi was stunned for a moment before clenching his fists tightly.
He was a smart person as well, so he immediately figured out what was going on.
Zhang Yinqiu had been scammed by a fake 'master teacher' from the headquarters, so he had been wary of the other party. As such, he didn't know much about the Qingyuan Empire Mingshi Tang Academy, so naturally, he wouldn't dare send a message recklessly.
Perhaps, he had planned to make a trip there personally if he could get out of the ancient domain, but … he didn't manage to return.
"Who is it?" Wu Shi narrowed his eyes.
He knew all of the master teachers in the headquarters, so who could it be?
"We are all trapped here, so there's no point in revealing the truth …" Vice Principal Ji Yan shook his head.
What was the point in revealing the truth?
Since that was the case, he might as well not reveal the truth at all.
"Are we really unable to leave? Are we really going to be trapped here forever? "
President Han asked.
"Un. I believe that all of you should be able to tell that the seal outside is set up by Ancient Sage Qiu Wu himself … Unless we obtain his heritage and decipher the secrets behind the seal, we won't be able to leave!"
Vice Principal Ji Yan shook his head with a bitter smile. At that moment, he suddenly recalled something and asked, "Right, we were caught up in a battle with the Skyleaf King and the others back then, so we had no choice but to flee here. Along the way, you should have found the door to Ancient Sage Qiu Wu's heritage, right? Did you manage to obtain the heritage? "
"This …"
Hearing those words, Wu Shi and the others couldn't help but feel a little awkward.
They had entered the door, met Ancient Sage Qiu Wu's sculpture, and even cleared the trial … but in the end, they didn't manage to obtain the heritage!
It would be hard for the other party to believe such a bizarre matter.
"What's wrong? Could it be that … you didn't see the mark left behind by Principal Zhang? "
Vice Principal Ji Yan couldn't help but ask.
Given how obvious the mark was, they should have been able to notice it easily!
"You were indeed the one who left it behind. Since you know that there's a heritage behind the door, why didn't you enter to take a look?"
This time, it was President Han's turn to be perplexed.
Since they were the ones who had left the door behind, it could be said that they had opened the door and confirmed its location. Since that was the case, why didn't they enter? If they had really entered, the Skyleaf King might have already been killed by the Ancient Sages.
"Back then, we were the first to arrive before the door and activate it … but shortly after we confirmed its location, the Skyleaf King chased after us. The heritage of Ancient Sage Qiu Wu is simply too important. If the Skyleaf King were to obtain it, it could very well spell disaster for the entire human race … We didn't dare to take the risk! Thus, Principal Zhang discreetly left behind a mark on the ground and rushed over. The Skyleaf King has always been a paranoid person, so when he saw the nine doors, he chose not to enter and continue his pursuit. In the end, all of us ended up here … "
Vice Principal Ji Yan swiftly recounted the situation back then.
Even though Vice Principal Ji Yan spoke casually, Zhang Xuan and the others could still deduce how brutal the situation was.
Mu Renxu and the others had died not too far away from the nine doors, and the fact that their corpses hadn't been retrieved showed how dangerous the situation had been.
"After we entered, we were trapped and engaged in several battles. While the Skyleaf King was the only Otherworldly Demon left, most of the master teachers who came with us were also killed … It is fortunate that the terrain here is complex, so we were able to survive. Otherwise, we would have been wiped out long ago …"
Vice Principal Ji Yan sighed.
"I see!"
The others nodded.
They had personally experienced the strength of the Skyleaf King. Even Wu Shi and President Han were no match for him. Back then, they were only at Saint 1-dan pinnacle, so naturally, they wouldn't have stood a chance.
It wasn't easy for them to survive until now.
"Right, you still haven't answered our question. Did you manage to obtain Ancient Sage Qiu Wu's heritage?"
After explaining the matter, Vice Principal Ji Yan turned to Zhang Xuan once more. This matter concerned whether they would be able to leave or not, so he really wanted to know the answer.
"This … Ancient Sage Qiu Wu's will dissipated under Zhang Shi's assault, so he didn't manage to leave behind his heritage!"
After a long moment of hesitation, Wu Shi finally spoke up.
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