"Sigh, I thought that it would be a challenge …"
After leaving the Heart Tempering Bridge, Zhang Xuan sighed deeply.
He had thought that the bridge would be as difficult to cross as the other party had said, testing one's state of mind. However, only after crossing it did he realize that … that wasn't the case at all. He didn't feel anything at all, and there wasn't even the slightest ripple in his mind.
He had entered the Trial of Inner Demons, but his inner demons hadn't come out. He had crossed the Heart Tempering Bridge, but he didn't feel anything at all. He couldn't even temper his state of mind …
Shaking his head in pity, Zhang Xuan walked over to the room where Wu Shi had spoken earlier, knocked on the door, and walked in.
Upon entering, he saw Wu Shi sitting at the center of the room with a livid face.
"What happened?" Zhang Xuan asked in bewilderment.
He was still so happy when he parted with Zhang Xuan, so why did he end up in such a state?
Hearing Zhang Xuan's question, Wu Shi rubbed his glabella and said, "Those two are from the Qingyuan Empire. They said that they were under His Majesty's orders to take Zhong Qingwang away, but I chased them out!"
"You want to take Zhong Qingwang away?" Zhang Xuan frowned. "Is His Majesty unaware of the crime of framing a master teacher?"
While he wasn't a Qingyuan Empire master teacher, and he hadn't reached Seven Star yet, he was still the principal of the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy, and he had more than a hundred thousand master teachers standing behind him. Yet, the other party had been captured for framing him, and yet, Zhang Xuan was intending to take Zhong Qingwang away without even interrogating him. Wasn't His Majesty thinking too highly of himself?
If Zhang Xuan were to be taken away so easily, what would become of Mingshi Tang's reputation?
"I'll send someone to explain the matter as soon as Zhong Qingwang is captured," Wu Shi said.
Zhong Qingwang was the Number One King of the Qingyuan Empire, and Mingshi Tang had mobilized all of his forces to capture him. If Zhang Xuan didn't inform Zhong Qingwang of the matter beforehand, it would surely cause a huge uproar.
"We've already made things clear, but His Majesty still insists on coming here to demand for the young man. Isn't he being a little too bold?" Zhang Xuan was perplexed.
For a King to find a Vice Hall Master of the Poison Temple, he came over to cause trouble for him. As the emperor of the Qingyuan Empire, knowing that he would offend Mingshi Tang, he still insisted on coming over to ask for Zhang Xuan back. Just what was going through the minds of the nobles of the Qingyuan Empire?
Didn't they know that even the royal family of a conferred empire would be destroyed in an instant after losing the protection of Mingshi Tang?
"I'm not too sure either. However, I feel that the root of the problem lies with Temple Master Tian …"
Wu Shi was also puzzled and shook his head.
Mingshi Tang was a Vice Hall Master who was in charge of authority. It was clearly an unwise move for Mingshi Tang and a Prince to frame a master teacher without investigating the matter thoroughly. Honestly speaking, even Wu Shi felt that this was a foolish move.
Of course, the reason why they were fine was because they had arrived in time. Otherwise, if they had been caught, they would have been like fish on the chopping board. Once the other party resorted to underhanded means, they might not be able to clear their names.
Zhang Xuan had seen plenty of such incidents in the past.
While it was difficult to clear one's name, framing the other party wasn't too difficult. Not to mention, the two most influential figures in the Qingyuan Empire were working together.
"Un." Zhang Xuan nodded. Just as he was about to share his deduction with Zhang Xuan, a knock suddenly sounded on the door. Following which, a master teacher walked in.
"Teacher, Emperor Chu Tianxing of the Qingyuan Empire requests an audience with you!"
"He's here so quickly? Send him in! "
Frowning, Wu shi waved his hand.
Less than five minutes after he sent the envoy away, the latter came to pay a visit personally. From the looks of it, he had been waiting outside all this while.
The master teacher backed away, and not too long later, a middle-aged man dressed in a yellow robe walked in with widened strides.
Just like Wu Shi, this middle-aged man was also a Half-Leaving Aperture realm expert. His eyes carried an aura reminiscent of a tiger's or a dragon's. With just a look, it was clear that this was the unique disposition that he had developed after living in a high position for many years.
"Wu Shi!"
As soon as he entered, he clasped his fist respectfully.
Even though he was the emperor of the Qingyuan Empire, his standing was still slightly beneath that of Mingshi Tang's Vice Pavilion Master Wu Shi.
"Un. Take a seat."
Wu Shi nodded. "If Your Majesty is here to take Zhong Qingwang away, I'll have to ask you to keep your mouth shut. Framing a master teacher is a heinous crime, and I have already reported this matter to the headquarters. Not only him, the entire Qingyuan Empire will be investigated. I hope that you can reconsider your decision! "
Even though his words weren't harsh, they carried an air of indifference, as if he was going by the book.
As soon as he spoke, he sealed the words that the other party was about to say.
"It is indeed heartbreaking for Zhong Qingwang to do such a thing, but Wu Shi also knows that if not for him, I would have been dead by now. Thus, no matter what he has done, I am willing to compensate him for it. I beseech Mingshi Tang to give me a chance. I will personally apologize to the victim, Zhang Shi, later on and beg for his forgiveness! "
Instead of sitting down, Chu Tianxing clasped his fist earnestly.
"Apologize? If an apology is useful, what use would our Mingshi Tang have? "Wu Shi waved his hand." Send him off! "
"Yes!" The master teacher who had led the emperor in nodded. "Your Majesty, this way please!"
"This …" Chu Tianxing's face turned awkward.
He wanted to say something, but seeing that the other party wasn't going to give him a chance at all, he could only sigh deeply. Just as he was about to leave the room, a calm voice suddenly sounded.
"Wu Shi, don't chase him away yet. Doesn't he want to compensate us? Let me hear how much compensation he can offer to Zhong Qingwang! "
Turning around, the one who had spoken was a young man in his twenties. He was dressed in the robe of a 6-star master teacher, and he was seated on a guest seat not too far away from Wu Shi.
He was no other than Zhang Xuan.
"Zhang Shi …"
Not expecting Zhang Xuan to say such words, Wu shi stared at him in bewilderment. Eventually, he could only nod and say, "Since Zhang shi has said so, why don't you tell us how you intend to compensate us?"
"Zhang Shi?"
Chu Tianxing immediately understood what was going on. He quickly walked up to Zhang Shi and bowed deeply. "Zhong Qingwang was blind to have offended Master Teacher Zhang Shi. If Master Zhang Shi is willing to forgive me, I'm willing to build a new residence for the students of the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy and provide 100 years of cultivation resources unconditionally. On top of that, from today onward, any student of the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy will be able to claim a cultivation technique manual and a monetary gift when they visit Qingyuan City.
Knowing that the person before him was President Zhang, Chu Tianxing immediately stated his conditions.
As expected of the emperor, he knew what conditions the other party couldn't refuse.
Since he was the dean, he definitely had to consider for the sake of the students. This condition could be said to be very generous.
With the support of a Conferred Empire, it was only a matter of time before Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy rose to the top of the Four Great Master Teacher Academies.
"That's not enough!"
Zhang Xuan shook his head.
"This …" Chu Tianxing was taken aback. "I'll have to ask President Zhang Shi for your words. As long as our royal family can afford it, we won't even bat an eyelid!"
"Simple. Add on a hundred concentrated high-tier spirit stones on top of the previous condition. You can take Zhong Qingwang with you, "Zhang Xuan said.
He was in dire need of cultivation resources at the moment, so if he could obtain them from the other party, it would definitely be much better than holding a King hostage.
In any case, it would only take him an instant to kill that fellow.
"A hundred concentrated high-tier spirit stones?" Chu Tianxing was taken aback for a moment before a bitter smile surfaced on his face. "Zhang Shi, you must be jesting. Even if our royal family were to sell everything we have, we still wouldn't be able to fork out that many concentrated high-tier spirit stones …"
Concentrated high-tier spirit stones were extremely rare in the first place, such that even the Combat Master Hall, which had an abundance of resources, only had around ten of them. No matter how powerful the Qingyuan royal family was, there was no way they could fork out ten times the amount of concentrated high-tier spirit stones at once.
"Very well, I'll give you a break then. Fifty concentrated high-tier spirit stones! Bring them over and take Zhong Qingwang with you. If you can't bring them over, I'll have to ask you to leave! "Zhang Xuan waved his hand.
He knew that the other party would not be able to fork out a hundred concentrated high-tier spirit stones, so he was just asking for a ridiculous price.
"This …"
Chu Tianxing's lips twitched upon hearing those words.
Fifty high-grade Concentrated Spirit Stones wasn't something he could afford.
"Zhang Shi, I'll be honest with you. Our Qingyuan royal family has been accumulating resources for over ten thousand years, but we only have seventeen concentrated high-tier spirit stones in total. We used to have quite a few of them, but most of them have been given to the princes and officials who have contributed greatly to the royal family. How about I give these seventeen concentrated high-tier spirit stones to you and replace the rest with rare medicinal herbs and ores?"
Chu Tianxing hesitated for a moment before replying.
It was impossible for him to fork out fifty concentrated high-tier spirit stones, but as long as the other party was willing, he would be able to take out quite a few of them.
"Sure. Here is a list of the ores and medicinal herbs that I need. If you can gather all of them, seventeen concentrated high-tier spirit stones won't be a problem. On top of that, I also want all of the Saint 3-dan and Saint 4-dan cultivation technique manuals you have in your royal collection vault. Make a copy of them for me! "
Taking out a brush, Chu Tianxing casually wrote down a list. Zhang Xuan.
He was intending to raise the cultivation of Jin Yuan Ding and the Glacier Rain Sword when the opportunity presented itself. While he had the main materials, he was still lacking quite a few supplementary items. If he were to rely on Zhang Xuan's help, who knew how long it would take him?
"Alright."
Chu Tianxing took the list and browsed through it. Even though some of the items were rare, given the strength of a Conferred Empire, he should be able to gather all of them within a short period of time. Chu Tianxing nodded. He flicked his wrist and passed the concentrated high-tier spirit stones over.
"Here are seventeen concentrated high-tier spirit stones. Please take a look, Zhang Shi!"
With a quick scan of his Spiritual Perception, Zhang Xuan could tell that Chu Tianxing wasn't lying. Thus, he nodded before stowing them into his storage ring.
"As for the rest, I'll have Zhang Shi and Wu Shi wait for a moment!"
After saying those words, Chu Tianxing turned around and instructed.
As expected of the emperor of the Qingyuan Empire, he moved swiftly. In less than four hours, he had already gathered all of the ores and medicinal herbs that Zhang Xuan had requested.
In fact, he had even made a copy of the books that he had requested.
Most of the books that he hadn't had the time to make a copy had been taken over. All in all, there were several hundred thousand Saint 3-dan books and over ten thousand Saint 4-dan books.
After stowing all of these items into his storage ring, Zhang Xuan nodded in satisfaction. "Alright, you can take Zhong Qingwang away now!"
"Thank you, Zhang Shi!"
Heaving a sigh of relief, Chu Tianxing hurriedly turned to Wu Shi, and after seeing the latter nod in agreement to Zhang Shi's words, he followed behind a master teacher and headed to where Zhong Qingwang was imprisoned.
"Zhang Shi …"
As soon as the other party left, Wu Shi turned to look at Zhang Xuan with a perplexed expression, wondering what he was up to.
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