Not the right time?
Return?
Zhang Xuan frowned.
This didn't seem like a welcoming gesture but a provocation!
If it was a welcoming gesture, how could the other party send him back?
The master teachers on the other spirit beasts also popped their heads out to see what was going on.
Who would be so audacious as to say such words to Hong Shi's face?
"Feng Yu?"
Hearing those words, Hong Shi frowned.
"Not bad?"
The person on the spirit beast chuckled softly.
At this time, the two sides flew closer. They were about a few hundred meters apart, and they could already see clearly that it was an old man in his fifties. He wore a light golden robe, and three strands of gray beard fluttered in the wind. He looked like an immortal.
"I have come here under the invitation of Mingshi Tang and the Miryu Empire, so naturally, I won't be returning. However, if Brother Feng wishes to return, I can send you off!"
Hong Shi said.
After which, he lowered his voice and introduced the other party.
"This Feng Yu is the head of Fengyuan Empire's Mingshi Tang Pavilion, and I have never seen eye to eye with him. The twenty-eight powers under our Hongfeng Empire are currently conducting a tournament, and they are participating in it as well... "
"Fengyuan Empire? One of the Four Great Vassal States, Fengyuan Empire? "
Zhang Xuan nodded.
Even though he had spent most of his time cultivating on the way here, he would occasionally ask this 5-star master teacher about some matters, and as a result, he came to understand the hierarchy of the Miryu Empire.
The Miryu Empire was a Tier-2 Empire, and it was divided into four Vassal States, namely Hongfeng Empire, Fengyuan Empire, Qianfeng Empire, and Zhuyue Empire.
These four states were conferred to the four brothers who had conquered the empire together with the founding emperor, Ye Huanyu. They were said to be on equal footing with the Miryu Empire, but in truth, they were inferior by a small realm.
The four Vassal States controlled countless smaller countries and powers. For example, the Hongfeng Empire that Hong Shi came from had 28 powers, and they were the League of Nations, Fleeting Cloud Sect, and so on.
The other three vassal states were more or less the same. They all had their own territories and countries.
If he were to use the hierarchy system in his previous world, the Miryu Empire would be a complete country, Hongfeng, Fengyuan, and the other vassal states would be provinces, the 28 factions would be counties, the Xuanyuan Conferred Kingdom would be towns, and the first and second tier kingdoms would be villages, brigades, and units.
Just like Hongfeng Empire, the various Vassal Kingdoms were also participating in the Master Teacher Tournament. Naturally, they were given the opportunity to enter the Cleansing Lake as well.
"Yes! I thought it was the Miryu Empire's imperial family who had come to pick us up. I didn't expect them to have received the news first. We're Mingshi Tang of the same level, so it's inevitable that we'll compete with each other. I'm afraid they're coming with ill intentions. "
Hong Shi frowned.
Zhang Xuan nodded.
The other party's tone was not polite at all. It was definitely not a casual chat.
As expected, in the midst of their conversation, Master Teacher Feng Yu's eyebrows shot up, and his voice sounded, "I tried to speak to you out of goodwill, but you just wouldn't listen! Hongfeng Empire is the furthest away from here. Since you arrived late, there might be some things you aren't aware of. Since that's the case, allow me to explain it to you. Even though the slots to enter the Cleansing Lake haven't changed this year, Crown Prince Ye Qian of the royal family has requested three more slots. In other words … there are no more slots for you. You should return now, or else you'll just be asking for trouble! "
"Three more slots?" Hong Shi frowned.
Just like the Yin-Yang Lake, there was a limit to the number of slots to enter the Cleansing Lake. However, most of the slots were allocated beforehand. How could there be no more slots just because they arrived late?
"Indeed. I think you should head to Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy to report. In any case, there's no point in staying here anymore!"
Feng Yu chuckled lightly.
"Whether there's any point or not isn't up to you to decide. Feng shi, there's no need for you to worry about it!"
Knowing that the other party must have some ulterior motive for stopping them, Hong Shi waved his hands, turned around, and instructed, "Control the aerial spirit beasts. We'll head to Mingshi Tang first."
These aerial spirit beasts were rented, and they were controlled by the staff of the Beast Hall. They obeyed Zhang Xuan's orders and flew in groups.
Hualala!
Under the command of the beast tamers, the aerial spirit beasts lined up in a row, ready to soar into the sky at any moment.
"Hong Qian, there's no point in you doing this. I came here out of goodwill to inform you of my goodwill, and not only did you not appreciate it, you even turned around and left. What do you mean by that?"
Feng Yu frowned.
"I'll ask my teacher and His Majesty about whether there are enough slots or not!"
Hong Shi waved his hands.
Huala!
The aerial spirit beasts beneath him spread their wings, intending to fly past the other party and soar into the sky.
"Refusing a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit, Chen Mo!"
Seeing that Zhang Xuan was determined to leave despite his advice, Feng Yu narrowed his eyes and shouted at him.
"Yes!"
A young man behind him replied. With a flick of his wrist, a zither appeared in his hands, and he plucked the strings lightly.
Ding dong, ding dong!
The sound of the zither fluctuated between high and low, reverberating in the air. It was an exquisite and pleasant tune.
"Why are they playing the zither?"
"I don't know …"
Not only was there no killing intent in the sound of the zither, it was even soothing to the ears. Everyone was perplexed.
He must have his reasons for intercepting the aerial spirit beasts, but now that they were about to leave, he was playing an insignificant zither?
Even though demonic tunist was an occupation that allowed one to use sound waves to attack others, it was still an attack on one's soul, causing one to fall into an illusion. This music was calm and tranquil, so it should be impossible for it to harm them!
More importantly … even though their group wasn't very powerful, they were still 4-star pinnacle master teachers, and there was even a 5-star master teacher among them. How powerful must one's offensive prowess be for everyone to be affected?
"No, he's not attacking us, he's attacking the aerial spirit beasts!"
Hong Shi suddenly realized what was going on, and his face darkened.
"Aerial spirit beasts?"
Taken aback, everyone hurriedly turned to look at the beast tamers in charge of driving the aerial spirit beasts, only to see their faces turning livid.
"Your reaction isn't slow at all. Indeed, Chen Mo's [Heavenly Melody of Solitude] is capable of hypnotizing aerial spirit beasts, preventing them from advancing! In other words, as long as the music doesn't stop, you will be unable to advance … "
Feng Yu chuckled softly.
"Heavenly Melody of Solitude?"
Hong Shi tried to drive the aerial spirit beast beneath him, but it seemed to have lost its connection with him. The aerial spirit beast could only float in the air, unable to advance at all.
It was as if it was trapped in a cage, unable to advance any further.
Unable to advance, it was impossible for them to reach the capital, needless to say, enter the royal city.
"Feng Yu, what are you trying to do?"
With an awful complexion, Hong Shi glared at Feng Yu coldly.
"Nothing much, I just want you all to wait here for a day!"
Feng Yu chuckled softly. Turning around, he instructed, "Chen Mo, continue playing the zither here so that they won't be able to advance!"
"Yes!" The young man named Chen Mo replied as he began playing the zither.
"Hmph, do you think that I don't have a solution?"
Not expecting the other party to resort to force instead of using the soft approach, Hong Shi's eyebrows shot up in anger. Using his finger as a sword, he flicked it lightly.
Wuuuu!
A sharp sound echoed in the air, and a surge of sword qi shot out from Zhang Xuan's fingertip, piercing straight for the ancient zither in Chen Mo's hand.
As long as the zither was destroyed, the restraints on the spirit beasts would disappear.
However, before the sword qi could reach Chen Mo, a weng sounded. The air rippled, and a massive protective barrier appeared before Chen Mo. Even Hong Shi's attack was unable to break through it.
"It's a formation. The people on the spirit beasts have set up a defensive formation specifically to protect Chen Mo. Given the distance between us and the formation, it's impossible for us to attack him!"
Zhang Xuan shook his head.
He had been perplexed as to why the other party would bring so many people with him. Since they were all master teachers, it was impossible for them to fight one another.
Most likely, these people were formation masters, and they must have brought something with them. Using the spirit beasts as formation flags, they set up a defensive formation around Chen Mo.
If they were at close range, putting aside Hong Shi, even Zhang Xuan would be able to defeat the formation with a single punch. However, with the distance of several hundred meters, the strength of the formation would be greatly weakened. On top of that, the other party was also prepared for it. It would be difficult for him to stop the other party from playing the zither.
This was the fearsomeness of demonic tunists.
As long as sound could reach a certain area, they would be able to create an attack, ignoring all physical obstructions.
The other party must have thought of this as well, which was why they were so fearless.
"Damn it..."
Hong Shi gritted his teeth.
Since Zhang Xuan could see through the other party's intentions, naturally, he could as well.
To be trapped here at a distance of at least a thousand meters from the ground, they were in deep trouble.
"The slot that he spoke of might be real, and we should be able to find out the result today. He has trapped us here for a day, and as long as we can't get through, there's a good chance that we won't be able to get it... That's probably what he's thinking!"
Hong Shi said.
"Indeed!" Zhang Xuan nodded.
This matter was easy to guess, and master teachers were able to discern the most minute details. If they still couldn't see through the other party's intentions, they might as well commit suicide.
"The capital looks very close from the sky, but if we were to walk, it would take at least half a day. Besides... we are currently in the air, and spirit beasts are unable to fly. This means that we are trapped here, unable to go down or up... What should we do?"
Hong Shi said anxiously.
If they were to lose the slot due to this, it would be futile even if they were to find trouble with the other party later on.
But now... they were trapped in the air, and it was impossible for them to stop the other party from playing the zither. Were they really going to watch helplessly as the slot slipped away?
"Actually, there's a simple solution to this problem!" Zhang Xuan chuckled.
"Simple? How can it be simple? "Hong Shi was taken aback." We are so far away, and it's impossible for us to fly over... "
"Fly over? That's too troublesome... "Zhang Xuan shook his head. Turning around, he instructed," Everyone, have your spirit beasts shut their ears. "
"Alright!"
Hearing his words, everyone was taken aback for a moment, but they still nodded in agreement.
They trusted the champion of the Master Teacher Tournament more than anything else in the world.
Soon, the spirit beasts all shut their ears.
After making the preparations, Zhang Xuan chuckled lightly as he turned his gaze to the front.
"Simple? Despite his young age, he sure is arrogant. Hong Shi, is this your student? Why is he getting more and more backward? How can an insignificant figure like him interrupt the conversation of his elders... "
Hearing the conversation between the duo, Feng Yu sneered coldly. Just as he was about to berate the other party, the young man before him suddenly opened his mouth, and a calm voice sounded.
"Peng!"
Hu! Hu! Hu! Hu!
Before Feng Yu and the others could react, the spirit beasts that they were riding on started free-falling, plummeting straight down.
"The heck, what's going on? Ah..."
(My wife has never read web novels, but I let her read this book a few days ago. Today, I asked her what she thought of it, and she replied: I feel that the Zhang Xuan in the book is just like you. I was overjoyed: Am I going to be like the main character, a dignified teacher, wise, valiant, and invincible? My wife shook her head and looked at me sympathetically: No, you are just as despicable as him. Me:...
Right now, I am crying in agony. Only a monthly ticket can comfort my broken heart. Wuuuu!)
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