Chapter 1237: Sever It!
"You sure do have a sharp tongue!"
After spurting a mouthful of blood, Song shi finally managed to collect his thoughts. "There's still a need for further investigation to determine whether what you have said is true or not, but it's a fact that Sun Qiang and the group from the Poison Hall snuck into the Qingyuan royal palace, knocked out all of the guards, and assassinated Emperor Chu Tianxing.
"There is clear evidence of their crimes, so there's no refuting this matter. If we do not punish them to make an example, how can we maintain order in the rest of the world? The authority of the Master Teacher Pavilion will be undermined! If everyone acted in the same manner as them, it would be pandemonium!"
It was not that Song shi really wanted Sun Qiang and the others to die, but it was impossible to appease the hearts of the populace without doing so.
If they were to allow the culprits who had assassinated the emperor of a country to get away so easily, wouldn't the entire Master Teacher Continent swiftly fall into chaos?
Song shi gazed at the master teachers on the execution platform and ordered with a majestic wave of his hands, "Continue the sentence!"
Despite what Zhang Xuan had said, there was solid proof of Sun Qiang and the other poison masters' wrongdoings. Regardless of whether they had really killed Emperor Chu Tianxing or not, they had certainly participated in and contributed to the assassination. Since that was the case, it was only right for them to be punished!
"Very well. Since you refuse to listen to reason..." Seeing that Song shi still wanted to execute Sun Qiang and the others, Zhang Xuan waved his hands majestically. "Take him down!"
"Humph! You think that the bunch of brats you have down there will be able to faze me?" Song Xuan laughed in fury and disdainfully gazed down on Song Chao and the others below.
While they had managed to gather quite a number of allies to raid the execution platform, it was a pity that their individual prowess was too weak. Even if they were to gather a hundred thousand Transcendent Mortal 8-dan brats, they would not be able to faze him in the slightest!
Saint 6-dan Grand Dominion realm was also known as the Realm of Invincibility. Once a cultivator activated their Dominion, numbers would no longer be sufficient to faze them.
While Song shi was still at Saint 5-dan pinnacle, he was only a step away from making a breakthrough. If this bunch of small fries could actually faze him, the time he had spent cultivating would have really been vain!
"It seems like you really don't know how fearsome a quasi 8-star master teacher is!" Sneering coldly, Song shi raised his hand.
An intangible will rippled outward swiftly from Song shi, shrouding Song Chao and the others within it in an instant.
This will weighed down on the group from the Xuanxuan Faction and the Combat Master Hall like a massive mountain. Every single one of them froze on the spot. Putting aside launching an attack, even moving was difficult for them.
"Your strength is indeed formidable..." Seeing that Song shi had only suppressed Song Chao and the others, not intending them any harm, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief as he shot an impassive gaze toward the other party. "But... who told you that I was commanding them?"
"You weren't commanding them?" Song shi was taken aback. "Then..."
Before he could finish his words, he suddenly sensed a searing dragon made of zhenqi surging upward.
"You..." Song shi hurriedly turned around, and his eyes narrowed in horror.
The ones who had made a move were not those who had come to raid the execution platform. They were... the master teachers of the Qingyuan Empire Master Teacher Pavilion, those who were directly under his command!
In this moment, all of them were channeling their strength together to assault him!
"Break!" Knowing that this was not the moment to be dazed, Song shi gritted his teeth tightly as he gathered his strength to face the searing dragon.
The strength of a Leaving Aperture realm pinnacle expert was incomparably powerful. The palm strike that Song shi launched seemed to carry the weight of the sky in it. But as powerful as his battle technique was, it came nowhere close to comparing to the massive zhenqi dragon below.
Kacha! Kacha!
Song shi's palm strike was swiftly overpowered by the massive dragon, and he ended up being struck in the chest, causing his ribcage to crack. At the same time, the momentum of the dragon's charge also knocked him high into the sky.
"You might be a quasi 8-star master teacher, but all of the master teachers in the Qingyuan Empire Master Teacher Pavilion are my students!" Glancing at the look of disbelief on the face of the swiftly retreating Song shi, Zhang Xuan shook his head. "You couldn't have been more foolish to use my own students to deal with me."
Back when he had crashed the Qingyuan Empire Master Teacher Pavilion, he had lectured all of the 6-star and 7-star master teachers present in the area, and out of gratitude for his teachings, they had ended up acknowledging him as their teacher. At the same time, the fact that he had successfully crashed the pavilion also meant that the master teachers of the Qingyuan Empire Master Teacher Pavilion had to unconditionally obey his orders.
After knocking Song shi flying, Zhang Xuan swiftly flitted over to the execution platform and waved his hand.
Huala!
The chains binding Sun Qiang and the poison masters immediately shattered.
Facing the group before him, Zhang Xuan sighed deeply. "You all have suffered..."
While the Master Teacher Pavilion could not resort to vicious torture on their captives, the group must have been under a great deal of mental pressure knowing that they would be executed soon.
Sun Qiang rushed up to Zhang Xuan as soon as he was freed, and he cried with reddened eyes, "Young Master, you must redress my grievances!"
Watching as their benefactor made the transition from extreme composure to extreme indignation in just an instant, Elder Xu's lips twitched wildly.
As expected of their benefactor... he had even mastered the art of changing his face swiftly!
"Un. You should liaise with Song Chao and the others first. There are still some matters that I have to settle here!" While saying those words, Zhang Xuan could not help but notice that Sun Qiang had grown fatter, and a disapproving frown appeared on his face. However, knowing that this was not the time to talk about such a matter, he quickly waved them away.
He might have saved Sun Qiang and the others for the time being, but this matter was not settled yet. The ordinary civilians were still unaware of the truth, and if the incomplete version of events they knew were to spread far and wide, not only would it affect his reputation, it would also bring him great trouble as well.
More importantly, he had made a move on a quasi 8-star master teacher, an envoy dispatched by the headquarters. If he did not resolve this matter properly, he would be charged with insubordinate, and that could lead to dire consequences.
"Yes, Young Master!" Trusting that his Young Master would resolve the matter promptly, Sun Qiang nodded before leaping off the execution platform along with the others.
"You scoundrel! If I don't teach you the consequences of disrespecting a senior master teacher, I shall abandon my surname!"
Boom!
Right after Zhang Xuan was done making arrangements, a furious bellow suddenly sounded below. The next moment, Song shi flew back up with a savage look on his face.
To think that he, a quasi 8-star master teacher from the Qianchong Empire, despite coming down to the weaker Qingyuan Empire, would actually end up being smacked flying! The irrepressible anger that he felt left him on the verge of exploding!
If he did not get the other party back for this matter, his reputation would be completely ruined, and he would no longer be able to face anyone else!
As master teachers, reputation was extremely important as well. Without a good reputation, what would become of their dignity, and who would be willing to heed their teachings?
Driving his zhenqi furiously, Song shi forcefully suppressed the injuries in his chest as he flipped upside down and dived downward toward Zhang Xuan, making use of the momentum of his descent to augment his palm strike.
"A palm strike from the heavens?" a master teacher asked with narrowed eyes. He was the same master teacher whom Zhang Jiuxiao had spoken to back when Zhang Xuan executed a similar technique against Pavilion Master Gou during the pavilion crashing.
To this day, he could still remember the astounding prowess harnessed within that palm strike, as well as the feeling of helplessness that rose in his heart as he witnessed its overwhelming might.
"Palm strike from the heavens? What I see is a cauldron from the heavens instead..." another master teacher beside him uttered with a pale face.
"Cauldron?" The first master teacher was taken aback by the abrupt remark. He quickly glanced above Song shi, and his mouth began twitching uncontrollably.
A cauldron had appeared right above that quasi 8-star master teacher at some point, and it was currently descending at a speed far swifter than Song shi was descending.
Peng!
Before Song shi's palm strike could reach Zhang Xuan, the massive cauldron had crashed into the area between his two thighs.
" Ahhh! "
A scream of agony echoed loudly in the air as Song shi's figure crashed heavily into the execution platform as if a cannonball, creating a huge depression in the ground. Following which, his figure swiftly cramped up together as if a shrimp as he trembled uncontrollably with a ghastly pale face.
If it was not for Song shi's superior cultivation, that single blow would have knocked him out on the spot.
"..."
The mouths of the other master teachers twitched wildly upon seeing this sight.
Just watching the sight was enough to induce a tight cringe on their faces and an involuntary shudder through their bodies. They could not even bring themselves to imagine how Song shi was feeling at that moment.
Offend anyone but that cauldron... It was simply too vicious!
"You... I'll kill you!" Struggling weakly to his feet, a furious killing intent was ignited in Song shi's eyes. He glared at the Golden Origin Cauldron with sharp daggers in his eyes.
Zhang Xuan was a genius who had successfully crashed the Qingyuan Empire Master Teacher Pavilion, so he dared not kill him. On the other hand, for a mere artifact to dare treat him in such a manner... there was no way he would let it get away scot-free!
Hu!
But right after Song shi spoke those words, he suddenly noticed that the massive bottom of the Golden Origin Cauldron was falling toward him once more.
The cauldron had only landed the attack the previous time because he had been caught off guard. However, prepared this time around, how could he allow the Golden Origin Cauldron to strike him once more? He lifted his finger and tapped in the air.
The air above him suddenly became incredibly viscous, causing the Golden Origin Cauldron's speed of descent to slow sharply before eventually freezing in space.
Despite his injuries, Song shi was still a Leaving Aperture realm pinnacle master teacher. While his strength could not compete with the other Vicious, he was still far stronger than the Qingtian Emperor.
The Golden Origin Cauldron was only at Leaving Aperture realm advanced stage, and it had not learned any kind of battle technique before. As such, it was only capable of carrying out simple charges, which made it easy for any opponent stronger than it to subdue it.
"Die!" After freezing the Golden Origin Cauldron in midair, Song shi flicked his wrist and whipped out a sword.
With a graceful arc, he pulled his sword down upon the Golden Origin Cauldron.
As expected of a quasi 8-star master teacher from the Qianchong Empire, even his sword was a Saint intermediate-tier artifact that was nowhere weaker than the Golden Origin Cauldron.
"Master, save me..." Knowing that it would be fatally injured if it was struck by the sword, the Golden Origin Cauldron cried in fright.
But all of a sudden, the Golden Origin Cauldron suddenly heard an incomparably calm voice within its mind.
"Even though he's already very close to reaching the Grand Dominion realm, he has not made the breakthrough yet, so there are many gaps in his assault that can be exploited. Shift slightly to the left and open your cauldron lid. Following which, sink downward and dive into the execution platform. Attack him when the distance between the both of you has been reduced to three meters. There is an opening in the Bimen acupoint in front of his chest, so conduct your attack in such a manner..."
Those words were communicated via zhenqi telepathy, so it took only a tenth of a breath for the Golden Origin Cauldron to receive the entire message. At this moment, the sword qi executed from Song shi's sword was already right before it.
Knowing that there was no time to be wasted, the Golden Origin Cauldron swiftly obeyed what its master told him and shifted slightly left.
Weng!
The sword struck its lid, and a reverberating boom reminiscent of a gong echoed throughout the area.
While feeling a sharp pain on its spirit, the Golden Origin Cauldron hurriedly opened its lid and sunk its body into the ground.
Boom!
A sound reminiscent of the rumbling of thunder boomed toward Song Xuan, causing his vision to blur for a moment.
It was not a demonic tune, but the abrupt, deafening noise did produce an effect reminiscent of a powerful demonic tune for an instant.
Kacha!
As soon as that was the done, the Golden Origin Cauldron dove straight into the execution platform, leaving a massive hole in its wake.
The execution platform was basically an elevated platform supported by pillars below, so there was empty space right beneath the execution platform. As soon as the Golden Origin Cauldron dove into the execution platform, the viscosity in the air that was limiting its movement previously vanished all of a sudden. With a swift movement, it arrived at the area that Zhang Xuan had mentioned earlier and dived back upward, aiming for the opening in Song shi's Bimen acupoint.
"You..." Song shi's face warped in horror. He quickly raised both of his hands to dodge the attack.
Even though he did not have much time to react, his swift reaction allowed him to defend against the charging cauldron, albeit with some difficulty. Unfortunately, he did not notice a stubby leg of the cauldron furiously kicking upward with frightening momentum behind it.
Kacha!
A crisp sound reminiscent of shattering eggs echoed in the air.
" Ahhh! " Song shi kneeled onto the floor, and this time, his body was scrunched up in an even more extreme angle than before.
"I... will kill you..."
Even speaking was a difficulty for Song shi with the excruciating pain and the intense trembling of his body.
On the other hand, Zhang Xuan turned to the Golden Origin Cauldron and lectured furiously, "Look at what you have done! Where are your manners? Can't you at least control your strength properly?"
After which, he turned to look at Song shi apologetically and said, "My apologies, Song shi. I have really spoiled my cauldron too much; it does not even know how to respect its elders anymore. Don't worry, I'll definitely give it a harsh tongue-lashing when I return. As for your injuries..."
At this point, he lowered his head to look at the pitifully trembling Song shi and sighed deeply. Shaking his head, he took out a dagger and passed it over.
"Why don't you just sever it?"