Chapter 605: Capital of Huanyu Empire
Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97
Ever since inheriting the seat of the alliance head, he had been working hard to strengthen the alliance to protect and extend the borders of the empire. But the foundation of Myriad Kingdom Alliance was simply too weak.
The probability of success of the task that he was undertaking was nearly zero.
And yet, this impossibility was shattered with a single lecture from Zhang shi!
The million Myriad Kingdom Alliance citizens listening to the lecture would become sturdy pillars propping up the rise of the empire; it would be impossible to stop the rise of Myriad Kingdom Alliance anymore!
"Zhang shi, thank you..."
Alliance Head Zhao bowed respectfully.
This young man had brought new hope to the entire Myriad Kingdom Alliance!
...
"Using diction to draw in spiritual energy from the world for others to cultivate, is he really... lecturing on fundamental knowledge of cultivation?"
"I once thought that it was a waste of time to uncover the basics thoroughly. But from the looks of it now, I'm mistaken. Sorely mistaken."
"This basic knowledge forms the very foundation of cultivating. It's just like the foundation of a building; only with a strong foundation can it rise to greater heights..."
"I've truly benefitted immensely from this lesson. From today onward, Zhang shi is our half teacher. If anyone intends to harm Myriad Kingdom Alliance, Zhang shi's homeland, in the future, we can't stand idly and watch anymore..."
...
The innumerable experts amidst the crowd thought and discussed similar things.
After listening to Zhang shi's lecture, they were considered as half a student of his. Thus, they felt obliged to stand up for him in the future.
"... protecting one's core and going along with nature, these are the basics of cultivation! Alright, I'll stop my lecture here."
With the lecture coming to an end, the young man on the stage flicked his wrist, and a brush appeared. Painting on midair, a massive phoenix soon appeared before everyone's sight.
Leaping off the ground, the young man stepped onto the back of the phoenix and flew into the distance.
This event would eventually go down in the annals of history.
Myriad Kingdom Alliance Year 3372, winter.
A million cultivators gathered to listen to Zhang shi's lecture, and Ten Li of Vacuum was induced in the course of the lecture.
At the end of which, he soared into the skies on the back of a phoenix.
The million cultivators kneeled down and addressed him as their teacher.
...
White clouds floated over the backdrop of a blue sky. Several massive aerial spirit beasts whizzed across the sky, sending innumerable savage beasts and birds escaping chaotically in fear.
On the back of a spirit beast, Zhang Xuan, who was in the midst of his meditation, slowly opened his eyes.
It had been nearly a month since the public lecture in Myriad Kingdom City.
In this period of time, they had spent nearly every day on the back of the aerial spirit beast, and mental exhaustion was starting to pile up.
As they would be leaving their homeland for a long period of time, the traveling master teachers brought along their family and servants, and Hong shi had to prepared ten whole spirit beasts to house everyone.
None of these spirit beasts possessed cultivation lower than Transcendent Mortal 4-dan, and they caused a huge ruckus no matter where they went, sending countless creatures darting away in fright.
Throughout his journey, Zhang Xuan had been spending his time studying and cultivating. Not only did he reinforce his zhenqi cultivation of Transcendent Mortal 4-dan pinnacle firmly, his soul cultivation even broke through the barrier to Transcendent Mortal 5-dan, and he advanced all the way to pinnacle-tier.
A soul cultivation of Transcendent Mortal 5-dan amounted to a strength of 3,200,000 ding. Stacking his zhenqi cultivation of 2,000,000 ding on top of that, he was able to wield a maximum might of 5,200,000 ding! That was comparable to Transcendent Mortal 6-dan Cosmos Bridge realm intermediate stage experts!
Transcendent Mortal 6-dan Cosmos Bridge realm; 4,000,000 ding at primary stage, 4,800,000 ding at intermediate stage, 5,600,000 ding at advanced stage, and 6,200,000 ding at pinnacle.
With a might of 5,200,000 ding, Zhang Xuan's strength was near to that of an advanced stage cultivator. At his current strength, it would be difficult for even Hong shi to defeat him.
The cultivation of 4-star master teacher usually ranged from Transcendent Mortal 2-dan to 4-dan.
Transcendent Mortal 5-dan Consonant Spirit realm usually equated to half 5-star master teacher.
Only upon reaching Transcendent Mortal 6-dan Cosmos Bridge realm would one be qualified as a 5-star master teacher.
It hadn't been long since Hong shi had been promoted to a 5-star master teacher, and his cultivation realm was around Cosmos Bridge realm primary stage. If Hong shi didn't exploit the unique ability of his current cultivation realm, he would be unlikely to be able to withstand even a single punch from Zhang Xuan.
To gain the strength equivalent to a 5-star primary master teacher within two months of being promoted to a 4-star master teacher; only a monster like Zhang Xuan would be capable of such a feat.
Zhang Xuan wasn't the only one whose cultivation increased by leaps and bounds. His students, Zheng Yang, Wang Ying, and the others, also witnessed significant growth in their cultivation as well.
Zhao Ya and Lu Chong's departures made them treasure their time with Zhang shi even more. They had been cultivating diligently every single day, and with the huge pool of spirit stones Zhang shi gathered, their cultivation was increasing at an alarming rate on a daily basis.
One by one, the four students managed to reach Transcendent Mortal realm, and at this very moment, their cultivation levels had already stabilized at Transcendent Mortal 2-dan Origin Energy realm.
Not only so, Zhang Xuan also reorganized the Heaven's Path battle techniques and imparted them to his students, thus inducing a massive rise in their fighting prowess.
The one who had improved the slowest was probably Butler Sun Qiang.
This fellow didn't possess the slightest interest in cultivation, and as such, he would slack off the moment no eyes were on him. If not for Wang Ying supervising him, he would probably remain in the same cultivation realm for his entire life.
Nevertheless, trapped on the back of a spirit beast, he had nothing better to do either. As such, he had also managed to advance from Transcendent Mortal 1-dan Prolonged Longevity realm to 2-dan Origin Energy realm pinnacle.
At the current point, his cultivation was still higher than Wang Ying, who was the strongest among the remaining students.
The reason for his rapid improvement despite his indolence wasn't due to his talent. Rather, he had consumed a part of Mo Hunsheng's soul, which allowed him to inherit the other party's comprehension of cultivation. With this serving as his foundation, and factoring in Zhang Xuan's guidance and the seemingly endless supply of spirit stones for his use, his progress could be said to be slow already.
It should have been a joyous occasion that everyone was making progress in their training, but the current Zhang Xuan couldn't find the mood to celebrate.
This was because... the six hundred or so spirit stones which he had taken from the Fleeting Cloud Sect and other powers had just completely run dry.
Zheng Yang, Sun Qiang, and the others didn't consume many of them, the culprit behind this incident was mainly Zhang Xuan himself.
Back then, in order to hasten the maturing of the Nine Hearts Lotus, Zhang Xuan expended around two to three hundred middle-tier spirit stones. After which, he gave a portion to the departing Lu Chong and spent another huge bunch to advance his soul cultivation to Consonant Spirit realm...
It could be considered a blessing that the six hundred middle-tier spirit stones lasted them until now...
Rubbing his glabella, Zhang Xuan thought, 'Looks like I'll have to use the high-tier spirit stone for my future cultivation...'
So far, he hadn't used the high-tier spirit stone that he'd received from the Master Teacher Tournament yet as he couldn't bear to use it. But now that his supply of middle-tier spirit stone had run dry, he had no other choice.
"Zhang shi, we're about to reach Huanyu Capital!"
Just as Zhang Xuan was about to take the high-tier spirit stone to take a look, Hong shi suddenly walked over.
For this journey, Hong shi chose to share a ride with him, and along the journey, Zhang Xuan helped solve some of the problems he was facing in his cultivation. In a sense, this was his way of compensating the other party for destroying his artifacts.
Naturally, this was all done in the name of 'Yang shi'.
In any case, the other party seemed to possess absolute to trust to this 'teacher' of his, so there was no harm using the latter's name.
After receiving Zhang Xuan's pointers, Hong shi enjoyed significant improvement in his cultivation. At the same time, his respect for this young master teacher also deepened.
"The capital?"
Zhang Xuan stood up and walked over to the window. A massive city came into his sight.
Pitch-black city walls were embedded into the earth as though a thick iron mail. Countless elegant buildings rose all the way into the distant sky, and from afar, it resembled an undulating mountain range. They bore testimony to the long history of the city.
"Huanyu Capital has more than ten thousand years of history behind it. The founding emperor, Ye Huanyu, led four of his brothers to conquer the lands, thus eventually forming this immense empire!"
Hong shi glanced downward, and both graveness and awe were reflected in his eyes. "The eastern end of the capital is connected to the Verdant Mountain whereas the western end is connected to the Dragon-scaled River. From afar, it looks no different from a sprawling giant."
"Un!" Zhang Xuan lowered his glance to examine the city.
Just as Hong shi had said, the capital was indeed majestic. It extended for hundreds of kilometers. As though a gigantic fortress, just the sight of it created an indestructible image in the minds of onlookers.
Even though there was no complicated formation set up around the capital, it seemed to blend in with nature, creating an unblemished and soothing atmosphere.
"Huanyu Empire Master Teacher Pavilion's Pavilion Master Wei Jiang is my teacher, a 5-star pinnacle master teacher and Transcendent Mortal 8-dan pinnacle expert. The emperor, Ye Wentian, has also reached Transcendent Mortal 8-dan as well," Hong shi explained.
"5-star pinnacle master teacher? Transcendent Mortal 8-dan?"
Zhang Xuan's mouth twitched.
Upon reaching Transcendent Mortal 5-dan Consonant Spirit realm, one's soul and body would be harmonized together as one, and one's strength would be brought to whole new heights. One's enhanced soul would also significantly increase one's comprehension of cultivation as well.
Beyond this realm is Cosmos Bridge realm.
Cosmos Bridge realm, a bridge that connects one with the world, creating a unique synergy between man and nature. Even without cultivating consciously, spiritual energy would flow along the bridge into one's body and nourish it, thus inducing a constant rise in one's cultivation.
At this realm, one's zhenqi or soul would grow at a rapid pace. Eventually, one would gain the power to move mountains and displace oceans.
After this realm is Transcendent Mortal 7-dan Perfect Harmonization realm.
Perfect Harmonization realm, the unification of everything into one entity. One's energy would become even purer and aligned with nature. At the same time, one's soul would also grow stronger as well.
Following which is Transcendent Mortal 8-dan Ethereal Treading realm. At this level, one's zhenqi and soul would enjoy a massive growth spurt. More importantly, one would gain some control over the laws of nature, allowing one to step on thin air.
In other words... one would be able to rise up into the skies. However, horizontal motion is still too difficult at this realm, so it couldn't be considered flight yet.
To think that Huanyu Empire Master Teacher Pavilion's pavilion master would actually be an expert of this caliber, just the thought of this in itself was frightening.
Even though Zhang Xuan had improved greatly during this period of time, he was still far from matching up to such experts.
But of course, having grasped the Red Dust Heaven Ascending Steps, even if he found himself on the losing end of a fight, he could still escape into the skies safely.
"I've already had someone report our arrival to the Master Teacher Pavilion, and someone should be fetching us soon..."
After introducing Huanyu Empire's emperor and the Master Teacher Pavilion's pavilion master, Hong shi chuckled.
While the twenty-eight regional powers were significantly weaker than Huanyu Empire, the Master Teacher Tournament still held some weight in the empire. Otherwise, Hong shi, a 5-star master teacher, wouldn't have been dispatched to host the event
Qiu qiu qiu!
Roar roar roar!
But as soon as he was done saying those words, a series of beast calls sounded, and around a dozen gigantic aerial spirit beasts flew over toward the group.
These aerial spirit beasts weren't too large in size, and a single figure could be seen standing on top every single one of them.
Chuckling lightly, Hong shi said, "Alright, the escorting party is here. Later on, they'll lead us straight to the royal palace..."
But halfway through his words, an impassive voice suddenly sounded in the air.
"Hong Qian, it has been long since we last met... It is unfortunate, but it seems like you came at a bad time. I advise you to turn around and leave immediately!"