Chapter 693: Salvage the Situation?

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

Even with the Eye of Insight, Zhang Xuan could hardly see the outskirts of the city.

"A capital of a Tier-1 Empire is indeed... grand!"

Zhang Xuan gazed across the lands.

As expected of a Tier-1 capital, it was grand and domineering. In comparison to this, Tianxuan Kingdom felt like a countryside village whose buildings were made of mud.

In fact, just this city itself could match up to the entire area of Tianxuan Kingdom.

It seemed there was a massive formation that was controlling the weather and various other conditions of the city, thus bringing convenience and comfort to the population in the city. On top of that, the formation also seemed to draw in spiritual energy, thus making it easier for cultivators in the city to advance their cultivation.

"The ability to go against nature and alter the conditions of the land is an ability that only Saints possess!"

Yu Fei-er walked over proudly.

In this period of time, before the other party's formidable prowess, she felt nothing more like a countryside bumpkin. Thus, seeing the other party's astonishment upon seeing Hongyuan City, she immediately grasped this opportunity to boast.

"Un."

Even though Zhang Xuan was able to set up formations as well, and his capability was on par with most 5-star formation masters, it would still be difficult for him to create a massive environment-manipulating formation spanning over several thousand li.

To set up such a formation, precise control was of absolute importance. Otherwise, a slight inaccuracy in the formation could easily result in devastating destruction.

Recovering from the astonishment, Zhang Xuan said, "It is still a few days before the start of the school term. Hong shi and the others should have just arrived as well, let's meet up with them first."

Three days were spent on the fusion of his body and his soul, and another four days was spent in the Otherworldly Demon's underground chamber. Following which, the time in the Beast Hall and the flight to Hongyuan City took up a total of twenty days, so there was still around three days before the start of the school term. Making a rough estimation, Hong shi and the others should have arrived here already as well.

"The freshmen from Huanyu Empire usually reside in the Academic Sea. I'll take you over there first to settle in. After which, we'll have to return to the academy to report on our mission," Yu Fei-er said.

They had uncovered such a huge secret in the midst of their mission, so it was necessary for them to make a formal report on the matter.

Even though Xing Yuan and Wu Zhen had returned in advance, Wu Yangzi's handwritten book and the Crimson Blaze Cauldron were still in Luo Qiqi's hand. On top of that, Zhang Xuan's return was also an important matter as well. Thus, they would have to explain everything face-to-face.

"Un." Zhang Xuan nodded.

"Teacher, there are many other freshmen who reside in the Academic Sea as well. Most of them are geniuses in Tier-2 Empires, and there is a possibility that some of them might even be from Hongyuan Empire. Thus, you must be careful not to get into a conflict with them!" Luo Qiqi advised grimly.

Those who were termed as geniuses tended to be proud individuals. As the residence that the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy used to receive its freshmen, there were many geniuses amongst them. Some of them might even be from the royal family such as Ye Qian. Thus, if a conflict were to occur, not even a princess like Yu Fei-er would be in a good position to interfere.

"Don't worry, how could I possibly get into trouble that easily?" Zhang Xuan chuckled.

Luo Qiqi and Yu Fei-er glanced at one another and shook their heads.

'With that natural disposition for trouble of yours, how can you say those words without blinking?

'On the very day of your arrival at Huanyu Empire, you sent Feng shi and his group plummeting to the ground from a high altitude. Afterward, you pummeled up the top three rankers of the other Vessel States. Following which, you turned into a corpse in the Cleansing Lake...

'In any case, calamity seemed to follow your footsteps, and you actually said that you won't get into trouble easily?'

The Academic Sea named as such due to the large number of freshmen coming from all directions. It was also commonly known as Academic Manor and Freshmen Lodge.

From the direction Zhang Xuan and the others were coming from, they weren't too far from the Master Teacher Academy. On top of that, the speed at which the Great Violetwing Beast traveled was also incredible. Thus, they arrived at their destination very quickly.

Stepping out of the flying ship, Zhang Xuan stowed it within this storage ring before bidding Luo Qiqi and Yu Fei-er farewell.

After which, he stepped through the gates of the Academic Sea, and numerous towering infrastructures immediately appeared before his eyes. Many young master teachers walked to and fro the compound with grace.

Most of them looked like they were in their twenties, but the four stars pinned on their chest reflected their 4-star master teacher rank. Most of their cultivation levels had reached Consonant Spirit realm.

As expected of the geniuses of the various sects, kingdoms, and empires. They were indeed exceptional.

Walking in the direction Luo Qiqi and the others had mentioned previously, Zhang Xuan soon arrived at a courtyard.

"Hmm? Why is there no one guarding the door?"

After ascertaining that this was the location where the freshmen of Huanyu Empire lived, Zhang Xuan was perplexed by the lack of security.

The other residences of the freshmen of other empires were either locked or heavily guarded. However, the door to Huanyu Empire's residence was wide open, but there wasn't a single figure in sight. Could it be that Hong shi and the others hadn't arrived yet?

Bewildered, Zhang Xuan stepped into the residence.

The courtyard was clean, signifying that the residence was often cleaned. Along the empty corridors and gazebo, there were signs that there had been people living here recently.

"It seems they have arrived. But why aren't they here then?"

Possessing the Eye of Insight, it wasn't difficult for Zhang Xuan to determine whether someone had been living in the residence or not. Just as he was perplexed by the lack of people in the area, he suddenly heard a loud crashing sound reminiscent of something knocking heavily onto the wall.

"There is a fight ahead!"

Zhang Xuan's face darkened, and he hurried forward. Turning around a corridor, he soon arrived at a vast main hall. Not too far away from the entrance was an average-sized dueling stage, and on it, two people were facing off with one another.

A large group of people were gathered beneath the stage, and Hong shi and Feng shi were amongst the crowd.

Ruohuan gongzi, Bi Jianghai, Luo Xuan, and the others were seated below as well. However, their faces were swollen and bruised, as if someone had beaten them up just a moment ago.

Zhang Xuan also recognized one of the fighters on the stage. It was one of the geniuses under Feng shi's lead, and his name was Han Ling. His cultivation was at the Consonant Spirit realm intermediate stage the last time Zhang Xuan saw him, but in less than a month, he had already broken through to Consonant Spirit realm advanced stage.

Facing him was a gray-robed young man. The other party's cultivation was at the Consonant Spirit realm advanced stage as well, but his fighting prowess seemed to be far above Han Ling. In just a few blows, Han Ling was already forced to the corner of the stage.

"Go, Han shi!"

"We mustn't lose anymore..."

"That's right! If we were to lose, we'll be at their disposal..."

...

Luo Xuan and the others clenched their fists tightly in indignation.

"What are they up to?"

As everyone was too engrossed in the battle, no one noticed Zhang Xuan's presence. Perplexed, Zhang Xuan scratched his head.

Why would there be a duel going on here?

"Haha, stop struggling pointlessly and just admit defeat. Considering how none of you are able to defeat me, how can you possibly rival Senior Feng, whom I can barely withstand three blows from? Given such, you still wish to win? Dream on!"

As the gray-robed young man slowly forced Han Ling to a corner, a gleeful smile surfaced on his lips, and he laughed heartily. "Don't worry, we'll surely take care of you well if you follow us. If you continue to act so obstinately, don't blame me for getting nasty!"

As the gray-robed young man spoke those words, his powerful blows continued raining down on Han Ling. Han Ling was using all of his might to withstand those attacks, but his face turned a shade paler with each strike.

With just a momentary glance, Zhang Xuan could tell that Han Ling would fall in just a few more blows. Thus, he walked over to Hong shi and asked, "Hong shi, what is going on?"

"Ah... Zhang shi, you're fine? This is wonderful!"

Upon seeing Zhang shi, Hong shi nearly leaped from his seat in excitement. The others beneath the stage, including Luo Xuan and the others, also noticed Zhang Xuan's presence, and their faces immediately flushed red in excitement.

Even Xiulian gongzi, who had been beaten to pulp by him at Huanyu Empire earlier, gazed at him with eyes reddened in agitation, as though Zhang Xuan was his long-lost kin.

"What's wrong?"

Seeing everyone's responses, Zhang Xuan was bewildered. They'd only been apart for a month, was there any need for them to react so intensely to his presence?

"It's the Freshman Examination!" Seeing the confused look on Zhang Xuan's face, Hong shi hurriedly explained, "The examination topic has been decided—it will be hunting in the Hongyuan Mountain Range..."

Soon, Hong shi explained the entire matter to Zhang Xuan.

After hearing the explanation, Zhang Xuan finally got a grasp of the situation.

In truth, getting into the top ten of the Master Teacher Tournament didn't signify a straight pass into the Master Teacher Academy. Rather, it would be more apt to consider it as an opportunity to take on the entrance examinations, and if they were to clear it, they would be allowed to enter the academy. The topic of the entrance examination would change each year; it had been an obstacle course in some years, formation deciphering in others, and even an academic examination was within the list of possibilities as well... And for this year, it was hunting.

The location of the hunt would be at the Leiyuan Peak of Hongyuan Mountain Range.

The Leiyuan Peak was a huge mountain in proximity to the Master Teacher Academy. Its exceptionally steep terrain made it extremely difficult to scale it. Even Consonant Spirit realm experts would find it laborious to travel to the top, let alone, hunt.

The duration was one day, and depending on the number of spirit beasts hunted, one would be allocated a set number of points, and this would be reflected as one's result at the end of the examination. To pass, one would have to hunt at least one Clarifying Turbidity realm pinnacle spirit beast.

Even though the powerful physique of spirit beasts allowed them to challenge cultivators possessing higher cultivation realms, the examination shouldn't be too difficult considering the formidable might that the master teacher elites from the various region possess. Not to mention, most of the examinees were at the Consonant Spirit realm as well, so defeating a Clarifying Turbidity realm advanced stage spirit beast shouldn't be a problem at all.

However, the problem was that... the number of spirit beasts across the entire mountain was limited! Furthermore, once the spirit beasts realized that they were being hunted, they would surely flee and hide.

On top of that, there was no limit to the number of spirit beasts one could hunt, and if one were to exceed the passing criteria, they could exchange the excess points for academic credits... Thus, the competition among examinees would be extremely intense!

To make things worse, Clarifying Turbidity realm spirit beasts weren't the only ones roaming the mountain. There were also Consonant Spirit realm spirit beasts, Cosmos Bridge realm spirit beasts, and even some beyond that! Thus, on top of hunting, they had to prevent themselves from being hunted as well.

Casualties were anticipated in this examination, and this was the norm for the entrance examination for the Master Teacher Academy.

This examination served to test the examinee's resilience, strength, adaptability, eye of discernment, and various other aspects.

Only the strongest of experts would be able to emerge victorious amidst the group. Those who were weaker physically or mentally would surely find themselves breaking down in the midst of the examination and eventually return in tragic defeat.

This examination would eliminate the weak and frail from the group. Those who failed to meet the mark would be disqualified and forced to leave!

So as to increase the success rate and avoid danger, some of the examinees from various regions had decided to form an alliance.

With more people in their alliance, they would be able to vie for spirit beasts from other students and stand their ground against stronger spirit beasts.

However, an alliance also had its downfall as well. While it was definitely safer to remain in a group, more people operating together also meant that the group would be easily detected by the spirit beasts. As such, spirit beasts would choose to stay out of their way, making their hunting highly inefficient. On top of that, distribution was a problem as well.

After all, it was questionable whether the alliance would be able to hunt sufficient spirit beasts to go around the group. Thus, it was very possible that there would be some who would be tragically disqualified in the alliance.

As such, the priority in the distribution of spirit beasts became an extremely important problem in the formation of alliance. All factions in an alliance would be hoping to gain this priority in distribution.

The group from Huanyu Empire was the same as well. In order to stand their ground against other competitors, they decided to ally themselves with the master teachers from a Tier-2 empire, Jinhai Empire, and both sides had agreed on determining the priority of distribution based on the results of their strength.

After hearing the explanation, Zhang Xuan immediately understood the situation, and he hurriedly asked, "How many more duels are there?"

If they were only halfway through the battle, he might still be able to salvage the situation.