Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97
Elder Qu had never had a good impression of Zhang Xuan. The first time that they met at the conference room of the Glacier Plain Court, the young man had disguised himself as Yang shi and discreetly poisoned him. Everything that the young man had done was at odds with the conventions and formalities of the Master Teacher Pavilion, which only furthered his hostility for the young man.
As such, when he reported the matter to the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters, he had intentionally exaggerated certain matters and twisted some facts in order to convince Pavilion Master Ren to issue an arrest warrant on the young man.
He had thought that with so many master teachers after him, that young man would never be able to get away. Yet, who could have thought that his students would suddenly appear, and each of them was stronger than the last!
But even if his students were powerful, as long as the three powers stayed united on the same front and insisted on punishing the young man, they would still have been able to get him in the end. Yet, moments later, he had been revealed as the true head of the Zhang Clan and the Sanctum of Sages. Even the court chief of the Glacier Plain Court turned out to be his student too.
At this rate, the Master Teacher Pavilion might really turn out to be young man’s before he knew it!
He turned his head to look at the crowd. Every single person in the area had a dazed look on his face, completely shocked by the revelation.
“Hahaha! Well done, my son!” Sword Saint Xing’s hearty laughter broke the silence.
“My son is a person bound for great things! Putting aside how you were at his age, even the current you can’t match him!” Sword Saint Meng boasted proudly.
Her son had still been an infant when she lost him, and for the years after that, there had been many times that she had woken up frightened after dreaming of her son being put through all kinds of hardship and suffering, living a life worse than death.
But when they met once more, her son had already become the head of the Sanctum of Sages, and his students had all become powerhouses of the Master Teacher Continent, figures who could stand their own ground in the world without fearing anyone.
In fact, it might not be an exaggeration to say that he was one of the most influential figures on the Master Teacher Continent at this moment!
“I almost forgot! Son, to tell you the truth, we betrothed you to someone else before you were even born,” Sword Saint Meng told Zhang Xuan hesitantly.
Then, she decisively turned her head to the First Elder of the Luo Clan, Luo Qingchen, and harrumphed. “Luo Qingchen, what should we do about the engagement then? I heard that your little princess already has someone whom she fancies. This doesn’t seem to be what we have agreed on back then!”
“We’ll go ahead with the marriage as soon as possible!” Hearing those words, a chuckle escaped from Luo Qingchen’s mouth. “As for the person whom our little princess fancies, I suppose there won’t be any problem with that anymore. You can ask Zhang shi about that; he should be clearer about that than any one of us here!”
Sword Saint Meng turned her gaze back to her son and asked doubtfully, “Do you know of the matter?”
She had heard rumors that the little princess of the Luo Clan had someone whom she liked, but as the Luo Clan had insisted that they would deal with the matter themselves, she still had no idea whom the little princess’ lover was.
“This…” With a slightly awkward look on his face, Zhang Xuan scratched his head and replied, “If I’m not mistaken, her person whom she likes should be me.”
“You?” Sword Saint Meng widened her eyes in bafflement.
“That’s right!” Zhang Xuan nodded with a helpless smile.
Thinking back, the entire course of events seemed almost like a bad joke that the world was playing on them.
First, the Luo Clan had found out that the little princess had someone whom she liked and dispatched Luo Xuanqing to assassinate him. Afterward, Luo Xuanqing delegated the task to him, wanting him to do the deed on his behalf… And after several incidents, it turned out that he was actually the young prodigy that was supposed to marry the little princess!
In this moment, it felt as if he had been cheated of his emotions. If, in the first place, he was Luo Ruoxin’s fiancé, why the heck did he need to undergo all that anxiety, desperation, and hostility over the past few months?
Everything would have simply ended with a happy ending with his identity exposed!
“Oh? When did you manage to seduce her? Quick, share the story with your mother…” Sword Saint Meng immediately cast aside her expert-like aura and put on her gossip face.
“Seduce… Can’t you use a better phrase than that?” Zhang Xuan stared at Sword Saint Meng speechlessly before shaking his head. “Let’s talk about that later. There’s still a few more things that we have to settle first!”
After saying those words, he turned his sights to Luo Qingchen not too far away and said, “Elder Qingchen, since I am the young prodigy and the head of the Zhang Clan, your Luo Clan should be able to accept my relationship with the little princess, right? If that’s the case, I believe that there shouldn’t be any need for you to put her under house arrest anymore, am I right?”
“Of course!” Luo Qingchen hurriedly nodded.
Previously, he had still been afraid that the relationship that the little princess had outside would foil the Luo Clan’s ties with the Zhang Clan. Who could have thought that the person whom she liked would so coincidentally be the young prodigy of the Zhang Clan, whom she had an engagement with?
Since that was the case, why would the Luo Clan have to restrict their relationship anymore? Let their love take flight!
They would not bat an eye even if a baby popped out that instant!
Luo Qingchen stroked his beard as he asked Sword Saint Xing, “I’ll return right now to ask for her release. When does your Zhang Clan intend to proceed on with the marriage?”
This future son-in-law of the Luo Clan was not only the head of the Zhang Clan but also the sanctum head of the Sanctum of Sages. On top of that, his students governed the Poison Hall, Combat Master Hall, Spirit Awakener Guild, Glacier Plain Court, and the Yuan Clan!
If the Luo Clan could ally together with those powers, its standing would be far stronger than before!
Naturally, they could not let go of such good son-in-law material. If possible, they would prefer the marriage to happen as soon as possible.
Otherwise, once news spread, who knew how many clans would attempt to betroth their daughters to the Zhang Clan?
“I’ll first bring him back to the ancestral hall to acknowledge the ancestors before preparing the betrothal gifts to be sent over!” Sword Saint Xing replied.
The matrimony of the Zhang and the Luo Clan was extremely important. Initially, they had still been a little worried about how it would go, especially considering that the young prodigy was missing, and the little princess was reluctant. Such unhappiness could eventually culminate into a tragedy. Since all those problems had been resolved, and both parties were intent on getting together, it would be best to put them together as soon as possible.
“Very well. I’ll head back to make preparations as well!” Luo Qingchen chuckled before bidding his farewell and leaving.
“Alright, we should be making a move!” Sword Saint Xing turned to Zhang Xuan with an expectant smile.
“This…” Knowing that his father was inviting him back to the Zhang Clan to acknowledge the ancestors, Zhang Xuan hesitated for a moment, but eventually, he still nodded in consent.
Since his previous self was really the young prodigy of the Zhang Clan, there was no qualms with him acknowledging the ancestors of the Zhang Clan.
Besides, he had a very favorable view of his parents. He was not too certain how the relationship between a parent and a child should be like, but he could feel how protective they were of him. He was also fond of their decisive character, never allowing conventions or formalities to blindly guide their actions.
Just as the group was about to leave, Elder Qu suddenly stepped forward and bellowed, “Hold on a moment! You can’t leave yet!”
“What’s wrong?” Sword Saint Xing turned around and directed a hostile frown at Elder Qu.
“H-he has only resolved the problem concerning the three powers, but the conflict between him and the Master Teacher Pavilion hasn’t been resolved yet!” Elder Qu exclaimed. “Look at the mess that his students have caused! The head of the Poison Hall, Wei Ruyan, has poisoned so many experts of our Master Teacher Pavilion, and the leader of the Spirit Awakener Guild, Wang Ying, has enchanted all of the Master Teacher Pavilions in the area, resulting in massive losses on our part. How should we settle this problem?”
“Indeed! There’s the matter of the Pavilion Master Seal as well. Clan Head Zhang, I have to request you return it to me. This concerns the honor and prestige of our Master Teacher Pavilion!” Ren Qingyuan added.
“This…” Hearing the other party demanding the return of the Pavilion Master Seal, Zhang Xuan’s face twitched slightly. He turned to Wei Ruyan and the others and said, “Ruyan, release the poison that you have placed on these master teachers! Wang Ying, get your spirit awakeners to place all of the buildings back to where they belong. As for the Pavilion Master Seal… pardon me, but I can’t return it to you yet!”
“You can’t return it to me? Why?” Ren Qingyuan frowned in displeasure.
“Rest assured! Since no one is able to tame the Pavilion Master Seal, no one will bother to steal it from him either. I really have no idea how you can find the courage in you to talk about honor and prestige after sullying my son’s innocence. Come back to ask for it after you have reinstated his master teacher identity and restored his reputation!” Sword Saint Meng interjected impatiently.
“You…” Ren Qingyuan glared at Sword Saint Meng furiously.
“Pavilion Master Ren, we mustn’t reinstate his master teacher identity! A master teacher must be virtuous in order to serve as a role model for the rest of the world. Just the fact that he dared pass off as Yang shi’s student shows that he has absolutely no regard for the sanctity of lineage at all. We can’t let someone who has blatantly crossed the rules of the Master Teacher Pavilion remain as a master teacher…” Elder Qu argued vehemently.
But before he could finish his words, the space ahead suddenly warped, and two figures came into appearance. One of them was an elder—Yang shi!
“Yang shi, you came at the perfect time! Zhang Xuan over here has claimed to be your student, and not only so, he even attempted to pass off as you…”
Seeing that it was Yang Xuan, Elder Qu immediately called out excitedly, only to see Yang shi walking up to Zhang Xuan and bowing with clasped fist. “Senior!”
