Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97
By the time Zhang Xuan and his group left the Heart Pavilion, the sun had already started to set.
Instead of wandering around town, Zhang Xuan went into one of the residences belonging to the Zhang Clan to reinforce his cultivation and discern the changes in his body.
Cultivation was an arduous process. It was not possible to reach the peak after just a bit of hard work. Even someone as talented as him had needed to constantly put in hard work in order to reach his current level.
With the recent breakthroughs that he had made, both his zhenqi cultivation and soul cultivation had reached Great Sage 2-dan Aureate Body realm consummation. With his Dragonbone Divine Spear and the Spatial, Time, and Soul Quintessences, he would be able to put up a fight even against Sempiternal realm consummation experts.
He no longer had to rely on external help, such as Kong shi’s blood droplet, in order to challenge them.
Over the next few days, he chose to remain in his accommodation, and he did not head out much.
Three days later, the expedition party of the Zhang Clan arrived in Qufu as well and converged together with their group.
After several days of cultivation, the Xingmeng Sword Saints had successfully reinforced their Sempiternal realm cultivation. If they executed their collaborative swordsmanship, they would be able to oppose even Sempiternal realm consummation experts. There were very few beneath Ancient Sage who would be able to threaten them anymore.
Nearly all of the grand elders of the Zhang Clan had joined the expedition party for the Temple of Confucius. Taking a swift glance, there were over twenty of them who had reached Sempiternal realm.
As expected of the number one Sage Clan of the Master Teacher Continent, its roots sure did run deep!
…
On the fifth day, Luo Ruoxin suddenly knocked on his door.
“Zhang Xuan, I heard that there’s quite a commotion outside. Are you interested in taking a walk with me?”
“Sure!” Zhang Xuan nodded without any hesitation.
Ever since he arrived in Qufu, he had been spending nearly all of his time cultivating. It was indeed starting to get a little boring and monotonous, so it would be good for him to head out to have a look!
Leaving the residence, he found that the city had become significantly more bustling over the past four days. He spotted not just the master teachers and experts of the Master Teacher Pavilion but the old ancestors and grand elders of the other occupations too.
Before he knew it, nearly all of the top experts of the Master Teacher Continent had already converged in Qufu.
In fact, these ‘top experts’ weren’t just limited to humans. Quite a number of Great Sage beasts had also arrived in Qufu over the past few days.
Despite the massive influx of experts into Qufu, the city still surprisingly remained in order. He did not see any battles or duels happening around. The city remained as peaceful and harmonious as it had always been.
Seeing through Zhang Xuan’s doubts, Luo Ruoxin explained with a smile, “This is the sacred land of the master teachers; no one would dare cause any trouble here. Even if a conflict broke out, they would choose to settle it outside.”
Qufu was not just the place where the Temple of Confucius was located, it was also the ancestral land of the Master Teacher Pavilion. There was no one who would be so foolish as to cause trouble here and become the public enemy of everyone else.
Strolling down the busy streets, Zhang Xuan could not help but notice how crowded Qufu had become. He glanced at Luo Ruoxin and asked, “Say, do you think that there are any Otherworldly Demons here?”
It was a known fact that Otherworldly Demon Emperors had the ability to disguise themselves as master teachers, and even 9-star master teachers would not be able to distinguish them.
Since both humans and beasts had already made their way to Qufu, the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe would not allow this opportunity to slip through their fingers. They would surely try to hide amid the crowd and sneak into the Temple of Confucius when the time came.
“I suppose so,” Luo Ruoxin replied with a nod. She glanced at Zhang Xuan and said, “After the Temple of Confucius opens up, we’ll all be teleported to a random location within. This means that we won’t be able to remain together… You must remember to keep your guard up at all times.”
“Teleported to a random location within?” Zhang Xuan frowned.
“Un. Wu Chen has been gathering intelligence on the Temple of Confucius. According to what he has found so far, as soon as the Temple of Confucius opens, we will be enveloped by a formation that will randomly teleport us into the Temple of Confucius. There’s no knowing where you will appear… Without a doubt, there are Otherworldly Demons teleporting along with us as well, so you mustn’t let your guard down,” Luo Ruoxin said.
“Un, I won’t!” Zhang Xuan nodded.
If he was teleported into a dire situation, he would just have to rely on his disguising ability.
Plus, his threat was not just limited to the Otherworldly Demons. It was likely that the Hundred Schools of Philosophers bore some hostility toward him a well, and they might even intend him harm.
He was not as helpless as he was before, but he would still have trouble dealing with a large group of people simultaneously. In the end, one could never be too careful. He did not want to lose his life before he could even make his way into the Temple of Confucius.
Luo Ruoxin hesitated for a moment before taking off the pendant around her neck and passing it over to Zhang Xuan. “This pendant was given to me by my father. It should be able to save you if you meet any danger.”
The exterior of the pendant resembled crystal, but its interior was the color of fresh blood. It was an exquisite artifact.
“This…” Zhang Xuan looked at the pendant that Luo Ruoxin was passing to him with a doubtful expression.
He knew that there would be dangers lurking within the Temple of Confucius, but he did possess fighting prowess comparable to Sempiternal realm consummation experts. Even if someone intended him harm, he had the strength to protect himself.
Seeing that Zhang Xuan was not accepting her pendant, Luo Ruoxin insisted determinedly, “Take it. We don’t know what lies within the Temple of Confucius, so the only thing that we can do is take as many precautions as possible. I know that you aren’t too worried about your safety, but if an Otherworldly Demon successfully achieves a breakthrough to Ancient Sage inside and your identity is exposed to them by some chance, you will be in great danger…”
The identity that she was referring to was, of course, Celestial Master Teacher.
Hearing those words, Zhang Xuan fell silent.
There was some sense to what Luo Ruoxin was saying.
Ancient Sages were forbidden from entering the depths of the Temple of Confucius, and no one had successfully made a breakthrough to Ancient Sage for the past ten thousand years. However, there was a great possibility that there might be an artifact within the Temple of Confucius that would allow one to take the final step forward.
If that artifact fell into the hands of the Otherworldly Demons, it could really end badly. It would still be fine if the Otherworldly Demons were oblivious to Zhang Xuan’s identity as a Celestial Master Teacher, but if they somehow learned of the matter, there was no doubt that Zhang Xuan would be their priority target.
With Zhang Xuan’s capability, he could still fend off Sempiternal realm cultivators without any trouble, but when faced with an Ancient Sage, the only option that he had was to flee as far as he could.
The disparity in their strength was simply too great to even attempt to fight back.
Knowing that Luo Ruoxin was worried about him, Zhang Xuan took the pendant before asking anxiously, “But if I take your pendant, what about you?”
If the pendant truly had the ability to protect him, was it really fine for him to take it? Would Luo Ruoxin not be in danger if so?
“You don’t have to worry about me. Even if I encounter an opponent I can’t defeat, I am still able to escape,” Luo Ruoxin reassured. Not wanting to linger too long on this topic, Luo Ruoxin remarked, “I saw Luo Qiqi earlier.”
“Qiqi?” Zhang Xuan was taken aback. “Is she here too?”
He had not seen Luo Qiqi ever since they separated at the Luo Clan. If Luo Ruoxin had seen her around, could she be there for the Temple of Confucius as well?
Thinking about it, it did make sense. As the owner of the Dimension Silencer, Luo Qiqi boasted strength comparable to Sempiternal realm cultivators. Considering how huge a matter the opening of the Temple of Confucius was, it was reasonable for her to show up in the vicinity.
“Yeah. She’s… a good person,” Luo Ruoxin said in a daze.
“Ruoxin, are you fine?” Hearing the abrupt remark made by Luo Ruoxin, Zhang Xuan frowned.
“It’s nothing. I just can’t help thinking that once we separate from one another after the opening of Temple of Confucius, we might never meet one another again,” Luo Ruoxin said.
She would usually have a lofty and nonchalant look on her face, but at that moment, a hint of worry and reluctance could be seen on her countenance.
Seeing that Luo Ruoxin was worrying over this matter, Zhang Xuan attempted to console her. “Don’t worry. We’ll surely survive the dangers in the Temple of Confucius and reunite with one another!”
Ever since he first met her, she seemed to have been able to remain calm no matter what happened. It was as if there was nothing in this world that could faze her, or perhaps, she was simply a little detached from the world. Yet, she seemed to be particularly emotional that day.
It was true that he would face many enemies in the Temple of Confucius, and the random teleportation only introduced further unpredictability to the expedition. There was no doubt that the expedition would be fraught with dangers, but he would not go down without a fight.
As for Luo Ruoxin… even with his current eye of discernment, he was still unable to see through the depths of her strength. From this, it was evident that her strength was far more terrifying than his.
Given so, what did they have to fear?
“I guess so. Let’s not talk about this anymore!” Luo Ruoxin replied with a light smile. She stretched out her hand and asked, “Where is the Prime Amulet? Can you let me take a look at it?”
“It’s here!” With a flick of his wrist, Zhang Xuan took out Little Amulet and passed it over.
This was an artifact that they had acquired through their partnership. Putting aside the fact that she only wanted to have a look at it, even if she wanted the Prime Amulet, he would have given it to her without any hesitation.
