Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97
The duo had just said that with Ding Mu's inauguration, no one would dare to wreak havoc in Xuanyuan Kingdom anymore when they heard this stark provocation. They felt a stinging sensation on their cheeks, as though someone had just struck them.
What was going on?
They hurriedly stood up and looked out of the windows.
The Green Leaf Pavilion was a tall infrastructure, and from the executive room, they could see the vast field around the Heaven's Altar.
The field was filled with a massive crowd, and in the air, a young man stood on the head of a massive Howling Firmament Beast. The young man was currently staring coldly down upon the inauguration ceremony below.
"From the looks of it... he isn't even twenty yet. However, given how deep his aura is, his cultivation has probably already reached Zhizun realm pinnacle... When did such an expert appear in the city?"
The mouths of the duo twitched.
They had just said that Crown Prince Ding Mu's feat was unsurpassed in the past five hundred years, and would remain to be so in the next five hundred... and at the next moment, this fellow appeared. Wasn't this too coincidental?!
"Zhang Xuan... If I recall correctly, a few days ago, a beast tamer going by this name won the Beast Taming Competition. However, that person's cultivation should only be at Zongshi realm pinnacle? Why is his cultivation suddenly at Zhizun realm pinnacle?"
A beast tamer was bellowing for the inaugurating crown prince to face his death...
What was going on?
The two heads of the largest information network in Xuanyuan Kingdom stared at one another in frenzy.
...
In the house on the back of a flying massive savage beast, a few people stood by the window.
Standing at the very front was a white-robed young man. With his hands behind his back, he carried an ethereal aura.
Gu Mu stepped forward and announced, "Gongzi, Xuanyuan Royal City is right ahead of us!"
Not too far away, a massive city came into sight. It extended for several hundred kilometers, and its thick city walls were connected to the meandering mountains. It resembled a sleeping behemoth.
"The layout of this city is indeed interesting. To think that it would be a formation!"
Opening his fan, the gongzi chuckled.
Those within might not realize anything, but from above, it was clear that the city that was connected with the mountains appeared to be aligned with some formation theories. There seemed to be a slight gathering of spiritual energy in the region.
"The Xuanyuan royal family is a clan of formation masters, and the generations of emperors had been skilled formation masters themselves. In this field, Crown Prince Ding Mu seemed to be an exceptional genius..." Gu Mu explained.
"Pui, genius my head!"
Before Gu Mu could finish his words, a disdainful voice sounded. Turning to take a look, they saw Sun Qiang with a contemptuous expression on his face.
"You disagree with my words?"
Knowing that there was a high chance that the other party was a butler of a 6-star master teacher, Gu Mu dared not get angry. Rather, he gazed at the other party with a look of bewilderment.
"This Ding Mu, having offended the young master, probably won't live for long. In terms of talent, who could match up to the young master?"
Sun Qiang's lips curled up in pride.
Sun Qiang had witnessed how Ding Mu's subordinates severely wounded Lu Chong, and he knew that the other party's actions had piqued the young master's killing intent.
While the young master was a headstrong person, he had the capability to match it. Even without the assistance of the old master, the young master's wrath wasn't something that the mere Xuanyuan Kingdom could withstand.
In Sun Qiang's eyes, there was no genius in the world who could even compare to the pinky of the young master.
Genius? Stop bringing shame to the word.
"Is this... senior uncle very talented?" Gu Mu asked.
"Of course. The young master isn't twenty yet, but he's already a 3-star painter, 2-star master teacher, 2-star beast tamer... and on top of that, he was recruited as an elder of Myriad Kingdom Alliance Physician Guild. Do you think that a fellow like Ding Mu could match up to the young master's talents?"
Sun Qiang was filled with pride.
The reticent 'gongzi' standing by the window suddenly turned around and asked, "Isn't your young master from Tianwu Kingdom? How did he become an elder of the Myriad Kingdom Alliance?"
How could a small figure from Tianwu Kingdom become an elder of the Myriad Kingdom Alliance Physician Guild?
"Who do you think the young master is? He solved all of the problems written on the Physician Guild's Wall of Dilemma in a single taking. Among those questions, there are even problems that the physicians from the Myriad Kingdom Alliance Physician Guild are unable to solve. As such, in awe of the young master's capability, they decided to recruit him as an elder..."
Sun Qiang harrumphed.
He liked speaking of the young master's accomplishments. He was just about to brag more about the various feats the young master had done when the calm gongzi's face paled and his body trembled.
"Isn't your young master... called Zhang Xuan? If I recall correctly, isn't the one who solved the questions on the Wall of Dilemma called Liu Cheng?"
"Oh, Liu Cheng is an alias that the young master used during the 2-star master teacher examination!" Sun Qiang said.
"Zhang Xuan is Liu Cheng? Your young master?"
'Gongzi' and Jin Conghai glanced at one another in shock.
"Indeed!" Sun Qiang nodded.
"Since he's a physician, why is he involved with the matters of poison masters as well? These two occupations are contradictory to one another..." A moment later, gongzi asked once more.
A master teacher could take on many occupations at once. Initially, upon hearing that Yang Xuan was a skilled poison master, as well as Gu Mu's senior granduncle, they thought that Zhang Xuan would be a skilled poison master as well... But if that was the case, how could the other party be a skilled physician too?"
"The young master is a talented individual. What is bizarre about him mastering two occupations at once?"
"The responsibility of a physician is to bring salvation to the world, and only those with benevolence in their hearts are suited for the occupation. On the other hand, the poison masters concoct poison for malicious means, and those who take on this occupation tend to be callous... Given how the two occupations are at the opposite end of the spectrum, could it be that your young master has dissociative identity disorder?" 'Gongzi' was still baffled by this matter.
Given how physicians and poison masters stood at the opposite ends of the spectrum, he couldn't understand how one could take on these two occupations simultaneously.
"What's so bizarre about that? Our young master is normally a gentle person, and he rarely argues with others. Even though he's capable of utilizing poison, unlike other poison masters, he doesn't kill everyone that he gets into a dispute with. On the contrary, he tends to resolve problems through reason and seeks to win over others via morals..."
Upon learning of the other party's doubts, Sun Qiang glanced at the other party contemptuously.
Expert? If you're truly an expert, how could you not know this? How embarrassing.
Just as Sun Qiang was about to continue introducing the various strengths of Zhang Xuan, a deafening voice suddenly sounded from the city.
"Ding Mu, I, Zhang Xuan, am here. Get out here to face your death!"
"Zhang Xuan?"
Upon hearing these words, the group on the back of the savage beast fell silent. Everyone's gazes hurriedly turned to Sun Qiang.
This is the man that you said is gentle, rarely argues with others, and uses morals to win others over?
It seemed like the other party had already slaughtered his way to the other party's doorstep!
"What is he up to?"
Wei Yuqing was stunned.
He was just gone for a few days. Why was Beast Tamer Zhang wreaking havoc in the royal palace, even threatening to kill the crown prince?
"Grand Elder Wei, let's go over to take a look!"
Of the crowd, only Sun Qiang understood the abrupt situation. Knowing that there was no time to be wasted, he hurriedly instructed.
It seemed like the young master couldn't wait any longer, so he decided to make his move today.
"Alright!"
Knowing how urgent the matter was, Wei Yuqing tapped his feet and the savage beast dashed straight toward the direction of the voice.
...
Standing at the very center of the Heaven's Altar, Ding Mu was just about to undergo the final rituals to be officially inaugurated as the emperor when he heard those words. For a moment, he was dumbstruck.
He thought about the various forms that the other party may exact vengeance on him; assassination, life-and-death duel, poisoning...
But one thing he never expected was for the other party to do it so openly.
Before the innumerable civilians, master teachers, officials, and nobles of the Xuanyuan Kingdom, the other party fearlessly rushed here and declared brazenly that he would kill him... Was this fellow insane?
This was Xuanyuan Kingdom, his home ground! Putting aside the troops, there were many formations laid out all over as well... To dash right here fearlessly, was the other party really a genius 2-star master teacher?
"This is the master teacher who wishes to kill you?"
A middle-aged man walked over.
The head of the Master Teacher Pavilion, Luo Qianhong.
In the past few days, Ding Mu had been staying in the Master Teacher Pavilion. He had told him about the recent events, and it seemed that a master teacher desired for his death. Initially, he thought that Ding Mu was just overthinking it, but to think that the other party really came knocking.
"Un!"
Ding Mu nodded. Clasping his fist, he said, "It's a misunderstanding. I hope that Brother Luo can mediate the situation for me!"
"The other party is just a mere 2-star master teacher. He won't dare to defy my words!"
Luo Qianhong waved his hands.
There was strict ranking hierarchy to master teachers. 2-star master teachers possessed incredible standing in the kingdom, but to a 3-star intermediate master teacher like him, the other party's standing didn't mean much.
In fact, the other party had to pay respect to him in the position of a student, otherwise, he could report the matter to the Master Teacher Pavilion and have the other party's master teacher license revoked.
"I'll thank you in advance then..."
Seeing that the head of the Master Teacher Pavilion was going to stand up for him, Ding Mu heaved a sigh of relief.
"Bai Chen, go over and issue a stern warning to that young man. Don't allow him to delay His Highness's inauguration ceremony. If he doesn't know what's good for him, I permit the use of violence to deal with him!"
Luo Qianhong instructed one of his subordinates.
"Yes!"
A master teacher dressed in a long robe walked out of the crowd.
This master teacher seemed to be in his forties, and his eyes were gleaming with spirit. On the emblem pinned on his chest, there were three bright stars.
He was a 3-star primary master teacher.
His cultivation was also at Zhizun realm pinnacle.
Upon receiving the orders, Master Teacher Bai Chen turned to look at Zhang Xuan above and frowned, "Today is Crown Prince Ding Mu's inauguration ceremony, so I ask of you not to cause trouble and leave immediately. If so, we will not pursue this matter. Otherwise, don't blame me for getting nasty!"
"I'll leave after killing Ding Mu!"
Couldn't be bothered to waste his words, Zhang Xuan leaped down the back of the Howling Firmament Beast.
Even though he didn't possess any technique capable of breaking his fall, given his Zhizun realm cultivation and powerful physical body, an altitude of a dozen meters didn't mean much to him.
Hu!
Landing on the stairs of the Heaven's Altar, the ground below cracked. After which, without any hesitation, he began walking up.
"I am 3-star Master Teacher Bai Chen. As a master teacher, you should be well aware of the rules. A lower-ranked master teacher has to unconditionally obey the commands of higher-ranked master teacher. It can't be that you are intending to defy my words?"
Upon seeing the young man disregarding him, Bai Chen's complexion turned awful. He immediately stepped forward to block Zhang Xuan's path.
He heard the conversation between the pavilion master and Ding Mu, and he knew that the other party was a master teacher as well.
A mere 2-star primary master teacher should bow respectfully upon seeing a 3-star primary master teacher like him... Yet, to dare to disregard him altogether, how brazen!
"Scram!"
Seeing the men from Xuanyuan Kingdom Master Teacher Pavilion blocking his path, Zhang Xuan bellowed coldly.
"You... You're courting death!"
He thought that after revealing his identity, the other party would retreat out of fear. Yet, the other party dared to ask him to 'scram'. The arrogance of the other party caused Bai Chen's face to turn livid, and he nearly erupted from rage.