Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97
After a moment of hesitation, Zhang Xuan decided it would be better not to say it anything.
To a master teacher, on top of their ability to impart knowledge, reputation was extremely important as well. Since he had built up considerable prestige with his previous lecture, there was no reason for him to ruin it. After all, for the Myriad Kingdom Alliance, his name could serve as a symbol to unify its citizens, as well as a powerful figure to deter conflict.
Naturally, it would also be beneficial for him to have such a reputation as the principal of the Master Teacher Academy, and it would aid in his 6-star master teacher examination as well.
Seeing how the person before him was refusing to show the slightest respect to Zhang shi's sculpture, even showing a conflicted expression as if to mock it, the young man furiously issued a command. "This fellow dared disrespect Zhang shi; I suspect that he is a spy from some foreign power. Men! Apprehend him and interrogate him well!"
"Yes!" The guards following behind him swiftly rushed forward to encircle Zhang Xuan and the others.
"I wasn't trying to be disrespectful…" Realizing that his explanation was unlikely to work, Zhang Xuan shook his head. He walked up to the young man, fondled his head, and asked with a smile, "Where is your elder sister Zhao Feiwu? Ask her to come over to meet me…"
Was there something wrong with that fellow's head, or was he simply that slow? The Eighth Prince of the Myriad Kingdom Alliance had already ordered for his apprehension, but not only did the other party not show the slightest bit of fear, the other party had even walked forward to fondle his head. Not to mention, to directly call his sister by her name and order her to meet him… Unforgivable!
"Audacious! How dare you call the alliance head by her name alone? Just how brazen can you get…" Roaring furiously, the young man could no longer hold himself back anymore and sent a fist straight toward Zhang Xuan.
On the other hand, Zhang Xuan didn't bother dodging at all. Instead, he pushed the other party's head lightly, and the other party's fist wasn't able to reach him at all due to the difference in arm length, thus rendering the prince powerless regardless of what he did.
"What are the rest of you waiting for? Get him!" Seeing that his attack had been stopped in such a humiliating manner, the young man felt so enraged that he could lose his mind. He immediately issued an order to the guards furiously.
It was also only after hearing the order that the guards jolted out of their dazed state. They immediately tried to rush forward to help, but to their horror, they found that they were unable to move their bodies at all, as if they had fallen into a marsh of some kind.
The party behind that was Hu Yaoyao and the others.
With their prowess, discreetly dealing with a bunch of guards who hadn't even reached Zongshi realm 1 was a walk in the park.
"Oh? Zhao Feiwu became the alliance head?" Surprised, Zhang Xuan asked with a chuckle as he stared at the young man who was busy flinging his fists forward but was unable to hit him.
From what he remembered, Zhao Feiwu was a knowledgeable and sharp-witted lady, but due to her affliction from birth, she wasn't able to cultivate.
Even though Zhang Xuan had resolved her problem of being unable to cultivate before leaving, she should still be some distance away from achieving the strength required to become the highest leader of the Myriad Kingdom Alliance!
One must know that in the Myriad Kingdom Alliance, without the strength of a Transcendent Mortal, it was impossible to become one of the top officials, let alone the alliance head!
"Let me go, or else I will definitely have you killed!" the young man roared with clenched teeth, not bothering to answer Zhang Xuan's question.
"Forget it, I won't be able to get the full story out of you anyway; I will ask her personally then!"
Knowing that things would only get more complicated at this rate, Zhang Xuan raised his gaze toward the Alliance Head Residence and said, "Princess Feiwu, won't you come out to meet an old friend?"
His voice wasn't loud, but with his prowess as a Half-Saint, his words still easily reached the ears of every single person in Myriad Kingdom City.
"Zhang shi?"
While others didn't think much of the voice, an excited voice sounded from within the Alliance Head Residence. Following which, Alliance Zhao Feiwu abruptly emerged from the residence on the back of an aerial spirit beast, heading toward the square.
Even before the spirit beast could descend, the young lady had already leaped down to the ground. She rushed forward excitedly, wanting to give the young man before her a warm hug. However, at the final moment, she hesitated and clasped her fist instead. "Feiwu pays respect to Zhang shi!"
"Zhang shi?"
"For Princess Feiwu to act so respectfully toward him, could he be… that Zhang shi, Zhang Xuan?"
"Now that you mention it, he does seem to bear some resemblance to the sculpture in the center of the square."
"It's not just 'bear some resemblance'; they are the same person! How could we have failed to recognize Zhang shi?"
"He looks much more medio… magnificent than his sculpture!"
"Indeed, magnificent is the word I was thinking too."
…
Zhao Feiwu's words and actions had caused a huge commotion in the square.
Everyone turned to the young man at the center with eyes lit up in excitement.
Even the Eighth Prince, who had just ordered for Zhang Xuan's apprehension a moment ago, was completely dazed, and he looked as if he was going to lose his mind.
He had always regarded the latter as his idol, but to think that, not only would he fail to recognize the other party in person, he would even act so disrespectfully. The more he thought about it, the more ashamed he felt of his actions. If only there was a burrow in the ground at this very moment, he would have dived right in.
"Let's head to the Alliance Head Residence to speak!" Noticing the fiery gazes around them, Zhao Feiwu knew that they weren't in a good place to speak. Thus, she beckoned Zhang Xuan toward the residence.
"Un." Nodding, Zhang Xuan and the others leaped onto the back of the aerial spirit beast and headed toward the Alliance Head Residence.
Shortly after they left, a deafening uproar broke out amid the square, and it felt as if even the sky would fall under the din.
"So that is Zhang shi…"
"What a gentlemanly and cultured person he is! If I could marry him, my life will have been worthwhile even if I die the moment after!"
"Marry him your head! Look at the ladies beside him and Alliance Head Zhao Feiwu, which of them isn't a top-notch beauty? With your appearance, you probably aren't even worthy of serving as his maid…"
"Even if I can't become his maid, a night of pleasure is fine by me as well…"
…
Some amid the crowd had their eyes glowing in admiration while others had gone green in envy, but there was palpable excitement in the air.
Zhang Xuan had simply created far too many miracles. Becoming the half-teacher of millions of experts, he had brought the Myriad Kingdom Alliance out of its many years of oppression from the neighboring empires. As news of his sudden appearance spread, the citizens of Myriad Kingdom City began crowding the streets, curious to see the form of the legendary genius.
…
Oblivious to the chaos in the square, at that moment, Zhang Xuan was seated in a vast hall. Sitting not too far away from him was Zhao Feiwu, who carried a faint smile on her lips.
Over the past four months since Zhang Xuan left, Zhao Feiwu had made considerable progress in her cultivation. She was still some distance away from reaching Transcendent Mortal, being still at Zhizun realm, but to have made such great progress within a limited period of time, she must have put in quite a bit of effort.
Noticing Zhang Xuan's thought, Zhao Feiwu explained, "Zhang shi, you left behind a cultivation technique manual for me before you left, and the Myriad Kingdom Alliance, Cascading Sand Sect, Frigid Gale Sect, Fleeting Cloud Sect… all of these powers have been providing me resources for my cultivation unconditionally, so it is only natural that I've made such progress within this period of time."
"Cascading Sand Sect, Frigid Gale Sect, Fleeting Cloud Sect… Those powers provided resources for your cultivation unconditionally?" Zhang Xuan was taken aback.
These sects had been the culprits behind the oppression of the Myriad Kingdom Alliance for so many years, so why would they suddenly change their attitude all of a sudden, supporting her instead?
"That's right. They have only made a single request of our Myriad Kingdom Alliance in exchange for their unconditional support, and that is for me to become the alliance head," Zhao Feiwu explained.
After hearing those words, Zhang Xuan immediately realized what was going on, and he couldn't help but shake his head.
Back then, before the Master Teacher Tournament, he had once appeared before those powers in Yang shi's form and killed the leader of the White Helios Sect, Bai Kaizhi, with a single book. That incident had probably instilled great fear into the leaders of the other powers. On top of that, he himself had also emerged as the champion of the Master Teacher Tournament and successfully enrolled into the Master Teacher Academy.
Even if the Master Teacher Academy was a distance away, it was inevitable that they feared he would return one day and exact vengeance on them, especially given what they had done in the past.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmAfter receiving news that he had close ties with Zhao Feiwu, they decided to fawn on the latter, probably in the hope that she could speak up for them should they fall into a dire situation.
After a moment of hesitation, Zhang Xuan spoke. "Since those sects and powers are willing to forge a close relationship with the Myriad Kingdom Alliance, you should send a message to inform them that I will be staying at Xuanyuan Conferred Kingdom for a period of time. During my stay there, I will be conducting public lectures, and if any of them are interested, they are free to join as well."
Since these powers intended to express their goodwill to him through supporting Zhao Feiwu, he should reciprocate their goodwill. This was essential if the Myriad Kingdom Alliance hoped to enjoy peace for many years to come.
Furthermore, what a Conferred Kingdom lacked the most was a strong foundation. As just an individual, it would be difficult for him to build a strong foundation in Xuanyuan Kingdom by himself.
The best way to do so was to draw more experts into the country. Their arrival would be closely followed by merchants, who would bring in a great amount of resources necessary for the common populace to advance their cultivation faster, thus enhancing the national power.
"Alright!" Knowing the intentions behind Zhang Xuan's instructions, Zhao Feiwu nodded with a smile. "I will also inform everyone in the alliance. You have many fans within the alliance at the moment, so they will surely follow you if they hear that you are heading to Xuanyuan Kingdom."
Hearing those words, Zhang Xuan couldn't help but burst into laughter.
By this point, he had also figured out the reason the Myriad Kingdom Alliance had decided to erect his sculpture.
His very existence served as a deterrent factor against the 27 other regional powers, preventing them from doing anything overboard. So, of course, the Myriad Kingdom Alliance would try to glorify him as much as possible.
After chatting a while longer and learning that the Myriad Kingdom Alliance had been faring well in recent times, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief. Just as he was about to rise and take his leave, Zhao Feiwu suddenly stared at him with deep anticipation.
"Zhang shi, is it fine… if I follow you to Xuanyuan Kingdom?"
"Aren't you the alliance head at the moment? Are you allowed to leave your post?" Zhang Xuan asked.
"I am only the alliance head in name at the moment. The one who is handling everything within the alliance is still my father," Zhao Feiwu replied.
"I see. You should follow along too then; I will offer you some pointers with your cultivation whenever I have time. Even though it's impressive that you have reached Zhizun realm within just a few months, it's still insufficient to hold your ground against the many powers in the region! I will try to raise your cultivation to Transcendent Mortal 5-dan or 6-dan within this period of time," Zhang Xuan replied with a nod.
In order to claim the highest position of the Myriad Kingdom Alliance stably, one had to possess a cultivation of at least Clarifying Turbidity realm. However, to become a truly unrivalled existence in the region, one would have to be at Consonant Spirit realm or Cosmos Bridge realm.
In the past, Zhang Xuan didn't have the power to achieve this. However, having reached Half-Saint and possessing many artifacts and pills in his inventory, it wasn't too difficult for him to raise Zhao Feiwu's cultivation to such a level within a short period of time.
"Thank you, Zhang shi!" Zhao Feiwu's eyes lit up in excitement after learning that the other party would help her raise her cultivation.
She didn't have much of an interest in amassing authority and power, but the fact that the other party was willing to help her showed that she meant something to him, and this left her heart tingling in joy.
On top of that, as Zhang shi continued on his journey, the disparity in their strength would only continue to widen. At this rate, they would only become two individuals living in two different worlds, unable to reach one another.
If she could grow stronger, that would mean that she would be inching even a step closer to him. Even if she couldn't catch up with him, at least the distance between them wouldn't be so great.
After dealing with the affairs at the alliance and spreading the news out, Zhao Feiwu and the others got on top of the back of the Byzantium Helios Beast and began making their way over to Xuanyuan Conferred Kingdom.