Chapter 1081: Exchange

He had said before that the key to becoming a Heaven-acknowledged Saint was to first become a Heaven-acknowledged Master Teacher.

And as for Heaven-acknowledged Master Teachers, across the entire continent, apart from Master Kong, no one had ever heard of anyone succeeding... He had thought that escaping this place was an impossible dream, but upon seeing the power emanating from the other, he was completely stunned.

This Master Zhang... was actually a Heaven-acknowledged Master Teacher?

Not just him, but aside from Luo Ruoxin, the remaining few were also dumbfounded, as if they had seen a ghost.

Although they knew that this Master Zhang had unparalleled talent and极强的 comprehension ability, they never dreamed that he was actually a Heaven-acknowledged Master Teacher!

No wonder he could talk Qiuwu Ancient Saint into disappearing in shame!

This status was in no way inferior to Master Kong's.

"Do I... have the qualifications to be canonized?"

Withdrawing his aura, Zhang Xuan looked at Ji Yan.

"Of course!"

Ji Yan's lips trembled, not daring to refute a single word.

If a Heaven-acknowledged Master Teacher couldn't be canonized, then no one else probably could.

"Then hurry up, or else, if something happens to the old院长, it will be too late to regret..." Seeing that everyone believed in his ability, Zhang Xuan finally breathed a sigh of relief.

They didn't believe he could be canonized and kept dawdling here; if they continued, the old院长 probably wouldn't need saving. For now, the only way was to reveal his identity and make them obediently comply.

Moreover, once he was canonized, his identity as a Heaven-acknowledged Master Teacher would inevitably be exposed. It was better to reveal it now for greater shock value than later.

Judging by their expressions, the effect was quite good.

"Then hurry up! Otherwise, if the old院长's soul dissipates, none of us can escape blame!" Zhang Xuan nodded.

"Alright!"

Everyone swiftly flew toward the rooftop.

At this moment, the Canonization Platform was not emitting holy light, and Tianye King was fearless enough to come directly to find trouble with the old院长. They had to speed up.

Boom!

As soon as they reached the rooftop, they saw Tianye King's primordial spirit gripping the old院长's remnant soul. The stone statue that had housed the latter had already shattered into powder.

"Don't come over! I'm already a dead man. There's no need to make unnecessary sacrifices for me..."

Seeing the crowd appear, the old院长 shouted anxiously.

Although he had never cultivated the art of soul manipulation, his soul had been nourished by holy light for so long that it had become almost tangible. Even if the stone statue was destroyed, it wouldn't dissipate in a short time.

"Shut up!"

With a point of his finger, the old院长's voice was cut off. Tianye King's eyes were icy as he looked at the crowd: "I thought you master teachers were all cowards afraid of death, not daring to come."

"Release the院长. As the esteemed Tianye King, a powerhouse at the Out-of-Body realm, dealing with a remnant soul—isn't that beneath your dignity?"

Seeing Zhang Yinqiu in the other's hands, his life and death beyond his control, Tan Qing gritted his teeth.

"Dignity? If it weren't for dignity, do you think I would have kept this fellow alive until now?"

Tianye King's face twisted ferociously.

Zhang Yinqiu was inside the stone statue, unable to escape or move.

In this place, when there was no holy light, he could have killed him at any time. He hadn't done so all along, partly out of concern for dignity, and partly, as Ji Yan and others had guessed, because if all the master teachers died, leaving only him here, it would be even lonelier.

Anyway, this fellow posed no threat; living would only bring him more pain.

"What do you want to release the old院长?"

Seeing that this fellow hadn't acted all along, clearly wanting to negotiate, Zhang Xuan frowned and looked over.

"Simple: hand over the guy who hit me and the map, and I'll release him. Otherwise, watch him dissipate before your eyes!"

Whenever he mentioned the guy who hit him, Tianye King ground his teeth.

Having roamed for so many years, this was the first time he had been ambushed. The worst part was that he had been directly blown to bits, his physical body completely ruined. Just thinking about it made him feel like exploding.

"The guy who hit you?"

Zhang Xuan blinked.

He had thought the other would hate him to the bone, but instead, he kept wanting to kill the clone...

No wonder. The clone had punched him to pieces, which was a huge grudge... For a big boss of this level, it was natural to target the one with the greatest hatred.

"That's right. Hand him over and the map, and I'll release this Zhang Yinqiu!"

Tianye King nodded.

"Alright, I can give them to you. But you must swear by the Spirit God that you won't kill the old院长, and also that you won't attack us for a short time!" Zhang Xuan said. "Otherwise, if we rescue the old院长 and you immediately kill us, our exchange would be completely meaningless."

With the Seven-Colored Earth Essence Liquid, breaking through wouldn't take long. Giving the items to him didn't matter, as long as this fellow didn't act for a short time, he could successfully be canonized and kill him.

"You know about the Spirit God?"

Tianye King was startled.

Swearing by the Spirit God was the most taboo thing for their spirit race. Once done, they absolutely dared not violate it, or else their soul would surely be taken by the Spirit God, with no chance of resurrection.

"What? Afraid? If you don't agree, we might as well die together. You won't get the map either. We'll fight to the death. Since none of us can leave, dying here is nothing!"

Seeing him hesitate, Zhang Xuan said.

"Alright, I agree!"

After not thinking long, Tianye King's eyes flickered, and he nodded.

"Then let's begin!"

With a flick of his wrist, Zhang Xuan produced an alien spirit race altar, the one he had obtained from Yuye King.

"It seems you've prepared quite thoroughly... Very well, I will now sacrifice to the Spirit God!"

Seeing that this fellow not only knew about the Spirit God but even had an altar, Tianye King realized he couldn't deceive him and let out a cold laugh.

Boom!

Countless treasures appeared on the altar. As his obscure words sounded, the items immediately ignited.

Creak! Creak!

The sky above instantly turned pitch black, as if a massive gate had appeared.

Everyone's bodies stiffened.

The aura emanating from the gate was too powerful; with their cultivation, they seemed easily crushed to powder.

Zhang Xuan's heart also trembled.

Although he had seen alien spirit race sacrifices before, they were only to check his Heaven-acknowledged Master Teacher identity; no such gate had appeared. He hadn't expected it to be so terrifying.

Whoosh!

The gate slowly opened, and a back figure appeared before them.

Although it was just a back view, it gave a feeling of crushing the soul, as if if the true form descended, not only would they be unable to withstand it, but the entire Master Teacher Continent would instantly collapse.

"This back figure... where have I seen it?"

The back figure in the sky, though pitch black and unclear, Zhang Xuan, with his Eye of Insight, felt as if he had seen it somewhere before.

However, before he could think further, Tianye King, seeing the back figure appear, showed a cautious expression and spoke.

"I, Tianye King, swear to the Spirit God: as long as I obtain the murderer who injured me and the map, I will immediately release Zhang Yinqiu and will not harm them in the slightest for a short time. If I break this oath, may my soul dissipate, and I willingly let the Spirit God take my life..."

Splash!

As the words ended, a beam of light shot straight from the gate, landed on his head, and entered his mind.

It seemed the Spirit God had agreed to his request.

Whoosh!

After this, the gate slowly dissipated. Tianye King's face looked somewhat pale as he turned back to Zhang Xuan: "Well, I've made the oath. Can you trust me now?"

"Mm."

Nodding, Zhang Xuan was about to take out the clone and the map when he heard Wu Shi's telepathic voice in his ear.

"Tianye King agreed too quickly, even willing to swear by the Spirit God... Could there be a trick?"

"There must be a trick..."

Zhang Xuan nodded.

The other party, with his strength, actually held the advantage, yet he agreed without hesitation. If there was no trick, he wouldn't believe it.

"Then..."

Wu Shi frowned.

"The old院长 is in his hands; we have no other choice. He may have tricks, but we also have a trump card. As long as we can stall for time until I succeed in canonization, I can kill him and resolve the crisis..."

Zhang Xuan telepathically replied.

They were at a disadvantage now. It was good enough that the other party agreed to the conditions. Even if there was a trick, they had no better option.

"This..." Wu Shi fell silent.

What the other said was true; they only had this one path now, no other way.

A powerhouse at the Out-of-Body realm, if he really wanted to fight, even all of them combined couldn't withstand him.

"Where is that guy? And the map?"

Tianye King said.

"Here..."

Without much hesitation, Zhang Xuan flipped his palm, and the clone appeared before him.

This guy had caused the trouble, so of course he should take responsibility.

After all, the clone was refined from the Nine-Heavens Lotus Fetus; even if beaten into a meat patty, it wouldn't die. Even if the other caught him and tried to kill him, he probably couldn't succeed.

At this moment, the clone's pancake face had fully recovered. To prevent everyone from being too shocked, he had changed his appearance inside the hive, disguising himself as Sun Qiang.

He hadn't seen many people, so disguising as Sun Qiang was the most familiar and convenient.

"Is this the guy who attacked me earlier?"

Seeing an unfamiliar fat man appear, Tianye King frowned.

"That's right. He can disguise himself. That Hongye King was also him..." Zhang Xuan nodded.

"Very well..."

With anger and killing intent in his eyes, Tianye King nodded. His hand grabbed through the air, and the clone was enveloped by a massive force, flying straight over.

"And the map?"

After pulling the clone to his side, Tianye King didn't act immediately but looked over again.

"Here!"

Zhang Xuan extended his hand, and an ancient sheepskin scroll appeared in his palm, slowly floating, exuding an aura of eternity.

This thing was of little use to him; it had only served as a rainbow bridge to let him pass through the Heavenly Palace. It had no other effect. If the other wanted it, giving it away was nothing.

"Bring it here..."

A flash of fervor passed through Tianye King's eyes, and he quickly reached out his hand.

"Alright!"

With a flick of his finger, the map slowly flew toward the other.

"Wuwuwu..."

Seeing the map about to be given to the other, the sealed Zhang Yinqiu's soul was full of anxiety, wanting to say something but unable to make a sound.

"This is for you!"

Tianye King pushed with his hand, and Zhang Yinqiu flew toward the crowd.

Zhang Xuan and the others quickly caught the old院长's soul, and Wu Shi stepped forward to undo the seal on him.

"The map concerns the entire relic; you can't give it to him..."

As soon as the seal was lifted, they heard old院长 Zhang Yinqiu's anxious shout.

"Haha, it's too late!"

Tianye King grabbed the map in his palm, his eyes shining, and his excited voice made the entire Canonization Pavilion tremble.