Chapter 1151: What a Big Trap!

Rushing to Zhang Xuan's side, they saw that the young man, who had been full of vigor and formidable just moments ago, had now fainted, with blood trickling from the corner of his mouth—clearly severely injured.

"We'll kill you..."

Luo Qiqi and the others, burning with rage, lined up in front of him and glared at Vice Hall Master Tian Qing not far away, wishing they could tear him apart.

Facing their attitude, Vice Hall Master Tian was stunned, unable to believe it.

Although his strength was formidable, given how easily this young man had crushed Prince Zhongqing, he should have been able to easily dodge his attack. Thus, he had prepared many follow-up moves for the ambush... but none were needed; a single palm strike sent him flying...

Most crucially, the other party seemed to fear he wouldn't hit, making slight adjustments to actively meet the blow...

Actively taking his palm strike?

This...

His palm strike could split rocks and shatter stones, with immense power. A direct hit would be fatal even for a peak Spirit Severance realm fourth layer expert. Wasn't this suicide?

Puzzled and unsure what was happening, he heard Prince Zhongqing roar angrily not far away. Turning to look, he saw that the Golden Soul Lock on the prince had somehow fallen to the ground, and the countless bloody wounds on his body were visibly healing. In less than two breaths, he was completely restored, as if never injured.

"When did this guy get such a powerful sacred medicine?"

He knew the prince well and had never heard of such a potent medicine. This rapid recovery ability was comparable to the method Zhang Shi had used on Sun Qiang earlier.

"I'll kill you..."

His body restored, recalling the humiliation, Prince Zhongqing couldn't hold back. With a roar, he charged at the unconscious Zhang Xuan.

Grabbing the air, a long sword materialized and shot forward with sharp sword light.

In the earlier hasty battle, he had been suppressed before he could even draw his weapon. Now, aware of the opponent's terror, he wasted no time and unleashed his strongest attack.

Zizi!

The sword qi crackled like lightning, tearing through the air. With his sword drawn, even a half-step Nascent Soul cultivator would have to dodge temporarily.

This was his strength, his capital.

"Stop..."

Luo Qiqi, Yu Fei'er, and Sun Qiang raised their weapons simultaneously and met the attack.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Three dull thuds, and the three were sent flying, crashing into a nearby wall. Their faces flushed, and they spat blood.

The gap between them and the Saint Domain fourth layer was too vast to bridge.

"Die!"

Having severely wounded the three, Prince Zhongqing's long sword continued its descent, about to cleave Zhang Xuan in two.

"Stop!"

Just then, an angry roar rang out. Prince Zhongqing felt a thick surge of true qi form a massive shield in front of Zhang Xuan, enveloping him.

Blocked by the shield, the sword could no longer strike down.

Then, with a shudder, the sword in his hand flew straight up and stabbed back at him.

Puchi!

It pierced his shoulder, the immense force carrying him backward until he was pinned to the wall, hanging like a scarecrow.

"Ah..."

The sharp pain made him cry out, his eyes filled with disbelief.

With his sword in hand and momentum built, his combat power, though not matching a half-step Nascent Soul, was close. The other party, caught off guard, not only blocked the attack but turned his own sword against him... What kind of strength was this?

Huala!

Still in shock, he saw two figures appear before Zhang Xuan, their faces anxious.

"Zhang Shi... Zhang Shi!"

It was none other than Wu Rufeng, Elder of the Master Teacher Pavilion, and Xing Tianming, Hall Master of the War Master Hall!

After calling out twice, they found Zhang Xuan too severely injured and unconscious. Hall Master Xing's face darkened as he stood up.

"Openly persecuting a master teacher—Tian Qing, how dare you!"

Honglong!

Enraged, Hall Master Xing struck down with a palm that turned the sky upside down.

"I..."

Vice Hall Master Tian Qing tried to explain, but before he could finish, he was slapped to the ground, vomiting blood profusely.

When they were at the same level, he was no match. Now that Hall Master Xing had advanced to the Nascent Soul realm, how could he resist?

"Men, seize these two!"

Having struck them severely, Hall Master Xing bellowed.

Hualala!

At the command, Hall Master Liao, Hall Master Zhou, Hall Master Chen, and Hall Master Yan appeared from nowhere and, in the blink of an eye, sealed the cultivation of the two and captured them.

Though all were at the peak of the Spirit Severance realm, as members of the War Master Hall, their combat prowess was superior. Even at full strength, the two couldn't withstand them, let alone now, severely wounded.

"Zhang Shi..."

Having subdued the attackers, Hall Master Xing took out a healing pill and fed it to Zhang Xuan.

Using true qi to catalyze the medicine's effects, the latter slowly regained consciousness.

"You're here..." he said, then looked at Tian Qing and Prince Zhongqing weakly. "There may be some misunderstanding between us. I hope you won't harm them... Pfft!"

Before finishing, he spat blood again.

"Zhang Shi..."

Seeing him speak up for the other party even when so badly injured, Master Wu and Hall Master Xing were full of admiration.

They knew Zhang Shi was benevolent, but not to this extent!

Unlike them, Prince Zhongqing and Vice Hall Master Tian were going mad.

They had been wondering why this guy didn't dodge and took the attack head-on—now they understood: he was setting them up!

Now he was severely injured, and when Hall Master Xing and Master Wu arrived, they were beating him up... There was no way to explain.

"It was this Zhang Xuan who attacked us, using that cauldron..."

Roaring, Vice Hall Master Tian pointed behind him, only to find that the cauldron, which had been threatening to burn him to cinders, had vanished as if it never existed.

It had been put away into a storage ring at some point.

"Shut up!"

Hall Master Liao, who was holding him, slapped him across the face, twisting his mouth.

Zhang Shi had made such great contributions to the War Master Hall, and they hadn't even thanked him yet, when this guy beat him like this. If not for his status as a master teacher, they would have killed him on the spot.

Truly unforgivable.

"Zhang Shi, what exactly happened?"

Ignoring the slapped vice hall master, Master Wu looked at him.

"Save them first..." Zhang Xuan pointed weakly at Luo Qiqi and the others.

"Alright!"

Hall Master Xing called out, and a hall master came over to give each of them a pill.

"Master Wu, do you still remember the incident of Old Dean Zhang Yinqiu's relic information being leaked?"

Seeing that they were out of danger, Zhang Xuan relaxed, looking weak and dispirited.

Back then, Old Dean Zhang Yinqiu discovered the relic's location, but the information was tricked away by the Qingyuan City branch... He had detailed this to the two after escaping from Qiuwu Palace.

"Of course!" Master Wu nodded. "I've been investigating since I returned, but... there's no solid evidence..."

"I was also looking into this before, but then... Sun Qiang was captured by Vice Hall Master Tian and Prince Zhongqing, who claimed he... colluded with the Poison Hall on my behalf, violating my status as a master teacher! They said I was unworthy to be a master teacher and wanted to punish me by sending me into the underground cavern... Cough, cough!"

Speaking a few words, Zhang Xuan grew emotional and his face reddened again.

"Punish you by sending you into the underground cavern? Colluding with the Poison Hall?"

Flicking his sleeve, Master Wu's eyes turned cold. "Utter nonsense! Framing a master teacher... How dare you!"

Others might not know, but he was fully aware.

This Zhang Xuan was not only a Heaven's Recognized Master Teacher but also a Heaven's Saint... Such a figure had only appeared once in tens of thousands of years—Confucius.

To accuse such a person of colluding with the Poison Hall... and send him to the underground cavern?

Absolutely unforgivable!

"When I refused to admit it, they directly attacked, intending to extract a confession by torture... You know, with my strength, I'm helpless against Spirit Severance realm cultivators... Fortunately, you arrived quickly, or we would have all died here..."

Zhang Xuan looked relieved, as if having narrowly escaped death.

"Helpless?"

Vice Hall Master Tian and Prince Zhongqing exchanged glances, nearly exploding.

You call this helpless?

We were the ones nearly beaten to death by you! If anyone was helpless, it was us, alright?

Choking with rage, they wanted to retort, but with their cultivation sealed, they couldn't utter a word.

On the side, Sun Qiang, Luo Qiqi, and the others exchanged glances, their mouths twitching.

Yu Fei'er, in particular, was speechless.

They had been worried to death, but it turned out this guy... was playing a bitter meat trick!

With Master Wu, Hall Master Xing, and the other hall masters and master teachers witnessing the assault... the two would never be able to clear their names, even if they jumped into the Yellow River.

They had been wondering how Zhang Shi would settle things after openly attacking a vice hall master. Little did they know, he had already set a trap, dug a pit, and waited for them to jump in.

Dare to mess with Zhang Shi? Just wait to be buried in the pit!

The three looked at them with great sympathy.

"We know your strength; you're indeed no match for a Spirit Severance cultivator!" Hearing his words, Master Wu and Hall Master Xing nodded simultaneously.

Master Wu had spent time with Zhang Xuan in Qiuwu Palace and knew his strength—he could barely defeat a Saint Domain third layer expert, let alone a Spirit Severance cultivator.

As for Hall Master Xing, he had also fought him. Although Zhang Xuan was quick-witted in battle, his actual combat power was still lacking.

He shouldn't have been able to withstand a vice hall master of the Master Teacher Pavilion and a battle-hardened prince.

As for Luo Qiqi and the others, even less needed to be said.

"The situation was critical, so I sent you a message..."

Having explained what happened, Zhang Xuan sighed in relief and lay on the ground, weak.

Clearly, his injuries were too severe; even with the pill, he wouldn't recover soon.

"Extracting confessions by torture, framing a master teacher... Tian Qing, Prince Zhongqing, you have some nerve!"

The more he heard, the angrier he got. Master Wu couldn't hold back and turned to the two. "I will immediately report today's events to the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters for judgment!"

He finished with a cold shout.

"Framing?"

"Extracting confessions by torture? Report to headquarters?"

Vice Hall Master Tian and Prince Zhongqing's faces turned pale simultaneously. This pit... seemed a bit too big...

Not just a pit—it was a bottomless pit!