Chapter 1153: Meeting Elder Xu Again

The people of the Poison Hall were indeed implicated because of him. Once handed over to the Master Teacher Hall, they would inevitably be ostracized by many righteous individuals, and the final outcome was unknown.

But if they could be recruited into the War Teacher Hall, it would be different.

Not only would they be given a chance to clear their names, but they would also be granted a better identity... It was likely that many poison masters would not refuse.

Moreover, the most crucial point was that if the poison masters were used well, the overall strength of the War Teacher Hall would immediately surge!

"This definitely won't do..."

Hall Master Xing's face twitched as he quickly waved his hand.

"Why?" Zhang Xuan was taken aback.

"Poison masters, as you know, have always been accustomed to being undisciplined. I'm afraid it will be difficult to control them if they join the War Teacher Hall. Most importantly, many of their cultivation techniques are extremely bizarre and not orthodox; master teachers do not engage in such practices..."

Hall Master Xing shook his head.

Poison masters, in order to improve their cultivation, raise poisonous insects, devour toxic substances, and even use their lives to nurture gu... Many of these methods crossed the bottom line of master teachers.

War teachers were a category of master teachers. If they truly accepted poison masters, how could they command respect in the future?

War teachers could enhance strength and combat power, but they also had their own standards; not just anyone could be accepted.

"That's simple. I will redesign the cultivation methods for poison techniques, making them upright and in line with the great path! Moreover, I will make them obedient, allowing the hall master to have complete control!"

Zhang Xuan said.

Indeed, many poison techniques violated human ethics and propriety, but handling this matter was also very simple.

As long as they cultivated his simplified version of poison techniques, not only would their cultivation progress rapidly, but they would also not need to follow any evil paths!

"This..." Hall Master Xing hesitated.

He knew very well the abilities of the young man before him.

A person who could look at a technique and cultivate it to perfection in eleven breaths—modifying poison techniques was indeed possible.

If these two points could be resolved, incorporating the poison masters would indeed greatly benefit their War Teacher Hall.

Not to mention others, just take this Prince Zhongqing: if it weren't for poison, how could he have risen to prominence and reached his current position in just over twenty years?

"Master teachers teach without discrimination. Although poison masters have a bad reputation, the headquarters has never ordered their eradication, indicating that they are given a chance... If Teacher Zhang can find a way to make these poison masters willingly serve humanity, I will report it to the headquarters; it will definitely be a great merit!"

Having heard the conversation, Teacher Wu interjected.

Poison masters were feared, but if used well, their combat power was equally formidable.

Especially when facing group attacks.

The headquarters of the Poison Hall was deeply hidden, but the Master Teacher Hall headquarters must have known about it. Yet they had never acted to wipe them out as they did with the Soul Witch Masters, indicating that they were not utterly evil and unforgivable.

Moreover, many of these poison masters were native to the small island near Jingyuan City and had never left; even though they studied poison, they had never harmed anyone.

If they had never harmed anyone or done evil, and were to be wiped out solely because of their profession, what difference would there be between master teachers and other professions?

"Good!"

Hearing Teacher Wu's agreement, Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief.

Although Hall Master Xing's strength surpassed Teacher Wu's, in terms of status, the latter was naturally higher. Since he said this, he must have thought of a follow-up plan.

"Then please wait here for a moment. I will go to the dungeon to see the people of the Poison Hall and try to persuade them. If it doesn't work, we can discuss how to decide!"

Zhang Xuan said.

"This... alright, but Teacher Zhang, your injuries..." Teacher Wu was a bit worried.

"I've taken healing medicine, and with my constitution, I'm temporarily out of danger!" Zhang Xuan waved his hand with a smile.

"That's good. But poison masters are cunning and treacherous. If you don't mind, I'll accompany you!"

Remembering the young man's many methods and knowing that this injury should be fine, Teacher Wu breathed a sigh of relief and then said.

"Forget it. Given your current status and identity, I'm afraid it might put pressure on them. I'll go alone..."

Zhang Xuan refused.

To persuade Xu You and others to join the War Teacher Hall and obey obediently, he would definitely have to invoke Sun Qiang's identity. If Teacher Wu went, it would confirm his identity as a poison master, so it was better to be cautious.

"This..."

After a pause, Teacher Wu had to nod: "Alright. We won't go to the dungeon, but we'll wait outside. If we sense any trouble, we'll act immediately!"

"Thank you both for your trouble!"

Knowing that the other party genuinely cared about him, Zhang Xuan nodded.

Led by the master teacher from earlier, the group soon arrived at the dungeon.

Leaving Teacher Wu and Hall Master Xing to wait outside, Zhang Xuan entered alone.

The prince's dungeon was somewhat gloomy, surrounded by various large formations to prevent imprisoned cultivators from escaping.

Entering, Zhang Xuan's bones creaked as he transformed back into the appearance of "Sun Qiang" from before.

"Elder Xu..."

Soon, he saw Elder Xu. As the master teacher had said earlier, he had been subjected to severe torture, looking much thinner than two months ago, and his aura was somewhat weak.

It was clear that his injuries were not light.

Only about a hundred people were imprisoned with him.

As for the others from the Poison Hall, whether they were alive or dead was unknown.

"Ancestor..."

Seeing Zhang Xuan, Elder Xu and the others were first stunned, then filled with excitement.

Both Sea Poison Master and White Poison Master had confirmed the identity of this Sun Qiang, so they had no doubts.

"I am merely the escort of the ancestor, not the ancestor himself. Just call me Sun Qiang..." Shaking his head, Zhang Xuan said, "You've suffered. Here are some pills to restore your strength. Take them quickly and try to recover some energy..."

With a flick of his wrist, he took out several jade bottles and handed the pills inside to them.

Having hunted the ten kings of Qingtian, he had plenty of such nourishing pills. By quietly infusing them with Heaven's Path true energy, they had miraculous effects in healing injuries and restoring strength.

"Yes!"

Elder Xu and the others said nothing more, took the pills, and swallowed them.

The pills dissolved upon entering the mouth, and the Heaven's Path true energy hidden within flowed through the blood into their bodies. The injuries they had sustained visibly healed.

"This..."

Feeling the changes in their bodies, Xu You and the others were stunned, unable to believe it.

This was far more effective than the medicines they had concocted... Truly worthy of the one escorting the ancestor; he must have received the ancestor's inheritance.

"What happened to the Poison Hall?"

Seeing them recover their strength, Zhang Xuan asked.

"The Poison Hall..." Xu You's eyes reddened. "It's completely destroyed. Only we survived; the rest were basically slaughtered..."

Ming Zhen, as the vice hall master of the Poison Hall, knew all its secrets and easily led people to infiltrate, catching everyone off guard, leading to an unprecedented catastrophe.

"Slaughter? Did Prince Zhongqing directly slaughter them?"

Zhang Xuan frowned.

Originally, he thought there had been strong resistance with casualties on both sides, but from the other's tone, it seemed not.

"Yes! They attacked at night. Before we could prepare, we were surrounded. In one night, blood flowed like rivers, and the Poison Hall's ten-thousand-year foundation was destroyed in an instant..." Xu You clenched his fists, his face flushed red.

"This..." Zhang Xuan squinted.

He had been to the Poison Hall. Besides poison masters, there were many ordinary people who had no talent for poison and hadn't cultivated much... He hadn't expected them to be shown no mercy!

Although the profession of poison master was frightening, these poison masters had always been holed up on their island, amusing themselves, and had never gone out to harm others. To strike at them like this, this Prince Zhongqing was too ruthless!

He had originally thought that setting a trap for him might be too much, but now it seemed far too light!

Killing such a person a hundred times wouldn't be excessive.

"This Prince Zhongqing slaughtered the entire Poison Hall, then gathered all of us poison masters above the five-star level, sealed our cultivation, imprisoned us here, and tortured us daily... all to force us to mass-produce poison for him!"

Speaking of this first prince, Xu You gritted his teeth, intense hatred in his eyes as if he wanted to tear him apart.

"Mass-produce?"

Zhang Xuan frowned. "What poison?"

This Prince Zhongqing, in the Qingyuan Empire, was second only to the emperor, with formidable strength and boundless power... For someone like that, if he only wanted to poison political opponents, he wouldn't need to mass-produce poison, would he?

"It's Qingfeng Powder!"

Xu You said.

"The fifth-grade poison, Qingfeng Powder?" Zhang Xuan was startled. "This poison is colorless and odorless, can drift with the wind, and only affects those below the Saint realm. After inhaling it, one's bones and muscles become weak and powerless in a short time... How much does this Prince Zhongqing want to produce?"

Qingfeng Powder wasn't a highly lethal poison, but it could spread widely; anyone who smelled it would be poisoned, making it hard to guard against.

"Ten tons!"

Xu You said.

"Ten tons?" Zhang Xuan's eyebrows jumped.

An ordinary bottle of Qingfeng Powder released into the wind could easily poison hundreds of people. Ten tons... could probably poison tens of millions!

What did this guy need so much for?

"He is our Poison Hall's enemy, irreconcilable. How could we work for him... So we've been refusing..." Seeing Zhang Xuan's concern, Xu You explained, then looked at him curiously. "Sun... Qiang, senior, how did you know we were here? Coming in like this, won't you be discovered?"

They were not afraid to die, but implicating this person would be a disgrace to their ancestors.

"Prince Zhongqing has been severely injured by me and has been taken away by the Master Teacher Hall for interrogation. I came here specifically to rescue you all!"

Zhang Xuan said.

"Severely injured?"

"Rescue us?"

Everyone looked at each other in disbelief.

They had thought they were doomed when captured here, but never dreamed that this senior escorting the ancestor would return, avenge them, and settle the score.

"Yes. However, your current identities are awkward even if you leave... I want to give you new identities. Are you willing?" Zhang Xuan said.

"New identities?" Xu You frowned. "What?"

The others also looked over.

"War teachers!" Zhang Xuan said.