Chapter 1209: Heading to the North Ji Swamp

As a seven-star master teacher, Zhang Xuan naturally understood the thoughts of Luo Qiqi and Yu Fei'er. However, having someone he liked, he did not wish to become entangled in other romantic feelings. Even if it caused them pain in the short term, it was far better than letting them suffer indefinitely.

Better to endure a short pain than a long one; there must be no hesitation or delay in matters of the heart, or else it would harm both others and oneself.

Watching Yu Fei'er leave and calming the turmoil in his heart, Zhang Xuan finally went to find Hall Master Xing.

The most important thing now was to resolve the issue of the ruthless individual in the North Ji Swamp. Otherwise, allowing that fiend to wreak havoc would endanger not only the master teachers of the Master Teacher Pavilion but also himself.

After all, the attraction of a Heaven's Favorite Master Teacher to the Heterodox Spirit race was too great. Even if he were trapped and unable to act, as long as the news spread, his future days would be difficult, inevitably leading to endless pursuit and killing.

"Since it threatens the Master Teacher Pavilion, as members of it, we cannot stand idly by! Teacher Zhang, please take me along!"

After hearing the matter, Hall Master Xing's gaze was firm.

The War Teacher Hall was part of the Master Teacher Pavilion. For a Heterodox Spirit to strike at it, as its hall master, he had an unshirkable duty.

"Alright, choose two people to accompany me. No need for too many, or it will easily attract attention. Once the other party makes preparations in advance, it will be difficult to kill him!"

Pausing for a moment, Zhang Xuan said.

The ruthless individual was an ultra-powerful existence that had once fought against Teacher Kong. If news leaked and the other party prepared, not only would killing him be impossible, but they might even fall.

"I understand!"

Understanding the gravity of the matter, Hall Master Xing nodded and hurried off.

Before long, Hall Master Liao of the Soul Hall and Hall Master Wei of the Inner Breath Hall arrived before him.

"They were the first to begin cultivating the Glass Refining Heart Sutra, so their minds are the most stable. If the other party is truly a Soul Witch skilled in soul attacks, the two of them are the most suitable!" Hall Master Xing said.

Zhang Xuan nodded.

Soul Witches were skilled in soul attacks and creating various illusions. With a stable mind, one would be much safer.

As the hall master of the Heart Hall, Hall Master Liao was beyond question. Hall Master Wei had been the first to come into contact with the Glass Refining Heart Sutra and had cultivated it for some time, so he had undoubtedly made great progress. Coupled with their strength, second only to Hall Master Xing, they were indeed the best choices to act.

"This journey is fraught with danger, with a high chance of never returning. You must think it over!"

Zhang Xuan looked at them with a solemn expression.

"We understand!"

"The purpose of establishing the War Teacher Hall is to resolve threats and charge into battle. To die for the human race is a glorious death!"

Hall Master Wei and Hall Master Liao showed no hesitation.

"Very well, now let's go to the Master Teacher Pavilion and meet up with Teacher Wu and the others!"

Seeing their firm attitude, Zhang Xuan knew this was the spirit cultivated by the War Teacher Hall over the years. He said no more and flew ahead toward the Master Teacher Pavilion.

Teacher Wu had also gathered his people: three loyal seven-star peak elders, and one old acquaintance—Zhang Jiuxiao.

"Jiuxiao has been to the North Ji Swamp and personally entered the Ghost Cave. I believe the place where Emperor Qingtian hid is likely related to this. Having him lead the way would be appropriate!" Teacher Wu said.

"This..."

Startled for a moment, Zhang Xuan nodded.

In Emperor Qingtian's memories, information about the ruthless individual was neither abundant nor detailed. It wasn't that his soul-searching ability was insufficient, but since the ruthless individual was proficient in soul witchcraft, he naturally knew how to erase memories to avoid danger.

Thus, the memories in Emperor Qingtian's mind were actually incomplete!

Since Zhang Jiuxiao had been to the Ghost Cave, having him lead the way would undoubtedly save a lot of trouble.

"Teacher Zhang, although we have had conflicts and I am somewhat unconvinced by you... but when it comes to the human race, I will not back down, because... I am a master teacher!" Zhang Jiuxiao looked over with a firm expression.

"Yes, we are all master teachers..."

Unexpected that he would have such thoughts, Zhang Xuan was somewhat surprised.

Previously, because of Luo Ruoxi's matter, he had felt that the Zhang family was the kind that disregarded others' feelings, relied on power, was overbearing, and unreasonable. Now, seeing Zhang Jiuxiao's attitude, his opinion involuntarily changed somewhat.

Just as he was feeling moved, he saw the young man before him raise his brows with an unwavering expression: "And, I will surpass you... to make you know that I, Zhang Jiuxiao, am the true genius!"

"Surpass me?"

Unexpected that he harbored such thoughts, Zhang Xuan shook his head, finding it both amusing and frustrating: "As long as you're happy..."

Surpass himself?

Perhaps there would be geniuses in this world stronger than him, but... definitely not this one.

His state of mind, strength, auxiliary skills... forget it, he didn't want to think about it; every thought was a point of criticism. Wanting to surpass him—such a good thing could only be imagined, and might even lead to being increasingly crushed and eventually losing confidence.

"Since everyone is here, let's set off!"

With the personnel confirmed and no further hesitation, Teacher Wu summoned the highest-level flying sacred beast of the Master Teacher Pavilion. Everyone boarded it and quickly flew toward the North Ji Swamp.

The North Ji Swamp was north of North Ji City, a full million kilometers from Qingyuan Imperial Capital. Even the Master Teacher Pavilion's flying sacred beast, though at the peak of the Primordial Spirit realm, would need at least five or six days to fly there.

"I have some pills here, specially refined before coming. When we arrive, everyone should take them. They can neutralize various poisons and also prevent possession by Soul Witches..."

Standing in the wooden cabin on the sacred beast's back, Zhang Xuan took out several pills and handed them over.

Including himself, there were nine people heading to the North Ji Swamp this time. Although each was the pinnacle existence in Qingyuan City, dealing with an old monster like the ruthless individual, who had lived for who knows how long, still required advance preparation.

"Yes!"

Everyone took the pills and carefully stored them.

"The War Teacher Hall's combined attack formation is quite good, allowing flexible combinations of numbers, but it still has many flaws. I've just improved it and recorded the coordination methods in this book. Pass it around and study it while we have time..."

Taking out another book, Zhang Xuan handed it over.

Both the War Teacher Hall and the Master Teacher Pavilion had combined attack formations. To others, such formations were extremely powerful, but to him, they were full of loopholes and unbearable to look at. During the flight just now, he had improved them.

"Improving the War Teacher Hall's formation?"

Hall Master Xing and Hall Master Liao looked over, and soon their faces flushed red, their breathing rapid.

They had thought that the War Teacher Hall's formation, after years of refinement, had reached a point where it could no longer be modified. They never dreamed that compared to the formation Teacher Zhang had revised, it was far inferior.

Soon, the formation was passed around and read by everyone.

After reading the revised formation, Zhang Jiuxiao's face also alternated between red and white. After a long while, he shook his head.

In the way of formations, he was definitely no match for the one before him... He could only see if he could surpass him in other areas.

"No matter how talented a genius, there will always be flaws... He must have them too. As long as I spend enough time with him, I will surely find them..."

Suppressing his frustration, Zhang Jiuxiao breathed a sigh of relief and was about to start studying the formation when he saw Zhang Xuan looking at him: "Brother Zhang, since you are from the Zhang family, I just wanted to ask you something..."

"Teacher Zhang, please speak!"

"It's like this: I heard that your Zhang family has a peerless genius with extremely pure bloodline... Is that true?" Pausing, Zhang Xuan couldn't help asking.

Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated.

Since this man was from the Zhang family, he would first inquire about this Zhang family genius to prepare in advance.

"I am a collateral branch of the Zhang family, at most qualified to enter the branch genealogy. I have no right to go to the core mansion. You must be referring to that young master. I've heard of him—he is twenty years old this year... His talent is unparalleled; even if he is not the first of his time, he is not far off..."

Hesitating for a moment, Zhang Jiuxiao said: "However, I have never seen him."

The matter of the Zhang family's young master had caused quite a stir at his birth, and it was no secret. Saying it was not a big deal.

"You've never even seen him?"

"Yes, collateral members like us rarely see core members..." Zhang Jiuxiao nodded.

"I heard... that this young master of yours is betrothed to the little princess of the Luo family. Is that true?" Zhang Xuan continued asking.

"This... I'm not sure! It's core confidential information; the family does not allow us to ask or talk about it recklessly!" Seeming somewhat wary, Zhang Jiuxiao did not want to dwell on this topic.

"I see. Then, compared to you, how talented are the core members you have met?" Zhang Xuan pressed on.

"Me? The gap between us is like that of an ant and a divine dragon; they cannot be compared!"

With a bitter smile, Zhang Jiuxiao looked over: "Not to mention others, Teacher Zhang, your talent is extremely high. Looking through the history of Qingyuan Empire, there may not be many who can surpass you... But compared to those core members, you are still far behind!"

"Even I am far behind?" Frowning, Zhang Xuan found it hard to believe.

He cultivated the Heavenly Way technique. Although his progress was not extremely fast, it was not slow either. Could there be someone even more talented than him?

"Yes, Teacher Zhang, you don't have to doubt it! Powerful core members, once they activate their bloodline, can easily reach the Primordial Spirit realm even if they never cultivated before, and directly冲击 the Out-of-Body realm or even higher! That's not something someone of our strength can even imagine!"

Zhang Jiuxiao smiled bitterly.

Talent was something that couldn't be compared.

Just as Heterodox Spirits were born with the strength of the Mortal Transformation realm, many core members, once they activated their bloodline, could directly reach extremely high realms, which ordinary people simply couldn't match.

"Activating bloodline? The descendants of sage clans, the purer the bloodline, the greater the progress upon activation?"

"Yes, it's somewhat similar to some spirit beasts. The closer the bloodline is to ancient beasts, the greater the progress in strength! This is also the main reason why sage clans have stood strong and unmatched for tens of thousands of years!" Zhang Jiuxiao nodded.

"So, your bloodline is not pure?"

"I am a collateral branch of a collateral branch, so my bloodline purity is naturally far inferior..." Zhang Jiuxiao said awkwardly.

"Since bloodline is so important... Is there any way to purify bloodline, or... increase its grade?"

Zhang Xuan couldn't help asking.