Chapter 1239: Saving the People from Dire Straits

"How dare you!"

Song Xuan was about to explode with rage.

"We master teachers, through words and deeds, subtly influence and transform students, allowing them to learn knowledge while changing their nature for the better! If, as you say, people's natures are hard to change, what use are master teachers? Are you denying Confucius's philosophy and the Master Teacher Hall?"

Zhang Xuan rebuked.

"I... that's not what I meant!"

Song Xuan staggered.

Deny Confucius and the Master Teacher Hall... he wouldn't dare even with ten times the courage!

"Then are you denying War Master and the War Master Hall, claiming their decision was wrong?" Zhang Xuan continued.

"I... that's not what I meant either!"

Song Xuan gritted his teeth.

Although the War Masters were under the Master Teacher Hall's authority, the War Master's status was too high for a nobody like him to casually discuss.

"Then what do you mean? 'The whole world is muddy, I alone am clear; everyone is drunk, I alone am sober'?"

Zhang Xuan looked at him.

"You..."

His face flushed red, knowing that if he let the other continue questioning, he would surely fall into a trap. Song Xuan quickly turned to Yao Mantian and clasped his fists: "Teacher Yao, we master teachers are all well aware of the poison masters' deeds. Their cultivation techniques are not only sinister but some even use human blood and lives to raise gu... utterly cruel! Although for some unknown reason these fellows have been incorporated into the War Master Hall, I speculate it's merely a form of imprisonment to prevent further evil, not a true recognition of their status..."

"Sinister techniques?"

Raising an eyebrow, Zhang Xuan interrupted him: "As a master teacher, one must seek truth from facts... To lie blatantly and deliberately deceive an eight-star master teacher, what crime is that?"

"What nonsense are you talking?"

Song Xuan gritted his teeth.

"Nonsense?" Looking at Elder Xu and the others below the stage, Zhang Xuan's voice rang out: "Everyone, please circulate your techniques and let Teacher Song see if they are sinister!"

"Yes!"

Nodding, Elder Xu and the others activated their true energy, and streams of aura surged into the sky.

These auras were upright and righteous, without any trace of evil or strangeness, instead giving a warm and comfortable feeling.

"This..."

Song Xuan stood frozen.

As a quasi-eight-star master teacher, he had seen many poison masters, each carrying potent toxins and exuding a sinister aura.

But these people before him had no such feeling; instead, they were full of warmth...

Ignoring his shock, Zhang Xuan clasped his fists: "May I ask Teacher Yao... are the techniques they cultivate sinister?"

Shaking her head, Yao Mantian said: "Their true energy is pure and calm, carrying a sense of light, unrelated to sinister arts."

"Indeed, they have long abandoned evil for good and become members of the War Master Hall. Yet Teacher Song still regards them as poison masters, calling them sinister at every turn... I ask, what is sinister? Is it your subjective judgment?"

Staring intently at Song Xuan, Zhang Xuan did not yield an inch.

"I..." Trembling, Song Xuan did not know how to answer.

When Elder Xu and the others were arrested, they had not resisted, so he did not know that poison masters could also cultivate such upright techniques.

"Even if their techniques are no longer sinister, the fact remains that they poisoned the entire palace. No matter how much you argue, that cannot be changed..."

After a long while, he recovered.

"Since you say that, let me explain the matter in detail so you can give up hope."

Waving his hand, Zhang Xuan looked at the eight-star master teacher: "Teacher Yao, I wish to recount the entire sequence of events, and then ask you to help me reason with everyone."

"Please speak." Yao Mantian nodded.

"It's like this: the Qingtian Emperor of the Qingtian lineage is not only highly cultivated and powerful but also a formidable soul shaman! He possesses a secret technique that can capture souls. That is to say, regardless of your strength, if you are not stronger than him and within a certain range, your soul can be easily captured, refined, and used as nourishment for his cultivation!"

"Capture souls and refine them?"

"Correct!"

Flipping his wrist, an altar appeared and landed on the ground. Zhang Xuan said: "This is one of the arrays he used. If Teacher Yao doubts, you may examine it."

It was the altar used to capture the Qingtian Emperor.

"These runes..."

After carefully inspecting, Yao Mantian's expression grew increasingly grave: "Although I have never seen such an altar, soul shamans are mysterious and unpredictable. Secret techniques that rely on devouring others' souls to advance do exist. That is precisely why they were rejected by the righteous path and eliminated by the Master Teacher Hall back then."

Though unfamiliar with the object, with her eight-star master teacher's insight, she could easily see that it had a strong aggressive effect on souls. When activated with special methods, it could indeed extract a person's soul from their body.

"Indeed, this technique was not only possessed by the Qingtian Emperor; Chu Tianxing, who served him, also learned it." Zhang Xuan continued.

"Chu Tianxing might also be a soul shaman?" Yao Mantian frowned.

"Yes."

Zhang Xuan nodded.

"Do you have evidence?" Yao Mantian asked.

Learning soul shaman arts and serving alien beings were serious crimes. Although Chu Tianxing was dead, without evidence, it would still be slander.

"Proving it is very simple. Elder Bai, please bring the bodies of Chen Zhe, Hall Master Gou, and those several seven-star master teachers."

Without changing expression, Zhang Xuan turned and instructed.

"Yes!"

Below the high platform, an elder of the Master Teacher Hall turned and walked out.

This elder had previously gone with him to Chen Zhe's courtyard to arrest Vice Hall Master Tian Qing, so they were acquainted.

After a short while, Elder Bai returned, and with a flick of his wrist, a row of corpses lay on the ground.

Knowing the gravity of the matter, the Master Teacher Hall had specially preserved these corpses, so even after many days, they still looked lifelike, as if freshly dead.

"Teacher Yao, please examine them carefully and see what these corpses have in common."

Zhang Xuan beckoned.

Stepping forward, Yao Mantian looked down and examined them, her brow furrowing more and more.

These corpses were all intact, with no visible external injuries, but their souls had been extinguished and completely vanished.

"These all died from soul destruction..."

After examining all of them, Yao Mantian said.

"Yes, these were all killed by having their souls captured and erased. Moreover, before their deaths, these seven-star master teachers all had one thing in common: they had contact with Chu Tianxing. This can be verified in the Master Teacher Hall records."

Zhang Xuan continued.

Chu Tianxing had previously visited the Loyal Qing King and had contact with these people. Previously, it seemed insignificant... but after learning in the swamp that he served the Cruel One, deducing the problem became simple.

Without a medium, even the Cruel One, no matter how powerful, could not kill people from millions of miles away. The reason it was possible was likely that Emperor Chu Tianxing had contacted these master teachers and offered them fine wine and food.

"I can testify that on that night, Chu Tianxing came to visit the Loyal Qing King and brought plenty of fine wine for everyone to drink."

"I can also testify that every word I say can be sworn on my identity as a master teacher..."

As soon as the words fell, many master teachers below the stage called out.

Chu Tianxing had been very enthusiastic then, and many remembered it clearly.

"Do you mean... that Chu Tianxing used a secret technique to kill so many master teachers?"

Hearing so many testimonies, Yao Mantian knew it couldn't be false and looked over with doubt.

"Even if he didn't do it himself, it must be closely related to him."

Zhang Xuan continued: "Teacher Wu and I deduced that he was problematic, but we dared not act rashly, because once we killed him, the Qingtian Emperor hiding in the Jibei Swamp would surely flee, making it hard to find him again. So we used the pretext of seclusion to secretly gather nine experts and go to the swamp to eliminate him. Despite the dangers, we succeeded... I mentioned this earlier."

Yao Mantian nodded.

This matter had been detailed just now.

"Although we left secretly, as the emperor of a nation, he sensed something amiss after a few days. He probably guessed that he had been exposed and planned to fight to the death."

"Fight to the death?"

"Yes, according to my speculation, Chu Tianxing likely intended to use this soul-capturing technique to sacrifice all living beings in Qingyuan City to boost his cultivation. Killing so many experts would be impossible, but slaughtering millions or tens of millions below the Saint realm would be easy. If successful, the entire imperial capital would become a hell on earth."

Zhang Xuan said, his voice filled with compassion.

"Teacher Zhang means... Emperor Chu Tianxing planned to kill everyone below the Saint realm in Qingyuan City?"

"This... how is that possible? That's not so crazy!"

Zhang Xuan's voice was not concealed, and the crowd below erupted in uproar, all in disbelief.

This news was too shocking, beyond imagination.

"Betraying humanity—needless to say, everyone knows the consequences. Once exposed, one becomes an enemy of the entire continent, worse than death... It's possible to do anything extreme!" Zhang Xuan snorted.

"This..." The crowd fell silent.

Faced with life and death, no one could maintain their composure; no one could be sure what they would do.

"With this in mind, before setting out, I specifically instructed Sun Qiang, Liu Yang, and Elder Xu and the others that if anything went wrong, even at the risk of being misunderstood, they must save lives. That is our duty as master teachers!"

"Thus, Liu Yang infiltrated the palace and pretended to be captured, while Sun Qiang, Elder Xu, and the others poisoned all the guards... Though it seemed reckless, it was the best way to solve the problem, minimizing impact and saving people..."

"Therefore, I believe they are not guilty but have merit in saving lives. For such meritorious figures to be sentenced to public execution by Teacher Song, who fails to distinguish right from wrong, how could I stand idly by? If this is allowed to happen, where is the fairness of the Master Teacher Hall? Where is its reputation?"

Growing more agitated, Zhang Xuan spoke angrily, his voice resounding throughout the imperial capital.

"Uh..."

Hearing these words, Elder Xu and the others exchanged glances.

Saving the people from dire straits... How did we suddenly become so great...

These things Teacher Zhang said...

We have absolutely no recollection...