Chapter 531: I Am That Fool

Following the young man for a while, they arrived at a huge, spacious room.

The Hall of Masters.

All the masters of the Ten Thousand Cities Alliance gathered here for meetings and assemblies. Before even reaching the entrance, they could see it was packed with people.

People streamed in and out, crowded like a tide.

Master Zhang, please put on your robe and badge...

Upon arriving, the young man said.

Mm!

This was a gathering of masters, so naturally one had to wear items representing one's identity, otherwise one would seem out of place.

With a flick of his wrist, he took out the robe and put it on, then pinned the badge to his chest.

This set of items had never been worn since he obtained it during the master examination in the Tianwu Kingdom. It wasn't that he didn't want to wear it, but in his previous life he was used to tight-fitting clothes, and the robe felt cumbersome and very inconvenient.

After adjusting his attire, he followed the crowd and walked in.

Earlier in the hall, he knew there were many masters, but now gathered together, he realized the number was astonishing.

Densely packed, there were no less than five hundred!

Five hundred masters... just thinking about it was terrifying.

However, considering this was the seat of the Ten Thousand Cities Alliance, he understood.

The Grandmaster Competition had attracted countless powerful individuals to come and observe. Almost all masters with some strength had come. Although some stayed behind, they were a minority. Even if all were included, the total within the alliance would not exceed a thousand.

Within the alliance, there were countless titled kingdoms, first-class kingdoms, second-class kingdoms, and even unranked kingdoms, with a total population definitely exceeding ten billion. With so many cultivators, having only this many masters was, proportionally, astonishingly few.

The young man was not yet a master, so he didn't follow. Zhang Xuan followed the crowd into the room.

Inside were several rows of tables and chairs, densely arranged. Looking ahead, the front rows had few seats, only about twenty, the next row had around seventy or eighty, and so on, increasing progressively.

It seems seating is by rank...

After a glance, he understood.

Although masters advocated that every person could become a dragon, since they were divided into nine stars, there were still levels.

Only four-star masters could sit in the front seats, followed by three-star, then two-star...

He was only a two-star master now, so naturally he could only sit in the back.

However, it didn't matter to him anyway; the selection would start soon, and he probably wouldn't be sitting for long.

After looking around, he found the area for two-star masters and sat down.

"Why have we been summoned so urgently?"

"I don't know, but I heard a few days ago that they want to select participants for the competition early. Probably they're going to hold a public selection match!"

"Possible! I wonder who will be selected."

"That goes without saying? It must be Fu Xiaochen, Master Fu!"

"Not necessarily. I'm more optimistic about Sir Ruohuan, Jun Ruohuan. He's my idol!"

...

As soon as he sat down, he heard murmurs around him.

Ten days ago, the hall master decided to hold a selection. News about who would be chosen had been buzzing, with all kinds of opinions, and many places even took bets on it.

Many masters knew each other and each had their own supporters and trusted individuals.

Zhang Xuan listened for a while and found that, as Master Su and Master Ling had said, the most discussed were Sir Ruohuan and Fu Xiaochen.

It seemed these two held extremely high status in everyone's minds.

Following their gazes, he indeed saw several outstanding figures.

The foremost one had rosy lips and white teeth, held a folding fan, and was elegant and charming, giving the impression of a worldly gentleman. His eyes shone with dazzling light, clearly indicating his cultivation was not low.

"This must be that Sir Ruohuan, Jun Ruohuan!"

He had always wondered why such a distinguished master was not called 'Master Jun' but 'Sir Ruohuan' by others.

Now he understood: this temperament was truly unique. If not for the master's robe, one would never think he was a four-star-level prodigy but rather a scion of some noble family.

Not far from Sir Ruohuan stood a young man side by side. Although the badge on his chest had three stars, his aura was in no way inferior.

His appearance was not particularly outstanding; in fact, he had a bit of baby fat and was slightly plump. However, his eyes were like lightning, and his aura was extremely strong. His cultivation was at least as high as Jun Ruohuan's, likely around the fourth level of Mortal Transcendence!

This should be the other highly renowned one, Fu Xiaochen.

Just as he was about to look at the remaining three, he heard a laugh beside him: "Friend, you look very unfamiliar. I've never seen you before. Which kingdom are you from?"

Turning his head, he saw a young man sitting down in the seat next to him.

He appeared to be around thirty, with two stars glittering on his chest.

"Tianxuan Kingdom!" Zhang Xuan replied.

"Tianxuan? What rank kingdom?" The young man scratched his head, as if he hadn't heard of it.

"No rank, it's... unranked, I suppose," Zhang Xuan said.

"An unranked kingdom?" The young man was taken aback, then gave an awkward smile: "For such a place to produce such a young two-star master teacher is indeed extraordinary!"

Knowing the other was being polite, Zhang Xuan smiled and said no more.

Although he had passed through Tianwu and Xuanyuan, his origins were still Tianxuan.

"The Master Teacher Tournament is a grand event, more important than anything to us master teachers. No matter the cost, one must come to watch!" Seeing him silent, the young man changed the subject.

"Indeed," Zhang Xuan nodded.

Gathering so many master teachers here was indeed an unprecedented grand event.

Master teachers gathering to discuss and learn from each other would greatly benefit their future growth; this was probably the original intention of the tournament's organizers.

"By the way, who do you favor in this selection?"

The young man looked over excitedly.

"Favor? I'm not quite sure yet," Zhang Xuan shook his head.

"That's fair, you just arrived, so it's normal not to know! From their discussion just now, you must have seen that Ruohuan Gongzi and Fu Xiaochen are the most favored. Ruohuan Gongzi was born into the Jun family, the head of the four great clans in the Myriad Kingdoms City. With his privileged birth, he is one of the Four Young Masters of the Myriad Kingdoms City, even overshadowing the alliance leader's son, Crown Prince Zhao Hui. Fu Xiaochen, Master Fu, is the direct disciple of Elder Hai. If two are to be selected, their chances of winning are indeed high."

The young man continued: "However, I favor Elder Feng's student, Feng Mosheng."

"Feng Mosheng?"

"Indeed. I once met Master Feng. He is low-key and modest, but his strength is not weak at all! Three years ago, I received his guidance, and even then, he was a peak three-star master teacher." Speaking of this Master Feng, the young man's eyes lit up with admiration.

"As for the remaining two, I heard they come from other kingdoms. One is Luo Xi, a beautiful master teacher, and the other is Du Hu... I don't know much about their strength, but being selected from other kingdoms, they must be formidable!"

At this point, the young man suddenly lowered his voice, looking somewhat mysterious: "By the way, I heard that there aren't five participants in the selection, but six! The hall master announced the selection ten days ago, but it hasn't started yet, all because they're waiting for this person!"

"Oh? Do you know who it is?" Zhang Xuan looked over.

"My teacher is also an elder and attended the council. It seems it was strongly recommended by Master Su and Master Ling... named... Zhang Xuan!"

The young man snorted: "If it weren't for this guy, the selection would have started long ago. Making everyone wait so long and still not showing up—what a jerk!"

"Ahem, jerk?" Zhang Xuan coughed.

"To be late for such an important event as the Master Teacher Tournament, keeping so many master teachers waiting... If he were really impressive, it might be forgivable, but I heard he's just a two-star master teacher and seems quite young... Not respecting his seniors, acting recklessly—what else would you call him but a jerk? I heard that if not for Master Su and Master Ling desperately defending him, his spot would have been gone long ago!"

The young man looked disdainful.

"Alright," Zhang Xuan scratched his head.

Being called a jerk to his face was quite exasperating.

But back then, Master Su had told him to arrive within three months in the Myriad Kingdoms City; who knew there would be an early selection?

"It's not just me saying this; everyone thinks so! I really wonder what that kid looks like. If I run into him, I'll give him a good beating!" The young man said fiercely: "If not for waiting for this selection, I would have gone into seclusion long ago to break through to a higher realm, but now I have to drag it out..."

Unexpectedly, his lateness had incurred resentment from many. Zhang Xuan smiled bitterly and was about to speak when he heard the entire hall fall silent. Looking up, he saw Hall Master Kang and Master Su enter and walk to the front of the crowd.

"By ringing the urgent assembly bell, I'm sure you've all guessed the reason!"

Hall Master Kang waved his hand grandly: "That's right, today we hold the selection before the Master Teacher Tournament. I've gathered everyone here to witness it together."

"So it really is the selection!"

"Indeed, it seems we guessed right. So, has that master teacher named Zhang Xuan arrived?"

"Arrived? Where?"

...

Hearing the hall master's confirmation, the crowd murmured and looked around.

"The Master Teacher Tournament is the greatest event among the subordinate branches of the Huan Yu Empire's Master Teacher Pavilion. Our past results need no elaboration—you all know them... This time, we are the hosts in the Myriad Kingdoms City, and I hope we can achieve a breakthrough and show the spirit of our branch!"

Hall Master Kang glanced around.

"Yes!"

Hearing this, although they knew they were not qualified to participate, the many master teachers below were still excited, their faces flushed, fists clenched.

As master teachers of the Myriad Kingdoms City branch, seeing their pavilion always finish last in every competition, the frustration in their hearts was understandable.

This time, as hosts, they must achieve a different ranking; otherwise, how could they face the many predecessors in the Master Teacher Hall?

"Alright, you few, come up!"

After speaking, Hall Master Kang beckoned, and Ruohuan Gongzi, Fu Xiaochen, and the others walked over in unison.

There were five people in total.

"Hmm, where is Master Zhang?" Seeing that Zhang Xuan was not with them, Hall Master Kang frowned.

...

"Heh heh, look, the selection has started, and that jerk Zhang Xuan still hasn't shown up. Hopefully, the hall master will be furious and cancel his spot..."

Seeing Hall Master Kang looking around for that Master Zhang, the young man snorted, shook his head, and couldn't help turning to the friend he had just met: "By the way, brother, we've talked for so long, and I still don't know your name!"

"Me?" Zhang Xuan stood up with a wry smile.

"It seems... I am the jerk you mentioned... Zhang Xuan."