Chapter 605: The Imperial Capital of the Phantom Feather Empire

Ever since inheriting the position of Alliance Leader, he had been working hard, wanting to expand the territory and make the alliance stronger, but he also knew that the foundation of the Ten Thousand Nations Alliance was too weak.

The possibility of success was extremely slim, or even completely impossible.

This impossibility was shattered by a single lesson from Teacher Zhang!

Over a million people attended the lecture, and from now on, they would all become pillars of the nation; it would be hard not to rise!

“Teacher Zhang, thank you…”

His eyes reddened, and Alliance Leader Zhao clenched his fists.

It was this young man who brought hope for the rise of the Ten Thousand Nations Alliance!

…

“Teacher Zhang used profound language to draw in the world’s spiritual energy, cleansing the marrow for others. Was that really basic knowledge he taught?”

“I originally thought that no matter how thoroughly one studied basic knowledge, it was useless. Now I see I was wrong, terribly wrong.”

“Basic knowledge is the foundation of cultivation, like building a house; only by digging deep and understanding deeply can one go further…”

“This lesson has truly benefited us greatly. From today on, we all share a half-teacher bond with Teacher Zhang. If anyone tries to move against the Ten Thousand Nations Alliance in the future, I’m afraid none of us can stand idly by…”

…

Countless powerful experts listening to the lesson also sighed with emotion.

Having heard Teacher Zhang’s lesson, they became his half-students; if something happened in the future, they could not ignore it.

“…Guard the primordial unity, return the mind to nature—this is the foundation! Alright, today’s lesson ends here.”

With a faint remark, the young man on the stage flicked his wrist, and a writing brush appeared. He painted in the air, and in the blink of an eye, a huge phoenix appeared before the crowd.

Stamping his foot on the ground, the young man soared into the air, sat on the phoenix’s back, and flew away.

History records:

In the winter of the 3,372nd year of the Ten Thousand Nations Alliance.

Teacher Zhang taught in Ten Thousand Nations City; a million cultivators gathered, his words gathered spiritual energy, creating a ten-mile vacuum.

After the lesson, he stepped onto a painting and departed.

A million cultivators prostrated themselves, calling out “Teacher.”

…

Under the azure sky, white clouds drifted, and several huge flying spirit beasts streaked across, startling countless wild beasts and birds into chaotic flight.

On the back of a spirit beast, Zhang Xuan, sitting cross-legged, opened his eyes.

After finishing the lecture that day, he left directly with Teacher Hong and the others; now nearly a month had passed.

Having spent almost every day in the sky for so long, he felt somewhat fatigued.

Because the journey was long, each master teacher brought family and attendants; Teacher Hong prepared a full ten flying spirit beasts to accommodate everyone.

None of these spirit beasts were below the Fourth Stage of Mortal Transformation, causing a stir wherever they went and instilling fear in countless people.

During this time on the road, Zhang Xuan read books and cultivated, not only thoroughly consolidating his peak Fourth Stage Mortal Transformation cultivation but also breaking through his soul power to the peak of the Fifth Stage.

With soul power at the Fifth Stage Mortal Transformation, his strength reached 3.2 million cauldrons; combined with his true energy of 2 million cauldrons, he could instantly unleash 5.2 million cauldrons of force, making him no weaker than the mid-stage of the Sixth Stage Bridge Heaven Realm.

The Sixth Stage Bridge Heaven Realm: early stage 4 million, mid stage 4.8 million, late stage 5.6 million, peak 6.4 million cauldrons!

At 5.2 million cauldrons, he was already close to the late stage; in a real fight, even Teacher Hong might not easily defeat him.

A Four-Star Master Teacher has a cultivation level from the Second to the Fourth Stage of Mortal Transformation.

The Fifth Stage Harmony Spirit Realm is considered Half-Step Five-Star.

Only by reaching the Sixth Stage Bridge Heaven Realm is one qualified to advance to a Five-Star Master Teacher.

Teacher Hong had just recently advanced to Five-Star, meaning his true strength was around the early Bridge Heaven Realm; if not relying on realm, purely on strength, he probably couldn’t even withstand one punch from Zhang Xuan.

Having become a Four-Star Master Teacher only two months ago, he now possessed strength comparable to an early Five-Star Master Teacher—only a freak like him could have such ability.

In the past month, not only had his own strength soared, but Zheng Yang, Wang Ying, and the others had also made great progress.

The departure of Zhao Ya and Lu Chong made them cherish their time with Teacher Zhang even more; they trained hard every day, and with ample supply of spirit stones, their strength changed astonishingly each day.

The four of them had successively broken through to the Mortal Transformation stage and were now stable at the Second Stage, the Primordial Energy Realm.

Moreover, Zhang Xuan had reorganized the Heaven’s Path martial techniques and passed them on, greatly increasing their combat power.

If anyone progressed the slowest, it was probably the steward Sun Qiang.

This fellow had no interest in cultivation and would slack off at the first opportunity; if not for Wang Ying’s dedicated supervision, progress would have been nearly impossible.

However, trapped on the beast’s back for a month with no way to leave, he could only train continuously. In that month, he was forced to advance from the early First Stage Life Extension Realm to the peak of the Second Stage Primordial Energy Realm.

Compared to Wang Ying, who had the highest cultivation, he was even slightly stronger.

His rapid progress was not due to fast cultivation speed or superior talent, but because he had devoured part of Mo Hunsheng’s soul; the latter’s insights into cultivation naturally transferred to him. With that experience, plus Zhang Xuan’s guidance and ample spirit stones, advancing only one level was actually slow.

Everyone’s progress was gratifying, but Zhang Xuan was not happy now.

Because… the over six hundred medium-grade spirit stones plundered from the Flowing Cloud Sect and other sects had been nearly exhausted, completely consumed.

Zheng Yang, Sun Qiang, and the others didn’t use much; it was mainly he who consumed the bulk.

Back then, accelerating the growth of the Nine Heavens Lotus Fetus consumed no less than two to three hundred spirit stones; Lu Chong took some when he left; plus, breaking through the soul to the Harmony Spirit Realm increased consumption exponentially…

It was already good that the six hundred spirit stones had lasted until now.

“To continue advancing in the future, I’m afraid I’ll have to use that high-grade spirit stone…”

Rubbing his brow, Zhang Xuan pondered.

He hadn’t yet used the high-grade spirit stone awarded as the champion of the Master Teacher Tournament; he hadn’t even taken it out. Now that the medium-grade spirit stones were nearly gone, it was time to bring it out.

“Teacher Zhang, the Imperial Capital of the Phantom Feather Empire is about to arrive!”

Just as he was about to take out the spirit stone to examine it, he saw Teacher Hong approaching.

Teacher Hong had chosen to ride the same spirit beast as him instead of with the others. Along the way, Zhang Xuan had helped him solve some cultivation problems, repaying the compensation for the damaged treasure.

As for why he knew so much, naturally it was his teacher’s guidance.

Since the other party firmly believed in his “teacher,” it didn’t hurt to borrow that authority a bit more.

Having received his guidance, Teacher Hong had indeed improved greatly and felt secretly grateful, becoming increasingly respectful toward this master teacher of lower cultivation.

“Imperial Capital?”

Zhang Xuan stood up and went to the window; indeed, a huge city appeared before his eyes.

The pitch-black city wall was embedded in the earth like a mighty iron armor; countless beautiful, towering buildings stood on the distant horizon, looking from afar like rows of winding mountain ranges, recording ancient history and vicissitudes.

“The Phantom Feather Empire has a history of over ten thousand years. The first emperor was Ye Huanyu, who led four brothers to conquer the land, thus founding this vast empire!”

Teacher Hong also looked down, his eyes filled with solemnity and admiration: “The imperial capital borders Mount Qingji to the east and the Dragon Scale River to the west; from afar, it looks like a giant lying on the ground.”

“Hmm,” Zhang Xuan looked down.

What the other said was correct; this imperial capital was indeed magnificent, spanning hundreds of miles, like a huge fortress, giving an indestructible feeling.

Though it contained no formations, it blended with nature, giving a sense of cleanliness, order, and invincibility.

“The head of the Phantom Feather Empire Master Teacher Hall, Wei Jiang, is my teacher. He is a peak Five-Star Master Teacher and a peak Eighth Stage Mortal Transformation powerhouse. The emperor, His Majesty Ye Wentian, has strength at the Eighth Stage Mortal Transformation, with unfathomable cultivation.”

Teacher Hong introduced.

“Peak Five-Star Master Teacher? Eighth Stage Mortal Transformation?”

Zhang Xuan’s mouth twitched.

The Fifth Stage Mortal Transformation, Harmony Spirit Realm: reaching this realm, the soul and body unite, soul power increases, one’s understanding and insight into cultivation greatly enhance, and strength enters a phase of rapid growth.

Breaking through this realm leads to the Bridge Heaven Realm.

The Bridge Heaven Realm connects the bridge between heaven and earth, creating a special tacit understanding between man and nature; even without cultivation, spiritual energy flows along the bridge, constantly nourishing the body, continuously improving one’s strength.

In this realm, both true energy and soul power surge rapidly, reaching a terrifying level, truly possessing the ability to move mountains and drain seas.

Breaking through this layer leads to the Seventh Stage Mortal Transformation, the Unity Realm.

The Unity Realm: all methods return to one; power becomes more simple, pure, and in harmony with nature; soul power also becomes stronger.

After that comes the Eighth Stage, the Void Step Realm. Reaching this level, not only do true energy and soul power make a huge leap, but more importantly, one can already control some natural laws and step through the air.

That is to say… one can already ascend and descend directly in the air, but because it’s hard to traverse horizontally, it doesn’t count as flying.

The head of the Phantom Feather Empire Master Teacher Hall and the emperor were both experts of this level; just thinking about it was terrifying.

Even if his strength had improved a lot recently, compared to such super experts, he was still far behind, with no comparison at all.

Of course, if he mastered the Red Dust Stepping Heaven Step and really wanted to escape, even experts of this level would find it hard to catch him.

“We reported our arrival today to the Master Teacher Hall; they should send someone to welcome us soon…”

After the introduction, Teacher Hong smiled.

The master teacher tournaments of the 28 forces, though not too prominent in the entire Phantom Feather Empire, still held a certain status, especially since a Five-Star Master Teacher personally presided over them.

Chirp chirp chirp!

Roar roar roar!

As soon as he finished speaking, a series of cries rang out, and a dozen huge flying spirit beasts flew straight over.

These flying spirit beasts were not large; each carried a figure. A dozen spirit beasts brought a dozen people flying over.

“Alright, the welcoming party has arrived. In a moment, we can enter the imperial palace directly with them…”

Smiling slightly, Teacher Hong was about to speak when a faint voice sounded from above the leading spirit beast.

“Hong Qian, long time no see… but this time you’ve come at a bad time. Better turn back!”