Chapter 622: Late
Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97
At this moment, Luo Zhao was dressed in a large crimson master teacher robe which looked magnificently beneath the lighting. He held a glass of fine wine in his hands as he glanced at the approaching group with a smile.
From his appearance, it seemed as though he wasn’t in the least bothered by Hong shi’s actions earlier in the afternoon.
"Luo Zhao, what do you mean by that?"
"Nothing much, I just feel that Hongfeng Empire has regressed too much. To think that even Transcendent Mortal 4-dan pinnacle cultivators could make it into the top three... Tsk tsk, you’re truly getting worse with each passing generation!"
Luo Zhao shook his head as he spoke.
Both Bi Jianghai and Luo Xuan had already reached Consonant Spirit realm; only Zhang Xuan was still stuck in Transcendent Mortal 4-dan pinnacle.
Zhang Xuan also didn’t intentionally hide his cultivation either, so Luo Zhao was able to notice it with a glance.
While the Four Great Vassal States might not be as powerful as Huanyu Empire, they had vast territories beneath it and countless geniuses. Often, those who managed to get into the top three would have already reached Consonant Spirit realm. Only a monster like Zhang Xuan would be able to leave the competitors on the verge of breakdown despite possessing a lower cultivation.
Seeing how the fellow was mocking Zhang Xuan’s low cultivation, Hong shi retorted, "What’s wrong with Transcendent Mortal 4-dan? It’s not like the Master Teacher Tournament revolves around strength!"
You’re only saying this because you don’t know how fearsome he is...
Looks like Feng shi didn’t tell you who the cause of his fall was. If you knew, you wouldn’t have uttered so much nonsense.
As old acquaintances, Hong shi had a clear gauge of Luo Zhao’s fighting prowess. But even so, he had a hunch that if the other party and Zhang shi were to be locked in the cage, Zhang shi would surely be the one walking out alive!
"Oh? You look very confident." Luo Zhao’s lips curled up. "Just that, I wonder if you can maintain the same confidence you have after seeing my top three rankers!"
After which, he turned around and three young men came walking over. The aura of the trio was intensified and dampened as though a flickering light, but if one thing was for sure, none of them were weak.
"Consonant Spirit realm intermediate stage?" Hong shi frowned. "You gave them... Consonant Spirit Pills?"
Consonant Spirit Pill was a grade-5 pill that allowed any Consonant Spirit realm cultivator to increase their cultivation by one small realm without any conditions or side effects!
Only 5-star apothecaries are capable of forging this pill, and the quantity available was extremely limited. Of the entire region, only Huanyu Empire sold it.
The bodies of the trio harnessed the violent energy reminiscent of a medicine-clearly, they had achieved a breakthrough via consuming medicine. Furthermore, considering how they didn’t possess full grasp of their strength, it shouldn’t have been long since they made the breakthrough.
"Indeed. The Cleansing Lake nourishes one’s soul, and as such, Consonant Spirit realm cultivators benefit the most from it... To think that there would be a person who hasn’t even reached Consonant Spirit realm within you group... Given such, do you think that the crown prince would still give the slot to you?"
Luo Zhao chuckled lightly.
The other three Vassal States had come to the empire early and spent an exorbitant price to purchase Consonant Spirit Pills. It was fortunate that they managed to obtain the pills before today, thus allowing their top three rankers to achieve a breakthrough.
Even though there was only a step of difference between Consonant Spirit realm and Clarifying Turbidity realm pinnacle, there was a qualitative difference in the physical body and soul of both realms.
As long as one hadn’t reached Consonant Spirit realm yet, one would be unable to cultivate one’s soul separately. Even if one were to enter the Cleansing Lake, the effects one could derive from it would be severely limited.
"This..." Hong shi frowned.
He had held the Master Teacher Tournament at the same time as the other three Vassal States, but unfortunately, the tournament was held in the Myriad Kingdom Alliance this year, and the Myriad Kingdom Alliance was simply too far away from Huanyu Capital.
The others had already arrived in Huanyu Capital earlier and made preparations in advance. In comparison, his group looked unready.
"The crown prince hasn’t announced the rules for determining the distribution of the slots yet. Besides, so what if your men have reached Consonant Spirit realm intermediate stage? It’s still too early to see who will have the last laugh!"
Even though Hong shi was worried, he couldn’t possibly lose out in a fight of guts.
"Seeing how you’re so confident, I’ll look forward to your performance later!"
Luo Zhao chuckled before bringing the three men of his group back to the hall with a wine glass in hand.
"Humph!"
Hong shi flung his sleeves angrily.
He knew the other party was intentionally coming over to show off, but he still couldn’t hold back his anger.
Taking a deep breath, Hong shi turned to the young man beside him and said, "Zhang shi, don’t think too much into it..."
"Me? I’m fine!"
Not expecting to be looked down upon and consoled due to his low cultivation realm, Zhang Xuan chuckled. "Right, did you fight him in a Master Teacher Confrontation earlier this afternoon?"
"He did challenge me... but didn’t you tell me not to accept it?"
Hong shi looked at Zhang Xuan in confusion.
Zhang shi had analyzed the situation he would encounter if he were to confront the trio. The ’suffered grievous injuries, won’t be able to fight for the next ten years’ was actually a work of the young man before him.
Otherwise, how could an upright person like him possibly think of such downright shameless words?
"Both he and you are Transcendent Mortal 6-dan primary stage cultivators, so there isn’t a huge gap between your strength. It’s hard to tell who would win, so it was indeed unwise for you to accept his challenge back then. But now... the situation is different!"
Zhang Xuan chuckled.
"Different?" Hong shi was taken aback.
What was different about the situation?
It had only been a few hours since then; his cultivation hadn’t advanced, and Luo Zhao didn’t grow weak either...
"I’m here, so you don’t have to worry about facing him. I can guarantee your win!" Zhang Xuan said calmly with pride and confidence.
"What you mean is that... you’ll guide me in my battle against him?"
Hong shi was taken aback for a moment before his eyes lit up.
"Un!" Zhang Xuan’s lips crept up.
You actually dare to mock my cultivation?
Fine, let’s have Hong shi beat you to the point that even your own father won’t recognize you.
Consonant Spirit realm intermediate stage huh?
When your teacher is reduced to a pig head, let’s see whether you can get gleeful!
"Alright!" Hong shi nodded his head.
While this young man’s master teacher rank was lower than his, the other party had an 8-star master teacher as his teacher. Not to mention, he had witnessed the other party’s capability in giving pointers, and he could tell that he wasn’t a match for the other party.
With the other party’s help, his chances at defeating Luo Zhao would be increased by exponentially.
"Let’s go in!"
After a moment of discussion, the group of four entered the banquet hall.
As expected of the crown prince’s palace. The decorations were elaborate, and countless Night Illumination Pearls lit up the room as though it was day.
Resplendent carpets were laid on the floor, beautiful wallpapers brought elegance to the room, and many lush potted plants breathed life into the area... On the whole, the entire hall was extravagant and majestic, and its unique aesthetics were pleasant to the eyes.
"The crown prince possesses incredible talent. He managed to become a 4-star master teacher in his twenties, thus becoming the number one genius of the younger generation of Huanyu Empire. Thus, my teacher took him in as his student and sent him to the Master Teacher Academy!"
Hong shi sent a message over telepathically. "As such, he’s highly favored by the emperor. As if to reflect that, the scale of the Eastern Palace is on par with the royal palace, and its design is even more elaborate than the latter..."
"Un!"
Zhang Xuan nodded.
Of all of the palaces he had been to, there was none that could compare to this Eastern Palace.
On top of murals, there were also many works from famous painters hung on the wall, causing spiritual energy to linger in the air. Not only so, upon entering the hall, they immediately felt the temperature change to a soothing level. There should be a temperature-regulating formation set up here.
It seemed like the talented master teacher of a crown prince was highly favored by the emperor.
Walking along the soft carpet, they saw two sets of table and chairs were placed at the two sides of the vast hall, probably reserved for the members of the Four Great Vassal States. Luo Zhao and his group were seated on one of them.
Feng shi, who was nearly shattered to smithereens from falling from a high altitude, was present too. However, his injuries seemed to be much more severe than before. His cheeks were swollen red, and he looks extremely fragile at the moment. This was probably Hong shi’s work.
The only reason why he could continue remain seated without any problems was probably due to the consumption of some kind of incredible recovery pill. But even so, he looked drained, a complete contrast from his gleeful self earlier this morning.
"This is... Feng shi?"
Luo Xuan and Bi Jianghai stared at one another in astonishment.
Just earlier this morning, this man was stood majestically on the back of a spirit beast as he blocked Hong shi’s passageway. While he was an enemy, they had to admit that there was an air of grandness around him. However, with a word from Zhang shi, he plummeted from the skies, reduced to... such a state.
Recalling what had been said just earlier on, they solemnly swore that even if they had to offend everyone in the world, they would never offend Zhang shi...
Ignoring Feng shi, Zhang Xuan turned his sight toward the other master teachers in the room.
Just as Luo Zhao said, the top three rankers from Fengyuan Empire, Qianfeng Empire, and Zhuyue Empire had all reached Consonant Spirit realm. In fact, there was even one who had reached Consonant Spirit realm advanced stage.
In terms of cultivation, Zhang Xuan indeed ranked at the bare bottom.
Other than the members from the Four Great Vassal States, there was a young man seated at the main table placed in the center. He was drinking alone, forming a stark contrast to the others in the room.
That man was wearing a robe, and five bright stars shone from the master teacher emblem pinned on his chest.
"5-star master teacher?"
Zhang Xuan was stunned. Turning to Hong shi, he asked, "Is this the crown prince?"
"He’s not the crown prince. The crown prince is only a half 5-star master teacher. That person is probably his senior from the Master Teacher Academy... Based on what I know, he must either be Xing Yuan or Wu Zhen!" Hong shi replied.
He had learned the names of the four guests from the Master Teacher Academy. Given that the person seated there was a man, it was impossible for him to be the Sixth Princess or Luo Qiqi. Thus, he had to be either Xing Yuan or Wu Zhen.
Otherwise, it was impossible for him to be seated so casually on the same table as the crown prince.
"Xing Yuan or Wu Zhen?" Zhang Xuan asked.
"Un, there are a total of four guests from the Master Teacher Academy, and two of the 5-star master teachers go by those names!" Hong shi explained. After which, he gestured the group to a table and said, "Since the crown prince isn’t here yet, let’s take a seat!"
From the information they received from the guard, they learned that the crown prince had gone over to invite the Sixth Princess and the rest of the group.
"Hong shi, considering the distance between Huanyu Empire and Myriad Kingdom Alliance, we won’t say anything about your prior tardiness. However, you should have arrived in the capital this morning already! To keep Wu shi waiting and only arrive at this late hour... don’t you think you’re being a little too disrespectful?"
Right after the group got seated, an impassive voice suddenly sounded in the air.
It was an elder seated opposite to them.
The 5-star master teacher leading Zhuyue Empire’s group, Chen Yue!
Hearing his words, Hong shi frowned in displeasure.
His voice wasn’t exceptionally loud, but it was sufficient so for everyone in the room to hear. This, of course, included Wu shi, who was drinking at the main table.
If he were to admit his tardiness, considering how he arrived later than the esteemed guest from the Master Teacher Academy, that would be no different from admitting to a breach of etiquette. Given so, he would surely leave a bad impression with the other party.
On the other hand, given that he had indeed arrived later than Wu shi, if he were to attempt to dispute the fact, the results wouldn’t be any better either.
It could be said that those words had put Hong shi into a deadlock.
What should he do?
Hong shi’s face darkened as he struggled to search for a reply. However, at that moment, he suddenly heard something, and his body stiffened.
Following which, his eyes lit up, and he turned to look Chen Yue in the eye.
"Chen Yue, please mind your words. This is just a banquet, a place that fosters camaraderie and harmony. To be talking about tardiness here... Are you going to blame the crown prince for arriving late later on as well?"