Chapter 1093: Unable to Get Out

"You'll know if you follow me..." Ji Yan said with a wry smile, noticing their confusion.

Following him, they walked for a while through the mist until they reached a room. The room was surrounded by peak Level 7 seals and traps, formidable enough to ensnare and even kill a powerful expert like King Tianye.

Zhang Xuan nodded at the sight. It seemed that although they were all trapped, King Tianye clearly held a significant advantage. The former principal and others, unable to resist, could only hide here to survive. These formations and traps were likely set to prevent sneak attacks.

They pushed the door open and stepped inside. The room was small, only about a dozen square meters, and lacked windows. A single luminous pearl provided the only light, casting a dim glow. Leaning against one wall was a person whose legs were missing, leaving empty spaces. One arm was also broken. However, upon seeing them, the person immediately flew up, eyes wide with disbelief.

"Principal Ji, these are..."

There were only a few of them in the Conferred Saint Hall, so the sudden sight of other humans filled them with understandable excitement.

"Principal Tan, these are Master Wu and his companions from Qingyuan Empire. They found this place..." Ji Yan explained.

"Principal Tan? Are you Vice Principal Tan Qing?" Zhang Xuan paused, then recalled a person. Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy had four vice principals: Mu Renxu, Ji Yan, and Tan Qing were three of them.

"It's me..." Tan Qing nodded, then looked at Ji Yan nearby with a confused expression. "What are the names of these Master Teachers?"

"Well... I just encountered them being chased by King Tianye and rescued them. I haven't had time to ask for their names yet..." Ji Yan replied. Given the recent crisis, there hadn't been time for detailed introductions. He only knew Master Wu; the other three were unfamiliar.

"This is Master Zhang Xuan, the new principal of Hongyuan Academy. That's Master Luo Ruoxi, and that's Guild Leader Han Xu, president of the Formation Master Guild of Qingyuan Empire!" Master Wu introduced them.

"New principal?" Hearing the introductions, both men looked over in unison, their brows furrowing simultaneously. Even if they had come directly here due to the urgent situation without time to apply to headquarters, Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy was still one of the Four Great Academies... How could a young man, only at the Half-Saint cultivation level, become its principal? This must be a joke!

"Although Principal Zhang is young, his strength is extraordinary. We were able to find this place thanks to his efforts!" Seeing their expressions and knowing what they were thinking, Master Wu quickly explained. To be honest, Zhang Xuan was truly too young. Even Master Wu himself had been skeptical upon first meeting him, let alone these two.

"You're right. Getting here couldn't have been easy!" Hearing Master Wu's words, the two paused, then realized. They had personally experienced the brutality of Qiuwu Palace and knew its dangers. To have made it all the way from the entrance must mean extraordinary abilities. Moreover, Master Wu had personally vouched for him.

"Where's Principal Zhang Yinqiu?" Zhang Xuan frowned and looked over. Didn't they say the old principal was still alive? And that fewer than three people survived? Why isn't he here?

"Principal Zhang..." Ji Yan and Tan Qing exchanged glances, their eyes dimming simultaneously. "He's already dead..."

"Dead? Principal Ji, didn't you just say there were fewer than three of you alive? Now there are only two..." This time, it was Guild Leader Han who spoke. Clearly, he had also picked up on Principal Ji's earlier words. There were two of them present. If there were only two survivors, they would have simply said "two." But they said "fewer than three," which naturally implied something else. A dignified 7-star Master Teacher would not make such a simple slip of the tongue.

"There's one more, Principal Zhang Yinqiu. He's technically alive, but there's no real difference from being dead... However, he's not here right now. We can only take you to see him at a specific time!" Ji Yan explained.

"Alive, but dead?" Everyone exchanged bewildered glances. Seeing that Ji Yan didn't intend to elaborate, they refrained from pressing further.

After a pause, Master Wu looked over, perplexed. "What exactly happened two years ago? Why didn't you report this place to headquarters, knowing how dangerous it is?" In fact, not only was he confused, but Zhang Xuan also found it incredible. The old principal had left a cenotaph at the Principal's Mausoleum, surely knowing the dangers here were beyond his power to contend with. If so, he should have reported it to a higher-level Master Teacher Pavilion. Why did he choose silence, bringing so many Master Teachers from the academy, only for them all to vanish without a trace?

"It's not that we didn't want to report it to the Master Teacher Pavilion; it's that time didn't allow for it!" Ji Yan shook his head with a bitter smile. "Master Wu is familiar with Principal Zhang. You know his greatest idol was Senior Wu Yangzi, and his favorite thing was researching his life and deeds... After extensive investigation, he discovered some things about this ruin and obtained useful information. Just as he was about to report it to the Master Teacher Pavilion, the news somehow reached the foreign tribe. Not only were some items tricked away from him, but they also learned even deeper secrets..."

"Later, when he learned the ruin was about to open and there was no time to lose, he immediately gathered us overnight, and that's how we ended up chasing after them!"

After hearing the explanation, Master Wu frowned. "Zhang Yinqiu had a communication jade token from headquarters. He could have simply sent a message to inform them of the situation, which wouldn't have taken much time... Why didn't he do that?" Sending a message, even detailing the entire ruin, would only take a dozen breaths. If he could gather people overnight and chase urgently... sending a message shouldn't have been difficult, right? Why did they say time didn't allow for it?

"If I'm not mistaken, the news didn't just 'reach' the foreign tribe; it was... tricked out of him, wasn't it? And was the trickster from headquarters? Making you wary of headquarters?" Zhang Xuan pondered for a moment and then understood the crucial point. If there were no misgivings, they would have sent a message long ago.

"This... Master Zhang truly has keen insight, seeing the problem at a glance..." Hearing his words, Ji Yan and Tan Qing both gaped in admiration. To deduce all this from such simple words, Master Zhang's discernment was indeed astonishing. No wonder he could become a principal; he was truly extraordinary.

"Tricked away? From headquarters?" Master Wu was startled, then clenched his fists. He was also an intelligent man and immediately understood what had happened. Zhang Yinqiu had been deceived by a fake "Master Teacher" from headquarters, making him wary. Since they weren't familiar with the situation at the Qingyuan Empire Master Teacher Pavilion, they naturally didn't dare to send a message rashly. Perhaps the original plan was to personally visit headquarters if they managed to emerge from the ruin, but instead... they vanished without a trace.

"Who was it?" Master Wu narrowed his eyes and looked over. He knew all the Master Teachers at headquarters. Who could it have been?

"We are all trapped here now, and no one can leave. There's no point in saying who it was..." Ji Yan shook his head. If no one could get out, what was the point of revealing the information? Given the circumstances, it was better left unsaid to avoid unnecessary trouble.

"We really can't get out? Are we going to be trapped here forever?" Guild Leader Han spoke.

"Yes, the seals outside allow entry but no exit. I'm sure you've all realized they were personally set by Ancient Sage Qiuwu... Unless we obtain his legacy and understand the secrets of the seals, it's impossible to leave!" Tan Qing shook his head with a bitter smile, then suddenly remembered something and looked over. "Oh, right, when we were entangled with King Tianye and his group, we couldn't escape, so we had to flee here. Along your way, you must have discovered the portal to the Ancient Sage's legacy, right? Were you able to obtain the legacy?"

"Well..." Hearing this, Master Wu and the others looked visibly embarrassed. They had indeed entered the portal, seen the Ancient Sage's statue, and even passed the assessment, but... they ultimately didn't receive the legacy! Such a bizarre outcome would be hard for the others to believe.

"What's wrong? Didn't... you see the marks Principal Zhang left behind?" Seeing their strange expressions, Ji Yan couldn't help but ask. The mark was so obvious, it should have been easy to find!

"So it was indeed left by you. Since you knew there was a legacy within the portal, why didn't you go in and check?" This time, it was Guild Leader Han's turn to be puzzled. If they had left the mark, it meant they had naturally activated the portal and confirmed its location. So why didn't they enter? If they had gone in, and the Ancient Sage had intervened, King Tianye might not have survived until now.

"At that time, we reached the portal first and activated it... However, just as we confirmed its location and before we could enter to investigate, King Tianye caught up to us. The Ancient Sage's legacy was too significant; if he were to obtain it, it could potentially bring disaster upon the entire human race... We couldn't take that risk! So, the principal secretly left marks on the ground, directing us to hurry towards this location. King Tianye, being suspicious by nature and seeing the nine portals, didn't enter to investigate either and continued chasing us. Ultimately, we all ended up here..." Ji Yan recounted the situation at that time.

Although he spoke lightly, Zhang Xuan and the others could infer the brutality of the events. Mu Renxu and the others died not far from the nine portals, their bodies unrecovered, which clearly showed how dangerous the situation was.

"After entering here, everyone got trapped, and there were many more battles. While only King Tianye remained from the foreign tribe, nearly all the Master Teachers who came with us had died... Fortunately, the terrain here is complex, allowing us to cling to life. Otherwise, we would have been annihilated long ago..." Ji Yan sighed.

"So that's what happened!" Everyone nodded. They had all personally experienced King Tianye's power. Even Master Wu and Guild Leader Han, working together, couldn't resist him. At that time, the others were only at the peak of Saint 1-dan, so they naturally had even less of a chance. To have survived until now, it could be said, was already quite remarkable.

"By the way, you still haven't answered us: did you obtain Ancient Sage Qiuwu's legacy?" After explaining, Ji Yan looked over again. This question was crucial to their escape, and he genuinely wanted to know the answer.

"Well... the will left by Ancient Sage Qiuwu was shattered by Master Zhang, and no legacy was left behind!" After much hesitation, Master Wu finally spoke.