Chapter 1307: Zhang Qian

Not far away, several young women stood, all dressed in white robes, exactly like those from the Ice Palace. There had been no news of Zhao Ya since she left, and he didn't know how she was doing. Since he had encountered them, he could just ask. As individuals selected to participate in the Saint Son Hall assessment, these women were likely of significant status and background. Perhaps they would know about Zhao Ya's situation.

"Teacher Zhao, I'm going to take a look over there!"

With a greeting, Zhang Xuan raised his foot, ready to walk over.

"Over there?" Zhao Xingmo glanced over. "Those are people from the Ice Palace," he said. "It's best not to provoke them!"

"Oh?" Zhang Xuan asked, puzzled. "Are the people from the Ice Palace unreasonable?"

"Not exactly," Zhao Xingmo replied. "Almost all the people from the Ice Palace are women, and they are all exceptionally beautiful. Because of this, they are very popular at the Saint Son Hall. Many people pride themselves on being able to marry one of them. Every day, many go to try and strike up a conversation... If you approach rashly, I'm afraid you'll get a cold reception and easily suffer consequences!"

Zhao Xingmo shook his head. This Zhang Xuan, standing before him, had great talent, and his insight and knowledge were also quite good. But... he was far too eager when it came to women! As soon as they met, he had asked about the Saint Son Hall's most beautiful woman, the Luo family's young princess. Now, seeing people from the Ice Palace, he was captivated once more... The Saint Son Hall was not a place like the Qingyuan Empire. Even if your talent was considerable and your strength impressive, behaving like this every time you saw a woman meant you were bound to suffer consequences!

"Uh... I'm just asking them something, not trying to flirt with them..."

Hearing this and seeing his expression, Zhang Xuan immediately understood what Teacher Zhao was thinking, and a look of exasperation crossed his face. He had always been law-abiding and selfless, never behaving inappropriately. To be thought of as a womanizer... he was truly baffled.

"I'm just advising you to be careful..." Zhao Xingmo instructed. "Among those who can enter the Saint Son Hall, there isn't a single weak person. Be as low-key as possible, and absolutely do not cause trouble!" He internally grumbled, thinking of how the preliminary assessment had failed, leading to two people entering the re-assessment, and then the re-assessment had also failed, resulting in everyone being brought here... all because of this fellow. Now, as soon as he arrived here, he wanted to go find people from the Ice Palace. Couldn't he just behave himself?

"Don't worry," Zhang Xuan assured him with a smile. "I've always been low-key; I won't cause trouble!" Going over this time was just to ask about something; there would definitely be no problems.

"Good that you know," Zhao Xingmo said. "I am only your reception envoy. Once you're at the Saint Son Hall, whatever happens is no longer my business. But I still want to advise you... the Ice Palace is a super powerful entity, no weaker than the Zhang or Luo families. Although it has declined somewhat in recent years without a palace master overseeing it, it still should not be underestimated."

Frowning, Zhao Xingmo reminded him. He was only responsible for selecting the candidates and bringing them here. As for whether they could pass the assessment or what trouble they caused, it largely had nothing to do with him. However, since they had been together for so long, they had developed some rapport, and he still didn't want this person to cause trouble, especially with a major power like the Ice Palace.

"I'll keep that in mind!" Zhang Xuan said, cupping his fist.

"Mm!" Waving his hand, Zhao Xingmo said no more.

Lifting his foot, he walked over. Before long, he arrived in front of them, and Zhang Xuan smiled faintly.

"May I ask, ladies, are you from the Ice Palace?"

"Yes!"

The women turned their heads, their faces expressionless, giving off an aura of complete aloofness. The cultivators of the Ice Palace practiced cultivation techniques of the yin and cold attribute, making them inherently somewhat aloof.

"I am a cultivator from the Qingyuan Empire, and I would like to inquire about some information from you ladies..." Zhang Xuan spoke with utmost sincerity.

"Using this line to strike up a conversation is a bit old-fashioned, isn't it?" one of the women sneered, her eyes filled with disdain. The Ice Palace was one of the continent's top powers, and all of their women were exceptionally beautiful and extraordinarily talented. Countless people came to try and strike up conversations with them every year, so they had seen all kinds of tactics. This person before them, directly saying he wanted to inquire about news... it was an old trick from many years ago. It had absolutely no novelty.

"You've misunderstood, ladies," Zhang Xuan said, shaking his head with a bitter smile as he explained his intention. "I have an acquaintance who entered the Ice Palace, and there has been no news of her. Seeing you, I thought I would come over and inquire."

"An acquaintance? You're not going to say it's one of us, are you?" the woman who had just spoken scoffed, her disdain growing. They had seen too many such tactics. Not to mention anything else, since they had arrived at this plaza, in less than a day, four or five groups of people had already used similar methods to try and get close to them. Lines like "Oh, beautiful lady, we've met in a previous life," "I know you," or "You're in my eyes, I want to walk into your heart"... they had heard them so many times their ears were practically callused.

"Of course not," Zhang Xuan quickly clarified. "I want to ask about someone named Zhao Ya. She's not very old, a young girl, who was taken away by someone named Liu Xuan..."

"Presumptuous! How dare you casually use the Young Palace Master's given name?" The woman who had just spoken instantly narrowed her eyes, her face filled with fury.

"Young Palace Master?" Zhang Xuan frowned.

"Don't pretend to be ignorant here!" With a flick of her wrist, a powerful aura emanated from the woman, making it seem as though she was ready to act at any moment. "Leave immediately, and I can let this go," she warned. "Otherwise, don't blame me for being impolite..."

As soon as she released her power, her cultivation level was immediately revealed. This woman, though not very old, had actually reached the pinnacle of the Leaving Aperture realm. Among everyone in the plaza, she could be considered a master, extremely formidable.

"Don't get agitated, I really just want to ask..." Zhang Xuan shook his head, wanting to explain in detail, but the woman opposite him could no longer restrain herself. With a flick of her hand, she fiercely struck out. Her palm force was chilling; before it even reached him, it gave off a bone-chilling sensation, as if it would freeze everything around.

"This..." He hadn't expected that earnestly asking questions would provoke the other party to attack. Zhang Xuan's face was full of helplessness. He formed a sword with his fingers, intending to teach the other party a lesson and make them answer his questions, when a figure flashed before his eyes, the pervasive energy dissipated, and Zhao Xingmo appeared.

"Friends from the Ice Palace," Zhao Xingmo said, "I am Zhao Xingmo, the reception envoy of the Saint Son Hall. He is a person I brought. If he has offended you, I hope you can forgive him..."

Zhang Xuan had just promised him not to cause trouble, yet they were fighting after only a few words. Zhao Xingmo could no longer hold back and came forward to mediate.

"Since Teacher Zhao has stepped forward, we naturally must give him face," the woman said, stopping her attack. Seeing a reception envoy intervene, the woman stopped, cast a cold glance at Zhang Xuan, flicked her sleeve, and ignored him.

"Thank you!"

Relieved, Zhao Xingmo turned to Zhang Xuan, his brows furrowed. "Let's go back!"

"I really do have something to ask..." Zhang Xuan scratched his head. He just wanted to know if Zhao Ya was doing well. Not only would they not tell him, but they also attacked him. What kind of logic was that?

"You opened your mouth and immediately asked about their Young Palace Master," Zhao Xingmo said, his eyebrow twitching. "And you called her 'little girl'... isn't that provoking them?"

"I..." Zhang Xuan was stunned. Zhao Ya was his student, so calling her 'little girl' was no problem at all. However... if, as they claimed, she was the Young Palace Master of the Ice Palace, then calling her that was indeed inappropriate. The Ice Palace was a super powerful force comparable to the Zhang family, renowned throughout the continent. The Young Palace Master's status was no weaker than that of a nine-star master teacher. For a guy around twenty years old to address her like that, it was no wonder the other party got angry. It was like directly calling the Emperor by his name and referring to him as "little fellow."

"Alright, let's go back..." Zhao Xingmo said, looking at the young man with utter speechlessness. "I've heard of this Young Palace Master of the Ice Palace. She has a pure Yin physique and was only found a few months ago. It's said her beauty is no less than that of the Luo family's young princess..." This guy wasn't just eager for women; he was audaciously bold! Before even coming to the Saint Son Hall, he was asking about the Luo family's young princess. Now, seeing people from the Ice Palace, he immediately approached to ask about their Young Palace Master... Do you just stop dead in your tracks whenever you hear about a pretty girl? These two, though young, were both super figures whose mere stomp could shake the continent. How many guts did he have to set his sights on them...?

"Zhao Ya is my... and we have a deep relationship. I really just want to inquire about her exact news..." Just calling her 'little girl' had almost made them explode. If he said she was his student, wouldn't it cause even more chaos? After thinking it over, Zhang Xuan had no choice but to change his words.

"A deep relationship? The Young Palace Master of my Ice Palace is pure and unsullied! How dare you insult her like this?" the woman who had just spoken flared up, her eyebrows raised in fury. "Teacher Zhao, please step aside. I want to teach this loose-tongued fellow a lesson. I hope you won't obstruct me!"

"This..." Zhao Xingmo was exasperated. Earlier, when the Luo family's young princess was mentioned, this guy had claimed to know her, with a peculiar light in his eyes. Now, when the Ice Palace's Young Palace Master was mentioned, he claimed to have a deep relationship... Who did he think he was? The talented young master of the Zhang family? Did he really think everyone knew him?

"There must be some misunderstanding here..." Forcibly suppressing his anger, Zhao Xingmo gritted his teeth, still deciding to mediate the situation. This person before him, in Zhao Xingmo's view, was 100% capable of passing the assessment. He absolutely couldn't let him get injured before the assessment.

"There's no misunderstanding," the woman retorted coldly. "Our Ice Palace, though we've kept a low profile in recent years, we are not afraid of trouble! Insulting our Young Palace Master and tarnishing her reputation—if we don't teach him a lesson, what deterrence does our Ice Palace have?" The woman snorted coldly, taking two steps to stand before Zhang Xuan. "Friend, you dare to spout nonsense. Surely you won't always hide behind Teacher Zhao, afraid to face me?"

"Alright!" Seeing the other party's aggressive demeanor and direct challenge to fight, Zhang Xuan could only shake his head. "If I defeat you, will you tell me Zhao Ya's current situation?"

"You're asking for death..." Seeing him still call out "Zhao Ya," directly using the Young Palace Master's name, the woman's face turned ashen, and with a roar, she was about to strike.

"Please don't be angry, Fairy," a faint voice chimed in before she could strike. "Such an ignorant fellow, just leave him to me. Don't dirty your hands!" Immediately after, a young man in white robes, holding a folding fan, slowly approached. With a flick of his wrist, the folding fan closed. The young man exuded an air of elegant aloofness, and he smiled faintly, full of grace.

"Zhang Qian of the Zhang family greets the fairies of the Ice Palace," he said. "This humble one offers his respects!"