Chapter 1309: Chen Leyao's Attitude

"You, you..." Chen Leyao was speechless.

Her strength was almost identical to Zhang Qian's. Since he had been effortlessly knocked to the ground, unable to move, it meant she wouldn't last even a single move against the man!

If she were to make a move, it would be nothing but public humiliation!

Wasn't he just at the peak of the Primordial Spirit realm?

How could he be so powerful?

Cold sweat poured down her back. Fortunately, Zhang Qian had charged out earlier; otherwise, she would have been the one sprawling on the ground like a toad. If that had happened, her beauty and status would have been utterly ruined, a disgrace she might never recover from.

"Who exactly are you?"

She clenched her fists, unable to resist looking at him.

Logically, someone with such power shouldn't be unknown. Why had she never heard of him?

More importantly, to possess such strength at such a young age and to participate in the Saint Son Hall selection meant he must have significant status and background. How could he possibly be looking for trouble intentionally?

Could it be... he really knew the Young Palace Mistress and was one of her... suitors?

"I am a Seven-star Master Teacher from Qingyuan Empire, not very famous! Rest assured, I mean no harm; I merely wish to inquire about something," Zhang Xuan said.

In places like Qingyuan Empire and Hongyuan Empire, he was very famous, but here, even if he stated his name, no one would know him.

"Qingyuan Empire?"

Chen Leyao shook her head.

It was indeed a small place.

Among the Eight Conferred Empires, it was almost the weakest and quite distant. She hadn't expected such a remote place to produce such a formidable genius.

"Do you... truly know our Young Palace Mistress?"

She hesitated for a moment before asking.

The Young Palace Mistress was apparently found and brought back from the direction of Qingyuan Empire. Could it be that she knew this man before coming to the Ice Palace?

"Yes!" Zhang Xuan nodded.

Zhao Ya was a student he had personally guided, progressing step by step from Tianxuan Kingdom. Their relationship was far more than a mere acquaintance.

"She went to the Ice Palace, and I was a little worried. Seeing you, I simply wanted to inquire about her, with no other intentions."

Zhang Xuan smiled as he explained.

"In that case, there's no harm in telling you..."

Seeing his sincere gaze, Chen Leyao paused for a moment before saying, "Actually, I don't know much about the Young Palace Mistress. I only know that she cultivates extremely diligently and progresses incredibly fast... Although she hasn't been in the Ice Palace for long, her strength has already surpassed ours, reaching an unfathomable level. As for specific details, I'm not really aware..."

As she spoke, her face flushed.

Although her talent was decent and she had some renown in the Ice Palace, her status was still far beneath that of the Young Palace Mistress.

She usually had no opportunities to interact with her, having only seen her from afar once in over half a year. Even if asked for details, she wouldn't be able to provide much.

"Her strength has surpassed yours?"

Zhang Xuan nodded.

Zhao Ya possessed the Pure Yin Body. Once activated, her cultivation would inevitably skyrocket, surpassing the peak of the Out of Body realm... which was indeed not difficult.

"It seems I, her teacher, also need to speed up..."

He let out a wry smile.

As a teacher, it would truly be shameful if, upon their next meeting, his cultivation was inferior to his student's.

"Thank you for the information, and apologies for the disturbance..."

Knowing the disparity in their statuses, it was normal for her not to know much, so Zhang Xuan stopped asking further questions.

Since Zhao Ya had become the Young Palace Mistress and her cultivation had surpassed the Out of Body realm, it indicated that the Ice Palace had not treated her poorly. This put him at ease.

For him, it was also a form of affirmation that his student could go further and become stronger.

With a gesture, he released his suppression on Zhang Qian, gave a respectful nod, and returned to his original spot.

"You're welcome..."

Seeing him leave directly without another word, not even glancing at her again, Chen Leyao's pretty face flushed with embarrassment.

She had previously thought he might be deliberately striking up a conversation to curry favor with the Ice Palace, but now it seemed... that wasn't it at all!

He was indeed just there to inquire about something.

If she had known this earlier, she wouldn't have been so self-important and wouldn't have implicated the Zhang family genius...

Thinking this, she quickly looked over and saw Zhang Qian, now free from the suppression, struggling to his feet, his face contorted with rage and ferocity.

"Damn it..."

Gritting his teeth, the Zhang family genius was filled with unwillingness.

He had originally wanted to show off in front of the beauty and perhaps build connections, but instead, he was knocked to the ground with a single move, thoroughly humiliated. The intense frustration was driving him mad.

However, after that one move, he knew the opponent's strength was beyond his current ability to contend with. Though furious, he dared not charge forward again and bring further shame upon himself.

"Are you alright..."

Feeling vexed with anger, he saw Chen Leyao looking at him with concern from the side.

"I'm... fine!"

His face flushed. Zhang Qian wanted to open his folding fan to hide his expression, but he found that half of the fan was missing. Although the confrontation had ended quickly, the power was too immense; an ordinary fan simply couldn't withstand it and had been utterly destroyed.

"That's good. Master Zhang, thank you for stepping forward for me today. However, that friend earlier probably didn't mean any harm, so please don't take it to heart!"

Chen Leyao smiled.

He had ended up in such a sorry state because he had tried to stand up for her. Although he hadn't been able to help, she was still quite grateful.

As for the person from before, she realized the situation had arisen because of her misunderstanding, and she felt deeply ashamed.

"No harm? Disrespecting our Zhang family is an unforgivable offense!"

Hearing Chen Leyao defend the other man, Zhang Qian grew even angrier.

"Fairy, there's no need to say more. This no longer concerns you. He insulted my Zhang family and even attacked me; it's an irreconcilable feud. If I don't teach him a lesson, what prestige will I have in the Saint Son Hall afterward?"

"This..." Chen Leyao didn't know how to respond.

The man was right; the matter had indeed escalated beyond her involvement.

"Zhang Yu, go inquire about this fellow's background and why Zhang Jiuxiao was helping him!"

Despite his anger, Zhang Qian was not reckless. He paused for a moment, then turned his head and gave an order.

Following his words, a young man nodded and quietly slipped into the crowd.

Geniuses like him usually had subordinates to handle daily errands, and Zhang Yu was one such person.

It wasn't long before he returned, cupping his fists to report, "Young Master, I've found out about that fellow. He's a genius selected from Qingyuan Empire, the dean of Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy, and he successfully challenged the Qingyuan Empire Master Teacher Hall. His talent and strength are both exceptionally high!"

Many of Zhang Xuan's deeds were recorded in the Master Teacher Hall, so it was easy to find information about him by checking.

"Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy? Insignificant!"

Zhang Qian scoffed lightly, then his brows furrowed. "However, to successfully challenge the hall, his talent is indeed extraordinary!"

In a small place like Hongyuan Empire, a so-called dean was, in his eyes, no different from a village chief, utterly insignificant. But to successfully challenge the hall... that was not simple at all!

Challenging the hall had restrictions on rank and the master teacher's origin. This meant that the challenging master teacher's rank could not exceed the highest rank of the local Master Teacher Hall, and they had to be native to that region, not from headquarters.

With these two rules, only a handful of people had succeeded in challenging the hall in tens of thousands of years since the Master Teacher profession emerged on the continent. For this fellow to achieve it, his talent was terrifying!

"No matter how strong he is, he's just a country bumpkin. Young Master, if you had used your bloodline power just now, he definitely wouldn't have been your match, right?"

Zhang Yu said.

For a Saint Clan, their greatest strength wasn't talent, but their bloodline.

"It's certainly not difficult to defeat him by using my bloodline! However, each time I use it, it depletes me greatly, and I can't recover in a short period. I might even jeopardize the assessment..."

Zhang Qian shook his head.

It wasn't that he didn't want to use it, but that he didn't dare.

If he used his bloodline, the consumption would be too great. Even if he taught that fellow a lesson, jeopardizing the Saint Son Hall assessment because of it would lead to severe punishment upon returning to his clan.

The Zhang family placed great importance on entering the Saint Son Hall.

"What should we do then?" Zhang Yu looked at him.

"No need to be nervous!"

Zhang Qian snorted, his eyes narrowing. "Now that we know who he is, it's fine to let him run wild for a couple of days. Once the Saint Son Hall assessment is over and I enter the elite class, won't I be able to teach him a lesson however I please?"

"That's true..." Realizing this, Zhang Yu couldn't help but nod.

New students of the Saint Son Hall were assigned based on their assessment results. There were elite classes and regular classes, with different cultivation methods tailored to varying strengths and talents.

The elite class gathered the best among many geniuses and groomed them as potential Saint Sons, giving them a greater chance to enter the inner court.

The regular classes, on the other hand, were relatively weaker.

Zhang Qian's goal was singular: not just to pass the assessment, but to successfully enter the elite class and become the peak existence among all the students!

"Becoming an elite will expand my authority, allowing me to make him wish he were dead! Once I'm tired of playing with him, I'll teach him a proper lesson, so he knows... the Zhang family is not to be offended!"

His gaze turned cold, and Zhang Qian sneered. Suddenly recalling something, he turned his head and asked, "Oh, by the way, what's that kid's name?"

They had been discussing him for a long time, even had a confrontation, yet he still didn't know the other person's name.

"He also has the surname Zhang, but he's not from our clan... His name is Zhang Xuan!"

After a moment of thought, Zhang Yu replied.

"Zhang Xuan? You mean that young man earlier is called... Zhang Xuan?"

Before Zhang Qian could speak, Chen Leyao, who was standing to the side, suddenly froze and quickly looked over.

"Yes, his name is Zhang Xuan! A low-class individual from Tianxuan Kingdom actually has the nerve to bear the surname Zhang..."

Zhang Yu sneered and scoffed, but before his words finished, he felt his body stiffen, immediately enveloped by an icy cold power.

Immediately afterward, he saw a hand slap him.

With a sharp crack, Zhang Yu flew sideways, crashing heavily to the ground, his teeth scattered, and he continuously coughed up blood.

"Fairy Leyao, what is the meaning of this?"

Zhang Qian stepped forward, clenching his fists.

It was Chen Leyao who had just attacked. How could she turn hostile so suddenly after everything seemed fine moments ago?

"Nothing. Zhang Qian, control your people and yourself. If I ever discover you disrespecting Master Teacher Zhang Xuan again... beware, my Ice Palace will completely turn against you!"

With her hands clasped behind her back, Chen Leyao raised her delicate brows, her voice firm and unyielding.