Chapter 1908: Saints' Ancestral Hall

Zhang Xuan's expression hardened as he realized his excellent concealment had been detected. He quickly recoiled and punched forward to meet the incoming attack.

Although he still hadn't broken through to the Ancient Sage level, his combat power was already comparable to a Blood Rejuvenation realm expert. True Qi burst forth along his meridians, forming a vast, inescapable net before him.

As fist met palm, Zhang Xuan swayed slightly.

The owner of the fist was not weaker than him in the slightest, also a super expert at the Blood Rejuvenation realm.

"I can't fight head-on..." Zhang Xuan thought. His goal in coming here was to uncover Master Kong's past encounter with the "deity," not to stir up trouble. To avoid complications, he had to end this quickly. If the Ancient Sages of the Hundred Schools of Philosophers were to notice, leaving smoothly would become much more difficult.

With a shake of his hand, the Dragon Bone Divine Spear appeared in his palm. Imbued with his entire being's aura, it pierced through the air towards the fist.

In an instant, a subtle crack appeared in the space, like a needle tip piercing skin. Although its power was immense, not a hint of energy leaked out. Even ten meters away from the ancestral hall, without seeing it firsthand, no one would notice that an Ancient Sage-level expert was fighting there.

The fist and divine spear clashed. The former seemed to have been injured, as its palm withdrew. Zhang Xuan darted forward and stepped inside.

What appeared before him was a spacious hall. In the center stood a statue of Master Kong, and in front of it, a soldier in golden armor stared blankly at him, his eyes filled with killing intent.

The previous attack was precisely what he had unleashed.

"This is... a Master Glyph Soldier?" Frowning, Zhang Xuan was stunned. He had expected a Grand Tutor expert guarding the ancestral hall, but unexpectedly, it was merely a golden armored guard formed from a character.

He had seen this type of thing once before in Ancient Sage Ran Qiu's historical remains.

"A single character possessing the combat power of an Ancient Sage Tripartite realm expert? Could it be... left by Master Kong?" His heart was filled with shock.

He didn't deny Master Kong's unparalleled strength throughout history, but he never imagined it could be this powerful!

A single character Master Kong wrote possessed the power of an Ancient Sage Tripartite Blood Rejuvenation realm expert; it could even contend with him without falling behind. If he wrote many of them, wouldn't there be nothing in the world that could withstand him?

As soon as this thought emerged, he immediately shook his head.

Although Master Glyph Soldiers were powerful, they weren't something that could be casually written. Not only did they require an immense understanding of calligraphy from the writer, but also nourishment from True Qi and essence blood. With his current strength, he could at most write characters of the Consummate Immortal realm, no more than three in number.

Any more, and he wouldn't be able to do it.

"No matter how strong, it's just a character!" His spiritual sense spread out, confirming that the recent battle hadn't attracted anyone else's attention. Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief. Raising an eyebrow, he didn't hesitate, taking a step forward and thrusting his spear again.

With several continuous thrusts, the spear tip's power converged, forming a rotating vortex.

His spear technique conformed to the Great Dao. It appeared simple, but when actually executed, it was ever-changing, making it impossible to defend against.

To end the fight quickly, Zhang Xuan held nothing back this time. True Qi surged through his reforged meridians, emanating power comparable to a Void Shattering realm expert. In less than two breaths, the Master Glyph Soldier before him was defeated, turning back into a pool of ink and vanishing before his eyes.

He quickly looked up and then saw a gigantic "儒" (scholar/Confucian) character formed, resting on the wall behind the statue.

Seeing that the character's attack was finished, with no other attacks or formations present, Zhang Xuan approached Master Kong's statue and bowed several times. Only then did he look around.

The Master Glyph Soldier he had just encountered should be like those in Ancient Sage Ran Qiu's historical remains—a type of test. Only by defeating it was one qualified to remain here.

The ancestral hall was empty, containing only the statue. He walked towards a side door nearby, which led to a long corridor. The walls were covered with bas-reliefs.

"This is... Master Kong's life story?" His eyes lit up.

The bas-reliefs before him depicted Master Kong's life, starting from his birth and slowly progressing along a timeline.

As his eyes fell upon them, Zhang Xuan's entire soul seemed to be drawn in, transcending the confines of time and space, accompanying Master Kong through his magnificent life.

Master Kong's birth was not like the legends, where he was a born Saint realm. From all appearances, he was quite ordinary; at most, he was intelligent, eager to learn, and enjoyed reading.

At that time, the Lingxiao Tribe ruled the continent, and humanity's status was extremely low. From his initial ordinariness, Master Kong suddenly seemed to have an epiphany. His cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds, and within a year, he broke through to Martial Artist Ninth Stage, Mortal Ascension Ninth Stage, and even Saint Realm Ninth Stage!

His progress speed was not inferior to Zhang Xuan's in the slightest!

As his cultivation grew, Master Kong never stopped, campaigning across various nations and rescuing humanity from the Lingxiao Tribe. During this period, he spread the philosophy of the teacher's path, recruited students, established the Master Teacher Pavilion, and taught the world.

The Lingxiao Tribe felt threatened. They besieged Master Kong and his many disciples, trapping them in Chen and Cai for several months, where they almost couldn't escape. Under this crisis, he created the Spring and Autumn Codex, broke through to Ancient Sage, and instantly broke through their predicament. He even devised a plan to ambush and kill the "Ruthless One," completely driving the Lingxiao Tribe into the ancient battlefield and sealing them there so they could no longer do evil.

"It seems Master Kong's breakthrough to Ancient Sage wasn't merely understanding the laws of time..." As he walked forward, Zhang Xuan pondered.

The Spring and Autumn Codex contained the mysteries of time. He had also visited the Master Kong Temple, where the flow of time inside was indeed different from the outside world.

Ancient Sage Ran Qiu's breakthrough likely involved understanding spear techniques, and Ancient Sage Qiu Wu understood space. He had always been guessing what Master Kong had comprehended. Now it seemed it was time, and yet not just time!

The Zhang Clan's ancestor, who achieved Ancient Sage status by comprehending time, was also extremely powerful. However, compared to this Master for All Ages, there was an immeasurable difference.

With doubts in his heart, he continued to look down.

After driving the Lingxiao Tribe into the ancient battlefield, they performed a ritual to summon a "deity," which Master Kong then captured.

Upon seeing this, Zhang Xuan's breathing became slightly ragged.

The purpose of coming here was precisely to find this, and he hadn't expected to be on the verge of knowing the answer.

He hastily looked further down. The bas-relief depicted Master Kong taking the "deity" away from the most central location of the Master Teacher Continent, the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters, to a secluded place.

This place was somewhat desolate; spiritual energy was very sparse, and decent buildings or cities were almost nonexistent.

Upon arriving here, the "deity" vanished without a trace, whether killed or for some other reason, was unknown. Master Kong seemed injured and rested on the spot.

A subsequent bas-relief depicted entering a small world. If his guess was correct, it should be the Kunxu Realm where the Hundred Schools of Philosophers resided.

This was the last one.

"The Kunxu Realm, could it be..." Seeing that the last stone carving showed the Kunxu Realm, Zhang Xuan again looked at the desolate place where Master Kong had taken the "deity." After observing it carefully for a moment, his eyelids twitched.

He actually recognized this place...

It was precisely the outside world's... Tianxuan Kingdom!