Chapter 2101: Xuanjiang River

They all knew their teacher's talent. If it had been a year, or even longer, his injuries would surely have healed completely, and he might have even made a name for himself. But with only about a month, he was likely still trapped in Xuanjiang City, just like them, unable to leave.

After all, this was a completely new world. A Grand Sage Fourth Realm expert could command wind and rain on the Master Teacher Continent, but here, they amounted to nothing!

"Hmm, let's ask someone!"

Thinking of this, Zhao Ya looked at a nearby servant. "Please trouble yourself to see your master and convey our siblings' gratitude!"

"Yes!" The servant retreated. Before long, a middle-aged man strode over, full of surprise. "You are all so heavily injured, yet you woke up so quickly..."

Although he wasn't skilled in medicine, the manor's physician had specifically examined them. Under normal circumstances, it would be difficult for the injured individuals to wake up without several months. Yet, in just a few days, they had all regained consciousness, suggesting their cultivation wasn't as simple as it appeared!

Could it be that, like Shan Xiaotian back then, their luck was about to change?

"Thank you, Steward Zhang, for saving our lives..."

The nine siblings simultaneously rose and cupped their fists in salute.

"You're too kind, it was nothing, just a casual act..."

Steward Zhang chuckled.

After a few pleasantries, Zhao Ya stopped concealing her intentions and asked, "Our siblings were severely injured and can't quite remember. May I ask... where does Xuanjiang City belong, and are there any Master Teacher Pavilions or similar organizations here?"

"Master Teacher Pavilion?" Steward Zhang blinked. "I've never heard of it!"

He paused, then said, "Xuanjiang City is under the jurisdiction of the Soaring Cloud Sword Pavilion, one of the Six Great Sects..."

"Six Great Sects?"

"There are six great sects in the world, namely the Soaring Cloud Sword Pavilion..." Steward Zhang provided a detailed explanation.

Everyone suddenly realized.

It seemed this was indeed the Firmament, completely different from the Master Teacher Continent, belonging to two distinct worlds.

"Speaking of the Six Great Sects, something world-shaking happened just a few days ago!"

As they chatted more, Steward Zhang became more animated. He said, "The new Sect Leader of the Myriad Beasts Gate is named Zheng Yang! Have you heard of him?"

"Zheng Yang?"

Everyone was startled. The other eight all turned their gazes to a young man in the center.

"The same name as me?"

Zheng Yang felt awkward.

"You're also called Zheng Yang?" Steward Zhang was momentarily stunned, then chuckled awkwardly. "There are many people with the same name in the world, no need to be nervous!"

Across the entire continent, there were not just millions, but tens of millions of people named Zheng Yang. Having the same name was very normal.

"Yes... I just find it a bit common..." Zheng Yang nodded.

Actually, having the same name was nothing; he just found it a bit surprising.

The Sect Leader of the Myriad Beasts Gate, one of the Six Great Sects, such a transcendent expert, actually had the same name as him...

"Common? If you're talking about popular names, the new Sect Leader of the Seven Stars Tower might be even more so..." Steward Zhang laughed.

"Could it be... even more common than Zheng Yang? How unpleasant would a name have to be to surpass that?"

Liu Yang became interested, looking at Zheng Yang with a teasing glint in his eyes.

"Oh, his name is Liu Yang!" Steward Zhang chuckled.

"..." Liu Yang.

Seeing everyone's gazes fixed on the young man, Steward Zhang also sensed something was amiss. He looked over in confusion and asked, "What... don't you think this name is common and unpleasant? I think it's several times worse than Zheng Yang! Of course, Brother Zheng, I'm not saying your name is bad, just expressing a thought..."

Liu Yang's face turned dark. "Um... I'm also called Liu Yang!"

"..." Steward Zhang's face twitched, and he froze. Could it be... he had saved a den of people with the same names as sect leaders?

He hesitated for a moment, then probed, "Then... is there anyone among you named... Zhang Xuan?"

"You... know Zhang Xuan?" Zhao Ya was stunned.

"Yes, on the Forsaken Continent, who doesn't know that name..." Steward Zhang nodded. "He is the Sect Leader of our Soaring Cloud Sword Pavilion!"

"Sect Leader of Soaring Cloud Sword Pavilion?"

This time, it was Zhao Ya and the others who were dumbfounded.

"Could it be a coincidence of names?"

"Our teacher only arrived here a little over a month ago; how could he possibly become the Sect Leader of the Soaring Cloud Sword Pavilion, one of the Six Great Sects?"

"To become a Sect Leader, one's cultivation must at least reach the peak of Immortal Monarch, right..."

During their earlier pleasantries, Steward Zhang had mentioned some cultivation ranks. Although they didn't know about the Pseudo-God realm, the three realms of Void Immortal, True Immortal, and Immortal Monarch were very clearly explained.

To become a sect leader, the lowest cultivation would likely be the peak of Immortal Monarch. Their teacher had only been here for about a month; who knew if his injuries had even healed?

Zhao Ya asked, "What does this Sect Leader Zhang Xuan... look like? Do you know..."

"He appears to be only around twenty years old. Coincidentally, he had a connection with our Xuanjiang City; he was injured a little over a month ago and rescued by Shan Xiaotian from our city. After that, he transformed and became the Sect Leader of the Soaring Cloud Sword Pavilion..."

Speaking of Zhang Xuan's experiences, Steward Zhang was full of admiration. "Not only that... the Sect Leader Liu Yang and Sect Leader Zheng Yang I just told you about... they were actually all disguises of his, his aliases! In other words, he currently holds the positions of Sect Leader for four great sects: Soaring Cloud Sword Pavilion, Seven Stars Tower, Myriad Beasts Sect, and Star-Chasing Palace. To call him the number one person in the world would not be an exaggeration..."

"Sect Leader of four sects?"

"The number one person in the world?"

Their faces twitched; Zhao Ya and the others clutched their hair. Yuan Tao even bit his tongue without realizing it.

At this point, even the most foolish among them confirmed that the Zhang Xuan mentioned by the other party was definitely their teacher, and not merely a coincidence of names!

A repeated name might be one thing, but it was impossible for his disguised names to also be the same as theirs!

Just a moment ago, they were thinking their teacher had only been here for a little over a month and his injuries might not have fully recovered. Hearing this news... their hearts all twitched.

This cultivation speed... it was defying the heavens!

In one month, from Grand Sage Fourth Realm, he broke through Void Immortal, True Immortal, reaching the peak of Immortal Monarch. And he alone unified four great sects... becoming the number one person in the world...

The teacher was still the teacher, still the existence to be looked up to.

"Do you... know this Sect Leader Zhang?"

Seeing their dumbfounded expressions, Steward Zhang realized something was amiss and looked over in confusion.

Zhao Ya smiled wryly. "More than just knowing him... if I'm not mistaken, he should be our teacher..."

"Teacher..." Steward Zhang was stunned.

"We might also need to trouble you, Steward Zhang, to send us to the Soaring Cloud Sword Pavilion..."

After asking many more detailed questions and confirming that the Zhang Xuan mentioned by the other party was indeed their teacher, Zhao Ya said this.

"That's easy, I'll go arrange it right away..."

Steward Zhang left in a hurry.

If what they said was true, and they really were the personal disciples of Sect Leader Zhang Xuan, then as their savior, he would surely rise in status and enjoy smooth sailing from now on!

Sitting on the mountaintop, he waited for half an hour. Sure enough, he saw the red string on the spear float up, pointing in a direction.

Zhang Xuan stood up.

The direction the red string pointed was surprisingly the Xuanjiang River.

"No wonder I couldn't sense the entrance's location..."

Previously, he had asked Shan Xiaotian where he had been rescued from. This time, when he came, he had specifically paid attention to that area, but found nothing. After all that, it turned out to be in the Xuanjiang River.

This river was extremely wide. If a formation was truly set up within it, even the Soaring Cloud Sword Pavilion would find it difficult to detect.

After all, water currents could easily conceal spiritual energy fluctuations.

Putting away the formation flags and spear into his storage ring, Zhang Xuan led Wu Chen directly towards the direction indicated by the red string and flew over.

Entering the river, he went straight down.

The Xuanjiang River was extremely deep, easily over a hundred meters. He soon reached the riverbed, and Zhang Xuan frowned.

According to his observation, everything within a few hundred kilometers was normal, no different from an ordinary river.

"Young Master..."

Wu Chen also couldn't make sense of it and looked over in confusion.

Could it be that the formation earlier was wrong, and the passage wasn't here?

"Don't worry..."

He hesitated for a moment, then a drop of blood appeared on his fingertip. Zhang Xuan flicked his finger.

With a soft hum, the riverbed, which had been full of quicksand and silt, immediately rippled. A small stone gate appeared before him.

Arriving before it, Zhang Xuan gently pushed.

The stone gate rumbled open, revealing a dark passage before him.

Zhang Xuan walked in first, seeing Wu Chen's confused expression nearby, he smiled. "This passage has Master Kong's seal on the other side, and on this side, to prevent the leakage of the Firmament's mercury true energy, corresponding measures were surely taken. Although my blood is vastly different from Master Kong's, we both belong to the ranks of Heaven-Acknowledged Master Teachers, so there should be some commonality! Therefore, using my blood can activate this hidden seal; otherwise, simply searching wouldn't find it!"

In truth, it wasn't about being Heaven-Acknowledged Master Teachers, but rather that both possessed a part of the Heavenly Dao within them.

He simply didn't want to reveal this to Wu Chen.

Wu Chen suddenly understood.

Walking slowly down the passage, it wasn't long before he saw a spacious hall. Inside were seven or eight Grand Sage Fourth Realm guards drinking wine.

"The Sect Leader sending us here, how is this any different from being imprisoned!"

"It's truly too boring!"

"I heard that on the other side is another world, and the people there have very low cultivation levels..."

"It is very low, but the other side is sealed off; we can't get through at all..."

They grumbled while drinking.

"These must be the people sent by 'Master Kong'!"

Hearing their conversation, Zhang Xuan lightly waved his hand.

Before they could react, the few individuals turned into dust.

Although they were guarding this place under orders, for the Hundred Schools of Philosophers, it was always a significant hidden danger. Rather than keeping them and risking exposure, it was better to kill them.

They were merely Grand Sage Fourth Realm experts. With his current strength, as long as he made a move, no traces would be left.

In the center of the hall was a massive vortex. Streams of mercury spiritual energy were being swallowed into it, their destination unknown.

Special patterns were carved on the doorways on both sides of the vortex. Upon closer inspection, they bore some resemblance to the altar in the Star-Chasing Palace.

"It seems that when Master Kong constructed this passage, he was worried about people blocking the entrance... Therefore, anyone emerging from here would be directly teleported to any location within Xuanjiang City, rather than here..."

After a look, Zhang Xuan suddenly understood.