Chapter 2132: Heavenly Emperor, Master Kong?

Zhang Xuan silently committed the ranks to memory: "Spirit God, Celestial God, God King, Conferred God King, Emperor..."

At the same time, a question arose in his mind: "What level is Luo Ruoxi...?" She could easily descend from the Firmament, bypassing the Spirit Temple, directly tear through the void to enter the God Realm, and even forcefully break through the spatial barrier, yet only sustain minor injuries. This was definitely not something a Spirit God could accomplish; even a Celestial God might not be capable of it. Could it be... she was a God King? As for an Emperor, he dared not even consider it. There were only nine Emperors in the Nine Heavens, each truly standing at the pinnacle of all realms in the universe. How could such an unparalleled expert take notice of a mere nobody from a lower realm, even if he possessed a heaven-defying artifact like his?

Despite his thoughts, Zhang Xuan couldn't help but ask, "Teacher Mo Yun, do you happen to know... the titles or names of the Nine Emperors?" Seeing his question, Teacher Mo Yun looked puzzled but still nodded. "The Nine Emperors of the Nine Heavens are incredibly esteemed. How could mere commoners like us speak of their revered names? I only know that the Emperor of our Nether Soul Heaven is the Qiankun Demonic Emperor, also known as Emperor Qiankun. He guards the southeastern divine domain, controls the Four Quarters and Eight Caves, and the Cycle of Six Paths. The opposing Southeastern Blazing Sun Heaven is governed by Emperor Zhuoyang, who oversees the great sun in the sky, the growth of all things, and the natural order of heaven and earth. The Southwestern Exquisite Heaven has the Exquisite Fairy, unparalleled in beauty... As for the others, I don't know much."

Zhang Xuan nodded. The status of the Nine Emperors of the Nine Heavens was like that of emperors in his previous life; not just anyone could discuss them. For Teacher Mo Yun, merely an academy instructor, to know three of them and even state their titles was already quite remarkable. "If Brother Zhang truly wishes to know, you could ask your teacher. With his strength, he should know much more about the Nine Heavens than I do!" Teacher Mo Yun said. While ordinary people dared not discuss the Nine Emperors, many still knew who they were. After all, even if discussion was forbidden, it was impossible not to know who the current emperor was! Teacher Mo Yun's deliberate question indicated a growing suspicion in his mind.

"We are just ordinary people rescued by our teacher. He took us in as students because we had no one to rely on. We rarely even see him, so why would he tell us about such matters? If not for that, we wouldn't have troubled Teacher Mo Yun to guide us out of this mountain range..." Knowing what the other party was thinking, Zhang Xuan forced a wry smile. "Oh..." Teacher Mo Yun paused, his suspicion fading. Such situations did exist in the God Realm; some ascetic teachers were very strict with their students, assigning tasks at every meeting without much idle talk. It was normal for them not to discuss matters concerning the Nine Emperors.

"Not only that, but as you can see, none of us have even reached the Spirit God realm. Our teacher doesn't tell us how to break through, only saying that the time isn't ripe and that we need to cultivate diligently. He says only with a solid foundation can we unleash stronger combat power after breaking through... But the spiritual energy here is simply too sparse; cultivating is... just too difficult!" Zhang Xuan shook his head. "Teacher Yang Xuan is indeed a strict instructor! He's comparable to the 'Master Teachers' who have appeared in the last couple of years; he could even be called 'Teacher Yang'!" Teacher Mo Yun exclaimed. "Teacher Yang? Master Teacher?" Zhang Xuan's heart skipped a beat. This profession, created by Confucius, only existed on the Master Teacher Continent. He had never heard of it in the Firmament, yet here he was, hearing the name.

"They are a new phenomenon that appeared in the God Realm in recent decades, calling themselves Master Teachers. They established the Master Teacher Pavilion, responsible for teaching, imparting knowledge, and resolving doubts. They have special teaching methods and systems for their students, and the results are excellent, though their students have to work harder than ordinary cultivators!" Seeing his confusion, Teacher Mo Yun explained. Zhang Xuan was stunned. The presence of Master Teachers and the Master Teacher Pavilion definitely pointed to Confucius. It seemed the one he had suppressed in the Firmament was indeed a clone, and the true body, like himself, had already arrived here. Tens of thousands of years had passed on the Master Teacher Continent, while the flow of time in the Firmament was one-tenth of that, meaning thousands of years had passed there. Here in the God Realm... although his strength was too low to discern the exact time flow, it was likely similar to that of the Spirit Temple, meaning about one-hundredth of the Firmament's time flow, or one-thousandth of the Master Teacher Continent's. So, while tens of thousands of years had passed on the Master Teacher Continent, only a few decades had passed here. Not wanting to ask directly, Zhang Xuan subtly probed, "Suddenly establishing a Master Teacher Pavilion would affect the rule of the Nine Emperors, wouldn't it? And ordinary academies should also be impacted. Don't you all intervene?"

On the Master Teacher Continent, Master Teacher Pavilions flourished because a specialized system had already formed, and countless people, even kingdoms and empires, took pride in Master Teachers. But here, the Nine Emperors of the Nine Heavens were supreme, and every major power revered their respective Emperor, much like the Six Grand Sects of the Firmament. For example, if one were to go to the Soaring Cloud Sword Pavilion and promote the cultivation methods of the Seven Star Tower, teaching students there, wouldn't that be akin to stealing the Sword Pavilion's excellent successors? One would surely be taught a lesson. More importantly... how could these ordinary academies tolerate such actions? Zhang Xuan had personally experienced the power of Master Teachers; their teaching was incomparably superior to that of ordinary instructors. Once their influence spread, how could these ordinary academies possibly attract students? "These Master Teachers advocate teaching without discrimination. The students they instruct are essentially those left over from our numerous academies' selections, those with basically no talent..." At this, Teacher Mo Yun offered an awkward smile. "Brother Zhang, I'm not referring to you; please don't take offense..." He had just praised Teacher Yang for his Master Teacher-like conduct, and then immediately said that Master Teachers only recruited the "scraps" left over by academies, which clearly sounded like an indirect jab. "No worries!" Zhang Xuan waved his hand. "Our talents are indeed not great; we can't compare to your accomplished students. Otherwise, we wouldn't still be unable to break through to the Spirit God realm!"

Teacher Mo Yun did not dwell on the matter and continued, "The spiritual energy in the Divine Mountains is limited. Every year during student recruitment, our academies prioritize enrolling disciples, gathering all the talented ones first. Only then do they recruit the remaining students, so their impact on us isn't significant! However..." He paused, then sighed. "I must say, these Master Teachers truly possess some ability. Those whom we believed incapable of breakthroughs have actually taken that final step under their tutelage. Some of their students even progress faster than our own disciples! Under such competitive pressure, we also have to cultivate desperately. Otherwise, I wouldn't be bringing a group of seventeen or eighteen-year-olds here for trials!" It was the Master Teacher Pavilion's influence that compelled them. Otherwise, stable teaching would be preferable to conducting trials in desolate mountains with teenagers. Without these trials, they wouldn't be able to keep up with the Master Teachers. Though it was a forced situation, it also provided a strong motivation. "As for the Nine Emperors of the Nine Heavens, they naturally wouldn't permit such actions. That's why... Emperor Tianzong challenged many other Emperors. Over a decade ago, he had a private contest with Emperor Qiankun. We don't know the outcome, but... our Nether Soul Heaven no longer opposes the Master Teacher Pavilion and has granted them freedom!" Teacher Mo Yun shook his head. Although he didn't know the result of the duel, the current situation clearly indicated that Emperor Qiankun must have lost. Otherwise, things wouldn't be this way.

"Emperor Tianzong? The newly ascended Emperor you mentioned?" Zhang Xuan asked. "That's him!" Teacher Mo Yun nodded. "No wonder..." Zhang Xuan realized. He had found it strange earlier when Teacher Mo Yun said the Nine Emperors had existed since ancient times, yet suddenly, someone emerged who could contend with them. Now, it seemed, it must be Confucius. The timeline matched as well: a few decades in the God Realm corresponded to tens of thousands of years on the Master Teacher Continent. Most crucially, on the Master Teacher Continent, Confucius had often been referred to as the "Heaven-Defying Great Sage"! For him to be known as Emperor Tianzong or Emperor Tianzong here perfectly aligned. In just a few decades, he had traversed the continent, established the Master Teacher Pavilion, single-handedly challenged the Eight Emperors of the Eight Heavens, forcing them to acknowledge his status and agree to the establishment of the Master Teacher Pavilion... Truly worthy of Confucius! Even in the God Realm, where countless powerhouses resided, his heaven-defying abilities were enough to inspire despair.

Of course, regardless of whether it was Confucius, Zhang Xuan no longer harbored the desire to seek him out, as he had in the Firmament. After the incident with the fake Confucius, approaching someone without the ability to protect himself, especially if they wanted to seize something from him, could very well lead to his demise. It wasn't that he doubted Confucius's character, but rather the principle that "an innocent man is guilty only when he possesses a treasure." Before he had strength comparable to the other party, it was best to minimize contact. Although the fake Confucius had committed many evils, there was one thing he said that Zhang Xuan agreed with: both he and Confucius controlled a part of the Heavenly Dao. If their powers merged, it would inevitably cause one of them to gain immense strength, possibly reaching an immeasurable level. Such a benefit might be irresistible even for a saint. Suppressing the shock in his heart, Zhang Xuan continued to ask, "Teacher Mo Yun, what did you mean earlier by... the spiritual energy in the Divine Mountains being limited?" The mention of limited spiritual energy in the Divine Mountains had filled him with doubt.

"It seems Teacher Yang truly hasn't told you... Well, that's understandable; you haven't been pushed to your limits yet." Seeing his confusion, Teacher Mo Yun didn't answer directly but looked at him and asked, "Brother Zhang, in your opinion, what is the spiritual energy concentration on this Lingji Mountain?" "Lingji Mountain?" Zhang Xuan finally learned the mountain's name and memorized it, though he showed no outward reaction. He couldn't help but shake his head. "This mountain has almost no spiritual energy, making normal cultivation impossible!" He had noticed it the moment he arrived in the God Realm. The strong winds were one thing, but more crucially, the spiritual energy was so sparse it was virtually nonexistent, impossible to draw upon and convert into internal power. Otherwise, he and the others wouldn't have had to survive by eating wild vegetables. Fortunately, those wild vegetables still contained some spiritual energy; otherwise, the dignified Teacher of Ten Thousand Generations, the foremost figure in the Firmament, arriving in the God Realm only to... starve to death, would be a laughable outcome. "Indeed, it's not just here. Throughout the God Realm, any place without cities is the same – spiritual energy is declining! Many areas have even become completely uninhabited!" Teacher Mo Yun shook his head. "Spiritual energy declining? Uninhabited?" Zhang Xuan stood stunned, finding it hard to believe. This was the pinnacle of all realms and dimensions... yet, outside of cities, spiritual energy was declining. It was simply unimaginable.