Chapter 464: Witch Soul Master

Master Teacher Hall, Myriad Kingdoms Alliance.

An old man in a gray robe stood at the front. His gentle voice resonated throughout the hall, drawing in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, like blossoming flowers.

His words gathered spiritual energy, and lotuses seemed to bloom from his mouth.

An ability only a 5-star Master Teacher possessed!

In front of him sat rows of elders, all dressed in Master Teacher robes, sitting upright and listening in rapt attention.

When his lecture concluded, the gray-robed elder stood with his hands behind his back.

"That concludes today's session. If you have any questions, please ask them now!"

"Master Hong, you've worked hard. We are incredibly grateful that you began teaching immediately after traveling such a long distance!" Hall Master Kang stood up and said with a smile.

Master Hong, also known as Hong Qian, was a 5-star Master Teacher from the Master Teacher Hall of the Hongfeng Empire, invited to preside over the current Master Teacher Tournament.

"It is our responsibility as Master Teachers to ensure cultivators have no doubts and all reach their full potential. There's no hardship involved," the gray-robed elder, Master Hong, nodded.

"Indeed!" Hall Master Kang nodded and was about to speak when the ground trembled, and four chimes of a bell rang consecutively.

"Four bell chimes? Someone is challenging the hall? I didn't expect to encounter something this interesting right upon my arrival!" Master Hong chuckled.

The number of times the Master Teacher Hall's bell rang carried specific meanings. Four consecutive chimes indicated a hall challenge.

Although challenging the hall was akin to challenging the entire Master Teacher Hall, many attempted it each year. Success guaranteed immense fame, securing their name in history.

A Master Teacher wasn't just a "teacher," but also needed "fame." Many young cultivators took risks, even defying danger, to quickly gain renown.

Of course, just like a martial arts hall challenge, success brought significant benefits, but failure also incurred severe penalties.

"Master Wu, go check which branch this concerns..."

Frowning, Hall Master Kang waved his hand.

This situation occurring right after Master Hong's arrival made Hall Master Kang feel embarrassed.

"Understood!" The elder named Master Wu withdrew and returned shortly. "Reporting to Hall Master and Master Hong, the news comes from Xuanyuan Conferred Kingdom, a subordinate of the Myriad Kingdoms Alliance."

"Xuanyuan Kingdom?"

Master Hong paused, then slightly tilted his head, stroking his beard. "I once spent some time there. I passed my 3-star Master Teacher assessment in that very place!"

"Now that Master Hong mentions it, I remember. You indeed came from there. Although you stayed for less than three years, you suppressed countless Master Teachers, leaving them unable to raise their heads!"

Hall Master Kang mused for a moment before speaking.

Although Master Hong had moved to the Hongfeng Empire and now held a more esteemed position, he had originated from Xuanyuan Kingdom over a hundred years ago, possessing deep ties with the Myriad Kingdoms Alliance.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have gone to the trouble of traveling from such a distant empire to personally observe the new generation's Master Teacher Tournament.

"Yes, the past is like wind, hardly worth mentioning. If my guess is correct, whoever is challenging the Xuanyuan Kingdom's Master Teacher Hall is probably in for a tough time!" Master Hong chuckled. "I left a trace of my will there. Not to mention ordinary individuals, even a 4-star Master Teacher would find it difficult to pass."

"Master Hong left a trace of his will? It would indeed be incredibly difficult to get through that..."

Hall Master Kang paused, then gave a bitter smile.

Challenging the hall didn't just involve defeating all the Master Teachers present; most importantly, it required answering questions posed by the wills of past predecessors.

Master Hong, a revered 5-star Master Teacher with astonishing and formidable methods, had left a trace of his will in the Xuanyuan Kingdom's Master Teacher Hall. Who could possibly overcome that?

Not to mention someone from a mere Conferred Kingdom, even he, the dignified Hall Master of the Master Teacher Hall of the Myriad Kingdoms Alliance, would likely face immense difficulty in succeeding.

"Some young people hope to gain fame by challenging the hall, but it's not that easy."

Master Hong responded, his thoughts drifting through the gates of memory. "The Xuanyuan Kingdom Master Teacher Hall not only produced me, a 5-star Master Teacher, but also three 4-star Master Teachers, all of whom left their wills there. To reach my challenge, one must first pass their three trials!"

"Those three trials alone would probably deter anyone..."

Hall Master Kang nodded, and just as he was about to continue speaking, moving past the issue, the ground trembled again, and five consecutive bell chimes rang out.

"This... the hall challenge succeeded?"

In that instant, everyone froze in place.

From the start of the challenge until now, only a little over ten minutes had passed, yet someone had successfully overcome the wills of three 4-star Master Teachers and one 5-star Master Teacher...

The speed was simply too fast!

Even Master Hong, who usually maintained a composed expression, stood dumbfounded.

"Quickly go find out... who exactly is this?"

Moments later, his lips trembled as he spoke, unable to contain his urgency.

In just over ten minutes, someone had solved the problems left by his will and successfully challenged the hall... How was that even possible?

The entire Master Teacher Hall erupted in an uproar.

While the Myriad Kingdoms Alliance Master Teacher Hall was in an uproar, the people of Xuanyuan Kingdom were completely unaware of the commotion. At this moment, Luo Qianhong gazed at the now completely dark Master Teacher Pagoda in front of him, a helpless expression on his face.

Challenging the hall required several steps. First, one had to defeat all the Master Teachers in the hall.

Since he wasn't the opponent's match, and fighting would be pointless, he had immediately activated the Master Teacher Pagoda upon arrival.

The pagoda contained the wills of predecessors. To truly succeed in the hall challenge, one had to ascend from the bottom to the top of the pagoda, extinguishing all the burning lamps within.

Now that all the lamps in the pagoda were extinguished, it meant... Zhang Xuan had successfully passed all floors and completed the hall challenge.

Creak!

The young man walked out of the pagoda door.

Looking up at the young face, barely twenty years old, Luo Qianhong shook his head.

The opponent's astonishing performance on the Altar of Heaven had made him suspect success was possible, but... he never dreamed it would be this fast.

Overcoming the wills left by one 5-star and three 4-star Master Teachers in just over ten minutes—even a 5-star Master Teacher wouldn't find that easy!

What kind of monstrous talent was this?

"Master Zhang has successfully challenged the hall. Our Xuanyuan Kingdom Master Teacher Hall admits defeat and is willing to comply with all your requests."

Luo Qianhong stepped forward and clasped his fists.

When a hall challenge succeeded, the defeated party had to agree to the challenger's demands without objection.

"I need books and medicinal herbs that can awaken a sleeping soul!" Zhang Xuan said.

Causing a ruckus at the Altar of Heaven and killing Crown Prince Ding Mu—everything was done to avenge Lu Chong.

"Master Zhang, are you trying to revive your student?" Luo Qianhong couldn't help but ask.

While Zhang Xuan was challenging the hall, Luo Qianhong had inquired about the entire incident. Knowing the full story, he felt vexed about believing Ding Mu's lies, but also grew more impressed with Master Zhang.

For a student to willingly face death—that wasn't a level of bond usually achieved between teacher and student.

And for a teacher to risk offending the Master Teacher Hall and causing chaos in a Conferred Kingdom for his student... that truly demonstrated deep affection.

"Yes!" Zhang Xuan nodded.

"A sleeping soul... it involves the secrets of the soul. Frankly, while our Master Teacher Hall isn't weak, we don't have the qualifications to delve into it, unless..."

At this point, Luo Qianhong hesitated.

"Hall Master Luo, please speak freely." Seeing him hesitate, Zhang Xuan looked over.

"Unless one reaches 7-star Master Teacher, capable of influencing consciousness and searching souls! Or... finds the legacy of an ancient Soul Oracle!" Luo Qianhong said.

"Soul Oracle? What's that?"

Zhang Xuan frowned.

He had heard from Mo Yu that a 7-star Master Teacher could search souls and awaken dormant consciousnesses, but he had never heard of a Soul Oracle.

Despite reading so many books and integrating so much knowledge, he had found no mention of it anywhere.

"A Soul Oracle was a unique and extremely mysterious profession that existed in ancient times. I've only heard our predecessors mention it. It's said that people in this profession used witch dances to summon and gather souls, and could even collect vengeful spirits. Of course, this profession has been lost for over ten millennia, and it's merely a legend; no one knows if such abilities truly exist."

Luo Qianhong mused for a moment before speaking.

"Whether it's a legend or if such abilities exist, that's easy to determine!"

With a flick of his wrist, Zhang Xuan pulled out a book, casually wrote a line of text on it, then grasped it in his hand, mentally calling out for "defects."

Whenever he couldn't ascertain correctness or error, he would use this method.

Under the Mandate of Heaven, nothing could be hidden. Using this method for verification was more accurate and useful than consulting any other data.

Flipping it open, his breathing instantly quickened, and his fists involuntarily clenched.

The blank page only contained one line: "Soul Oracle: capable of summoning souls and gathering spirits." The book generated in his mind showed no errors.

This meant...

It was correct!

There truly was such a profession as Soul Oracle in the world, and they could indeed affect souls.

"Hall Master Luo, do you know... where there might be a Soul Oracle legacy? Or any books about this profession?"

Suppressing his inner excitement, Zhang Xuan couldn't help but ask.

As long as he could find relevant books, he could form a Heaven's Path secret manual and automatically learn the profession. Whether it was lost or not didn't matter to him.

"I don't actually know about a Soul Oracle legacy, but... I heard that an 'Undying Golden Figure' was unearthed in Honghai City, within the Myriad Kingdoms Alliance, and it's being auctioned these past few days. This artifact was forged by a Soul Oracle. If there truly is a legacy, clues should be found on it."

Luo Qianhong thought for a moment before speaking.

"Honghai City?" Zhang Xuan's eyebrows rose.

A map of the Myriad Kingdoms Alliance appeared in his mind, with Honghai City clearly marked.

Although the Myriad Kingdoms Alliance was called an alliance, it was effectively equivalent to a kingdom, or what others referred to as a "kingdom above kingdoms."

The so-called Alliance Leader held a status equivalent to that of a king.

Honghai City was a major city within the alliance's territory, no less significant than the Alliance's capital, Myriad City.

"Honghai City is the trading hub of the entire Myriad Kingdoms Alliance. The Undying Golden Figure is a special puppet forged by ancient Soul Oracles for personal protection, never leaving their side. Since it appeared there, we might truly find some clues."

Luo Qianhong said.

Although Soul Oracles seemed ethereal, they were far more reliable than a 7-star Master Teacher.

A 7-star Master Teacher was truly at the pinnacle of the world. Such powerful figures were unheard of even by the Myriad Kingdoms Alliance's numerous experts, let alone him. How could they possibly help a mere nobody save his student?

"Understood!"

After hearing the explanation, Zhang Xuan made his decision: "I'm going to Myriad City anyway, so since it's on the way, I'll visit Honghai City!"