Chapter 533: Alliance Leader

Soul-Soothing Grass calms the soul, bringing peace to the mind, as if no ripples disturb the water.

The Emotion-Settling Flower can stabilize one's state of mind, even to the point of fading emotions.

Both herbs are extremely rare; even the Myriad Kingdom Alliance would be hard-pressed to find a few. To need one of them to be alive and 500 years old... the difficulty is extraordinarily high.

"Well... I'm not too sure about that," Zhao Feiwu said. "But once we reach the Alliance Leader's Residence, you can ask my father. Even if he doesn't know offhand, he should be able to help you find out!"

The person before him was just a seriously ill princess; even if she had read many books, she certainly wouldn't know much about such rare medicinal herbs. Her father, Alliance Leader Zhao, was different.

As the one in control of the entire alliance, inquiring about a single herb would be effortless for him.

Understanding this, Zhang Xuan stopped asking questions and stood quietly by the window, consolidating his cultivation.

In these five days, although his strength hadn't broken through to the second stage of Transcendent Mortal, the true qi within him had become even more refined and dense.

Having experienced the massive consumption of the Crimson Dust Sky Soaring Step, he knew that true qi needed not only to be refined but also dense. Therefore, he had accumulated it continuously without the slightest pause these past few days. At this moment, his Dantian was surging with true qi and power, and in terms of quantity alone, it had increased by at least one-tenth compared to a few days prior!

Don't underestimate that one-tenth; if he used the Sky Soaring Step, he could maintain it for two or three more breaths, preventing him from falling out of the sky.

Knowing they had arrived at Myriad Kingdom City, everyone remained silent as the spiritual beast continued flying. Soon, a tall and magnificent building appeared in their view.

As the core of the Myriad Kingdom Alliance, the Alliance Leader's Residence naturally exuded an imposing aura, giving off a powerful sense of oppression even before they arrived.

"Even my spiritual beast cannot fly directly into the Alliance Leader's Residence," Zhao Feiwu said with a smile. "Let's disembark here!" She gave an instruction, and the massive wings of the spiritual beast beneath her trembled. It descended straight down, soon landing on the spacious square in front of the Alliance Leader's Residence.

Jumping off the beast's back and looking around, Zhang Xuan couldn't help but sigh in admiration.

As expected of the Myriad Kingdom Alliance's most central location, not only were the buildings tall, but they were also subtly filled with spiritual energy, and it was clear without even looking closely that they were covered in all sorts of formations.

If anyone dared to cause trouble, the soldiers probably wouldn't even need to intervene; the formations alone could wipe out an army of thousands.

No wonder Zhao Feiwu dared not have her beast fly inside; if she had, she likely wouldn't have gotten far before getting trapped in the formations, making escape difficult.

Looking up, teams of soldiers patrolled in front of the palace. All of them wore grayish-blue armor, held long spears, and exuded magnificent auras.

"Grandmaster realm experts?"

After a glance, Zhang Xuan was filled with astonishment; these ordinary guards were actually all experts who had reached the Grandmaster realm!

Grandmasters were unheard of in places like Tianxuan Kingdom. Even in a second-tier kingdom where Master Liu resided, they were national patriarchs, yet here, they were merely guards. The sheer difference was astounding.

However, upon reflection, he understood. Myriad Kingdom City was a place with 4-star master teachers. Just attending one lesson taught by such an expert could give people deeper insights into cultivation, making it much simpler to break through bottlenecks.

Even if one couldn't attend a class taught by such high-level experts, courses by 3-star or 2-star master teachers would be enough for breakthroughs. Furthermore, as a center of economic trade, Myriad Kingdom City had abundant resources and ample spiritual energy, so its overall strength was inevitably high.

Zhao Ya and the others had originally thought that reaching the Zhizun realm would make them formidable figures with considerable strength. Now, seeing that even casual soldiers were not weak at all, they were all filled with helplessness.

As expected of the capital of the Myriad Kingdom Alliance, it was indeed terrifying!

"Your subordinate greets Princess Feiwu and Lord Jin!"

While he was pondering, a squad of soldiers approached, led by a general in golden armor who came forward to greet them. Zhao Feiwu's mount was a spiritual beast at Transcendent Mortal 3-dan; almost everyone in the Alliance Leader's Residence recognized it, so seeing its arrival, they naturally knew the princess had returned.

The general's aura was subtle, but he had strong control over his surroundings. It was clear without even looking closely that he had already surpassed Zhizun 9-dan and entered the Transcendent Mortal realm, a genuine Transcendent Mortal expert.

"Go prepare a clean villa with ample spiritual energy," Zhao Feiwu said, waving her hands with a calm expression. "Arrange for my friends to stay there; do not neglect them!"

"Yes!" The general quickly nodded, not daring to be negligent.

"Mmm!" she acknowledged. Zhao Feiwu turned her head: "Master Zhang, I'll take you to see my father!"

"Alright!"

Nodding, Zhang Xuan instructed Zhao Ya and the others to follow behind the guards. Only then did he and Zhao Feiwu walk towards the palace.

The palace was not luxurious, nor did it have many guards inside. Instead, it was unusually quiet, looking more like a tranquil park.

If Zhao Feiwu hadn't personally brought him and there weren't soldiers guarding outside, he would have doubted if he had come to the wrong place.

"My father doesn't like being surrounded by attendants," Zhao Feiwu said, seeing his doubt and smiling. "So there aren't many guards here. Besides, knowing this is the Alliance Leader's Residence, I believe no one foolish enough would dare to cause trouble!"

"Indeed!"

Since his reincarnation, he had entered several palaces, all of which had strict defenses. Yet this place looked like this; it seemed Zhao Feiwu's father had absolute confidence in his own strength.

As they conversed, the two walked around several corridors, arriving in front of a large hall.

After having someone announce their arrival, they walked inside.

Upon entering the hall, Zhang Xuan immediately saw a middle-aged man with a majestic demeanor sitting in the central seat. A powerful aura emanated from him, no weaker than that of the Demonic Daluo Beast, indicating he had clearly reached the peak of Transcendent Mortal 4-dan.

Compared to Pavilion Master Sai and Hall Master Han, whom he had met previously, they were not just a little bit weaker.

Even though they were all at the peak of Transcendent Mortal 4-dan, there was still a significant difference in their strength.

Just like the Demonic Daluo Beast, which Hall Master Han Chong and several others couldn't withstand even with a formation.

"Father!" Zhao Feiwu stepped forward.

"Mmm, you're back!" The middle-aged man nodded, his eyes lit up as they landed on Zhang Xuan.

He himself was powerful, and having long held a high position, he exuded a natural aura. Even President Meng of the Physician Guild had been nervous and somewhat fearful when speaking with him back then. Yet this young man, who appeared to be under twenty, seemed perfectly at ease and showed no fear.

"This must be Master Zhang!" With a slight smile, Alliance Leader Zhao looked over.

"I am Zhang Xuan, greetings, Alliance Leader!"

"Mmm!" Seeing his attitude, Alliance Leader Zhao was even more satisfied. "I've heard about your accomplishments: becoming a 2-star master teacher before twenty, challenging the Tianwu Kingdom's Wall of Dilemmas and solving all its problems, passing the Appraiser examination, saving Hall Master Han, and even curing my daughter's chronic illness... truly a young hero!"

"Alliance Leader, you flatter me!" Zhang Xuan initially found it strange that he knew so much detail, but then suddenly understood.

His daughter had gone to Tianwu Kingdom alone; although Jin Conghai was protecting her, it was impossible for him not to be concerned. It wasn't strange that he knew these deeds by simply asking around.

Moreover, as Jin Conghai was his subordinate, he would naturally report everything.

"I've been in charge of the alliance for many years, and I've seen many geniuses," Alliance Leader Zhao said, full of praise. "But those with abilities like Master Zhang's are rare!"

As Zhang Xuan had guessed, Jin Conghai had indeed reported many things. Although there was no mention of the Ancient Sage Tombs or him being a Celestial Master Teacher, even his previous experiences had startled the Alliance Leader.

Under twenty: a 5-star Appraiser, a quasi 4-star Physician, a 3-star Calligrapher-Painter, a 2-star Master Teacher...

Such numerous titles and abilities were enough to make anyone sigh in admiration and submission.

As the most powerful person in the alliance, he had seen countless astonishingly brilliant geniuses, but compared to the young man before him, they all seemed as dim as fireflies, without the slightest glow.

"Master Zhang, you've come to Myriad Kingdom City this time, presumably to participate in the Master Teacher Tournament, right?" After chatting for a while, Alliance Leader Zhao asked.

"Yes!"

He had promised Master Su and Master Ling back then, so since he was here, he naturally had to participate.

Most importantly, the rewards of the Master Teacher Tournament were very generous.

"The Master Teacher Tournament gathers countless geniuses from 27 Master Teacher Pavilions," Alliance Leader Zhao said, shaking his head with a bitter smile. "It's indeed very difficult to achieve a good ranking. Even with Master Zhang's exceptional talent, it might not be easy!"

Having seen his experiences, he knew that the young man before him possessed talent incomparable to ordinary people, but achieving a ranking in a tournament that united 28 powers wasn't that easy.

If it were truly that simple, the Myriad Kingdom Alliance's Master Teacher Pavilion wouldn't have consistently ranked at the bottom for so many years.

"Never mind, let's not talk about this for now!"

The tournament was still more than two months away, and knowing it was too early to discuss these matters now, Alliance Leader Zhao shook his head and looked over again: "Master Zhang, your medical skills are profound; you saved my daughter. How can I express my gratitude? Whatever you request, as long as I, Zhao, can do it, I will not hesitate!"

"Alliance Leader, you're too kind," Zhang Xuan replied, cupping his fists. "However... I do have a request."

Seeing him say this, Zhang Xuan didn't stand on ceremony. Although the other party was the Alliance Leader and immensely powerful, Zhang Xuan had experienced many things along the way and was well-versed; to make him nervous would probably be impossible.

Alliance Leader Zhao looked over.

"It's like this," Zhang Xuan said. "I need a special medicinal herb. I wonder where in our alliance it can be found. I'd like to ask the Alliance Leader to help me inquire about it!" Zhang Xuan then explained his requirements for the Soul-Soothing Grass and the Emotion-Settling Flower.

"Soul-Soothing Grass? I haven't heard of that," Alliance Leader Zhao hesitated for a moment before saying. "However... I do know of an Emotion-Settling Flower that is over 500 years old and still alive!"

Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up.

Either Soul-Soothing Grass or Emotion-Settling Flower was merely a base ingredient for producing Soul-Awakening Grass. One plant would suffice; he didn't need too much.

"However... even if we know where it is," Alliance Leader Zhao shook his head, "acquiring it might not be so easy..."

"Oh?"

"Master Zhang, don't rush; you'll understand once I finish speaking!" Alliance Leader Zhao said. "The places with the most medicinal herbs in the Myriad Kingdom Alliance are first, the Medicine Kings, and second, the Alchemist Guild and Physician Guild. I presume you, as a Master Teacher, already know this without me having to explain."

The Medicine Kings are essentially medicinal herb vendors; if you're talking about the most abundant and complete collection of herbs, it would definitely be them. Next are the Alchemist Guild and Physician Guild, who use the most herbs.

These two places have an enormous demand for and consumption of medicinal ingredients, so they usually stockpile a considerable amount.