Chapter 582: You Are Guilty

Cultivators at the Mortal Comprehension realm can only step onto the void and levitate when they reach the eighth stage, the Void Treading realm. However, they can only stay in the air for a short time, moving vertically with limited height. This cannot be considered true flight.

True flight requires at least the Half-Saint realm!

Surpassing the nine stages of Martial Artists leads to the Mortal Comprehension realm.

Surpassing the nine stages of Mortal Comprehension leads to the Half-Saint realm.

Even Half-Saints can only float in the air, unable to move freely.

The person before them arrived by stepping through the air, treating it as tangible steps, like a deity suspended in the sky. Just one glance at him instilled a deep sense of fear in everyone.

Most importantly, his aura was like an endless tide, exerting immense spiritual pressure that made people involuntarily submit and unable to lift their heads.

This was not just a suppression of presence, but also a subjugation of the soul.

It felt like a great mountain pressing down on them, making it impossible to even think of resisting.

To possess such ability, he must have already surpassed the Half-Saint realm, reaching the realm of the Vassal Saint, or even a true Saint!

Such a powerful individual—not even the Illusory Feather Empire has one—how could he appear here?

And it seemed he was even speaking up for… Zhang Xuan?

Sect Master Luo Huang and the others felt their hearts turn as cold as ice. Their faces turned pale with fright, completely losing their earlier aggressive and arrogant demeanor.

They had thought Zhang Xuan was just an insignificant person from a small place. Unexpectedly, in the blink of an eye, he transformed into a primordial beast capable of easily tearing them apart.

"Old Master…"

Everyone was trembling with fear, while Sun Qiang's eyes reddened.

The person radiating such a powerful aura and stepping out of the void—who else could it be but Old Master Yang Xuan!

He had thought they were doomed this time, but the Old Master had arrived!

And he had arrived through the air, bringing with him infinite power.

"Is this… Teacher Yang?"

Xue Yihao, heavily injured and lying nearby, saw the middle-aged man in the air and felt a shock in her heart, her face flushing with excitement.

No wonder Sun Qiang was so confident; so this Teacher Yang was truly powerful!

With such strength, and being a Master Teacher above six stars, he might truly be able to solve her soul problem and restore her to her original state.

"Su Fan and Ling Hengyu greet Teacher Yang!"

The courtyard fell silent as two figures arrived, cutting through the wind. They were Teacher Su and Teacher Ling.

Although they had received the news at the same time as Hall Master Kang, their speed was inferior to his, which was why they arrived later.

Upon arriving, they saw Teacher Yang stepping through the air, radiating boundless power. They were all profoundly shaken, respectfully clasped their fists, and dared not utter a single word.

When they first saw the Eye of Insight in his eyes, they knew he was an exceptionally remarkable Master Teacher above six stars, but they never expected that when he truly displayed his strength, it would be this terrifying.

It made people unable to even conceive of resistance.

"Senior, you misunderstand, this junior did not mean…"

Calming his mind and recovering from the shock, Sect Master Luo Huang clasped his fists. But before he could finish speaking, he felt a soul-crushing aura surge towards him, as if to tear him apart.

He spat out a mouthful of fresh blood and staggered back seven or eight steps.

With just one strike, he knew his soul had been severely wounded.

The soul is different from the physical body; the latter can recover with pills and qi nourishment, but the soul requires time and gradual accumulation to slowly heal. This severe injury would likely take a hundred years to fully recover!

And he… clearly wouldn't live another hundred years.

With just spiritual pressure, he was crushed to the point of spitting blood on the spot, unable to make any further progress in his life. Could this… be the power of a Saint?

His face turned ashen, and Sect Master Luo Huang's body trembled slightly.

Having wounded him with a single move, the middle-aged man in the air cast a cold gaze, sweeping it around the gathering.

"I, Yang Xuan, live in seclusion and avoid worldly disputes. I never actively provoke trouble, and I'm too lazy to bother with my juniors' affairs… What, because I'm good-tempered, you think I'm easy to bully? And you come looking for trouble with me… Who gave you the guts?"

His voice was devoid of emotion, yet it carried an undeniable pressure, as if anyone who dared to resist would be instantly crushed.

"This junior wouldn't dare…"

Sect Master Luo Huang and the others hastily clasped their fists in fear, their eyebrows twitching wildly, on the verge of tears.

Is this… Zhang Xuan's teacher?

Who said he was only a half-step five-star Master Teacher?

Even a six-star Master Teacher wouldn't be this powerful…

"Wouldn't dare? I think you're quite bold…" Yang Xuan flicked his sleeve. "You've even come to my doorstep. If I hadn't appeared, would you have just killed my butler and these grand-disciples?"

"This…"

Everyone trembled.

To be honest, they did have that thought.

But… if they had known in advance that Zhang Xuan's teacher was so terrifying, they wouldn't have come even if it meant death.

"This junior… did not know they were your descendants, and has gravely offended you…" Sect Master Luo Huang gritted his teeth.

"Didn't know? Weren't you aggressive and full of imposing power just now?" Yang Xuan raised an eyebrow.

"Yes… This Ding Hong found us, saying… that a family heirloom was stolen by Teacher Zhang…" Sect Master Luo Huang quickly said.

At this moment, he cursed Ding Hong countless times in his heart.

If it weren't for this guy talking about the Sage Confucius's personal notes, getting them all excited, why would they have come here?

If they hadn't looked for trouble with Teacher Zhang, how could they have encountered this person before them?

"You're talking about the Sage Confucius's personal notes, right! They are with me. What, do you want them?" Yang Xuan looked at him.

"This junior wouldn't dare…"

Sect Master Luo Huang's body trembled.

The Sage Confucius's personal notes are good, but only if one can bear the consequences… Fighting this person for them? What a joke!

"The Sage Confucius's personal notes belong to my grand-disciple, Qu Chong. Ding Mu, Ding Hong's grandson, injured Qu Chong, leaving him unconscious, in an attempt to snatch them. My disciple, Zhang Xuan, then killed Ding Mu and destroyed Xuanyuan Kingdom… To comply with the rules, he followed procedure, forcing his way into the Master Teacher Pavilion and passing all assessments."

Yang Xuan's eyes narrowed. "How is it that… when it comes from your mouth, it becomes a disregard for the rules?"

Under normal circumstances, Master Teachers are not allowed to arbitrarily destroy kingdoms. However, Zhang Xuan followed the proper procedures by forcefully challenging the Master Teacher Pavilion, so even if the headquarters were to investigate later, he would bear no responsibility.

"I…"

Sect Master Luo Huang was speechless.

After all, he was an external force; even Hall Master Kang wasn't clear about these matters, so how could he know?

However, since the other party was a Saint and explained it, it must undoubtedly be true.

"As Master Teachers, you fail to distinguish right from wrong and are ignorant of propriety. For mere treasure, you arbitrarily attack Master Teachers of the same profession, disregarding the weak and ignoring shame…"

With his hands clasped behind his back, Yang Xuan looked over coldly. "I declare you—guilty!"

Sect Master Luo Huang stiffened completely.

"This Sect Master Bai laid hands on my butler and my spirit beast, disregarding the prestige of a high-level Master Teacher—guilty!"

Yang Xuan continued.

Sect Master Bai also swayed.

He had been the one who attacked the most just now; Sun Qiang and the others were all injured by him. Even if he wanted to refute, he couldn't.

As the saying goes, even when beating a dog, one must consider its owner. The plump man lying on the ground not far away, no matter how weak he was or how obnoxious his mouth was, was still a servant of a Saint. Hitting him was like slapping a Saint's face and disregarding the dignity of this high-level Master Teacher.

"You others, who succumbed to incitement, without analysis or judgment, for your own selfish desires, presuming on your own strength and barging in recklessly… guilty!"

Looking at the others, Yang Xuan pronounced judgment again.

"We…"

Everyone's lips turned pale.

To be declared guilty by someone suspected to be a Saint virtually meant no chance of recovery.

After declaring everyone guilty, Yang Xuan said no more and instead turned to look at Garden Master Xue, who was lying on the ground.

"You're not bad. At a crucial moment, you chose not to yield to power, but only to repay kindness… I just observed that your soul was once damaged, preventing you from breaking through. If you become my disciple, I can help you solve it!"

"I can… become your disciple?"

Garden Master Xue's face flushed. Why would she hesitate? She immediately flipped over and knelt on the ground. "This junior, Xue Yihao, is willing to become Teacher Yang's disciple, to obey all commands, and never disobey…"

"Mm!"

Yang Xuan nodded, stretched out a finger, and lightly tapped in the air.

Garden Master Xue immediately felt a stream of consciousness surge directly into her mind; it was precisely the cultivation technique for restoring the soul.

She had been researching how to recover for years and had a deep understanding of the soul. Though not as profound as the so-called Soul Oracles, she was still much stronger than typical cultivators at the peak of the Turbid Purity realm. Therefore, after just one glance at this cultivation method, she knew that not only could it heal the hidden injuries on her soul, but it could even help her advance further and successfully break through to the Spirit Fusion realm.

"Thank you, Teacher Yang, for your benevolence!"

Excited in her heart, she prostrated herself again.

"Is this… spiritual transmission of cultivation?"

Seeing Yang Xuan in the air effortlessly transmitting a cultivation technique, Sect Master Luo Huang and the others trembled even more in fear.

Spiritual transmission of cultivation indicated an extremely profound mastery over the soul. Aside from the legendary Soul Oracles, at least a seven-star Master Teacher was required to achieve it.

This person before them could fly freely, and his aura was like a dragon's… he certainly wasn't a Soul Oracle, which meant… he was very likely a seven-star Master Teacher!

A Master Teacher of this level, even among Saints, would definitely be considered a powerful expert!

They had originally thought he was just a six-star Master Teacher and that by speaking softly, he might be lenient. But seven stars… this was already beyond their imagination.

Zhang Xuan's teacher… is this strong?

"Demonic Moon Beast, loyal to your master and not retreating in danger, well done!"

Ignoring the shock of the crowd, Yang Xuan turned to look at the Demonic Moon Beast on one side, nodded again, stretched out a finger, lightly flicked it, and a stream of true qi immediately surged into the beast's body.

*Rumble!*

The next moment, the Demonic Moon Beast, which had been stuck at the peak of Mortal Comprehension Fourth Stage, seemed to have received a massive boost. It suddenly let out a sharp, prolonged howl, its power rapidly soaring and its soul undergoing a transformation.

Soon after, its power stabilized, giving off an extremely powerful sensation; even compared to Sect Master Luo Huang and the others, it was not inferior in the slightest.

Mortal Comprehension Fifth Stage… Spirit Fusion realm!

Receiving a single stream of true qi from Teacher Yang, the Demonic Moon Beast, which had been stuck at the peak of the Turbid Purity realm for an unknown number of years, unexpectedly broke through instantly, successfully reaching the Spirit Fusion realm!

This creature possessed the bloodline of a dragon, with invincible power and defense. Even at the peak of Mortal Comprehension Fourth Stage, it could fight early-stage Spirit Fusion realm cultivators without being at a disadvantage. Now that it had broken through, even mid- or late-stage Spirit Fusion realm cultivators would find it difficult to defeat it.

"Breaking through a realm with just one stream of true qi—how pure must that true qi be? Could it be… an eight-star Master Teacher?"

Sect Master Luo Huang, already filled with despair, felt his vision go dark and instantly felt even more hopeless.

According to legend, Master Teachers who reach eight stars are summoned by the headquarters and given an opportunity to re-purify their true qi. Therefore, Master Teachers who reach this cultivation level have exceptionally pure true qi, reaching the Upper Three Ranks.

True qi of this level, when infused into a spirit beast's body, can elevate its bloodline and allow it to successfully break through.

This Teacher Yang made the Demonic Moon Beast successfully break through with just one stream of true qi, and it even entered the first difficult stage of the Mortal Comprehension realm… the Spirit Fusion realm. This ability is absolutely not something a seven-star Master Teacher can achieve!

He must have already reached eight stars!

This was an unparalleled figure that even a Conferred Empire didn't possess, a super powerful existence who, with a stomp of his foot, could cause the Illusory Feather Empire to collapse…

All the sect masters and heads who had rushed over to seize the Sage Confucius's personal notes also realized this point. Their faces contorted, and they all wanted to cry.

What kind of situation is this!

They had thought Zhang Xuan was a novice whom they could easily bully, but they never dreamed that his teacher was an eight-star Master Teacher!

At this level, let alone them, even if five-star or six-star Master Teachers came, they would have to kneel on the spot!

While these people were shocked to the core, not far from the mansion, an old man also had trembling lips, too terrified to move forward.

Teacher Hong, Hong Qian, a five-star Master Teacher from the Hongfeng Empire's Master Teacher Pavilion, had been invited to preside over the Master Teacher Tournament.

Resting at the mansion, he learned of the situation here and rushed over, planning to mediate, but he never dreamed he would witness this scene.

An eight-star Master Teacher… even throughout the entire Master Teacher Continent, there were only a few. Each one was a super-powerful being who commanded respect through the ages. How did one end up in such a remote place?

"I must report to the headquarters as soon as possible…" With a thought, a palm-sized jade token appeared in his hand. He reached out and quickly wrote the message; with a flash of light, the text vanished.

Low-tier kingdoms needed to use massive message walls, but five-star Master Teachers already possessed communication jade tokens. Through these, they could send messages to the headquarters, and even if separated by tens of millions of kilometers, the message would arrive instantly.

It wasn't that he wanted to leak information, but rather… an eight-star Master Teacher was too shocking. Even as a five-star Master Teacher, he dared not conceal it.

Master Teacher Pavilion of Hongyuan First-Class Empire.

Hall Master Mo Gaoyuan, a peak six-star Master Teacher.

At this moment, he was giving a lecture, speaking eloquently, with spiritual energy gathering all around. Suddenly, he frowned, flipped his wrist, and a jade token appeared in his palm.

"A Master Teacher suspected to be above six stars… Yang Xuan?"

Hall Master Mo frowned.

Although Hong Qian felt that this Yang Xuan might be a seven-star or even eight-star Master Teacher, with his own strength, he couldn't discern it clearly and couldn't make assumptions out of thin air, so he could only report him as suspected to be above six stars.

He didn't state a judgment, but he wrote down everything he had witnessed.

"Flying through the air, spiritual transmission of cultivation techniques, and a single stream of true qi making a spirit beast break through?"

After reading the message, Hall Master Mo's face alternated between cloudy and clear.

According to these two descriptions, the other party was very likely an eight-star Master Teacher. But… how could such a high-level Master Teacher appear in a Myriad Kingdoms Alliance, which was only comparable to an unranked empire?

"Mo Chen, bring the Master Teacher Ledger!"

He turned to look at a middle-aged man behind him.

His student, a peak five-star Master Teacher, Mo Chen.

"Yes!" Mo Chen turned and left, and soon after, brought back a jade-bound book.

The Master Teacher Ledger recorded the names of countless Master Teachers spanning the entire continent. It was a secret of the entire Master Teacher Pavilion; only Hall Masters were qualified to view it. Furthermore, it contained a special formation, so even those with extraordinary memories would forget its contents shortly after reading it.

This was to protect the Master Teachers' secrets from being discovered by outsiders.

He casually opened it, reading line by line, and quickly went through the entire book.

"Master Teachers above six stars are basically all recorded in it, but there's no one named Yang Xuan…"

His eyebrows furrowed into a knot.

If it was truly as the other party said, this Yang Xuan's strength was definitely far superior to his own; even if not an eight-star Master Teacher, he was at least a seven-star… yet in the Master Teacher Ledger, there was no record of this name.

"Either the name Yang Xuan… is not his real name, or… he hasn't been assessed for higher ranks at the Master Teacher Pavilion!"

The Master Teacher Ledger only recorded Master Teachers who had undergone assessments. If the person used a pseudonym, they naturally couldn't be found. Another possibility was… they had never been assessed at the Master Teacher Pavilion at all.

Many Master Teachers preferred to cultivate alone, having clearly reached very high levels yet never undergoing assessments. Sometimes, their badges displayed five or six stars, while their true strength had probably long since reached seven or eight stars.

Perhaps this Yang Xuan was precisely such a powerful expert.

"Regardless of the situation, I need to go and see!"

Raising an eyebrow, Hall Master Mo stood up.

No matter what the other party was, such profound strength warranted his personal visit and respect.

"Mo Chen, go bring the Langya Sacred Beast; I'm going on a long journey!"

He flicked his sleeve, put away the Master Teacher Ledger, and turned to give his orders.

The Langya Sacred Beast was his beast companion, with lightning speed, capable of flying millions of kilometers in a day!

The Myriad Kingdoms Alliance was truly too far from them. Even if he could fly, he couldn't possibly fly faster than a Sacred Beast.

"Teacher, where are you going? Do you want me to accompany you?"

Mo Chen quickly brought the Sacred Beast, and the Master Teacher Mo Chen couldn't help but look over.

"I'm going to the Myriad Kingdoms Alliance. Since you want to follow, come along!"

After a moment of hesitation, Hall Master Mo nodded.

This student was only a step away from being a six-star Master Teacher. Since he wanted to go, it was good to bring him along; he could give him some pointers along the way, and perhaps he could break through his bottleneck and reach the six-star level.

Both of them had spatial rings, so there was nothing to prepare. They leaped onto the Sacred Beast's back, identified the direction, and flew directly away, heading straight towards the Myriad Kingdoms Alliance.

In Hongyuan Empire, a peak six-star Master Teacher was personally coming. Meanwhile, Sect Master Luo Huang knew there was no escape. His lips trembled, and he gritted his teeth as he looked over.

"Senior, we confess our guilt. Please mete out punishment…"

Since the other party had declared them guilty, they would confess.

They would see what the punishment was.

"Confessing your guilt is good. Everyone present, hand over 20 mid-grade spirit stones, and you may leave. Sect Master Luo and Sect Master Bai, you insulted my butler and injured my junior… I'm too lazy to act personally, so you two… commit suicide!"

Looking at them indifferently, Yang Xuan's voice was as calm as an ancient well.

"Suicide?"

Sect Master Luo Huang and Sect Master Bai Kaizhi's eyebrows all twitched.

They had thought the so-called punishment would just be a reprimand, or even severe injury… Offending such a profound Master Teacher was indeed well-deserved punishment, and they dared not refute.

But… if they committed suicide, they would be gone forever, with nothing left.

"Want me to commit suicide? Dream on! I, Bai Kaizhi, even if my strength is lacking, would never commit suicide. Since you're concerned about your status and unwilling to act personally, then I apologize… I'm leaving!"

With a long roar, Sect Master Bai Kaizhi suddenly stood up, his body darted forward, and he shot straight out.

His idea was simple.

You are a high-level Master Teacher, and due to your status, you cannot personally attack people like us… Since that's the case, if I can't beat you, I can at least escape, right?

As long as you don't attack and I leave this place, the sea is vast for fish to leap and the sky is high for birds to fly; could you still find me?

A cold sneer in his heart, Bai Kaizhi moved swiftly.

He used the White Sun Sect's most powerful movement technique, combined with his late-stage Mortal Comprehension Fifth Stage, Spirit Fusion realm strength. Operating at full power, he was like a phantom, and in the blink of an eye, he darted out of the mansion.

"This…"

Sect Master Luo Huang and the others clearly hadn't expected Sect Master Bai to not confess his guilt, but instead turn and flee; they were all stunned.

Fleeing from an eight-star Master Teacher… how bold!

However, this was indeed the best method. If he didn't flee, he would die here. Rather than dying, it was better to escape!

As an eight-star Master Teacher, he couldn't possibly truly disregard his status and just directly attack, right!

Just as they were admiring Sect Master Bai's decision, they saw a blur before their eyes.

*Boom!*

An immense and unparalleled force descended from the sky. Sect Master Bai, who was fleeing, hadn't even reacted before he was flattened into a meat patty on the spot, and a large crater, over ten meters in diameter, appeared on the ground.

Immediately after, a faint voice rang out.

"I only said I was too lazy to act personally… Who said I wouldn't act because of my status?"