Chapter 653: Mute

"You..."

Princess Fei-er nearly spat out blood. Pour wine? My foot! Didn't I buy ten days? I'm not your maid right now, am I?

"I know!" Zhang Xuan nodded. "We've met before, and we're friends, aren't we, Sixth Princess?"

"Yes!" Glaring at him, wishing she could strangle the guy, Yu Fei-er grit her teeth and replied. She couldn't refuse. He had called them friends, which was already saving her face. Otherwise, if he had simply called her a maid, she wouldn't have been able to live it down.

"I'll pour it for you!"

Stamping her foot, Yu Fei-er walked over, picked up a wine cup, and filled it to the brim. As she poured, she cursed inwardly, wishing she could dismember the man in front of her. However, she knew it was just wishful thinking. She had lost the bet, and he held her Master Teacher emblem. Even if she wanted to resist, she couldn't.

"That's enough!" Seeing the woman's unwilling expression, Zhang Xuan shook his head. She had actually tried to make him kneel during the bet. So what if she was a princess? She still needed to be taught a lesson.

"Teacher... Fei-er is my good friend, please consider..."

Seeing her friend's face turn green with anger, Luo Qiqi was a little exasperated. She had never imagined that the 'bad guy' her best friend constantly threatened to strangle was actually her alchemy teacher. Both of them were important to her, so she wanted to see if she could ease some of the tension.

"Your friend? Alright, I'll exempt her for ten days..." Zhang Xuan nodded.

Thinking that her friend's plea would make him drop the maid issue entirely, Princess Fei-er was shocked when he only exempted her for ten days. Her face flushed with anger. "Qiqi, you don't need to beg for me! It's just spirit stones, isn't it? It's not like I don't have them..."

"Good if you have them. I just saved some then, so these ten days are as good as not exempted!" Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up. Seven hundred mid-grade spirit stones! Of course he'd save them if he could.

"You..." Princess Fei-er's face alternated between green and white; she was so furious she almost spat blood.

"Teacher is just teasing you, don't be angry..." Seeing her friend about to explode, Luo Qiqi couldn't help but shake her head. "By the way, didn't you want to learn alchemy from Teacher Zhang? He's right here..."

"Hmph, I'd rather learn from a pig than from him!" Princess Fei-er gnashed her teeth.

"Alright then!" Knowing there was significant friction between her friend and her newly acknowledged Teacher Zhang, Luo Qiqi decided she would have to find a way to mediate later.

With everyone gathered, the banquet continued. However, with Emperor Ye Wentian and Master Wei present, and the Sixth Princess who seemed ready to explode at any moment, the atmosphere became noticeably more solemn, losing its previous cheerfulness.

After staying for a while, Luo Zhao and the others couldn't bear it any longer and rose to take their leave. Those Master Teachers, all looking like battered pigs, had to hurry back to heal. Otherwise, even if they had secured two spots, it would be useless!

"Your Highness Ye Qian, we also take our leave!" Seeing them depart, Master Hong also clasped his fists and stood up.

"Master Zhang, please wait!" After taking just a few steps, Wei Jiang approached him.

"Master Wei!" During the previous banquet, Crown Prince Ye Qian had introduced him, so Zhang Xuan knew that this was the Hall Master of the Master Teacher Pavilion in the Phantasm Feather Empire, a five-star peak Master Teacher. Zhang Xuan dared not be presumptuous and clasped his fists with a solemn expression.

"Master Zhang, may I have a word with you privately?" Wei Jiang smiled.

"It would be my honor!" Not expecting the other party to want to speak with him alone, Zhang Xuan smiled faintly.

Asking Master Hong and the others to return to their residence first, Zhang Xuan followed Master Wei into a room.

"May I ask... is Master Zhang a Combat Master?" After setting up a barrier to prevent eavesdropping, Wei Jiang looked at him.

"Combat Master? What's that?" Zhang Xuan was completely confused. Combat Masters involved the secrets of higher-level Master Teachers, and the books he had read contained no records of them, so he was completely unaware.

"Uh... they are Master Teachers specialized in combat..." Wei Jiang explained what a Combat Master was, observing him carefully as he did so. He found that Zhang Xuan didn't seem to be faking it; he genuinely appeared to be ignorant and full of questions. If he wasn't a Combat Master, how could he possess such formidable combat power, capable of defeating nine individuals stronger than himself? He had also seen the pitiful state of those Master Teachers earlier. Although their faces were red and swollen, making them look miserable, the person who acted had not been ruthless but had intentionally shown mercy. They would be perfectly fine in a day or two with the right medicine. Fighting nine people stronger than himself, yet still showing mercy... just how strong was he?

"There are Master Teachers like that?" Zhang Xuan was surprised to hear that there was a profession called Combat Master. He had always thought that Master Teachers were all about educating and imparting knowledge to the world, never imagining there were those specifically responsible for combat. No wonder many Master Teachers froze when facing the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe; how could they possibly slay them? It turned out that... those truly responsible for combat were not them, but these super Master Teachers capable of fighting above their rank.

"Why does Hall Master Wei think I'm a Combat Master?" He turned his head to look.

"I heard you fought above your rank alone and easily defeated nine individuals stronger than yourself..." Wei Jiang said.

"Oh!" Only then did Zhang Xuan understand. He shook his head. "I just learned about this profession, so naturally, I'm not one!"

"Then... do you have any special constitution?" Wei Jiang continued to ask.

"I was able to defeat those nine people because I could discern the flaws and weaknesses in their martial techniques and exploit them..." Zhang Xuan said, "It's not due to any special constitution!" Speaking of special constitutions, two of his students possessed them, and as their teacher, he had always envied them.

"Alright!" Hearing him admit he wasn't a Combat Master and possessed no special constitution, Wei Jiang was somewhat disappointed. He had thought that the Phantasm Feather Empire might produce a Combat Master who would become famous throughout the land, but now it seemed he had been overly optimistic. Special constitutions, if not activated, were almost impossible to detect. Even as a five-star peak Master Teacher, he couldn't do anything about it.

After chatting for a while longer, all of Wei Jiang's questions were skillfully parried by Zhang Xuan. The reason he could fight above his rank was twofold: first, because of the Heaven's Path Divine Art, and second, because of his methods as a Soul Oracle. He couldn't tell anyone about either of these. If he admitted to being a Combat Master and was taken back for study, it would truly be troublesome. Therefore, no matter what the other party said, he wouldn't admit it.

"I apologize for disturbing Master Zhang!" After chatting for a while longer, having found no useful clues and discerned nothing after half a day of probing, Wei Jiang could only clasp his fists apologetically.

"You're welcome!" Zhang Xuan smiled faintly, said no more, and turned to leave.

Shortly after he left, the door was pushed open again, and Emperor Ye Wentian entered, looking anxious.

"How was it?"

"He probably doesn't have a special constitution, but... whether he's a Combat Master, I'm not certain!" Wei Jiang shook his head.

"Not certain?" Ye Wentian was full of doubt.

"Well, Combat Masters must undergo multiple layers of selection and assessment. While he can currently fight above his rank, there's still a significant gap compared to a true Combat Master... Forget it, let's not dwell on it for now. I will report this situation to the Master Teacher Pavilion of Hongyuan Empire. The specific decision will be made by Hall Master Mo himself!" Wei Jiang said, after a moment of hesitation. With his current abilities, he indeed couldn't confirm it. It would be better to report it first and let the higher-ups make the decision.

"Alright, report it!" Ye Wentian thought for a moment and couldn't help but nod.

Wei Jiang flipped his wrist, and a palm-sized object appeared in his hand. He touched it, wrote down what he wanted to say, and with a flash of light, the writing vanished. It was a communication jade token, similar in effect to a communication wall, but more convenient and easily carried. Master Hong had used this very item to send a message to Master Mo Gaoyuan back then.

Shortly after sending the message, the token flashed with light again.

"This..." Seeing the writing on it, Wei Jiang's pupils contracted, seemingly filled with disbelief.

"What did Hall Master Mo say?" Seeing his old friend's expression, Ye Wentian also frowned.

"See for yourself..." Swallowing, Wei Jiang handed over the communication jade token. Ye Wentian lowered his head in confusion, and upon seeing the message, he too was startled. There was only one line of text on it:

"Regarding Master Zhang Xuan, do not discuss, do not inquire, do not speak. Keep silent!"

As soon as he finished reading, the writing on the jade token vanished before their eyes, its preservation time having expired.

"Keep silent... Could it be that Hall Master Mo already knew about Master Zhang?" With pupils contracted, Ye Wentian couldn't help but say. Keeping silent was a sign of respect shown by lower-level Master Teachers to higher-level ones. Yet Master Zhang was only a four-star. Why would Hall Master Mo issue such a gag order? Could it be... that Hall Master Mo had known about Master Zhang for a long time? Otherwise... why would he say this?

"He must have known for a long time. Otherwise, it's impossible that as soon as I mentioned 'Zhang Xuan', he... sent back this message!" Wei Jiang nodded. Mo Gaoyuan had gone to Myriad Kingdom City and left the same day. Very few people knew about this, aside from Zhang Xuan and his group, only Master Hong, Hall Master Kang of Myriad Kingdom City, and a few others. Although Wei Jiang was Master Hong's teacher, he was unaware of this.

"Then... what should we do?" Ye Wentian looked at him.

"Since Hall Master Mo has given such instructions, we shouldn't say too much! Master Zhang is going to enter the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy anyway. If I remember correctly, the academy's five-year Combat Master selection should be starting soon... If he truly has the talent, he will certainly make a stunning name for himself!" Wei Jiang said.

"Combat Master selection? Yes, now that you mention it, I do recall. However... a true Combat Master must be at least a five-star Master Teacher. He's only at the pinnacle of the Clarity realm, not even at the Spirit Unification realm yet. Who knows when he'll break through!" Ye Wentian nodded in agreement, then said with a slight hint of worry.

"It doesn't matter when he reaches it. Since Hall Master Mo has issued a gag order, we shouldn't say anything more. We'll just wait!" Wei Jiang nodded.

"You're right!" Ye Wentian responded, saying no more.

While the two were discussing behind closed doors, Zhang Xuan had just walked out of the Crown Prince's residence when someone blocked his path.

"Master Zhang, I want to talk to you alone!" A slender figure stood in front of him.

"Sixth Princess?" Realizing who was blocking his way, Zhang Xuan frowned. It was the Sixth Princess, whom he had taken as his maid. What was she doing looking for him in the middle of the night?

"Mm! This is near the imperial palace, not a good place to talk. Follow me!" Princess Fei-er snorted, tapped her foot on the ground, and swiftly flew straight ahead.

After walking for a while, she suddenly realized there was no movement behind her. She turned her head to look, and her delicate body trembled. She saw that the young man hadn't followed her at all; instead, his hands were in his pockets, and he was walking in a different direction.

"You... why didn't you follow?" She turned, caught up to him, and gnashed her teeth, grunting.

"Not interested!" Zhang Xuan waved his hand.

"You..." Her chest heaving constantly, Princess Fei-er was about to explode.