Chapter 696: Zhang Xuan Dead Again?

Teacher Zhang had lured the puppets away for them, daring to venture into the tiger's den. If they remained there waiting for death, they would truly be letting everyone down.

Tears streamed down their faces as they all unleashed strength beyond their usual limits, running incredibly fast. Dozens of breaths later, they were back on the stone steps.

Looking down again, the underground town appeared shrouded in darkness, and the scattered glow of the night-luminescent pearls was no longer clearly visible.

Roar! Roar! Roar!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Faintly, they seemed to hear the roars of the Otherworldly Demons' corpse puppets and the sound of explosions.

"This place isn't safe. Let's go up first. Teacher Zhang... he should be able to make it out!" Knowing that the stone steps were not a safe place either, as another puppet could easily rush at them and prevent their escape, Xing Yuan couldn't help but say.

"Understood!"

Realizing that waiting there was futile, they turned and continued upward. Soon, they were back at the stone bridge.

"You made it out! Are you alright...?"

Luo Qiqi, who was guarding above, saw their appearance. Her eyes lit up with excitement, and she quickly went to greet them.

"We're fine."

Yu Feier and the others showed no excitement about escaping danger. Instead, they instinctively looked back toward the stone steps, their faces etched with worry.

"What's wrong?" Seeing their expressions, Luo Qiqi frowned, then her body stiffened. "Where's Teacher?"

"Teacher Zhang... he..."

Xing Yuan clenched his fists. "He was surrounded by puppets trying to save us..."

"Surrounded?"

Luo Qiqi's face turned pale, and her delicate body stiffened. "How many puppets? If it's just one or two, Teacher... he should be able to make it out!"

Teacher's methods were endless; with only one or two puppets, he could surely escape without much danger.

"It's... over twenty of them!"

Xing Yuan said, his face deathly pale.

"Over twenty of them?"

Luo Qiqi's body went limp.

Although she trusted Teacher, she knew he couldn't possibly withstand so many puppets.

In the previous underground palace, there was only one puppet, and it had taken immense effort from both of them, almost resulting in their deaths. Facing over twenty simultaneously... that wasn't a rescue; it was suicide!

"No, I have to go save Teacher..."

Gritting her teeth, Luo Qiqi was about to rush into the underground palace, but before she could take two steps, Yu Feier grabbed her.

"Qiqi, calm down. Teacher Zhang is deeply surrounded because he saved us. If you go in, wouldn't that make all his painstaking efforts go to waste?"

Although she was also filled with reluctance, she understood Teacher Zhang's intentions.

Their strength was too weak. Rushing in would only make them more vulnerable, and no one would be able to save anyone else.

"I..."

Luo Qiqi trembled, her eyes glistening, as large tears slowly rolled down her fair cheeks.

In the small stone room, to let her go first, Teacher had fought the puppet alone, fearless of death!

To save Yu Feier, Teacher knew it was a puppet's lair, yet he went without hesitation or excuse!

And now, to save them, he was deeply besieged...

Teacher, how can we possibly repay your kindness to us?

"Luo Qiqi, we all understand how you feel. It's not just you who wants to save him; don't you think we do too? But rushing in will only lead to more of us getting trapped, and then we would betray Teacher Zhang's expectations and friendship for risking his life to save us!"

Xing Yuan also came forward. "There's only one thing we can do now: wait patiently here for him... to emerge! We hope... he can create another miracle!"

As top students of the Master Teacher Academy and five-star master teachers, they clearly understood the current situation.

In the eyes of others, they possessed extraordinary strength and valiant talent, but confronting those puppets would be like throwing an egg against a rock. Rushing in, there was only one path... death!

"That's right, if Teacher Zhang is alone, there's a greater chance he can escape. If we go in, not only will we have no chance, but we might even endanger him..."

Ye Qian also added.

"I know..." Tears flowed like raindrops as Luo Qiqi's red lips trembled.

Indeed!

It was certainly true.

After such a long time together, she clearly understood what kind of person Teacher was.

Teacher was precisely the kind of person who, when faced with a choice between life and righteousness, would unhesitatingly choose the latter!

He was someone admirable in every respect, without a single discernible flaw!

They were right; rushing in to "save" him would certainly not be a rescue, but a burden.

"We can only wait here now..." Seeing that she had understood, Xing Yuan nodded and was about to speak when he suddenly felt his body sway.

Rumble!

Cracks appeared on the bridge surface, and the underground river water seemed to boil instantly.

"What's happening?"

Everyone was stunned.

It had been stable, so why was it shaking so violently?

Crash!

As they wondered, rubble began falling from above, and the bridge and the descending stone steps instantly collapsed.

"Oh no, the underground palace is collapsing..."

Xing Yuan's pupils constricted, and he urgently shouted, "Get out quickly!"

Knowing that a collapse would bury them all inside, resulting in their demise with no hope of salvation even from deities, no one dared to hesitate. They dashed straight towards the nearby stone steps.

The stone steps weren't very long. In seven or eight breaths, they had escaped. As soon as they returned to the valley, they felt the ground give way nearby. The originally small valley instantly collapsed, forming a massive sinkhole.

Everything from the former underground palace vanished as if it had been a dream, leaving no trace behind.

"Teacher..."

Luo Qiqi's body swayed, and she collapsed to the ground.

If there had been a chance for Teacher to escape moments ago, now... there was no hope left!

Yu Feier's beautiful face also turned pale, her legs gave way, and she sank to the ground.

She had always wanted to compete with him, to win bets against him, but she had never wanted him to die!

Moreover, if it weren't for Zhang Xuan saving them, how could he have met such a terrible fate?

Recalling their interactions, she suddenly realized that he merely seemed to ignore her, but in reality, both his strength and insight far surpassed his peers...

Even she, who had always been proud, couldn't help but admire him immensely.

"I'm returning to the palace now to ask my father to deploy troops... Even if we have to dig three feet deep, we must rescue Teacher Zhang..."

After a moment of silence, Ye Qian clenched his fists, and veins bulged on his forehead.

"Exactly, I'll go with you. If Ye Wentian doesn't deploy troops, I'll report it to my royal father!"

Hearing this, Yu Feier stood up, gritting her teeth, and prepared to leave with Ye Qian.

At this moment, she had only one thought: he could not die!

"You can't go!"

Just as the two were about to leave, Xing Yuan moved swiftly to block their path.

"What? Are you trying to stop me?"

Her eyes narrowed, and Yu Feier's aura surged.

Her strength at Transcendent Mortal 6-dan Bridging Heaven realm instantly surged forth, carrying a heart-stopping power.

When she competed with Zhang Xuan, she was constantly restrained and couldn't fully exert her strength, but against Xing Yuan, she was by no means weak.

"I'm not stopping you, but... have you thought this through?"

Unexpectedly, the Sixth Princess was about to attack him. Xing Yuan's face turned pale, and he gritted his teeth. "This underground palace involves Wu Yangzi and the Otherworldly Demons. What consequences would there be if this news leaked?"

"What do the consequences matter? Get out of the way!"

Yu Feier scoffed.

"Xing Yuan is right!"

Luo Qiqi walked up, her delicate body still trembling, but her voice had steadied. "If the Otherworldly Demon puppets in the underground palace are unearthed, just one could wipe out the entire Phantasm Feather Empire... The resulting loss of life is definitely not... what Teacher would want to see!"

"I..." Yu Feier's fists tightened.

"Teacher is kind and benevolent; he couldn't bear to see you killed, so how could he bear to see billions of lives plunged into death?"

Luo Qiqi's eyes were red.

Saint realm puppets... and over twenty of them at once. It was terrifying!

This was simply not something a second-tier empire could contend with. Forget Emperor Ye Wentian; even if all their soldiers came, they couldn't save Teacher. Only true Saints could accomplish that.

If puppets were to slaughter indiscriminately, Teacher, even in death, would not rest in peace.

Because...

He was just such a great person.

"Then... what should we do?" Yu Feier's beautiful face was pale.

"The most urgent task is to immediately return to the Master Teacher Academy and report this to the elders, so they can come and handle it personally!" Luo Qiqi said.

"Exactly. If we truly want to save Teacher Zhang, we should quickly return to the academy and report this to the higher-ups, so the academy can send people. Otherwise, there's nothing anyone can do!"

Xing Yuan nodded.

"Alright then, Xing Yuan, Elder Wu Yangzi's corpse is in your storage ring. You and Ye Qian should return to the academy immediately. Qiqi and I will wait here, waiting for... him to emerge!"

Yu Feier nodded.

"This..."

Xing Yuan was stunned, not expecting her to want to stay here.

"Feier is right. She and I will wait here. You two must hurry back. This matter is too significant and must be reported in person. Otherwise, the academy won't send Saints!"

Luo Qiqi nodded.

Although they could send a message, to get a Saint to come personally, there needed to be enough supporting evidence. Wu Yangzi's corpse was here; without going in person, it would likely be difficult to convince them.

"Alright!"

Understanding this, Xing Yuan hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "If we take the flying spiritual beast, how will you two get back?"

When the four of them arrived, they had only ridden one Transcendent Mortal 6-dan flying spiritual beast. If the two left, what would the others do?

"Don't worry about us. If it comes to that, the Phantasm Feather Beast Hall is nearby. With our Master Teacher status, borrowing a flying spiritual beast will be quite simple!"

Luo Qiqi waved her hand, her eyes gazing down at the sinkhole. How she wished the earth would churn, and that teacher, younger than herself, would crawl out from inside.

If that were truly the case, no matter how dirty or disheveled he might be, she would undoubtedly run to him without hesitation...

"Alright, we're leaving then!"

Knowing that there was no time to delay, Xing Yuan didn't hesitate. He took Ye Qian, gave a shout, and with a sharp cry from the sky, a flying savage beast flew over and landed before them.

"Let's go!"

The two jumped onto the beast's back and flew straight into the sky, disappearing from sight in the blink of an eye.

With their departure, Luo Qiqi and Yu Feier stared blankly down, waiting quietly.

Teacher Zhang, with so many heaven-defying abilities... he surely wouldn't die!

Although they felt this way in their hearts, they had no real confidence, especially as time continued to pass, eroding their conviction.

In the blink of an eye, three days passed, and there was no movement from below.

Their initial hope gradually turned into disappointment.

Could it be...

Was Teacher Zhang really dead this time?

Even if he were truly dead, if he could just fake his death and reappear for a while, it would still be a comfort...