Chapter 877: Jade Shenqing's Suspicion

"Master Zhang created a cultivation technique specifically for me. I'm very happy, but... I can't accept it!" Yu Feier shook her head.

"Do you know how precious my cultivation technique is? If you practice it, your soul power can more than double!" Zhang Xuan frowned.

This wasn't self-praise. Even the simplified version of the soul cultivation technique combined secret arts from various professions, including Witchcraft Souls, Thousand Hammer Soul Condensing Art, Demonic Tune, and Shocking Swan. If Yu Feier truly learned it, her progress in soul cultivation would be incredibly rapid. In the future, surpassing the Emperor, and even the middle-aged man who attacked him, would be within reach.

"Precisely because it's so precious, I can't accept it!" Yu Feier hesitated. "How about this? I'll purchase it with treasures..." If she learned a unique cultivation technique without reciprocation, it would establish a mentorship. On the Master Teacher Continent, the bond between teacher and student was highly valued. Once formed, other possibilities would become mere luxuries. Purchasing it, however, would settle the transaction without complications.

"Alright," Zhang Xuan said, seeing her persistence. He didn't mind and shook his head, then pointed his finger towards her forehead. Yu Feier felt her delicate body tremble as a complete soul cultivation technique instantly entered her mind.

"This..." With just a glance, her beautiful eyes widened, and she trembled uncontrollably. This cultivation technique was too profound, far surpassing anything she had ever practiced.

"This... it's too valuable. I'm afraid I can't afford it. I must report it to my Imperial Father and let him decide..." Yu Feier's pretty face flushed as she quickly said. She had initially thought that even if the technique he created was precious, it wouldn't be stronger than her family's ancestral one. Only after a glance did she realize that her family's technique, if thrown before him, he might not even bother to pick it up. The difference was simply too vast.

"Whatever," Zhang Xuan replied, shaking his head. Imparting the technique was also a way to repay the favor of absorbing the imperial palace's spiritual energy. As for how they decided, that was their business and had little to do with him.

While they were conversing, Shen Jun's face darkened, trembling with rage, as if he might explode at any moment. He felt a vast grassland growing wildly on his head. From a distance, the two were communicating telepathically, so he couldn't hear what they were saying. He only saw Zhang Xuan tap Yu Feier's forehead, and her face flushed with shyness... This was blatant flirting, completely disregarding him!

"Damn it, damn it!" Shen Jun's teeth ground together, and he seemed on the verge of crushing the wine cup in his hand. "Liu Quan, go back and help me investigate this guy's background..." He had just returned from outside and wasn't clear about matters in the imperial capital. Since Master Zhang hadn't revealed his name, it was normal for him not to know.

"Alright!" Young Master Liu Quan nodded. "He's probably a student from the Master Teacher Academy. My father mentioned when I left earlier that a new dean will be inaugurated at the academy in three days, and he's taking me to witness it. We'll be able to enter the Master Teacher Academy then. At that time, I'll bring some people and give him a good beating to vent your anger!"

"Good, it's settled. I'll bring some people too. We must beat him until he's spitting teeth!" Shen Jun gnashed his teeth.

As soon as Uncle Bai left the courtyard, he went directly to the main hall where Yu Shenqing was.

"Reporting, Seventh Prince, today is the Sixth Princess's birthday, and His Majesty has just gone to the banquet hall..." A eunuch approached.

"Good, I'll go there now..." Without delay, Uncle Bai rushed towards the banquet hall and finally caught up with the Emperor's imperial guard outside.

"Imperial Brother..." He hurried forward to greet him.

"Mubai, what's wrong? Why are you in such a hurry?" Yu Shenqing frowned. Uncle Bai, whose full name was Yu Mubai, was the Seventh Prince of Hongyuan Empire and Yu Shenqing's biological younger brother.

"It's like this, I was just comprehending the stone tablet..." Not daring to conceal anything, Yu Mubai recounted the previous events in detail.

"You said something resembling a Witchcraft Soul appeared in the imperial palace? And... the Soul Refining Hall was destroyed? And someone broke through to the ninth level in one go, taking only two breaths for each level?" Yu Shenqing's body swayed, filled with disbelief. As the Emperor of a first-tier empire, he had witnessed countless major events, yet after hearing this, he still felt as if he were listening to a fantastical tale. As the most powerful figure in the Yu family, he naturally knew the difficulty of the Soul Refining Hall's passage. Even with his strength, under intense pressure, he couldn't break through the eighth level... Each level taking only two breaths... Not only that, but the person had forcefully charged into the main hall, absorbed all the spiritual energy within, and even shattered the ancestral statue... How strong must that soul be?

"Yes!" Yu Mubai nodded, looking over with worry. "Your Majesty, should we activate the Imperial Guard Formation to capture that person?" The Hongyuan Empire's Imperial Guard Formation could even resist cultivators at Saint 2-dan and 3-dan. Even if the other party was formless and immaterial, they certainly wouldn't escape.

"Once the formation is activated, the entire imperial palace will fall into panic. Since that person was driven away by you and not traced, they should... already be gone!" Yu Shenqing shook his head. The Imperial Guard Formation was not activated unless the empire's survival was at stake. Once it was operational, it would definitely cause great chaos, and even he, as the Emperor, would find it difficult to explain. Furthermore, before investigating whether the person was a Witchcraft Soul or a Saint Beast with special abilities, even if the formation was activated, it would likely be hard to find them.

"Then what should we do?"

"Send more people to patrol everywhere. If anything unusual is discovered, go there immediately and make sure to capture them..." Yu Shenqing said after a moment of thought.

"Understood!" Yu Mubai nodded.

"Alright, don't tell anyone about this. If there's any news, report it to me immediately. I'm going to Feier's birthday banquet now!" Yu Shenqing waved his hand. Although he truly wanted to catch the troublemaker, as the Emperor, he needed to remain calm and composed.

Finishing his words, he no longer paid attention to Yu Mubai and strode towards the banquet hall. Before he even reached it, he noticed the old eunuch behind him frowning.

"Is something wrong? Speak freely!" Seeing the eunuch's expression, Yu Shenqing knew the old man must have thought of something and looked over. This old eunuch had followed him for countless years, his cultivation had long reached the Saint realm, and he was always astute about many things.

"Wherever Master Zhang goes, there's chaos; even his own residence isn't spared... He came to the imperial palace tonight, could it be... that this incident is related to him?" the old eunuch couldn't help but ask. This Zhang Xuan was too peculiar. Wherever he went, things either collapsed or went wrong... He was at the banquet hall today, and although array masters had specially reinforced it to prevent accidents... who knew if other places would encounter problems? Just like now, the banquet hall was fine, but the Soul Refining Hall was ruined... Could there be a connection?

"Him?" Yu Shenqing frowned. What the eunuch said sounded absurd, yet it wasn't entirely without reason. The commotion this guy had caused in the past half-month made even him twitch his eyebrows. If there was one person who could truly cause the situation Yu Mubai described, it just might be this fellow!

"Didn't he arrive an hour ago and hasn't left the premises?" Yu Shenqing asked.

"Yes, he hasn't left... but he did zone out for over half an hour in one spot!" The eunuch thought for a moment and replied.

"Zone out?"

"Hmm, if what the Seventh Prince said about a Witchcraft Soul is true, could it be that his Witchcraft Soul left his body during that period of zoning out?" the eunuch hesitated before suggesting.

"A Witchcraft Soul leaving the body? You think this Master Zhang is a Witchcraft Soul Master?" Yu Shenqing's expression darkened.

"Your humble servant is just making a wild guess..." The old eunuch chuckled.

"Witchcraft Soul Masters betrayed humanity and sided with the Otherworldly Demons in ancient times, weren't they eradicated by the Master Teacher Pavilion, and their lineage severed? How could this Zhang Xuan, being a Master Teacher, knowingly violate the rules and learn that profession?" Yu Shenqing's brows furrowed into a knot.

"Actually, whether he is or isn't, we'll know with a test..." the old eunuch said.

"Indeed," Yu Shenqing nodded.

Dismissing further thoughts, he flung his sleeve and strode into the banquet hall. The moment he entered, he saw his elegantly dressed daughter standing before a young man, bending to pour him wine. His daughter, noble and precious, a golden branch and jade leaf, and this fellow actually had her pouring him wine! Wasn't he being too audacious?

"Your Majesty, this is Zhang Xuan... Master Zhang!" the old eunuch quickly interjected.

"He is?" Yu Shenqing's gaze turned cold. He already had a strong opinion of this fellow, and now seeing this, his anger flared instantly.

"Feier, what are you doing?" His face darkened as he took two steps into the room, his voice low. "As a dignified princess, how can you pour wine for someone? What kind of conduct is that?"

"Imperial Father, you've arrived..." Seeing her father, Yu Feier quickly stood up and bowed.

"Shen Jun (Liu Quan, Xing Yuan...) pays respects to His Majesty!" Everyone else in the room also stood up and bowed in unison. Zhang Xuan also stood up, glanced at the middle-aged man before him, and bowed with cupped fists. Although he was the Dean and his status was not lower than the Emperor's, perhaps even higher, his inauguration ceremony had not yet been held, so it was inconvenient to reveal his identity. Thus, he observed proper etiquette.

"You are Zhang Xuan?" Yu Shenqing looked over, his eyes flashing.

"Indeed!" Zhang Xuan nodded.

Yu Shenqing said nothing further, turning to take his seat at the head of the table. Although he wanted to test whether this fellow was truly a Witchcraft Soul Master, as the Emperor, it was impossible for him to directly make a move. To do so would not only demean his status but also be unexplainable to the Master Teacher Pavilion. It might even displease his daughter.

"Thank you all for coming to my little girl's birthday banquet!" Sitting down, Yu Shenqing surveyed the room with a gentle smile, exuding the unique aura of an emperor. "Today is a joyful day, how can there be no music? Luo Fu, go invite Master Bai Yin to perform a piece for everyone!"

"Yes!" The old eunuch nodded, understanding the implication, and withdrew.

"Master Bai Yin? The most formidable musician in the imperial palace, a six-star Demonic Tune Master! It's wonderful that she'll perform in person!" Hearing of Master Bai Yin, everyone's eyes immediately lit up, their faces flushed with excitement.

P.S. An extra chapter has been added for this book's 51st sect master, Fei Huifei!