Library of Heaven’s Path

The Elder Assembly of the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters.

The deputy pavilion master, Ren Qingyuan, was sitting at the main seat, browsing through the information that had just being sent over before directing a sweeping gaze over the room.

“Has the arrest warrant been announced in all of the major cities yet?”

A 9-star master teacher stood up, clasped his fist, and replied, “Reporting to Pavilion Master Ren, it has been all been announced. The news should spread all around the Master Teacher Continent within a single day. As soon as Zhang Xuan appears, the headquarters will receive the news immediately, and we will be able to mobilize our men to apprehend him!”

He was Elder Qu, the same 9-star master teacher whom Zhang Xuan had encountered in the Glacier Plain Court.

As soon as he returned to the headquarters from the Glacier Plain Court, he had reported everything to Ren Qingyuan. Otherwise, the Master Teacher Decree would not have been issued so quickly.

“Pavilion Master Ren, the Master Teacher Arrest Warrant is no small matter,” an elder remarked with a frown. “Ever since the founding of the Master Teacher Pavilion, it has only been used nine times to date. Zhang Xuan might be a little willful, but he’s still a master teacher. Furthermore, we haven’t gotten to the bottom of this matter yet. Isn’t it making a mountain out of a molehill to issue an arrest warrant so recklessly? I fear that such a course of action might diminish the authority and prestige of our Master Teacher Pavilion!”

“How is this making a mountain out of a molehill?” Upon hearing those words, Elder Qu flung his sleeves furiously and harrumphed. “Despite being an 8-star master teacher, Zhang Xuan has shown no respect for his elders at all. Not only did he cause great destruction at the Zhang Clan, Sanctum of Sages, and the Glacier Plain Court, he even had the audacity to attempt to pass off as Grand Elder Yang Xuan!

“On top of that, he has shown no remorse for his actions at all! He knew that I am from the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters, but he still dared to lay his hands on me! It would truly be diminishing the authority and prestige of our Master Teacher Pavilion if we let a person like him off the hook!”

Zhang Xuan possessed the ability to turn his zhenqi into lethal poison, command the power of lightning to unleash great destruction, and impeccably disguise himself as another person, and more importantly, his eye of discernment far surpassed that of any 9-star master teacher whom he had ever seen. If a person like him strayed from the path and devoted his strength to evil, even the Master Teacher Pavilion would have trouble controlling him!

It was necessary for them to deal with him as soon as possible, or else if he was left to his own devices, who knew how many more major powers would fall prey to his tyranny?

While Zhang Xuan did treat his injuries, for the sake of the greater good, they had to eliminate this unstable factor in the world!

“I understand where you are coming from, but I have looked into his records and found that he has progressed up from the Tianxuan Kingdom to where he is now within just the short span of a year. During this period of time, he has successfully crashed two Master Teacher Pavilions and cleared the Tower of Master Teachers. Not only so, he even pulled off an Empire Building, successfully raising the Xuanyuan Kingdom to an Unranked Empire. When he was in the Qingyuan Empire, he eliminated the Qingtian Emperor, saving the locals from an impending crisis. If we capture him just because of the Zhang Clan, the Sanctum of Sages, and the Glacier Plain Court reporting him and even issue the most authoritative Master Teacher Arrest Warrant after him, isn’t that going overboard?” the elder from before replied with a deep frown.

Zhang Xuan’s achievements were all recorded within the archive of the Master Teacher Pavilion, so it was not too difficult for the headquarters to look into them.

“I agree with Elder Wu’s viewpoint,” another elder added. “The Master Teacher Pavilion values young talents, and those who wield great capabilities do have a tendency to be candid and eccentric. While Zhang Xuan often contravenes the laws of the Master Teacher Pavilion and causes trouble, it’s an undeniable fact that he has contributed greatly to mankind. In fact, he has countless students throughout the world, especially in the Qingyuan Empire. I don’t think that it’s appropriate to place an arrest warrant on him just like that!

“Also, we shouldn’t forget that he’s the teacher of the Progeny of Combat, Zheng Yang. I think that such a course of action could cause disharmony within the ranks of the Master Teacher Pavilion!”

“So what if he’s the teacher of the Progeny of Combat?” Elder Qu sneered coldly. “The Combat Master Hall has provided him with a vast amount of resources, and the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters even lent him the ‘Hall of Spring and Autumn’ for his use. Does he intend to turn against us over a mere teacher who brought him around while he was younger?”

“You know what that’s not what I mean. Zheng Yang is unlikely to turn against us over that matter, but that doesn’t mean that he wouldn’t take this matter to heart. The Progeny of Combat is the greatest fighting prowess of the Master Teacher Pavilion, and this incident could very well come back to bite us in the future,” the elder from before replied.

“Bite us? Humph! Everything that he has was bestowed to him by the Master Teacher Pavilion! If he’s going to take a matter as minor at this to heart, what do we need him for?” Elder Qu sneered. “We can’t allow such a twisted culture to seep into the Master Teacher Pavilion, or else it could lead to severe consequences in the future!”

“You are distorting the facts to your convenience!” Elder Wu argued. “As the person who discovered him in the Tianxuan Kingdom, Zhang Xuan surely means a great deal to Zheng Yang. If he could remain nonchalant after hearing of Zhang Xuan’s plight, who would dare leave the Combat Master Hall in the hands of a heartless man?”

“Since he can’t be trusted, just find another person to replace him then!” Elder Qu exclaimed. “Elder Wu, you are an elder of the Master Teacher Pavilion, not the Combat Master Hall. Don’t lose sight of your own allegiance…”

“Enough!” Frustrated by the squabbling duo, Deputy Pavilion Master Ren Qingyuan shook his head and interjected.

“I have considered both your points of view. It’s indeed the blessing of mankind for such a talented individual to emerge from the younger generation, but… we can’t just ignore the complaints from the Zhang Clan, the Glacier Plain Court, and the Sanctum of Sages. Zhang Xuan’s actions have clearly breached the bottom line of the Master Teacher Pavilion. If we don’t deal with him sternly, we might set a bad precedent. Other powers might learn from his example and exploit their strength as well to commit undesirable deeds!

“You should also know of the crisis that we are facing. This is the most perilous era mankind has been in for several dozen millenniums. Humanity must stay united as one in order to face the ordeal ahead of us, or else it could really mean the end of us…”

“This…” Hearing Ren Qingyuan’s words, the crowd fell silent.

A worried expression surfaced on Elder Wu’s face as he asked, “Pavilion Master Ren, regarding that news… is it really true?”

“Indubitably so!” Ren Qingyuan nodded.

Recalling the intelligence that he had received, Elder Wu could not help but shake his head in disbelief. “As leaders of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe, the Otherworldly Demon Emperors wouldn’t easily put themselves in a risky position. What does he intend to do by sneaking into the Master Teacher Continent? Is he not afraid of being surrounded and hunted down by us?”

“It isn’t just him; there are also a couple others who came here along with him. Is there even a need to guess their intentions?” Ren Qingyuan shook his head.

“I know that there has been some movement from that place recently; there have already been two disturbances so far. However, it’s still uncertain at this point whether that place will surface or not. Furthermore, we have gone to great lengths to keep the news confidential, but even so, how did they still manage to catch wind of it?” Elder Wu asked doubtfully.

Ren Qingyuan sighed. “At this rate, it’s just a matter of time before the Master Teacher Continent is embroiled in bloodshed. During a time like this, it’s more important than ever for us to placate the major powers so as to ensure that our forces remain united!

“I believe all of you should understand what the matrimony between the Zhang Clan and the Luo Clan represents, so I won’t waste your time talking about that. However, you all should be aware that the Sanctum of Sages contains the wills of the old sages, and they would be able to point out a direction for us.

“Not too long ago, I got into contact with Sage Kui’s will, and he informed me that he has found a new sanctum head who is incredibly talented, and he assured me that the new sanctum head will be able to mature and become a strong ally to us before that matter occurs. I have liaised with Zhan shi over that matter as well, and he has informed me that the new sanctum head is likely Yang shi’s direct disciple, Feng Ziyi!

“So, we can’t afford to fall into disharmony with those two powers at this point in time. As for the Glacier Plain Court, all of you here should know how important the Pure Yin Body is in establishing connections with the Firmament.

“Given how Zhang Xuan has gotten on the bad side of all three powers at once, if we don’t deal with this matter promptly, how can we appease them? In the first place, as a deputy pavilion master, I am already lacking in legitimacy and authority. If something happens at this point, putting aside me, even Yang shi won’t be able to resolve the conflict! Unless…”

At this point, Ren Qingyuan’s gaze suddenly became a little distant as admiration rippled in the depths of his eyes. “… the legendary Celestial Master Teacher, as well as the legitimate head of the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters, appears!”

“Celestial Master Teacher? How could it be that easy to receive the acknowledgement of the heavens? For several dozen millenniums, Kong shi has been the only one to be able to do so!”

“Indeed. It doesn’t seem too likely for a Celestial Master Teacher to suddenly appear at this point in time…”

Many of the elders shook their heads wryly.

“If a Celestial Master Teacher appears right now, I will kneel down and kowtow to him right away, acknowledging him as my teacher!” Elder Qu harrumphed.

“Acknowledge him as your teacher? If there’s really a Celestial Master Teacher among us right now, I doubt that you are qualified to be his student!” Elder Wu shot a disdainful glance at Elder Qu.

“Humph! Even if I’m unqualified to become his disciple, I will be more than content to serve as his subordinate!” Elder Qu replied.