46 Chapter 1203: Crisis at the Master Teacher Pavilion (1/2)
In the Qingyuan Empire Master Teacher Pavilion, straw mats lay side by side on the ground, and eight corpses were neatly placed on top.
The corpses were each dressed in a master teacher robe, and the seven gleaming stars on their chests indicated their identities.
Zhang Xuan was extremely familiar with the elder in the center. It was due to the injustice that the elder had brought upon him that he had gone to the extent of crashing the Master Teacher Pavilion, even directly exchanging blows with him in the midst of doing so. He had thought that the elder would be severely judged by the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters, but who would have thought that he would die before then?
Zhang Xuan turned to Wu shi and asked grimly, ”What happened?”
”It happened earlier in the day… Based on the list of names you gave me, I quickly moved to apprehend those related master teachers and apprehend them. However… just as I was interrogating the eighth suspect, my subordinate suddenly reported to me that eight master teachers of the Qingyuan Empire Master Teacher Pavilion had passed away!” Wu shi replied lividly.
He had interrogated the apprehended suspects discreetly so as to not alarm the enemy, but it seemed like the enemy had somehow learned of the matter and decided to kill eight 7-star master teachers to warn them against probing any further into the matter.
And the victims included even the old Pavilion Master Gou!
Hearing those words, Zhang Xuan's face darkened.
It was a blatant threat targeted toward them.
”Furthermore,” Wu shi continued, ”they all died in the same manner as Chen Zhe and the others. When we found them, their souls had already dissipated, leaving behind an empty body.”
Zhang Xuan fell silent.
He had also noticed the same as soon as he stepped into the room. Despite their bodies being perfectly intact, the eight master teachers did not have a hint of life within them. Only the soul nabbing secret art could result in such a deeply unnerving death.
It's Vicious! Zhang Xuan clenched his fists tightly together.
Only Vicious had the strength to nab even Pavilion Master Gou's soul.
Just that… from what he knew, Vicious should have been in the Marshlands of the Northern Meadows. Furthermore, from what he had learned in the Qingtian Emperor's memories, it appeared that Vicious had been sealed by something, preventing him from leaving the region. Considering the long distance between Qingyuan City and the Marshlands of the Northern Meadows, how could he possibly carry out such a feat?
Zhang Xuan turned around and asked, ”Where were they found?”
”They were found in their accommodation. Their family members thought that they were resting, so they did not disturb them initially. However, when they attempted to call for them but received no response, they approached them, only to realize that they had stopped breathing,” Wu shi replied before turning to look at Zhang Xuan. ”Does this matter have something to do with the Qingtian Emperor? But… isn't the Qingtian Emperor already dead?”
As a soul oracle, the Qingtian Emperor was skilled in soul arts, and he had killed Chen Zhe and the others using one of his secret arts. Zhang Xuan had already informed him of this matter, thus unraveling the cause of the mysterious deaths that had occurred in the Master Teacher Pavilion a while back.
But since it was affirmed that the Qingtian Emperor was already dead, who else could possibly wield the ability to pull off the same feat?
The deaths of these eight 7-star master teachers were simply so abrupt and mysterious that it had shocked everyone in the Master Teacher Pavilion, sending them into a fluster.
It was the norm for humans to fear those that they were unable to comprehend, and even master teachers were no exception to the rule.
Pavilion Master Gou had been viewed as the strongest individual in Qingyuan City, but if even he could be killed silently without putting up a fight, it did not seem like anyone would stand a chance against the murderer. The realization of this notion left the necks of the master teachers feeling cold.
”The Qingtian Emperor is dead, but the person behind him is still alive and kicking,” Zhang Xuan replied with a vexed look.
”The person behind him?” Wu shi was perplexed by those words.
As the matter concerning Vicious' existence was simply too huge, Zhang Xuan had decided not to tell anyone about it. As such, not even Wu shi was aware of the matter.
”Yes. Even if the Qingtian Emperor was the Emperor of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe, it is worth contemplating how he managed to learn the heritage of the soul oracle oracles when they had already disappeared many years ago. As such, I believe that there's a mastermind behind this matter who imparted the heritage of the soul oracles to the Qingtian Emperor. If my deduction is correct, he's probably the one who had caused this as well,” Zhang Xuan replied.
”A mastermind who imparted the heritage of the soul oracles to the Qingtian Emperor?” Wu shi narrowed his eyes in alarm as he said, ”How powerful do you think the mastermind is? If he's beyond the means of a Conferred Empire, I'll immediately report this matter to the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters and have them dispatch some men to assist us!”
The Master Teacher Pavilion had its own system. Typically speaking, while subordinate Master Teacher Pavilions would report major affairs to the Master Teacher Pavilion above them, they were still expected to resolve matters in the region by themselves.
Firstly, the headquarters also had their own region to care for, and they did not have the spare energy and time to be cleaning up after the subordinate Master Teacher Pavilions. Secondly, it would also serve as a platform to temper the master teachers in the branch.
If the headquarters had to attend to every single problem that the subordinate Master Teacher Pavilions were facing, it probably would not have been long before the advanced master teachers worked themselves to death.
However, if the problem exceeded the scope of the subordinate Master Teacher Pavilion, that was a different matter. If such a problem was left uncared for, it could possibly lead to a great massacre. In such cases, the subordinate Master Teacher Pavilion would be justified in calling for the aid of a higher ranked master teacher from the headquarters.
”How long will it take for the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters to dispatch an envoy?” Zhang Xuan asked with a frown.
Wu shi swiftly did a rough calculation before replying. ”If I recall correctly, the Master Teacher Pavilion closest to us that has at least one half 8-star master teacher is the Qianchong Conferred Empire Master Teacher Pavilion. If the headquarters dispatched a half 8-star master teacher from them, judging from the distance, it would take at least ten days. However, if we require an 8-star master teacher, we would have to call for an envoy directly from the Empire Alliance Master Teacher Pavilion, and if that's the case, it will take twenty days at the minimum!”
”Ten days, twenty days? We don't have that much time to spare.” Zhang Xuan pinched his glabella grimly. ”By the time the envoy arrives, our Qingyuan Empire Master Teacher Pavilion could have very well been massacred!”
”What do we do then?” Wu shi asked anxiously.
Indeed, they could not afford to wait ten to twenty days. The enemy possessed an ability to kill their men silently, and in a single night, he had already managed to take out eight 7-star master teachers. If the enemy continued their massacre at the current rate, it would not be long before all of the 7-star master teachers of the Qingyuan Empire Master Teacher Pavilion were killed!
”I'm not too sure how powerful the mastermind behind the Qingtian Emperor is, but I believe that his strength shouldn't exceed the Leaving Aperture realm. Otherwise, the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters would have definitely kept a lookout for their movements,” Zhang Xuan analyzed.
While the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters left the regional Master Teacher Pavilion to their own devices, they would still conduct a thorough scan throughout the world using a special technique from time to time. If they found any existences that exceeded the tier of the regional Master Teacher Pavilion, they would eliminate it immediately if they viewed it to be a threat, or else, they would maintain a close watch over its movements.
The highest fighting power in Conferred Empires was the Leaving Aperture realm. Considering how Vicious' eye was able to remain in the Marshlands of the Northern Meadows without alerting the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters, it was likely that he had not exceeded that level.