79 Chapter 1236: I’ll Choke You With My Words (1/2)
Following which, a figure suddenly appeared in the middle of the square, gazing down on the execution platform as if a deity who had descended from the heavens.
A tall and slender figure stood imposingly in the air. An ordinary face he had, but in his eyes was a brilliance reminiscent of the stars.
There was nothing exceptionally powerful about his presence, and there were plenty of people possessing a cultivation stronger than him. Yet, there was a suffocating pressure coming from him, leaving the crowd feeling as if they were facing the might of the heavens instead.
To oppose him would be no different from opposing the very world they lived in, and there was only one fate that could come out of such foolishness.
”Zhang shi…”
”Principal Zhang is here!”
”Finally!”
Song Chao and the others clenched their fists tightly in agitation, and their eyes reddened.
The pressure they had been under for the past few days was simply so great that it felt as if they would be crushed beneath it.
It was truly fortunate that their principal had arrived at this timely moment.
With his arrival, the members of the Xuanxuan Faction and the combat masters seemed to have finally found their backbone and their direction.
”You are Zhang Xuan?” Song shi glanced at Zhang Xuan with a displeased frown. ”You're finally here. That will at least spare me the trouble of finding you.
”As a master teacher, you failed to keep your student in check, allowing him to act as he pleased and ruin the order that the Master Teacher Pavilion has established with difficulty in this world. Surely you should understand how heavy a crime it is even if I don't explain it to you, right?
”In light of your previous contributions and the fact that you were not around in Qingyuan City when the incident happened, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. As long as you can harden your heart to punish these men personally so as to affirm your values, I'll plead for leniency to the Master Teacher Pavilion on your behalf.”
Song shi's initial intention of executing Sun Qiang and the others was to lure out Liu Yang, but who would have thought that he would draw out Zhang Xuan instead? Nevertheless, this still worked.
To raise but not teach is the fault of a father, and to teach but lack sternness is the blunder of a teacher! 1
Even though it was Liu Yang who had killed Chu Tianxing, Zhang Xuan's failure to instill the correct values in his direct disciple despite imparting cultivation techniques and battle techniques to him could also be said to be the root of the problem. As such, he also had to take responsibility for this matter.
Typically speaking, while Zhang Xuan would have to be punished for the matter, it would not be too severe. However, considering that the person Liu Yang had killed was the emperor of a Conferred Empire, the Master Teacher Pavilion had no choice but to be harsher in the matter. In the worst-case scenario, Zhang Xuan might even be stripped of his 7-star master teacher license!
However, this was not something that Song shi wanted to see. No matter what, just Zhang Xuan's feat of successfully crashing the Qingyuan Empire Master Teacher Pavilion was more than sufficient to show that he was an outstanding talent, a person who would become a firm pillar of the Master Teacher Pavilion in the days to come. As long as the young man was willing to reflect on his mistake and right his wrong, severing the relationship between him and his troublemaking butler and the poison masters, there was still some ground for reconciliation.
”You want me to kill Sun Qiang and the others to affirm my values? What lofty words you speak!” Zhang Xuan's eyes narrowed coldly.
”Are you intending to raid the execution platform like the rest of them?” Hearing the hostility in the young man's tone, Song shi's face darkened. ”Have you forgotten that you are a master teacher? As a 7-star master teacher, you are a role model for the rest of the world. Someone like you has no right to act willfully! In view of your talents and past contributions, I'll give you just one last opportunity. Please don't waste this precious chance that I have placed in your hands.”
”You can keep that chance for yourself!” Seeing how Song shi was acting as if having him kill Sun Qiang was a great mercy, Zhang Xuan could not even be bothered to waste his breath anymore.
In the next moment, a torrential aura surged forth from Zhang Xuan, piercing right through the clouds.
”Do you think that you can climb over my head just because I have been considerate of you?” Song shi bellowed wrathfully as he raised his hand.
The other party was just a 7-star master teacher who happened to have a bit of talent. He had already gone so far to help the other party, and yet, the other party simply had shrugged his goodwill away as if it was nothing at all. Arrogant! Truly arrogant!
With a face livid with rage, Zhang Xuan slowly walked over to the towering execution platform a step at a time. ”Considerate? There's no need for it! I, Zhang Xuan, have never required the consideration of others!”
At this moment, he was incredibly angry.
Not long ago, Pavilion Master Gou, Tian Qing, and seven other 7-star master teachers had passed away, and as a quasi 8-star master teacher, Song shi should have investigated that matter right away!
Yet, he had neglected so many more important issues and chosen to clutch at this matter relentlessly instead. On top of that, there were also plenty of suspicious aspects to the issue even if Song shi did not have any prior knowledge beforehand, such as Chu Tianxing's abrupt kidnapping of Liu Yang, and Wu shi instructing an elder to keep a tight watch on Chu Tianxing.
A more meticulous person would have investigated deeper and waited for Wu shi to return in order to get the full story before passing judgement. Granted, there was pressure from the officials and nobles, but as a quasi 8-star master teacher, Song shi should have been able to suppress their movements for quite some time.
Just why in the world did the headquarters send such an incompetent fellow?
”Audacious! Zhang Xuan, don't think that you can act as you please just because you successfully crashed the Qingyuan Empire Master Teacher Pavilion! I, Song Xuan, am a quasi 8-star master teacher, an envoy dispatched here by the headquarters to deal with the mess here. As a 7-star master teacher of a subordinate Master Teacher Pavilion, how dare you speak and behave so disrespectfully before me? Have you forgotten the formalities that you should follow as a master teacher?” Song shi bellowed angrily.
He had heard about Zhang Xuan crashing the Qingyuan Empire Master Teacher Pavilion, and even he had no choice but to admit that the young man was an exceptional genius. This was also why, despite being an austere and inflexible person himself, he had still chosen to make a special exception on this matter to grant leniency to the young man.
It was one thing for the young man to not appreciate his goodwill, but to actually forgo all formalities and treat him with utter disrespect was intolerable!
”Formalities? I am in no mood for those at the moment. All I know is that those men on the execution platform do not deserve to die!” Zhang Xuan uttered coldly as he continued advancing toward the execution platform.
”It's not your place to decide if they deserve to die. Just on the grounds that they have assassinated the emperor of a Conferred Empire and induced panic and chaos within the country is more than enough to have them beheaded numerous times over! As a master teacher, you should be well aware of this!” Harrumphing coldly, Song shi flicked his palm, and the execution blades floating above Sun Qiang and the poison masters' heads rose up once more, and just as they were about to decapitate the helpless bunch beneath them…
Peng! Peng! Peng! Peng!
The hundred or so execution blades shattered into dust before scattering into the surroundings.
”Preposterous! I finally know why the peaceful Qingyuan Empire Master Teacher Pavilion suddenly found problems cropping up one after another following your arrival! Indeed, a mere droplet of poison ruins an entire pot of porridge. Zhang Xuan, do the laws of the Master Teacher Pavilion mean nothing to you? Just because you have a little bit of talent doesn't mean…” Song shi was so angered that he could have exploded on the spot.
The young man was clearly there to raid the execution platform as well!
”Shut your mouth.”
Despite the clear sky overhead, the deep rumbling of thunder reverberated deafeningly in the air. Standing less than ten meters away from Song shi, Zhang Xuan glared at the latter with deadly sharp eyes, carrying a disposition and might that compelled one to defer to him.
”You…” Hearing the young man tell him to shut his mouth, Song shi's body trembled from the sheer rage running through his veins. He was just about to give the young man a tongue-lashing when the latter's deafening voice sounded in the air.
”You want to talk to me about the rules? About the formalities? Very well, let's do just that. While I, Zhang Xuan, was investigating the murders in the Master Teacher Pavilion and foiling the schemes of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe, what were you doing?