210 Chapter 1368: Shrine of Seers (1/2)
”I'll be counting on you then, Brother Luo!”
Zhang Xuan was unfamiliar with the Sanctum of Sages, which made it difficult for him to find his way around. Hearing Luo Xuanqing's confident declaration, Zhang Xuan's eyes immediately lit up.
If he could have someone show him around, he would be spared from a great deal of trouble. Besides, he was more than willing to pummel Zhang Chun, not to mention the fact that the fellow still owed him quite a few pinnacle spirit stones. A few days had passed since then, so it was about time for him to collect the debt.
”There's no need for formalities with me!” Luo Xuanqing laughed heartily as he took the lead forward.
Even though the cultivation of the young man before him was ordinary, he had shown extraordinary expertise in setting up formations and guiding others to achieving a breakthrough. Even for him and the Luo Clan, there were many benefits that could be derived from befriending such a person.
Not to mention, the young man's personality happened to be to his liking as well.
While proceeding ahead, Luo Xuanqing sent out a few messages with his Communication Jade Token, and a moment later, he turned to Zhang Xuan with a smile and said, ”That fellow isn't in the Inner Sanctum but the Shrine of Seers. Let's corner him there.”
”Shrine of Seers?” Zhang Xuan frowned.
”It's a branch of the Seer Guild, similar to the place where you took the 8-star formation master back then,” Luo Xuanqing explained.
”You mean… there's a branch of the Seer Guild here?” Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up in excitement.
He had heard of this occupation in the past. It was an Upper Nine Paths occupation that was shrouded with mystery. Seers were known to be able to use mysterious methods to foresee the events of the near future and use this knowledge to harness fortune and ward off bad luck.
Most Sage Clans would have a few seers serving as their honorary elders, assisting them in making important decisions.
All along, Zhang Xuan had only heard rumors about the occupation, but so far, he had not met a single seer in real life. Who would have thought that there would actually be a branch of the Seer Guild in the Sanctum of Sages?
”Of course! Where do you think the Sanctum of Sages is? Most likely, Zhang Chun is trying to get a seer to look into your background after getting done in by your tamed beast,” Luo Xuanqing said with a chuckle.
The fact that Luo Xuanqing was able to find out that Zhang Chun was in the Shrine of Seers so quickly could only mean that he had many pair of eyes in the Sanctum of Sages.
”He's getting a seer just to look into my background? Wouldn't it be far more efficient for him to just ask around?” Zhang Xuan shook his head.
In his view, engaging the help of a seer for something so trivial was truly meaningless. After all, his background was stated in detail in his records, so all it would take was for Zhang Chun to tap into his connections to access it. Furthermore, there was likely a certain degree of error in the ability of any seer. It felt counterintuitive to go through so much trouble just to obtain possibly inaccurate information.
”The Zhang Clan has always been rather superstitious, and they regard seers and their ability of divination very well. The current clan head, Sword Saint Xingmeng, has even invited all the 9-star seers to the Zhang Clan over the past few years,” Luo Xuanqing said with a disdainful sneer.
”Why would he invite so many 9-star seers over to the Zhang Clan?” Zhang Xuan asked in bewilderment.
As the number one clan in the Master Teacher Continent, the Zhang Clan's position was extremely stable, and it was blessed with many talented offspring as well. Just what were they so dissatisfied about that they needed to engage the help of seers to look into?
”Who knows what's going through the minds of those lunatics?” Luo Xuanqing shrugged.
The Shrine of Seers was located in the Hall of Erudition, just like the other examination grounds. Flitting swiftly forward, it did not take them too long to arrive at their destination.
Even though the Shrine of Seers was located within the Hall of Erudition, it emanated a completely different vibe from the examination grounds of other occupations. The building was extremely old, carrying the slight scent of the primordial ages.
The entire building felt like an upside-down tortoiseshell, covered with all kinds of bizarre cracks on its surface. It was a rather mysterious feeling that was hard to describe, but it seemed like the building was infused with the will of the heavens, serving as a window to peer into the secrets of the world.
The doors to the other examination halls were all wide open, but this particular building had its gates tightly shut.
”This is the Shrine of Seers?”
”Un. I tried picking up the seer occupation at one point in time too, but despite studying it for several days, I wasn't even able to qualify as an apprentice, so I chose to give up on it in the end. Well, it's really quite an enigmatic occupation. It's not right to say that they are a bunch of frauds as their prophecies and insights do turn out to be astoundingly accurate from time to time. Then again… the notion of using just a few tortoiseshells or copper coins to predict one's fate is just plain ridiculous to me.” Luo Xuanqing shook his head.
”Every established occupation has a reason for its existence. The fact that the seer occupation has been able to survive several dozen millenniums without being phased out shows that it has its own meaning of existence,” Zhang Xuan replied.
Survival of the fittest—those that were inept and useless would eventually be phased out with time. The fact that the seer occupation was able to be passed down for such a long period of time meant that it was not as simple as it seemed.
”You really talk like my younger sister. The last time I spoke with her about this matter, she said those words to me as well.” Luo Xuanqing glanced at Zhang Xuan with a displeased look.
”It's my honor to share the same thoughts with the little princess.” Zhang Xuan chuckled softly in response.
”Don't even bother trying to bootlick me!” Luo Xuanqing shot a glance at Zhang Xuan before continuing. ”It's only because I have a good impression of you that I'm giving you this advice right here. Don't harbor any thoughts toward my younger sister. Firstly, there's no way you'll be able to catch her eye with your strength, and secondly, an outsider like you can't possibly go against the will of the Zhang Clan and the Luo Clan. This might sound a little harsh, but you'd do well to sever any wishful thinking you have toward her!”
Hidden within Luo Xuanqing's blunt exterior was a meticulous heart. After spending several days with one another, he could not help but notice that the young man had an unnatural interest in the affairs of his younger sister.
If anyone else had been so nosey, he would have simply resorted straight to his fists. After all, his title as the King of Destruction was not for show. However, the young man had helped him greatly and even aided him in achieving a breakthrough. In view of that, he decided to persuade the young man instead.
It was not that he was resistant to the idea of having the young man become his brother-in-law, but he knew that such a matter was absolutely impossible.
Even he, one of the core members of the Luo Clan, was unable to change his younger sister's fate, so what could a mere Leaving Aperture realm pinnacle fellow do?
Thus, it was better to sever all wishful thinking right from the start, or else it would only hurt more as time went by. It was not easy for him to meet a person whom he could get along with, and he would hate to see the other party falling into danger over the matter concerning his younger sister.
”There's no way I'll be able to catch her eye? That's hard to say. After all, who could fathom the capriciousness of life?” Zhang Xuan remarked deeply.
It was a sheer coincidence that he stumbled upon Luo Ruoxin in the midst of the Verdant Mountain back then, and it was also a sheer coincidence that those spirit beasts had gathered around her then, prompting him to make a move to save her. Without all of those coincidences, their fates probably would have never intersected, and they would not have gotten to know one another.
It was truly a marvel how fate was able to bring about a meeting of two people from two completely different worlds.