Chapter 173: line with translation of chapter title

Since there is a Formation, there's no need to worry; a little later, as lunchtime approached, Zhāng Tiānzhèn finally brought people over.

Actually, the speed wasn't slow either; carrying the tokens, the group entered the Formation without any obstruction and saw Hong Zun and Qing Shi inside the camp.

"Xiao Hong, this is the token the Sect Master brought for you."

Upon meeting, Zhāng Tiānzhèn threw the two tokens to Hong Zun and Qing Shi; with the tokens, they dispelled the Formation's suppression, and their cultivation instantly recovered to Shèngjìng perfection, and the Formation did not reject them.

However, Ye Zhangqing beside him wasn't paying attention to that; at this moment he stared at Zhāng Tiānzhèn with a surprised look, wondering what he had just called the Peak Master.

If I heard correctly, it should be Xiao Hong.

He also glanced at Hong Zun, whose face looked obviously bad, yet he didn't erupt; clearly, Zhāng Tiānzhèn wasn't the first time he'd shouted like that.

Just as Ye Zhangqing was shocked, Zhāng Tiānzhèn also turned his head to glance at Ye Zhangqing and spoke calmly.

"Disciple, go out first; I have something to discuss with Xiao Hong."

Hearing that, Ye Zhangqing pursed his lips; he also had no interest in staying here, but Hong Zun spoke up dissatisfied.

"This is my Divine Sword Peak disciple; it's not your place to manage him."

"Don't make a fuss; I want to talk serious business with you."

The two Peak Masters were discussing matters; a disciple naturally shouldn't be present, so Zhāng Tiānzhèn's comment was fine, but due to his own personality, it came across as arrogant.

Perhaps being constantly respected fostered a haughty personality, which at times makes people feel annoyed.

Ye Zhangqing didn't mind either, but since he didn't mind, someone objected, and Qing Shi immediately shouted angrily.

"How the hell are you speaking?"

Hearing that, Zhāng Tiānzhèn blinked, looked dubiously at Qing Shi, wondering what he had said—he hadn't said anything; after thinking, he guessed it might be due to the form of address, and immediately explained.

"I am seven hundred years older in seniority than Xiao Hong; I've always addressed him that way, with no other meaning."

Hearing that, Ye Zhangqing's mouth twitched; being over seven hundred years old and still older in seniority, but saying it that way, calling him Xiao Hong is indeed fine.

Not interested in staying with a bunch of oldsters who constantly claim to be seven hundred years older in seniority, Ye Zhangqing naturally walked out of the hall, heading for lunch.

Not bothering about the title, that's just Zhāng Tiānzhèn's personality; moreover, he's been calling him that for years, with no ill intent.

"Please have a seat."

Everyone took their seats; Hong Zun briefly explained the situation at Jinhai Yingdi to Zhāng Tiānzhèn, and upon hearing it, Zhāng Tiānzhèn also adopted a serious expression.

"As for the Formation, I'll go check it myself later; logically, to break a Formation you either need a Formation master to act, but the Eastern Sea water tribe couldn't have a Formation master, so the alternative is to forcefully break it."

"Given the water tribe's strength, relying on their own power to forcefully break it is impossible; they must have found some treasure capable of threatening the Jinhai grand Formation."

Professional matters should be left to professionals.

Like Hong Zun and Qing Shi, they knew the water tribe wanted to break the Formation, but couldn't see anything; meanwhile, Zhāng Tiānzhèn, having only heard Hong Zun's description, immediately gave an answer that was basically spot-on.

"When facing a forced breach of the Formation, the best method is to reinforce the Formation; of course, if we could destroy the treasure the water tribe is using to break the Formation, that would be ideal, but everything still depends on the situation."

Listening to the talk about the Formation, Hong Zun and Qing Shi were completely bewildered, indicating they didn't understand at all.

"I don't understand Formation matters; you handle it—just let me know if you need us to do anything."

Anyway, we know each other's backgrounds, so Hong Zun spoke frankly.

Hearing that, Zhāng Tiānzhèn nodded.

"Then I'll go inspect the Formation first."

Just as he was about to rise, the sound of mealtime came from outside, followed immediately by a clamor of footsteps and shouting.

"Come on, today I'm going to get a bite no matter what."

"Entangling Hand."

"Flowing Light Step."

"Clear Flow Wall."

Then came various Línglì fluctuations.

The sudden change made Zhāng Tiānzhèn blink, looking at Hong Zun with a puzzled expression; conversely, Hong Zun had already risen and walked toward the hall's exit, only throwing out a sentence.

"Just do as you please."

He hurried away, leaving only Zhāng Tiānzhèn and several Elders of the Myriad Formations Peak staring at each other.

"Peak Master, what's going on with them……?"

"Never mind them; there have long been rumors of trouble at Divine Sword Peak—let's go check the Formation first."

Indeed it was abnormal, but he didn't intend to investigate further; after all, it had nothing to do with his Myriad Formations Peak.

However, being already in the kitchen, just after leaving the hall he saw a crowd of Divine Sword Peak disciples cheerfully lining up to get their meals.

Seeing this, Zhāng Tiānzhèn frowned even more and said.

"Really, what a sickness—why bother eating these grains?"

"It smells so good."

"It really is."

Just as the words fell, several Elders nearby spoke up one after another; the aroma in the air made their fingers twitch with hunger.

You know, they are all Elders, each having gone hundreds of years without eating grains, making it even less likely they'd feel any urge to eat.

But now, this aroma makes people's fingers twitch with hunger—it's simply outrageous.

Even the leading Zhāng Tiānzhèn changed expression; the scent is truly fragrant—such an aroma he had never smelled in his life.

Moreover, watching the Divine Sword Peak disciples wolf down their food, he, who had minor accomplishment in Shèngjìng cultivation, found himself feeling hungry just from looking.

"How about we eat first and then go?"

He blurted that out as if possessed; the five Elders beside him had no objection whatsoever, instead nodding repeatedly.

Saying that, they walked toward the line, intending to take a bite and taste just how delicious this incredibly fragrant food was.

In Zhāng Tiānzhèn's view, this was the Divine Sword Peak kitchen; as the Peak Master of Myriad Formations Peak, grabbing a bite to eat was hardly a simple matter.

But before they could get there, Hong Zun stopped them, holding a large bowl of today's dry pot shrimp, eating while speaking indistinctly.

"What are you doing?"

Seeing this, Zhāng Tiānzhèn replied.

"In a hurry on the road, I'll eat a meal first then go check the Formation."

The matter of just having a meal at your Divine Sword Peak's mess hall, in Zhāng Tiānzhèn's view it was completely a trivial thing, but who would have thought that Hong Zun would refuse without even thinking.

"No."

"Huh?"

"Our Divine Sword Peak's mess hall only provides meals for Shénjiàn Fēng Dìzǐ; you're not one of us, so you have no right to eat."

As the Peak Master himself, he doesn't even have the right to eat a meal?

Upon hearing that, Zhāng Tiānzhèn was stunned— isn't it just an ordinary meal?

But the more Hong Zun acted this way, the more Zhāng Tiānzhèn wanted to eat, especially seeing everyone around eating with grease dripping from their mouths, he even felt an urge of hunger.

Hunger— this feeling, I haven't had it for thousands of years, right?

"I, the Peak Master of Wan Zhen Peak, can't even have a meal?"

"No."

"You..............."

"Then if I pay, that should be okay, right?"

Saying that, Zhāng Tiānzhèn directly took out ten pieces of top-grade spirit stones, but Hong Zun didn't even look at them, and even wore a look of contempt.

"Ten spirit stones and you want to eat the meal of that little brat Changqing? That's outright ridiculous."

Seeing Hong Zun still shake his head, Zhāng Tiānzhèn could hardly bear it— is paying not enough? Or is it too little?