Chapter 440: Five Old Fogies

This old man is the most senior instructor of the Tai Xue Academy, Jiang Zhuzi, skilled in painting and beast-taming; no matter how unruly a spirit beast, once in his hands it becomes obedient, hardworking, and will work itself to death.

More importantly, over the past fifty years, Jiang Zhuzi has never failed once; over half of the Capital's spirit-beast tamers come from his school, truly deserving the title of patriarch of beast-taming!

Seeing him volunteer eagerly, the others who were raring to try obediently stepped back.

However, Ying Zhihou let out a disappointed sigh.

Jiang Zhuzi asked curiously, "Why do you sigh, Sir?"

Ying Zhihou said, "I hope the old master can settle it in one go, and stop inviting that Heng Xian— as if Great Zhou had only him as a talent!"

Those words were tantamount to roasting Heng Xian over a fire!

Sure enough! Immediately, a chorus of hums came from the crowd.

Jiang Zhuzi also somewhat resentfully said, "The Champion Marquis does have some ability, but in beast-taming he may not be an expert; each field has its specialty, we don't need him, his presence would be useless, Sir, you're overthinking!"

Ying Zhihou nodded, "I hope we won't need him to take the field; I have long admired Heng Xian, and have always believed that Great Zhou has only this one expert!"

As soon as he finished speaking, more people in the surroundings furrowed their brows.

Jiang Zhuzi strode over to a Heaven-Earth Primordial Stone on the left, the left being the place of honor.

Ying Zhihou waved his hand, and two poison agents had already walked to the Heaven-Earth Primordial Stone on the right, brandishing their knives ready to act, while the person preparing to tame the spirit beast turned out to be Ying Zhihou himself!

Everyone knows that the Second Prince of Great Qin possesses outstanding cultivation, but they don't know he is also an exceptionally talented spirit-beast tamer!

However, everyone's attention in Great Zhou was not on him, but fixed on Jiang Zhuzi.

Seeing the old instructor first walk several circles around that Heaven-Earth Primordial Stone, then take a deep breath and say, "There really is something inside!"

"What is it?" someone asked.

The old instructor fell silent for two breaths: "It ought to be a monkey!"

"A monkey?" the crowd exclaimed in astonishment, wondering what level of spirituality a thing must reach to burrow into stone on its own.

Jiang Zhuzi stopped answering, instead intently staring at the Heaven-Earth Primordial Stone, then drew a sharp, unique Spirit-Severing Blade and aimed at the stone's top, about to cut it off.

Beside them, the two Great Qin poison agents were already ready to begin cutting!

"Stop!"

Just then, a heavy rebuke suddenly came from afar.

Immediately, a mighty, unmatched aura surged forth, like an abyss, imposing a heavy pressure!

"This..."

Jiang Zhuzi and the two poison agents had no choice but to stop, while everyone else turned their gazes toward the source of the sound.

There appeared an old man in purple robes and white hair, suddenly manifesting in midair, with an immortal's bearing and an aura like a mountain.

Many did not recognize him, but a group of elderly officials bowed and said, "This is the former Senior Superintendent of the Fèngtiān Jiàn, Yuan Xuankun— greetings, Senior Yuan!"

Even His Majesty the Emperor and the King of Qin rose to show respect.

Simply put, Yuan Xuankun is not merely a subject but an honored guest invited by Great Zhou; no one knows his cultivation, only that within a thousand-li radius of the Capital, favorable winds and rains are his doing. Years ago, the ancient demon Heizei passed through the Capital, exchanged a palm with him, the outcome hard to discern, but in the end Heizei withdrew and the Capital remained peaceful.

Meanwhile, the Heavenly Empress sat composed, merely lifting her head and saying lightly, "What wind blew you out, old ghost?"

The old man bowed and said, "Within these two Heaven-Earth Primordial Stones, the malignant qi is too strong, the killing qi has condensed, making them hard to cut; better not invite disaster."

The Heavenly Empress fell silent for three breaths, then said, "If you don't cut it open, how can you know whether it's blessing or disaster?"

The old man slightly nodded and asked, "Your Majesty, do you understand cause and effect?"

The Heavenly Empress said, "We naturally understand yin-yang cause and effect, but from the perspective of an otherworldly adept, this must not be opened; from the viewpoint of the Heavenly Empress of Great Zhou, it must be opened!"

The old man was left speechless.

"I wonder if I might have a bit of your favor; please withdraw your command, Your Majesty."

At that moment, another mighty aura approached from afar; as the first character was spoken, it was still far away, but by the time the character 'ming' ended, it had already arrived above everyone.

There appeared a middle-aged man with white-streaked temples and a handsome, imposing bearing.

Seeing him, Jiang Zhuzi hastily bowed and said, "Dean!"

A large group from the Tai Xue Academy exclaimed in delight, "Dean, old instructor!"

This person is none other than the Dean of the Tai Xue Academy, Gu Qing, who is now over two hundred years old; no one knows his cultivation, only that since before the fourth emperor, his voice has echoed in the Tai Xue Academy, causing many arrogant talents, geniuses, and monsters to suffer defeat at his hands.

"And me too!"

Then another voice came from another direction, and suddenly a white-bearded, white-haired figure in a tattered Confucian robe appeared in midair—the very old man from the broken thatched hut next door when Heng Xian visited the Sheji Academy last year.

"Dean, old instructor!"

"Dean!"

Those from the Sheji Academy bowed in turn.

This person is none other than the Dean of the Sheji Academy, Old Instructor Mo Tianqi, a true antique so old that no one knows his age; only that the instructors of the Sheji Academy have changed dozens of times, yet he remains.

Ying Zhihou, Ying Zhichi, Han Fuyao, and others were instantly dumbfounded, never expecting these three to show up!

Others were also a bit bewildered—just opening a stone, yet these three supremely senior figures who would not change expression even if mountains collapsed before them have actually come in person!

The Heavenly Empress chuckled, "Yuan Xuankun, Gu Qing, Mo Tianqi— it's just a trifle; why trouble yourselves to come?"

"No!" Mo Tianqi clasped his hands, "This is no small matter; this thing is ominous and should not be opened; on the Heavenly Empress's birthday, why invite ill fortune?"

As soon as those words were spoken, they immediately shut down the Heavenly Empress's remark.

"Hahaha, timid as a mouse!"

Just then, two laughs accompanied by a dreadful, unmatched aura arrived gracefully.

The intense pressure made the entire Qingyang Palace Gardens feel like entering a mountain of blades and a sea of fire; many turned pale and kept retreating.

"Guests from afar, why skulk about?"

Yuan Xuankun and his two companions immediately raised their aura, blocking the advance.

"We were just drinking flower wine; where does this skulking come from?"

As they spoke, two elderly men with gray-white hair and fine brocade robes instantly appeared opposite the three.

Upon seeing, Yuan Xunkun and the three others, though calm and unflustered, couldn't help but be stunned.

The Empress Dowager slightly furrowed her brows and spoke loudly: "The number one saber of the western lands, eighty thousand li, Chu Saber Guest, and the White Crane Master He Bai Li of Lingbao Mountain in Western Qin, actually coming together to our Great Zhou Imperial Capital to drink flower wine—truly unexpected!"

The slightly plump Chu Saber Guest laughed: "Of course, besides drinking flower wine, there's also a little matter!"

Mo Tianqi said: "Secretly protecting your Great Qin's prince, fearing someone might harm him?"

The slender He Bai Li said: "You guessed right! But it's not complete; there's also a little matter!"

Yuan Xunkun pointed at the two Heaven-Earth Origin Stones below: "Open them?"

"Smart!" Chu Saber Guest laughed loudly.

"Does Qin lack sabers or lack people?" Gu Qing said coldly.

Chu Saber Guest said: "Qin has sabers and people, but we're also curious what exactly is inside this stone; the Great Zhou Imperial Capital belongs to fire, it's a renowned spiritual place, best for opening stones here!"

As he spoke, a strange smile appeared on his face.

In the time it took to speak, the three versus two had already clashed their auras thirty-seven times; nobody dared to relax.

The Empress Dowager sat upright, unmoving, gazing at the two origin stones: "Since it's so, let it be! Why all the fuss? Open the stones!"

"Yes!"

The two Poison People and Jiang Zhuzhi, no longer hesitating, immediately began cutting!

In the instant they were about to be opened, the two Heaven-Earth Origin Stones gave forth an indescribable spiritual aura; even from far away one felt refreshed and delighted.

Immediately, the thing inside fell out all at once.

Just at the moment they saw the thing, everyone lost their composure.

(End of chapter)