For them, Zhang shi willingly lured away the puppets away into the depths of the underground chamber, using himself as bait. If they were to remain here and allow themselves to be killed, they would truly be letting everyone down.
With eyes filled with indescribable, intense emotions, they exerted strength beyond their limits, and in just a few dozen breaths, they arrived at the passageway once more.
Looking into the distance, the underground city seemed to have been blanketed by a cloak of darkness. The dim light from the Night Illumination Pearls could no longer be clearly seen from their current location.
Roar! Roar! Roar!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Vaguely, the shouts of the Otherworldly Demon puppets and the sound of objects shattering could be heard.
Knowing that the passageway wasn't safe either—just a single puppet here would be able to clear away all of them—Xing Yuan said, "This place isn't safe, let's go up first. Zhang shi… should have an escape plan in mind."
"Un."
Knowing that they would be of no help even if they were to wait here, the crowd headed up, and before long, they were standing at the entrance of the passageway.
Luo Qiqi, who was waiting on top, immediately rushed up to welcome the group excitedly upon seeing them.
"You've all finally returned! Are you all fine?"
"We're fine!"
There wasn't the slightest bit of relief or joy one should have after escaping from danger on Yu Fei-er and the others faces. Instead, they kept subconsciously sending worried gazes into the passageway.
"What's wrong?" Noticing their peculiarity, Luo Qiqi frowned. Then, she suddenly realized something, and her body froze. "Where is teacher?"
"He…"
Xing Yuan clenched his fists tightly in agitation, and with a lump in his throat, he said hoarsely, "In order to save us, he used himself as bait to lure all of the Otherworldly Demon puppets away…"
"Bait?"
Luo Qiqi's face immediately drained of all color. "How many puppets are there? If there is only one or two, teacher… should still be able to escape…."
Her teacher possessed incredible means. If it was only one or two puppets, he shouldn't be in too much danger.
With an ashen face, Xing Yuan said, "There are… more than twenty of them in there."
"More than twenty?"
Luo Qiqi felt as if her heart had been plunged into an ice chamber.
She trusted her teacher's capability, but it was still impossible for him to stand against so many puppets singlehandedly!
It took the both of them a great deal of effort to deal with a single puppet from the previous stone chamber. In the process of doing so, the two of them nearly died as well. To face more than twenty simultaneously… this was no different from suicide!
"No! I must go and save teacher…"
Gritting her teeth in determination, Luo Qiqi rushed into the passageway. However, before she could get far, Yu Fei-er stopped her.
"Qiqi, calm down! Zhang shi had put himself into such a predicament just to save us. If you were to go in now, won't all his effort have been for nothing?"
Even though Yu Fei-er was panicking inside as well, she understood Zhang shi's intentions, and that was why she was holding herself back.
They were simply too weak at the moment. Even if they were to rush in, they would be of no help at all.
"I…"
Luo Qiqi trembled in agitation, and beady teardrops slowly flowed down her white cheeks.
Even back at the stone room, in order to let her get away first, her teacher chose to fight against the puppet singlehandedly, despite the risk of death!
And now, to save Yu Fei-er and the others, despite knowing that it was a lair of Otherworldly Demon puppets below, he still rushed in without any hesitation!
And now, he even allowed himself to serve as bait so that the others could get away…
'Teacher, how can we ever repay this debt to you?'
"Luo Qiqi, we understand your feelings, but do you think that you are the only one who wants to rush in and save him? But if we were to do so, we would only be letting down the expectations and feelings Zhang shi has entrusted to us!"
Xing Yuan stepped forward and said, "There's only one thing we can do now, that is to wait here patiently for his return! Let's pray that… he can create a miracle once more!"
As a talented student of the Master Teacher Academy, he was able to see the crux of the matter easily.
As 5-star master teachers, they were by no means weak. But against those puppets, their strength would be no different to throwing an egg against a rock. With their current cultivation realms, there was only one outcome that would arise from rushing in—death!
"Indeed. Zhang shi will have a higher chance of survival alone. If we rush in, not only will we not be of any help, we might even become a burden to him…" Ye Qian added.
A trail of tears flowed down Luo Qiqi's cheeks as she replied with quivering lips, "I understand…"
She did understand all of this in the depths of her heart.
After all the time she had spent with her teacher, she was well-aware of what of person her teacher was!
Her teacher was a person who would choose his morals over his life!
It was exactly this quality that made him respected and admired by so many people!
She knew deep down that the others were right. If she were to barge in now, she would only become a burden to the other party.
"The best we can do for Zhang shi now is to wait here…" Seeing that Luo Qiqi had finally given up the thought, Xing Yuan nodded. But at that moment, his body suddenly shook.
Hong long long!
Cracks started appearing on the bridge, and the river beneath abruptly raged.
"What is happening?"
The group was taken aback.
Why would there be such an intense tremor all of the sudden?
Huala!
Just as they were perplexed, fragments of rock suddenly began falling from the ceiling. The bridge and the passageway leading down into the underground chambers collapsed instantaneously.
"This is bad, the entire underground chamber is going to collapse…"
Xing Yuan narrowed his eyes as he yelled, "Quick, go out!"
If the underground chamber were to collapse on them, they would be buried alive. No one would be able to save them. Thus, without any hesitation, they immediately dashed for the passageway out of the underground chamber.
Moving at their top speed, they were able to return to the mountain valley within seven to eight breaths. As soon as they were out, they suddenly felt another huge tremor, and a huge part of the valley's ground suddenly caved in, forming a large depression.
It was as if everything that had happened was a dream. The underground chamber had disappeared entirely without a trace.
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"Teacher…"
Luo Qiqi's legs finally caved in, and she fell weakly to the ground.
If there had still been a chance that her teacher would be able to get out previously… how could there still be any hope now?
Yu Fei-er's face also paled, and she sat down feebly beside her close friend.
She had been competing with Zhang Xuan all along, wanting to beat him in a bet. But never had she wanted him to die!
Not to mention, all of this only happened because the other party was trying to save them.
Recalling bits and pieces about that fellow, she suddenly felt that she was very immature. In the end, all the prejudice she had against the other party was due to her indignation at being ignored.
In truth, after witnessing the other party's formidable strength and vast knowledge, even the haughty her couldn't help but admire him as well.
After a short moment of silence, Ye Qian clenched his fists tightly and declared, "I'll return to the royal palace and get my father to send troops over here… Even if we have to overturn the entire area, we must save Zhang shi…"
After hearing those words, Yu Fei-er also stood up resolutely, prepared to leave with Ye Qian.
"That's right! I'll accompany you. If Ye Wentian doesn't dispatch any troops, I'll report this matter to my father!"
At this moment, her mind was only filled with a single thought… He mustn't die!
"The both of you can't go!"
Just as the two were about to leave, Xing Yuan dashed forward to blocked them.
"What are you doing?"
Narrowing her eyes, an aura of hostility began rising from Yu Fei-er.
The full might of a Transcendent Mortal 6-dan Cosmos Bridge realm cultivator burst forth instantaneously, carrying fearsome power that caused even the air to moan in fear.
The reason she lost to Zhang Xuan previously was due to the latter's attacks being aimed at her vitals, thus preventing her from utilizing her full strength. But against Xing Yuan, she wouldn't face such a problem.
"I don't intend to stop you, but… have you thought the matter through?"
Not expecting the Sixth Princess to actually intend to fight him, Xing Yuan's face turned ghastly white. Gritting his teeth, he said, "This underground chamber involves both Wu Yangzi and the Otherworldly Demons. Do you know what consequences will arise if this news were to spread?"
"Screw the consequences! Get out of my way!" Yu Fei-er roared.
"Xing Yuan is right."
At this moment, a soft but affirmative voice sounded. Luo Qiqi stood up and walked over, her body still trembling slightly. "If even a single one of the Otherworldly Demon puppets in the underground chamber were to be unearthed, it could potentially eradicate the entire Huanyu Empire… Many lives would be lost… I believe that this isn't what teacher would hope to see either!"
"I…" Yu Fei-er tightened her fists in frustration.
"Teacher is a compassionate person. Since he is willing to give up his life for you all, how could he possibly bear to see millions of lives being lost like that?" Luo Qiqi said with reddened eyes.
A Saint realm puppet was already a formidable existence, and an army of twenty of them was nothing short of destructive!
No Tier-2 Empire could possibly stand against such a force. Even if Emperor Ye Wentian were to send every last soldier in Huanyu Empire over, they would still be unable to save her teacher. Only a real Saint could do so.
If they were to let the puppets loose while attempting to save her teacher, he would never forgive them, not even in death.
This was because…
He was simply such a noble person.
"Then… what should we do?" Yu Fei-er asked anxiously.
"What we must do now is to quickly return to the Master Teacher Academy and report this matter to the elders so that they will come here to handle the matter!" Luo Qiqi said.
Xing Yuan nodded in agreement.
"That's right! If we wish to save Zhang shi, it'll be best for us to quickly return to the academy and report this matter to the superiors and have them send men here. This is the best we can do at the moment."
Yu Fei-er also nodded before issuing some instructions.
"Alright then. Xing Yuan, since Grandmaster Wu Yangzi's corpse is in your storage ring, you and Ye Qian shall return to the academy right now. On the other hand, Luo Qiqi and I will wait here… for him to come out."
"This…"
Xing Yuan was stunned. He didn't think that Yu Fei-er would insist on remaining here.
"Fei-er is right, we'll wait for him here. The both of you should hurry on. This matter is of grave importance, so you must report it to the elders face-to-face. Otherwise, there is no way the academy will dispatch Saint realm experts!"
Luo Qiqi nodded.
Even though she did have a Communication Token that allowed her to communicate with the academy, every single Saint realm expert was a valuable asset to the academy. Without sufficient evidence to back their story up, it was impossible for a Saint to be dispatched here. To do so, they would have to present Wu Yangzi's corpse in person.
"Alright!"
Understanding the rationale behind it, Xing Yuan hesitated for a moment before nodding. "But if we take the aerial spirit beast away, how do you intend to return?"
The four of them came on a Transcendent Mortal 6-dan aerial spirit beast. If the both of them were to take it to the Master Teacher Academy, how would the other two leave the Verdant Mountain?
"There's no need to worry about us. If it really comes to it, we'll just head to the nearby Huanyu Beast Hall. With our identities as master teachers, it'll surely be easy for us to loan an aerial spirit beast!"
Luo Qiqi shook her hand before turning her gaze back to the depression. Even at this moment, she was still praying for the dirt to overturn, and for her young teacher to climb out from the depression.
If that were to happen, no matter how dirty the other party was, she would definitely rush forward to hug him without any hesitation…
"Alright then. We'll get going!"
Knowing that there was no time to waste, Xing Yuan immediately beckoned to the sky, and a loud screech sounded. Following which, an aerial spirit beast descended to the ground.
"Let's go!"
Along with Ye Qian, he leaped onto the back of the spirit beast. The spirit beast took off, and before long, they had already disappeared amidst clouds.
After their departure, Luo Qiqi and Yu Fei-er stared at the depression before them, unblinking, waiting intently for Zhang Xuan to return.
With his formidable means… he couldn't possibly be dead!
Even though they kept repeating this within their minds, they had no confidence whatsoever. With the ticking of time, their hope was slowly diminishing.
In the blink of an eye, three days had passed, but there wasn't the slightest movement at all.
The flame of hope they had held dearly onto had already withered into despair.
Could it be that… Zhang shi had really died this time?
Even if he was really dead, if he could be possessed just once more and appear before them, it would still be a huge consolation to them…