The Violetleaf King wasn't given much time to brood over his plight. Upon hearing the middle-aged man's command, the Otherworldly Demon puppets had already charged forward.
If it had been before, against these Saint 3-dan puppets, the Violetleaf King would still have been able to stand his ground. However, plagued with lethal poison, he was barely able to fight at all. A few moments later, his entire face was filled with footprints, and his head had swollen up to the size of a ripe watermelon. Lying on the ground feebly, his breathing was weak, and it seemed like he would die at any moment soon.
With the wine cup in his hand, Zhang Xuan walked up gracefully and glanced down at the Violetleaf King, "Become my servant, and I can pardon you."
With the experience from the previous Kings, it was indeed unlikely for any of the Otherworldly Demon Kings to submit to him. Nevertheless, it was still worth a try. Were he to succeed, he would have a Saint 4-dan Otherworldly Demon serving him. If so, he would have more cards to play should he find himself in dire situations.
At the same time, he could also learn of the secret plans that the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe was up to—Why did they dispatch so many Kings over to the Master Teacher Continent? Why were they looking for the Poison Hall?
"You... dream on!" Hearing that request, the Violetleaf King clenched his teeth furiously.
To think that someone actually wanted to enslave a respected Otherworldly Demon King like him... Intolerable!
"Very well then!" Zhang Xuan turned his head around and commanded, "Continue beating him up!"
He didn't have the slightest shred of goodwill or pity for the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe. If the other party was unwilling to submit to him, he would just have to kill the other party.
Peng peng peng peng!
The Otherworldly Demon puppets launched yet another tirade of punches and kicks, and it didn't take long before the Violetleaf King's face to turn completely pale. He was pummeled so badly that he couldn't even find the strength in him to talk.
This time, Zhang Xuan had learnt from his previous lesson. He had sealed the other party's acupoint to ensure that he would be unable to draw his Primordial Spirit out. This way, the other party wouldn't be able to pose any threat to him.
After pummeling for a while longer, Zhang Xuan noted that the Violetleaf King was just a step away from death, so he had his puppets pause for a moment before instructing, "Vicious, I will leave this fellow to you. You must uncover the motive behind the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe seeking out the Poison Hall from him…"
Since Vicious seemed to have a way to deal with the Otherworldly Demon Kings, Zhang Xuan couldn't be bothered to conduct Soul Search. After all, the other party's strength was far stronger than him, and conducting a Soul Search forcefully could very well wound his soul.
"Don't worry, young master!" Vicious reassured.
In the next moment, a finger abruptly materialized in the air and tapped on the Violetleaf King's glabella.
"This is... the aura of an Otherworldly Demon Emperor?" Sensing the strength exerted by the finger, the Violetleaf King suddenly felt a wave of helplessness.
The finger before him emanated the aura that was exclusive to Otherworldly Demons, and the concentration of the killing intent emanated had most definitely reached the level of an Otherworldly Demon Emperor.
An Otherworldly Demon Emperor actually acknowledged this young man as his master?
"Don't kill me! I... I am willing to acknowledge you as my master…"
The realization that an esteemed Otherworldly Demon Emperor had taken the young man before him as his master seemed to have struck a chord within his mind, becoming the hammer which crushed the final shred of determination that he was firmly holding onto. All of a sudden, the idea of becoming the other party's servant didn't seem to be as big as a deal as death.
He knew that he would be branded as a traitor for acknowledging a human as his master, and he could very well suffer a death worse than death were he to be caught. However, he had no other choice.
If he were to reject it, he knew that he would suffer the same fate which befell the Goldenleaf, Greenleaf, and Waterleaf King.
On the other hand, if he were to submit, he might still have a chance to survive.
"You wish to take me as your master?" Zhang Xuan was slightly taken aback. He didn't think that it was very likely to succeed, so he was surprised when the Violetleaf King gave in. With a light chuckle, he nodded and said, "Offer your soul!"
If he wished to gain absolute control over the other party, he would have to grasp the other party's soul in his hand.
"Yes!" A bitter smile emerged on the Violetleaf King's lips. Nevertheless, as one of the Kings of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe, he had gone through many things in the past, allowing him to make crucial choices decisively. Since he had made his decision, he didn't hesitate for long before tearing a portion of his Primordial Spirit out and drew it out through his glabella to offer it to the young man before him.
On the other hand, Zhang Xuan took in the portion of the Primordial Spirit and absorbed it into his soul.
In an instant, every single thought in the Violetleaf King's mind became apparent to him. As long as the other party were to even raise the thought of betrayal, he would be able to kill the other party in the blink of an eye.
"What a powerful soul! Could it be that he isn't a poison master but a soul oracle?"
On the other hand, the Violetleaf King was also astonished to sense the astounding strength which Zhang Xuan's soul possessed.
It was impossible for a Nascent Saint to possess such a powerful soul. The only plausible explanation was that he was a soul oracle.
Just that... didn't the soul oracles go extinct long ago? How did his new master obtain their heritage and cultivate his soul to such a frightening level?
And more importantly, wasn't he a poison master? Was he practicing the two occupation simultaneously?
"Master, since I have already submitted to you, can you resolve the poison in my body now?" The Violetleaf King had many doubts in his mind, but he knew that this wasn't the time to ask them. With a bitter look on his face, he kneeled onto the ground and kowtowed deeply as he said.
He had taken a look at the poison in his body earlier, and he realized that he had never seen such a poison before. None of the antidotes he had in his possession seemed like it would work on it.
"Don't worry. Since you have submitted to me, i won't mistreat you!" Zhang Xuan nodded.
Hong long!
In the next moment, the Violetleaf King felt the lethal poison in his body working up once more. His face warped in horror, and he immediately started to plead for mercy. However, in the next moment, he realized that his wounds were beginning to recover under the nourishment of the 'lethal poison'.
"T-this…" The Violetleaf King was dumbfounded.
An incredibly potent poison which even he was helpless before had turned into an unparalleled Saint recovery medicine in the blink of an eye!
Poison in a thought, medicine in another, was the person before him an existence transcending a 7-star poison master? If that was really the case, that was really frightening!
One must know that if a poison master of that caliber were to enter the otherworldly battlefield, the entire Qingtian Lineage might very well be wiped off the face of the world!
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In the midst of his shock, the Violetleaf King's wounds had already recovered to a fair extent. It wasn't a complete recovery, but at the very least, it wouldn't affect his basic movements.
Nevertheless, to be able to recover that quickly, the Violetleaf King was filled with awe and admiration for the young man before him. He kneeled to the floor and kowtowed once more, but this time, his feelings were earnest.
"Master!"
"Call me young master in the future." Zhang Xuan waved his hand. "Since you have already submitted to me, I will tell you my true identity. In truth, I am a... master teacher!"
"M-m-master teacher?" Dumbstruck, the Violetleaf King nearly fainted on the spot.
He had guessed that the other party could be a poison master or a soul oracle, but the other party was actually telling him that... he was a master teacher?
When in the world did master teachers began cultivating their souls and immersing themselves in the study of poison as well?
And more importantly, weren't master teachers supposed to be upright and dignified figures who conducted themselves righteously and morally?
When did they become so despicable and shameless, luring him into a scheme and doing him in so badly?
Even if such a person was a master teacher, there was no way he could win the acknowledgement of his peers and the Master Teacher Pavilion!
Just as such thoughts emerged in his mind, the young man before him continued speaking nonchalantly.
"I am the principal of Hongyuan Empire's Master Teacher Academy."
Pu!
Unable to hold himself back anymore, the Violetleaf King spurted a mouthful of blood.
As the passageway was linked to the Subterranean Gallery located in Hongyuan Empire, naturally, he understood the significance of being the principal of the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy.
He thought that the principal of a Master Teacher Academy should be a respected and austere old man. Yet, who could have thought that it would turn out to be a shameless and despicable young lad instead... More importantly, the other party was even skilled in the utilization of poison and soul arts, the very occupations scorned by the Master Teacher Pavilion.
Was the Master Teacher Academy blind, or did the eras fly too quickly by for him to catch up with the latest trends?
"Alright, you should continue disguising yourself as a human!" Unaware of the other party's thoughts, Zhang Xuan instructed after he introduced himself.
Due to being pummeled by his Otherworldly Demon puppets, the Violetleaf King inadvertently released his disguise due to the severe injuries he suffered, reverting back to his original form as an Otherworldly Demon.
It was fortunate that they were within a grade-7 Beguilement Formation, so no one was able to see what was going on here. However, if the Violetleaf King were to walk out in such a form, it would indubitably cause a huge pandemonium. To be safe, it would be better for him to maintain his human disguise instead.
"Yes!" The Violetleaf King nodded before reaching his hand for his chest. A brilliant flash of light shrouded his entire body, and a moment later, he reverted back to his human form.
"You depend on this to disguise yourself?" Noting the other party's actions, Zhang Xuan was intrigued.
Unlike him, the other party didn't depend on warping his muscles and bones to disguise himself. Instead, he made use of some kind of unique artifact.
"This is a Button of Disguise which we obtained from offering a tribute to our Spirit God. As long as one possesses bloodline on par with an Otherworldly Demon King, he would be able to activate it and disguise himself impeccably as a human, such that even master teachers wouldn't be able to tell the difference!" the Violetleaf King replied.
"Spirit God?" Noting the unfamiliar term, Zhang Xuan asked with a frown.
This was his first time hearing of such a being.
"Yes, the Spirit God is a deity which our tribesmen worship. It is under the guidance of the Spirit God that we came here!" the Violetleaf King replied.
"You are saying that... it is under the guidance of your god that you found the Master Teacher Continent?"
All along, Zhang Xuan thought that the reason why the Otherworldly Demon was invading the Master Teacher Continent was due to a racial strife. However, from the looks of it now, the matter seemed to be deeply related with the Spirit God the other party spoke about instead.
"Yes, I also only heard of it from the Qingtian Emperor. However, those are matters which have happened ages ago, so there is no way to assess whether they are true or not. However, it is indeed true that we can earn generous rewards by tributing the souls and corpses of master teachers to the Spirit God, and this Button of Disguise was obtained through that method as well." the Violetleaf King explained.
"Un." Zhang Xuan nodded. He knew that these matters were still too far away from him, so there was no point brooding over it, especially since the Violetleaf King weren't too sure about them himself either. Thus, he decided to put the matter aside for the moment and continued his interrogation, "Why are you all looking for the Poison Hall?"
If the goal of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe was to devastate the human race, they could have just attacked the Hongyuan Empire straight. Why would they bother sending out two Kings and go through so much effort to find the Poison Hall?
"Reporting to young master, we have found an ancient domain which might very well contain an artifact that can help us to break open the seal in the passageway... If we are able to obtain it, our tribesmen will be able to enter the Master Teacher Continent in droves and reclaim the land which we have lost!" the Violetleaf King explained.
"However, that ancient domain is simply too dangerous. A few Kings which we have dispatched previously ended up being trapped within it, unable to escape even to date. After some investigation, we found out that there is a high chance that the Poison Hall may contain a detailed map of the ancient domain... Thus, Qingtian Emperor dispatched the both of us here to infiltrate the Poison Hall and secure the map!"
"Map? Ancient domain?" Zhang Xuan frowned. Looking deeply into the Violetleaf King's eyes, he asked, "Could the ancient domain you spoke of be at Firesource City?"
The old principal had also been trying to uncover the location of the Poison Hall before he entered the ancient domain. Considering the words that the Violetleaf King had just spoken, could the ancient domain in the other party's mouth be the same one as he was thinking about?
"Un, it is indeed in Firesource City!" the Violetleaf King nodded.
The Violetleaf King instinctively wanted to ask how did his young master know about it, but recalling that the other party was the principal of a Master Teacher Academy, he immediately came to a realization.
If the top brass of mankind didn't even have the sources to acquire such crucial news, the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe would have long breached the defenses of humanity and conquered the Master Teacher Continent. They wouldn't have been trapped in that wretched land to date.
"I see…" Upon hearing the other party's confirmation, Zhang Xuan nodded in realization.
If it was an artifact that could break the seal in the Subterranean Gallery open, that would explain why the old principal would head into the ancient domain despite knowing that it was very likely he would not be walking out of there alive.
If the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe were to successfully acquire that artifact, it would spell a huge calamity to mankind.