“It’s due to their sacrifice that mankind is able to enjoy the prosperity and stability it does at the moment. Without them, the world would have already been plunged in chaos…”
Zhang Xuan was never an emotional person. Ever since transcending over, due to his previous life, he had always viewed this world with nonchalance. However, when he saw the students of the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy charging fearlessly in the face of battle, and countless master teachers staking their life on the line in a Subterranean Gallery… To be honest, it had truly moved him.
His initial impression of the Zhang Clan was horrid, but when he saw the countless stone tablets lying around him, he couldn’t help but sigh sorrowfully.
It was not just due to its strength and accumulation that the Zhang Clan became the number one Sage Clan. More than that, it was about what they had done.
For tens of thousands of years, they had kept the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe suppressed in the Subterranean Galleries. It was due to their contribution and countless sacrifices that mankind enjoyed the current peace it did.
Without them, mankind would have never prospered and developed so far.
Boom!
While Zhang Xuan was deep in thought, he suddenly felt the ground beneath him shaking intensely. Spurts of malevolent aura burst forth from beneath the ground.
Weng!
Barely after the spurts of malevolent aura reached the surface, the tombstones swiftly released a brilliant light reminiscent of the Night Illumination Pearls, Gradually, the malevolent aura dissipated silently.
The fact that the malevolent aura is able to reach here means that the seal beneath is swiftly approaching its limit. I should quickly take a look! Zhang Xuan thought.
Having been to the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy’s Subterranean Gallery, he was familiar with this situation. Without any hesitation, he beckoned Luo Ruoxin and quickly advanced forward. Soon, they arrived before a massive sculpture.
It was a sculpture of the founder of the Zhang Clan.
Zhang Xuan placed his hand on it.
Weng!
With a brilliant burst of light, both he and Luo Ruoxin disappeared from the spot. In the next moment, they were already standing in the midst of darkness. Malevolent aura suffused the area, leaving one with a slight feeling of discomfort.
The two of them quickly headed forward. Soon, they arrived at a massive fortress.
This Subterranean Gallery was clearly much larger than the one beneath the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy. The fortress was formidable as well. There were all kinds of active formations shrouding it, keeping any enemy at bay.
Entering the fortress, Zhang Xuan immediately saw countless members of the Zhang Clan. They were standing in a neat formation, reminiscent of soldiers marching into war.
“Clan head!”
Upon seeing Zhang Xuan, the managing elder quickly rushed forward to greet him.
“What’s the current situation?” Zhang Xuan asked.
“It doesn’t look too optimistic. The Otherworldly Demonic Tribe has already launched ten attacks so far, and both sides have already sustained heavy losses. Due to the hindrance of the seal, the losses suffered by the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe is considerably greater than ours. However, I fear that we won’t be able to last too long against their crazed attacks!” the elder said worriedly.
“How is the seal at the moment?” Zhang Xuan asked.
“I’m not too sure at the moment. Our men were still in control of the area a while ago, but they have been overrun by the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe. I fear that we are unable to approach the seal at the moment!” the elder replied.
“We have lost control over the seal? Isn’t that extremely disadvantageous to us? With the experts of our Zhang Clan, how did we lose control over the seal?” Zhang Xuan widened his eyes in disbelief.
The main reason why the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe was unable to launch large-scale attacks previously was due to the obstruction of the spatial seals.
The spatial seals left behind by Ancient Sage Qiu Wu were incredibly powerful. Humans were able to pass through the seals freely, but not the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe. Thus, the defensive forces only had to camp outside the seal and slay any Otherworldly Demons who managed to slip past the seal by luck.
If the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe were to take control of the seal, wouldn’t they be able to squeeze as many people as they wanted into the Subterranean Gallery? This meant that their forces would grow swiftly with time!
The Zhang Clan was powerful, but it wasn’t strong enough to stand against the unhindered prowess of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe! They wouldn’t stand a chance at all!
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“I was the one who ordered the members of the Zhang Clan to retreat!”
Before the elder could answer the question, another imposing voice had already echoed by the side.
Turning his head over, Zhang Xuan saw his parents, Sword Saint Xing and Sword Saint Meng, walking over with widened strides.
Hearing the words that had come from Sword Saint Xing, Zhang Xuan frowned.
“They have already completely breached the seal left behind by Ancient Sage Qiu Wu, so there isn’t any point guarding the area anymore. Rather than to expend our forces on a collapsed seal, it would be much better for us to guard this fortress instead. With the protection of the formations here, we will allow us to bring our losses down to the minimum!” Sword Saint Xing explained grimly.
“The seal has been breached?” Zhang Xuan clenched his fists tightly.
“Indeed. The Otherworldly Demonic Tribe has truly resolved themselves this time around. They are determined to push their way into the Master Teacher Continent no matter how much losses they suffer!” Sword Saint Xing shook his head. He beckoned with his hand and said, “Follow me!”
They quickly made their ways to the fortress walls.
Gazing forward from the sentry tower, he swiftly noticed the billowing killing aura that had congregated in the distance. Countless Otherworldly Demons were standing in an orderly formation, reminiscent of an army.
Despite their stationary position, their very presence emanated great pressure on those in the fortress.
There were many tents and temporary structures erected around the army. From the looks of it, it seemed like the Otherworldly Demons also knew that it wouldn’t be easy for them to overrun the fortress.
“The seal has been breached, which means that the Otherworldly Demons can easily traverse into the Subterranean Gallery. There’s no doubt that they are biding their time so that more and more of their brethren could reinforce them. If this were to continue on, we might potentially lose control of this Subterranean Gallery!” Zhang Xuan analyzed with a deep frown.
“I know this as well, but having fought with the Otherworldly Demons for innumerable years, we are well aware of the extent of their forces. Given that they are assaulting all 108 Subterranean Galleries simultaneously, the number of allies they will be able to gather here is going to be terribly limited. If they really wielded the strength to overrun all 108 Subterranean Galleries simultaneously, mankind would have already gone extinct many years ago!” Sword Saint Xing replied confidently.
There was an irreconcilable grudge between mankind and the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe.
If the Otherworldly Demons were truly capable of bringing down all of the Subterranean Galleries simultaneously, they would have already done so a long time ago. There was no reason for them to contend with living in the barren otherworldly battlefield for so many years, suffering so many grievances!
“You are saying that… they are just putting on an act of bravado?” Zhang Xuan frowned doubtfully.
“I wouldn’t say that it’s just an act of bravado, but aside from waiting for the reinforcement from their allies, it’s likely that they are held back partially by fear too. They are observing the circumstances in the other Subterranean Galleries before deciding whether they should launch a decisive assault. If their forces were to be defeated in the other Subterranean Galleries, it would be meaningless even if they were to claim this one. Without reinforcement, it would only be a matter of time before we forced them back into the otherworldly battlefield. Naturally, it would be meaningless for them to incur disproportionate losses just to claim a plot of land temporarily. On the other hand, if the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe were to successfully overrun the other Subterranean Galleries, we would be in grave danger too!” Sword Saint Xing said.
Zhang Xuan pondered over those words for a moment before nodding, “You’re right…”
Nevertheless, this was just a hypothesis on their part at the moment. Furthermore, even if just a single Subterranean Gallery were to be breached, mankind would surely sustain severe losses. Thus, it was of utmost importance for them to remain on their guard.
“Wait a moment. Could the same situation be happening in the other Subterranean Galleries? If that’s the case… could this be a diversion tactic?” Zhang Xuan narrowed his eyes in astonishment as a thought surfaced in his mind.
“A diversion tactic?” Sword Saint Xing, as well as the other elders of the Zhang Clan, frowned in confusion.
There didn’t seem to be anything more important than claiming the Subterranean Galleries that the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe had to divert their attention for.
“You have been in the Subterranean Gallery all this while, so it’s no wonder you haven’t heard of it yet. Just a moment ago, the Temple of Confucius has emerged. It’s likely that it’ll open very soon… For the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe to invade all of the Subterranean Galleries at such a point in time and draw the experts of mankind here, could they be buying time? While acting as if they are waiting for reinforcements, are they just tying down our men here so that we won’t be able to focus our manpower on the Temple of Confucius?” Zhang Xuan revealed his thought.
Having crossed blows with mankind many times, the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe were definitely aware that they would sustain massive losses if they were to push ahead with their attacks on the Master Teacher Continent at this point in time. This was similar to the concept of ‘mutually assured destruction’ in his previous life. Even if the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe had the power to claim the Master Teacher Continent, if they had to sustain heavy casualties in order to do so, was it really still meaningful for them to do so?
Was this a price they were willing to pay in exchange for defeating mankind?
And not to mention, mankind wasn’t the only major power on the Master Teacher Continent.
It was true that the Temple of Confucius and the Great Codex of Spring and Autumn were important, but was it so important that they had to sacrifice the lives of so many Otherworldly Demons to acquire it?
In other words, could the reason why they weren’t in a rush to attack be because they had already achieved their motives? They had already stalled the most of the experts of mankind here, which meant that they would be in an advantageous position in the fight over the Temple of Confucius!