The crowd in the square watched Zhang Yuge’s performance with a mix of confusion and awe, except for one person.
Ye Xichen’s gaze was fixed on the National Instructor dancing wildly atop the altar, his eyes filled with shock.
Although he had been in this world for sixteen years, that didn’t mean he had forgotten the language of his original world.
While Ye Xichen didn’t fully understand the words, he clearly recognized that the place mentioned was called Earth, and the language was Japanese.
Moreover, the words that followed weren’t just Japanese; English and Thai also appeared, as if deliberately bullying the people of this world by speaking in tongues they couldn’t comprehend.
Could it be that the National Instructor, like himself, was a traveler from another world?
The old man hidden inside the ring sensed Ye Xichen’s unease and spoke up.
“Xiao Chen, what’s wrong?”
“I’m fine, Elder Xuan. It’s just that this National Instructor seems unusual.”
Hearing his disciple’s words, the residual soul known as Elder Xuan also turned his gaze toward the National Instructor and probed him with his Spirit Sense.
At the same time, Yun Lan felt the Spirit Sense probing from the audience below and quickly warned Zhang Yuge.
“Disciple, someone is using Spirit Sense to test you.”
“What?”
Zhang Yuge’s expression showed a hint of panic, but luckily he was wearing a mask, so no one noticed.
“Does Master know who it is?”
“No, that person seems to be deliberately masking their aura. I can’t locate them. But you don’t need to worry. Keep dancing. If anything happens, I’ll back you up,”
Yun Lan said confidently.
“With Master’s words, I’m relieved. But I wonder if Xiao Yao is going smoothly over there.”
“Don’t worry about that. Zhang Qingyao is at Qi Training Seventh Layer, stronger than you. Besides, the main defenses of the palace are concentrated here and at the four gates of the imperial city. The prison’s defenses are lax. A few mortal warriors alone can’t stand against cultivators.”
“How is it, Elder Xuan? What’s the background of this National Instructor?”
Ye Xichen asked.
“This person’s cultivation is comparable to yours, both at Qi Training Fifth Layer. Nothing special.”
“Only Qi Training Fifth Layer?”
Ye Xichen pondered.
“However, I found something more interesting.”
“Where?”
“The palace maid scattering paper fragments behind the National Instructor is also a cultivator, with cultivation at Qi Training Eighth Layer.”
“What did you say?”
Ye Xichen was shocked but quickly sensed something was off.
“That can’t be right, Elder Xuan. If she’s Qi Training Eighth Layer, wouldn’t the five great families, including my father, have discovered her long ago?”
“This palace maid practices Blood Nether Technique, which absorbs killing intent instead of the usual spiritual energy. Ordinary cultivators can’t discern her cultivation level. Among the cultivators present, only I can tell that she cultivates at all.”
Since Elder Xuan said so, Ye Xichen had no choice but to believe it.
To him, Elder Xuan was all-knowing, from astronomy to geography, and with his help, Ye Xichen had progressed rapidly, breaking through from Qi Training Third Layer to Fifth Layer in less than two months.
“This National Instructor publicly claims this palace maid as his disciple, yet his cultivation is lower than hers. That’s definitely suspicious,”
Ye Xichen remarked.
Suddenly, an idea struck him, and he walked forward to tug on Ye Tianlu’s sleeve.
“Chen’er, what is it?”
Since becoming a woman, her father’s attitude toward her had improved considerably.
“Father, can you sense the Emperor’s cultivation level?”
Ye Tianlu shook his head.
“I can’t tell.”
Ye Xichen nodded and stepped back.
Using Spirit Sense on others is disrespectful, and doing so on the Emperor is even more irreverent.
Naturally, she wouldn’t let her father take that risk.
“Elder Xuan, can you use Spirit Sense to investigate the Emperor’s true cultivation, just like with the National Instructor, without letting the Emperor detect my position?”
“I’ll try.”
Saying that, the residual soul called Elder Xuan deployed his Spirit Sense toward Li Yuhan on the Heavenly Platform.
However, just as Elder Xuan’s vision was about to enter Li Yuhan’s body,
suddenly, a desolate world appeared before his eyes; the sky turned chaotic.
On a barren mountaintop stood a single person.
Elder Xuan gradually made out the face—a young man with a faint smile.
“Get lost.”
The young man uttered lightly, and the world seemed to crack apart.
Elder Xuan felt as if his head was about to explode.
Indeed, he was under a mental attack.
This was an incomparably powerful being, impossible to penetrate.
A cloud drifted over, shading the sunlight and casting a gloomy hue.
The civil and military officials believed this was the National Instructor’s spell taking effect.
Seeing this, the National Instructor seized the moment to light three incense sticks as pale smoke curled upward.
Meanwhile, Zhang Qingyao, disguised in eunuch attire, approached the perimeter of the prison, a spot she had scouted in advance.
Sure enough, due to the festival, troop deployments had loosened the prison’s defenses compared to her last visit, with only a handful of jailers on guard.
Her plan was to pose as a food-delivering eunuch, slowly approach the gate, swiftly incapacitate the guards, then sneak in to rescue the captive.
At that moment, noises came from nearby.
The girl quickly hid in the grass, suppressing her aura.
“Sir, this way please.”
A middle-aged man with a flattering expression was respectfully attending to a corpulent man.
Behind them followed about seven or eight young men and women around twenty years old, each exuding the aura of cultivators.
Zhang Qingyao immediately sensed that these youths, like herself, were cultivators.
But who were they?
The flattering middle-aged man looked vaguely familiar to Zhang Qingyao, as if she had seen him somewhere before.
“Brother Ye, I’ve already spoken to the sect master about your request,”
said the corpulent man.
“And what did the sect master say?”
the flattering man asked cautiously.
“The sect master is kind-hearted and will not treat you unfairly. Around this time next year, when you send your son over, arrangements will be made,”
the corpulent man said arrogantly.
The flattering man beamed with joy, unable to hide his grin.
“Then I’ll thank the sect master and Brother Ji for their favor right here.”
Clearly, this was a shady deal.
Zhang Qingyao recognized the corpulent man as a member of the Ji family and the flattering man as part of the Ye family, which immediately put her on alert.
She also recalled that two months ago, when she caused a ruckus at the Ye residence, this man was present, joining the Ye family’s cultivators in attacking Zhang Yuge—and was defeated.
Despite her hatred for the Ye family, Zhang Qingyao knew she was no match for them now.
If they discovered her, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Not only these two middle-aged men, but even the young cultivators following them were people she couldn’t afford to provoke.
Thus, the girl watched silently as they made their way toward the prison.