Zhang Xiaohua’s voice was filled with confidence, his face showing an expression of impending revenge.
He was very sure that with the advantage of time and place, coupled with his absolute superiority, the opponent was doomed.
"I told you, this is my territory. Without my permission, you cannot kill him!" Zhou Qiucheng sneered, and in the next moment, mysterious qi circulated around him as three chains flew from his heart, one embedding into Zhang Xiaohua’s forehead, one landing on his chest, and another falling into his lower dantian.
The three chains connected the two, locking their qi mechanism.
These three chains immobilized Zhang Xiaohua’s upper, middle, and lower dantians, representing the Essence, Qi, and Spirit, effectively locking Zhang Xiaohua’s Essence, Qi, and Spirit.
Thus, Zhang Xiaohua’s steps could not advance; he stood there dazed like a puppet, quietly standing in place. And Mr. Zhong also stood in place, his qi mechanism gradually disappearing, leaving only his physical body standing quietly like a statue.
Chai Wenji carefully observed the qi mechanism around the two, after a moment, she said, "Mr. Zhong has stalled Zhang Xiaohua, you need not worry. With this Treasure Tower here, Mr. Zhong is already in an invincible position. Whether you continue to study or leave the tower to observe, please feel free."
With Chai Wenji’s words, the scholars within the tower hesitated briefly and then left in droves, leaving the tower in silence. For most students, attending the academy’s inner courtyard was to seek opportunities, not risking themselves for some chances.
Now that the dean was restrained by Zhang Xiaohua, it represented too many uncertainties and changes, so the crowd chose to leave.
Chai Wenji turned to look at Zhang Chen and walked slowly to Zhang Chen: "Are you Zhang Chen? I, the Princess, have heard of you."
Facing the Great Victory Dynasty’s princess, Zhang Chen cupped his fists in a salute: "Greetings, Princess."
The attitude was not very respectful, even somewhat perfunctory.
Chai Wenji did not reprimand Zhang Chen’s rudeness but instead said, "You do have some skills, able to make the Grand Steward write for you, seeking the Human King’s pardon for your father’s crimes. Even the Xie family’s father and daughter are supporting you. And even in the academy, someone has pleaded for you, but the Human King thinks it’s difficult to satisfy everyone with a pardon for no achievements, so this matter has been delayed, waiting for you to accomplish great deeds for the pardon."
Zhang Chen’s expression was surprised, not expecting the Xie family’s father and daughter and the old eunuch Dugu Qiu to indeed be trusted people, lobbying for him everywhere upon reaching Kyoto.
"You are now in a semi-pardon situation. As long as no one reports your wandering around, stirring up trouble, the Human King can turn a blind eye, giving you the chance to wander the world to accumulate strength and accomplish great deeds. Now that the Northern Land is occupied by the Demon Race, if you don’t say you are from the Northern Land, no one would dare to venture into the Demon Race territory to investigate, so do you understand my meaning?" Chai Wenji, dressed in a blue robe, was exceptionally beautiful, her voice gentle.
"I can be Zhang Chen from the south, Zhang Chen from the west, or Zhang Chen from the east, but never the Zhang Chen from the north, the land occupied by the Demon Race." Zhang Chen was a clever man, naturally understanding Chai Wenji’s meaning.
"You are indeed a smart person. For your pardon this time, the Third Prince has exerted considerable effort. You must not forget the Third Prince’s benevolence."
"Thank you, Princess, for the reminder. I dare not forget." Zhang Chen cupped his fists in another salute, his face showing gratitude while internally sneering: "Really likes to claim credit; without Dugu Qiu, Mr. Zhong, and the Xie family’s father and daughter speaking, would the Human King be lenient towards me?"
But Zhang Chen was no fool, capable of guile, not only doing it but doing it well.
Chai Wenji was satisfied with Zhang Chen’s attitude, patting his shoulder and saying, "Continue to strive; many people are optimistic about you." then gracefully swaying her hips as she left.
Watching Chai Wenji’s departing figure, Zhang Chen shook his head slightly, his gaze sweeping across the crowd, seeing the bewildered faces of Zhang Gaoqiu and Jiang Nan, then turned towards the palace to explore its secrets.
At this time, someone was examining the ruler, not the best time for Zhang Chen to study that ruler. When no one is paying attention, it will not be too late to inspect that ruler.
Zhang Chen walked on the crystal palace floor, the surface spotless, capable of reflecting a person’s shadow.
And Zhang Chen’s eyes scanned the crystal floor, his internal Yin Yang Grinding Disc constantly pulsating, driving the Primordial Spirit’s Six Paths of Reincarnation, sensing the presence of the Beast Dao within the palace.
As Zhang Chen walked and stopped, he finally halted in a corner, looking down at the crystal below his feet, eyes showing curiosity: "The Human Reincarnation feels strongest here, meaning the Beast Dao is nearby, or beneath me."
"Beneath my feet?" Zhang Chen looked down at the flawless crystal ground, unable to discern any signs of the Beast Dao reincarnation hidden there.
"Could there be an underground space beneath the Twelve-Layered Exquisite Tower?" Zhang Chen stood pondering.
The Great Freedom Celestial Demon emerged from the side and spoke in a haunting voice: "Can we consider the possibility that the Beast Dao’s reincarnation is not inside the Exquisite Tower, but outside of it?"
"What do you mean?" Zhang Chen turned his head to look at the Great Freedom Celestial Demon.
"The reason the Exquisite Tower appears here might be to suppress the Beast Dao’s reincarnation. So the reincarnation of the Beast Dao is right under the Exquisite Tower, suppressed by it?" the Great Freedom Celestial Demon said.
Zhang Chen was taken aback by these words and, after thinking it over, found it plausible.
"This is the most troublesome possibility. If we want to capture the reincarnation of the Beast Dao, we must move the Exquisite Tower. Otherwise, I can’t sneak under it and take away the Beast Dao’s reincarnation under the suppression force." Zhang Chen felt it was quite troublesome.
The Great Freedom Celestial Demon said, "Even if capturing the Beast Dao’s reincarnation is troublesome, it must be secured. If there’s trouble in front of us, we’ll find a way to solve it, and come up with a method to force the Exquisite Tower to move."
"It’s difficult! As hard as climbing to the heavens," Zhang Chen shook his head.
Upon hearing Zhang Chen’s words, the Great Freedom Celestial Demon frowned in thought and, after a moment, said, "Then why not just take the Exquisite Tower? That would be the best of both worlds."
"I’m afraid I won’t have the chance to take the Exquisite Tower." Zhang Chen sighed softly.
The Great Freedom Celestial Demon was taken aback: "What do you mean?"
Zhang Chen transmitted a thought: "I suspect the Exquisite Tower has already acknowledged a master. Otherwise, how could Zhou Qiucheng control such an eleventh-tier mystery?"
Upon hearing this, the Great Freedom Celestial Demon’s eyes flickered: "There’s a high possibility you are right!"
"Allow me to investigate and see what the truth of the matter is," said the Great Freedom Celestial Demon.
Upon hearing the Great Freedom Celestial Demon’s words, Zhang Chen feared the situation might escalate and was about to give a warning, but the Great Freedom Celestial Demon had already vanished without a trace.
Seeing this, Zhang Chen could only let things take their course and continued to wander within the palace.
When he reached the wall, Zhang Chen noticed something unusual. The walls were adorned with exquisite crystal carvings, engraved lifelike on them.
However, the patterns on the crystal carvings looked very strange. There were square little boxes, a Great Snake with nine heads, a demon beast with a human head and snake body, and thousands of eyes growing together, looking ancient, bizarre, and ominous.
As Zhang Chen stared at those patterns, the True God Golden Light in his eyes seemed to surge on its own. He saw the patterns engraved on the wall come to life, transforming into terrifying and grotesque beings that stood in an incredibly distant space-time, watching him, prying into him.
"Did you also notice the oddity of this sculpture? No wonder Father favors you. Among everyone, you are the first to discover the anomaly of the mural," Zhou Zhen remarked, seeing Zhang Chen gazing at the mural, as he came over to speak.
"What guidance do you have, Brother Zhou?" Zhang Chen suppressed the golden light in his eyes and turned to Zhou Zhen.
"Within this palace, the most valuable opportunity isn’t that measuring stick but these countless murals engraved on the walls," Zhou Zhen stated.
Before Zhang Chen could ask, Zhou Zhen proactively explained to him: "These murals are not just simple decorative paintings. They are actually real and mysterious entities sealed away and transformed into mural form, imprinted on the palace walls. Although that measuring stick is an Exotic Treasure given by the Great Victory Royal Family, countless experts have studied it with no results, so it was sent here in hopes of an encounter with the destined person who can uncover its secrets. Therefore, unless you are that so-called destined one, dealing with that measuring stick is merely a waste of time. But the murals on the walls are different; they contain all sorts of mysterious and bizarre methods, some directly embodying rules. If you can subdue one or comprehend a segment of the rules within, you can grasp incredible Divine Techniques and gain unimaginable power."
Upon hearing Zhou Zhen’s words, Zhang Chen looked at the endless scrolls on the walls and reconsidered the spatial barriers that extended for hundreds of miles. How many bizarre entities were sealed there?
"Indeed, the walls are filled with sealed weirdness, both large and small, totaling sixteen thousand in number. How unbelievable is this? The more strange entities sealed within the Treasure Tower, the stronger the tower becomes. The tower can borrow the power of these bizarre entities for its own use!" Zhou Zhen explained further to Zhang Chen.
"Does the Great Victory Dynasty have so many bizarre entities?" Zhang Chen was shocked.
"Of course not! These bizarre entities were self-sealed by the tower itself. When my father discovered the tower back then, those sculptures were already engraved on the walls. Later, my father discovered the intricacies within, and it turned out that this Treasure Tower could seal bizarre entities onto the walls. Thus, this tower became the Great Victory Court’s prison for suppressing those Immortal peculiarities," Zhou Zhen said.