1636 Has the Jiang Clan Betrayed Mankind Too?

"The Jiang Clan?" Zhang Xuan pondered for a moment before slapping his forehead in realization.

Why didn't he think of that earlier?

Of the Three Premier Clans, the Zhang Clan was adept in temporal arts, the Luo Clan was well-versed in spatial arts, and the Jiang Clan specialized in soul arts.

When the soul oracles were eradicated from the Master Teacher Continent back then, the heritage of soul cultivation nearly vanished completely. It was the founder of the Jiang Clan who stood up at that moment and resuscitated soul cultivation on the Master Teacher Continent. With his comprehension of the Soul Quintessence, he created countless formidable soul arts and became one of the strongest experts in his era.

Speaking of which, he wasn't completely unacquainted with the Jiang Clan either. He had met the head of the Jiang Clan, Jiang Fangyou, during the engagement ceremony with the Luo Clan. He had also crossed blows with the top prodigy of the Jiang Clan, Jiang Feifei, during the celestial designer trial while challenging the Tower of Master Teachers back at the Sanctum of Sages too!

Just that, he didn't think that the Jiang Clan would be located just half a day's journey away from the Zhang Clan.

"Clan head, do you intend to pick up soul-related techniques?" the elder asked curiously.

"I have advanced my cultivation too swiftly in recent days, and that has resulted in instability in my Primordial Spirit. I was thinking of learning some soul cultivation techniques to reinforce my soul before pushing for higher realms!" Zhang Xuan replied.

Hearing those words, the elder nodded in agreement.

Such problems did occur if one were to advance one's cultivation too quickly. 

The first time their clan head came to the Zhang Clan, he was only at Saint 7-dan Phantasmal Space realm. Yet, within such a short span of time, he had already reached Saint 9-dan pinnacle… That was indubitably a breakneck pace. Of course, the problems from advancing his cultivation so quickly might not be very apparent at the moment, but trying to build upon unstable foundations would indubitably cause him a huge amount of trouble in the future.

Learning the clan head's intent, the elder remarked, "Our Zhang Clan doesn't really have a close relationship with the Jiang Clan. However, as fellow Premier Clans, I don't think the Jiang Clan would refuse your request as long as the books you require doesn't violate the privacy of their heritage!"

Hearing those words, Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up in realization.

Indeed, he was no longer the nobody he was! 

Soul arts might have been the most tightly guarded secret of the Jiang Clan, but as the head of the Zhang Clan, the head of the Sanctum of Sages, and Yang shi's senior, if he were to request to browse through the more superficial soul art manuals in their collection, it was unlikely that they would refuse his request!

After bidding the elder farewell, he informed Luo Ruoxin that he would be heading out for a moment before whipping out his Dragonbone Divine Spear to tear open a dimension rift and head off.

He had obtained the precise location of the Jiang Clan from the elder he had chatted with earlier. Flitting at a neck-breaking speed, it didn't take long for him to arrive at the suburbs of a city. Similar to the Zhang Clan, this city spanned over many mu, boasting a scale greater than that of the Empire Alliance.

The Jiang Clan!

One of the Three Premier Clans, a behemoth on the Master Teacher Continent!

Zhang Xuan scanned the city and swiftly noticed the many defensive formations erected around the place. He couldn't help but compliment, "It seems like every single one of the Premier Clans wields power that shouldn't be underestimated!" 

He had been to the Luo Clan and the Zhang Clan, and they had all kinds of formations that would put even Great Sage cultivators in a bad position if they were to charge in recklessly. Such was clearly the case for the Jiang Clan as well.

However, it just happened that formations posed no threat to him at all. Through the Library of Heaven's Path, all he could see were hulking flaws after hulking flaws. 

After looking around for a moment, he was just about to hand his name scroll to the guards stationed at the entrance of the Jiang Clan to have them report his arrival when he suddenly narrowed his eyes in alarm.

He hurriedly dashed into a nearby shrub to hide.

Through the lush shrubbery, he looked into the sky above and saw a figure appearing in the aerial space above the Jiang Clan.

Following which, the head of the Jiang Clan, Jiang Fangyou, personally rushed over to welcome him, and the two of them descended to the ground together.

"Why is he here? Does this mean that… the Jiang Clan is colluding with the Otherworldly Demons too?" Zhang Xuan thought lividly.

The figure who had just appeared was no other than the scholarly young man whom he had met back at the White Creek Mountain and the Harvest Valley City Seer Guild!

Why would the scholarly young man appear here?

The fact that he was personally welcomed by the head of the Jiang Clan suggested a peculiar relation between the two of them.

"Let me take a look!" Taking a deep breath, Zhang Xuan scanned his surroundings with the Eye of Insight before heading forward.

He might not have too many trump cards at the moment—if he were to engage the scholarly young man in his current state, it would surely end in his defeat. However, he was still confident in his ability to hide his presence. 

Besides, having comprehended the Spatial Quintessence of Sealing and Time Quintessence of Acceleration, he was confident that he would be at least able to escape even if he were no match from them!

Hula!

Countless spatial ripples diffused in the space in front of Zhang Xuan as he strutted boldly through the main gates of the Jiang Clan.

There were plenty of guards stationed at the doorstep of the Jiang Clan, and their cultivation ranged from Saint 3-dan to Saint 4-dan. Yet, not a single one of them noticed Zhang Xuan, as if he didn't even exist.

This was another skillful manipulation of the spatial laws.

Through sealing an area around him and preventing any energy from entering or leaving this area, he would be able to prevent even light from revealing his presence. As long as one's cultivation was beneath him, it would be impossible for one to notice his presence.

After walking through several corridors, he finally came to a halt before a majestic hall.

Right ahead was the area where the Jiang Fangyou and the scholarly young man had landed at. As deep as his comprehension of spatial laws was, he dared not to come too close.

Thus, he found a location to conceal his figure before looking into the hall.

On the inside, he saw the two men standing opposite one another, seemingly discussing some important matters.

Taking a deep breath, Zhang Xuan focused his attention into the hall. Soon, he began to hear snippets of their conversation.

"... news that you have? I understand!"

The scholarly young man nodded and said, "I'll leave the arrangements to you. Nothing must go wrong. If we were to succeed for this, it would bring a new day upon us. The dreams that we have harbored for many years would finally come to be!"

"Yes, I understand!" Jiang Fangyou nodded hurriedly.

"It's good that you understand. You must take precautions too. The upheaval will be happening very soon, and a huge war will be inevitable. You have to prepare yourselves to make a move at any moment!"

After saying those words, the scholarly young man shook his head grimly. He quickly bade his farewell before leaving the vicinity.

Even as the scholarly young man departed, Zhang Xuan still dared not to move carelessly. He reined in his aura as tightly as possible while folding the space around him firmly, not daring to allow any leeway in whatever that could possibly betray his presence.

As he left, the scholarly young man glanced downward for a moment, but it seemed to just be a sweeping look. It took only a few moments for him to vanish from sight, disappearing in some other direction.

"Hai!" Watching the departure of the scholarly young man, Jiang Fangyou sighed deeply. With a complicated look in his eyes, he walked out of the hall.

Zhang Xuan figured that the other party was probably going to make whatever arrangements he had agreed on with the scholarly young man.

"The Jiang Clan is in collusion with those bunch of scoundrels too. Have they betrayed mankind as well?" Watching as Jiang Fangyou walked away, the frown on Zhang Xuan's forehead scrunched tighter and tighter together.

The Jiang Clan was one of the Three Premier Clans! While their standing was beneath that of the Zhang Clan and the Luo Clan, they were still highly respected in the Master Teacher Continent, and their ranks were filled with many master teachers… Why would they betray mankind and collude with those bunch of scoundrels too?

He had met the scholarly young man twice so far. While he was unable to see through the other party's true appearance, the fact that the other party had close ties with Otherworldly Demons was a direct hint at his true identity.

Even if the other party wasn't an Otherworldly Demon, the fact that he was in cahoots with them meant that he was a traitor of mankind.

And for the head of the Jiang Clan to have a secret discussion with the other party at this juncture… It was truly hard for Zhang Xuan not to suspect anything.

"'It would bring a new day upon us', 'a huge war will be inevitable'... Just what in the world could they be up to? Are they conspiring something against the Master Teacher Pavilion, or perhaps, the entire continent?" Zhang Xuan clenched his fists tightly together.

He was still unable to figure out what their plans were, but the fact that they had stolen Vicious' upper body and brought over several Otherworldly Demon Ancient Sages to the Master Teacher Continent showed that they had great ambitions in mind! If something were to happen to the Master Teacher Continent, everything that he cared about would be in peril.

Be it the Zhang Clan, the Luo Clan, the Xuanxuan Faction, the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy… Once the nest was destroyed, there would be no egg in the nest that would be able to remain safe!

A conspiracy between the Jiang Clan and the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe could deal a huge setback to mankind. Since he had noticed it in advance, he would have to stop it at all costs!

"I'll have to discuss the matter with my parents to decide on a suitable course of action to deal with the Jiang Clan…" Zhang Xuan shook his head grimly.

If they couldn't root the Jiang Clan's influence in a single move, they would swiftly go into hiding. With the massive influence the Jiang Clan wielded across the Master Teacher Continent, their constant sabotage from the shadows would surely be a huge setback to mankind if a war with the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe were to break out!

"In any case, since the Jiang Clan has betrayed mankind, there's no need for me to stand on ceremony with them… Let me head to their library to collect their books first!" 

With such a thought in mind, Zhang Xuan quickly scanned the area around him before heading off in a certain direction.(1 mu = 666.6m^2)