Chapter 640 The Ancient Secret Realm Opens

The Vice Hall Master, Elder Ye, and Luo Tian left the building together.

Master Su and Yan Mingxuan stood frozen in place, utterly crestfallen.

Yan Mingxuan was filled with bitter resentment.

This was supposed to be his chance to shine, yet he had been utterly crushed by Luo Tian.

‘I’m a Middle Level Tutor, a member of one of the Ten Great Super Families! How could I have been outdone by a Junior Tutor from the Broken Ring?!’

Yan Mingxuan couldn’t stomach this humiliation!

As for Master Su, he was even more enraged.

He had been working here for three months, only to have someone else suddenly complete his task. To make matters worse, both the Vice Hall Master and the renowned Array Master had looked at him with disdain.

And the cause of all this wasn’t some grandmaster figure, but a mere youth.

Furthermore, Luo Tian had deciphered it all. He had scanned through the translation and couldn’t find a single error or flaw.

“This was my assignment! How could you let an outsider interfere?”

This was the only excuse Master Su could come up with to argue his case.

“Because you are incompetent and arrogant!”

The Vice Hall Master didn’t hold back. He had tolerated Master Su’s temper for long enough!

“If you don’t like it, you can go to the Hall Master. See if he’s willing to help you.”

After saying his piece, the Vice Hall Master ordered his men to escort Master Su out. After all, with the ancient script deciphered, he was no longer needed.

…

In the reception hall.

The Vice Hall Master had already sent someone to request the Hall Master’s presence.

He, in the meantime, was hosting Elder Ye, Luo Tian, and Yan Mingxuan.

“Master Luo, you are so young. How did you master this ancient script? Master Su, who is renowned far and wide, said that it was an Ancient Array Disc from the Ancient Immortal Clan and that it would take a year to decipher,” the Vice Hall Master asked, his curiosity piqued.

Even Yan Mingxuan had said it would take at least two months, and even then, it wouldn’t be a complete translation.

Luo Tian’s speed, however, was nothing short of miraculous!

“I just happen to be familiar with this particular ancient script. It’s not enough to be called a master.”

Luo Tian felt a bit embarrassed being called ‘Master’ by the Vice Hall Master of the Martial City Spirit Hall.

“Even so, you can still be considered a master,” the Vice Hall Master said with a smile.

From ancient times to the present, countless civilizations have emerged throughout the Cosmos.

The Primitive Era was the most ancient and mysterious of all, a time of countless legends of gods and demons, leaving behind innumerable mysteries and hidden treasures.

The Immortal Race was one of the most powerful and flourishing races during that Primitive Era!

To understand the ancient script of the Immortal Race so thoroughly that you can decipher it at will is certainly enough to be called a master.

Just then, a guard entered, knelt, and announced, “Vice Hall Master, the Hall Master is in secluded cultivation.”

“Master Luo, I’m afraid I must trouble you to wait a few days. The Hall Master is in seclusion, so we cannot complete the procedure,” the Vice Hall Master said.

“But I have other matters to attend to.”

Luo Tian didn’t want to wait, and besides, no one knew how long the Hall Master would remain in seclusion.

“If Master Luo trusts the Martial City Spirit Hall, feel free to depart. Once the Hall Master emerges from seclusion and the paperwork is complete, I will have the first-rank VIP Token delivered to you,” the Vice Hall Master proposed.

“Then I’ll leave it in your hands.”

Luo Tian nodded.

‘The reputation of the Martial City Spirit Hall is still trustworthy.’

“Farewell, Elder Ye.”

Luo Tian said with a cupped fist salute.

Elder Ye had helped him before by dealing with the trouble from Gong Yulin. Though it may have been a small effort on the elder’s part, Luo Tian remembered the favor.

With a final glance at Yan Mingxuan, Luo Tian left the hall and quickly returned to the Wuji Saint Institute.

“Brother Ye, I get the feeling you knew all along that Master Luo had this kind of skill,” the Vice Hall Master said in a joking tone.

He suspected that Elder Ye had intentionally sent Luo Tian over to put on this act and snag a first-rank VIP status from the Martial City Spirit Hall!

“This was the first time I’ve met him as well. I had no idea,” Elder Ye said lightly, taking a sip of his tea.

Hearing this, Yan Mingxuan thought to himself, ‘So Elder Ye helping that kid before was just a coincidence. They don’t have any connection…’

“And here I thought this young man had an expert like you, Brother Ye, backing him. It’s simply incredible that he deciphered the whole thing in one go.”

The Vice Hall Master was full of praise for Luo Tian.

Elder Ye nodded slightly, making a mental note of Luo Tian as well.

It was true that this was his first time meeting Luo Tian, but he had a vague impression of the name, having heard his granddaughter mention it a few times.

Elder Ye hadn’t expected Luo Tian to possess such a skill, one that directly earned him a first-rank VIP status.

This status granted extremely preferential treatment at any Martial City Spirit Hall in the entire Pale Ring.

Elder Ye himself had only obtained his first-rank VIP status after breaking through to the True Martial Realm.

「Five days later.」

The Hall Master emerged from his seclusion. When he learned that the ancient script on the Ancient Array Disc had been completely deciphered by a young man, he was initially highly skeptical.

Only after seeing the translation with his own eyes did he finally believe it.

“To think such a remarkable person exists in this world… What a pity. I missed the chance to thank Master Luo in person…”

The Hall Master lamented, then immediately went to process the first-rank VIP status for Luo Tian.

…

Less than a month after he left, Luo Tian hurried back to the Wuji Saint Institute.

On that very same day, the Ancient Secret Realm was set to open.

In front of a mountain cliff.

Two hundred students had gathered here, along with more than fifty tutors.

“Remember all my previous instructions, especially the three key points…”

Peng Yuweng sternly reminded his students.

He had eleven students entering the Ancient Secret Realm, and he stood to gain a thirty percent cut from each of their earnings.

As long as his students didn’t die in the Secret Realm and had a fruitful harvest, Peng Yuweng would reap significant benefits.

The Ancient Secret Realm was quite dangerous. Unexpected incidents were common each time it opened, with the death rate hovering between thirty and forty percent.

Veteran tutors, who had experienced the Ancient Secret Realm many times and understood it well, had students with much lower mortality rates and often greater harvests.

Some of the newer tutors, in contrast, seemed completely at a loss.

“Be careful of everything. Don’t get involved in anything too dangerous,” Tutor Hu Chao instructed his student.

He only had one slot. If this student were to perish in the Secret Realm, he would get absolutely nothing.

Tutor Hu Chao glanced over at six other students not far away. They were all Luo Tian’s, but Luo Tian was away on an assignment and had yet to return.

There were several other tutors from the Celestial Blade Institute present, yet none of them offered Luo Tian’s students any guidance.

They all knew that Luo Tian had provoked an extremely powerful figure and had been dispatched to the worst possible teaching assignment as a result.

Now, they all kept their distance from Luo Tian.

Luo Xiaoting, Zi Qing, Guan Hongfei, and the other three felt anxious and unsettled without their tutor present.

“Luo Xiaoting, you stole first place at the Chuyang Grand Competition. Why don’t we compete again this time? Let’s see who has the more bountiful harvest,” Du Hongfei challenged her with a mocking sneer.

With Peng Yuweng backing him, he was confident his harvest could be more than double Luo Xiaoting’s!

Luo Xiaoting’s beautiful face tensed, her delicate brows arching in anger.

“Don’t be impulsive,” Zi Qing urged, trying to calm her down.

“Accept his challenge!”

Just then, a clear and resonant voice rang out.

SWOOSH!

A streak of white light shot in from the distance, rapidly approaching and transforming into the figure of a handsome man.

“Teacher!”

Luo Xiaoting cheered with excitement.

“Teacher Luo is back.”

The other five students exclaimed in unison.

“Du Hongfei, I accept!”

A sharp glint flashed in Luo Xiaoting’s eyes.

Upon seeing Luo Tian, Du Hongfei suddenly lost some of his confidence. He gave a cold snort. “We’ll see about that!”

“Master Luo, you’re back just in time,” Hu Chao called out a greeting from nearby.

All the tutors and students on site turned to look at Luo Tian.

Luo Tian was quite famous now.

“Who knows who he offended to get sent to the worst teaching post. He just rushed back now, so he’s definitely completely unprepared for the Ancient Secret Realm.”

“What a waste of six slots.”

A few tutors commented in strange, mocking tones.

These were the same tutors who had ganged up on Luo Tian during the Chuyang Grand Competition. They were jealous of his results and the six slots he had secured.

Peng Yuweng also shot a glance at Luo Tian.

‘He had lost to Luo Tian in the Chuyang Grand Competition. What tricks could Luo Tian possibly have to beat him this time?’

‘Luo Tian wasn’t even his real opponent. His true rivals were the other veteran tutors.’

“Teacher, don’t pay any attention to them. We won’t disappoint you on this trip to the Ancient Secret Realm,” Luo Xiaoting said earnestly.

In the half-year that Luo Tian was gone, Luo Xiaoting’s cultivation had already broken through to the Celestial Pool Realm.

She had, after all, already been at the Half-step Celestial Pool Realm. Once her Luo Water Body fully awakened, her cultivation speed became several times faster than before!

The cultivation and strength of the other students had also improved; both Guan Hongfei and Zi Qing had reached the Half-step Celestial Pool Realm.

“If you won’t let your teacher down, then your teacher won’t let you down either,” Luo Tian said with a calm smile.

The six students were a little surprised; their teacher seemed remarkably confident.

The other tutors, however, were unimpressed.

‘Luo Tian joined the Saint Institute not long ago, was sent away on assignment right after the competition, and only just got back. He must be completely unprepared and know nothing about the Ancient Secret Realm.’

‘He’s just talking big now. He’ll surely drive his students to despair when the time comes.’

After a while, several Deans and Vice-Deans of the branch institutes arrived.

“Ancient Secret Realm, open!”

Several high-ranking members of the Saint Institute soared into the sky. They fired several magnificent pillars of True Essence light into the abyss before the cliff.

The vast, boundless pressure made it difficult for the students present to breathe.

RUMBLE!

Amid the abyss’s mist, a pitch-black opening ripped through space. It gradually expanded to a diameter of three meters before stabilizing.

SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!

The two hundred students present all took flight, rushing into the pitch-black opening.

After all the students had entered, the high-ranking members of the Saint Institute flew back down. One of the branch Deans waved his sleeve.

WHOOSH!

A gust of wind kicked up, and more than fifty silver mirrors flew out, drifting down into the hands of every Junior Tutor present.

“These are [Void Mirrors]. Through them, you can observe your students’ situations inside the Ancient Secret Realm and offer them a degree of advice and guidance,” the Dean of the Branch said.

Besides the warnings given before entry, this was the only thing the tutors could do now.

As a [Void Mirror] landed in Luo Tian’s hand, his Identity Token emitted a soft, cyan gleam that flowed into the mirror’s surface.

HUMMM!

An image then appeared on the mirror’s surface.

It showed a desolate mountain forest where a pure and quiet young woman was looking around, bewildered.

The mirror’s perspective was a bird’s-eye view, floating a few meters above Zi Qing’s head and looking forward.

Luo Tian sent his Spiritual Sense into the silver mirror and discovered he could freely switch the viewpoint between any of his six students.

He could also communicate with his six students through the [Void Mirror], which was extremely convenient.

“Interesting.”

Luo Tian smiled to himself.